Max Cottis has started his latest session off in fine style. Arriving yesterday, it took a while for him to get set up as Cheryl was joining him later. At approx 7am this morning he was awoken to the sound of his ACE alarms going garrity. A wee while later and he found himself trying to glide a monster carp over the net. A regular to the bank, the fish was landed only two weeks or so ago by Dave Baldry at 38′4 oz’s. This  distinct  two tonebeast has obviously been on the munch as this time it weighed in at 40′7 oz’s. A weight gain of over 2lb’s in 2 weeks.

This makes this the third capture of a forty this season, and the fifth different forty in the lake a sure sign that things are improving daily at Grenvilles.

40'7 oz's

Well, new member Dave Williamson has certainly not wasted time in getting to grips with the lake and it’s inhabitants. Last week saw him move from swim 29 into 12 to catch fish. This weekend he tried once again in swim 29 in the hope of picking up one of the lakes larger residents. During his first 24 hrs on the lake he had caught a steady run of twenty pound fish, weighing in at 22lb’s, 25lb’s and topped by a 27lber. Not a bad start and with 24 hours to go it was suddenly about to get much better. Woken at 6′45 am on Monday morning by a screaming delkim, Dave dived out of bed and to his rods. A fish had taken him off on a long initial charge, and Dave knew straight away it was a decent fish. After a good battle, he finally won the day and a fantastic looking mirro was drawn very carefully over the netcord. It wasnt until Dave got the fish onto the bank and into a sling that he realised just how big it was, when the neelde spun round past the 40lb mark, there was only one thing to do……. Phone Paul.

Paul arrived with the lake scales, and his trusty camera, and the fish was confirmed at a new lake record weight of 43′10  oz’s This is the same fish that Nick Martin broke the lake record with only three weeks ago at a weight of 41′10 oz’s so it has beefed up by 2lbs in that short time.

Many many congratulations Dave, a cracking fish mate.

43'10 oz's and New Lake Record

What a weekend for Jamie Viney. He arrived with his dad and they set themselves up in swim 14. Conditions looked good for a bite or two, and it wasnt long before Jamie’s rod tore off, unfortunately dad grabbed it, and despite his best attempts at claiming the fish it was rightly awarded to young Jamie and what a fish it was.A cracking scaly beast of 16lb’s. During the course of the following two nights Jamie was to hook and land himself two more fish, the first a 26′8 oz mirror, the second a fantastic 32′8 oz fish. So far as I am aware this is Jamies first Grenville thirty despite coming very close at times.

Very Well done Jamie, you are a superstar

A cracking 16lb fish

26'8 oz's

32'2 oz's

Alan Viney set both himself and young Jamie up in swim 14 this weekend. With a very strong wind blowing from right to left and swinging slowly over the weekend to more of a Westerly things looked good. It was not what you could call a hectic session, but at the end of the weekend there were a few fish out between them. Despite a little jiggerypokery with who caught what I have managed to sort it out and Alan ended up with  a 16lb scaly (which Jamie claimed)

a 23lb, a rather characteristic 25lb mirror and a stunner of 33lb’s

Good angling Alan.

Not the prettiest, but then again neither is the fish

A Cracking 33lb'r

A new angler to the lake this year is Stuart the Butcher. He arrived this weekend late on Saturday afternoon which limited his choice of swim somewhat. The lake being busy due to it being bank holiday weekend, so he and his guest “chops” decided to situate themselves away from the maddening crowd and settled into swim 21 for the night. Biteless and with no signs of fish in the are Stuart was eagerly looking for a spot to move to the next morning. Steadily anglers that had arrived on Friday started the laborious packing up process and a space or two appeared along the car park bank. Stuart decided to slot into 6 and did his best against what was by this time, quite a strong wind to get some baits out on his spots. This done the rods were cast and shelter from the wind was sought.

Within a few hours the move paid off in fine style when the middle rod tore off, and the clutch went into meltdown. Stuart wrestled the beast toward the margins, only to see a monster coming up from the depths.

On the scales she went 37lb and one or two ounces, Stuart was happy to call it a dead 37lb’s and a new UK pb carp.

37lbs

37lbs

Dave Wilkins fished the weekend , and brought some company in the shape of Sarah and young Tom. They fished in swim 37  for the duration, and despite baiting two or three areas, Dave found the going tough. It wasnt until the final night of their stay that Dave landed a lovely scaly mirror weighing 17lb’s Well done mate, nice to see you both again, and of course Tom. Hope he enjoyed his fishing trip

Mark Barrett finally seems to have got the hang of this angling lark Following on from his success in swim 34 a couple of weeks ago, he turned his attention to the opposite side of the lake this weekend. Fishing from peg 18 for only one night, he managed to hook and land a small mirror of 17lb’s.

Well done Mark, pleased to see you bagging a few now mate

Brian and Julie fished from swim 8 this weekend, fishing within the shelter of the island. Two weeks ago Julie had the best of the wekends angling. Last week Brian pulled it out of the bag with a new pb. This weekend Julie upped her game and came out on top once again with a gorgeous fish weighing in at 34′5 oz’s. Brian trailed home behind with a mirror of 25′4 oz’s. Congratulations to both of you, it is good to see you both have  run of fish.

25'4 oz's

34'5 oz's

Ian Warner fished for 48 hrs this last weekend in swim 33. He arrived early on Saturday morning and departed on Monday morning. During his time on the lake he managed to catch 7 fish, which although there were no monsters amongst them  was a very good result indeed.

The weights were as follows… 21lbs, 16lbs, 17lbs, 26′8 oz’s, 14lbs, 26′10 oz’s, and finally  a 26′6 oz fish.

Good Angling Sir

Woohoo indeed, I have never known a week or so like this for new pb’s. We have had quite a number this last week or so and it is always a pleasure to see a happy angler or two. Chris arrived bright and early on Friday morning. He looked all along the car park bank, but decided to start his weekend off in swim 12, which when he arrived meant that he was right on the back of a strong wind. This enabled Chris to put out some bait without too uch trouble, and bait he did. Whether this was responsible for what happpeneed next or whether there were fish sitting there waiting to be caught I dont know, but I do know that once cast out, Chris had three fish on the bank within a very short period of time. Two of which were thirties, the first a lovely 34lb fish, the other a new UK pb at 38′4 oz’s. Two more fish were to follow these over the next 48 hrs, though unfortunately not quite as large.

38'4 oz's and a new pb

34lb's

24lbs

24lbs

22lbs

18lbs

Nice to see an old face back at Grenville this weekend. Gary Kimbell made his first visit to the lake  this season, work has unfortunately interfered somewhat with his fishing plans of late. He set himself up in swim 5 upon the departure of Paul Allgood, and started to get a little bait out. The fish were evidently along the car park bank over the course of the two nights he fished as he managed to pick up two fish during his stay. He was not alone and most anglers based along this section of bank came into contact with carp at some point. Gary ’s fish weighed in at a very respectable 28′8 oz’s and a lovely 35lbs exactly.

Very well done Gary, dont leave it so long fella

35lbs

Ron Key arrived back at the lake this week still buzzing from his new pb caught the previous week. He decided to once again fish into the teeth of the wind and so positioned himself in swim 6. With the wind blowing very hard and gusting even harder it was no mean feat actually getting any bait or even a baited hook exactly where he wanted it, but he persevered and was rewarded over the two days with four fish to his credit. The largest being a nice mirror of 28′8 oz’s, followed by another of 26′6 oz’s, a stunning scaly fish weighing 20′4 oz’s and also a small mirror of 14lb’s.

28'8 oz

26'6 oz's

20'4 oz stunner

20'4 oz

Gary Mills arrived on Friday night this week for a quick overnighter. He arrived late which meant that it was a case of squeezing in along the car park bank where he could. The North westerly/Westerly wind making this the prime target of those who arrived during the day. Gary settled on swim 4 for the night, and was richly rewarded in the shape of a 32′8 oz mirror.

Pics to follow

An unusual midweek session was the order of the day for Tim Fromant this week. Taking full advantage of the last week or so of his holidays, he snuck down for a quick two night session. He set himself up in swim 34, and set about baiting up the swim in the hopes of drawing fish in. Despite his attempts he could manage only one fish for the session, a small mirror of 14lb’s. He also lost a fish during the two nights.

Regular midweek angler Colin, chose to fish swim 3 this  week. Scene of a few large fish captures it also afforded him at least a little more protection from the rain than most swims I believe that Colin managed to catch the one fish of his session on the opening lunchtime of his two night session on the lake, a very chunky carp of 30′10 oz’s.

Despite his best efforts he could not tempt another into his net.

Mahoosive hats off to Paul Algood who when fishing a 48hr session at the lake last week turned up in horrendous downpour, which lasted the entire duration of his visit. A very cramped and damp two days and nights in a bivvy listening to the rain battering down. The only respite Paul had was when the alarm sounded and he had to don wellies, coats hat’s etc and braved the worst the sky could throw at him while he did battle with some of Grenville’s big girls.

He finished up with 5 fish, four twenties at weights of 23lb, 25′12 oz’s,  26lb, 29lb’s and a  thirty at 34′12 oz’s

25lb

29lb's

34'12 oz's

Our resident Barnsley boy Gerrard returned to the lake this week for a three night session. He set up initially in swim 9 the scene of his last session and great success. Upon arrival the marker pole in 9 seemed to be moving indicating fish in the area and hopefully on the feed. Despite two nights of supreme effort in outrageous weather conditions there ws to be no repeat of his recent performance.  Gerrard actually losing both the fish he managed to hook .

On the second morning Gerrard decided to follow the wind and set himself up in swim 38. It was here with the wind piling in that he finally managed to land his first and ultimately only fish of the session at a weight of 26lb’s.

Another new member to land their first Grenville carp this week was Nick Dodge. Fishing from peg 6 Nick was open to the full force of the elements, and I am sure must have been wishing for at least a few minutes dry weather durning his session. His fish, was a very  portly mirror of 29′2 oz’s. Congratulations Nick, anyone fishing in those conditions more than deserves a fish.

29'2 oz's

New member Craig Randle popped his Grenville cherry this week with a couple of fish. Arriving midweek he decided on swim 37 for his stay. With conditions becoming increasingly wetter and windier by the minute, it was probably not the worst spot on the lake, at least offering some element of protection and shelter. The fish caught, both Mirrors weighed in at 14′12 oz’s and 29′11 oz’s. Congratulations Craig and lets hope they are the first of many fella.

Once again Mr Cottis has arrived bright and early on a Sunday morning, and returning to the swim which has proved successful for him in recent times, peg 3.  After his recent sessions which have seen him moving in search of fish. Max decided from the off this week that he was baiting up and waiting for them to come to him. This method which served him well last year proved once more that it can work. Over the period of his three night stay Max had a total of 6 fish with three of them being over thirty pounds. A very good average weight and a cracking few days fishing.

The weights were 22′4 oz’s, 27′12 oz’s, 21′5 oz’s, 30′2 oz’s, 35′3 oz’s and a stunning fish of 37′1 oz.

27'12 oz's

30'2 oz's

35'3 oz's

37'1 oz's

Dave Gowing set up for a few hours in swim 34 upon arriving at the lake. A short while later, an angler fishing his favoured  swim 33 packed up and left. Dave took his opportunity and moved around to where he felt he had a little more of a chance. His instinct proved correct as at some point he certainly had fish in front of him. He took advantage of this and managed to land a small mirror of 21′7 oz’s.

Nick and Taz returned to the lake this week, and spent 48hrs trying to tempt fish from peg 12. Unfortunately the fish werent playing ball quite as he would like and he had to settle for just the one take during his session which resulted in a nice mirror of 25′4 oz’s.

Shaun Harrison decided to try his luck in what is rapidly becoming known as a big fish swim, no 29. With the wind pushing down onto the barbeque bank Shaun was very much on the back of a stiff wind. All was quiet for the first night of his stay, and it was the early hours of Sunday morning before he was rudely awakened by an angry alarm. The fish was unfortunately not the monster that Shaun was hoping for although he couldnt have been disappointed by this lovely scaly one of 19′12 oz’s.

19'12 ozs

The following morning he decided a move was in order and so spent the remaining day of his session socialising with Ron Key in swims 12 and 14. Unfortunately Rons luck failed to rub off and this was the only fish of the trip.

Regular member Ron Key, had a great weeknds angling. Arriving early on the Thursday with his mate Phil, they decided to take the opportunity to fish 12 and 14 together as a social weekend. Judging by the cheese and biccies, and bottles of wine I witnessed being devoured late onFriday night they were certainly enjoying themselves

The first fish to fall to their rods fell to one of Rons on the Friday, a mirror of 27′14 oz’s.

27'14 oz's

Phil left on the Saturday without wetting his net unfortunately, despite the wind blowing hard South Westerly by the time he departed. Ron stuck it out, and with the waves crashing around him he started to see a little more activity far out in front of him on the Saturday afternoon. Ron’s next fish turning out to be not only the best of the session for him, but also a new UK pb, coming in at a weight of 38′12 oz’s. A stunning fish, and one very happy angler.

Ron also managed a couple more fish over the following night and morning. a 23′10 oz fish, and a cracking 28′12 oz specimen.

23'10 oz

28'12 oz's

38'12 oz's and a new pb

Our very own Angling couple Brian and Julie fished  two swims this week starting off in swim 2, they could see that there were fish further to their right which is where Guy Stubbings was fishing and catching from. On his departure early on the Saturday morning Brian and Julie moved along one swim into the freshly vacated swim 3. This was to be the catalyst for the weekend to start getting serious. Over the following 36 hrs or so, between them they caught a total of 5 fish and lost 1.

This weekend it was to be Brian that had the best of the luck, with three fish weighing in at 23′2 oz’s, 27′14 oz’s and a new UK pb of 36′11 oz’s. Very well done mate, well deserved.

Julie caught  a 22′14 oz mirror, a 21lb mirror and unfortunately lost 1.

23'2 oz's

27'14 oz's

36'11 oz's and new PB

New member Mick Walters arrived for his normal session at the lake, with his wife Mel this weekend. In all the years he has fished she hasd never fished with him before, but had decided or talked into (I am not sure) joining him for the weekend. When I passed by Friday evening and Met Mel for the first time, she was a little apprehensive about the nights ahead to be spent in a bivvy. Although by Sunday morning had really enjoyed herself and was already planning her next trip much to the pleasure of Mick. You take no notice Mel it ws a pleasure to meet you and we look forward to seeing you again soon. would be back for another session sometime soon.

Mick had one fish over the duration, a mirror of 26′2 oz’s, when there werent many out over the weekend, so well done mate.

Regular Lee Skellam, fished swim 5 this last weekend. With the Westerly blowing firmly into his face, he set up confident of a chance over the following two nights. He was Awoken early on the Saturday morning by the sound of a warbling delkim, and the mad dash to the rods was made. A good fight ensued, with the fish giving a very good account of it’s self. Eventually the fish beaten, came to the surface and was led into the waiting net. Lee was pleased to see the scales swing round way past the 30lb mark and settle on 36′8 oz’s exactly. The Saturday followed almost exactly the same pattern with bait being applied to the swim, the wind blowing hard into Lee’s face as the waiting game continued. It was during the Saturday night that Lee had yet another take. This fish was hooked at range, and brought virtually to the net before the rod sprang straight and the hook pulled almost at the net. Lee reproted that once again this would have been  a very good fish had he managed to land it.

36'8 oz's

Syndicate member Tim Fromant, booked the cabin for last week. He arrived full of anticipation on the Saturday lunchtime with his wife and two children. They got themselves comfortable very quickly and it was wonderful to hear the sound of childrens laughter drifting across the lake on the wind. The family thoroughly enjoyed their stay, with Jools (Tims wife) enjoying a healthy two laps of the lake each day. The children were fascinated with the wildlife around the place, and spent many hours seeking out the elusive cygnets which inhabit the dykes alongside the car park.

For his part Tim was kept fairly busy on the fish front. Certainly the first few days were steady without being exhausting, with the odd carp tripping up on his rigs. There was a change of wind direction on Thursday and the  action kicked in suddenly and with a vengance. Infact Tim was to catch three thirties and a double within a 25-30 minute period. Rods going off everywhere, and as he took the picture of one fish, Paul would treat and release it as Tim battled another.

In total Tim caught a total of 14 fish, with one double at 18′10 oz’s, seven twenties, and six thirties up to 37′11 oz’s

37'11 oz's

33'14 oz's

33'5 oz's

32'8 oz's

30'15 oz's

30'1 oz's

18'12 oz's Scaly

18'12 oz's scaly

22'10 oz's

22'10 oz's

29'13 oz's

29lb's

Mick Walton retruned to the lake after his strange session of last week in which he hooked 8 carp but only landed 4. He set himself up again in swim 25 away from the crowd. Only fishing the one night this week certainly meant that he would be lucky in the extreme to repeat the number of takes he enjoyed last week. This was to be the case with only one run to come to his rods. Fortunately he managed to land the fish which proved to be a nice mirror of 32lbs exactly.

Pics to follow

New member Guy Stubbings arrived at the lake early on Friday morning ready for a quick overnight session, which was his first on the lake. He decided to drop into swim 3  upon my departure as there were obviously feeding fish out on the plateau. A good decision as it turns out and during the course of his first days angling Guy managed four nice fish, including a couple of stunning scaly’s.

25'9 oz's

27'12 oz's

21'9 oz's

21'9 oz's

26'2 oz's

26'2 oz's