The Old Hall pt 6

I had been spending my sessions in the deeper water at the farthest end of the lake for a few sessions, i was having fish and the confidence was high. My only drawback was that much of the daylight hours would find the fish sitting up in the shallows, basking and cruising about, but rarely dropping down onto any bait patches i had been applying. The fish seemed much more catch-able in the deeper water under the cover of darkness, but with summer approaching this meant very few dark hours in which to get quality rod hours in. The sessions had been cut short to 48hrs due to an old rule getting dragged out the archives by someone who wasn't happy with me spending 3 nights up there every fortnight,  i just don't get some people ! Although this means i can do 48 hrs per week giving me more bank time in the long run, so they've done themselves no favours come the autumn, i will be doing my damnedest to fish weekly !

So 48 hrs it is, this session would be the first under the ruling, and again i arrived with time to spare before dawn, the rods went out cleanly to the same areas i had been fishing of late, and i settled down for a much needed cuppa, getting the kit to peg had been made much easier with the acquiring of a new barrow. I could now do the trek in one journey. Before id lit a smoke the right hand rod had belted off and after a good tousle down the right hand margin a 14lb stock common was soon nestled in the folds of the net. Another great start to a session. I was tired and opted for a quick mat shot before releasing her back to her home.

The daylight broke through with a fantastic cacophony of birds erupting from the lakeside, within minutes the daft goose had realised i was there and came to join me for my session. With the temperatures rising steadily it was going to be a hot session. This i wouldn't usually mind as it would give me opportunities for surface fishing but the rules don't allow anglers to fish in such a way, so the rods were put out on zigs at varying depths and over the course of the weekend i would get no attention to the suspended baits.
In no time the night arrived and with the plan to recast the rods every hour through the night to see if the splashdown of the rigs attracted the fish as i seem to think it did, it could only be the reason for so many fish i was getting on arrival, i stayed up for the 4 hours or so of darkness and in that time i didn't see a single rise or show over my main baited areas. By mid morning i was beat and retired to bed for some much needed sleep. Waking late in the evening it was time to re bait and settle back down for an early night ready for my departure the following morning.
The bream had other ideas, i landed over a dozen of them through out the dark hours, with the largest sitting at a touch over 7lb. Sometimes they re all over me other times they leave me alone, either way they re becoming a pain in the arse !

The plans had to change for the coming session, i have been getting battered by the bream on 18mm Bacteria B1's topped with a 10mm Scud pop up, the baits doing a great job with the carp but I'm having to put up with a lot of slimeys. The only thing i can try to do is up the bait size. A day before the session was due i thawed out a hand full of 18mm baits and air dried them off in the sun, then rolled them up in the B1 paste mix to a size of 30mm and boiled them up for 2 mins. Once cooled they looked the business, if a little on the large size. Ah well id give them a go and make some slightly smaller ones on the bank if i thought they were too large.

I had decided to have a change of plan and give the shallower water a try again. Its frustrating up there as the fish are all over the place but seem to be wary of picking up food items and Ive struggled to catch up there in the sessions i had done. The forecasts were for 2 days of high pressure and temperatures up into the 23s, there was no way i was facing that heat on the north bank so opted for the shady willow swim near one of the streams. I arrived and parked up, the night was bright with a full moon and clear Sky's, i was happy, this water seems to fish well under theses conditions. Arriving at my pre chosen spot, i stared out into a steaming lake and before id unpacked the rods i had heard but not seen 2 fish slap out, the sound appeared to come from straight in front but the mist on the water meant i couldn't determine range, i couldn't even see the island at 35 yards out.

Into the waders and i was soon hand placing a hook bait off the reed bed, just beyond the stream mouth, scattering a trail of 30 baits away from it as i headed back to the peg  following this with two rods out into open water on bags of crumb and the 30 mm baits, the left rod in the general direction of the island and the middle rod 30 yards out in front of me. A brew and bed was in order. Withing moments of the head touching the pillow the island rod was off with a bream shortly followed by a 2nd off the middle rod while recasting the first, had coming to the shallower water been a mistake. I couldn't believe the baits didn't keep the bream off, there's no way the bream can get these baits in there mouths, but they just seem to harass them until the suck the hook in and nail themselves.

The dawn chorus hit with volume and id not even made it into the bag since the first attempt, sod it, brekky on and start the day i guess. By mid morning there were carp all over the shallows, barely showing themselves, but they were there. Unless you stood and watched carefully you would easily miss seeing them.
I was getting the odd show over the heavily baited spots so decided to leave the rods be, the day soon passed with just a couple more bream over the spots but no activity from the carp. The evening passed and the temperatures dropped off nicely. From around 9pm there carp's behaviour changed considerably, they started to roll and shoulder out, it was like someone had tripped a switch and stirred them from there aimless drifting. Soon after dark the liners started and i prayed it wasn't bream. Watching this show of activity i knew it was going to go off, it had too, there were just too many fish in front of me, possibly nearly all of the 36 fish stock.

It wasn't long before the stream rod buckled round and an angry carp erupted from the water, hooking and pressurising the fish away from the reed beds went well and it was soon kiting across the other lines towards the waiting net, and on second time of trying was soon nestled in the bottom, again i had banked another of the stock commons at 14lb, these fish are doing really well and will be awesome in another few years, they are all immaculate bars of gold, big tails, long of frame and fight like putbulls.

The rod was soon re positioned and the kettle boiling away, time for a much needed and well earned coffee. Things had quietened after the fight with the common, but the odd fish still showed out in front, as the full moon rose from behind me it was like a light had been turned on, it was now nearly daylight again. A few bleeps got my attention to the rods when the middle rod exploded into life less than an hour after the first fish, this felt better and was giving me some stick, it was soon ploughing around under the rod tips, but even in such shallow water i couldn't get its head up, it did its best to plough through a set of Lilly pads to my left but steady constant pressure caused it to kite out in the slightly deeper water to finish off the hard fight. Looking into the net i was chuffed to see a mirror, in the moonlight i could make out a series of small scales on the rear of the flanks. A couple of shots later and the 16lber was being released in the stream mouth and was soon strong enough to swim off strongly. First night on and 2 fish captured !

16lb

I was tired and it was getting late, i had maybe and hour before daylight so decided on a hot chocolate and a smoke then bed. As soon as i lay down the dawn chorus blasted me to reality that the next day had arrived, it hadn't gone dark at all. I was knackered and decided to stay put in bed, until a 3rd carp decided he too could fit the 30mm bait into its mouth and so my alarm screamed off again. This fish was powerful and was doing its best to get under the island, i had little choice but to lean on it and pray it didn't hook pull, i have recently run out of the Fox hooks Ive been using for years and had to change to a different brand and pattern, opting for the Gardner talon tip in a size 6 and 8. so far so good, the hook hold held and the fish kited away from the obstacle and came passed me at a rate of knots, again i turned to to me and it wouldn't be long till it was safely mine. Another mirror carp met my eyes and fish number 3 for half a session, could it get any better than this !

17lb

Nope, the day passed me by quietly, and having not slept since Tuesday, and it now being Friday evening, i decided to get an early night, praying the bream would give me a break tonight.

I woke to my alarm at 7.30, surprised, unbelievably id not had a single bleep through the night, i don't even recall waking from the time i fell asleep, tired out obviously. It was time to leave, the gear was tidied away in no time and finally the rods were reeled in and i was on my long journey home.