A Rat, Pigeon Shi* and the A509

Seems like a strange title for a post i grant you, but all will become clear. Our trip this week was a little different from what we have become used to. We'd been lucky over the last few sessions not just to catch some fish, but also to have spent time amongst splendid scenery. All of that was about to change.

Upon renewing our annual memberships to WDNAC, Mick and i were very excited to learn that we now had a new complex (consisting of 5 lakes and a stream) to fish. Fearing that we might be slow to exploit this new water, Mick and myself were up early on Sunday and racing (well, driving sensibly within the speed limit!) over to 'Spinney Lakes'.

Now, fishing a water for the first time is always exciting. The anticipation, the expectation. What will it look like? What swims in there? Will THIS be my new favorite venue? However, this venue was a little different. The write up in the membership book suggested that these lakes were an unknown quantity and that they had not been fished for a long time. Virgin water? Possibly! We couldn't wait to get started.

Our excitement soon turned to frustration however when we arrived to find a locked security gate. We scratched our heads for a while and reread the 'access' points in the membership book as we tried to fathom where we had gone wrong. As we were doing that, a white van pulled up with a small work party on board. It turns out that we had been a bit too eager to fish this venue, as work was still being carried out by club officials to make it accessible.

After speaking with these fine gents, who had kindly offered us a cup of tea by the way, we understood a little more about the complex. It had indeed not been fished for some time but unfortunately land, unlike water, does not thrive on neglect. The area had been used as a dumping ground by the 'general public' for some time now and it was clear that a lot of work was, and is, involved in clearing it up.

Never the less, it was 'virgin' water and we were to be amongst the first to fish it! This was a first for me and just goes to show - its not what you know, its who you know! We hurried back to the car, opened the boot and then looked at each other. Where do we start? We had know idea what was in these waters! Do we go for silvers? Have a bash at some carp that have never seen a bait? What to do?

The weather, in the end, made our minds up for us. It was still freezing cold. Only two species, if any, would be feeding today - Pike and Chub. The later of these species was unlikely to be widely present in these lakes so we grabbed the pike gear and made our way to the first lake.

Regardless of the fact that there was half of an unwanted motor vehicle behind it, this lake was beautiful. Only half of it was fish-able due to the ice, but we gave it our best shot with half-makeral baits (fished over depth on float rigs). The usual approach of moving on and recasting every 20mins was adopted, however i have to be honest and say that we probably trimmed that down to about 10mins in most swims. We had such a lot of water to cover and in, what felt like, so little time. You see, the works party was only staying until 12noon - and they were locking the gate after them!

We needn't have worried about time, there was only the one lake on the complex that was thawed out enough to fish. Our excitement started to wain a little. The further into to complex we ventured, the more of the task before the club became clear. There was rubbish everywhere, everything from empty beer cans to stray shopping trolleys. I began to doubt just how virgin these waters were. This place had no business wearing white. My doubts were confirmed when 3 men armed with crude spinning tackle and backpacks casually waltzed past and let them selves out them entrance marked 'WDNAC MEMBERS ONLY'. They obviously couldn't read English.

With our excitement reserves thoroughly depleted we returned to where the work party was. We were pleased to learn just how much work had been done already, including the substantial security fence and gate. This in place, obviously, to prevent further misuse by the 'general public'. The main road and path into the complex had also been made from scratch by the club. All in all, a lot of time and money has been spent on the project by the club, and there is a lot more to come. If the Ringstead Complex is anything to go by, Spinney Lakes will be a great place to fish in the future.

Another day on these lakes is due, after the thaw. For the rest of the day though we had to find somewhere else to fish. The lock-cut was calling us but, on this occasion it was too far away and too late in the day to venture over there. Instead we went into the town centre and fished the water available to us there. I needn't say too much about how we got on, other than this - A Rat, pigeon shit and the A509. All in the same eye-full!

No fish on this trip, but two important lessons learned. Firstly, if you find a water that fishes well in the freeze - stick with it! Secondly, and most importantly, with the amount of illegal fishing that takes place in this country these days - don't get your hopes up too much about virgin waters. Chances are, somebody's already had her cherry!