gutted” and found the hook had straightened. I re

The week started not too bad weatherwise, the cooler nights had passed and warmer days and nights were back. I had a good look round and with the warm westerly breeze I was tempted to fish the end of a long island but after leading around a bit all I could find was weed. Then a carp crashed out in the area I fished before so I made my mind up and took my gear up there. I baited the margin spot heavily with hemp and particles and just fished a three boilie bait stringer over the top. For the other rod I eventually found a clear area in the weed near to where the carp had jumped, this I fished with a six boilie bait stringer with no free bait. I settled back for a pleasant evening waiting for some action. Around 7pm I noticed some movement over the area close in and, as I looked closer, I could see tail patterns. Ten minutes later I got a single bleep from that rod followed moments later by a screaming take. I was on the mobile at the time so by the time I had rung off the carp was halfway to the island to my left. I thought this would not be a problem as I expected a stockie common but when I struck, the rod was wrenched back down as a big carp powered further on. I followed it up to the island where the carp had now decided to run around in the far side of the undergrowth on the island. I managed to stop it and was pumping it back towards me when all went solid, the carp had snagged me somewhere, suddenly the carp crashed on the surface, it was a nice common over 20lb. The line though was going down in to the water and back up to the carp, then all went solid again. I hauled some more and the rig came free, the carp had gone. I was “well-gutted” and found the hook had straightened. I re-tied a rig and recast and sat down to ponder. Half hour later the bailiff came round and we chatted, as it got dark. As we spoke the far rod received a short take, which produced a 4lb tench. Around 10am my friend Ian passed me after packing up. He had taken a 14lb stock mirror from the bay behind me. As we chatted my near rod produced yet another 4lb tench. He left me to it and I settled in to a warm clear night. Nothing happened during the night but as the light began to appear the far rod bleeped twice before a slow run developed. I struck into a carp that immediately broke surface. It did not do much so I thought it was small but half way in it powered around a bit so I guessed it was a bit bigger. No more problems though and a deep, short mirror rolled into the net. It was quite wide across the shoulders and had one big scale on one flank. The hook was a full two inches in it’s mouth. I have found that with just using stringers before. On the scales it broke the 20lb barrier by 5oz, I was well pleased! After the photos it was time to go so I didn’t recast, instead I set off for work. Two days later I was back and after a look around I found lots of carp further up the bank. The weather was very hot with thunder in the air and as I leaded around to find some clear areas it poured with rain. As I did so a good sized common head-and-shouldered in front of me, that would do for one spot. Further out I found another clear area, which again I just fished with a stringer. The skies cleared in the evening and the wind dropped. Just on dark the common leapt from the water again so my confidence was high. However it was midnight before the far rod tore off. The strike met with a good fighting fish and close in it fought well. I was a bit disappointed then to net a small common weighing 12lb 6oz. It was not a stock fish though but one of the smaller commons from the 90s that we used to call the little Tells. They were around 7lb then, so on reflection it was a bit of a result. Later in the night the near rod produced yet another 4lb tench, dawn was quiet. The weather changed during the day so when I returned in the afternoon there was a strong south westerly wind. The car park end looked good but there was a lot of surface weed being blown up and I expected this to gather in huge rafts right over where I wanted to fish so I wandered on. At the area where I had fished earlier in the week a commercial was being filmed so I could not fish there. Instead then I wandered over to the bay, the wind was blowing in here and it looked good. I didn’t want to fish the same area as Ian had been fishing so went over the other side of the bay to fish alongside a large wooded island. Before I started fishing though I wandered on to one of the islands and looked in the edge. There I found several stock commons all feeding well. I left them to it and went back to the rods. I fished both with stringers, one up the side of the island and the other out to the middle of the bay on a sandy area. I did not have long to wait and the island rod was away, a poor fight resulted in one of the stock commons of 8lb 8oz. Around 8pm a good fished crashed out twice near my bait in the bay and sure enough a few minutes later that rod was away. I connected with a good carp that thudded around when, for no reason, the hook pulled. The night produced two more 9lb stock commons to the island rod before a misty cold dawn arrived. I wound in as Ian was arriving, bringing some bait for me and met him over the other side of the bay. After getting the bait I returned to the rods and fished for a while longer, the sun getting hotter. Nothing moved so I wound in and went for a walk. Further around I found several stock commons and a few bigger fish smoke screening around the edges, feeding on natural food but despite trying they would not take. Just as I gave up and packed away a big fish crashed twice in a secluded area that I had been considering baiting and fishing. My mind was made up, after a short holiday, September would be fished in this area. I got home to find about the sad news of the death of Mary. RIP the greatest of all carp!

Have fun!