Taking on Stanton – Chapter 2: The First of the “A Team”

In this article series I’ll be taking a look back at the legendary water that is Stanton. We’ll look at the highlights, the lowlights and everything in between. If you need a refresher on this incredible water, click the button below to take another look at the map with important swims highlighted:

I was still fishing in Reading a fair bit and didn’t get back to Oxford until August time, I hadn’t really been bitten by the venue, I’m not sure why, but I kept being drawn elsewhere. I had a walk around the lake on the Thursday before a meeting in Oxford, Korda were filming on the water at the time, so it was busy, but I saw some fizzing at range in the stile. I had fished this swim on my first visit and had spots in the zone (assuming they hadn’t changed) so it could be something to go on.

Twenty-four hours later, I was back for three nights. I was unwell with a stomach issue and remember thinking I should be close to the toilet, but as usual obsession outweighs common sense, so I headed straight to the stile as it was free.

Conditions were good, with a strong south-westerly wind pushing diagonally down the lake, similar to the conditions that I had the fish from the rats nest swim all those years before (which is only one swim to my left). This weather front had arrived after a long settled period of hot still weather, so the conditions really were perfect. I found a good area at range in the middle of the lake, a deep firm area surrounded by weed. The right rod was fished shorter on a raised grave feature and the left on a silty area between weed at 60 yards.

The Setup

Both the middle and right were on ronnies, fishing 5-Alive popups and the left was a long-shank fished that was being fished snowman style. I was using Oxford carp baits MC nut, which is what I had caught on the first trip, and is generally a good instant bait. Another new member set up in rats nest to my left and with a few others on it was fairly busy so a move was out of the question, I just had to hope I wasn’t too far off them.

I woke early the next morning, lying in bed I watched the middle rod lift and re-settle before pulling up again. I was on it fast and met a good resistance; it was a lively fight, forcing me to wade out to net it in front of the reeds to my left. Peering into the net I saw a beautiful scaley mirror in the high 20s. It was a fish called Patch and one I wanted, having seen it before I joined, a mega result! I re-positioned the rod and at 11 it was away again, this time with a 24lb common. This was a good sign and I decided to reposition the right hand rod on the long spot as the re-cast had probably delayed the second bite.

Arms Length – a fantastic capture

Around 17:00 I was rebaiting the rods, starting with the long spot, half way through retrieving the spomb the left rod was away with a stuttery take. Half thinking it was a nuisance fish, I tried to retrieve the spomb when the rod started ticking steadily… not a tench! I grabbed it and felt a good weight on the other end; this fish stayed low and begrudgingly allowed itself to be lead to the bank. As soon as it was in the net I staked it and tried to finish baiting, this was almost a costly mistake as the fish tried to leap out of the net and almost succeeded! Calling Jack from the next swim we hoisted it ashore, it turned out to be a fish called ‘3 scale’ coming in at 32lbs and ounces. One of the A team was on the bank in such a short space of time, I was buzzing.

3 Scale on the bank

During the night I had a small mirror on the same rod, it didn’t look a young fish and I tried to transfer it from the net to a retainer in the water, only to have it jump out of my hands and back to freedom. At around 05:00 the middle rod was away and amazingly it was 3 scale again, what are the chances of that happening?! I slipped her back without taking her from the water and opted not to re-cast in case there were more out there.

Shortly after this, the remaining rod went into melt down, it flat rodded me around 100 yards out, tearing line from a tight clutch. Eventually I managed to stop it but it had gone through several weed beds and I was not going to get it back. The boat was dispatched and once above it, I managed to free her quite easily. The wind was a real pain, pushing Pete and I down the lake quite a way before I eventually netted a good Ghosty common that looked close to 30lbs. On the scales she went 28.12, an awesome solid fish.

Ghosty

Final Morning Of The Session

This session was turning out to be a great one and I was buzzing for the final morning to see what else was in store. During that night the left rod produced a stocky, wiping out the other two rods. This was a disaster and repositioning them in the dark proved to be very difficult. I focussed on getting one-rod back on the money, this meant checking the line angle with a torch to ensure it was bang on. Once I was happy this was the case I crashed out. Not long after I woke up to the clutch on that rod singing at first light, I had forgotten to switch the alarm back on! This was another good fish, when she came up for the net I could see a flash of grey flanks and large scales. It was a fish called Arm’s length, another one I had seen before joining and a perfect way to end the session!

After ten fish in my first two trips of the year, I was keen to get back but in typical fashion, the Autumn didn’t go to plan. The following trip I blanked in the style and the fish were evident on the meadow bank in the last of the thick weed; the following trip they were still there and concentrated in numbers. I managed to lose one after casting at a show, it took whilst I was sinking the line and by the time I’d realised what was happening the fish had doubled back into the weed and was gone. I concentrated on the area for the rest of the Autumn period, landing a stocky from the back of the weed but overall it was a very slow period with few fish caught.

Autumn Stocky