What happened to the storms forecasted
on Saturday? I had visions of it raining heavily all day and loads of
thunder and lightning. Once again it seems that the weather
forecasters are always edging on the side of caution just so another
Michael Fish forecasted doesn’t happen. Unfortunately for me when
it did throw it down at around 2.30pm I was just leaving a quaint
church on the south coast with a lovely couple that had just tied the
knot. The English weather, don’t we just love it!
Sunday was my first proper lay-in for
ages and I made the most of it, rising around 9.30am. Luckily I
managed time to get my weekly blog up on the website before doing the
family rounds.
Having spent so many hours bankside as
well as loosing quite a few days through manipulating wedding images
I needed to get on top of things in the office as I felt seriously
behind. Come Tuesday evening I sill seemed a million miles away and
with two days guiding booked in for Wednesday and Thursday knew I was
going to have to prioritise my time better in the future, especially
knowing that my actual fishing time for myself was taking a back
seat.
Wednesday was all about catching fish
and with one of my regular customers booked in knew the perfect
venue, Broadwater. This venue really responds to constant, accurate
casting and using the pellet-lead and small baits knew that it
wouldn’t take long to get a response. Fortunately I just about made
the venue as I have had loads of problems with my van lately and with
an intermittent fault knew it was just a matter of time before she
broke down. Well a few miles from the venue she lost power sending
loads of black smoke out the back. I limped into the car park hoping
that she would start later and I could get her to my mechanic.
Fortunately I managed this and the fault which I thought was going to
be the turbo or injectors and expensive turned out to be a split hose
on the turbo system. Back to the session. Well after locating the
majority of carp using our eyes we simply cast out a comfortable
distance before clipping up and adding a line marker. Loading the
lead with scolded pellet deposited six loads, attached the short
hooklinks that contained small trimmed down baits next to small hooks
and cast out. An hour past before I received a run, yet looking at
the bubbling I knew it was only a matter of time. Mark always wants
me to fish, as he can watch and learn and was getting to grips with
casting, hitting the clip and lowering the line whilst the action in
my swim started to hot up. Mark eventually got of the mark, yet I
could sense his frustration as by now I had landed a number of carp,
yet I knew his time would come, and once the accurate casting was
mastered he was matching me fish for fish. We were hoping for a
twenty, but the biggest carp went 17lb 12oz which provided Mark with
a new personal best, beaten his sardine caught carp from Old Bury
Hill whilst zander fishing by 2oz. When we packed up at 4pm, nine
hours after starting Mark had taken around fifteen carp, myself
around two dozen to 14lb, in fact the action was so frantic at one
point I had three double figured commons in the net at once, not bad
for a day when we only saw two other fish caught. Mark left a happy
man, a master at fishing the method and now knows the importance of
working a swim.
The following morning we met at 8am on
the banks of the river Loddon. The weather forecast wasn’t
favourable and knowing that Marks first Loddon barbel had proven
elusive in three previous trips knew we were up against it, yet in
the second swim, just when Mark mentioned that my knew found wonder
bait wasn’t working, saw the tip rapping round. In the net I could
sense Marks elation and although the barbel wasn’t massive weighing
six pound I knew it was a special fish. We were hoping for the flood
gates to open, yet come 5pm, after fishing a further ten swims and
with temperatures reaching 33 degrees no further action was
forthcoming. After working so hard I felt we deserved another fish
yet I know that the Loddon barbel flood gates are about to open for
Mark.
Totally exhausted I was hoping for a
lay-in come Friday, followed by a day in the office, yet a call from
my mechanic to say my car was ready saw me collecting my dad at
6.30am as he had planned a days fishing with my girlfriends dad at a
day ticket water that I had been wanting to visit. Mother needed her
car so the office duties had to wait a day and come 7am we found
ourselves in the carpark. Mick settled for the match lake whilst dad
and myself headed to the carp lake. Unfortunately the owner informed
us that the lake was fishing hard and with the vast majority of the
lakes carp population up on the surface and with surface baits banned
and no zigs we felt that we were wasting our time come 1pm. Dad did
his usual and sneaked one out, on a fake piece of bread, fished zig
style but it wasn’t a carp but a trout that had been missed from
the nets when the fishery was turned from a trout lake into a carp
water. I adopted the tactic of fishing a piece of meat under a pole
float, next to a snag that contained carp close to the margin and
should have caught, yet the one bite I received came when I wasn’t
holding the rod, should have known better! The lake we fished is very
picturesque and contains some very good fish and although my first
visit wasted one I will remember I do intend to return later in the
year when the carp drop down in the water.
You may have missed my ‘Winge of the
Week’ and ‘Product of the Week’ last week; sorry it was just
one of those things that had to take a back seat.
At long last I have a car that’s
functioning properly and look forward to some carefree driving as
well as finding some time to start putting in some serious fishing
for myself with my mate Chris and the week starting the 12th
looks good, however before doing so I need to get on top of things in
the office. On a good note my last few dates for guiding on the Wye
have almost been taken with a surge last week, so if you are thinking
of booking a date with me then you need to get in touch as I only
have four available spaces left.
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