[Darren Wilson]

Obviously read the News section, but want to fish during the week (as I only do even when not in a pandemic) but my problem is that I don’t want to drive from Leicester to the Complex to find that unable to get a swim where I can manage to get to having problems with mobility (even with a powered barrow). This means either Grimshaws or the road bank of Redhouse – both of which no doubt will be busy as anything at the moment.

Is there any way I can reserve a swim else I will probably have renewed my ticket for nothing as I cannot make plans any more than a couple of days in advance due to the way my disability affects my mobility?

(I asked to be put on the list for the main Pride lake when I joined 3 years ago but no idea if I actually am or not?)

[Darren Wilson]

Sorry chap, but have me all wrong! You say you have been carp fishing for 3 years. I was carp fishing when carp fishing was unheard of basically & everything was “hush hush” & proper secret squirrel (where bivvy doors were zipped up if you were seen walking along the bank & when you got passed them, they were unzipped). Redhouse is not one of those waters that requires “hush hush” tactics or people trying to mislead others (a lot of it is down to DRAC members giving out bum info to Pride members & vice versa) as it is not an easy water (I would not class it as a hard water like Wraysbury 1, Yateley Car Park, Fen Drayton, etc of old by a long shot). I don’t want people telling me where to fish, what to use & etc. That’s for ME to work out. What I don’t want is people deliberately misleading other anglers which is what seems to be the going way in my experience on there. It is almost as if other members don’t want “new faces” on the water. Seems like I have wasted my money this year on renewing the ticket because I doubt I will be doing any more time down Redhouse as it is a shame that DRAC members can fish with more rods & have totally different rules to Pride for the same venue! I have had DRAC members try to tell me that the deep water is 7 foot deep at max yet chuck a Deeper or Marker out to find 26ft+.
I now know why anglers that are “known” in the industry screw their face up when you mention Redhouse.
Don’t get me started on drones either…

[Darren Wilson]

Being trying to find out the same sort of info myself. Looks like it is a “suck it & see” water rather than a “social” water where information flows freely. When info has flowed on the bankside, everybody seems to contradict each other, so probably best to do all the work yourself and reap the rewards that way. Much more satisfying IMHO than turning up and chucking to x amount of wraps because someone said they had the Common off of it in 2014.

[Darren Wilson]

I was down last week at the end of the “summer” weather. Didn’t see or hear of anything for the 2 nights I was there. Did see a couple put their heads out first thing when I arrived, but that was it.

[Darren Wilson]

Hopefully this week won’t be too busy! Hoping to get a couple of nights in this week down there whilst the weather is a bit better than we have been having (been fishing through out the winter on smaller more winter form waters though). Popped down last week and there was a Railway member on the point with 4 rods out, a guy walking around chucking what looked to be a large jerkbait around, a couple of guys in the far top corner with deadbaits out & another carp angler further down the bank in catfish corner (I believe that is what it is called!). Nobody was admitting to catching anything though. I did see another guy walking around with a dog & a young child putting in bait along the far side (otter fence side) in every swim. Can’t be good if people are doing this and others dropping in without knowing that it has been done! Fair enough doing it in one swim that you know you will be fishing, but every swim???? I have known people to be kicked out of easy going syndicates for doing similar!!!!! Only takes 3 or 4 people to all do this without realising to completely mess things up for everyone!

[Darren Wilson]

I might pop up and take a look during the week. Don’t know if I will be fishing or not. If you see a dark grey Toyota C-HR with a load of stickers in the rear windscreen, I won’t be too far away!

[Darren Wilson]

Or should I target the pike with deadbaits?

[Darren Wilson]

Thank you very much for clearing this up & putting my mind at ease Alan.

[Darren Wilson]

That’s where the otter fencing that is there is not doing it’s job with the base lip fully exposed. I am mobility disabled but if I have to clear a swim of tree branches etc with a small rake I carry & rope, then I will do so, but I know that next time I go down, there will be someone else fishing in there as somebody else has done the hark work for them (at considerable physical pain to myself). Have had it on several venues in the past where I have cleared a swim as the lake wasn’t being fished at all, yet after doing so, the next time I go down, the swim I cleared is occupied by an able bodied angler that has been too lazy to do the same in another swim where fish are showing! It is a Catch22 situation; if you don’t do it yourself, you put yourself at a disadvantage as the fish may not visit that area with dead leaves etc rotting away or if you do it and run the high chance that someone will be sheeping you up the next time you are down.

[Darren Wilson]

[quote=”old_school” post=783]This thinking is becoming more mainstream and the introduction of Kordas new Helisafe clip system means that the lead can now be jettisoned while fishing helicopter rigs (or chod rigs)[/quote]

As soon as you drop the lead on a helicopter setup, you turn it in to a death rig as there is nothing left for the line to snag on and therefore dislodge the top bead – regardless of if a No Trace or loosely placed over silicone tube. You should only drop the lead on a helicopter rig if you are fishing a venue with no snags. Same goes for using a leader with a leadclip or running lead. It may drop the lead, but if break off the fish is towing around a rig as well as a length of line that ends where the break occurred. More dangerous than using a lead that will not come off the end of a leader on a helicopter rig as that is what gives the resistance to pop the top bead off, so only a rig is left attached to the fish instead of the possibility of many metres of line as well as the rig with a clip setup after the lead drops. Almost EVERY manufacturer actually recommends and promotes unsafe use of leaders with leadclips. Try it and guarantee you will be shocked. Using any type of leader demands that you have strong enough gear attached to the leader so that minimum of chance of a breakage is there. 20lb (0.43mm) line should be the minimum to use with ANY leader, leadcore, hollow braid or even mono/fluorocarbon. If need to to use a shockleader for those long casts, use one of the many tapered mainlines that have no knots at all from actual mainline to lead with helicopter or to hook swivel if using a clip. Listening to how manufacturers sponsored anglers promote the actual setup of leadcore is the reason it is dangerous, not the actual material itself.

[Darren Wilson]

Not putting it on PoD’s hands only at all. Far from it. I was passing observations that I would do myself to any lake I owned/leased before spending money on new stock fish. Obviously it would need to be a joint venture for any work unless PoD managed to get the whole lake to themselves (which by looking at what work gets done, it would benefit everyone IMHO if PoD had exclusive ownership of the lake to keep it as a fishery beings so close to the river system). Otter fencing can be cheaply obtained through Embryo & as the south side of the lake is already fenced properly (apart from the obvious areas where the lip of the fence base is exposed) & even if Railway & PoD combined the cost for Embryo to do this, it would benefit BOTH clubs long term. If any stocking of Redhouse was carried out before a fence was fully enclosing the lake, then may as well just throw the cash in the field and hope for the best.

[Darren Wilson]

Anyone got any more up to date info to pass on? We are not in the 1970/80s now so need for Secret Squirrel stuff (don’t want everything laid out on a plate just some more up to date info as a lot can change in a few years!). I know that if anybody asks me any info & I can help, I will be the first to offer it (other than telling people where I have been baiting so they don’t sheep me up at my expense!). Kettles always on for info 😉

[Darren Wilson]

Also being a flood risk and merging with the Trent if a lot of rain fell in a short time, it could be an expensive restocking of the river system more than the lake itself. 60 fish in 25 acres or so is a good stocking ratio IMHO as gives the whole stock plenty of natural resources to feed upon as well as anglers bait. It could also then look like a McDonalds drive thru for Mr & Mrs Otter…..

[Darren Wilson]

I took a look up at Redhouse a few weeks ago, and was a little disappointed with the amount of rubbish that was laying around. I filled two carrier bags that I had in the car as well as taking away a broken tip section from a Shimano carp rod & a metal spiral dog restraining peg! I had nothing else to put several beer bottles & other rubbish that had been left around the edges of the tree line on the river side of the lake. Is this purely anglers? Joe Public that stroll along this side of the river or “yoofs” having a piss up & getting stoned on the grass? Does it get fished a lot by Railway members? All I do know is that if I see any rubbish laying around & have a bag with me, it will get removed (depending on what it is or volume , I will place it on the fire area near the M1 portaloo & car park if that is permitted?)

[Darren Wilson]

If it is caught and needs relocating, I have an empty pond at home here that can rehouse it. It is ready to go with high oxygenation that is perfect for species such as sturgeon that require high oxygenated water (it is also completely quarantined so no risk of disease transferal to any other fish).

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