Well, it's official - summers gone! Don't let the picture fool you, not long after I took it the cloud came in, the wind picked up and I spent the rest of the day wearing a jacket for the first time in six months or so!
I wasn't really sure how best to approach the lake as I missed the last match on this lake, plus I hadn't caught much off it the last few times either! My mind was made up a little when I drew peg 14. I did have the same peg a few weeks ago and spent two thirds of the match trying to fish 17m tight to the island in a swirling wind before putting the tip up with 90 minutes to go and catching well on that, finishing second by not a lot! I put up a rig for the long pole, in about 2ft of water across. This was on .16 line to a 15 B711 hook and was on a 15h lakky. I also put up a rig to fish caster over this line about 18in deep on the same gear. Last pole rig was for the margins. Peg 15 in the corner won a few weeks ago, and with that peg not in I could fish quite long down the edge towards the corner, about 12m down from where I was, in between two lilly beds. Gear for this was a 14 B611 on .16 line and lakky was a doubled no 8, which I've started to try on odd occasions. Lastly of course, I also put up the tip rod and had a cast or three with a lead to get it clipped up. With a few cooler nights I had bought maggot and caster with me, but with the water still holding good colour I decided to start on hemp and corn, and only dribble caster in if bites were hard to come by.
On the whistle I fed a small pinch of hemp and corn across, while the margin had a slightly more generous amount, about 1/3rd of a small cup. My first bite on corn wasn't long coming, with a crucian about 8oz making it's way in. Not much followed other than dinks from small fish so I started to drip in hemp with an odd grain of corn via a toss-pot, although the swirly breeze had started to make it hard to hold the long pole. Next proper bite came about a minute after a liner, just as I was contemplating the shallow rig, but again this only a small fish, a carp of 12oz or so.
The next spell turned to be fruitless so I started to introduce casters to both lines in a bid to stir something up. Not long after a carp swirled right tight to the far bank so I put the shallow rig on, baited with caster but in three drops the bait never stayed in the water more than 5 seconds before a 1oz roach nabbed it, so it was back on the corn! Odd knocks on corn were all that followed in the next hour, most likely from the roach attracted by the casters, plus the wind had picked up and was making presentation awkward, so I decided to dampen the groundbait I'd hastily knocked up and have a quick drop in the edge where I'd seen odd signs of fish moving, albeit right up the bank in inches of water and they most definitely weren't feeding.
Odd knocks on corn in the margin were all that followed, always when I lifted and dropped the rig. I suspected small fish were the culprits so tried caster and was rewarded with two plump 2oz perch and a tiny roach. With that being the response I riddled the groundbait off and then set the tip rod.
The first chuck was a disappointment, with no indications but on the second the rod steadily pulled round and a small ghostie common of about 2lb was in the net, followed two casts later by his slightly bigger brother, this one about 2.5lb Things were starting to get interesting as I'd only seen one other carp caught! Two casts later and a third ghostie was in the net, again about 2lb and the next drop produced a bigger fish of about 4lb. After that early flurry of fish the swim slowed down, much as I expected. A quick top up of the margin and then after another couple of casts a decent mirror of about 5lb fell to the method. A crucian of a similar size to the first was next before what would have been carp six came off near the net. I was puzzled as to why no hooklength came back until close inspection showed that the ring that's tied to the elastic on the feeder had come untied! The first time I've used them too!
The swim slowed after the lost fish so I had a quick look in the edge. I missed a bite instantly on corn and a carp bow waved out of the swim. The only bites that followed were on caster and produced two perch and a small roach. Back on the tip and the next bite wasn't long in coming, a bream of about 2lb! A bite next chuck gave me a much bigger carp, probably nudging 8lb but again no more followed. After a short time with no more bites I dropped back in the edge on corn. A bite came after perhaps a minute, just after a liner. Now I know the double elastic has become very popular but it has to be said I felt distinctly 2nd in charge behind a carp of not much more than 2lb! Stupidly I dropped back in on the same lakky next chuck and hooked another carp, but I never got anywhere near seeing the fish before the hook pulled long since after the lakky bottomed out. I changed the lakky to a Preston 15h but predictably the lost fish had scared off the fish which were never that confident, so with 2hrs left it was back on the tip.
A flurry of bites (all the bites had come to hair rigged corn) put me up to 10 carp with an hour to go, including another lump of about 8-9lb and the others of a good size before I couldn't by a bite on the tip. The last hour was spent chopping between the edge and the tip, but only caster in the edge could get me bites, mostly from tiny perch before they dried up with 20 minutes to go. A liner followed by a proper bite gave me my 11th carp, about 3lb and I have to say after changing the lakky I was much more comfortable playing this fish! The swim still showed signs of carp after but I couldn't manage to conjure one out before the whistle.
While waiting for the scales someone told me I must have 60lb in the net, no chance I said! expecting my fish to maybe nudge 50 at best. My bits went 5lb 5oz but I was very surprised when I came to lift out my carp net! with 55lb 1oz on the scales I have to say I was surprised! I know I had two right lumps but the other fish were much heavier than I thought! With a 60lb 6oz total it's just as well I didn't have a bet on my total! (should have started on the tip!) Surprisingly, the fancied pegs in the 20's had struggled and I was comfortably 1st, by near 40lb so the day was a success, although I'm not sure about the doubled elastic. That said, despite the fish not really having it they were still scrapping like summer. I won't write it off just yet as plenty of very good anglers use it, but maybe just like latex or hollows, it's not right for everyone or some just won't like it! Hopefully next week I'll get a good chance to test it again!
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