Wake Valley Pond, Epping Forest

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Tench Dreamer
Crucian Carp
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Location: East Sussex

Re: Wake Valley Pond, Epping Forest

Post by Tench Dreamer »

gaztheangler wrote:John,

Thats the joy of the ponds There are fish there but sometimes they just don't want to know

Two years ago I blanked at Highams Park and Connaught, something that didn't happen much in the 70's and 80's.

If the weather forecast holds i'll be on Baldwins next week.

Gaz
You are dead right Gaz...Thats the joy of the ponds....

There are fish in Wake Valley...Just gotwork for Em, and ......that old favourite , be in the right place at the right time!

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Bigoll
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Re: Wake Valley Pond, Epping Forest

Post by Bigoll »

I blanked for two years at Wake Valley but can't stop catching in 2012! I've been there for the last two weekends and landed around 20 fish the first time and 10 the second; a mixture of roach, rudd and perch all caught between 4pm and 8pm. It's a funny water - completely dead one day and alive with action the next. I saw some decent sized fish leaping and rolling and the perch are a nice size. There's also something bigger in there, with bow waves passing the reed bed on occasion, unless it's the rats and snakes that I often see just taking a dip.

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Tench Dreamer
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Re: Wake Valley Pond, Epping Forest

Post by Tench Dreamer »

Hello Bigoll.

Wow two years of blanks at Wake Valley. How do you fish the pond? We we were float fishing inabout 8ft using Bread or corn oh and some prawns.

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Bigoll
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Re: Wake Valley Pond, Epping Forest

Post by Bigoll »

Well, in those two years I probably only went half a dozen times, but it certainly felt like I spent 2 solid years trying every trick in the book to catch nothing. That all changed back in March, when a random session days before the season closed yielded around 30 roach and rudd - every cast was a bite! I have to say that the summer at WVP is the kinder season, regardless of weather conditions. At any other time of year I'd recommend waiting until the exact time of sunset and the lake will come alive for 40 minutes before dying again, which is handy in a way as it gives just enough time to stumble back to the car before 'dusk' and thus the ban on fishing comes in.

All of my recent success at WVP has come by float fishing red maggot or lobworm out to the edge of the lilypads or a couple of feet out from the reed beds (or in the pads but that's a snag nightmare). The road end of the lake is very deep at some 15 feet, but there's very little point targeting bottom-feeders as I don't think there are many, if any, in there (the Chinese whispers of the 44lb carp notwithstanding!). A 2-3 foot hook length with double maggot will get you roach and rudd, while a triple or quad arrangement, or lob, will tempt the perch.

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Tench Dreamer
Crucian Carp
Posts: 994
Joined: Tue Jan 24, 2012 5:28 pm
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Location: East Sussex

Re: Wake Valley Pond, Epping Forest

Post by Tench Dreamer »

bigoll wrote:Well, in those two years I probably only went half a dozen times, but it certainly felt like I spent 2 solid years trying every trick in the book to catch nothing. That all changed back in March, when a random session days before the season closed yielded around 30 roach and rudd - every cast was a bite! I have to say that the summer at WVP is the kinder season, regardless of weather conditions. At any other time of year I'd recommend waiting until the exact time of sunset and the lake will come alive for 40 minutes before dying again, which is handy in a way as it gives just enough time to stumble back to the car before 'dusk' and thus the ban on fishing comes in.

All of my recent success at WVP has come by float fishing red maggot or lobworm out to the edge of the lilypads or a couple of feet out from the reed beds (or in the pads but that's a snag nightmare). The road end of the lake is very deep at some 15 feet, but there's very little point targeting bottom-feeders as I don't think there are many, if any, in there (the Chinese whispers of the 44lb carp notwithstanding!). A 2-3 foot hook length with double maggot will get you roach and rudd, while a triple or quad arrangement, or lob, will tempt the perch.
Thanks bigoll. I have complete empathy with the sticking at it , keep coming back etc... I returned to fishing aged 41 in Oct 2008 ( 20 odd year gap) and went from Oct 2008 until June 16 th 2009 for a fish( about 8 blanks :hairout: )...a 2 inch roach out the Nav canal at Dobbs weir :geek: did it!!

I did see big carp spawning at WVP in the closed season.

I think the botttom which you say is very deep is covered with old leaves etc. Ill give your suggestion when I go next.

Thanks

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