Firstly, as always, we are delighted to announce the winners of Mays fish of the month competition. As we had so many great entries sent in throughout May, it was just impossible to choose one winner. So congratulations to…. Frank Watson Senior for his monstrous 40lb Common Carp caught from our Main Lake; now officially the largest carp netted from the lake this year (so far!) and also to Rob Tong for his pristine 28lb 8oz Common caught from the Dove Lake. A massive well done to both Frank and Rob who won 24hrs free fishing. July’s competition is now underway so if you fancy your chances of winning a free fishing session, please send your photos and catch reports to info@hawkhurstfishfarm.co.uk to be in with a chance!
Summer has finally arrived at Hawkhurst Fish Farm and we sure do hope it’s here to stay! Although we have had the odd cold night and heavy shower, winter seems like a distant memory. The plant life has taken on a life of its own and given the complex a lovely face lift adding a burst of colour to the lakes which are looking stunning in full bloom.
Summer angling can have an effect on the habits and routines of the fish and those anglers that seem to be doing things slightly differently from the crowds seem to be catching the most fish and the bigger ones too. Weedy margins that receive plenty of direct sunlight always seem to be crawling with natural food during the warmer months, so as you would expect carp are drawn to them like a magnet.
As always, the warm weather has brought out large numbers of anglers and the influx of catch reports is a reflection of how well the lakes have been fishing. Some huge fish have already been caught; these fish will be several pounds heavier towards the end of the season so look out for some stunners over the 40lb mark!
Main Lake has again proved successful with lots of 30’s gracing the nets; the fish were feeding heavily in preparation for spawning which has produced massive hauls for most of our anglers. Father and son team Frank Watson (Junior) and Frank Watson (Senior) – our fish of the month winner, enjoyed a fantastic arm-aching few days fishing with us, they both fished a 72hr session and landed over 20 fish between them. Amongst their catches were the prize winning, scale perfect 40lb Common, a 15lb Grass Carp, 33lb Catfish and 4 Commons from 19lb to 25lb. Frank Junior had Cats of 28lb and 31lb, 4 Commons from 18lb to 28lb and two stunning Mirrors weighing in at 34lb and 35lb, all caught from fishing the far bank – swims 13 and 14. As mentioned in the last issue Mike Miller had a cracking session which produced an 11 fish haul in a 24 hours, netting a 20lb 6oz Grass Carp, 16lb 9oz Mirror and 8 Commons ranging from 15lb 3oz to 28lb 1oz’ – Pictures now received! Rikki White fished a session of 60 hours hooking a stunning common at 37lb 6oz from swim 2. Rikki was fishing to the middle of the island using a blow back rig, fishing mainline hybrid bottom with hybrid pop up. He also caught 2 Cats of 21lb and 27lb and 4 Mirrors ranging from 11lb 14oz to over 15lb. Ryan Read fished peg 1 catching 2 Cats of 19lb and 27lb, a 15lb Mirror carp and 8 Commons ranging from 11lb 2oz to 20lb 4oz. Jonathan Archer netted his new PB; a cracking 38lb Common! Samuel Rumaner fished peg 14 and netted a 39lb Catfish along with 2 Commons weighing in a 16lb and 20lb. With the warmer temperatures setting in, the Cats have started to make an appearance; Rob Kipper smashed his PB twice in a 24hr session, firstly netting a 33lb Catfish then another weighing in at 35lb. Luke Herring fished his first ever 36hr session scoring a lovely 36lb 8oz Catfish followed by 3 more Cats and a 21lb Common.
Dove Lake as previously mentioned has fished really well. In the warmer temperatures fishing to the reed lined margins tends to produce results. The fish can often been seen cruising around the surface on hot days so it’s worth keeping a close eye on their location to make finding them a little easier! Ricky Hogdon caught a beautiful Mirror weighing in at 18lb 7oz using a stiff-hinge rig on banoffee pop-up. Darren Knight fished a 24hr session netting a 36lb 10oz mirror carp caught on a size 8 d-rig using fake corn over a bed off particles and Richworth s-core pellet. Chris Bourne netted two lovely Commons weighing in at 16lb 8oz and 17lb 8oz. Robert Tong had a great 5 days fishing netting 13 Commons up to 28lb 8oz (The largest being one of our fish of the month winners), 3 Mirrors to 24lb 8oz, a Ghostie weighing in at 15lb, 1 Catfish and a Tench! Rob was fishing from peg 3 and then peg 8. David Fox fished from peg 6 and had 4 Commons to 24lb.
Specimen Lake has fished out of its skin with many anglers returning for another crack after an impressive session. Michael Day netted a rare 19lb Ghostie, Simon Evans fished 24hrs and had 3 Commons weighing in at 16lb, 21lb and 26lb, also a 23lb Mirror. Lee Brockhurst caught a 25lb 9oz Mirror and an absolutely stunning Linear Mirror, unfortunately there was no weight specified but what a beautiful fish none-the- less! Steve Wheatley fished a day session and had a 23lb Common. Oliver Sanders had a total of 6 fish which were caught on an IQ D rig with a critically balanced bottom bait and homemade pop ups. The fish include a catfish of 15lbs, and 2 Commons of 16lb, a 19lb – which were not photographed. However, the fish that were photographed werea 25lb Mirror Carp, a scale perfect 23lb 2oz Common Carp and a stunning 31lb Common Carp. The fish were all caught during a 36 hour session from swim 3. Patrick Thompson managed to net one of our famous Blue Carp weighing in at 41lb after fighting for 40 minutes to real in his target fish! It was caught on maize tipped CC Moore Meteor boilie fished on a 20lb n-trap hook link and size 6 hook, baited with his own blend of flavoured maize. It’s been a while since this fella graced the banks so well done Patrick! Rikki White fished a 72hr session having 9 fish in total all falling to a hybrid tipped with fake corn with scatted boiles as freebies including a lovely scaled 21lb Mirror and a 23lb 8oz Mirror.
Please remember all night fishing sessions must be booked in advance by calling this number 01580 753813. Please see our website for a list of rules and tackle requirements. These must be adhered to! We have found evidence of lead core being used which is banned for obvious reasons; please respect the rules and regulations set in place as they are there for a reason! Thank you.