'The Patch' comes out at 42-12

We were re-united with an anxiously missed 'friend' this week. Regular followers will remember that 'The Patch', our long biggest Common, was caught last summer but went back in some distress. I had been called out in the early hours of the morning to see her but she could not stay upright in the net. Long story short, after holding her upright and gently moving her through the water to increase the flow of water over her gills, for about fifteen minutes, she got her strength back and kicked off out of my hands. As a result there were no photographs of her capture. The Patch had been weighed 46-12. Since then we have not seen this Carp on the bank.

Aaron Hull, who has been staying this week in Cherry Lake Cottage with his fellow angler wife Charlotte and family, caught him early on Wednesday morning at 42-12. 'The Patch' looked massive and in good health.

I was a little disappointed about his weight, whilst being delighted to see him. At this weight 'The Patch' has lost his 'biggest Common crown to 'The Scuff' which was caught earlier this year at 45lb+. With the frame on 'The Patch' though, once it gets on the munch, it could well re-gain his crown!

A small PVA bag full of crushed boilies appox three quarters of the way across did the trick for Aaron. 'The Patch' set a new PB for Aaron as well as wrestling the 'family PB' back from Charlotte.

On Monday night Charlotte smashed her PB when she landed this 37-12 Mirror, which also came to a small PVA bag. Unfortunately this chunky Mirror was a bit too much for Charlotte to hold, so Aaron stepped in to ensure I got good photos of both sides. Needless to say Charlotte was very pleased with herself, not least because her new PB was also bigger than Aaron's at the time! As you can see above her 'bragging rights' did not last long! Charlotte's Mirror was last caught in April by Steve Keene at 35-12.

With the drop in temperatures we have re-introduced Hempseed to the bait available range. With the water level remaining low, we do however want to continue to monitor closely what is being introduced into the lakes. So for now only Pellets and Hempseed sourced from ourselves is allowed.

Chris Caddick stayed in Osprey Lodge this week during his first visit to Cherry Lakes this week. Chris did well to land 7 Carp, plus losing two more, which included this Common of 32-12 pictured below and another Common of 30-06. He caught from various areas around his swim, but largely focussed on the deeper water. He has booked to come back next year and will no doubt be wearing his 30+ polo shirt!

Adrian and Lorraine Bates returned to Kingfisher Lodge on Cherry Springs this week and boy did they enjoy themselves! Lorraine kindly sent me the list of Adrian's captures which totalled 22 Carp including 9 twenties which included a Mirror of 29-06 (pictured below) and two further Carp of 28lb, one Mirror and the other a Common. I am delighted to see Cherry Springs returning to its normal form.

Adrian's tactics were different to many anglers. He chose to largely avoid the margins, and instead fished the more silty areas in the main part of the lake. He picked three areas, each between the bubbling aerators and constantly kept these spots baited through the week. Tactics that clearly worked for Adrian. Lorraine kept herself busy through the week. Using a little whip set up, she caught nearly 100 Roach. So Lorraine was 'top rod' for the week! Great fun and very helpful to us. If you are fishing any of our lakes, and want to use a float rod to catch Roach etc you are very welcome to do so.

Well done to all the anglers above.