Courtz's Carpy Captures 2008

courtz · Zone Addict Joined: 22 Jul 2007 Posts: 673

With less than a month before my club water shuts for a 6 week closed season, and with a level exams looming; I decided something had to be done in order to finally catch my first carp from the water in 2008. The start of the new year had been anything but easy, the weather showed no consistency with the lake freezing on several occasions, the eventual long awaited mild periods were often ruined by wintry showers returning the lake to an apparent dormant state. As a result the fishing was slow, very slow. Up until mid march a total of 3 carp had been caught even with about 6 anglers fishing the lake regularly. As I have mentioned none of these fell to my rods, only the occasional bream or rogue roach breaking the silence of my alarms. I knew what was going to happen; the lake would suddenly kick off in my absence. Fate played its part and whilst away for a weekend at bluebell lakes a total of five carp were caught over that short period of time, only one of which below 18lbs in weight. I had to get down there……but couldn’t! Pre-arranged plans along with part time work and the start of my driving lessons put hold to my urge to get down there, in fact with the next weekend signalling the end of my Easter break which went all to quickly, and with college returning I figured out it would be two weeks before I could get down there. Two weeks! Of planning, anticipation and overall pure torture! I couldn’t let this chance pass by so easily; something had to be done to turn the odds in my favour!

The amount of bait which was being introduced to the lake over winter had been limited, with many members resorting to one bite tactics through the colder months. I’d been introducing a fair amount of bait on a fairly regular basis, but now was time to step it up a notch. In the absence of actually fishing the lake I was in no way wasting my time, atleast four times a week I would make the 16 mile round bike journey just to be at the water. In this time and also from staying awake until the early hours on a previous session, well to be more precise it was after being woken by a big bream on a previous session, I had noticed an area where fish would consistently give away their presence. This is an area of the lake which gets very little pressure; mostly because the swims commanding this body of water are rather uncomfortable to say the least. Confident in the knowledge of where the fish could be found, and also that there was a tiny chance of my pre baiting being exploited by someone else; it was time to get the bait going in! Visiting the lake every other evening I’d introduce between one and two kilos of Bangon Baits DSM plum per night, the majority of which to the back of a small bar in an expanse of light silt on the neglected body of water, but also around other areas of the lake depending on how much pressure the water was receiving. As this carried on it was evident of increasing activity over the chosen spot, but also the lake seemed to of woken up further, with several more fish being caught around the twenty pound mark. Keeping up the baiting for another week and it was finally time to get the rods out; full of confidence the few final days couldn’t pass any quicker. I must of checked over my kit a dozen times on the final night in preparation, new rigs tied and everything ready to load in the car the following evening, I was ready and full of anticipation.

Not even room for an overwrap, and a steep drop towards the rods; not exactly comfort carping!

Arriving a few hours before dusk I started on a quick lap around the lake, three other anglers were fishing so it was time to have a chat and lower their tea supplies. Whilst looking across the lake I sat there smugly in the knowledge that my baited section of water remained vacant, just as I was expecting really. Stood on the higher ground close to the car park I made out a couple of figures just below the surface close in against a large overhanging willow, a couple of the inhabitants of the lake which had eluded me so far this year. They cruised steadily sticking to one area of the lake in particular, the section which was receiving the least pressure unsurprisingly. I could have had an opportunity to try and get these fish going on surface bait? Surely it would be reasonable to assume that they weren’t the only fish present. In the end I decided against it in fear of spooking the fish from the body of water they already occupied, instead using the last moments of daylight to ensure I could get my rigs effectively positioned.

Finding the spot was a simple process, out went the marker which was gradually dragged back until the first knocks of gravel were felt. Counting the float up registered fourteen feet of water, the area just behind gradually sloping to sixteen. Casting the rod out a few feet behind the float and clipping it up got the right positioning over the back. Next on goes the rig, a 6 inch rigmarole black Hydrolink to a Nash TT Fang X baited with a DSM plum bottom bait. A golf ball sized pva bag of matching freebies both whole and crushed along with a few matching pellets and bits of paste is hooked on, before the rig sails out past the float and gentle lands with a dull thud on the lakebed, that’ll do nicely! Sinking the line and allowing plenty of slack to prevent a sharp angle coming off the back of the bar, next out comes the catty to spread about 50 fourteen millers in the area behind the back of the float, followed by six spodfuls of matching pellet. The other rod is placed to the right of the swim under an overhanging tree in seven feet of water, the lead donks down nicely on the gravely bottom which runs for the majority of the road bank margins, a few baits both broken and whole and the job’s a good un. Sitting back for a moment to consume my third tea of the night, thinking about the session ahead I notice a few black clouds appearing on the horizon, time to set up the bivvy I think! Not long after and I’m about settled in to the tight swim, rods sorted, shelter set up and tidy next up for a bit of food. Whilst cooking an all day breakfast in a tin I fail to notice a small commotion in front of my swim, only alerted by the ripple marks gently flowing from close to the left hand rig. A couple of bleeps on the alarm get me poised on the edge of the bedchair in readiness, but nothing is forthcoming. Now into darkness a few splashes can be heard out in the lake, interrupted by the sound of heavy drizzle on the top of my bivvy. I’m not sure about you but I can’t stand it, the endless chorus having an effect similar to Chinese water torture. Trying to eliminate the constant drone I decided to read for what seemed like an eternity, however it must have only been close to midnight when I finally drifted off into a dream land filled with carp.

With no disturbances in the night early dawn arrives; awoken by the tune of flo rider coming from somewhere behind the bivvy, half asleep I turned back over into the sleeping bag before realising what it was. Picking up my phone from the bedchair pouch I peer hazily onto the screen. ‘1 missed call’ right who’s that then pressing a few buttons and ‘Jordan’ appears on the screen, the lad fishing down to my left, I’d better go and see what he wants. Walking along in the dim light I notice a few ripple marks as I approach his swim, what’s he done then? Gone and fallen in? As I get closer there he is bent double with a fish which is trying to do its best to avoid the waiting net, joining him in the swim I am bang on cue to net it for him after a couple more lunges. From memory it was a mirror of around 17lbs, but a cracking red chestnut shade from it’s winter colours, also his second take of the early hours, unfortunately loosing the first to a hook pull. A bit of banter is exchanged and I trot back to my camp hope of some early morning action, the period which seems to be most production in the recent weeks. Despite scanning the water constantly over a few morning cups of tea little more than a few roach reveal their presence and before I know it noon is upon us! Knowing the best chance of a fish had probably passed I clip the rods and reel them in, on inspection I’m annoyed to find the hook on the left had rod has embedded deep into the bait, rendering it obsolete, damn that was the banker spot too!

After quickly nipping to the local shop for a few supplies once again I’m on a quick stroll around the lake. With the polaroids on I can only noticed a few shapes just under the surface towards the central body of water, and despite two more laps of the lake I spot nothing which would make me consider moving. Back to the swim then and time to get the rods sorted. With the small group of fish still visible at around forty yards range I set up a surface rig on the spare rod, whilst catapulting out a couple of small mesh bags of mixers. Cruising lazily beneath the free offerings they show no sign of interest and gradually fade away as a dark cloud blocks the afternoon sun, great more rain I mutter! Getting the rods out to the same spots seemed to be a priority, and after a couple of attempts I was happy with the placement of both. Not with a minute to spare either; just as the clouds reached overhead hail started falling heavily and dimpling the surface of the lake. I was forced the move everything into the back of the shelter as the hail started entering through the open faced front, then the wind picked up even further! As you’ll of seen this swim is nowhere near big enough to fit on overwrap on, forcing me to lift up the groundsheet and pull it over my bedchair in order to keep my belongings dry until the showers had passed over. There’s not much more to report for that evening apart from the occasional liner, which nearly had me slipping down the now lubricated section of ground towards the rods. Two other anglers packed up, leaving the lake in just the presence of myself and another down towards the far end bay. Luckily the night stayed dry, reducing the chance of a broken limb if I was to get a run, but no action was forthcoming and I was left scratching my head at mid morning the next day.

Whilst cooking a nice greasy fry up in the company of the bailiff’s son, we noticed a fish break the surface across the lake against a tree lined section of margin. A few moments later and it came straight out the water; again close to a large overhanging hawthorn tree, time to go and have a closer look! The weather was now warm and bright with hardly any wind at all, climbing up a tree on the opposite bank gave a good view of the water out in front. Still I noticed the occasional solitary fish cruising through the swim, but they looked like they had no intension of feeding. Grabbing a few mixers and a catty I returned and fired out a dozen or so baits in front of the swim, out of nowhere appeared a pair of mallards who engulfed the lot and sat there quacking for more, blooming ducks! Eventually they drifted away to the confines of a large willow tree, so not making the same mistake twice out went two small pva mesh bags of mixers; not so clever now are you ducks!!! Even with the baits remaining in the swim for a good half an hour no response was provoked by the odd passing carp, cruising straight under the offerings without even flinching. Even so there were still fish present, so this is where I decided to move for the remainder of the session, aiming to travel light with just a pair of rods and a stalking rod, along with the necessary rig pieces, bait and unhooking gear. Within twenty minutes I had packed up my excess gear from the initial swim and concealed it in the top car park, before heading off to where I had spotted the fish. Trying to stalk one was to be my priority, so the pair of rods were placed against a tree towards the back of the swim and once again I climbed up the same tree to get a lookout to the watery depths below. The bright sun had stayed and I was pleasantly surprised to view over a dozen fish sat lazily below the surface, almost a third of the lakes carp population! It was evident of a group of large fish cruising gently in a pattern which was directly above a large bar about 30 yards out, and also a couple of fish concealed along the tree lined margin to my left, making the most of this unsettled patch of bright sunshine. Again out go a couple of mesh bags of mixers slightly upwind of where the fish are held up. This time a couple of fish seemed to show a slight interest, cruising gentle under the baits for closer inspection before gulping down the occasional free offering. This was a chance too good to miss!

They looked up for a floater whilst cruising in the afternoon sun

Keen to capitalise on this opportunity I grabbed the stalking rod and start tying up a long mono hooklength of 9lb powerline, ready to attach to the floating braid mainline of the small shimano reel; with the intension of freelining in hope of a bite from the fish which were gradually cruising closer and closer! My hands were shaking so much in anticipation that it took much longer to connect the leader onto the mainline, and just that moment my phone rang, it was a friend inquisitive of how I was getting on. ‘’Can’t talk now mate, I’ve got a few good fish feeding along a tree lined margin and am tying up a stalking rig now, I’ll text you when I bag a 20!’’

With the rig now ready I continued to flick the odd mixer out into the path of feeding fish, gradually they became more excited until atleast four fish were eating the baits with some consistency, increasing their confidence for a further twenty minutes until I cast out a baited rig. Well I’d like to say that I nailed one first cast, but obviously this cannot always be the case! An hour later and although the fish were still evident I had yet to have a proper inspection of the hookbaits by one of the resident carp. Gradually the fish moved a bit further out of range, so I had to resort to small bags of mixers to get the necessary distance whilst freelining. Despite many of the freebies disappearing I had only experienced one missed opportunity, the fish heading in a straight line for the hookbait, before freezing on the spot. Now who said carp can’t swim backwards? Well this one didn’t abide to this as it gradually backed away! The bright spell had now vanished as a dark cloud drew overhead, again came a shower of hail, which got heavier, and heavier! Reeling in the hookbait I was forced the seek shelter against the bank of earth behind the swim, sitting there huddle next to my gear with the unhooking mat over my head, providing a barrier against the consistent barrage of small balls of ice. Just as the hail started to die off I felt a slight tickling on the back of my neck, brushing my hand along my head revealed what it was, BEES!!! Jumping from under the cover I legged it 40 yards to the adjacent swim, I had always wondered what those small holes were!

Within ten minutes the bright sun had returned, and luckily the bees had vacated the swim for the time being. So returning back up the tree and my heart sank as no more dark figures could be seen at anywhere around the lake. Disheartened I took the opportunity to get one of my static rods out, a single DSM plum pop up cast towards the bar where the fish had been holding up, feeling it down with a solid donk I was pleased with the positioning, and happy in the knowledge that the area had received a fair bit of the matching bait over the couple of days previous. Pulling off a couple of feet of slack line I sat back and waited for the line to sink before walking over and clipping on the bobbin. Just at that moment I noticed a group of three fish cruising lazily past, in a direction towards the overhanging margin to my left. All three of which looked every ounce of 20lb, one common and two mirrors which looked a few pounds bigger! Picking up the stalking rod already baited with a Bangon Baits condensed milk wafter, I flicked the rig in the direction of the margin, about eight feet in front of the intended targets, it landed effortlessly with no more than a splash. The group of fish cruised up towards the bait with the common pushing in front of his two friends before freezing for what seemed like an eternity with his nose inches from the bait. Right on time he inhaled the bait and sweeping back the rod I was met with a solid resistance.

I’m not sure who was more surprised out of me or the fish, but if I was to guess then it would have been the fish. Not initially realising its mistake it wallowed gently as I drew it to within two feet of the net cord, then it clicked and he was having none of it. The little 8ft rod took on a nice curve as I was left having to backwind furiously as the fish made off for the other end of the lake at some pace.

After taking atleast 70 yards of braid on the first run the fish began to slow down on its escape, and circled effortlessly in the centre of the lake with the rod still compressed, gradually as I gained line the fish drew closer and closer. Staying on the surface for a while, whilst giving a magnificent fight as it bow waved in every direction possible, an exhilarating fight on braid I can tell you!

It was probably a further 5 minutes before I had the fish wallowing about twenty feet out from the net, looking in a state of surrender. Keeping the rod high my prize drew closer and closer, praying that the size 10 hook would hold. Luckily it did and she kissed the net cord first time.

Lifting her onto the mat she didn’t look as bulky as she has been before, having lost a bit of weight around the girth. The tiny Drennan barbel hook was embedded to the bend, two inches back within the roof of it’s massive mouth. Onto the scales she registered 20lb 7oz, my first twenty of the year and a stunner at that!

20lb 7oz

Another angler from the lake rattled off a dozen or so photos along with a little bit of video footage of me returning her, cheers the pictures look great! Holding her back in the edge she passed a few air bubbles from out her gills, and realising the presence of freedom bolted away instantly giving me a soaking as she went.

Well that was it, my first fish of the year from my target lake for the majority of the season, and with two weeks left of the season I hope I can manage to fool another of the residents into taking a bait. Throughout the closed season I’ll still be keeping in contact with the water, through a couple of work parties when I get to go out in the boat amongst other jobs. Also by visiting the lake regularly I’ll be able to keep the bait going in at a regular occurrence. Hopefully this summer will bring results which are even close the last year I spent there, in which I experienced one of my most rewarding years carping in my life.

Tight lines and get out there,

Courtney

02jlloyd · Zone Addict Joined: 22 Jul 2007 Posts: 640

8) awesome write up mate

some nice pics n'all
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02jlloyd

richchappy · Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2008 4:58 pm Post subject:

bloomin heck mate, you after a place in the mag lol

quality write up...
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Lost and wandering

Mac · Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2008 5:19 pm Post subject:

Nice one Courtz

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Onions · Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2008 6:51 pm Post subject:

wicked write up mate!
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Mid Wales Carper

carpmanjay · Gold Member Joined: 26 Feb 2007 Posts: 1147

pukka read fella, well done

light leads · New Member Joined: 08 Apr 2008 Posts: 24 Location: essex

good read mate very well written. What a pukka common that is!

bigkipper · Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2008 7:52 pm Post subject:

great write up, cracking pic`s, lovely common.

well done mate

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NOSEY WIFE · Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2008 8:08 pm Post subject:

nice one courtz cracking write up there buddy and stunning pics

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courtz · Zone Addict Joined: 22 Jul 2007 Posts: 673

rav · Zone Addict Joined: 04 Jun 2007 Posts: 774

nice write up my friend. fish is a peach too.

courtz · Zone Addict Joined: 22 Jul 2007 Posts: 673

Sitting there bored on Saturday morning flicking through the TV channels I couldn’t hide where I wanted to be, after having a result the previous weekend, all I could think of was getting another session in at the club water before it closed down for a period of time; allowing the fish to get on with spawning undisturbed. My parents had gone away for the weekend so this created quite an issue relating to transport; I had debated strapping a stalking rod onto my push bike and going down for a day session, but in the end reasoned that it would not be the safest option to consider! After a slight amount of begging my sister had finally agreed to take me to the lake, now I just had to wait until 6pm when she finished work! I’d sorted my gear by mid morning, new rigs, bait out the freezer and camera batteries charged. I now just had a few hours to kill until I could be on my way. Browsing over the internet and rechecking my gear made the time pass a little quicker, and before I knew it the gear was loaded into the car ready for my sister to return!

It was just after six when I arrived at the lake and was a little disheartened to find another four anglers on, after the usual rounds i had decided on an area which took my fancy. This swim covers an area of shallower water towards a small bay, and having fished the swim several times in the previous year I was quite aware of the features it held. The only problem I encountered was that another angler was fishing the swim to my left for the day, and I thought it would be inconsiderate to start thrashing the marker rod through the swim, reducing the chances of fish moving through into the bay to which he was fishing. After having a quick chat he mentioned that he was packing away at any moment and I should cast out straight away, sound fella! Even so I still thought I’d let him make the most of his time so got my shelter set up for the night and everything sorted before considering removing the rods from their sleeves, already rigged up of course! Looking through my food bag it was rather low on supplies, only 5 tea bags, a tin of baked beans and a swiss roll! Nipping over to the local shop I was soon ten pounds lighter, with a bag of food big enough to cover a banquet. On my return to the lake I was pleased to see the member to my left attached to a fish, on the mat it was a nice scaley mirror and he started packing away in contempt. Third cast with the marker and I’d managed to get the positioning to the intended feature. The float swayed gently in the light ripple, positioned on the surface above a gravel plateau, which rose about a meter from the surrounding lakebed to a depth of twelve feet. Clipping up my rods I positioned one directly to the right of the mark, an out the bag dsm plum bottom bait with a small pva mesh bag containing four baits and six halves. Casting out it landed effortlessly inches next to the marker and landed with a firm donk, things were going good already! The second rod was positioned four feet to the left with a single matching pop up an inch off the deck, again the cast landed exactly as I had hoped, it seemed like I couldn’t do anything wrong!

Nothing too complicated here, but get it in the right place and you’re in with a chance!

Pulling off a foot or so of slack line I left the rigs to settle for about ten minutes whilst I gave the kettle and tea making gear its initial run off the session, sitting down whilst watching across the lake. I was pleased knowing that now the angler to my left had packed up I had a much larger area of water to play with, so if the fish decided to move in towards the bay to my left it was only my rigs in their path! I clipped on the bobbins making sure they were lying right on the floor with a few inches of extra slack. I’m a big believer in fishing slack lines when the conditions allow, and as I was only fishing at around 35 yards range I know they could only aid my rig presentation. Next job was to get some bait out there, so out comes the catapult and about half a kilo of DSM Plum is dispatched tight to the marker float. All that was left to do was bring in the marker, not such an easy task when your knuckles are red from the catapult backlash. With an hour or so before dark I was sorted and brimming with confidence, even though I still hadn’t seen any fish show I was already anticipating an early morning wake up call!

Slack lines and flying backleads, keep the line pinned out of their way!

Now the rods were sorted it was time to concentrate on some food for myself, rummaging through my bag of goodies and in no time at all I had a nice curry on the go, followed by a few extra items of junk food and several more cups of tea. Sitting on the edge of my bedchair the open face bivvy gave a full view of the lake, as darkness fell the wind dropped to a gentle blow; rustling through the newly budded tree branches above. The temperature remained quite mild into the evening, even with the presence of a slight easterly wind. The sky remained overcast, and checking the weather report through my phone confirmed that low pressure was here to stay for the weekend. Under the cover of darkness a few fish began to show themselves, mainly in the deeper body of water to my far right, but gradually I noticed a few more ripples appearing all over the lake. You really have to be on edge to notice them, if you’re not looking in the right direction then you won’t even turn an eyelid as they head and shoulder through the surface before returning to the inky depths. After about three hours of watching I’d noticed in the region of twenty carp shows with several in the body of water in front of me, interrupted only by the occasional splash of smaller silver fish, and not to mention the ducks! It must be mating season at the moment, and for that reason the four resident mallards are intent on trying to drown one another. There’s not even a female on the scene though, so maybe they’ve turned to homosexuality! For most of the night they were thrashing the water to foam close to a small willow at the left of my swim, would this be spooking any resident fish right out of the area I kept thinking? Whatever the case it had me gritting my teeth, whilst the thought of duck and plum sauce sounded like a great option. Eventually tiredness got the better of me and I slipped into the sleeping bag in the hope of an early dawn run, which seems to be the most prolific time period recently.

Their constant disturbance kept me awake for a lot of the night!

It was about 4am when I awoke to the dawn chorus of birds singing, looking out I could just about make out the lake in front through the dim light. The mirrored surface only broken by the occasional moorhen scattering through the marginal reeds. I was quite surprised to see the bobbins had remained motionless through the night, considering how confident I had been. Then again I was fishing slack lines so didn’t expect vast amounts of liners. I sat there for over an hour begging for the alarms to spring into life, two hours past and still no indication on the alarms. I had however seen a couple of shows directly over the baited spot, which brought on the dreaded thoughts; is the rig tangled, have they cleared me out……I remained confident and dismissed these images from my head, if it came to it I’d leave the rods out until having to pack up that evening, after all I was contempt with the casts I had made the day before so why change it! Besides I had introduced a fair amount of bait so surely the forty or so resident carp hadn’t clear up all of that without making a mistake I hoped.

The sun gradually crept up above the trees behind me as 6am passed. I was still knackered from the limited sleep through the night, so lay back on my bedchair wearing just a pair of boxers and socks to reduce the effect of the 5 season bag in this mild weather. No sooner had I closed my eyes than the right hand rod absolutely ripped off at quite some pace, I wasn’t risking loosing this just to get my boots on! Running over to the rods in just my boxers and a pair of originally white socks, I lifted into the fish which steadily slowed on its first run and began plodding on a tight line in the centre of the lake. Apart from a couple more staggered runs the fish was drawn gradually closer, until it was plodding around in the deep margins darting to either side of the swim. Tightening the clutch enabled me to prevent its intention of reaching the willow roots to my right, and after a few more minutes I was staring down at a lean mirror in the bottom of my net, whilst stood there shivering from head to toe. Pegging the net in the margins I quickly got dressed and put some shoes on. Onto the mat and it was hooked firmly in the side of the mouth, obviously taking a liking for the DSM Plum bottom bait. On the scales she went just over 13lbs, not big at all but a nice lean chestnut mirror saving a blank session.

Small, but good looking!

Clipping the line against the dental floss marker, the rig was rebaited and after attaching a small pva bag was recast towards a far bank marker, the line hit the clip gently just as the lead crashed onto the surface, again landing with a satisfying thud. After slackening the line I took the opportunity to introduce around fifty more baits over the plateau with the catty, before thinking about getting some breakfast sorted. About ten minutes later I again began to notice signs of activity over the baited feature, it started off which just a few small splashes; which increased to streams of bubbles breaking the surface and a further three carp roll! I was sat there cooking a fry up expecting a take at any time, it came seconds later! I noticed the mainline pulling up through the water and dodged the stove to get to the right hand rod, lifting into the fish just moments after the bobbin shot violently towards the blank. Another erratic fight ensued and after a few minutes of sudden surges I had a nice dark common on the mat. Into doubles figures it was a stunning fish, but one I had already caught six months previous, so slipped it straight back so I could get cast back out without delay. Even throughout the fight a few fish continued to show in the area, so after checking the rig was fine it was rebaited straight away. Again the cast landed effortlessly and I was hopeful of another run, with any luck I would manage a fish closer to the average stamp of around high doubles.

By introducing quality bait into the right area the fish were on the feed big time.

The weather still looked spot on; a mild wind along with occasional drizzle made me think my luck wasn’t up just yet. After finishing off my breakfast there was little more I could do than sit and watch the water. I was confident with the rigs so didn’t was to miss a chance by reeling in and walking the lake. Sitting on an area of higher ground behind my swim made observations a bit clearer. However in the next hour of two all I spotted was one fish cruise through into the bay to my right. Despite the lack of fish showing I was kept amused by the constant antics of the resident ducks, still intent on claiming their authority by chasing each other the length of the lake. It was whilst watching this now regular occurrence the right hand rod again signaled further action; the bobbin pulled up tight to the rod blank, which had me scrambling down towards the beeping alarm and lifting into the culprit on the other end. After a few frantic turns of the reel handle I felt a dull nodding as the fish drifted in with no effort at all, seconds later all went slack! Never mind, I was pretty confident it wasn’t a carp anyway, more than likely a nuisance roach or bream. Examining the hook point and rig thoroughly revealed nothing was at fault, so again the rebaited rod went back out to the spot. So far all three of the takes had come to the right hand rod fished tight to the bait, with the bobbin on the left hand pop up rod remaining motionless since the evening before, luckily not even disturbed by any of the fish landed picking up the line during the fight.

It was getting on for midday when the next bite occurred; I was sat on my bedchair reading an issue of carp addict magazine when this time the left hand bobbin pulled up tight to the blank. Thinking that another bream was the culprit I took a moment to put on my boots, already wearing my spare pair of socks! Definitely not wanting wet feet for the remainder of the session just for a bream! As I walked over to the rod the alarm sounded again in succession as line gently ticked from the tightened spool. Tightening up I lifted into the fish and was flat rodded in an instant! Bending into the fish it continued to take line from an already tight clutch and kited effortless towards the deeper water to the right of the swim. This fight was a lot different, staying deep and swimming along gradually without flinching; I was convinced it was a much better fish! In the first few minutes of the fight I hadn’t even gained an inch of line, but eventually I played it back a few feet at the time until gradually the line marker was back on the reel; signaling the culprit was still some thirty or more yards out and showing no sign of surrendering! A further five minutes of dogged runs occurred before I had the fish to within a rod length out, using the depth to its advantage I couldn’t budge it from the lakebed! After what seems like an eternity; but more than like a few minutes the fish began to show signs of tiring. I caught sight of the leadcore leader breaking surface, with the carp firmly attached some four feet below, before going on another twenty yard run.

Hooked about on the edge of the ripple, but it wasn't going to stay there in a hurry.

Now I’m not sure of what you think about being able to tell a carp from the way it fights? Personally I’m not a subscriber to that theory, but joined by another member he mentioned it was fighting like the lean fully scaled; a fish I’m after. Regardless of what was attached I wanted it in the net, although his comment did make me ease off a little! With the rod taking on a nice curve I eventually caught a glimpse of the fish a rod length out, at first it seemed like a huge anticlimax. Viewing the fish for a moment lengthways on and I’d of only put it at mid doubles maximum, however this soon changed when it broke the surface! The big grey shoulders and creamy white belly indicated it was one of the original mirrors from the lake, of which there are probably 8 or so still present which are getting on for 40 years old! The majority of the rest of the stock is from the 80s when some fish were moved from another lake the club lost ownership of. Getting a better view of the fish showed it was built like a breeze block, and with a belly which almost matched its length! I eased off a bit in fear of the hook pulling under pressure, and after guiding it away from the marginal tree roots it kissed the spreader block first time!

Peering into the net my initial estimates were scrapped, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this fish was pushing 20lb. Securing the net in the margin I got the unhooking gear sorted, already in position from the two previous fish, with the camera ready and everything wet I went over to fetch my prize. Folding down the net I lifted her from the water and over to the mat, my thoughts were confirmed as the fish was much heavier than its length would suggest. Unfolding the mesh reveals a mouth which could swallow a golf ball, two inches back was my size 7 hook embedded deeply into the base of the mouth; he sure wanted that bait! I had to use a pair of forceps to even reach the hook hold; he wasn’t going to come off in the fight. With the scales already zeroes she goes into the sling and after a few seconds the reubens flicker at 21lb 7oz. What a result; a twenty plus mirror to accompany the slightly smaller common the weekend before. Regardless of the weight to have one of the originals is an achievement in itself; such is the character of these fish.

21lb 7oz

Look at the width!

With help from another member I rattled off about a dozen shots on the camera, before holding her back into the deep margin, admiring her individuality as she took a few mouthfuls of water. After pausing for a few moments she belted off leaving a spray of water behind as her creamy belly glinted just under the surface.

Swimming away with the finesse of a small pig.

I sat back on the bedchair soaked from the waist down with water, pleased with the capture of a big mirror after so many good commons from the lake the year before. Thinking about it I’m pretty sure the fish represents a new personal best mirror, having caught more than a dozen commons over that weight up to high twenties, my mirror pb has always been lagging behind somewhat! Despite repositioning the rod no more action was forthcoming that day in the final hours of my session, but what was I to care!

Even if I cannot make it back to the water before the end of the month, this session still acts as a fitting end to the eleven month period I’ve fished the lake so far. Landing twenty four carp averaging over 18lbs, with ten over 20lb to a top weight of mid twenties is a good enough result already, top rod! Even throughout the six week closed season the baiting will continue, in anticipation of a good start to the new mid June, hopefully I will land a few more of my targets in my second season on the lake!

The tell tale signs of a good session!

Until next time,

Tight lines

Courtney

rav · Zone Addict Joined: 04 Jun 2007 Posts: 774

top stuff fella. some nice fish there. and a good write up too.

Ben · Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 4:45 pm Post subject:

good write up, enjoyed reading it

some very nice fish there
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Ben

richchappy · Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 8:32 pm Post subject:

ooo arr, few more write ups and you got a book longer than hearns haha

cracking fish, craking write up, craking pic, slightly disturbing image of you playing fish half naked, but all good

nice one buddo
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Lost and wandering

robvford · Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 8:45 pm Post subject:

courtz what a cracking cracking read. i glad i took the time to have a look!

i can relate to alot of stuff in that! keep it up mate that was brilliant!

i especially liked the respect you gave the member who was still fishing, and he probably thought highly of you when he was playing that fish

good stuff!

courtz · Zone Addict Joined: 22 Jul 2007 Posts: 673

courtz · Zone Addict Joined: 22 Jul 2007 Posts: 673

couple from last week

18lb 12oz

20lb 6oz original

courtz · Zone Addict Joined: 22 Jul 2007 Posts: 673

Considering the club water had been fishing rather hard over the past few weeks, I was pleasantly surprised to find three fish had been hooked the night before my visit. Maybe this was it; they had finally got back onto the bait! I'd prebaited a couple of spots with a few kilos of boilies over the three days previous, and after having a quick walk and chat with a couple of members decided to settle in a swim which controls a large portion of water and gave me a couple of options. In particular the smooth area at the back of a large bar which had received a fair bit of the pre bait.

Well so much with the best laid plans and all, the next 36 hours passed with only a couple of bream breaking the silence of the alarms. The darkness activity and shows had also dropped to but a mere fraction of the normal, they'd got back to their stubborn selves! Despite moving onto showing fish twice in the next day i couldn't get a take, and the closest i came was a refusal to a ziggy sat just below the surface within the route of two patrolling fish. Gradually the dark shadows faded away leaving the occasional waterfowl and jack pike to be the only creature breaking the surface. I was close to pulling my hair out, I just couldn't figure what was going on!

I needed to clear my head so wound in the zigs and took a walk around the lake looking for signs of activity. Even with the sun beating down all i managed to spot was one stockie lying with the depths of thick blanket weed in the spawning pool, and even the shallow bay showed nothing more than a shoal of rudd and ever expecting pike laying stealthily within the lily stems. Despite checking every little snag and hole i couldn't find where mr cyprinus was hiding. It's amazing how even fifty fish can just vanish in the blink of an eye.

My last hope was in the shape of a large sunken willow in one corner of the lake, and within the outer branches i identified a few dark shapes, but even then fishing for them would be almost impossible and damn right dangerous! Nearing the trunk of a willow closer to a small set of marginal reeds i noticed a bit of cloudy water, and creeping ever closer managed to identify two nice fish of around low twenties foraging around under the lily stems on an area of clay. They looked rather interested in the clear patch as they sent up plumes of sediment, occasionally rising to the surface with their heads covered in clay.

This was a chance too good to miss so tip toeing back to my bivvy I grabbed my 8ft 2lb stalking rod already rigged up free lining to a size ten raptor and 4ft of 9lb light mono attached to the braided mainline. It was then that I found myself in a bit of a dilemma, the fish were obviously looking for naturals among the lily and reed beds yet I normally choose to avoid particles in fear of bagging up on bream, which is normally my case! I didn’t want to go introducing boilies and risk spooking my only chance on an otherwise moody lake!

Luckily I was in one of my stroke pulling moods, and it was just my luck that I’d agreed to let a mate stash his gear behind my swim for when he returned later in the day. Raiding his bait bucket I found just what I was looking for, an almost empty tin of sweetcorn, just enough for one big handful, well it would have been rude to open a fresh tin wouldn’t it! Rigging up the rod with a trimmed down pineapple wafter and a two grains corns on the bend of the hook it looked great, surely this’ll have em! I set off to the spot with a handful of the trusty golden grains and a bucket load of expectation!

When I got back the party had been joined by a couple more fish of around the same size, along with a much smaller pro-active common. It was great watching him continuously rub up against the lakebed and then leap clear of the surface, whilst the larger residents became more intent on ripping the bank side to shreds. I began by flicking in a few grains at a time presuming the fish would vacate momentarily and allow me to lower my hook bait. They didn’t seem to oblige and intently snaffled up every food item before it reached the lake bed. Surely this was to good to be true, a swim full of twenties having thrown caution into the wind (a nice south westerly!) and seemed suicidally catchable. I edged closer on hands and knees keeping a steady trail of single pieces of corn, and through my polaroids spotted a further two fish rise up into the shallow water. It was easy to identify them in the clear water and they just so happened to be my two main targets from the lake, the big leather and lean fully scaled joined into the frenzy. By now I was running out of freebies and ever anticipating my next move, it was like a pick n mix out there! I can't remember every detail but there were three good mirrors, the leather, fully and two commons, all looking every last ounce of 20lb. All of them represented possible targets having not caught any of them before and it was hard to decide which one to try and specifically target, well apart from the energetic double figure common which was off the list.

Knowing full well any fish I hooked would go hell bent on reaching the submerged willow I thought I’d try and single out the leather. There was no particular reason but it is a right character and not really known for its fighting properties, as the nickname ‘Notail leather’ suggests. With that I crawled into position and lowered the hookbait so it fluttered effortlessly down into the path of that particular fish. It hadn’t even reached half depth when the smaller of the good commons rose up and snaffled the hookbait, sweeping the rod back it was game on as the rod buckled over with the fish powering straight for the set of snags. All or nothing I locked down the drag and let the rod bend into an alarming curve until the fish changed plans and moved into open water, not wanting to give the fish enough line so that it could kite on I kept firm and gained the upper hand as it gave a spirited display under the rod tip time after time aiming to find sanctuary in the large snag to the right of the swim. Luckily it never happened and within a few minutes she lay sulking in the folds of the net. Securing it in the net I grabbed my unhooking gear and lay her gently on the mate, a nicely proportioned common and by the look of it a 20. The scales confirmed the assumption and at 20lb 10oz it was a cracking looking fish, with only a couple of marks probably from spawning damage, treated quickly with klin-ik.

After rattling off a few shots she was returned to the depths and waddled off to sulk in the snags she had tried so hard to reach during the fight.

Sometimes it pays to be lucky!

Tight lines

Courtney

Little-Mo · Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 9:37 am Post subject:

Superb little write up Courtney

Good angling, good descriptive writing

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