Pre-baiting Sunday evening
I arrived at the lake earlier than planned, I couldn't wait until lunch time; somebody might steal my swim. The swim looked perfect. I saw a carp roll in the area I had pre-baited. I took my time setting up the rods and reels but I still managed to miss a ring. I was very quiet and kept away from the water. I took the memory out of the fluorocarbon reel lines by casting a lead along the bank and winding back through a wet cloth. I tied the hooks on carefully, eased the knots down and double checked them. While I was doing that a carp rolled directly under my rod tip, scary. I baited up both hooks with a big piece of meat and put one rod in the rests while I cast with the other. First cast was right on target, in the bay next to the lilies. The fluorocarbon sunk quickly, I put the rod in the rests and adjusted the indicator on a monkey climber made from dead Willow Herb stem, very natural and low tech.
2 x Bruce and Walker with Mitchell 300
Indicators and low tech monkey climbers
Before I retired to my seat, the right hand indicator shot up and I was into a carp that wanted to be the other side of the lake. It got there in a few seconds. Why do I always follow the fish without my net ? I do it every time. It was a silly mistake. I waded around bushes, passed the line over a small willow tree and eventually got closer to the fish. It was in the middle of a lily bed. After much pulling and splashing about in the margins, I cuddled it to my chest and lifted it out. I took it back to my swim and put it in the landing net. I was embarrassed to be placing the carp in my landing net; nobody was looking. The fish was a nice leather carp. It rested for a few minutes before posing for photos, it weighed 23lb exactly and swum off strongly.
Leather carp - 23lb
It was only 9:30am, everything was a mess and the swim was trashed. I sat down for a rest and some jam doughnuts. I ate the whole bag of doughnuts. It seemed the right thing to do. I re-baited and cast both baits near to the lily bed. After 30 minutes I had a line bite so the carp were still around. I think it might be a long wait until the next fish.
The American bullfrogs are shouting at each other across the lake and I have just had another line bite. While replacing the bait I noticed some damage to the reel line so I cut that off and tied the hook again. There's no point in buying expensive line and losing a fish through sloppy technique. I put a fresh piece of meat on and cast nearer to the lilies. With the fish moving around the bay I'm hopeful of another monster carp before Lunch. Her Ladyship is bringing a picnic; yum yum. It's a beautiful day with a warm wind and cloudy sky, very heavy rain is forecast for later and I can see the storm clouds building. I’ve just had two more line bites, when I struck the last one there was a big swirl under my rod tip so I moved the bait even closer to the bank. Scary to think there might be a 'forty' so close. The temperature is dropping and the wind is changing direction, it will rain within the hour.
storm arriving
It did rain but it was only a shower, the sun and wind have dried me, chocolate biscuits have sustained my concentration. The carp appear to have deserted the bay for their siesta. The wind is very strong , an oak tree behind me is making some strange noises and the willows are showing the silvery undersides to their leaves, a sure sign of rain. This is the time of day when nothing carpy happens and I am tempted to try different tactics or move to another part of the lake. I have the lake to myself but experience tells me not to wander about, the carp will return in the evening. Until then I will watch the swifts and the young mallard chicks. The water is clouding up as the wind piles up the waves. I've sunk my rod tips so the passing debris doesn't cause the indicators to rise. The sun keeps peeping out from behind the clouds but it’s not hot enough to take my jacket off. I am willing the indicators to rise but they just sit there and ignore me. It’s time for another chocolate biscuit. Or two.
I'm using the 'notes' function on my iPhone to write this, none of this fountain pen and notepad malarky, it's too windy and wet. I email every page to myself in case the Apple technology conks out. A change of bait is required. I find that luncheon meat goes white and hardens after about an hour in the water, it stops oozing fat and looks unappetizing. I think bigger lumps of bait are necessary, a forty pounder has a big mouth. I use an apple corer to cut pieces of luncheon meat out of the tin, it forms a little cylinder that fits a carp’s mouth nicely. The casting weight is also easy to control by slicing the right amount off the cylinder of meat. Perfect timing, the baits were in position just before a squall of wind arrived with thunder, lightening and torrential rain. The lily pads are being flipped over by the wind. I had just settled down to make some notes and my rod flew off the rests, missed it. Damn. I vowed not to fiddle about with my iPhone when I should be watching the indicators. That could have been my second carp of the day. Time out.
OK, order has been restored. You may well ask why I am still making notes, I'm a slow learner. I've scaled up one rod, bigger hook, bigger bait and positioned it very close to the lily bed. The other bait is about 3 rod lengths out with a small piece of meat, we will see which goes first. I think I'm in for another long wait. I will put my phone away for the rest of the day.
Nothing happened until the picnic arrived. Sausage roll, Mars bar, banana and juice. While we were chatting, the indicator on my right rod shot up and I fell off my chair trying to reach the rod ! Amateur half hour. During the early evening I had a series of runs but could not connect with any of them, it was very frustrating. The indicators would shoot up to the rod but when I struck there was nothing there.
At about 9:15pm I decided to start packing up, no night fishing allowed. I always leave the rods until last. While I was folding up my chair, the clutch on my right hand rod screamed and I lifted into a fish that made a long run into the centre of the lake. Hurrah, it was clear of the lilies for a change. Then it charged back towards the bank, around a tree branch and into a thick lily bed. Everything went solid. I tried all the usual tricks but it wouldn’t move. I pointed the rod down the line to get a direct pull, there was a crack and everything went slack. Damn, another fish lost. I started to reel in the slack line and the rod bucked. The fish went back out into the lake. The crack I had heard was a twig breaking, freeing the line and giving the fish a bit of room to move. I bullied the fish away from the lily beds and into the landing net. It was 9:30pm when I weighed the fish; it was exactly 23lb. Spooky, same time and the same weight as the first fish.
Common/Ghost carp 23lb
The fish had a very badly deformed mouth (parrot mouth) and I think that may have been the reason why I had missed so many runs, she couldn’t get a large bait in her mouth. It was a common with a touch of Ghost Carp or Koi mixed in. I was fortunate to get these fish on the bank. The photos are not very good. I need a ghillie.
I arrived home exhausted, wet and muddy. It was a truly relaxing day.
