The Black Water session 3

With an early arrival to get settled in with a couple of hours darkness and with home built and the kettle fired up 2 rods were cast to the clipped up spots on the plateau i fished the previous session, i used small tangerine sized bags of crumbed B1 with the ever consistent B1 scud combo on the business end of the simple blow back rigs. The 3rd rod was walked down to the little bay and cast underarm out into 3 feet of water around 12ft out on a Scud fished on a simple pop up rig.
At first light the previously forecast south westerly sprang up and put a heavy chop on the surface making fish spotting nigh on impossible, with only seeing one or two possible shows  among all the jack pike strikes it was time to get some free offerings in on top of the rigs and to sit on the hands and be patient to see if the fish would come to the rigs.
The day passed with little attention to any of the rods and my thoughts were turning to the change in wind and if that had affected the fish behaviour, the decision to move was bouncing around in my head, i had planned to try and stay put on each session, with it being limited time compared to my normal style of angling. By early evening id decided a night on the plateau was the right thing to do so i stayed put and refreshed the rods in readiness for darkness.
Soon after dark the wind dropped off and the lake was still, a superb time for seeing and hearing the fish but to no avail, i heard nothing and saw nothing show. Having had such an early start, tiredness was creeping in and an early venture to the sleeping bag was made, with the expectancy of a rude awakening at any time. To my surprise i woke a little after first light to a misty lake but a day promising pleasant weather.
With daylight had come the south westerly again, pushing passed me from left to right. I was soon to be surprised by two other young anglers arriving in pursuit of the carp in the lake, previously i had only seen the occasional pike angler. They set up on the high bank opposite and proceeded to cast 3 rods tight into the island with the other lad casting 2 rods tight to the left hand end. Around 40 minutes later the elder of the two young anglers came round to see what bait i was using and if i had caught anything, I impolitely asked him why he had left his rods unattended over such a large distance I made it obvious i was not impressed and tried to explain to him the lack of respect he had for the residents in the lake. He was uncaring so i made it quite obvious i was not going to continue with any conversation with him and he left me.
Mid afternoon came around and the lad received a take off his right hand margin rod and proceeded to play the fish for a very long time, eventually he managed to land it and hauled the fish up onto the bank and to his waiting mat. After a few minutes my friend and i were starting to worry about the fish as the lad still hadn't dealt with it and it had been out of water for some time with no moisture, my friend ran round to give some help, the lad was struggling to get the hook out. In seconds it was unhooked and the fish was lifted in the net, the lad then proceeded to clamber down 5 ft of steep bank when he slipped and fell landing on the fish. After he sorted himself out and stood precariously above 7 ft of deep water he wet the fish again and clambered back up the bank. As he was trying to lift the fish for his trophy shot the lad dropped the fish and it flapped its way off the mat, bouncing down the 5 ft of bramble and rocky bank side to slap back into the lake. I couldn't believe what i was witnessing. Once my mate was back round we chatted about it and both of us were in shock, sadly  it was the pristine common i had banked a couple of weeks earlier.
Late afternoon and the two lads were just leaving the lake when 2 other anglers arrived and proceeded to question us about the session, we kept pretty quiet and i don't actually think i spoke to either of them. 20 minutes later would see them setting up, malleting bivvy pegs into a bank of 45 degrees, leaving them a near sheer drop to the water and their rods.They were soon joined by a 2nd pair of lads who set up adjacent to the others but one swim down, out came the mallets again. Just before dark the party kicked in with half a dozen guests gathering around the 2 bivvies and with lights flashing and screaming giggly girls our session came to an abrupt end.
Having had the first 2 sessions to ourselves on the lake this was a real shock to the system, this is not the sort of place i would ever fish, the dilemma is to shift the session to a midweek or give it another couple of sessions as arranged and see how it pans out. I'm sure autumn is due to hit us in a big way soon and hopefully it will sort out the true anglers from the party anglers.

The Black Water session 2

With an early start in order for Friday morning, inevitably sleep was never going to come easy, i spent the night clock watching till just before 3 am when i had had enough of trying to get some sleep so sneaking out of the bedroom and straight to the kettle and coffee jar. While waiting for the kettle the kit was loaded up and it was soon time for the off.
Crossing over the border at around 3.30 am i knew there was going to be more than enough time to get into position under cover of darkness, i was just hoping i could find the plateau id felt on the previous session. By 4.30 the rods were lowered into some nearby margin spots for the time being  on single hook baits, it was then i realised id forgotten the marker rod ! Setting up a separate rod with a marker set up, i made a few casts out towards the are i knew the bar was but was not able to feel it. I had really wanted to pick up the sensations of the lead passing over the fine gravel on the plateau but with mono instead of braid i could only receive an occasional tap of a larger stone, the plan had been to find it then walk the marker and rigs out along the bank, clip them up and flick them out onto the spot, a textbook error forgetting the braid rod.
With not wanting to cause any more disturbance i chose to leave the rods on the margin spots till first light then try again to find the plateau.
As dawn started to break through and with light levels on the rise, i soon came to realise i had been casting to the right of the plateau as i had lined up with the wrong tree silhouette, with this error corrected i found the area i wanted to present my baits on with just a single cast, then a second to ensure my marker was at the far side of it so i could cast slightly shorter to ensure accurate placement of the rigs. The 3rd rod was to be fished on a single pop up and would be treated as a roving rod, cast about to any signs of fish but as a starting point i whacked it down to the far corner off the snag tree 90 yards away.
With the rods in position and a scattering of SAE bacteria baits around the rigs on the plateau a small quantity of pellets was spodded over each of the two rigs and i felt i could finally relax.
After the heavy gales we had received all week the gentle westerly was pushing in towards me but the forecast was for a change to a southerly the coming night. With the sessions on this lake being only around 36 hrs max I've decided not to chase around the lake but stick with whichever swim i choose for the duration and to pre bait when I'm leaving. This swim was pretty much in the middle of the lake and gives me a view of the whole water with the exception of the back of the island.
Having found this plateau late on in the last session i had been keen to give it a try as its such a pronounced feature among all the inky black, stinky silt everywhere else in the lake. I was 100% sure the fish must visit this area. By mid morning all was quiet, i had refrained from adding bait to the swim throughout the day, preferring to sit on the small pockets of food clustered around the hook baits. With the stock being low I'm trying to fish for a fish at a time but by evening it was time for fresh baits for the oncoming dark hours. Bringing the 2 rods in of the plateau i was pleased that they hadn't absorbed the silt and still smelt fresh, within an hour of fishing into silt the baits the previous session had smelled rancid.
Dropping them back onto the plateau i added a small amount of bait over each rig and settled back for the evening. Tired out from the lack of sleep i soon dropped off into a deep sleep and woke the following morning at around 8, I was totally surprised and quite disappointed not to have been up in the night with a fish. Even the dawn chorus hadn't roused me from my slumber.
With missing first light i felt like i had wasted the chance of learning more about the venue and was quite disappointed with myself for sleeping through. With the kettle on i wound in the range rod to find the bait completely masked by the stench of the silt and replaced the two 10mm Scuds and flicked it back down to the snag tree again. The other 2 rods were left in place till after breakfast and a cuppa.
By mid morning id seen a few shows down in "cow bay" and had moved the pop up rig around according but to no avail, but by adapting the rig and setting it at 2 inches off the bottom i was now able to present a bait and avoid it taking on the oily silt.
With the other 2 rods re baited and recast into the same spots on the plateau I settled back to watch for shows or any other signs of fish to go at, this session was a going to be a quiet one that was for sure, and with the southerly wind causing quite a ripple, spotting fish was always going to be tough.
Out of know where the left hand plateau rod went off, pouncing on it and leaning on the fish i knew this was a good one, it was going off at a rate of knots , stripping line from the reel and heading to the bottom end of the lake, applying pressure i leaned to my right to slow it and i felt the fish hit a weed bed and go solid, after a few seconds it passed through the loose Canadian pond weed and out the other side, feeling the line grating and cutting its way through, the fish was soon back under control and in open water, ploughing up and down the left margin in the deeper water. This fish just did not want to give up, and i was nervous, knowing it was a good fish that i really didnt want to lose, i was shaking ! After what seemed like an eternity and a few more dives and lunges it seemed ready for the net and started to come towards me, until it got a sighting of the net and it was off again, this time it was tired and was soon turned and under control again and into the folds of the waiting net it went.

a new welsh pb mirror for me

Onto the wet mat and up on the scales she went, pulling them round to 19lb3oz I was rather chuffed, a new welsh Pb for me and a known character fish too. After a series of photographs she was slipped back to give me a good soaking in thanks for dragging her out of her watery home.
With the fish returned and the rig back in place on the plateau it was time for a celebratory cuppa and a well earned smoke.
The afternoon passed quite quickly after that and it wouldn't be long before id be packing up, i had promised my self that if the weather was fine, at the end of each session i would spend an hour marking out and leaning as much as i can about the lake bed and it wasn't long before i found another area that was 2 ft shallower than the surrounding areas and very gravelly, this spot will definatley be used for the 3rd rod next session if i decide to fish this same area.

Time was up and other than pre baiting with a load of B1 boilies onto the plateaus and in the surrounding areas it was time to shoulder the kit and head to the car for the journey home. Roll on next friday !

The Black Water session 1

Having pre baited the lake the previous Tuesday, Friday morning couldn't come quick enough. With an hour of darkness left upon arriving, the kit was dropped onto the island swim and by first light the home was built and the rods were baited, as light levels rose 2 rods were dropped into place on the island plateau with a 3rd flicked out into one of the deeper bays. Kettle on and it was lake watching time.
With a northwesterly picking within an hour of dawn chances of sightings were drastically reduced but it wouldn't be long before a good fish was spotted lumping out among the waves at the far end of the lake. With it being the first session and a short 36 hour one at that, i decided id refrain from moving and stay put in the shallower water surrounding the island. By lunchtime the clouds had gathered and the rain had arrived.

Having baited up with a couple of kg of SAE bacteria B1's a few days earlier i had decided to fish 3 bait stringers for the day to get a feel for whether fish were present and on the area before i applied any more, but i did trickle some of the B1 pellet in over the course of the morning. By late afternoon id been plagued by coot chicks diving on the pellet and occasionally grabbing the hook bait, keeping me on my toes!

Darkness came early with the heavy cloud and rain and i could finally get some pellet out onto the areas without the coots cleaning me out all the time, finally the swim settled down. With the rods re baited and positioned a little further off the island but still up on the plateau it was time to eat and settle down with a book. It wasn't long before the eyes were heavy and id drifted off into a light snooze when the left hand rod was away, fishing locked up, i lifted the rod into what felt like a solid fish.

With the clutch locked up the fish had kindly kited away into open water and i could finally let it take some line. After a few powerfull lunges and dives the fish was starting to tire and was soon wallowing off the end of the net in the shallow water and after one final run it was nestling in the folds of the mesh. The sense of elation hit home, overriding the fear of dread at possibly losing the first take from the lake. A quick peek at the fish and i was elated..a good one !
Once on the mat and in the sling the common settled the scales round to 18lb 2oz and was soon photographed and released back into its watery home.
With it being so dark now it was a leap of faith to cast the rig back to the edge of the island and hearing an audible plop i was content not have clipped the island canopy. With a cuppa in hand i sat and enjoyed the successful start to the unknown water.
At around 2am the same rod went off, again with it being locked up tight the fish couldn't take line so kited way from the island, i lifted into what felt again like a good fish , within seconds the hook popped out and all my highs fell away. Gutted to say the least. Back out to the spot the rod went.
It would be mid day on the Saturday when again the same rod went off, this fish managed to get under the canopy and leaning into it to steer it out from under the branches i felt a small fish scrapping on the end. It was soon subdued and resting in the bottom of the net. The result being a 13lb common.

The rest of the soon day passed away with just a handful of sightings among the heavy waves in other areas of the lake and a few fish seen just off the back of the island.
Packing down it was time to leave and pre bait a few areas in preparation for the following session

The Black Water

A month or so ago i became privy to a little bit of information regarding a pool around 35 miles from home, I instantly took an interest in it but as is often the case things get put on the back burner and even more often forgotten about. After being given a memory jog i decided to get on the web to do some research, i was soon in possession of an overhead map and a route, but no matter what i couldn't find out anything about the stock of fish, Ive seen a few shots of some beautiful black commons and they had been enough to whet my appetite
I finally got round to taking a drive up with a friend, a pad, a marker rod set up and a bucket of bait.  Over the course of the evening we would get a pretty definitive topographical map of the underwater features and a strong urge to give the lake a go.
The first sighting grabbed my attention mainly due to the color of the water, black as ink! I fully expected to have found deep water but it wouldnt be long before we would find out to the contrary.

First impressions were of a tatty old farm pool of around an acre and a half with a sunken island around 35 yards out, It has a comfy bank on one side and an un-fishable bank on the opposite, this being due to the sheer drop to the water making landing fish a potential accident waiting to happen, especially under darkness.

After marking out the high bank and towards the far end, we were finding a slight variation in depths but generally ranging between 6 - 7 feet deep with scraggly Canadian pond weed and silk weed.  After getting to the far end of the lake there is a pair of dead trees sunken and after a few casts around it, it is certainly snaggy under the water around them. Turning towards the comfy bank stretch i found a raised plateau of what feels like gravel/stones, this area measures out at approx 12ft by 10ft with around 3 ft of water above it when all around it i was finding 6ft, certainly an area not to be overlooked !

Around the sunken island is what appears to be the slopes of the island with trees jutting out of the water. Whilst marking around this area we were lucky to see a few fish roll out in the heavy ripple and a couple of crashes among the sunken trees. The water in this area is averaging at 3ft and with the light at the right angle the clay bottom could be made out

Having actually witnessed some fish we were beaming and made the decision to get on at the end of the coming week therefore i  primed some spots up with the SAE B1's  and left for home, totally excited about fishing a bit of the unknown. Its been some time since i felt this way about a new water and its nice to be fishing close to home enabling me to pre bait before each session

The rods are set up to accommodate the patchy weed and the rigs are made and balanced ...Roll on Friday morning !

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.

68 acres pt 3

I had not been able to get up to the big pit for well over a month, time was limited and work was busy, id been planning the next few sessions for some time, but never actually finding the the time ! Late summer was here and the heat was unbearable. I got to the lake late on the Friday expecting it to be rammed with anglers to see just one chap on the high bank, 2 in the right hand corner and one up at the hall end. Starting the yomp with the kit for just 2 nights, i was glad to have ditched the bivvy and opted for just an umbrella. After having some great success from the small pool it was my first port of call and i dropped the kit in the same spot as last time, and went for a walkabout. Decision time came, and as the woods were vacant of anglers i had decided to get the kit and head into the shade of the trees, all that changed when heading back as i would find a large shoal of fish hanging off the snags in the gulley between the main lake and the pool.

I got a stalking kit together and quickly got into the waders, with having no surface baits with me attached a small trimmed down pop up onto the shank of the hook and crept out to the fish, keeping the disturbance to an absolute minimum i clambered over some dead fall and back into the water with barely a ripple. I  managed to get close enough to be able to cast from under the overhanging trees. Drawing the bait back towards the fish so slowly as to barely make a ripple it was noticed and what appeared to be a small common turned and waddled towards it. Knowing i had just one chance at this, i knew this was not the fish i wanted, there were far better fish in the pack out in front of me, gently tweaking the line i disturbed the common and it turned away  leaving a boil in the water and entered the shoal, thinking id blown it i was surprised to see the other fish unperturbed by the actions of this little pup. Back out went the hook bait and this time i managed to latch onto a feint breeze that had created a light ripple that the carp were sitting under and drift the morsel over their heads.
A tail pattern emerged less than a few feet away and next thing i knew was the rod being wrapped around and all kinds of madness broke loose, the shoal of fish scattered in all directions leaving wakes and bow waves crashing into my legs whilst the fish that i was connected to went to my right and was trying its best to get into the roots and snags. Leaning on it, it turned and came across my bows and off out into the main body of water. Again the fish ploughed off through the upper surface and this time i could feel it reacting to the pressure of the rod and hook hold, the shaking of the head was transmitted along to the rod and i half expected it to buck out of my hands. It was soon over though and she was mine, opening the folds of the net i would see the best common so far of my visits to the lake.

Realisation hit that the kit was back on the small pool I bundled the fish into a retainer sack and after giving it a good soaking moved back around to sort out the weighing and pictures. What a way to start the weekend off. Now totally undecided as to where to actually set up i opted to stay put and got the rods out onto the same areas as last time, but to no avail. other than a hand full of tench and a small common the session was quiet. Knowing i was back on in a couple of days, i thought id take a gamble and put the remainder of my pellet into an area in the woods in preparation , hoping that i would manage to get to fish in there on my return, and on the plus side it would mean i had 3kg less weight to carry back to the car with the kit !

The next couple of days couldn't pass quickly enough and i spent the time clock watching until the Tuesday evening when i would get the clearance off the missus to get up there a day early. Arriving to find a single angler on the high bank and no evidence of any other anglers cars, i was eager to get into the woods and when i did i found it devoid of anglers, giving me the chance to get onto the baited spots. In need of a brew and knowing i was spending 3 nights in here i took my time getting the gear together and by mid morning had done all that was needed, giving me time to escape into my thoughts. The left hand rod over a dozen pellets on the big snag 50 yards down the bank and 2 rods over the pre baited spot out in front of me.

The snag tree

 I was enjoying the tranquillity when i saw the angler on the opposite bank over 300 yards away sending a bait boat over to the snag tree and depositing a load of bait. Furious i gave him a bit of grief and a slanging match sadly occured. I couldn't believe he would fish tight to the snags like that at such range to start with , let alone when another angler was in the vicinity, his argument was that he was there before me. Then make the mile and a half walk to the feature you lazy ****

Things calmed down and i went back and sulked with my brew and kicked back with a smoke. The day passed quietly and as darkness fell the boat came over again to the big snag. This in my opinion was so wrong for him to consider fishing at the range he was from the snag, i was maybe 50 yards away and wouldn't present a bait closer than 8 yards, whereas he was dropping the baits on the edge of them. Once darkness enclosed me i flicked a rod over his two lines and dragged them in to me, while he was playing a 16 stone monster i cut them off and dropped them next to my kit for him to collect if he dared.
Feeling much more content and relaxed than earlier i could now re-position a rod safely on the big snag so it was out in the waders under total darkness i went to hand place the trap.The morning came and went but the chap from the far bank never made his appearance for his terminal tackle, i guess he thought he'd lost a good fish and taken out his other line! Strange how he didn't send another rig over this way though.

At a little after lunchtime i received a staccato take from one of the rods over the heavily baited patch of pellets and after a tussle with what i thought would be a low double figure common i was surprised to bank a tench not far short of 10 lbs. A female carrying  tonnes of spawn, she was treated with the utmost respect and returned to continue her days .

9lb 12oz

Just before dawn the on the last morning the snag tree rod went ballistic, i was fishing it locked up tight to stop any chance of a fish burying into the snags and the rod was bucking in the rests like it was possessed, lifting into it, this felt good, it appeared to have bowed out into the lake away from the snag but once i applied pressure, it turned and headed straight back to the snag, thankfully it shifted direction again and started to furrow its way through the shallow margins and across in front of me, by now i was up to my knees in water and hadn't even given it a thought to get into the waders. Light was breaking over to my right and the fish was heading that way taking copious amounts of line in the process, There seemed to be no way of slowing this creature down but over the course of the next 5 minutes it started to slow and tire. It was soon in enveloped in the folds of the net. Shaking like a leaf I looked in to see the prize. Words failed me. I was soaked through, kicking off the socks and pants i got into the waders  ready to return her and after a couple of self takes would do just that. At a little under 22 and a half pounds she wasn't the biggest fish id had but what a mirror carp !

Snag tree success

68 acres pt 2

I had put a few sessions in since the sucessfull opening to my campaign, but i had struggled to get back into the woods due to angler pressure, each session would see me make the long walk around to the area only to find an angler in there already, the problem was there was little way of knowing that prior to the walk. The small pool adjoining had also been occupied on both occasions too, so that was also out. I'd spent the previous two sessions fishing the roadside bank, it had resulted in a few smaller commons of low double and single figures and a whole heap of tench but i was not getting among the bigger fish in the open featureless water.
Finishing work a day early, i was hoping to get on before others and get into the woods, so Thursday morning would see me leaving at 3am to arrive for first light. Turning in from the road i saw bivvies dotted around the high bank and the roadside bank, The place was rammed.
I had little choice but to take the gamble and make the walk. Arriving at the small pool i was at least on a consolation prize of this being free, and i had not yet managed a session in here. I deposited the kit facing the mouth of the gully between the two lakes and went for a quick walk to the woods, to find 2 anglers pitched up together, we said a few hello's and I found out that these were the lads who had been in here last session, and they hadn't left as yet. They had banked a few good fish between them and they were leaving at the weekend so with my options limited it was back to the pool  for me.

After a few casts to either side of the gully I was finding a nice depth of water and I opted for a rod either side, one to the snaggy margin on the left and one to the spit of land that was pretty much an end of an island. Still undecided about the 3rd rod I baited the two spots up with about 80 pellets and got the rigs out among them, in no time at all the tench were coming to the rods.

I had found a nice gravel patch to my right under an overhanging tree a the end of the  pool and this is where i dropped the 3rd rod, with the spot being around 120 yards away the rod was set tight awaiting the drop back bite that would be inevitable. Id opted to fish a tiger nut on this rod as a single hook bait as i didn't want to be plagued with the tench, hoping more for a wily carp to pick it up as it lapped the margins of the small pool.
Over the morning i had multiple sightings of good sized fish coming around the spit in the shallower water just behind the baited spot, after a recast it would be minutes before the alarm would give a series of beeps this turned into chaos as the fish reared out of the water, crashing back down, the alarm screamed, the spool went into meltdown and a bow wave went off to my right hugging the spit of land , applying pressure i turned it off the upper ledge and into the slightly deeper water  where it powered towards me, it was all i could do to pick up the slackening line, thinking id dropped it off i suddenly reconnected with an angry common a few yards off the other lines, picking up the left hand line i knew this was going to be trouble, reaching down i flicked the alarm off and watched as the fish made off with line from the other rod and reel, This was turning into a mess, I had little choice but to go in for this one and getting into the waders i entered the water, passing the rod under the other I was soon untangled from the other line and back in contact with the common, after a few more runs and lunges it turned, gulped air and it was all over. This was a stunner and a fair bit bigger than id appreciated when playing it ! After a few shots she was slipped back no worse for her ordeal.

21lb bar of gold

The day passed pleasantly enough with copious amounts of tench picking up the baits giving me constant liners, and loads banked yet no more carp. With the area being relatively flat here and with no trees to climb i had reduced viewing into the water but still managed to spot quite a few large fish cruising in and out of the small pool, they appeared to enter on the left and leave on the right much of time. I just knew it was only a matter of time before id get another chance. With an hour of light left i re baited heavily on the right side of the gulley and trickled a few in tight to the hook bait on the left hand rod.
Darkness fell and it wasn't long before id have the last brew of the evening and settle in for some sleep, i was covered in tench slime and would not have been smelling good at all ! Id not been asleep more than an hour when the left hand rod went off with a stuttering series of bleeps, swinging out of bed i lifted into a slack line and winding down reality hit,  i had lost whatever was on the end. A quick check of the rig and it the tip was damaged so it was on with a new one, then onto the task of  getting the rod back out as best as i could into the area. With only a small moon it was pretty dark and with the spot being full of snags and sitting at approximately 90 yards away dropping short was the best i could do. Come first light i would be ever so pleased i had dropped that rig short.

Through the night id received a few liners and banked a couple of tench and a small common carp so was having a bit of a lazy lie in, as light had broken through the tench activity had ceased, or i had no bait left out on the spots, the latter being most likely, so it was unusually quiet. Normally id have been up and re baiting but i was whacked from the nights entertainment so it was lazing about, brewing up from bed and just considering getting up for a breakfast when the left hand rod tore away. The fish went out through the gulley and was still going when i lifted into the rod, it buckled over and the fish kept going, i was in trouble here and i knew it. But the carp gods smiled on me and the fish slowed and started to turn, keeping it moving i somehow, and with a lot of luck, managed to steer it back into the pool from the main body of water and soon into the folds of the waiting net. This was a good one for sure !

26lb 10 oz of immaculate mirror carp

With a weight of over 26lbs it was the first mirror carp i had managed to bank in the lake, and what a fish to capture, this lady looked uncaught and was absolutely immaculate in every way.
I was elated yet exhausted, id banked 2 good fish again in this session with a night to go.
I decided against baiting up heavily as i needed to be up and off early in the morning and really couldn't face another night of bait stealing tench, I doubled up the hook bait's so i was fishing 2 x 21mm baits on each rig and again, this was to reduce the chance of tench picking me up and hooking themselves. Come first light and pack up time, id not had a single indication on the alarms all through the dark hours so the ploy certainly helped !