Overnight success!

It's been a long time!

I feel completely out of touch and out of practice with regards the finer points of carp fishing, having not spent a night on the bank since August and before that, March last year. The usual causes of abstinence, such as the stressful demands of work, have diminished recently following my uprooting and relocation from Kent to Wiltshire. Now my lack of presence by the waterside is due to a change in priorities, where family - especially my now 1 year old daughter Jessica, is right at the centre and what a blessing she is! However, once the addiction has taken hold, I think it is impossible for a carp angler to be cured completely.

I met Jake on one of my first visits to the magical moat where we both targeted crucians by day and carp by night. Green shoots of friendship began to grow, however geography hindered its fruition until I moved to his neck of the woods. Recognising my desperation for some fishing-therapy, Jake set up an inaugural outing- an overnighter on his syndicate lake.

My muddy set-up!

A fair amount of rain had fallen during the week but temperatures were rising and, on arrival, a reasonable wind had began to push into the South East corner of the lake. We duly positioned ourselves on the receiving end of these gusts and began to look for signs of fish activity. Nosing around the margins with polaroids proved pointless given the choppiness of the water, clouding of its own volition. Just as we were exploring the far margin with a lead from our chosen swim, a fish crashed out in open water to my left. As it happened again it seemed obvious that I had to get a bait on that spot! Three cross-wind obscured casts later the trap was set and the scattering of boilies  around the general area served as a welcome distraction from the embarrassment I was suffering owing to my rustiness.

I had opted to fish single pop-ups on what Martin Bowler has recently been calling a 'real Ronnie' but it is in essence the same as Lee Crampton's 'claw rig' which I have been using for years. I like this presentation as it affords the bait plenty of freedom to move and will turn and set perfectly when approached from any angle. I had however lost a number of fish due to poor hook-holds last summer when using an incarnation of this rig which featured a long-shank hook with a small gape. Whilst this was almost impossible to eject, it did not set deep enough and cost me fish. Therefore, to remedy this I went to the other extreme and tied the rigs up with size 4 wide-gapes. At home I wondered if this might be overkill but I had not forgotten the size of the mouths of the fish I was targeting and proceeded with my course of logic.

Once the rods were out and shelters assembled, gas stoves were lit, beverages poured and conversations commenced. It had been almost two years so we had a lot of catching up to do!

In hindsight the following sequence of events seems almost predictable but the sudden screaming of my left alarm interrupting the serenity of the moment could not have been more unexpected.

Line stripped rapidly from the spool as I clumsily tripped over my dormant right rod to get to the erupting left. As I applied my thumb as a break and the rod arced round the tempo slowed but I began to feel the power of the fish forcefully towing onwards. Erratic vibrations transmitted a warning of the lake's intermittent rocky areas down the line. Very little could be done to navigate a clear path through this treacherous topography. On one occasion all movement ceased and the line seemingly became fixed to a point in the water. A sudden ping and the line went slack. My heart dropped. 

A turn of the handle and I connected once more with what I initially thought to be the snag- until it started making its way off into the distance.

I had attempted to steer the carp with side strain, keeping the rod tip low to encourage the fish to rise. I realised this was futile as it kited across into Jakes line causing his alarm to sound. He reassured me that my apologies were unnecessary but I felt bad. Had I bullied it a little more perhaps it could have been avoided but losing this fish was not a risk I was prepared to take.

As a rather plump looking mirror carp finally surfaced and came cruising over the net cord we both cheered in celebration.

A scaly mirror in the net!

The carp had a considerable belly and a single scar on one side, otherwise it was in impeccable condition. The hook was set perfectly in the bottom lip and was reassuringly dwarfed by the cavernous mouth of my quarry. As I lifted the scales the needle pulled round to 26lb 10oz.

Ribbit!

The wind slowed and the sky cleared and as the light began to fade the temperature dropped. A tawny owl could be heard hooting and rather excitable frogs fascinated with my bobbins set my alarms off sporadically throughout the night along with occasional gusts. This and my lack of appropriate clothing for the conditions (in spite good advice from my better half) caused me not to sleep a wink. The night was long.

First signs of summer?!

As the sun rose swallows appeared swooping over the waters surface in search of insects, a heron was seen busily nesting, buzzards soared in circles in the neighbouring field, an English breakfast sizzled enticingly and fresh coffee was consumed. Mist evaporating from the water obscured my view of the fish swirls and fizzing. My semi-slack line tightened up on my left rod once more and a single bleep sung out. I leapt to attention. The rod, though high in test curve, twitched like a quiver tip showing sensitive bites. As we debated whether or not this bite was worth hitting, the moment passed. Before long we agreed to pack up as we both had other commitments that day to get back to but who knows what might have been if we had stayed. It was great to be back on the bank, in great company, beautiful surroundings and thankfully, a tale to tell.

If you snooze you loo's!

The last couple of months have easily been the busiest and most stressful I have ever had to contend with at work and needless to say that has had a massive impact on the amount of time I have been able to spend fishing. However, the perk of the teaching profession is a generous amount of holiday in the summer and as always I intend to make the most of every moment.

My wife, Doz, is giving fishing a go for a one year trial period. She came with me a few times in May and early June before things got hectic with work and experienced some success targeting both carp and silvers. I was delighted when she agreed to spending a couple of spare hours under a brolly carping with me at Stonar lake today on this rainy Sunday afternoon!

We positioned ourselves with the drizzle-laden northeasterly blowing straight at us and as the swim we chose was only really big enough for one angler, decided only to fish 3 rods between us.

I put two rods in the left margin and put Doz's rod out for her under an overhanging tree on the right. As we scattered a few boilies around the general area the sky erupted with sea birds looking for a free meal! We sat back and waited for about an hour before Doz walked round to the loo near the carpark, leaving me with the rods.

Moments later, her 1.75lb TC barbel rod wrapped right round, the bait runner screaming and I lifted into a hard fighting carp. Just as I had guided the lovely looking mirror into the net Doz returned and realised this fish could have been hers! After weighing and photographing the fish she was determined to do everything for herself and recast bang on the money. Unfortunately, with another engagement planned for the evening, time was not on our side forcing us to leave before her efforts could come to fruition. 

This Stonar mirror turned the scales to 13lb 13oz

I have plans to put in some serious time on Fordwich again this summer but am glad that today we made the most of only a couple of hours and still caught. It would have been all too easy to be apathetic and make excuses due to the rain or limited time available. Thankfully, Doz wants to go back soon to settle the score!

Looking back at 2014

On reflection, this year has been a successful one for me in terms of my angling. Severing ties with a bait company I was field testing for lead me to try a new, local bait maker's products which I believe have made a big impact on my catch rate. Whilst I have become more busy with work and spent some of the longest spells in recent years away from the waterside, I have also managed to put the most consecutive hours into one lake on a campaign that I have ever achieved, which again has been very fruitful. My one regret is not spending more time on the river: A few sessions early in the season saw a few barbel lost due to silly mistakes and since then I have not pursued them with any sincerity or persistence. 

So here are some of the highlights of the year...

Fordwich Carp

One of the perks of being a teacher is a good block of time off in the summer and I put this to good use this year by virtually living at Fordwich lake. In previous years after my first blank I would be deterred and sheep off to fish easier waters. The key to my relative success at Fordwich this year was the fact that I stuck at it! Even when I was not fishing I was there talking to anglers, watching the water and soaking the place in. I am over the moon to say I caught a new PB of 28lb 4oz and 2 other fish that beat my previous PB and a couple of upper doubles. 

Wels Catfish

This year also saw this blog's Facebook group's first social outing to Charlie's Lake in Ashford where we targeted wels catfish. I can't pretend to have found this particularly tricky fishing but the fight these creatures put up is something to behold. In the time I was there some big smelly pellets on very light running rigs caught me a few cats; the biggest  being 17lb and this being my first time going for catfish this is indeed also a PB.

Bury Hill 

In April I took a day trip with my friend Kent to Bury Hill's 'Old Lake'. We had hoped to catch some tench but both got breamed-out! Kent caught almost double my numbers which he put down to smaller hooks and finer tackle. I had most success on the float although some bigger bream were had on feeder tactics. The fish that made my trip however was this tiny

Zander caught on double red maggots. Whilst it may seem hilarious, this is also a PB as it is my first Zed! Bury Hill is a beautiful venue which I know holds some amazing specimens of a variety of species I target and so fully intend to return.

Pike

This is still a work in progress but so far this season I have been out but a few times for pike and all but my last session have been productive. I've caught on dead sea baits fished on a paternoster in still and flowing water as well as on lures. The fish pictured was taken on a lure in high, coloured flood water in very poor light in an effort to entertain myself in my last unproductive barbel session! I have never fished with live bait but every time I've been out this year for pike, the guys using live baits have totally out-fished me. Got to be worth a try...

Fullys

I've not caught many fully scaled mirror carp but this year I have had a few on association waters. They were not big but they were very beautiful...

Perch

I never make time for this pursuit but look lustfully at other angler's catches of big sergeants and vow to make the effort in ernest some day soon. I went out twice for perch in the early season. The first time I caught a few small fish on a little jig. I did spot some better fish however but they were not at all interested my lure so I went back the next day with a float and pot of worms. The first fish I had was a small flounder, 20 miles upstream from where the river meets the sea! The second however was a gorgeous perch which I guessed to weigh about 2 1/2 lbs.

All in all, this year has been a blast with many good times on the bank besides those mentioned here. Of course there have been some lows and moments of utter despair and hopelessness but they only make the highs all the more fantastic when they finally come. The biggest lesson I have learnt is to relax, enjoy and relish the peaceful contrast fishing provides to an otherwise hectic life!

More fun at Fordwich!

Since my last post, Summer Carping on Fordwich Lake, I have been back to the lake 3 times, 2 of which were notably fish-less! Today however, I return from 48hrs fishing which have been somewhat more successful.
Over the last week, perhaps since the full moon, a number of good fish have been caught on the west end of the lake where the wind was headed. News of these captures filled me with excitement in anticipation of my weekends fishing. On my arrival however, this part of the lake was inevitably packed with hopeful anglers and so I trekked around to the furthest swim on the lake, being the first spot available I had any confidence in! The night and most of the following day passed without so much as bite and no fish showing at all so instead of re-positioning my rods for the night, I took a walk to look for a better spot. Although I was very comfortable with the wind behind me, time was limited and the fish were clearly not coming to me so I had to go to them. Serendipitously, a swim known to be consistently productive was available, only once again it was the furthermost point from where I was set up at the time!
It was a bit of a mission getting there and putting the rods and bait out before it was impossible to see what I was doing but I hit the sack confident that I was in a better place.
At about 10am the next morning I received a confident take on my right-hand rod which was positioned quite close in, unlike the other two which were out as far as a course of lily pads would allow. Although not too far out, the fish could have taken me round various snags had I not applied a fair amount of pressure without giving any line away. The fish cooperated until I got it to the net when it went totally nuts! I was grateful to have a good mate with me who helped me net it.
As per all the carp I've had this summer, this 24lb 8oz mirror fell to a very simple snowman rig of a 20mm fishmeal bottom bait and matching 15mm popup.

Shortly after returning this fish, I had a run on my middle rod. I connected with the fish, which felt good but it was much further out and the fish started kiting right into a bay. Again I applied considerable pressure and started reeling in quickly as there was enough line out for the fish to take me into numerous hazards. Unfortunately, this resulted in the fish coming free. Any angler who has lost a fish can relate to the feeling of devastation but on reflection I would rather have lost the fish this way than in the snags where the fish could have become tethered and so am consoling myself that I took the right course of action.

The blank sessions made me very wary of causing too much commotion with a spomb, so I restrained myself and used the catapult wherever I could get away with it this time. The other thing I have learnt this season is the power of persistance. In previous seasons I would fish a couple of sessions at Fordwich, blank and then go to an easier water to remind myself what a carp looked like. This year I have focused solely on Fordwich, aside from a few trips to the river for barbel but I'll tell you about that in another post! Coming back again and again has allowed me to be in touch with the lake and to a certain extent be in the right place at the right time. I've still got so much to learn about this amazing water but I am feeling very content to be making progress.

Summer Carping on Fordwich Lake

Fordwich Lake, near Canterbury, is in my opinion amongst the most beautiful waters in the country and holds some very special fish. It is a lake that has got the better of many, myself included, though many great anglers have cut their teeth here. Although I have been targeting carp for the greater part of my youth, I didn't truly start carping until my first season on this historic water. The learning curve was steep and painful and yet each obstacle held a valuable lesson. After a while I began to experience some success but more recently, as I continued to experiment with various factors in my approach, the catches dried up. Having had time to reflect and refine my tactics and with a fair amount of exploration and discovery behind me, I have challenged myself to capitalise on the knowledge I have acquired and make 2014 the year to start banking fish from this formidable venue.

Sunset on Fordwich Lake

My first proper session this season did not come about until the last week of July. The lake had been fishing hard, probably due to the abundance of naturals thriving in the weed bloom. With so much food available, not associated with the danger of being caught, the carp could quite easily survive without the need to touch any angler's offerings. However, a few laps of the lake in the days before my campaign began revealed some valuable information. There had been some significant catches just after a storm had hit a little over a week before, which is when the wind started blowing west. The anglers who followed this wind were successful as were a few who had jumped in their swims behind them for a few days. However, a week on and the catches had become distant memories. I spoke to some guys who clearly knew what they were doing but for reasons unknown, were not catching.

On the day I arrived at the lake ready to fish, it was evident that the wind was now easterly and therefore I decided to resist the temptation of occupying the now vacant hotspots and trekked round to the opposite side of the lake with my friend who was joining me for the next 48 hours. That night we settled in adjacent swims, I set up on a swim where features above and below the surface could be found at about 100 yards. The spots are a bit closer on the swim next door where I have had success in the past but unfortunately it was taken. At the best of times 100 yards is about my casting limit but with the wind coming straight towards us I found it hard to get the full distance with my rigs and almost impossible to get my spombed freebies on the same spots. The night passed with my rigs a rod length or two off the desired location and the loose feed another length or two shy of my hookbaits. Needless to say my sleep was uninterrupted!

The next day we decided to move round to a picturesque swim in the corner of the lake where many snaggy features are all within the lightest of casts. What's more, the wind was blowing right up into this corner and algae residue, weed, snails and all sorts were collecting here now. It was a bit of a squeeze getting us both into one swim, something I would normally try to avoid but we were there to be sociable on this occasion and so threw caution to the wind. We took the time to get our rigs exactly where we wanted them and scattered the area with boilies and maize. At 3am my friend had a run but the fish got the better of him. At 8am I also lost what felt like a good fish. All the while we kept the bait going in on the premise that the fish were there and they were eating it. If we didn't keep it coming they would go elsewhere! By mid-afternoon, knowing that the remaining hours were into single figures and still no fish had been landed, despondency was setting in. Thankfully this emotion was short-lived as my right hand rod was pulled sharply towards the singing alarm. No line could be given as I was fishing just in front of a sunken tree, so the spool had to be locked up and my full attention devoted to it. I managed to turn the fish from the snag without too much trouble and then steadily coaxed the fish, laden with weed, into the net. As I was using a large bait presented snowman fashion, I had lengthened the hair considerably as I suspected short hairs were the reason many takes last season didn't result in a connection with the fish - a move I believe paid off as this time the hook was set perfectly in the bottom lip of this carp's cavernous mouth. It weighed a tantalising pound below the magic 20 but I was absolutely elated. Back the fish went into the water in a floating retainer sling whilst I got the camera ready. As I started to lift the sling from the water the cracking common thrashed around and swam straight out of the sling! It became apparent that although I had zipped it up, the zips were not clipped and the fish had been able to work it open whilst in the water. I felt ecstatic and cheated simultaneously - a very confusing sensation! I put myself in line very quickly - I had lived the moment and that was what mattered. In addition, I had resumed catching carp at Fordwich and that, for me, was no mean feat.

Round two began with high hopes as I arrived early on a Tuesday morning with three days and two nights ahead of me. The lake's car park was packed, which is always a concern but as I barrowed round to the eastern side of the lake where the wind was still headed I past many anglers in adjacent swims all down the previously productive west end and along the main length of the lake where only the most epic casters dare display their machismo. I was delighted to find I had the pick of many lovely close range swims but settled again in the same spot I fished last time as I had already put in some ground work there which gave me confidence.

Left: the problem with the old way
Right: from now on it'll be done like this!

Again, I made good use of the line clips on my reels to get my leads where I wanted them before attaching my rigs. With regard to this - the fish I lost in the previous session was lost due to my misuse of a rig component. I had been attaching my rigs with a rig clip but not using a sleeve to cover it as I get paranoid about how it sits on the bottom and I think without a sleeve there is more chance of the braid following the contour of the lake bed. However, without taking the precaution of covering the clip with a sleeve, the clip had worked its way over the swivel and therefore when I connected with the fish it was able to pull the rig straight off the swivel. I'm not happy about this or at all proud to admit it but I am pleased that I have learned from this error and have vowed from now on to always use a simple loop to attach all my rigs. 

So out they went along with liberal helpings of boilies and maize and then I sat back and waited. 

And waited.

I waited a whole 48 hours before at 9am on Thursday my middle alarm started jittering, a sound which progressed to a single tone as line started to peel off the reel. I picked up the rod and connected with a solid weight which started moving steadily towards sunken branches. I turned the fish from immediate danger but it continued to power away. I could give no line but continued to steer the fish and let the rod tip cushion every lunge. Once in open water I knew the hard part was over but when I saw the size of the fish my heart started pounding and my nerves started snowballing. To loose this now would be devastating and that fear, I feared, would become a self-fulfilling prophecy. This fish just refused to be netted! Now however, I was able to let line off and play the fish to the point of submission which I did with several deep breaths and a mantra of 'keep cool'.

After resting it in the net I lifted out the biggest fish I had ever seen in the flesh and knew it had to be a personal best. I unhooked it and then put it back in the water in the floatation sling, this time taking the utmost care to zip and clip! Although it was early morning the sun was baking down already so I made sure I had a bucket of lake water ready to douse the fish as well as my scales and camera.

28lb 4oz - a new PB! I couldn't help releasing a primal 'whoop'! I rested the fish in the water again before taking a few pictures. Only a couple came out well but I didn't persevere as I had captured the memory and my priority had to be returning the fish safely.

My PB Carp at 28lb 4oz from Fordwich Lake.

Only an hour later my left hand rod went off, the alarm tone beginning again with the same jittering sound which leads me to think perhaps the fish are shaking their heads to use the weight of the lead to free themselves of the hook. This rod had been cast to some lilies and I thought the challenge would be turning the fish from this obvious safe haven. However, this fish had other ideas. It made a beeline to the left right round the back of some trees which were growing out of the water. I was fast to respond and managed to kite it out of the most extreme snags but as I was doing so the handle on my reel broke and became loose so on every turn it clashed with the bail arm. This momentary lapse of attention to work out what was going wrong with the reel allowed the carp the second it needed to find safety in the tree line. Suddenly the fish was immovable and I had no choice but to put the rod down, open the bail arm and wait. As I mentally prepared myself to strip down and go for a swim to free the fish from the snag line began peeling once more from the spool. I picked up the rod and turned the fish which complied but was bringing the tree with it! The most violent of fights ensued and my heart resumed the acrobatics it had been performing an hour before. When finally I landed the fish and the huge tree branch it had brought with it and placed the feisty common on the unhooking mat, I leaned over to unhook it and it slapped me full in the face with its tail, far worse than the last time I upset a lady!

This one weighed in at 17lb exactly and although much smaller was a real rival to the first fish in the thrill-of-the-catch competition. The rest of the day past without another bite but now, if they weren't obvious enough before, signs of fish movement were blatant as they basked on the surface in the heat and crashed around in the lilies. If I had any surface baits with me I would have given that approach a shot for sure.

There is still plenty of summer left so perhaps there will be a 'part 2' to this post if I catch or learn anything noteworthy at Fordwich over the next few weeks. For now however, I could not be happier that I am making progress on a water that has been an ongoing challenge for me but the years of hard work have rewarded me with the best fish I have ever caught.