Month: <span>July 2023</span>

As I mentioned last week, I had all my carp gear set up ready to go and was just waiting for the right time. I had also listened to some advice I was given about going at different times of the day and decided to go late afternoon and into the evening. It is not always easy for me to go then as my wife is not in good health and I have to cook the dinner but I cooked at midday and made sandwiches for the evening. Going later in the day meant that I wasn’t in a rush and had time to prepare some method mix and put everything in the car in good time. I took my carp rods as well as a stalking rod and my float rod, just in case.

I left at about four in the afternoon and it is only a few minutes to the lake especially now they have stopped the water leak and re-surfaced the road in the village. When I arrived the car park looked full but I just managed to find a space. As I had plenty of time I decided to have a look at the water and see if there was room. It was quite windy but not cold so I thought that a swim with the wind blowing towards me, would be the right one to fish. I was lucky that most of the anglers seems to be on the other side of the lake so I went back for my gear and chose a swim which had some shelter from the wind and an island about 20 yards away. I don’t usually cast towards islands as I invariably overdo it and end up in the trees, losing my hook length, but I thought that the fish would be swimming between the bank and the island and so I might be in with a chance.

I had two rods, one with a method feeder using a pink wafter, fishing not far out, close to the reed bed and one fishing mesh bags a bit further out towards the island. I soon got the method rod out, then filled up a mesh bag with Robin Red pellets of different sizes which I was trying for the first time, using a 15mm drilled pellet for hook bait. I had a bit of a problem with my alarm on this rod, but a change of battery seemed to do the trick. With both rods out, I had chance to sit down and relax, no float to watch this time! I re-cast the rods every 10 minutes or so, which kept me occupied, I had no indication that there were any fish around, no line bites, no fish rising, none slurping in the margins. Then my method rod started to twitch, the bobbin slowly rose and fell, but it didn’t develop into a bite and I was left, wondering if it was a fish or the wind doing it.

I was beginning to think that this was going to be another blank session when the mesh rod indicator started beeping and the rod danced around. Fortunately, the bait runner was doing its job and the rod didn’t get pulled into the water before I got hold of it. I picked it up struck and knew I was into a fish. I could tell it was a reasonable one but wasn’t sure what it was as it wasn’t shaking its head in the usual carp fashion. Perhaps it was a big tench as I’ve had them out of this water before. It put up a decent fight and I was careful to steer it away from the reeds when it made for them, and to bring it back when it went the other way. I played it carefully, not wanting to lose it, but soon had it, near the bank where I could see that it was a carp, a mirror. Reaching behind me I got the net and put it in the water then the carp was off again and it was another few minutes before I landed it. I left it in the net in the margin while I got sorted out, which gave the fish time to recover, as when I put it on the mat, it started flapping about. It looked half decent so I thought I would weigh it and it came in at 14lb, which is my largest carp so far. Not wanting to keep the fish out of water for too long, I quickly got it back in where it rested in my net for a few moments before swimming off. I then had a breather feeling happy that I had caught, especially a personal best although I know there are much bigger fish in this water and I can do better!

The rod was soon out again and I was sitting down and getting into the routine of filling the method feeder and mesh bags and casting out again. I hadn’t had any luck with the method feeder near the reeds so decided to cast it a bit further out. I also changed the wafter to a pineapple boilie on the basis that if one thing wasn’t working it was worth trying something else. Time passed the sun was going down, I put on a sweatshirt and decided it was time for a bite to eat. This was the signal for ducks to converge in my swim as soon as they spotted my sandwiches, but I hardened my heart and didn’t throw them my crusts, hoping that they would get bored and swim away, which sort of worked.

Then I saw and heard a small group of birds swimming in the distance, making a cry that I’d never heard before, so I got out my phone and opened the Merlin app which listened for a few seconds then told me they were Great Crested Grebes. As far as I can remember this is the first time I’ve seen or heard those birds. Another hour went by and I was wondering if I was going to catch again when the method rod indicator beeped and I was into another fish. I could tell at once this was a carp, it was going like a train first one way then the other. I let it take some line but was wary of letting it get into the reeds. This fish put up a better fight and I thought it was bigger than the first until I saw it come to the surface when I could tell it was a smaller common. It took me longer to bring this fish in and when I got it into the net, I left it next to the bank for it to recover and for me to position the mat and get ready to pull it out. I lifted the net, no fish! I couldn’t believe it, I was sure that I landed it and with the net handle well on the bank and the top of the net out of the water it couldn’t have swam out, I had lost it! I picked up the rod, reeled in the slack and could feel that it was still on, right under the rod tip! I soon had it in the net properly this time and pulled it up onto the mat. It had got some of its strength back while it was resting and started to flap about all over the place and I had to wait until it calmed down before getting the hook out and taking a photo. It was a beautiful looking fish, I quickly weighed it, 9lb, a smaller fish than the first, but a harder fighter. I soon put it back and he was away, I re-baited and cast out again, hoping for a third fish.

This was not to be, I fished for another hour or so without any sign and about 8 o’clock decided to pack up and go home, happy with two nice fish in just over three hours. I had done what I had planned to do and had caught a P.B. so all in all not a bad session!

Taking some advice from my feedback I have been thinking about how I approach my fishing and decided that having one float rod and a carp rod was probably not doing either method justice and I could try fishing one style at a time. I spent some time in my shed going over my tackle and got my carp setup all ready to go as it was going to be my next session. Then, you know how it is, I didn’t get time until the morning I was sitting in bed drinking a cuppa and looking through Facebook when I noticed that there was a warning about a burst water main on the main road in the middle of the village, the importance of which will become clear later. I then got a message from the surgery saying that I had an appointment that afternoon which gave me a few hours free to go fishing!

Then I remembered the burst water main, to get to any of our lakes I would have to drive that way and there was going to be chaos. It would be a nightmare and the alternative route is tiny lanes that would be full of traffic trying to avoid the queues. I also didn’t have a lot of time as the morning was getting on but did have enough to go back to the river which happened to be in a different direction and would avoid the jams. It wasn’t what I have planned for my next outing, but I did have unfinished business with the fish that I could see but not catch. I had been thinking about them and was wondering if a kind of Paternoster rig, which would have a weight on the bottom of the river and leave the hook swimming in midstream, would be the way to go, but I have not rigged my rod this way yet. It is only five minute’s drive to the river then a short walk from the car park so it didn’t take long to get there. I knew we had had some rain, but there is a monitoring station nearby and it wasn’t showing too high, a water level. It also didn’t show the level of water in the tunnel under the roadway which you have to go through all bent over to get to my first swim and as I was only wearing trainers there was no way I was going through that! So, it was a matter of scrambling over the fence and down the bank through the nettles to get there. The first job was to get the garden shears out and cut down enough vegetation to make a place to put my chair, tackle et This done, I put the feeder rod out with a plain lead and maggot and took my float rod and started trotting down the river.

I soon caught a tiny little dace and thought there would be more about, but all I got was minnows and a tangle at the rod tip when I missed a bite. I tried to undo it but eventually cut the line and re-threaded and was fishing again. There was nothing on the feeder rod after a while I got a nice dace then it went quiet. As I still had some time left I decided to go and look at the swim where I saw the fish the other day but first went back to the car to drop off my chair, shears and to put on my waterproof trousers. Then, with my rucksack on my back, rods and landing net in hand, I climbed over the gate and made my way to the bank, a bit further up from where I had been fishing. When I got there, I crept quietly forward and knelt down so as not to be seen. The fish with there again and taking some more advice from my feedback I cast some bread upon the water. It was swiftly carried away by the current so I couldn’t see if the fish had taken any interest in it. I decided to dry some squashed up bits of bread as they would sink through the water and soon had fish nibbling them as they fell, although their interest waned once the bread had reached the bottom. This was encouraging and as the water was a bit deeper, I thought I would try with my float rod, but on the first cast caught, the reds and lost my hook length.  I decided that fishing with a float rod was not my best idea so tried with my feeder rod. I cast over the other side of the stream and could see the bait right down to the riverbed although I couldn’t get fish interested in it.

Then I noticed there were fish on my side of the river, where I could lower the line in carefully without making a big splash and scaring the fish. As the ledger weight was directly under the rod tip I could hold it off the bottom, leaving the bread in mid water where the fish were. I could see them nibbling the bread and soon had a small dace on the bank. Pleased with my success I put a bigger piece of bread on the hook and tried again. The smaller fish crowded around the bait once again, but then a big one appeared and my bread disappeared and I had a fish on! It gave a bit of a fight on light line and I was worried about losing it so I scrabbled around in the nettles for my landing net, ignoring the stings to my hand and soon had the fish resting in it. It was one of the biggest ones that I had seen and I was really pleased as it was the first chub I had ever caught. The hook came out easily and it was time for a photo before using the net to return the fish. 

Looking at my watch I could see that it was time to go, which was fine as I had accomplished what I sit down to do and reckoned that landing the chub I’d probably spooked to the fish in the swim anyway. I gathered up my gear and went home with a smile on my face and a spring in my step, “I love it when a plan comes together!”

Before I start writing about fishing I would just like to say, “Thanks,” to those of you who encouraged me to continue and made suggestions on how to get over my current lean spell. One of the ideas was to have a change of venue, which I had been meaning to do, especially now that the river season is open again, so it was back to the river for me.

The river is only small and very overgrown with no real public access so I have fished in a spot by a road bridge with room to sit down and put my tackle together but this swim wasn’t producing much last year so I thought that I would go for a walk along the bank and see where else I could find. I have walked it before and know that it is covered with nettles and other tall plants so I took my shorts off and put on jeans, wellies and a long-sleeved top, not much fun on what was going to be the hottest day of the year so far but I wasn’t going to be long.

I climbed over the gate and made my way through the field on a shorter piece of grass until it got near the river then had to wade through the undergrowth. I could see that one or two people had been this way before me as some of the plants were bent but there was nothing like a path or even a trail. I picked up a fallen branch to help me beat back the tallest nettles and soon found myself on the bank. To say that there was a swim would be an exaggeration, rather a space where you could actually see the water with a screen of plants in front of you to keep you hidden. I stayed and watched for a while and could actually see fish rising which showed me that there were still some here! I then moved up the river and found a few more places where I could fish although all very shallow and with plenty of weed. Then I came to a swiftly flowing section where the reeds had grown across and the stream had narrowed and was flowing quickly. The water was clear and I could see fish of all sizes from minnow to a couple of pounds, I couldn’t wait to fish it although I knew it would be difficult.

A couple of days later on a grey day when the temperature had become more bearable I spent some time in my shed sorting out my tackle and setting up my rods, replacing the waggler float on my match rod and putting a plain ledger weight on my quiver tip rod, a quick trip into town for maggots and I was ready. I had cut down my tackle to the bare minimum, rods, landing neat and one tackle bag but when I picked it up I could hardly believe how heavy it was! Still, I could manage and it wasn’t far to walk once I had parked the car. They say that time spent on reconnaissance is never wasted and because I had been there before I was soon able to make my way to the nearest swim and start fishing. I had to put my rods together and get my bait out a little way from the stream where there was a flat patch and then creep through the jungle towards the water. I quickly found that this style of wild fishing needs a great deal of care with your rod as there are plenty of things to snare your hook but I gently lowered the line in and was fishing. I threw a handful of maggots in, and set the float to about eighteen inches as I could see the bottom in places and had to guide it between clumps of flowing weed. A couple of casts and I was in, a small dace was soon on the bank. This was followed by several more and I was having fun but wanted to explore the other swims, especially the one with the larger fish and so I moved upstream.

The next swim was just as difficult to fish but again I had some dace then it was off to see if the bigger fish were there. I crept towards the bank and looked down, the fish were in the same place as before and trying not to spook them I dropped the float in, once again being careful to avoid the weed banks. The current took the float rapidly downstream away from the fish and I tried again without any luck. I soon realised that this wasn’t any good and that I needed to use the ledger to keep the bait on the bottom near the fish so I swopped rods and soon had the bait in exactly the right spot. I then experienced one of the most frustrating half hours of fishing as I could see the maggots on the hook and the fish swimming right past them taking not the blindest bit of notice! I was soon running out of time and decided that I would have to have a think about how to catch these fish and I just had time to go to the spot near the bridge on my way back to the car and give it a try. Again, this place was more overgrown than I had seen it before but I got my match rod out and after a few casts was into a very small dace proving that there were fish here as well! I noticed that the river was higher than in previous years, which was a good thing as it has been too shallow to fish in the past but couldn’t really work out why as we haven’t really had that much rain after quite a dry spell.

After that one dace it was time to go. I had had a successful morning catching wild fish in overgrown places and to my surprise although I had got snagged several times I was able to free my gear and didn’t lose anything. So, I had failed with the larger fish but the important thing is that I got my mojo back and went home happy! There is aways another day!