Back then I was a member of the club, and had access to all their wonderful fishing venues. My first time fishing Busbridge was certainly noteworthy for me as it turned into a very unexpected day where I saw fish behaving in a way I had never seen them before, and even catching a very lucky capture.
It was a glorious morning when we arrived at Busbridge Lake, owned by Godalming Angling Society. The pea green water was just starting to warm up in the morning sun.
There were only 2 other anglers on the lake, fishing close to the car park, and as Aaron and I were in no hurry today, we started the day off by walking around the lake, looking at all the swims and seeing if we could spot any fish movement.
After a quick chat with the other anglers, and having had a good look at where we wanted to set up, we settled in two swims next to each other, surrounded by woodland and overhanging trees, with a large patch of lily pads in the water between us.
I set up my rod for the day, opting as I usually do for a a float set up. 4lb line and a 3lb hook length and a float large enough to comfortably cast out to the end of the lily pads to the left of my swim.
Aaron set up a feeder rod, hoping to hook into some Bream in the centre of the lake.
Either way, one of us was bound to catch something, and if one of us started catching well on one technique, it meant that the other could change accordingly. The old 'divide and conquer' technique.
Despite Aaron's set up being good for the Bream, and mine probably being better for the Roach and Rudd, both of us were hoping for a bonus Tench or two today, hoping to pick one up before Winter set in in a few months.
Sprinkling in maggots at the for end of the lilies, and bombing in a couple of small balls of groundbait, my swim came alive with Roach. Small fish to be sure, I could tell that today was going to be a blitz of these if I wasn't careful.
The first 3 Roach came in nicely. I unhooked them with the care I always do, and slipped them back into the water beneath my feet. However, the third Roach didn't make it back to his friends.
I unhooked the little Roach, and bent down to my feet to release him. My hand was only a couple of inches away from the water when I let the fish go, and the Pike that burst from the water like a bullet from a gun must have missed clamping its jaws around my hand by only an inch!
Being so well camouflaged, and with the surface glare from the sun making looking into the water difficult, I had no idea it was there. And it was a huge Pike too. It was easily a 20lb plus fish if ever I have seen one. The Pike startled after snatching its meal and rushed off to the right of the lake, never to be seen again, but I can honestly say it wasn't half as startled as I was! If that fish had been any closer, my hand would have been ruined. Quite a close call.
I had a little walk over to Aaron's swim to tell him about it, and also to compose myself a bit, and returned back to fishing moments later.
Although the big Pike had disappeared, perhaps due to the commotion, other Pike had moved in. The next Roach I skimmed in with no problem, but the second silver fish went back into the water beneath my feet (this time my hand being a bit further away from the water) exploded into a cascade of silver scales, which fluttered like glitter down to the bottom of the swim. I hadn't seen the Pike take it, but I assumed one was there, as Roach don't have a tendency to spontaneously combust to my knowledge.
The next few Roach I caught had a lucky escape, as the culprit regularly made himself aware by dashing out from under the lilies, however, every fish I caught from here on in didn't have the same luck.
Getting the Roach in wasn't the problem. Casting out to the end of the patch of lily pads resulted in a dipped float within minutes, and the only way to get them in without being snatched by following Pike was to reel like mad to get the fish in quick. Hooked Roach were skimming over the water like stones back to me to be unhooked, all followed by big bow waves and snatching splashes of the hungry predators. Quite unrefined.
No longer was there just one Pike in the swim, now there were more.
On release, every little Roach had to run the gauntlet of Pike that had positioned themselves around the swim. The freed fish could be seen on release darting off as quickly as they could to get away. Any snack that took a moment to recover before swimming off was snatched instantly. The 'slightly more with it' Roach that powered off as fast as they could were followed by a bow wave and a crash of jaws.
Not one fish survived, I am certain of it.
I counted 4 separate Pike in the swim in front of me. One to the left and right of the swim, picking off Roach and the odd Rudd, skimmer Bream and Perch I caught that ran in the margins one way or the other. The other two were further out, picking off the fish that ran out into the lake and into the lake depths. I have never seen anything like it. It was a very impressive trap, and looked like it was planned.
It came to a point when I felt really bad for the fish I was catching. Each little silver fish that I hooked was basically being given a certain death sentence. The only thing that could stop the blood bath was for me to stop fishing, and I didn't want to do that!
It is nature after all, the Pike need to eat too, and there are certainly plenty of Roach in Busbridge, so its not like a few would be missed, but all the same, something had to be done, not only to perhaps give the Pike less to eat, and perhaps making them move off for better pickings elsewhere, but also to try and target a bigger fish, like the Tench I was hoping for.
I decided, therefore, to change bait to pellet and sweetcorn. This certainly resulted in less fish going back into the water to feed the hungry freshwater crocs, as bites dried up instantly. From a fish every few minutes to no fish at all. The introduction of maggot and groundbait through the morning had made the Roach move in, but nothing much else, it seemed.
Aaron's feeder set up had resulted in less fish than in my swim, so changing to that wasn't on my mind, and he was also using similar bait.
Not really wanting to go back to maggots, I had a think about what I could do bait wise.
Busbridge Lake is fringed with woodland and wildlife. It's like someone dug the lake into the woods, and the woods are marching back to take it again. Its so peaceful, and one of the most beautiful lakes I have ever fished. Wildlife is everywhere, and there are so many types of plants and flowers around.
Having a break from the angling at late morning, Aaron had a walk around the lake to get some photos, and came across an adder sunning itself near the path around the lake. Ducks swam across the lake in front of me. I wondered if any of their young had made it to adulthood. I imagine that when the Pike are like they were in my swim, very little ducklings survive.
I took a break too, and made the most of the pork and pickle pork pies I had brought for lunch, (even using a bit of the meat for bait later on, to no effect) and noticed the elder tree behind me was packed with blooms of elderberries.
As a kid at Ashmoor Lakes I used to use elderberries as bait. I would grab a bag of dry hemp seed from the tackle shop and soak it over night, boiling it up the next day on my Granny's hob and stinking her kitchen out, much to her disgust.
On Autumn days you could find me fishing maggot and tares over the hemp seed, but also elderberries, which are plentiful. At the time I recall thinking that the fish didn't really like elderberries, but actually thinking that they just mistook them for the black pieces of hemp seed, but with free bait presenting itself for me to try, I figured I would give it a go.
I didn't have any hemp seed with me today, actually it has been a very long time since I have used it, now preferring to use tried and tested groundbaits, but the Roach and Bream groundbait I was using today smelt a bit hempy, and probably had some crushed up in it, so I figured it was worth a try.
Though the bites came a bit slower, I had quite a bit of success on the elderberry. All little Roach (who all ran the gauntlet and failed), I was surprised at how effective this free bait was.
Worth remembering on my next fishing trip. Perhaps the younger me had the right idea all along.
I guess it was only a matter of time before I hooked a Pike.
With 4 very bold Pike in my swim, snatching at fish left right and centre, it was likely that at some point I wouldn't be able to reel a Roach in fast enough.
I had been watching the Pike in my swim all morning, as had Aaron, who came over several times to watch the spectacle unfold. Witnessing the Pike crashing and thrashing about, boiling the water up trying to grab the returning fish.
One Roach came in a little slowly. About half way down the lilies, the Pike that had taken residence under there swallowed the hooked silver whole, after the Roach gave a little pull back away from me to get away. My light float rod hooped over as the Pike charged into the lilies again.
This Angling Archive post is what I wrote about my day after I returned from that lovely sunny days fishing 5 years ago..."
Busbridge Lake, Busbridge
 |
| Busbridge Lake |
There were only 2 other anglers on the lake, fishing close to the car park, and as Aaron and I were in no hurry today, we started the day off by walking around the lake, looking at all the swims and seeing if we could spot any fish movement.
After a quick chat with the other anglers, and having had a good look at where we wanted to set up, we settled in two swims next to each other, surrounded by woodland and overhanging trees, with a large patch of lily pads in the water between us.
I set up my rod for the day, opting as I usually do for a a float set up. 4lb line and a 3lb hook length and a float large enough to comfortably cast out to the end of the lily pads to the left of my swim.
Aaron set up a feeder rod, hoping to hook into some Bream in the centre of the lake.
Either way, one of us was bound to catch something, and if one of us started catching well on one technique, it meant that the other could change accordingly. The old 'divide and conquer' technique.
Despite Aaron's set up being good for the Bream, and mine probably being better for the Roach and Rudd, both of us were hoping for a bonus Tench or two today, hoping to pick one up before Winter set in in a few months.
 |
| A Typical Busbridge Snack...I mean, Roach! |
The first 3 Roach came in nicely. I unhooked them with the care I always do, and slipped them back into the water beneath my feet. However, the third Roach didn't make it back to his friends.
I unhooked the little Roach, and bent down to my feet to release him. My hand was only a couple of inches away from the water when I let the fish go, and the Pike that burst from the water like a bullet from a gun must have missed clamping its jaws around my hand by only an inch!
Being so well camouflaged, and with the surface glare from the sun making looking into the water difficult, I had no idea it was there. And it was a huge Pike too. It was easily a 20lb plus fish if ever I have seen one. The Pike startled after snatching its meal and rushed off to the right of the lake, never to be seen again, but I can honestly say it wasn't half as startled as I was! If that fish had been any closer, my hand would have been ruined. Quite a close call.
I had a little walk over to Aaron's swim to tell him about it, and also to compose myself a bit, and returned back to fishing moments later.
 |
| Pike Attack! |
The next few Roach I caught had a lucky escape, as the culprit regularly made himself aware by dashing out from under the lilies, however, every fish I caught from here on in didn't have the same luck.
 |
| Doomed |
No longer was there just one Pike in the swim, now there were more.
On release, every little Roach had to run the gauntlet of Pike that had positioned themselves around the swim. The freed fish could be seen on release darting off as quickly as they could to get away. Any snack that took a moment to recover before swimming off was snatched instantly. The 'slightly more with it' Roach that powered off as fast as they could were followed by a bow wave and a crash of jaws.
Not one fish survived, I am certain of it.
I counted 4 separate Pike in the swim in front of me. One to the left and right of the swim, picking off Roach and the odd Rudd, skimmer Bream and Perch I caught that ran in the margins one way or the other. The other two were further out, picking off the fish that ran out into the lake and into the lake depths. I have never seen anything like it. It was a very impressive trap, and looked like it was planned.
It came to a point when I felt really bad for the fish I was catching. Each little silver fish that I hooked was basically being given a certain death sentence. The only thing that could stop the blood bath was for me to stop fishing, and I didn't want to do that!
It is nature after all, the Pike need to eat too, and there are certainly plenty of Roach in Busbridge, so its not like a few would be missed, but all the same, something had to be done, not only to perhaps give the Pike less to eat, and perhaps making them move off for better pickings elsewhere, but also to try and target a bigger fish, like the Tench I was hoping for.
I decided, therefore, to change bait to pellet and sweetcorn. This certainly resulted in less fish going back into the water to feed the hungry freshwater crocs, as bites dried up instantly. From a fish every few minutes to no fish at all. The introduction of maggot and groundbait through the morning had made the Roach move in, but nothing much else, it seemed.
Aaron's feeder set up had resulted in less fish than in my swim, so changing to that wasn't on my mind, and he was also using similar bait.
Not really wanting to go back to maggots, I had a think about what I could do bait wise.
 |
| Tufted Duck |
Having a break from the angling at late morning, Aaron had a walk around the lake to get some photos, and came across an adder sunning itself near the path around the lake. Ducks swam across the lake in front of me. I wondered if any of their young had made it to adulthood. I imagine that when the Pike are like they were in my swim, very little ducklings survive.
I took a break too, and made the most of the pork and pickle pork pies I had brought for lunch, (even using a bit of the meat for bait later on, to no effect) and noticed the elder tree behind me was packed with blooms of elderberries.
As a kid at Ashmoor Lakes I used to use elderberries as bait. I would grab a bag of dry hemp seed from the tackle shop and soak it over night, boiling it up the next day on my Granny's hob and stinking her kitchen out, much to her disgust.
On Autumn days you could find me fishing maggot and tares over the hemp seed, but also elderberries, which are plentiful. At the time I recall thinking that the fish didn't really like elderberries, but actually thinking that they just mistook them for the black pieces of hemp seed, but with free bait presenting itself for me to try, I figured I would give it a go.
I didn't have any hemp seed with me today, actually it has been a very long time since I have used it, now preferring to use tried and tested groundbaits, but the Roach and Bream groundbait I was using today smelt a bit hempy, and probably had some crushed up in it, so I figured it was worth a try.
Though the bites came a bit slower, I had quite a bit of success on the elderberry. All little Roach (who all ran the gauntlet and failed), I was surprised at how effective this free bait was.
Worth remembering on my next fishing trip. Perhaps the younger me had the right idea all along.
 |
| Another little Roach on the Elderberry. Mr Crabtree would be Proud! |
With 4 very bold Pike in my swim, snatching at fish left right and centre, it was likely that at some point I wouldn't be able to reel a Roach in fast enough.
I had been watching the Pike in my swim all morning, as had Aaron, who came over several times to watch the spectacle unfold. Witnessing the Pike crashing and thrashing about, boiling the water up trying to grab the returning fish.
One Roach came in a little slowly. About half way down the lilies, the Pike that had taken residence under there swallowed the hooked silver whole, after the Roach gave a little pull back away from me to get away. My light float rod hooped over as the Pike charged into the lilies again.
I managed, somehow, to get the fish out but as it ran out into the lake the 3lb hook link broke like a piece of cotton on its teeth, and the fish was off.
Only luck would have meant me having a chance of landing a Pike, getting the little hook to take hold somewhere around the Pike's mouth where the teeth wouldn't get in contact with the line.
But I can be a lucky devil from time to time, and the next time a Pike was quick enough to snatch a Roach on the way in, the hook must have held somewhere lucky too,
It wasn't one of the biggest Pike in my swim. Having watched them all morning, it was the 3rd biggest of the four. I had assumed they were all smallish Pike, perhaps only 6-8lb in weight, but the Pike that I finally played into the net that Aaron had rushed over to help me with, actually weighed 10lb 7oz, meaning that they were all much bigger than they looked in the water, and the bigger two of the 4 pike I hadn't caught were probably going on 12-15lb plus.
Having said that, the gut on this Pike was packed full of fish I had been feeding her all day, so I bet that added another pound on her in itself.
In the net I checked where my hook had held, somewhere on the outer jaw of the fish. I couldn't tell where exactly as when I looked closer, the Pike gave a snap of its jaws and the line was cut by its teeth like a knife. A very close and lucky capture indeed.
Luck from there on in wasn't only on my side, but also the Roach's side as well, as the commotion had scared away all of the Pike from the swim. The little Roach, Perch, skimmers and Rudd all made it in fine, and got away safely into the water after being released.
In the early afternoon sun, Aaron and I decided to retire from Busbridge for the day and move to another lake in search of a Tench. The fishing did eventually die down. The day had been a hot one, not that we had really noticed it being sheltered under the over hanging trees, but the pressure was high yet again, and the fishing tailed off.
We moved over to Marsh Farm down the road, and spent the evening on there, between Hill Pond and Richardson's Lake.
The weather made the fishing tricky there too, with the match from earlier on in the morning reporting low catches. However, at last knockings, and through the Bream I was catching on Richardson's Lake, I did manage to catch one Tench, a lovely 3lb 8oz fish. A small success.
But today hadn't been about the Tench or even the Roach that I was expecting, but about those ravenous Pike. I've never had a days fishing like it.
I remember fishing at The Old Quarry in Surrey and having a Pike there being very bold, eyeing up Aaron's hand and swim feeder hungrily, and snatching the odd fish he put back in the water.
That day both Aaron and I managed to both hook the same Pike, having once been caught, it came back for more, and that was weird enough.
I've caught plenty of Pike in the past, but I've never seen them like this. If I didn't know better, I would almost say that there was a plan to it. It looked like they were working as a team. Each taking a corner of the swim, and driving the fish towards each other, cutting off the means of escape for the darting silver fish.
Pike are not known for their teamwork however, so perhaps it just looked like they were working together, when actually they were all just keeping their distance from each other, perfectly distanced to make a brilliant trap. Either way, it highlighted again for me just how bold and aggressive Pike can be.
I cant wait to come back here again with some lures in the Autumn and Winter!
Only luck would have meant me having a chance of landing a Pike, getting the little hook to take hold somewhere around the Pike's mouth where the teeth wouldn't get in contact with the line.
But I can be a lucky devil from time to time, and the next time a Pike was quick enough to snatch a Roach on the way in, the hook must have held somewhere lucky too,
It wasn't one of the biggest Pike in my swim. Having watched them all morning, it was the 3rd biggest of the four. I had assumed they were all smallish Pike, perhaps only 6-8lb in weight, but the Pike that I finally played into the net that Aaron had rushed over to help me with, actually weighed 10lb 7oz, meaning that they were all much bigger than they looked in the water, and the bigger two of the 4 pike I hadn't caught were probably going on 12-15lb plus.
Having said that, the gut on this Pike was packed full of fish I had been feeding her all day, so I bet that added another pound on her in itself.
In the net I checked where my hook had held, somewhere on the outer jaw of the fish. I couldn't tell where exactly as when I looked closer, the Pike gave a snap of its jaws and the line was cut by its teeth like a knife. A very close and lucky capture indeed.
 |
| A Lucky Capture. 10lb 7oz of bold Pike. |
 |
| The Eye of a Killer |
In the early afternoon sun, Aaron and I decided to retire from Busbridge for the day and move to another lake in search of a Tench. The fishing did eventually die down. The day had been a hot one, not that we had really noticed it being sheltered under the over hanging trees, but the pressure was high yet again, and the fishing tailed off.
We moved over to Marsh Farm down the road, and spent the evening on there, between Hill Pond and Richardson's Lake.
The weather made the fishing tricky there too, with the match from earlier on in the morning reporting low catches. However, at last knockings, and through the Bream I was catching on Richardson's Lake, I did manage to catch one Tench, a lovely 3lb 8oz fish. A small success.
But today hadn't been about the Tench or even the Roach that I was expecting, but about those ravenous Pike. I've never had a days fishing like it.
I remember fishing at The Old Quarry in Surrey and having a Pike there being very bold, eyeing up Aaron's hand and swim feeder hungrily, and snatching the odd fish he put back in the water.
That day both Aaron and I managed to both hook the same Pike, having once been caught, it came back for more, and that was weird enough.
I've caught plenty of Pike in the past, but I've never seen them like this. If I didn't know better, I would almost say that there was a plan to it. It looked like they were working as a team. Each taking a corner of the swim, and driving the fish towards each other, cutting off the means of escape for the darting silver fish.
Pike are not known for their teamwork however, so perhaps it just looked like they were working together, when actually they were all just keeping their distance from each other, perfectly distanced to make a brilliant trap. Either way, it highlighted again for me just how bold and aggressive Pike can be.
I cant wait to come back here again with some lures in the Autumn and Winter!
 |
| The Old Boat House on Busbridge Lake. |
