Lee Swords Fishing

I have been going down to Marsh Farm for a few years now and have always enjoyed my visits even though the journey is an extremely long one from Sheffield.

The one thing that has changed since my first visits is the fact that I am now multi-media therefore rather than be restricted to writing this review I can actually talk with you…so please enjoy my video introduction…

the methods I used on this particular visit to Marsh Farm were not for the most part the original methods that I picked up from the “Master” ( Mike Townsend) but rather adaption of ones that I started using to beat the effects of fatigue, bolt rigs.

Bolt rigs are not big and they are not clever, they do not make me a good angler but rather they make me an effective angler and the excuse that I give for this choice is that Marsh farm is too far to travel for me to completely indulge myself in “better methods”.

That said I did take with me a long rod and center pin reel for the moment when I decided that I had sated the beast within and was replete with fish caught.

So how would I go about having a good session down on the “Farm”? Well one thing is for certain, I would first decide what it was that I wanted to do because Marsh Farm ( Harris Lake)  is now stuffed with tench as well as crucian carp and as the tench go to a size that can beat my own personal best of 8lb 10oz  and so with that target in mind I set out my stall to swing the odds in my favour of catching one over that size with the outside chance of getting in among the crucian’s at some point in the game as an added bonus…therefore I did what anyone with half a brain would do in the circumstances…I “spombed the granny” out of it with a mixture of The Hook Bait Company’s ( HBC’s) Natural Crave ground-bait mixed with a selection of pellets which included HBC’s 3B  pellets in 1mm and 3mm as well as a little  T7 salmon crumb and Carpet Bomb mixture left over from last season as well  as a stolen half bag of Green Betain Swim-Stim micro pellet and ground bait left over from a session I had in the week with my fishing buddy Dan Stewart-Smith ( sorry Dan I will get you some more)

The mix was made in two batches, one dry for moulding around my feeders and one wet for ‘spombing in’ over the top as slop, this may seem to be a bit of a faff but it is something I always do for tench, tench like a constant fall of particles and a column of ‘colour’ that I believe mimics the disturbance tench would create when foraging for food items in the silt, as well as the slop I will also spomb in some maggots as well to get things moving.

Spombing and spodding are integral when it comes to tench and bream fishing in my opinion and are major weapons anyone that wishes to fish for these species needs to perfect or at the very least work on, spombing also presents the angler with great photo opportunities to play with their new cameras because if anyone wants to get into this whole fishing writing/blogging/journalism thing they need to be able to see a good picture opportunity when it arises, I am luck in this department in that I am naturally artistically minded and I have had this gift improved greatly by fishing with good friends such as  Matt Brown who can see a good shot before it happens and make the most of a fleeting chance.

Anyway less of the photo blather and back to the fishing and fishery review…

The fishery itself has everything that the angler could require, secure parking, a nice toilet and a VERY well stocked shop where the staff are genuinely interested in how you are doing and how to get you catching.

 

The shop is superb and offers the angler everything that they may require which is a very good thing as a good percentage of anglers that visit Marsh farm will have traveled a fair distance to get there and accidents with things being left behind will always happen. The shop is having a little bit of a refurb so goodness knows what it will be like when it is finished, it is very good now…it will be superb when its finished!

The shop also offers hot drinks and snacks but no hot food…I think it offers enough.

 

Anyway lets get back to the fishing bit… where it has to be said I was bagging up…bagging up so much so that I began to feel all musical and as I have been watching a bit of that Les miserable felt inclined to sing a bit…

 

The fishing was at some points becoming  frenetic with me and my fishing buddy Danny having seven double headers where we were both playing fish at the same time!

I also had two double headers where both rods went off within moments of each other resulting in me having brace shot opportunities!

I also had loads of other fish to take pictures of, including a Crucian of 2lb 13oz which was the joint biggest Crucian of the session.

In fact the only thing that had decided not to play ball was the weather, the wind was squally and the showers intermittently heavy!

 

But even these offer the opportunistic angler a chance to play around a little or just let their minds wander.

When a double rainbow landed in my swim I though that it must  be a sign that I was having a really good session because  the Leprechauns themselves had blessed the place that I was fishing, knowing only one Leprechaun personally I took a moment to give him a ring before he left the UK to tour America with One Direction and  lo and behold Niall told me I was sitting very close to his friend Faergals crock o’ gold but should be beware because if I tried to pinch it there would be trouble!

A moment after speaking with Niall I woke up to the sound of a Delkim screaming!!! And another good fish was soon in the net..

and shortly after that I had another..and then another…

 

I am sure you get the idea and I do not want to bore you with lots of fish pictures and so I  shall leave it there and give it a scores on the doors

 

Venue stock  4.75/5

Venue 5/5

Facilities 5/5

Toilet ( because you know I like to poo in comfort) 5/5

 

Marsh Farm Tel. o1483428885

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