He had not seen any carp move and had no action

The first session of the week however was still cold, though at least the day was sunny and, with a good imagination, just about spring-like. When I turned up I could see the water level had dropped almost to normal, well the water was at least within the banks of the lake. One of my long time fishing mates was set up on the far bank, down for a day in the sun. I went round there for a chat and we passed an hour putting the world to rights. He had not seen any carp move and had no action. We discussed many things and were we felt fortunate that we could still fish somewhere given the countrywide outbreak of Foot and Mouth virus.Fishing gravel pits that in reality are no more than overgrown holes in the ground with no fields nearby has some advantage after all. However some are not so lucky, most river venues lost the last three weeks of the season and even some well-known gravel pits that adjoin farms are shut. Our plans for the spring though remain intact so we chatted about our chances of something when winter finally released its late grip on the land.Finally I was left alone, so I cast out to the islands to the left where the fish were bubbling a couple of weeks ago. The other rod I tried to cast straight out but the weed had already started to grow, despite the cold conditions. Some of it was surprisingly thick so despite casting around for a bit, I could not find a clear spot and had to cast nearer the islands. Given that this was early March the thought of how weedy the water will be, come June, made me glad I would not be renewing the ticket for this lake.All set, the cold had set in by darkness and I prepared for the undoubted frost. The night before had been very cold. My friend said that when he arrived the lake was frozen over. One of his casts had sat on the ice for a couple of hours before the ice melted and it dropped down, right on the mark. That is one way of getting a cast right under the overhanging branches, slid them in!There were no surprises that night, nothing moved and the frost was heavy enough to put cat ice back on the lake by dawn. I was back that same afternoon in milder conditions as cloud had spread across during the day and a breeze had sprung up, rain was forecast. I cast to the same spots and set up camp. Stewart turned up around 6pm and I quizzed him about his capture of a 24lb mirror he had taken at the weekend on a snowy night. The story was true; his hemp attack had worked for him, nice one mate. The carp had fallen to a single pop-up over the hemp right under the branches by the island.We were confident of more action as the night was looking to be very mild. A couple of the other guys turned up for a chat later in the evening before the rain set in and we retired to wait for the action. Unfortunately the rain was heavy and any carp around passed us by, another blank. As I drove out of the gate I knew I only had one more night to go at the lake, Stewart was going for a full out attack fishing the last remaining half dozen nights on the trot. He should at least get one or two; if not, well what can you sayÖ!The AGM for the club was later in the week. It was worth attending if only an easy way to get next years permit. Although I was getting a permit I was not renewing the night ticket for the lake. This meant if I did find myself down there it would only be for short evening sessions, stalking them out, my favourite form of fishing. One of the members who likes a long chat every time I see him, an old chap who my Dad knows, passed on some useful information about a lake up near Horton and Heathrow. The lake is in private farmland so no one can go there but according to him the carp and pike in there are not fished for and have been neglected for 30 years. Worth a look! He passed me a grubby piece of paper with all the information I need. When Foot and Mouth restrictions are lifted in the warm spring sunshine Iíll be up there looking around, thanks mate.I went for a look around my target water for next summer on a sunny day during the week. The water is crystal clear with deep gravely margins. I did not expect to see much but under the snags in the corner, there was the lake’s big linear mirror, every ounce of 30lb. I canít wait to get her in my net and a photo of her on my wall, a fish straight out of Redmire.It’s funny, barely a thing was said at the AGM about the problems of pollution and flooding that had hit the lake I have been fishing. If they were, they were just mentioned in passing, the phrase ‘burying ones head in the sand’ springs to mind.So here we go then. One more night on the lake to go and it’s on to pastures new and new carp that I have never seen on the banks before, and who knows, some other species as well, I cannot wait!

Have fun!