Hitchum Square Pond

Traditionally this venue has been my first venture of the season but a change of tactics and other outside factors meant that I wasn't to fish this small pond until later in the year. To be honest the only reason why I pay this pond a visit is because it is stocked with Wild Carp as well as small Roach and Perch. Before I go any further I must congratulate Intertype AS work party for the work they had carried out making the swims more accesable and level to fish from. 

I specifically chose a swim that was big enough to hold my rod pod as I was still curious if there were other species in the lake and placed a ledgered crab pellet into the middle of the pond with a small PVA bag with pellets and broken fishmeal boillies. I saw some small Wildies mulling around some nearby weeds and decided to place a float nearby with a sweetcorn 10 inches below the surface, almost instantly I was into my first fish of the day, a small roach.  

I continued to fish the same spot having a bite a cast and later plumbed the depth.....just under 12 inches! I've caught many fish in shallow water before but never so consistently over a length of time. As well as the Roach I also has a small Crucian and a Bream. The Crucian came as a pleasant surprise to be as I had never caught one from this pond before and up until now had never heard of anyone else catching one either. It also meant that I could chalk another fish of the list for the Rod Race Challenge! 

A chunky little Crucian

Over the course of time I was doing my normal tatctic of feeding pieces of bread along the margins and it wasn't long before the larger Carp took interest in what the smaller Carp had been feeding on. I brought in the ledger which had remained dormant all day and flicked out my freelined bread, within minutes a small Wildie took the bait and after a spirited fight was in my net. The Carp was only about 2lb but shaped like a torpedo, it was easy to see how they power across the water with such vigour! 

Long Lean Fighting Machine! 

I caught about a dozen more Wildies of around the same size before another piece of bread was taken, this time the fight felt different and a Common Carp of 5lb 12oz graced my net. My first non Wildie from this pond. Join me next week where I fish the nearby Hitchum Doughnut Pond in search of Tench.