PB equaling Roach @ The Bricky

So lastnight i squeezed in a few hours at The Old Brick Pond in Hartburn. The 'Bricky' has a lot of problems with litter and unsavories hanging about. There's rumours of stolen cars being at the bottom of its deep depths and there's always empty beer cans floating in it. A local man has recently agreed with the council to take over the fishing rights (its currently free) and has promised to clean the place up, add new stock and start charging £40 a year. But as yet, a year after he expressed an interest, not much has been done. Anyway the fishing itself is pretty hard due low stock density, the prescience of  numerous Jack Pike and a larder of natural food. The thing that brings people back is the size of the fish. Carp to 30lb, Tench to 7lb (fisher mans tales tell of 9lb Tench being caught!), Crucian Carp to around 3lb (although they rarely get caught), roach to 2lb+ and Pike to 16lb. Most people fish Waggler or Pole for the Tench but you also get the Carpers with their Bivvies and Rod Pods down there.

Last night i fished, as usual, Waggler for the Tench with 6lb line straight through to a size 16 forged hook. These Tench can really go so you have to stay on the heavy side or they'll snap you or take you into the lilies. I usually fish Red Maggot but as i didn't have any i used Sweetcorn which can score well at this time of year. The Corn already scattered on the tops of the lilies told me that the peg had probably been hammered during the day so no feed would go in initially. 10 minutes in and the float gently slipped away resulting in a 8oz Roach. Float back in and this time i flicked a few grains of corn out with it. 20 minutes later and this time a more positive bite. I struck what i thought was a small Tench but the flash of the red eye told me it was a big Roach. 1lb 5oz which is exactly the same as my PB Roach from a few years back. Shortly after i hit into a small male Tench of 2lb 13oz which put up a short but spirited fight before succumbing to my Browning match rod. Then the swim went dead for an hour or so before i landed my final fish, a pristine 1lb Roach. Not many fish by most standards but by this venue's its a bonanza! Particularly pleased with the Roach as its commonly thought the Pike take them all.