Norf or Sarf? I'm an East Londoner (Bow) by birth, but a Sarf Londoner from the age of 7 until I left for good in 1980. Only been back a handful of times since!
Wanstead- so it doesnt really count!- I was a motorcyle courier when i was a kid and always pushed a bit harder when "sarf" of the river to get back to the right side. Mind you, its taken my local 20 years to work out what I am saying in my funny "suvern" accent
Fished Baldwins yesterday evening and caught a jack about 3lb and there was a large dead fish in the middle but I couldn't make out what it was and can't view your picture bigoll.
The place was teeming with rudd, but I managed a few slightly better roach and bumped a better fish. I was only there for about 3 hours, I realized where the better fish were all too late!
Perhaps it was the dead pike I found, though it was on the bank behind the reed line so no idea how it would have got there (the photo is of a jack around 4-5lb, maybe 18 inches long); maybe a heron or dog dragged and dropped it.
I had some fun with the rudd (or rudd-roach hybrids as many seem to be) this afternoon as pretty much every cast resulted in a strong take and a rudd on the hook.
I'd love to catch a pike there - could I ask what bait and tactics you used to snag your jack? I presume you caught it in the reeded end of the pond?
yes indeed bigoll, caught it in the last swim on the left hand bank (looking from the dam end) and I wasn't fishing for pike!
It took a slightly better roach, which did survive, as it came loose from the jacks jaws in my landing net. I must admit the dead fish I saw in the middle resembled a carp, it looked too fat to be a pike, but it may have been bloated?
What were you using as bait? For the Rudd .. Looks so silted...so ism guessing bread flake .baldwins I've not fished...A plan for this summer is to rove between the the two.. Baldwins and the Lost pond.
The more I think about this the more it appeals ... Long way from the river and in deep forest . I ain't ever seen a comrant either
Yes indeed - red maggot meant a bite with every cast for me yesterday; size 10 hooks to discourage the tiny ones, though they still snaffle a fair few maggots....I saw a lot of chasing wakes and sudden explosions of small fish so I think pike and perch are active - there was one massive eruption at the reeded end that must have been a sizeable fish. The rudd are everywhere, but if you want to see them as well as catch them, stand on the metal covering of the dam and you can watch great shoals of them darting around with their red fins resplendent in the sunshine. The pond is deep by the reeds and more silty at the dam end.
TD - take a look at the Baldwin's and Blackweir thread (in 'other ponds' I think) for some photos and write-up from my own trip between the two last year. Baldwin's is excellent and Blackweir/Lost looks great but I'm not sure there's anything in it anymore - it was apparently a favourite of our East European friends due to its isolated nature.
