Well after a week at work that seemed to last forever, Friday afternoon came around and I was heading for home with a smile on my face more than ready for a week off work.
I had to head down to Oxford on Saturday to pick up my new DSLR but once that was purchased and I was home I started the ritual of getting the kit sorted, tying up a fresh batch of chod’s and sorting out the bait ready for heading down the lake on the Sunday Morning.
I struggled to get to sleep that night, more out of excitement than anything, it’s not often that I manage to get 3 or 4 days on the bank normally making the most of quick overnighters so as you can imagine I was like a kid at Christmas.
I woke up way before my alarm clock and after a quick coffee and smoke I jumped in the van and headed straight to the lake.
On my arrival through the fishery gate my heart sank as I could see bivvy after bivvy lining the bank and as I drove up the track the I was beginning to question as to whether I would actually be able to get on but once I had parked up I noticed a ray of sunshine shining on one of the woods swims as if it was a sign from the carp gods, the swim was one of the only few vacant areas and also the one which I had been successful in the previous weekend, so I loaded the barrow without haste and shot round there like a greyhound round a race track!
Once I had arrived in the swim drenched in sweat and panting like a mongrel I took a bucket off the barrow and placed it at the front of the swim and had a sit down, rolled a smoke and surveyed the area.
I must have been sat there for a good half an hour but didn’t see anything to note, however my confidence was high knowing that my quarry had to pass through the channel in front of me to get in and out of the bay that they liked to visit.
I began the task of getting 3 rods rigged up, all 3 were fished on chods baited with Odyssey XXX Pop Ups and were placed 40 yards out into an area of light weed, I then scattered a 1kg of Odyssey XXX 18mm’s over the top with my trusty throwing stick.
The weather was glorious and it certainly felt like spring had finally arrived, I decided on not putting the Oval up instead I lay out the bedchair in the sun and then fired up the coleman for the customary first brew of the session.
Whilst sat there soaking up the atmosphere I couldn’t believe how busy it was, Pete had since arrived and had set up in the bay at the opposite end of the lake taking the last remaining free swim although I was later to find out that everyone had the same idea as me and booked the week before easter off work instead of the following week and I didn’t blame them.
The day past with little to note and before I knew it the sun was starting to set upon the horizon, I took this opportunity to put up the Oval and make myself comfortable for the night, once sorted I warmed up some chilli on the coleman before going to sit down by the rods to eat, all the while keeping my eyes fixed on the water.
By 10pm my eyes were getting heavy so I got in the bag and was soon entering a carp filled dream and slept uninterrupted until 6am when the sun that was creeping over the treeline woke me from my slumber.
I wiped the sleep from eyes, fired up the coleman and answered the call of nature whilst the kettle was boiling.
When I glanced across the lake it looked dead with just the odd coot squawking ruining the silence, there was a light frost on the ground, my confidence began to wane, however once properly awake I checked the forecast on my phone and was pleasantly surprised when it read that a big drop in air pressure, rain and a new wind was due on the Tuesday – perfect!
The morning past quickly and by 11am I heard some rustling behind the oval before Pete popped his head round “Go on then, what you had?” he asked I replied ‘five 50s mate, you? ‘’ We both laughed, then I put the kettle on, he said that it looked lifeless at his end of the lake and said that he fancied a move down my end for a social if I fancied it, now there wasn’t really any room but the swim next door was free but was so close that if you didn’t know the person in the next swim you wouldn’t set up in there not wanting to upset the person already set up – in hindsight it was a perfect social swim if you liked the person next door!
After finishing his coffee Pete trotted back the swim to pack up and move down next to me, I couldn’t believe it when he arrived 10 minutes later fully loaded, this guy knows how to pack and move and that included a 5 minute barrow journey!
I left Pete to get sorted next door and got my rods in before tying on some fresh hook baits then putting them back out the spots with another kg of XXX scattered over the top.
It was now early afternoon and the conditions hadn’t improved, the sky was clear and with only a gentle breeze I wasn’t full of confidence.
However, Pete being the annoying bloke he can be took the opportunity to clear some of the floating weed in front of his swim which soon managed to find its way into my margin and fouling my lines, “Thanks mate, sod off back to the other end of the lake!” I said to him, he just grinned before we both started laughing.
I cleared what I could from my lines then sunk the rods tips well below the surface and clear from any danger.
Pete arrived in my swim with a mug in hand after getting his rods sorted so I fired up the coleman once again for the umpteenth brew of the session, we chatted all afternoon mainly about any old stuff but had the odd serious conversation which is a bit of an odd occurrence for us, which Pete actually commented on, before changing the topic as to whether Cheryl Cole would accept an invitation to the Kebab Shop from him – you get the picture!
The evening past quickly and with nothing to go on I began to get itchy feet and started to feel like I was camping rather than fishing, but with nowhere to move to I had little choice but to sit tight although I was certain that if the forecast was right I would be in with a shout the following day.
Pete retired back to his swim at about 11pm, so I had one last brew and smoke before getting in the bag and quickly drifted off to sleep and once again slept uninterrupted until 6am, although it wasn’t the sun that woke me, it was a fish boshing out over my baited area, Perfect!
I wiped the sleep from my eyes, fired up the coleman and rolled a smoke then got out of the bag to assess the situation, it was a completely different contrast to the day before, a moderate south westerly had sprung up - the sky was overcast and could tell it was threatening with rain, I laughed and said to myself “Blimey Michael Fish, you’ve got it right for once you silly old sod!”
I sat on the bedchair and looked out over the water for the next few hours whilst chain drinking coffee, then decided it might be a good idea to get the rods sorted ready for the night before the heaven’s opened.
I timed it right, just as I placed the 3rd and final rod on the Neville I felt the first few drop of rain, seconds later it was chucking it down! I jumped under the oval giggling and rubbing my hands together, “Come on Piggy’s, Dinner Time!” I said to myself.
A few hours passed and as per normal the coleman took a battering as it was constantly on the boil, it was now 4pm and as I glanced out from under the oval into the downpour a scream from the middle Neville caught my attention, I jumped out and was on the rod in a flash - I lifted into the culprit and immediately took up battle, although the fight was far from spectacular the fish did manage to take me through every weed bed in the vicinity of my swim before giving up and rolling over the waiting net cord a few minutes later, I peered into the net and a nice little mirror gazed back, “you’ll do” I thought!
I secured the fish in the margins whilst I zeroed the sling and prepped the camera gear, it was still hammering it down so I weighed the fish as quickly as I could, the dial read 18lb 2oz, after a few quick shots I returned the little mirror to her watery home then jumped back under the oval to escape the weather.
I was elated with the fish, it had saved a blank on what seemed to be a difficult session not just for me but for everyone else on the lake.
I was confident there was a chance of another before I had to leave the following day so tied on a new bait, quickly touched up the hook with a stone then cast it back out into the abyss, I then put out about 100 baits over the top with the throwing stick.
By now I was drenched so got back under the Oval and fired up the coleman to warm myself up and rehydrate myself of course!
I sent out a few tweets and texts to let mates know that I had managed to save a blank and received a few quick replies going something along the lines of “Well done mate, but can’t you catch any of the biggun’s!”
I just laughed and said to myself “right, I’ll show you lot!”, after I had finished my coffee I thought it would be a good idea to get some food on the go and just as I was rummaging through my rucksack to see what I had left I heard the sound of a Neville singing it’s merry tune, I jumped straight out from under the oval and into the rain and just as I did my dodgy knee gave way, I let out a yelp then grabbed the rod from the rest then took up battle with a powerful fish whilst clearly in pain to any on lookers that were watching me, the fish fought hard mainly on the surface but after a few minutes it dived through some surface weed which covered its face and it quickly calmed down and gave up so I guided it over the net cord as quick as I could before dropping the rod and clutching my knee in agony.
I could see Mark the Bailiff making his way over on the Quad Bike, so was glad of a hand once he was in the swim. He asked if I was ok as he had seen me tumble and knew I had a problem with my knee anyway, I assured him I was fine just in a bit of pain but asked if he could help me sort the fish out which he kindly obliged although in honesty I think he was just glad to see one after his 5 days blanking – thanks mate! 😉
We hoisted the fish up on the Reuben’s and the needles swung round to 28lb+ which surprised us both as we were certain it was 30lb+ although the weight was irrelevant, it was a cracking looking “Water Piglet” and I was made up with it.
We fired off a few shots then returned the old girl to her home, I thanked Mark for his help and he kindly offered to help if I needed any assistance during the night.
Pete who had moved into a swim in a small bay a few hours previous to the first capture and had watched the whole escapade sent me a text asking me if I was ok and congratulated me on my capture, I replied “28lb and ounces mate, knee knackered, need coffee!” I could picture him laughing as I sent him it, he’s heartless!
The rain still hadn’t given up so I got the rod sorted and back out on the spot as quickly as I could and followed it with another scattering off 100 or so baits over the top then limped back under the Oval to dry off and finish cooking some tea, although I was in agony I was chuffed to bits and was grinning as the chilli was bubbling away.
Just as it was about ready Mark popped back round on the Quad and handed me a few pain killers which I was more than grateful for and wished me well before he shot off into the woods behind me trying not to get a soaking.
As I sat and enjoyed my culinary delight the rain began to ease it was then that Jon popped his head round the Oval and handed me a box of pain killers, I thanked him for his kindness and popped a few whilst he stopped for a chat, he headed back to his swim just as the rain began to pick up in pace once again.
Just as I finished my dinner my right hand rod pulled up tight then line started ticking off the spool at a slow pace, I limped down to the rod and quickly reeled in the small Tench that had decided to hang itself on my chod, I unhooked it in the margins and it swam off none the worse for wear.
By now it was 7pm, the pain killers had begun to kick in and I started to feel a sense of normality once again, so I started drying myself over the coleman and once the worst of the dampness had gone I placed the kettle on, rolled a smoke then sent a few texts out to the knockers who doubted my ability earlier, “28lb+, so how do you like them apples?” was pretty much how it was put!
Once a bit of banter had been exchanged I turned my phone off to save battery and got a book out of my rucksack and relaxed on the bedchair listening to the rain thumping onto the Oval, the time seemed to fly by and by 11pm I was struggling to keep my eyes open so called it a night and got into the bag before quickly drifting off into a deep sleep.
As per the previous two nights I slept uninterrupted and awoke once again about 6am, the rain had subsided so I got out the bag and fired up the coleman, rolled a smoke then wandered down to the rods to stretch my legs, my knee felt a lot better so the painkillers did the trick, thanks Mark & Jon!
After several coffees I noticed Pete was packing up in the bay, then he appeared in my swim with his kit looking a bit down in the dumps, he had took the place apart the year before but was struggling this year and after a 3 night blank I think it began to take its toll, I told him it was still early in the year and they are barely awake yet, he replied “Well you aren’t struggling” I just smiled and said stick with it mate it will happen.
He asked if I minded if he stuck a rod out in a unofficial stalking swim next to my swim as he had seen a fish roll there as he was packing up, it wasn’t interfering with me in the slightest and I really wanted him to nail one so told him to go for it, then I did what a good friend does in a time of crisis and stuck the kettle on whilst he got a rod sorted.
Once he had placed a bait next to some rushes, he came and sat on my bedchair and we chatted for a few hours, the morning passed really quickly and other than a swan wiping out Pete’s line nothing to note happened so by 2pm we called it a day and started a slow pack up.
Just as I was about to bring my left hand rod in it rattled off, a Tench was the culprit and was soon unhooked in the margins so I could carry on packing up.
By 2:30pm the barrows were loaded and we were heading back to the vans, me with a smile on my face and Pete with a face looking like it had been slapped, the poor sod.
And with that with bid each other farewell and headed for home although not before exchanging a bit of banter!
So that brings us up to now, Easter is looming and I’m guessing like a lot of Carp Anglers I have been ordered to stay home this weekend for “Family Time” although I have to admit I could do with earning a few more brownie points so I didn’t put up a struggle and agreed that it was a good idea, I think my wife thought she was dreaming or having a nightmare – you decide!
I’m planning on getting back down the Pit next Friday straight from work for 2 nights to hopefully continue my run of success and hopefully finally get the amongst the A Team, the lakes Big Girl is due out which incidentally Pete had last year and she normally hovers around the 40 – 42lb mark so I’m hoping she will grace my net this season.
So for now I will wish you a Great Easter and enjoy the long weekend whether your lucky enough to be on the bank or have quality family time.
Until next time,
Smithy