november-2026-free-line-part-2 - Flipbook - Page 38
FREE LINE / FIELD JOURNAL
PAUL OXENHAM
FIELD NOTES
Our party would eventually be made up of me, Will Muschett, my
brother-in-law Phill Webb and longtime fishing buddy, Andrew Conradi.
The Pads Lake has a special place in carp angling history. It was home to the
legendary Yateley monsters of yesteryear, a rock-hard and ultra low-stocked
water. It is a mature four-acre, feature-rich gravel pit, and in its current
iteration, contains a stock of around 100 carp, introduced in 1998. Today
it contains around thirty 30s to a top weight of low 40s, average weight in
the 20s. Even with the relatively high stocking density, these fish are very
switched on, and the clear, weedy waters and close-range fishing are a test
of one s experience and watercraft.
Excitement built during the dark days of winter in a flurry of WhatsApp
messages during which Phill and I continued our impressive run of blanks
on the Cotswold Water Park, Andy bagged up on Horseshoe and Will
cleared snow from his drive in deepest Ontario. However, before long we
were messaging Will Safe flight as he boarded the plane in Toronto.
The first of three alarms woke me at 4:45am, and within 30 minutes, the car
was loaded and I was heading the 80 miles north to Birmingham airport.
Surprisingly for me, there were no dramas on the way, and I arrived in
plenty of time for Will s inbound flight. I greeted Will with a Noddy
Muschett sign at arrivals, and we were off back down the country next
stop Yateley.
Naturally, the first stop had to be the awesome Yateley Angling Centre.
We were welcomed by the YAC team and over a gratefully received coffee,
discussed the current Pads form. Meanwhile, Will wandered the shop in
a state of total amazement at the vast range of products available to UK
carp anglers.
As we assembled in Yateley North Lake complex car park, we were met by
the bailiff, Ray Varndell. Ray told us that 21 fish had been out the previous
week, including a number of the big girls. With the sudden arrival of spring
over the weekend, we were understandably champing at the bit to get on
the lake.
FREE LINE
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