Ruddy marvellous rudd memories
As the warm evenings arrived, it was finally time to pack away the pike gear and get ready to target Rudd. There is no denying that the Rudd is one of the most stunning species that we have in British waters, its golden flanks and crimson fins are what make this so desirable to specimen hunters.
I am lucky enough to have one of the best Rudd waters just 20 minutes from my house, Alderfen fisheries is unrivalled for its quality Rudd around here and I will happily spend many a warm evening chasing the Rudd and the best thing about is its all available on day ticket at £6 a day. www.alderfenfisheries.co.uk
The beauty of Rudd session is that you do not have to have full days on the banks, you can have the last couple of hours of the day and get some amazing results and that is how I approach it. Usually setting off around 6pm and stay until dark is the way to maximise your chances of catching the big Rudd and there is not a more instant method than catching them off the surface.
After arriving at the lake the first job is to track down the fish, I start by walking around and throwing a slice of bread broken into small chunks around the reeds in several different swims, it`s just a case then of sitting back and monitoring each swim to see where the Rudd are. It`s only a matter of time before there is a swirl in one of the swims and then another, the bread is being vacuumed from right in the middle of the reeds. Another half slice is thrown into the swim slightly past the reeds to hopefully encourage the fish out and give me a chance to catch them.
The rudd taking the bread off the surface, its time to get amongst them.
The setup is simple a Greys prodigy 1lb tc rod paired with a Shimano 5000 reel, this is a well-balanced setup ideal for targeting the smaller species. The rod is only 11ft too which makes it ideal for stalking around in tight areas. I use 6lb Gardner Hydroflo main line straight through to a size 12 Target hook, this may sound a bit on the over gunned side, but there are plenty of carp in the lake to low 20s and I want to stand half a chance if I hook into one of those. The only reason I use a float is to enable me to cast the bait further, so I used a small Gardner flatliner surface float set about 6ft away from the hook using a float stop.
As for bait I used a new product from The Hookbait Company called popup Flakey .The beauty of this is it is actually made from steamed HNV paste, it is not as soft as usual bread so small fish cannot nibble away at it and you can even cast it as far as you want as it doesn’t fly off the hook as bread does. It can either be hair rigged or mounted directly onto the hook.
After another slice of bread is introduced around the edge of the reeds, the hook bait is cast into the middle of the freebies, hoping that the Rudd will start competing with each other and take the bait. Within a matter of seconds the fish started to swirl at the bread and one by one it vanished, until there was only 3 or 4 pieces left. It was then that there was a bigger swirl than the rest and my bait vanished and the line tightened up, this was no Rudd unless it was a jet charged fish.
My initial feelings were that I had hooked into one of the many carp that also live in this lake but after a good scrap I found that it wasn’t a small carp it was in fact a decent chub. I could see the Flakey hanging from its mouth as it slipped into the net. What a result that was, I wasn’t aware that there was any decent chub left in there and it showed how effective the Flakey was to fool a usually shy biting chub. A quick photo and weigh on the scales to reveal a fine 5lb8 fish. Not a bad start to the session.
Hookbait Flakey just too tempting for this 5lb8 chub.
With that the swim was rested for a further 20 minutes but I did continue to feed bread hoping to build up the confidence of the fish again. Once the fish started to take the bait again I cast out the same piece of flakey but this time a bit closer to reeds, my thinking was that maybe the bigger Rudd have been pushed out by the chub and possibly carp.
It takes a few recasts and another few handfuls of bread to finally get a bite again, this time the bait just vanishes from the surface with hardly any disturbance at all, a classic Rudd take. Hitting into a good feeling fish it was a totally different fight from the chub much more of a glide around towards the reeds. With using the 6lb line I could bully the fish around and ensure I didn’t lose it in the snags. Within seconds a huge golden flank was on the surface of the water and the net was out and ready. A few more tense seconds followed before she was in the net and I could finally breathe again.
The dial on the Reuben’s spins past the magical 2lb mark and settles on 2lb7 which is just 2oz off a new Pb. There seems to be a good head of fish in here between 1lb14 and 2lb8 and this is another fine example of it. Even while this fish is out the water being weighed and the pictures are being taken I still fire over a few more pieces of bread just to keep the fish feeding.
Golden Delight,
To keep things fresh I change the hook bait to a piece of real bread, a piece around the size of a 50p is perfect. The best way I have found to keep it on the hook is to simply place the hook in the middle of the bread and fold it over the hook, then pinch the bread where the line/hook is. Do not pinch all the bread as this will make it sink, if you pinch a third of it then it still has a nice fluffy look to it and will float for a good few minutes.
The downside of bread is soon apparent and after several missed bites and several recasts the float finally sailed away. Another battle commenced but being able to bully it away from the reeds and a buoy in the water I was finally able to scoop her up at the first attempt. The fish was again over the magical 2lb mark at 2lb43. A brace of 2`s is right up there on most specimen anglers hit list and I had been able to tick that box.
Every speci anglers dream – a brace of 2s.
After showing my son James the pictures he then decided he wanted to try and catch one himself. Bearing in mind he is only 11 he already has a good list of pbs but more importantly he really enjoys fishing and learning new methods. So with that the next day we arrived at Alderfen at 6pm, yet again we had the whole lake to ourselves, this is just wrong a water of this reputation should be packed day in and day out.
James first job was to sneak around to the far bank and throw in the bread, being quiet and sneaking round for a 11 year old is an impossible task but finally we got there and the bait was in. We sat back and waited for the fish the come and start to feed, the conversation was all good, rigs, baits and Doncaster Rovers. What more could I ask for.
Eventually the bread started to disappear and it was time for me to show James how it is done, he sat and watched the float, fixated with it until it bobbed and dived away. Yet again the flakey had done its job and before I knew it another 2lb+ Rudd was in the new ready to be weighed and photographed.
Now it was James turn, he had 3 attempts at getting the bait in the desired area just in front of the reed bed, I was the runner and made my way around to the other bank and fed the swim around his hook bait. Through my polaroid’s I could see several small fish in the margins but there was also 3 huge Rudd and 4 big carp in the area, I squatted down behind the reeds and could see one of the Rudd rise up and mouth the bait, my heart was literally in my mouth but it turned away at the last second. James was staring at me and the bait when another of the Rudd rose up and took the bait before diving into the reeds.
Running around the lake to get back to James I saw he was on the top of the fish and he had it out of the reeds, preforming like a professional he let it take some line when it was safe to do so before winding in, doing the honours for him and scooping it up that was all I could do for him. It was a fin perfect Rudd and his face was a picture in itself. The weight was irrelevant to me and him it was the achievement of setting a target and catching it that was the main target here. The fish to top it all off was a beauty and weighed 2lb4 not bad for your first ever Rudd.
James with his new Pb Rubb 2lb4
Over the next few days we returned and had another 3 Rudd over the magical 2lb mark and my daughter even had her first carp. James even broke his Pb again and had a 2lb8 fish on his second attempt.
Chloes first ever carp. Stunning.
James with yet another stunning Rudd
Those pictures were amongst the best I had ever taken, the golden Rudd and the smiling proud son are what fishing is all about, even my daughter getting in on the act with a stunning carp. Those memories will live with me forever.
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