Midweek session on Meadows Syndicate

Arriving to an empty lake i did the first of many laps i would do over the next few days searching for the elusive carp in this lake, the first area i was interested in was up on the high bank, its an area I've often found the fish visiting but after a short viewing i had seen no evidence of the carp being present, i wandered to the bottom bay to find a few fish bubbling up in the area and after finishing the lap i decided to start the session down there. The swim gives a great view of much of the lake so contented, i set up home as i decided where to place the baits.
With a rod being fished a yard or so off the old jetty over 20 or so B1 baits a second rod into the opposite corner on corn over a light scattering of grains and a third rod 10 yards out directly in front of me in line with a treeline mark on the island again on the Bacteria B1 bait. This rod would also receive 20 pouches of the B1 pellet at the start, with the plan to top up if i was to see any evidence that the fish were present.The remainder of the afternoon passed quickly but the fish appeared to be absent. Those i had seen fizzing up earlier appeared to have left the area. Tired from the journey down i headed for an early night after applying a little more bait to the spots. I woke soon after first light quite shocked not to have recieved a fish through the darkness. Having a quick look at the bay i could see a few spots with fish bubbling away but not near any of the baited areas. Seeing a large fizz patch near to the island a rod was gently plopped a yard off the area.
With a brew in my hand and breakfast sank i decided to give a waggler set up a try over the pellet area, there were the occasional bubbles coming up from the area and things looked good for a fish. Mounting a couple of grains of corn on a size 6 hook i flicked the float long and gently drew it back into the swim. Typically as i took a slurp of coffee the float rose and dipped, i struck into thin air completely missing the bite. Re baiting i followed the same procedure and the float settled among the pellets again. With the rod in hand i was fully ready for the next dip of the float, connecting with a fish that felt very uncarp like, it rolled and i knew it was one of the very elusive bream that we had stocked a couple of seasons back. Once in the net it was weighed up at 2lbs 9oz, a great leap forward since the last capture of one at round 1lb 2 years back.
Try as i might i couldn't get another bite from them or anything else for that matter. The day passed with only one or 2 sightings of fish at the far end of the lake. After a lap i came to realise that the fish were certainly more prominent at the shallower end of the lake. I decided to stay put but promised myself the move come morning if id not had any signs of fish the coming night.
Re baiting with over an hour to spare before darkness gave me time for another dabble with the waggler rod but to no avail. Again the night passed without disturbance and the following morning saw the lake shrouded in mist and everything soaked through. By mid morning the move to the shallows was on. I packed the gear and shuttled it down to the main shallows peg. Priority was to get baits in position and in no time i was sitting back with a cuppa watching the water. There were certainly fish present and quite a few were fizzing up along the old reed bed line. Sitting expectantly but with the day moving on a pace it wasn't long before the evening crept up on me. I was still bite less.
Throughout the night i would hear fish starting to crash out in the middle area of the lake. After hearing a particularly loud crash i went for a quick run down the bank to see where the action was happening. Seeing the waves hitting the near bank and seeing a fish pop its head out i decided come morning i would probably make a second move into this area. By 1am i was settled in to the bag and dropping off to sleep.
Shortly before 6am i was dragged out of deep sleep by the left hand rod to the island, going into overdrive, leaning into a fish i was a bit disappointed to feel a small carp on the end. Id been praying this would be one of the better ones. But hey i was off the mark with a stocky of 8lb.

sunset over the meadows 

A quick scan of the middle of the lake and the fish that had spent the evening crashing about seemed to still be present so the 2nd move was made into the deeps swim. Again the rods went out with priority over the rest of the kit, one rod to the reeds on my right a 2nd off the left hand island end and the left hand rod tight to the overhanging dogwood bushes. As i was sorting the home out this left hand rod went off. Pouncing on it, i managed to turn the fish out of the bushes and into open water. It bolted out into the main body of water and was doing its best to reach the far margins, knowing i had to turn it before it got there i leaned to my left and applied pressure, the fish turned and came back at me, passing me and heading down the channel between the island and the bank. It was tiring and i was starting to win and gain control. It went into the net first time and i knew i had a better fish. Peeling back the net i was shocked to see a low double, this fish had given me the runaround and was punching well above its weight. I recognised it as one of the priory stock from the initial stocking of the lake a few years previously. The fish had been around 3lb when stocked but was now weighing in at 11lb 3oz...fantastic growth considering the previous few hard winters and poor summers.

chunky mirror stocked 3 seasons ago

 With the rod back in it was time to get the home together and settle down to watch the water looking for signs to go at. Other than a few light liners off the island rods all was pretty quiet, the fish had stopped showing in the area and after a mooch around the lake it looked like there wasn't a fish in the lake!
With a good curry done and dusted it was time to re do the rods and apply some bait ready for hte oncoming night.Again the dark hours produced no activity to the baits  and first light tried to creep its way through the early morning mists. By mid morning the sun had fought its way through  and burnt the mist way leaving me with a superb early Autumn day. Blasted out of my daydreams by a take on the left hand rod again i felt a good fish, it was trying to battle its way into the bottom bay and my angle was restricted, leaning out over the water to try and keep in contact i felt the hook pull out and the line slacken. Gutted i wound in and re baited the rig and out it went back on the spot. The afternoon passed away quietly with just a few liners off the island and with my head in a book i heard the "peep" of a kingfisher. Looking out it wouldn't be long before i got my first view of it. Over the next two days i would be lucky to get a hand-full of sightings of the magnificent creature. With baits refreshed for the night and a little top up of freebies it was soon time to settle back for some much needed sleep. Again i woke to a very misty lake having had no action on the rods again. It would be just after dark before a run was to be had, this time it was the rod on the reed bed on the B1 bait that would drag me to life. The fish was doing its damnedest to get into the reed bed and it very nearly succeeded,  i extracted it from the edge of the reeds and it went to my left staying very low in the water again like the last fish that i had lost, this one was trying to get into the channel between the island and the bank, i managed to turn it again and it powered passed me and made a second attempt at getting into the reeds, it was starting to tire and after one final dive at my feet it rolled over the net-cord and was mine. After zeroing up the scales they settled on a weight of 11lb 4oz ,

this one gave an unbelievable scrap

with a few shots done she went back to her watery home. I was pretty sure this was the first visit to the bank for this fish and the scrap it gave was something else !
With the rod back out on the productive spot it was time to pack away as much of the kit as possible in readiness for an early departure the following morning. Sleep was sadly un-interupted and after getting up at first light it wasn't long before the kit was packed and the journey home had to begin.