05/03/2014 - Magiscroft

Common Carp, excellent surprise

Magiscroft near Cumbernauld is one of the most prominent commercial coarse fisheries in Scotland and it's been long overdue a visit from my good self. With the year so far being generally a bit too cold, windy and sometimes wet too, I've not been bothering the fishes too much. H had filled his boots with Roach and Gudgeon here already just a couple of weeks before, so I took the opportunity to join him and see what it was all about.

Permits are £7 which isn't too bad and there are a few ponds to choose from. First impressions were OK, although I was a bit underwhelmed at the lack of imagination in the larger ponds, essentially big rectangular troughs and with the quite small size of the smaller ponds. Maybe my expectations were a little too high?

My first F1, no barbules compared to the Common Carp

H took us to one of the smaller ponds at the back of the venue where once again I was unimpressed finding the odd empty can, tackle packaging or discarded equipment. It wasn't as if there were no bins around. It annoys me no end when people drop litter, it is also annoying when you are then charged to pay to fish amongst it. Most of it would easily be cleaned up by a round-up each night by someone with a litter picker.  Maybe not very important in the grand scheme of things, but it's these small things that can make a big difference.

Both H and myself began with maggots dangled under a float. He was soon in amongst the Gudgeon with the odd Roach, but I was having no joy at the adjacent peg. I swapped sides and began to explore a bit more and soon began connecting with Roach, Guj and some small Perch. The numbers were racking up, but H's head start meant any concerted attempt at racking up numbers was simply me keeping the deficit the same at best as H was embroiled amidst a Gudgeon frenzy.

Excellent surprise number 3

I continued my exploration around this small pond reaching the opposite side from H without anything much different appearing. Almost at the point of returning to where I could make hay with Perch and Gudgeon for the rest of the day and see what total I could rack up, I felt a much more serious fish connect with my bait as it dropped through the water. I was delighted to find a Common Carp nicely hooked in the top lip and was able to bring it into the net (hurriedly delivered by H). After a couple of photos it was sent back. Almost immediately I was into another one. My career Carp tally to this point stood at two, and here was my second inside five minutes. It turned out to be a F1 (barbule-less compared to the Common). I then lost another, landed another and lost another making it all very exciting. Once the carp seemed to quieten down a bit I was then taken by surprise once more. Leaning into another decent fish, I fully expected my fourth carp of the day only to find a PB Perch (13.5 inches) in outstanding condition taking me on. After a few photos it was returned by a very satisfied angler.

13.5 inches, a new PB

With 'my' side of the pond quietening down appreciably, I began to try my luck in the next pond along. H was shouting out his Guj as he caught them - 46...47...48 - as I entered my Roach 40's. In the new pond I quickly began landing more small Roach and got to 49 before a small impasse in bites allowed him to take his 50th Gudgeon of the session beating me to the half century.

With the gates to the fishery closing at 5pm sharp, we called it a day and headed back to the car. H totted up his fish making a total of 90. My  totals were 17 Perch, 17 Gudgeon, 3 Carp and 54 Roach making a grand total of...91.

Smile for the camera

A good days fishing, a bit of a numbers game, but it's difficult to complain when catching so many fish including new species and a PB. The fishery might scrub up a bit more nicely on a less gloomy day and the constant renovations and subsequent hammering at the pavilion should be absent the next time.