Woodpecker Pool Newsletter July 2012

Well here we are again with another installment for 2012 and it does not seem five minutes since I wrote the last one, where the time goes I don't know all I know is the older I get the quicker the weeks and years seem to disappear.

The weather here like you have had in the UK is all over the place, more rain than I can ever remember for this time of the year and temperatures well below normal although I am not complaining as the lake level is full to the top and everything is green and growing at twice the rate of normal but far nicer than everything dying back and brown, yes it means more work to keep the place tidy but never mind, although Sue would like a few drier days especially on a Saturday when she has all the washing to get dried.

When we left the last newsletter the fishing had really slowed down and to be honest it has stayed in much the same vain with some good weeks and some very slow ones until last week when it did start to pick up a bit again, until then most of the fish only seemed interested in feeding on bloodworm and the like and it was really hard work trying to tempt a few to take a bait and sometimes no matter how hard you try the fish will not respond. I never expect to see massive numbers of fish caught from here these days, the fish are a lot wiser and bigger now and they have seen everything an angler can throw at them, it is not like the early days when they had hardly been caught, you have to work a little bit harder to put them on the bank these days but even then there is no guarantee. Anyway enough of my ramblings let us get on to the catch reports.

The end of May and we had the two John's here, John Turner is a regular and it was the first time here for John Morris, pleasure meeting you John, so how would their week turn out. Well the weather was very good but the fish were still playing very hard to get. They had 9 fish in all, 7 carp and 2 catfish, the biggest carp was a mirror of 36lb and the biggest catfish was over 90lb, they couldn't be exact as there scales bottomed out which was a real shame as I didn't realise that there scales didn't weigh over 90. The total weight for the week was 300lb 8oz. They had a fantastic week in their words but unfortunately the fish didn't play ball. It was a pleasure having you both here and we are looking forward to seeing John Turner and family next week. Thank you both for your company during the week.

Next here was Sue and Andy with for the first time daughter Lisa and son in law Gavin for part of the holiday. The first week and the fishing was still quite slow but 12 fish were banked including catfish to 88lb, carp to 28lb, one grass carp at 29lb 8oz and the diamond back sturgeon, he has decided to show himself after sometime of absence. The total weight was 504lb. The second week produced a few more fish with several better carp including a PB common for Andy at 41lb 14oz, stunning fish, and on top of that another PB and New Lake Record Catfish of 96lb, well done Andy

Sorry the sturgeon turned out to be a bit of a pest this week but he obviously likes you! Certain people seem to catch him far more regularly than others, some people would love to catch him but never do!! What is your secret? The total was 18 fish for a total weight of 709lb 8oz. It was great to meet you Lisa and Gavin and hope to see you again sometime, will look forward to seeing you again Sue and Andy next year.

Next on were good friends Jen and Terry joined for the first time by daughter Verne. The fishing was still really slow and the weather was all over the place not conducive to good catches, the carp were rolling and bubbling all over the place but were really reluctant to pick up a bait so it was very hard going. Terry is someone I always expect to get into a big catfish or two while he is here and this year he managed two of 86lb 12oz and 72lb a few nice carp to 33lb, a couple of grass carp to 30lb but only 12 fish in total for a total weight of 412lb.Tough going this year mate but as you always tell me being here is what is important the fish are the bonus but it doesn't make it any easier for me as I hate to see anyone struggling to catch, unfortunately I haven't yet developed a remote control fish that will jump on the line. It was great having you here once again, thank you for your company and a pleasure to meet you Verne after all this time although it was probably too quiet for you.

Our next week and we had new people Dot and Phil Bartlett, only Phil fishing and not all of the time. Unfortunately both Dot and Phil were not very well for part of their week here which was a real shame, we hope you are both a lot better now. Phil had 4 carp during the week including a PB common of 35lb 7oz but he did say that this was a step up for him from places he had fished before. It was a pleasure to meet you both and we hope we will see you both again sometime in the future.

Our last report for this newsletter is for last week when Mike Aldworth returned with first timer Phil Floyd. The fishing looked as if it could pick up this week and so it turned out to be. Mike and Phil had 27 fish between them with some lovely carp and grass carp and one catfish at 78lb 8oz including several PBs. The highlights of the week were a New Lake Record grass carp of 33lb 7oz to Phil and a New Lake Record mirror of 50lb 2oz to Mike, he also had 2 other big mirrors of 40lb 1oz and 42lb 11oz and a common of 40lb 6oz,the mirror and the common were PBs for him.

Well done Mike and Phil on your PBs and lake records. The total weight was 818lb 3oz the best week we have seen for some time. Thank you both for your company during the week and it was a pleasure to meet you Phil.

That is it for this time some good weeks and some very tough ones which I put more down to the weather than anything else and the abundance of natural food in the lake again this season.Thank you to everyone for your company and custom and we look forward to seeing all of you who have still to come. We have a week of this week so are catching up on some work and also I get the chance to go and fish with a friend at his lake for a few hours which I am really looking forward to.

Until next time stay healthy and happy, best regards to you all.

Sue & Doug

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