Sunday December 9th

Well, at least it's been a damn sight warmer this week! I think it took me about five hours sat by the fire to thaw out properly last week!

Back on the old lake and I wasn't totally sure of where I wanted to draw (except the obvious peg 72, which is always a good draw in the cold), but was fairly happy with peg 68 - it's a deep peg in the open water. While it has no recent form what so ever, I always feel that there is space to explore and that somewhere there'll be a fish or two to catch!

While setting up the wind wasn't too bad, as while it was right to left it was slightly off my back too. I had two pole rigs up for one line at 13m - one a 4x14 Preston Chianti which the conditions never allowed me to use, and a .4gr NG Decker. Both rigs had .12 hook-links to size 18 hooks and were matched to Preston 11h elastic. The only other set up was a 10ft CarbonActive mini, with 6lb mainline and a 1/3 oz bomb. I had a variety of different hook-links to try on this to allow for different size punches of bread or multiples of corn. With plenty of time before the start I also plumbed up a line at 11m but downwind - I'd try feeding this line positively rather than drip-feeding as I would the main line.

On the whistle I fed around twenty grains of corn on the positive line, before going on the 13m line and starting to drip grains of corn in two's or three's, with an odd grain of hemp in too. The wind started to turn a bit so I couldn't pick up the lighter rig which I'd prefer to use. I plugged away for the first three quarters of an hour on corn, dripping a little in every few minutes but with no joy. Putting a single red maggot on bought a small roach instantly so I hadn't blanked, but as I had to double ship it wasn't ideal catching them that far out so I went back on corn.

On the hour mark I had a brief try on the positive line but with nothing to show from there I had a try on the bomb with a stack of bread punch. At this time only pegs 44 and 59 had carp, other than that it was just roach. Back out long and still nothing was forthcoming and I started to worry - it normally takes a little while to work but I'd hoped to have started to get an odd indication by now.

With two hours gone I had another go on the positive line, before trying double maggot on the drip-fed line which led to tiny roach number two. Word came up that peg 72 had started to nab odd fish now, and one or two others had odd carp in with their roach. On the half way mark I went back on the bomb and bread, cast just past the pole line and a tiny bit up wind. The rod had barely been on the rest for ten seconds when it pulled round positively and after a lively fight a common of about 6lb was netted - a fair bit bigger than the other carp I'd seen caught. I had a couple more chucks in the same area, but had no more joy.

With an hour and a half remaining I decided to plug away and catch a few roach to boost my weight - with one good carp I thought a few roach would help me stay clear of anyone who had more smaller fish, and beside 59 and 72, nobody else had more than one carp! It wasn't ideal catching them at 13m due to the fact I had to un-ship twice, but I was putting small roach in the net pretty regular. Most fish were under an ounce, but an odd one that was about twelve-to-the-pound came too.

With around twenty minutes to go I'd probably put a pound of roach in the net, but two of the three anglers I could see on one carp both had another. They were small fish again, both around 3lb so I figured that the roach with my bigger fish should just keep me ahead of them. That plan went out of the window when they went back out and both hooked another. Plan change - I needed another carp!

With only just over ten minutes to go I decided there was one way to go about it - a big bright bait in the hope of attracting the attention of a carp. Two of the biggest bits of corn I could find were put on the hair and the bomb flicked to pretty much where I'd had my other carp. It had been in place for about two or three minutes before the tip started to see-saw back and forth - not great big positive movements, but enough to signal a hooked fish!

What felt a big weight came in very easy until it got under my rod tip, and then it woke up, going on a run across the lake that must have taken about thirty yards of line! I had to slow it myself before it went round the marginal point of peg 48! After a hefty fight I managed to net it with about a minute left - a munter of a ghostie easily in to double figures! I managed to get the bomb back out again but it didn't go again in the thirty seconds or so left!

When the scales got to me 25lb was top weight from peg 59, which was also the golden peg! After that 15lb was next, and a few weights just scraping in to double figures. My net of plips went 1lb 4oz, and then my two carp went on the scales taking them to 19lb 10oz! My total of 20lb 14oz was good enough for third in the end as peg 72 put a little over 31lb on the scales.

While my late gamble paid of somewhat I wish I'd approached it different. Now the cold has been set in a while I didn't expect it to be so hard. With hindsight I wish I'd not fished the long pole and just tried the bomb with no feed what-so-ever out long, and just had a short pole line for the roach which would have been much quicker and easier than un-shipping twice from 13m. While I can't say for sure I'd have had more carp doing it I think it would have increased my chances. With the roach fishing being easier too just one more carp would definitely have got me second, and perhaps even first had it been big enough with the extra roach to go with it. Still, I didn't do it, and at least I caught, unlike last week!

As it stands at the moment I wont be out next Sunday so no blog, but I'll be back out the Sunday after, and with Christmas midweek it wont affect my normal Sundays. Hopefully, the fish will be a little more obliging!