Back to the Park PT3

carpmanjay · Back to the Park PT3

I Nearly fell out of my chair as my boss walked in early afternoon on friday, damn hes caught me not only with my feet on his neatly folded site plans, but smoking one of hes fags aswell!!!

Still it had been a slow old day and with all the subbies off the site i managed to convince my boss that my time would be better served down the park!

All excited and quite shocked that i managed to get away early i eagerly drove out of the site for the next ten mins with nothing on my mind but carp, untill i remembered my bait still in the canteen fridge, so at 30mph (speed limit

) i roard back to work to collect an important part of my kit, emptied the lads fridge of food and spare milk and eventualy set off again!!!

I pulled into the main car park, time was 3:45 pukka, then my heart sunk, the thoughts of the flag pole swim, the ? swim and peg 12 were quickly dashed as i surveied the mass of bivvys!! i couldnt believe it, Trev the top man came out to great me, he quickly offered his hand out to me, and i had to hand over a lovingly rolled fag. customs done down to busoiness. Trev filled me in all the latest developments and as his coy smile appeared i asked what swims are free. 'One' was the reply!!!

The swim that was left is known as the car park swim, its been good to me in the past although not known for producing the bigger fish its often a good spot when its busy. The swim itself faces the main body of water where the two arms meet and the fish do seem to stack up in there. time will tell.

A quick flick around with a lead (i managed to lose my marker last week and forgot to replce it) reveald an old weed bed from left to right and from my margin to no more than 50 yds out. past that is fairly flat with just the odd clump uf new canadian weed. depth pretty uniform at 6ft.

The car park swim

Both rods were baited with hinged stiff rigs and mainline pineapple popups with my fav bags from Mo's Co the diddy bags filled with pellet and active8 dip for added attractant.

I thought about dropping on just off the weed but with so many lines in the water drapping over it i decided to blast my rigs out as far as i could, after several attempts i felt a good donk on both rods. and from what i could see i was out further than my neighbours so i wss in with a shout.

Later that night the wind changed to a more sw direction blowing all the floating weed out of the small bay to my right straight into my lines, i managed to stay sane with the continuous bleeps for half an hour or so untill i could bare it no more, out came the back leads again. the stopped most of the weed catching but i was concerned that my back lead would get caught up in the margin weed but i was getting tired so i left it to the the hands of the gods.

I awoke around 5 am the lake was falt calm, a beutifull relection of the rising took my breath away, so with a fag in my mouth and cup of coffee steaming i sat on my bedchair a contented angler.

BADOSHHHHHH blimey!! a carp, crashed out 90yds out not far from my spots then another and another, by 5.30 i had seen maybe 50 fish from90yds out to well over 200yds away. i there seamed to be carp every where in my swim, surely it wont be long!!!!

4 hours past with out a single bleep, i couldnt beleave it, i was certain of a take, i knew my rigs must be ok as the bag would have done its job. I wandered up the few steps behind me not a happy man! there was already a couple of guys watching the show, and they too couldnt understand why i hadnt had a take, BBBBEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPP a one noter from the neville let out its battle cry, thats more like it!

The fish had taken a good few yards of line as i stumbled gracefully down the steps and bent into a fast moving fish. and with luck the back lead pinged of my line leaving it whipping out of the water the angry carp first kitting left dangerously close to the bloke next door, then right into the weed bed, the fish didnt really do a lot, which is often a sign of a better size, for the next ten mins it was just a csae of keeping the fish moving through the weed, just a few yards out tangled in a mass of green and old brown weed, a bronze flank of scales could just be seen, the perfect common prehaps??? my heart thumped a bit harder untill i had my prize safley in my net.

With the carp safe now i pushed my handd into the huge ball of weed, carefully moving away the weed untill i could see the stunning common laying in the water in my net. It wasnt the perfect i had hoped but a much smller versian, 15lb 8 oz in fact!! So not a monster but at last my first Water Park carp and a rare common at that.

I grabbed a lad walking with his children and asked for a couple of pics, which he gratefully agreed to, the childrens faces where amazed as held up the bronze flanks for the trophey shot.

After the whole of the cafe returned to there breakfasts and the kind chaps dog, full on my left open pot of pop ups i sat back witha fag, what a stunning looking carp......

Beautifull common, Its not always about the whackers

With still another 30 hours of left did i manage to tempt another???

find out tommorow night with the next part!!!!!