Good Morning.
I had an incredibly busy day yesterday, so combined with the blistering heat, it was a case of taking baby steps to carefully get through all of the tasks that lay in store. First job was to go out in the boat and using my echo sounder I found four spots to begin with. I have decided to try relatively close range fishing to begin with, to save unnecessary long-range work; however, if the fish are going to play hardball and long-range drops are required, then I will change my tactics. The water level is down a little and the water temperatures are high so the 8-9m depths may be more desirable, but for the first few days I am focussing on the 4-5m depths at the bottom of the first slope in front of me.
I love my new bivvy!
A few fish were heard and seen and they have been showing at all ranges. They do like to betray their presence at this lake and I like to wake early, get a cup of tea on the go, and sit back and watch for signs. Night-time is also a good opportunity to listen for the give away crashes, but my friend does not know how to talk quietly (!), so it can be quite difficult to hear them, amongst his incessant droning!
So do I.....!
Baiting my spots was next on the list and I have decided to start off heavy. This lake has a big head of fish, nuisance and carp, and they will quickly eat whatever is available, so I am not too worried about overdoing it. Similar to fishing very big waters it can be a case of waiting for the fish to move through, or you try to draw the fish onto your bait, or you move around and find them. I am going to try to draw the fish first, if that doesn’t work then I will go long, and fish deeper! The magnet I am using to try to draw in the fish is Halibut Pellet and with the warm water this should be very effective.
My fourth rod had to be made up and this is to be my token tiger nut and hemp rod. My Meccanica Vadese pod was switched to four rod mode and I was then almost ready to go and get them dropped in position. I am using bottle markers with reflective tape on them. The lake can get rather choppy sometimes so it makes baiting up easy, and finding them in the dark is a straightforward process. My markers have been placed about ten metres back from my actual drop position, and the four rods are spaced about 100 yards apart.
My inflatable has a small puncture so one of my jobs today is to repair that. Fortunately it is overcast today so this will be possible as trying to repair a boat in scorching hot sun is not advisable as the adhesive is not effective. I had to inflate my boat a few times yesterday to keep it going but my electric pump which runs off a battery makes light work of that job. I am not moving my rods for the next 24 hours, so if I do get a take whilst repairing my boat, I can fortunately use my friends craft – I have a back-up just in case!
The Colossus absolutely dwarfs my two-man Armo!
After my second night’s kip in the new bivvy I can confirm that it is everything I hoped it would be – the Colossus is awesome. I first clapped eyes on this huge bivvy last year when Korda were filming it along with a host of other Trakker goodies for their Thinking Tackle part three dvd. For my long session fishing that I often undertake I knew this was the bivvy for me, and the dogs, and I have waited very patiently to get my hands on one. They are now in production and available in the UK, and although I doubt you will see many of them set up on English lakes and ponds, they will be very popular for trips to Europe, plus I expect many of the European distributors of Trakker tackle will snap them up quickly for their dealers. If you like big bivvies there are plenty to choose from, but if you want a big bivvy with Trakker’s trademark quality this bivvy has it all and more.
The inner shell sits on top of the separate groundsheet.
The front of the shell is pegged through guide holes.
Setting it up was fairly straightforward. I did not have instructions and as usual the groundsheet became the template. The inner shell is a completely closed and separate structure with interlocking frame support bars and it sits on top of the separate groundsheet. To ensure it sits in the right place there are two tension clips underneath the groundsheet and peg holes at the front of the shell to guide you. The back of the shell is pegged using elasticated rings found underneath the separate groundsheet. The support bars of this bivvy are noticeably thicker than any of Trakker’s other bivvies, but this will provide more strength, and peace of mind, knowing it will stand up to whatever the elements throw at you.
The inner shell windows are opened and closed from inside the structure - unique!
Two doors to choose from - clever!
Five practical pockets included in the inner shell - three inside and two for the porch area.
The roof storage system - I am using it for my sponsor's hats!
If we look at the inner shell itself it has four windows with mesh. The noticeable thing with these windows is they can be opened and closed from the inside of the shell. The door design is brilliant and it works by having two separate zips because the shell has two separate doors that are cleverly stored in a neat velcro pocket at the base of the shell. One door is mesh, and the other is made from the green shell material, which you may wish to use to keep out drafts in the winter months when warmth is essential. The shell comes complete with extra storage. Five pockets are stitched into the bottom of the shell and unlike some of the other pockets I have seen on other bivvies, these actually function. They are small and tight which means items actually stay in them and the pockets don’t sag. There is also a storage system in the roof. At the moment I have my hats stored in this as I did find it is not strong enough to support heavy clothes; however, for light items it is perfect. The shell itself is very big. In comparison to the two-man Armo – it is bigger! You could fit three bedchairs in it and have room to spare. Finally I am pleased to say that the material used for the shell’s integrated groundsheet is impressively thick and it should withstand lots of use – plus it has a stengthened door mat area which is a very good idea.
The outer shell with a single frame bar at the front where it's needed.
Once the inner shell is secured and sitting on the separate groundsheet, the outer structure needs to be erected. This has one interlocking frame bar at the front which provides the strength for the whole structure, porch, and door area. This bar gets its tension from attaching it to two clips positioned underneath the groundsheet. Once these are clipped up the Aquatexx material is pulled from front to back and then pegged down. This outer shell is pegged to elasticated rings found underneath the groundsheet at the front which ensures you get the correct porch space. At the back it is pulled out as tight as possible and then pegged down. This ensures you get space between the inner and outer shell to help with ventilation.
The windows on the Colossus tie up perfectly and doesn't it look strong!
The outer shell itself also has four meshed windows and a large meshed door. These tie up perfectly with the inner shell and provide brilliant air flow on hot days. It is possible to sleep in the daytime without feeling like you are in a sweat room. The porch area is enormous. Compared to a Double Top Extreme I used to own which did have a good-sized porch, this porch is bigger, fully protected with the groundsheet, and really is a useful space which you could cook in, or use for socialising. Just like most of Trakker’s bivvies if you want to open up the front area completely there are elasticated loops with poppers so you can roll it back and quickly secure it.
This is obviously the first time I have put up this bivvy and although it wasn’t put on perfectly flat ground, nor was the terrain firm for peg grip, the final outcome was outstanding. It would not look out-of-place at a tackle show. The Colossus took me about twenty minutes to put up, but with more practice and better ground, I could probably get this down to ten. Could there be any improvements made to this bivvy. I am undecided as to whether or not it should have a peak on it. At the moment if it rains the exposed porch area will get wet, so personally I think it would benefit from one. They make them on other bivvies so why not this one? The roof storage system needs to be redesigned to make it stronger and sag less; then you will have a storage system that is really beneficial. The simple thing to do would be to do away with the elastic they have used near each clip as I don’t think it is necessary.
Apart from that – I have no complaints whatsoever. The pictures of the Colossus on Trakker’s website do not do this product any justice whatsoever. I really love it, and I look forward to using it in the winter, when it will really come into its own. Much thought and some very clever design has gone into the Colossus – well done Trakker!
I will be back tomorrow.
Cheers
Jake and the dogs.
