"Silty Mere" pt 8

The next month saw me fishing alongside Andy to sightings of fish at range from the back wall. We had decided to work together and bait up a large area and both have rods on it. This was the only place we had seen fish show with any regularity. Each week saw me making the trek round through the woods to the back wall, with Andy arriving as soon as he could escape the evils of work. We had been spodding to an area that had a light spattering of weed at around 110 yards, with a 10kg hemp/hemp pellet spod mix. On top of this would go a kilo of 18mm boilies and at least 2 rods, one on the edge and the other right in amongst the free bait. Within an hour or two of finishing spodding, the fish would show up in the area and start shouldering, tailing and getting their heads down. They were, obviously loving it. Could we get a pick up? Not a hope. Occasionally we would get what we assumed were line bites, whenever this happened fish would exit the swim sharpish creating furrows through the shallow water.

           

During this long spell of inactivity on the lake we were seeing fish every weekend turn up in our baited zone, but never getting pick ups. I had to miss a weekend due to family commitments, what a weekend. Big scale had been seen looking huge, and to top it all out she came to Andy on a quick evening session off the top. Great stuff, Oh the weight, well we don’t really know. Andy’s scales bottomed out at 30lb!  A fortnight later she was out again at a staggering 31lb 14oz! I can only imagine how poor Andy felt. Still his first 20 was his first 30. I just had to have a piece of her while she was up at this weight. Having had her at 29lb 12oz three times, I just had to.

I got down handy on the Friday morning, 4am to be precise, the missus doing the school run meant I was away early. To be totally honest my eyes didn’t shut that night, I got the kit round to the back and collapsed on top of it. A few swigs of water and the rods were out on singles into the well prepared hemp area. Andy had been down on the Tuesday and topped it all up with another 10kg mix. In total we had now used approximately 70kg of hemp/hemp pellet mix in the last few sessions. I settled in and got the kit organised. Kettle on and I’m all done.

God it looked good, but didn’t it always. I had opted to fish a rod to the snags, something I don’t like doing from this peg as it can get a bit scary as there is a closed off snaggy peg to my right and fish always seemed to try and get in there, saying that, Rick had fished it a lot and had had no real trouble. My eyes were trying to shut by 9am and as fight it I decided to get some sleep. I had seen no signs of fish anywhere on the lake since I had arrived. I awoke to a screaming run.

After a tussle and a half in flapped and bounded what was surely a big twenty. I peered into the net to see a big mirror, she had looked big last time out at Easter, but nothing like this. Her colours had darkened since the spring and she had the most wonderful slate grey colouring to her upper flanks. Onto the mat, scales zeroed, and up she went. I could not believe what my digital scales were telling me, 27lb 11oz, surely not. I repeated the weighing procedure and again she went to the same place. I carefully sacked her up and took her out into some deeper water.

Onto the phone I went, the 2 Andy’s, Rick, and a few others back home. Within 30 minutes Andy was down from Chester and with me getting ready for the photo shoot. He had arrived at the perfect moment of the return, and we watched her swim away. Two years time and I reckon she will go thirty.

After a short weekend away in the welsh hills, I was back, filled with hope. Big Scale had been visiting my hemp bed for at least six or seven weeks. Rick and I started walking the fields towards the back wall. No way, we must have misread the angling log in the security offices. We thought we were the only ones on. Distraught we got to tench corner where we found Simon. I definitely had misread the log. Simon had been there for the previous two evenings for just a few tinca’s, yet out in front of him were carp, everywhere! We stopped and chatted for a while, discussing where he had seen fish and the times they were showing. From what Rick and I saw, the fish were all over the bottom end of the lake and showing out in front of the boards. We both agreed it looked like they were going through the motions of spawning, Simon was going at first light the following morning so I chose to stay put on tench corner and put all my rods out long so as not to disrupt his fishing too much. Rick high tailed it round to the double peg on the back wall. Good stuff, this meant that a moved could be made if things changed. Darkness fell and we seemed to have the whole lakes population of carp between ourselves and Rick on the far bank.

            

After a good social evening of beer and smokes with Si, into the bag I went, thoughts of Big Scale in the mind. My worries were now whether she had spawned and dropped a big chunk off weight. Just after climbing in I got a short run and flew outside in my socks, the bobbin had dropped back to its original position, bloody bream.  I awoke to the dawn chorus, and with 20 minutes or so before daylight I started to re-bait and reposition the rods. As I went to reel in the third rod I disturbed what was obviously a good fish at about 60 yards out, it turned and headed to the left where it stopped and turned back. I quickly threw a halibut on and a small tangerine sized bag of hemp pellets and dropped it 10 yards in front of the fish. I was disappointed to see it turn and head out into the centre of the lake. Unimpressed with myself for scaring it out I turned, set the bobbin and jumped back into the bag, leaned out and put the kettle on. Watching the lake from the comfort of my bed I soon realised the fish from the previous evening had gone, as had often been the case on here. They seemed to move around a lot due to the amount of pressure from the lines in the water. Swigging down my brew, I got a call on the phone from Rick to see what was happening, I told him of my error and I could sense his sharp intake of breath. Just as I put the radio down I noticed a slight disturbance over the last rod I had cast. Suddenly a large swirl a single beep from the alarm, the bobbin twitching, and off it went. All hell broke loose as I connected with the fish. A hefty lunge and I knew who this was. Thump, thump to my left she went. She kited into the margins and headed for the pads, it was here I had seen a glimpse of the plates on her right flank. Now I was crapping it. Don’t lose her, don’t lose her, I kept repeating myself to myself. I followed her up the bank trying to gain line, trying being the operative word. Away she went stripping line of the reel, this time I leant into it and stopped her quickly, in she came and away to my right she went, crashing into Si’s left hand rod, he awoke to the sound of his alarm and flew out of his bivvy, as she went underneath his other rods. I leant again and she turned, wallowing just 10 yards out. Oh yes it’s her. Realising what was happening he got to grips with the net and crouched next to me. I told him who it was and he smiled, into the net first time, thankfully. Yes! Now, for the weighing procedure.

As I lifted her onto the mat, I didn’t think she was any bigger than when I had last caught her. Now I really was crapping it. I sent Si to wake up Andy the bailiff. With their help she went up on the scales just as the battery in my digitals packed in. Typical! Everything zeroed again and up she went on Si’s Avon scales and round went the dials. He read it aloud and my smile grew even larger 30lb 2oz. Well chuffed. A little dance, and into my arms she went for the photographs. Truly, she is an awesome beast, amazing! Back she went into her watery hole, with a flick of her tail she did her usual trick of a good soaking and off she went straight across the lake to the snag island. On went the kettle and off back to bed went Andy and Simon.Leaving me to my thoughts. Out went the call to Rick, he was buzzing for me and he already knew from my dance that I had done my first thirty. Out went the texts and phone calls.

I spent the rest of the session on the shallows but my heart was not really in it. Had I not travelled up to the lake with Rick I honestly believe I would have wrapped up and gone home. Rick followed this capture up the following morning with a fish I have not caught, called the ‘Orange One’ at a good weight of 24lb. My targets were achieved and I was finished. The Silty mere is now a venue I would see little of, I feel that to chase one or two fish in this lake would only see me getting too many repeat captures of some magnificent fish, but I need to move on, hopefully taking some good friends with me to new pastures.