A Revelation – Float and Ledger Fishing, with a Twist, Part One of Two. Mid-May, water still way less than twelve degrees, heavy showers, but overcast / bright sunshine through the day. After weeks of increasing temperatures, a cold, east wind changed to one from the south-west in the afternoon. Morning temperatures around four degrees Celsius. Air pressure just under ten-ten. While I had always been fine with my two method feeders, rod pod and two alarms, Bampa convinced me that alarms were unnecessary, and because we had bait runner reels, the whirring of a spool was enough to alert us to bites without disturbing the peace of the countryside, and/or the peace of other anglers. In fact, although alarms were allowed on the Cadoxton Ponds that we’d recently started fishing, bait runner reels were insisted upon there. We wondered why until we witnessed a fellow angler (on a different pond) lose both rod and reel to a particularly strong and quick fish. The change to ‘bait runner only’ wa

Late-April, water still way less than twelve degrees, dry but overcast all day with a chill, easterly wind. Bampa suggested a return to Carol’s Pond at Cadoxton Lakes, and I didn’t argue. It wasn’t until we were set up with two rods each, and two chairs, side by side, under the umbrella, that he told me why he’d chosen the venue for a few different reasons. Yes, he said, Sue’s Pond had produced a twelve-pound carp for me last week, but Bampa was concerned that the effort for both of us on getting to Sue’s through the wrong gate, and having to make two trips to the peg and two back to the car, might have put me off fishing for life because it was a massive effort. He’d also decided to use his method feeder rods, bringing them out of retirement, because, although he loved pole fishing from his seat box, he missed the old days of relaxation, and the banter of sharing the brolly with two chairs crammed under it, We had brough minimum gear, just enough to see us through the day and enough t

Late-April, water still less than twelve degrees, dry and sunny, blue sky, sometimes a slight breeze, mostly the water was still. A Saturday, so I was fishing alone. With no time restrictions I set the alarm for five-thirty and was on the road by six. Seven Oaks Fishery (A Glamorgan Anglers Club water,) has no time restrictions as such, merely the fact that you can fish from dawn to dusk at any time of year, so with me arriving at six-thirty, thirty minutes after dawn broke, I was surprised to find myself wandering to a peg with five other car loads of anglers. I am still learning this water and chose peg number ten again, on the right-hand pond on entering. And because of the clear blue sky, temperatures had dropped overnight, we’d had a frost, and the pond looked beautiful, as the sun started to warm the pond’s water and for a mist to form. Of course, the cold water was not what was wanted for fishing, especially for carp, and my edge monster pole with top kits set up for my left-han

A long and unnecessary walk around one pond to get to our peg on the further pond.

Mid-April, water still less than twelve degrees, dry but overcast all day. We decided to fish another of the Glamorgan Anglers Club’s waters, so researched and found that the two Cadoxton Ponds had five-gee internet and that was important. Wil is nearing completion of a Lego stop-motion he is making, using Star Wars Lego figures, and also using the Death Star that he constructed out of Lego as a backdrop. Maybe that seems irrelevant to angling but it means that Wil can set up his two method feeders and then work while waiting for a bite. Carol’s Pond, we learned, was a mixed fish pond, while Sue’s Pond was mainly carp. Following the decision to have fun fishing rather than chase bigger and bigger carp, we chose Carol’s with a visit to Sue’s planned for the near future. To say that the venue is weird and full of contrasts would be an understatement. Turning off the Barry road, (Near Barry Island for Gavin and Stacey fans,) we entered a long entrance road to Dow Corning, a huge industria

On reaching home after Wil and I’s trip to the commercial that is Hazel Court Ponds, there was no need to unload all the gear from the car because I was going to fish a Glamorgan Anglers Club water the following day on my own while Wil got stuck back into his latest stop motion movie. Normally, I would fish the water with a pole but the temptation to just go into the house that evening, shower, eat and relax, then just get in the car the following morning and drive off, was too enticing, so a three rod and reel attack it was with the pole and seat-box left in the garage. The weather forecast was for high pressure (the pond is not that deep, so no real affect) and temperatures reaching twenty-five Celsius making it the hottest day of the year so far. Arriving at Seven Oaks Fishery at a respectable, not-too-early time, I was pleased to find the owner at the gate. He is always worth a chat with and told me the pegs that had been producing lately, and that info is like gold dust, plus he t