Lure Fishing – Blenheim Palace – Pike & Perch from a boat
Sunday just gone a change from the norm was in order and 4 weeks ago i decided it was time to try lure from a boat so booked up at Blenheim Palace. The fishfinder was ordered and a few new lures in the vain hope that we could hit into some of the gems of the Palace lake. The alarm was set for 4am and i was looking forward to what would hopefully be a great day afloat.
I picked up Jon my fishing bud at 5am and set off on the drive to Oxford. A short and enthusiastic 2 hours later and we drove through the gates to be greeted by our first view of the lake. The only word i can think to describe this place is ‘wow’.
The boat was loaded and off we went in search of some action! The fishfinder ( a garmin 140 ) was mounted so we could quickly gauge the depth and the first lure was cast as the sun broke onto the surface from behind the bank hugging tree line. Wow this place was stunning!
With temperatures around -2 on the journey over and with ice in the top end of the lake we knew it wouldn’t be the easiest of days, and after two hours of plugging we hadnt seen much at all. The fishfinder led us to some deep spots of 14-15′ at the dam end and had shown signs of fish below the surface but no matter how many variations of lures we had tried nothing was showing a liking to the bait. We decided to head up towards the other end to see if our fortunes would change.
We rowed for around 15-20 minutes keeping an eye on the depth and decided to work our way along the Palace bank. Again nothing was obliging and despite there being 7 other boats out we were yet to see any fish taken.
We turned the corner towards the bridge and again were greeted by another stunning view, this lake was extremely pleasing to the eye! It was just a shame it wasn’t to be an overly productive day. We dropped the anchor around 10-15m from the bridge and set about our luring regime again. After two casts of the Spro Ultralight rod ‘bang’… the 2.5″ chartreuse Kopyto had done the business – i was in! Bang bang bang on the tip and i thought i’d been lucky and hit into a stripey (perch). Then the fish picked up speed and the banging stopped, the fish rose up and a pike was in the net! I didn’t bother weighing the little chap but was more than chuffed at landing my first Blenheim fish! We plugged away in the area for a further 30-45 mins but none of his friends were willing to give chase.
After our success at the bridge we tried various other areas but unfortunately were not to be blessed with anymore fish. Although this little chap (below) did stop by to say hello, and i have to say i was equally pleased to get such a good picture of a kingfisher as normally when the camera is out they elude me.
All in all it was a great day afloat, the fishfinder worked well and so did the camera. Hopefully next time and there will definately be a next time there will be more action to the rods. It wasn’t that we hadn’t tried our damdest we slung everything into the water, but i think with mixed weather on the lead up to our visit and the freezing temps the fish were never going to be over active. But hey ho that’s fishing. Fingers crossed we will get back there when the new season opens, and i’ll be sure to post another report and more pictures.
Thanks for stopping by.
Mark
Tags: blenheim palace, boat, boat fishing, fishing, kopyto, kopyto relax, lake, lure, lure fishing, lures, oxford, perch, perch lures, perching fishing, pike, pike lures, relax
March 8th, 2010 at 4:11 pm
Sounds like a great day out and the lake at Blenhiem is truly stunning. I imagine the cold water had something to do with it and would love to give it a go in the late spring time. Is there a close season on the lake do you know? And where do you get the boats from? Are they available for hire there?
I’d be interested in your thoughts on the fish finder too. People often they are not worth the bother but you seem to have had great fun with it. Do you have to be in a boat for it to work?
Kind regards
Peter
PS Great blog BTW!
March 8th, 2010 at 4:52 pm
Hi Peter
There is a full close season in affect at Blenheim hence getting out when i did as that was my last opportunity before the close season. I think it closes of the 14th March. Boats are bookable online at http://www.blenheimpalace.com/theestate/coarse-fishing.html
The fish finder was purchased so i knew where the deepers areas were and i thought it done a great job – it gave an instant read out of the depths at all times. I’m yet to learn fully about its fish finding capabilites so i tried to leave that side of it alone…. I’ll be back there in the autumn and hopefully will have learnt a bit more about it by then.
And yes it has to be mounted in the boat. I also have the rod mountable one that you cast out, although i always had my doubts about it… but after dropping it in the water next to the new one the depths read the same much to my surpise! So they are not a bad option! Screen is obviously a lot lot smaller and its not as powerful as the boat mount ones – but it seemed to read out fine during my test.
If you need any more info let me know.
All the best
Mark
March 8th, 2010 at 7:50 pm
That’s great Mark, thanks! I can feel a fish finder coming on when the wife says ‘what do you want for your birthday, dear?’.
I shall definitely be giving Blenheim a go in the autumn too. I have only ever fished from a boat once before, on Lake Windermere.
May see you Blenheim.
Kind regards
Peter
September 27th, 2010 at 8:19 am
great photos pity about the fishing, have too say its inspired me to fish there too.