The water was low, extremely clear and very weedy, even in March

I have fished it on and off over the years and have caught some good carp out of it. The tench fishing is also good there but like on a lot of gravel pits, they are caught mainly by carp anglers, those fishing purely for the tench seem to struggle. The lake also holds a few catfish which liven up the action sometimes in the summer. However, it was carp I was after but since the traditional season has ended the weather has taken a dive back to winter, at least at night, with frost and fog, the days have been quite spring-like at times though so I was not sure what to expect. I was not ready for the state of the lake though when I closed the gate behind me. The water was low, extremely clear and very weedy, even in March. The bottom could be seen over most of the lake, or what looked like the bottom but it was in fact blanket weed covering the bottom. This was going to be a struggle. I had not been to the lake since last June so I chatted to a couple of the regulars who informed me that it had not been fishing well but the odd carp was being caught. Just the odd carp was indeed slow for this lake which is I think the easiest 20’s water in the southern Colne Valley. Still I was there, so I gave it a go. Selecting a swim through memory rather than seeing any fish, I had a lead around and found it very difficult to find any clear bottom anywhere but found some in the edge by an overhanging tree and a clearish area about 20 yards out. I used pop-ups popped up two inches off the bottom to hopefully make presentation reasonable. Once sorted I spent the evening chatting to the bailiff in the next swim. Suddenly one guy fishing the far corner of the lake up against some vicious snags had a take and after a struggle landed a carp. I felt sorry for the fish though because of the stick this guy gave it getting it out of the snags, I did not want to see the state of the carps mouth, that was for sure. Unfortunately the class of angler fishing this water is on the low side, one of the reasons I do not fish it much anymore, so the carps mouths are very worn. Still, the bailiff trotted round there and when he returned informed me the carp was the biggest in the lake and weighed 25lb 4oz. I was relieved, as I have caught that particular carp several times before so certainly did not want to catch it again. A point the bailiff seemed to not understand, he must have caught it at least 20 times but still seemed to want to catch it again, weird. As dusk fell I was left alone on the lake and, as if by order, the skies cleared and a full moon came out. The lake was as flat as a millpond and fog formed by midnight. I was not surprised to find I had to scrape the frost off the car in the morning after a totally blank night. Oh well, one more session next week there and that will be my lot. The season on there closes at the end of March and I am not renewing my permit so I can say farewell to a lake on which I have very mixed feelings. At the end of the week I went to visit a friend who has wangled a building job on a multi million pound house near Weybridge. As part of the deal he can live on site in a sort of annex-come-outbuilding to the main house. The grounds are huge and 20 yards from his place there is a half-acre lake. It was getting towards midnight when I parked the car well up the road and he let me in through the security gates. He has done the annex up like a real little carp den with books, rods, bits of tackle and photos all over the place. After a chat he suggested we went and caught a carp ensuring me it would be that easy. I was not convinced but he took one of his cane rods with an old Mitchell reel with 8lb line with size 8 hook attached. Before walking out the door he grabbed half a dozen slices of mothers pride and led the way down the manicured lawn to a set of steps with a bench situated by the lakeside. We threw a few bits of bread into the edge and I could not believe it when one by one they disappeared as unseen carp swirled round them. The carp are not big but I was informed they were gorgeous Leney-like mirrors. He lowered a crust right in the edge and within two minutes he was attached to a lively little carp. After a bit of a struggle we were soon indeed admiring a lovely dark brown mirror of around 3lb, covered in big scales. I just could not believe it and had to get one myself. It took a while for the carp to come back but within fifteen minutes they were swirling at the crusts we had thrown in again. They seemed to have learned a bit but just as we were thinking of giving up, I found myself attached to a lively fish. Again a bit of a struggle but soon in the torchlight there was a long gorgeous mirror carp, a little bit bigger at around 5lb. Never seen a hook before, it really did look just like a Redmire mirror, just a bit smaller. What a gem of a place! Back in the warm we were soon imagining one of those carp being 30lb, just imagine! After whiling away an hour or two over some Yates and BB, plus a beer or two, we crashed out as dawn was not far away. Hardly my biggest carp but one capture I will cherish for a while, I look forward to another chance very soon. Fantastic…

Have fun!