So I decided to head down to Follyfoot Fishery to try a bit of cold water carping. As it turned out, it was an incredibly tough session...

Although the last session had been prolific with the worms, one hang up I had was the hook holds - the bass seemed to really swallow the hook resulting in some deep hooking and although I managed to get all the hooks out without any damage, it made me wonder if there was an alternative that would result in better hooking. After some searching, I remembered that 'drop shotting' was a perfect technique for predators but would it work for bass and would the hook holds be better?

I've used the drop shotting set up a couple of times in the UK for perch with limited success, the main problem being access - it never felt like I was fishing vertically enough for it to be effective. But in this scenario I was fishing from a kayak directly over fish - you can't get much more vertical than that!

There seems to be a load of different ways out there to set up the rig but I went for around a metre or so of fluorocarbon leader and a size 8 baitholder hook tied with the following knot:

The great thing about this knot is that it's incredibly easy to tie and makes sure that the hook sticks out at a 90 degree angle from the line. This gives the bait a fantastic presentation and pushes the hook away from the line meaning it's virtually tangle free.

But would the bass go for it?!

As todays session was going to be short (I was off on a motorcamping adventure later in the day and the weather was also set to turn around 12ish...) I wasted no time in heading straight up the lake to 'Toga Point' only this time, I was determined to fish further out in the deep water. The wind however had other ideas... I knew it was going to be windy this morning but far out, could I keep the kayak still for longer than 30 seconds?! It didn't matter how far out from the bank I paddled, within 2 casts I was literally meters away from the edge...

Not that it mattered as on the 3rd or so cast the drop shot worm rod hooped round and it was fish on! Amazingly, this one really took off and it was quite a tussle getting it in - but what a fish! And most importantly, hooked right on the lip - the plan had worked, the drop shot presentation resulted in a good hook hold and the bass were clearly on the worms like a shot.

I was convinced there'd be more fish around but finding the spot where I'd picked up the last one was a virtual impossibility... The wind was literally spinning me in circles. I did persevere and was rewarded with another bass, this time on the lure but after 20 minutes or so I'd had enough and it was time to move on.

My plan was to follow the same route as last time so I headed straight across the lake with the aim of drifting down the margin into 'Stag Bay'. Sadly on this occasion the wind literally hurled me along and after a minute or so's drift, I was in the bay and pretty much into the bank. Not ideal, but I stuck with it as it's such a perfect spot!

It was pretty quiet though, right up until the drop shot worm rod twitched and I struck into what I though was going to be another massive bass. So it was a real surprise when a huge eel surfaced next to the kayak! Far out, eels are amazing creatures but an absolute nightmare if you're not sure what to do with them - and this thing was a beast, I defo did not want it to end up in the kayak with me...

After a lot of messing around I managed to wear it out sufficiently to get a pair of forceps on the hook and free the slimy wriggling thing. Luckily for me, it was hooked very lightly on the lip (the drop shot rig really was working!) and after an incredibly powerful flick of it's tail, I got the hook out and it was on it's merry way. Not surprisingly, the rig was a complete mess: slime all up the leader, the hook mangled and split shot gone... So a fresh rig was tied and I set about trying to find the fish again.

I guess when fishing with worms there's always the risk of hooking an eel! Blugh, they are foul!

By this time the predicted weather had begun to close in and looking up the lake I could see a wall of water slowly marching towards me... I had a few more casts, doing my wrap up on the video just as the rain started and amazingly got a fish on the lure rod whilst I was talking! Only a small one, but it's always good to finish on a fish.

The rain hammered down but was short lived but the wind would just not let up. I spent another 20 minutes drifting down the central deep water and managed to pick up another couple of fish on the lure and on with the worms but by this point it was getting on to around 11am and I really needed to head for home if I was going to have enough time to get the bike together.

They say one decent fish can make a session and that first bass had certainly made my day - what a donkey! And I was made up that the drop shot rig had worked so well, despite the tough conditions.

I will be back this coming Friday (when the weather is supposed to be better!), armed again with a pot of worms, the 'elvis' v-blade and who knows... Maybe I'll find some more monsters?! But no eels thank you...

If you've never been to the fishery before it's well worth a look: it's around 3 acres in size, a long lake with depths starting at 6ft and moving to around 12ft at the far end from the car park. There are regular swims but they're out numbered by excellent cabins which have decking that extends out into the lake. Put that together with a tidy shower/toilet block and you've got real luxury!

Oh, and the most amazing fish! But more about that later...

The change over time for the huts is 12pm at the weekends so I decided to arrive around 1ish, mainly to let the swim calm down a bit from it's previous occupant. Over the weekends, most huts are occupied by two anglers and as the number of rods you can use is only restricted by the number of rod licences you've got, you can guarantee that there were six lines out and that the fish had seen a lot of bait and a whole heap of pressure! I figured the fish'd appreciate a couple hours break before I got fishing?!

The drive down was clear as a bell and the weather was amazing (and set to stay great for the rest of the week!). I'd tuned into the weather report on the news and they'd mentioned that there was going to be a 'blood moon' luna eclipse at 3am on Sunday night. I wasn't sure if this was a good thing or not! Fish do certainly seem to be effected by moon cycles, so it could potentially make or break the session!

Arriving at the lake, it became apparent that it was very, very busy: every hut was taken, most with 2 anglers with 3 rods each and nearly all of them were booked into Monday so no chance of moving. But not to worry, I'd chosen hut 19 which is down in the far right hand corner of the lake.

It's a perfect spot that I'd checked out on my last visit: there's a whole margin to the right with a tree that points out into the water meaning the anglers in hut 16 can't cast round or over your lines. You've then got a big expanse of open water out in front of the deck which due to the power lines, people cant cast into. And to finish it off, there's an tight little margin with a tree snag to the left which is tucked away and quiet(ish). Worth doing the research on the last trip!

To get things going, I lightly prebaited the margin spots left and right with a mix of pellets, sweetcorn and method mix with a dash of hemp oil. Bait wise, I'd opted to use luncheon meat as on the last couple of sessions it had really done the business. So rod one went out with a solid PVA pag filled with a mix of pellets, crumbed up luncheon meat with groundbait and a big cube of meat on the bait spike mounted on the hair...

The first run can to that left hand margin rod before I'd even managed to get the other rods set up! I'd say it'd been in the water 5 minutes max ;)

And so the action continued all afternoon and into the evening. The fish were coming so thick and fast, it was well last 10pm before I managed to get a gap and cook some dinner - amazing fishing!

The moon popped up behind the hut after dinner, a huge silver disk in the sky and as the temperature dropped the runs became more sporadic. So I decided to bait all 3 rods in sequence at around 11pm and get my head down for a couple of hours kip...

I must've dozed for a couple of hours, rushing out to land a couple of fish and then fallen fast asleep as it was a bit of a shocking alarm when my left hand rod screamed off at pretty much 3am on the nose! I managed to get my head torch and glasses on before rushing outside not to a moonlit scene but a virtually pitch black lake... Glancing up skywards as I grabbed the rod I noticed that the 'Blood Moon' eclipse was well under way and the silver disk of the moon was nearly completely covered!

That 3am fish was the biggest so far, a pristine 20lb common carp that went through all my lines and took me a good 20 minutes to get in. An absolute stunner!

In the end, I reeled in around 5am. The relentless action had knackered me out and I was desperate to get some sleep! I did wake up around 8am but felt so warm and comfy on my bedchair that I decided to go back to drift off... Having already filled my boots with fish, it seemed like a good idea to catch up on some well eared sleep?!

I finally woke up around 9am and got the rods out again on the spots. Instantly, the fish were on the munch with a double take followed by fish on the next cast literally seconds after the bait landed in the water. Such greedy fish!

As with dinner (I should've learnt my lesson by now...) it wasn't until a slow patch in the action around 11am that I managed to get breakfast on the go and sit in the sun for a bit. Despite the sunny weather, the fish weren't up on the surface and I decided to chill out in my bed chair, rest the water a bit and just enjoy being outside.

The fish came back on the feed around 3ish and I spent a really enjoyable afternoon picking carp out in the margins. It was with great reluctance that I started to pack down at 6pm but I managed a fish on the last cast (always a bonus) and finally got the gear back round to the car by 7.30pm

Whatta session?! Possibly one of the best I've ever had: loads of fish, a run of biguns, fantastic weather, a blood moon... Will I ever have the like again?!

Lost count of the number of fish that graced the net! The sun even put in an appearance.

Too good!

Follyfoot fishery had been suggested by an angler I got chatting to up at Bradley's Lake on the Cotswold Water Park a couple of weeks ago. I'd had it on my list of places to check out but always though it was too far away from Bristol...

Not so! It only takes 40 minutes to get there and as I was coming from my 1st stop on this years tour at Festival Fishery in Glastonbury, it was even nearer.

After a rain soaked 48 hours at the previous venue, I was really looking forward to kipping in a hut ;) And the fishing was amazing!