Stoke Place Lake
There can't be many lakes I have fished that are as beautiful as Stoke Place Lake in Berkshire. Designed by none other than Capability Brown back in the late 1700s the lake and surrounding landscape remains in the same stunning sceanery as I'm sure it did over 300 years ago. Catching fish here really is just a bonus!
The sun was out on my first visit to Stoke Place Lake, a lake known for it's Tench and Bream, two species I was still looking for and given the conditions I was confident of adding to my points tally. However arriving at the lake the water was quite clear and the weed was the thickest I had ever seen it. I chose to fish the far bank where there seemed to be more open spaces as those on the car park bank were not getting much action. A few Carp were seen cruising around a swim I had previous good results from a couple of seasons ago and so it was there I threw in some pellets and sweetcorn while I started to set up.
Although my target species were the Tench and Bream I had never caught a Carp from Stoke Place and there are even the odd Koi Carp in the lake, rumoured to have come from one of the Hotel Staff's garden pond many years ago. I had seen the odd "ghost" like Carp but never heard of anyone catching one. I decided to start with sweetcorn on the float, fished just off some lily pads while I had my stalking rod made up with a piece of bread should the carp come round again.
My chosen swim at Stoke Place.
Although situated in the Stoke Place grounds Intertype Angling Society have fishing rights to the lake and when I received my permit back in April I read that the lake was stocked with more Roach and Skimmers and it was the roach who were soon taking the sweetcorn only a few minutes from casting out and like the Roach and Hitchum Ponds they were of a good quality.
First fish of the day!
A couple of Carp made themselves known as they moved into my swim, brushing alongside the weed that was out in front of me. I threw out a couple of pieces of bread and one carp of about 5lb broke away and went to explore what had just dropped into the water. Without hesitation the carp swam, opened it's mouth and took the bread with precision. It's been a while since I've seen a Carp take a surface bait as confidently as that. The reason could be because of the amount of ducks and geese on the lake, so surface fishing is not really a method used and it wasn't long before a Moorhen broke the paddling record and moved into my swim from some distance and looked at me waiting for it's turn to be fed. The stalking rod stayed on the rod pod as I concentrated back on the float rod hoping the Moorhen would lose interest and move away.
The roach were coming at a fish a cast but no other species were showing, I decided to change bait and tried Krill Pellet which had got me some good Tench in the past. I also threw some small mixers in the hope the carp might start feeding without the ducks noticing too much. Moments later a few swirls appeared as the carp moved back in however as feared the movements on the surface caught the attention of a fleet of geese that were patrolling further along the bank. It was time to put the stalking rod away and get back to my target species, out came the ledger!
One thing about Stoke Place Lake is the depth, or lake of it. In most areas you are fishing in no more than 3 feet of water and with the water as clear as it was the bottom was very weedy and I retrieved eveyr cast with my hook covered. I decided to move to a more central part of the lake where the weed on the surface was less of a problem in the hope that the bottom would be the same.
The pellet wasn't getting me any results so I moved back the the ever faithfull sweetcorn and was soon back into the roach. Although no-one else on the lake looked to be catching other than silvers the day was simply glorious. With Parakeets squawking above, horses neighing in the field behind me and Dragonflies hovering over the water I felt that an poor day's fishing was better than a good day at work!
The biggest Roach at 5.9oz
By early evening the Roach went quiet, my ledger hadn't had a touch all day as did anyone else's that I could see from where I was sitting. A small shoal of Rudd could be seen so I fished a small piece of sweetcorn about 18inches from the surface with no weight so it would naturally fall. The rudd soon snapped up the bait but the biggest was only 3oz in size. Knowing I'd be back out again in a few days time I decided to call it a day. Despite catching a good quantity of Roach and Rudd none of them were any better then those caught at Hitchum therefore my points earned from today was a big fat "0"
My next venue and my first 24hr Rod Race challenge laid ahead at Colnbrook Back Lake, a venue I had never fished before. What time I would save today by finishing early would be spent at Colnbrook looking for clues as to how I would approch my next challenge! Until then.. Tight Lines!