The water was clear with the fronds of pondweed diving down into green depths

The algae bloom on the lake that had turned the water to the colour of tea had, as if by magic, disappeared over the space of a couple of days so when I turned up, the whole lake at last looked appealing. The water was clear with the fronds of pondweed diving down into green depths. The carp too were very visible. It was a hot humid day and the carp were drifting around on top. One guy had taken a 26lb mirror half-hour before on a floater but not surprisingly since then they had drifted away. There was little for me to fish for and the lake was a bit busy for any serious margin stalking so I plumped for the same swim from where I had lost carp in the weed from on the last two sessions. I had devised a rig that would enable the lead to come off if a carp got in heavy weed but not so sensitive that I would lose it by normal casting and retrieving. The evening passed quietly enough, and so did the night, just the one liner to me sometime in the early hours, disappointing but it was a busy night. A couple of days later I was back, much quieter with the same chap floater fishing. I chatted to him for a while before wandering further off up the bank. As I carefully peered into the now clear water in the extreme margin, in amongst some bushes I saw the same linear mirror browsing I had caught a month before. Tiptoeing past there to the next tiny gap in the vegetation another carp was visible, a little deeper in the water again very close to the bank. I needed to see no more and retreated back to the car to fetch my gear, without a word to the other chap. Back in the area a quick peek showed that both carp had moved off so I was able to bait both gravel shelves with a couple of handfuls of trout pellets and a few boilies before lowering single bottom baits down on each. Although the gaps in the vegetation were separate they were only five yards apart so I was able to sit between the rods on the unhooking mat with the net strategically placed leaning up against a tree between the rods a long armstretch from each gap. Over the next half hour a couple of quick peeks showed no sign of a carp so I decided to give it until dark before setting up in the same swim as usual for the night. Suddenly out of the blue the buzzer screamed from the rod in the second gap to my right. Up and off the mat in seconds I set the hook. The carp soon rolled just a few yards out, a common of significant size. The fight was more a rolling fight but a nearby weedbed still came to play. I found my estimate of a long armstretch back to the net was a little low so once I got the carp in a submissive situation I managed, by holding the rod at its extreme end with the rod tip poking round a tree, to just reach the net and drag it towards me. Back under control I found the carp was in the weed but a little haul managed to pop it out and in one swift movement it was netted. As it rolled over I could clearly see it was the lake’s 30lb common, last out in June at over 34lb. On the mat though I could see it had been on a diet, so it would be below the biggest weight I had caught it at before. The other guy came scampering up the bank having heard the commotion and together we unhooked it and got in the weigh sling. I was pleased to see the lead had come off when it ran me through the weed. We settled for a weight of 30lb 14oz and admired the perfect beast of a fish as we took some photos. He wandered off and I was left with the happy task of returning it to the lake. As it powered off through the water I wandered where the big mirror I really wanted to catch was hiding. The next couple of hours were spent climbing a few trees and generally peering into each and every little spot but no more carp were to be seen so I slowly set up in the same swim I had been concentrating on. One rod was baited with a stringer and flicked up the channel to a small set of pads, the other, a PVA bag of bits and pieces was launched out to the islands. A couple of us had been baiting up with and trying out a different particle bait with some surprisingly good results so when the lake was quiet or at night I was introducing these. The night remained cloudy and humid, a full moon and clear sky on the last session had gone a good way to the lack of action, only one thing worse than a bright full moon in summer and thatís a bright full moon in winter. The cloud though this time was keeping it at bay. Nothing much rolled or leapt but at half past one the rod cast to the islands gave a one-toner. I was off the bedchair and hauled into the carp. All was solid but as I increased the pressure I felt the carp kick a couple of times before it kited back out from the islands to in front of me. I kept the pressure on and tried to keep it near the surface so it would not dive into the very thick weed in front. This worked as it rolled around and before long I had it in the net without visiting the weed. I could see it was one of the double figure commons and a quick weigh confirmed 14lb 8oz. In the torchlight I could see it was a cracking fish in perfect condition, one that could well grow on to, who knows, be the next 30lb common in the lake? It too powered off strongly back into the lake. Half-hour later it started to rain so I had to go back to the car for the Oval Shelter. For the next hour it continued before the skies cleared and that full moon was back, bright enough to read a book by. Not surprisingly then, that was all the action but the lake at last looked fantastic in the bright sunny dawn, the horrible algae gone for good. Now it is full steam ahead, all looks good for the next couple of months, lets hope!

Have fun!