After the previous weeks’ success, I was keen to return to the lake for another go, especially as the weather forecast was looking good. I arrived just into darkness after work and drove to the swim I’d caught from last week to find it free. The only thing is it was on the back of the wind and this wind was quite mild. I went round the other side to stand in the teeth of the wind to see how it felt and it was nice. I stuck my hand in the water and although cold, it wasn’t freezing cold. I had the dilemma of fishing in the warm wind (for the time of year) or going to the site of previous success. I chose the latter option on the basis that I’d be fishing deep insulated water and I’ve had numerous captures on the back of the wind form this lake over time.
Being now completely dark I blasted single hook baits as close to the area as I could with the intention of re-doing all the rods with the dinghy at first light. Just after midnight I received justification of my swim choice in the form of a bite and landed a lovely fully scaled stocky just under 13lb. This lake can be a cruel master at times so avoiding a blank with a little un was most welcome.
Come the morning I watched the water for a while but saw nothing other than birdlife, most of which was taking shelter on the back of the wind which I took as a good sign. I got to work with the dinghy and soon had 2 rods on the spot and one with a white pop-up just off to the side along with about 3 kilo of Big Fish Mix and a few tigers thrown in for good measure. For the fourth rod I drifted along towards a bar bouncing a lead along the bottom to see if I could find a fishable area. Mostly the bottom was deep silt with the lead plugging in deep, but a couple of firmer bumps were followed with the hard crack I was after. I continued my slow drift with a few more hard bounces until the bump was only firm them let go of the H block to mark the spot. Around 150 18mm BFM boilies accompanied the balanced hook bait to the spot then the waiting began.
A wait that lasted until the small hours of the morning when the fourth rods signalled a take. Takes on mono at range with a tight clutch are usually a tightening of the line or sometimes a drop back. This take was peeling line off the reel like it owned it! The rain was also pouring down at this point so as quick as I could I jumped into my wellies, got my jacket on and was on the rod. The fish took more line from me at range before I managed to turn it and from the off, I felt that I could be attached to something a bit special. At times it felt like it had found a snag only to begin moving again albeit, painfully slow. It gave me several more powerful runs as It got closer, and I put the head torch on low so I could see just enough to net it which I did at first attempt. Torch on full I could see I had a big fish in the net. On lifting her onto the mat I realized it was a very big fish and recognized her as one of the ones that doesn’t see the bank much. I was expecting an upper 30 but the needle spun past the 40lb mark and was hovering between 43 and 44lb. I couldn’t get an accurate weight on my own so retained her the few hours until daylight when I’d be able to get some assistance and good pictures.
Sleep was out of the question with the responsibility of having a big carp retained so I was right on the middle rod when the bobbin dropped right down. This fish was a lot more compliant and came to the net without much fuss. It was a scruffy looking 22lb mirror with one of the biggest mouths I’ve ever seen on a carp of any size.
I’d sent a few messages out and Martin (venue bailiff) and Richard (Nutrabaits owner) would be arriving around six thirty so do the pics. About an hour before their arrival, I was away again with another hard fighting fish but nothing like the beating I’d had earlier in the night. This fish turned out to be a pristine common of 27lb to complete a very memorable couple of nights fishing.
Richard and Martin arrived, and the fish was identified as “No Name” which had gone uncaught for the best part of a year. A new lake record weight of 43lb 4oz was recorded followed by some great photos and video footage.
A huge thank you goes out to Martin and Richard for coming to the lake to help out so early and I can’t finish off without giving a mention to the awesome Big Fish Mix. Confidence is everything in carp fishing and my faith in the BFM is 110%. As long as I put it in the right place at the right time, I know I’m in with the best chance of catching and quite possibly a big one at that.
