It was early morning, and with the sun already high the sky I decided to do a little exploring. The first spot I approached was an area where I’d previously seen fish before and as I made my way through the undergrowth I wasn’t disappointed as two nice Carp lay dormant under the floating weed and surface debris.
Not wanting to disturb them too much I trickled in a few handfuls of CC Moore Meteor, which I lightly crumbled in my hands to make sure they made at least noise as possible when they entered the water. I also didn’t drop the baits right on their heads, I baited an area a few yards away from them on a clear spot tight to he margin, if they wanted to feed they would, if they didn’t then they wouldn’t… simple as that!
After leaving the swim for a good ten minutes I then peered back into the clear water to notice the two fish tails up, heads down as they were battling to hoover up all the tasty morcels I’d deposited just a few minutes earlier. With the fish occupied on the free offerings I introduced another handful of bait and with great excitement trundled back up the bank to get my rods.
As I would be fishing at very close range, small 1oz leads were added to each rig, along with a decent length of ESP leadcore with a standard lead clip set up. Hooklink choice was 15lb Gardner Sink Skin and the faithful Gardner Cover Mugga Hooks in a size 10. On to the baiting needle went a glugged CC Moore Meteor bottom bait tipped off with a Northern Special. With the swim primed and the tackle ready to go I flicked the rod onto the waiting spot, keeping well back from the water I sat and waited.
The rig was in place and the fish were still feeding hard, by now the adrenalin was flowing as surely it was only a matter of time before the fish snared my hookbait! After around fifteen minutes my suspicions came true as I watched the fish pick up my hookbait and shoot off into open water… I was in! As you can imagine I was on the rod in a flash and soon had the Carp under control, after a short but spirited fight the first fish on the session was being guided to the waiting landing net, another stunning fish, which weighed in at 19lb 10oz.
I went home happy that day, buzzing with excitement for my next session which I had pencilled in for the following Saturday. I had fresh stocks of bait arriving mid week, another batch from CC Moore and by the looks of the previous session I’d done the right thing, choosing the Meteor for my summer campaign.
The meteor has a rich meaty smell, which really does spell out all the factors of a good long term bait, its also slightly different to most standard baits you see other anglers using, you only have to read the ingredients on the packet to realise all the care and detail which goes into each kilo!
The working week soon went and Saturday arrived, I soon found myself turning into the car park ready for another session. As I parked up and got out of the car it didn’t surprise me to see the lake very busy, so busy, that for a second I was wondering if I was going to find a free swim!
After a quick walk round I only found a couple of swims that I fancied fishing, and one of these my mate had already (well almost) bagged and tagged it! So I decided to be a gent and to let him fish it, while I would opt for the second choice. Soon the gear was on the barrow and on the way to the swim, the Supa brolly was up in seconds and the two rods were tackled up. I was knackered from work and decided to have an early night, so both rods were flicked out to open water, with small PVA bags attached, just enough bait to give the fish a mouthful.
On first light I was rudely awaken by the sound of my screaming Delkim, a powerful fight ensued as many times the fish tried desperately to get in amongst the undergrowth on my near side margin. With full confidence in my tackle, I was able to apply maximum pressure and get the fish into netting range, soon a beautiful 21lb 14oz Mirror lay in the folds of my landing net, on the unhooking mat. After a quick phone call to may mate Steve, or Swany as he known, to come down and take a few pictures the fish was then returned back to its watery home.
As me and Steve sat down to discus plans for the day, I decided to stay put in my swim as I felt confident there may be a few more fish there. After around two to three hours without any activity I felt perhaps my suspicions had been wrong, but I thought I’d give it another hour, so fresh PVA bags and hook baits were added to each rod and they we recast around the swim.
After around another half an hour, my original suspicions were proved to be true as the spool on my reel went into melt down, with line peeling off and the angry fish on the other end doing its best to shed the hook! As the fish made its way into the deeper water I really began to feel the power, of what was obviously a nice Carp. After a hairy few minutes it slowly started to tire and I started to gain the upper hand, gaining more and more line back as I guided the fish to the waiting landing net. Steve was back in the swim with me and offered to do the honours on the net, as I eased the fish into the waiting landing net we both saw it was a gorgeous looking Linear. One of my target fish from the water!
After a few minutes we had everything organised, the fish was safely on the mat and the camera was ready, Steve took some great shots, before we popped her on the scales. The fish weighed in a few ounces under 25lb, at 24lb 10oz, not the biggest Carp I have ever caught, but certainly one of the best looking fish!
After releasing the fish I sat back and enjoyed a brew, pleased that I’d managed to bank one of the ‘original’ fish and pleased that my gut instinct had been correct!