up. This lack of pick

I turned up on a pleasant September day, a light westerly breeze with hazy sunshine. One of the guys had decided to take time out for the whole of September to spend his life at the lake. This I knew was a sure way to get the best from the lake and success was guaranteed for him if he put the effort in. The carp were not visiting the margins to feed in any great numbers but given 100% time on the lake, small areas out in the lake can be built up just as successfully. We had found together a small area that the carp kept visiting, the fact that he was there consistently meant I did not get a look in. So it was no great surprise when he told me he had one of the big mirrors feeding over it the day before but could not get a pick-up. This lack of pick-up led me to think it was my obsession mirror as it is a crafty fish in the margins. When he told me he had taken the two other 30lb plus mirrors on the last two days then it could only have been my obsession. He was set up in a swim that covered a lot of water but he had built up two areas of the lake, one to either side, by spodding out a couple of gallons of hemp out to each during the deadest part of the day, around midday every day. This meant that the areas were ripe by mid afternoon onwards, which is the time the carp started their feeding search. If you have read my September monthly article on the site called ‘Autumn Fishing’ you will see how I describe the devastating method of baiting small areas at this time of year. The idea is to keep the feed going in, particles are best, the choice of hemp was ideal, as often as possible, every day is obviously ideal. The feed must keep being introduced regardless of the amount of action received. Indeed probably no action will be received for a while and this is where most give up and move on. In fact though if you keep faith the area will get better and better, as soon as one or two carp get on it a lot more will follow. Stewart had done just this, he suffered for the first week or so of his campaign but now he had landed four fish in a week, two of which were the lakes 30lbers. Unfortunately, every carp in the lake was severely down on weight and both his carp were well under 30lb, in fact they barely made 29lb. One of them was the carp I caught at 32lb 14oz back in July so it was a bit worrying. The big common I caught in August was still over 30lb but she too had lost 4lb since June. I worried about the weight of my obsession mirror. There was no chance of getting near Stewarts going area as he was not going home until 30th September so the rest of us were playing chase round, a game I cannot be bothered to do. My chance of getting much was severely cut down with a guy baiting so heavily on such a small lake. If you have read Terry Hearns book you will see how he did just such a thing on the old Pads Lake at Yateley, no one else stood a chance.On the session in question I set up opposite Stewart. We could see the carp beginning to drift up the lake through the islands on a new gentle breeze as the evening drew on. I put PVA bags out to some clear patches in the weed and settled back. It was nice to have everyone’s eyes diverted now to Stewart, I was the one they were all watching last season and so far this one so it was nice to have the pressure off. Just after dark Stewart’s buzzer sounded and in the gloom I could see he was into something, when I heard his clutch scream I knew it was a carp. The lake is still mega weedy so after a minute or two I wandered round to see if he needed help as we were the only two on the lake, I wanted to see what fish it was anyway. At his swim I could see the landing net in the edge full of weed, Stewart was not sure the carp was in there so I laid down and stuck a hand in through the weed, there I felt the smooth flank of a mirror. I ripped the weed away from the fish clearing the net. As Stewart shone the torch in we could see it was a lump. From its right flank I could not be sure which carp it was but I had a horrid feeling. I rolled it over. Stewart said he hoped it was not one of the carp he had caught before. There in front of me was the missing scale on the flank and the drop scale along its dorsal. I called Stewart a name, as there indeed was my obsession mirror.We sorted it out. Stewart I think, was thinking in terms of it being a PB for him, which I believe is 31lb. I doubted that as this fish was only 32lb in spawn in June and, given the severe weight loss of all the carp, and remembering the times I had seen it below 30lb a few years ago, I was expecting a weight of just over 30lb. On the mat it still looked fat but when the scales were lifted Stewarts face dropped as they spun round only to 29lb 8oz. He could not believe the scales so I ran round to get mine but the story was the same, maybe an ounce or two more but well less than 30lb. I personally would have been happy with a weight of 25lb, as it is the fish I am after, the weight is immaterial to me, I just want to get it and move on. I doubt now though that it will grace my net. It is a crafty fish that always gets caught at the beginning of the season and then once more in September or October and now it has been caught, the chances of it tripping up again are just about zero. The only chance is perhaps in February or March when all the carp have a little feed, whether I get a chance though depends how busy the lake becomes this winter, busier than last I am sure. So I left Stewart to sort himself out, leaving him the nagging thought that he was the first to catch four of the lake’s five 30lb carp, all under 30lb. A dubious honour, the last he has to catch is the common, that fish has not been under 30lb for five years, I bet it will be for Stewart! So where do I go from here? I have caught the only 30lb carp in the lake now, the common, and my obsession mirror had been once again caught from under my nose. Keep bashing away I guess, it’s easy comfortable fishing and my next plan cannot be put into place until March, so it’s repeat captures or blanks, not much between the two is there!

Have fun!