We had another harsh winter again this year. The ice on the lake's seemed
like a permanent condition, and the warmth of the summer was but a figment
of my imagination. Man, it was cold. I wanted to opt for the same setup as
last year, as far as baits and rigs went. I thought this would be the right
choice, I mean why fix something when it's not broken. So the trusty
RedHooker readymade's by John Bosch were to be our Baits. Combined with
particles like Maize, Tiger's, and Hemp. The only change to the rigs would
be a switch from the M.C.F inliner's to the most excellent KORDA'S. In my
opinion if you use their inline leads in conjunction with the korda rubbers
above the lead, you have a 99% tangle free terminal tackle. I also wanted
to make good use of P.V.A bag's this season.
The biggest change was in tackle this year and came in the form of three
Kevin Nash Pursuit rods. The FOX DXR's were also replaced for the DELKIM
TXi's. To me the Delkim's sensitivity is outstanding, although the FOX'ys
performed brilliantly and were very reliable my opinion is that Delkim is
the better buzzer.
My fishing this year consisted more of single day's out rather than the
longer full on bivvied up sessions, due to other commitment's. But I did
manage to pull a few 48 hour stint's, that proved to be very productive.
Towards the end of february the weather started getting better. So it was
time to start baiting up the area's that were last seasons hotspots. This
would be done on a little but often basis, while taking the dog for it's
daily walk around the lake. This way I could also observe any moving or
feeding carp.
Having some free time at the beginning of March was a good opportunity for
me to get some fishing in. The first time out would be a full day with
Leon.
The night before the wind started to pick up, and the forecast for the
tomorrow looked to be a wet one. As I got my gear sorted, a task I hate
doing especially at four in the morning, the sky was looking overcast and
gray. It had been raining all night and I knew I was going to get a soaking
even before I had cast my Rods out.
We were fishing the Forgotten Point swim, a very productive area according
to last year's catches. But as we sat under the brolly with a brew in our
hands, not an easy thing to do when there's a gale trying to uproot the
only cover you have, the indicators stayed silent. I had forgotten my
thermal suit and the cold was now becoming anything but comfortable. So a
decision by Leon to pack up early was welcomed.
We made plans to fish the following Thursday through to the Saturday. It
was a beautiful day as I left for the lake that Thursday, fully laden with
tackle. For the beginning of march it was now getting very warm, and the
thought of summer was now a reality. I arrived at the swim before Leon and
started to set up home for the next two days. A few fish rolled over the
baited areas, but I calculated the next feeding spell would be around
4.30pm Which is the norm at this lake.
My rods were cast and I laid back on the bedchair with a cup of tea, just
as Leon entered the swim. " Had anything?". He asked. "Just IN" I replied. I
helped him get his gear sorted and his bivvy erected. His rods were cast
and they hit their mark at first attempt. We could now sit back and enjoy.
The sky had turned to a purple haze, and the top's of the trees overlooking
the far bank had an eerie golden effect caused by the setting sun.
We were talking dinner, deciding what to eat. When Leon get's a screamer on
his right hand rod, the rod was cast in to open water with a single boillie
over a bed of partyblend 20yds out. The fish made a surge for the safety of
the snag's just to Leon's right, but he had it covered and his setup was
rock solid. After a brisk struggle under the rod tip, I netted the fish. On
the mat a beautiful common of around 18 lb's showed itself. There was not a
scale out of place. The carp was carefully sacked in the margins, as a
friend of ours was due to arrive and we knew he would like to see this
fish. Although I fish a lot of night's on this lake, night fishing and the
use of three rod's is actually prohibited. But a small band of us outlaws
still take the risk as there are no bailiff's. The authority that oversee
the lake are Park-wardens, but we never see them. Until today that is!.
We were in the process of preparing dinner when a green four wheeldrive
pulled up on the opposite side of the lake. Within fifteen minutes it was
parked outside our swim, meanwhile we had retrieved our third rod and
stashed them in the bushes. A Park-warden got out accompanied by the
police. They instantly knew we were fishing three rod's and gave us a
choice, packup immediately or be fined 200 pound. I was gutted, the fish
were jumping all over the baited area's and another feeding spell was due.
There was no reasoning with them, so we released the sacked fish and
started packing up. From now on it would be a case of sleeping under the
inconspicuous brolly instead of the comfort of the bivvy dome.
The lake was not producing anything over upper doubles. It was not until
the end of May that my first twenty graced the net. Although only a day
session, the fish were mad for my bait. I arrived at the lake around four
in the morning, it was still dark so I was in no rush setting up. The
bait's had to be spot on over the feeding area's and to make that cast in
the dark was suicide. At first light the rod's were cast, freebies spodded
and the tea was on. Within fifteen minutes the Delkim was screaming like a
duck on heat. The rod cast to the overhanging tree's was away. Luckily the
fish headed out to open water, on this particular lake a sign of a bigger
carp. She stayed deep, until a mix of heave ho and light persuasion coaxed
her to the surface. Not tamed though, she made one last bid for freedom.
After this heart stopping moment, I could see it was a big fish, she came
passively to the net. It was a common and she pulled the Waymaster round to
21 lb, nice one!!.
The pic's were taken and she was returned with a thanks. While recasting
the freshly baited rod, the middle Delkim gave a series of bleeps. As I set
the cast rod back in it's rests the bleeps developed into a continuous
tone. I struck, initially the fish did not appear that big. Until she was
under the rod tip were she proceeded to go mental. Finally I slipped her
over the net. A thought went through my mind on carrying her to the mat,
could this be another twenty. Although another common the scale's only read
19.05 lb, I was a bit disappointed but she was still a most impressive
carp. The rest of the day produced a further total of four carp between the
12 and 16 lb barrier. After this encouraging result plans were made for a
three day stint at the end of the week.
This session would see us out in full force, boat, fishfinder, and enough
bait to start a tackle shop. Our confidence was soaring.
On arrival at the lake we had a chat and a coffee with the resident
carper's in the opposite swim. They had failed to catch in twenty-four
hours of fishing there. With the coffee break over, we headed out in the
boat to scatter a bed of partyblend down over the prebaited area's.
As mentioned in my previous writing I always opt for one rod fished short,
the hookbait lays just outside the compactly baited sector. The theory to
this being; The more avidly feeding carp tend to be on the smaller scale,
they feed eagerly without being spooked by the amount of feed that is
present or the presence of a hookbait. Whereas the larger, more cautious
carp tend to be shun by this character of feeding. They lay well outside
the area of activity, an event I have observed on more than one occasion.
Therefore a lone hookbait just short of all this action may prove to be a
safe food source to the patrolling larger carp.
The middle rod was cast to an overhanging tree some 90yds out, this cast
can be critical. To short, or to far to the left means you are off the
small bar were the fish feed. To far right results in a retackle. Although
we had the use of a boat, and I do Row my baits out occasionally. If
possible I still enjoy the challenge of a cast, the stupefaction of catching
a large carp after a successful cast is more rewarding to me than catching
on a bait that has been rowed. A PVA bag of chopped Boillies was attached
to the terminal tackle of the right hand rod, this was then cast to a
mussel bed 15yds from the bank.
With all the hookbaits's in position it was now time to relax and reflect on
the evening ahead. Leon put the tea on and I started the burgers going on
the Coleman. We sat chatting and enjoying the ever so tasty freshly
prepacked burgers when Eric had a take. Out of nothing his baitrunner
started going ape. This was an incredible run, I'm sure I could detect the
smell of burning XT40!. But although a powerful run, more than often this
results in hooking one of the smaller inhabitants of the lake. Our thoughts
were to be correct, as I netted a common of about 9lb. There was no more
action that afternoon. Around six I strolled over to Leon's brolly, he was
catching up on some well earned sleep. He works night's as well as attend
college by day. We sat watching the water, which by now was becoming more
lively. Carp were head and shouldering along the far margin right above our
bait's, things were looking up for the coming night. Our dinner that
evening consisted of tinned rice and mixed veg. As always when I'm carping
I can go without a run all day, just to be interrupted by a full-on
screamer as I'm about to dig into a hot cooked evening meal. And things
were not going to differ. I had just sat down when the Delkim of the middle
rod exploded into tone. As this was the rod to the overhanging tree's, a
hard strike and a sprint up the bank was necessary to prevent the ill
tempered carp snagging itself up in the labyrinth of submerged branches.
Keeping the pressure on, hoping my 25lb shockleader would withstand the
strain, she finally turned and headed for open water. Applying the same
technique with my aged 2.5lb test Shimano's would have resulted in a hook
pull, as these have a much stiffer top section. Yet with the Nash'ys, even
at a test curve of 2.75lb, I could apply enough pressure while still
maintaining the benefit of a soft tip. The carp soon showed itself and Eric
did the honors with the net. I was surprised to see the carp was of a
decent weight, because after the initial surge for cover, she came in
relatively easy. After the taking of the pic's, a 19lb common was returned.
We celebrated the catch with a bottle of Sauvignon `94, a real vintage!..
With the lake being situated in a wood, wildlife is in abundance.
Especially on a hot summers evening. As the sun sets behind the tree's, the
hole place seems to come alive. I often sit behind my rod's till deep in
the night. Watching bats navigating some incredible manoeuvers through the
tree's as they chase their insect pray. But the one that steels the show is
the resident owl, who catches mice and other rodents from our swim, and is
always perched above my bivvy. Alas the only sound that kept us awake that
night was the screeching coming from the owl. Popping my head out of the
sleeping bag the next morning saw me nearly blinded by the upcoming sun,
it's rays warming my face in the process. My intention to wake before first
light, to perceive any feeding carp had failed. Throwing my sleeping bag
off me, I went to see if Leon and Eric were up for any breakfast.
During the day the fish came thick and fast, a good thing you might say.
But as the carp were on the small size, all ranging between the 5 and 10lb,
it was time for a change in tactics. Baiting with the partyblend ceased, as
this was attracting to much attention from the wildies. From now on our
hookbiats consisted of 24mm Redhooker's, as to the previous 16mm, used in
conjunction with a stringer of five 16mm hooker's. The stringer was the only
freebie offered. We hoped by just using boilies; That this would pull in
an amount of sizeable fish.
First to reap the reward of our change of approach was Eric, landing an
impressive common of 21lb. Shortly after Loen followed, with a 19.05lb
catch, again another common. Although the catches were not as frequent, it
was obvious the larger carp were on the baits. Our plan was working.
I hit the sack early that night, watching the rods from under the cover of
the brolly. With the wind starting to pick up, I hoped the forecast rain
would pass us by.
Around three in the morning I was woken by a few bleeps from the right hand
rod. While sat up on the bedchair waiting for the run to develop I could
here an almighty crash as a carp leapt from the bay situated to my right.
Just then the buzzer sounded a few more bleeps, as the swinger crept up to
the rod. Struggling to get off the bedchair I struck hard into a decent
fish, which continued to take line as she slowly and ponderously headed for
open water. After a run of about 80 metres I started gaining line,
whereupon she decided to head strait for the guard of the reed lined
margins. A few anxious moments followed as she bogged herself down amongst
the reedbed. Wading out and giving her some slack line managed to free her,
but my line was still snagged up, grating against the cutting reeds. Again
my Quicksilver leader proved it's worth, and I was able to net the fish
together with a clump of marginal reed. Putting the fish on the mat she
felt like a good twenty, carefully removing the debris of reed from the net
I could see it was a twenty. 23lb of common to be exact.
I sacked the fish for pic's in the morning, as this was the last night
fishing I was pleased with the result.
A retackle was necessary as my line and leader were grated to bits, after
which the terminal tackle and hookbait were placed inside a PVA bag filled
with pellets. Now I could simply cast my bait back to the mussel bed and
get back to the comfort of my sleepingbag.
There were no more fish out until the morning, when Eric caught a 17lb
mirror. To me this carp was an old friend known by the name of Stumpy, I
had last caught her two years previous at 12lb. We retrieved the sacked
common from the margins and took pic's of both the mirror and the common,
afterwards they were both returned. I have one criticism over some dutch
anglers, and that is they neglect the use of an unhooking mat. I can not
comprehend the fact that most angelers here spend thousands on tackle like
rods/reels, yet fail to own one of the most important items as far as fish
concern goes.
After breakfast I started packing my gear, Loen had to be back at work that
afternoon and I had a lot of studying too catch up on. Eric decided to sit
it out one more night. As always when packing my gear, my rods and landing
net are left Until the very last. This has produced a late fish for me in
the past, and by chance I was away on the left hand rod. The carp was at
the net within minutes, but it was still a most stunning looking common
going 19lb+ on the scales. After applying some Klin-ik, also a must in
every tackle box!, to a raw patch beside the gill-plate, she was released.
My packing up could commence further and soon I was saying my farewell's to
Eric, after having topped up the fished areas with a bit of bait for the
next coming session.
On my way back home I could not resist making plans to get back to the swim
as soon as possible, even if it only consisted of a day session.
Getting back that afternoon I had a long soak in the bath and caught up on
my course work. I was going around my girlfriend's house that evening and
on my way there I nipped over to the lake to see if Eric was having anymore
action. Arriving at the swim, Eric was just about to slip the net under a
fish. We instantly knew the carp was an upper twenty, and as she revealed
herself in the net we also recognized her as a dear friend. It was "
Dumbass ", and last time she laid on our mat the scales read 24lb+. As the
drawstrings of the weigh sling pulled together and the waymaster took the
strain the needle pulled round and settled on 26.05lb. Eric was elated as
this was a new personal best . We took the pic's and released our friend in
the hope we would next meet again when she topped the magical 30lb's. After
celebrating with a cuppa I headed on my way.
Although I was pleased for Eric, I must admit to having secretly hoped to
catch " Dumbass " myself this season. Especially with the fish topping the
26lb. Further encouragement that we were having success on the bait, and our
approach was not needed.
Like I said I could not wait to get back to the lake. Yet as with all best
laid plans, something can always come up. In this case it was an invite to
fish a private water, a water that could produce a thirty, or even the
possibility of a forty. There was no resisting temptation, so for a while I
put fishing the lake on the backburner. However I did keep the bait going
in, again on a little but often basis just to keep the carp interested. I
fished the private water frequently over the next few months, an account of
which I will word in a following article. And it was not until the end of
july that I finally had the opportunity to fish the lake again.
The day I fished the lake turned out to be one of the hottest days of the
summer, the heat going 25ø in the shade. Leon had fished the previous day,
but without any occurring takes. We had made plans to fish together, and
arranged to meet at the swim at around five in the morning. I arrived
before Leon and decided to setup, thinking he was running late. But at
seven Leon was still a no show. Enjoying the early morning sun, I sat
watching the motionless indicators from my bedchair. The bedchair always
comes with me during the summer, even if it's only a day session. A belief
that comfort in the hours spent fishing in turn improves the fishing itself.
Within half an hour of the bait being in position the left hand rod was
away, not a screamer just a slow pickup. Striking into the fish felt like
hitting into a solid mass. Line was taken at a ponderous rate, as she swam
sluggishly along the island margin. At first the thought of stopping her
seemed inoperable, but after a while I started to gain some lost yards.
Once in open water the fret of her snagging was gone, and I just played her
patiently until under the tip. My mind was racing too the thought of why
Leon had not turned up yet. His session the previous day saw him borrow my
scales, sling, and retainers. And now I was at battle with a maybe lake
record, without any possibility to weigh or sack the carp. The struggle was
brief under the tip, and apart from a nightmare occurrence with the net, the
meshing had doubled up, I was finally able to slip the net under a very big
fish. Now this is were the importance of an unhooking mat is emphasized,
especially one that features a folding flap that covers the entire mat.
With the fish safely covered and protected I wound in the two remaining
rods, a run on these now would be suicide. Panic-stricken I called Leon on
my mobile too get his arse over to the lake immediately, he lives within
minutes of the place. In a sleepy voice he said he had decided not to fish
today, but would be round directly with the weighing gear. It seemed like
hours, as I stood waist high in the water holding a folded net with a
possible thirty+ inside, waiting for Leon to arrive. When he entered the
swim I let out a sigh of relief, only to curse him minutes later. In his
rush he had forgotten to bring the scales. Being concerned about the
well-being of such a beautiful carp, I took some quick pic's and decided to
release her at the symbolic weight of 25lb. Knowing she would have gone
a lot more than 25lb, to say I was gutted would be an understatement.
Throughout the day the runs came consistently, a total of six fish landed
with maybe the biggest carp going around 19lb's. I was pleased at this
consistency, again it gave me confidence in my choice of rigs, swim
location and most important of all, bait.
Compared with the fortyfive nights I fished last season, I could only
manage a handful of nights this year, you could say I was using the hit 'n
run approach, and producing!.
Although this is a reflection on few of the good moments of 97, we are
already a couple of months into 98 and my fishing has continued through the
mild winter months. The opportunity of fishing more nights the season is on
the cards, and already I have landed a 26lb common. So with things looking
this good hopefully the elusive thirty will grace my net officially this
year.
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