This carp though was about four times that size

I did though have a 6th sense feeling that at last something was going to happen and the hard work of the last four months on the lake may just pay off. I was pleased to pull into the lake not to find any other cars there and as it was dry at the time I had a good look round. There were some carp back in the shallow bay but not that many and here and there I could see trout pellets scattered around, someone was still trying for them, that classic poacher I suspected, at least he was not there at the moment.Round the corner I saw three carp drifting out of a small bay, one as it turned was a wide mirror, I suspected it was my target obsession mirror. As I watched the big carp took the lead and they went lower in the water out into the main lake heading for one of the spots that I have been fishing. Moments later a large area of bubbles exploded on to the surface right on the spot I would cast to. That was good enough for me, I went back round to the car and unloaded my gear in to the usual swim.I was not in to much of a hurry to cast out as I did not want to spook the carp if they were still around so I leaded about in the other side of the swim trying to find and good hard area of bottom amongst the silt and weed. I eventually found something I was happy with right out in front and to the left of the area I was going to fish where the carp had showed. I was getting short of PVA bags of all sorts so I used Gardner’s new flavoured PVA bags on the rod where the carp bubbled. The bags are large and stout but the dissolving time is instant, I filled it to over flowing with crushed Premier aminos fishmeal boilies and loads of 26% oil trout pellets, a meal fit for my target mirror. The other rod went out with a smaller PVA bag full of the same stuff, this spot was nearer so I could also fire out some trout pellets with a catapult over the general area.With all this done I set up the shelter and chair and sat out in the gloom and the daylight faded on a mild windless evening. The day looked perfect for late autumn carping and that feeling that something was going to happen got stronger. Strong feelings they may have been but I was a little disappointed that by 10pm nothing had rolled and not a bleep had been heard from the buzzers. The road had fallen quiet so reluctantly I climbed under the oval shelter and pulled the blanket up over me with half an eye open for a while before I dropped off.Sometime after midnight I was woken by a big carp clearing the water right over the right-hand rod spot, just like it had done on the last session when the result was a 6lb common. This carp though was about four times that size. Half-hour later the same carp crashed out again but after that all was quiet. I was woken again a couple of hours later not by a crashing carp but by a screaming buzzer. The right-hand rod was away line pouring off the baitrunner. The blanket went flying and I dived through the mud and out onto the flooded front of the swim and grabbed the rod. The resultant strike met with a very solid resistance; twice the rod tip was pulled down as the carp tried to get further out towards the small bay on the far bank.The fight then became a little odd, obviously deciding that it could go no further the carp stared to come back towards me. It took me a couple of moments to realise the bend going out of the rod was the carp kiting back across the base of a long sweeping bar that led to the shallows to my right. A few quick turns of the reel soon had the rod at full compression again and the carp tantalising close on the back of the close in bar that ran across in front of me. The top of this bar is covered in weed and as I hauled the carp over the top of the bar it picked up a lot of weed. On top now I could see the carp and weed break surface so I slid the whole lot in towards me and engulfed carp and weed into the net.I gave out a sigh of relief and ensuring the carp was safe in the net I went to get the mat, sling and scales and torch. All ready I swung the net and carp onto the mat. I now got my first look at the width of the carp as it sat upright momentarily on the mat and there was the stumpy first ray of the dorsal fin, holding my breath I turned on the torch and there was the dropscale and below it the single missing scale. At that point I must have got the dogs barking in Staines a couple of miles away as I hollered the carps name out to the stars. At last there on my mat was my obsession mirror. Three years ago I lost it in the weed, the following year I had if feeding on my baits for over two weeks every day but never did I hook it, earlier this year I lost it when the hook pulled out and three times this year had I witnessed it on the bank when others had caught it. Now though it was mine.I glanced at my watch, 3:15am. I got my breath back and popped the hook out of its mouth, only just in, how cruel would that have been. Clearing the weed off I slipped it into the already wet sling and put the already zeroed scales into the loops. The needle spun round the full three revolutions before settling just short of the complete third one, three ounces short of 30lb, did I care, not a jot. At that moment I would not have swapped anything. The beast behaved perfectly for me, there was no one else on the lake nor anyone I wanted to share the moment with, it was purely a personal thing between me and that carp. Pictures done I donned some waders and paddled out a bit holding the carp upright before in the blackness it flicked its tail and powered off into the depths.I did not bother to recast; there is nothing else in the lake I want to catch. Three hours later I packed away and drove out of the gate, my quest complete.

Have fun!