As I prepared for the start of the river season, mentally visualising my chosen swims I did not have any warning that illness was to play a big part in making me miss the magical midnight start for the second year running. 
Nothing brings you down harder than the cancellation of a long awaited trip, especially due to illness, as there are no real alternatives. Little did I know what my wife and three boys had in mind for Fathers day as a tonic.
One of my regular bait customers, Bob Creamer, has quite recently taken to fishing for catfish at a well known lake near Southend in Essex – or ‘Sarfend’ as it’s pronounced round here. A lot of people will be familiar with the name Jimmy’s Lake at Corringham in Essex if only for the fact that John Wilson had a good result there with the cats on his Go Fishing series.
Toni, my wife, or ‘She Who Must Be Obeyed’ as she is known to my friends, has put up with, and even encouraged, my mad passion for fishing ever since we met. She also knew of my desire to fish an actual cat water as I had yet to add one of these fine creatures to my list of conquests.
Bob had come round to see if I wanted to go with him on his next trip, but what with painkillers the size of 10 pence pieces every four hours and the fact that I had missed my river start I was not too keen to go anywhere. Toni soon changed this and practically organised my trip with Bob single-handed, something I will always be grateful for.
Let me try and give you an insight into Jimmy’s Lake. To start with, if you don’t know the exact location, you won’t find it! So if you ever think of giving it a go get precise directions!
After numerous double and triple roundabouts we finally pulled up in a residential street outside double 6ft gates where a small ornate sign announced we were at Jimmy’s. This is the only clue as you cannot see a hint of the water as you approach.
Once inside the gates we parked up and walked through a very pleasant garden area to the signing-in hut. The walls are filled with smiling anglers all proudly showing their catches of various catfish and carp, including one of Jimmy and his wife holding the biggest inhabitant of the lake prior to its stocking, a cat of 50 lb! There is a catch record book available so you can see just how the water has been fishing, along with a detailed map showing the gravel bars and depths of the various swims. The help doesn’t stop there, it even includes a listing of recommended baits that have been taking their fair share of fish, all this organisation goes a long way to making sure anglers new to the water get the best from their session.
Alongside the hut is the rules board, not a long list but the simple common sense essentials. It also informs you that both live and deadbaits can be used as long as they are purchased from the fishery.
We had decided to fish the night session which is from 7pm to 7am to give us more of a chance with the cats, although they can still be caught during the day. Prices are £ 10 per rod per 12 hours and booking is essential as Jimmy ensures that the lake is never packed. Even so, it is a very popular venue.
After checking the map I decided if it was free I would take the corner swim, which is silty, with an average depth of 6ft complete with reeds, an overhanging tree and a gravel bar running right through. Bob took the next swim and decided to fish to the other main gravel bar that runs through the centre of the lake. His swim faced the house and the lawn swim, which is Jimmy’s private swim as it is literally at the end of his garden. What more can an angler ask for!
We had decided on Nash Whiskey boilies as our main approach and I had taken some Activ 8’s as a back-up. My plan was to fish single hook baits with an 8 to10 bait stringer over a small bed of carp and trout pellets.
Whilst setting up I met another angler who comes down twice a year after the cats and we got chatting, as anglers do, and he mentioned that Jimmy’s had been responsible for his first cat weighing in at 41lb! And he has been coming back ever since but has yet to better it. 
At 7pm out went the baits, one under the overhanging tree with the Nash Whiskey and one straight out to the bar with Activ 8. The wait was on. At about 7.30pm a chap arrived and set up in the opposite swim so after a while I went round for a chat and to check that my chosen spots would not cause him any problems. It turned out that he was actually the bailiff and a very friendly one he is too, he gave me no end of information regarding the lake, baits and good spots and it seemed that I had picked a very good spot and two of the top baits. Things were looking good.
I went back round to Bob and told him that our prospects looked good, it was then time to sit back and relax and watch Jimmy wander down his garden and set up for the night. God, that man makes me jealous!
The night was beautiful, warm with no wind, and silent, apart from a massive flock of birds that had taken refuge in the tall trees surrounding the lake. The whole lake is surrounded by tall trees and it fascinated me that you could be sitting in such tranquil surroundings just yards from a road and main street.
Around 9pm a couple of bleeps from one of the Delkims told me that something was moving into my swim under the overhanging tree. Judging by the couple of runs I had heard earlier from the other end of the lake the fish took the baits hard and fast so I was off the chair and by the rods. The bleeps amounted to nothing so I fired another couple of pouches of pellets out to keep whatever was there interested.
I was still getting the occasional knock now and then but with no real action, so it was time to put a brew on and have a chat. We had just heard that England had finally beaten Germany so that brought a smile to our face, but that was to be it until just before midnight.
At about 11.30pm I wandered around the side path of the lake to deliver a few pouches of pellets under the tree and, not wanting to disturb anyone with a light, I felt my way round the edges of the reeds until I came level with the tree. I fired the pellets in and turned to start my return, it was then that I found the slab I was standing on was tilting, so, basically to regain my balance, I shoulder-barged the tree. This had two effects, one was it got me perfectly upright, the other was it appeared to wake the lake’s whole squadron of gnats which did not take kindly to my intrusion and attacked in full formation. My stumbling backwards and frantic hand-waving motions would have won me first prize in any rave competition! It was a good job I didn’t have my headlight on otherwise my dance routine would have had its own light show too!
By the time I got back to my swim I was scratching like a lousy dog, Bob was full of sympathy at my predicament – well that’s what he said when he’d managed to stop laughing. Within the next hour most of my torso resembled a dot to dot picture, I’m sure I could have been read in brail!
Exactly 15 minutes later the bleeps were back but this time with more determination. I got a slight lift this time and I waited for it to settle back, which would indicate a liner. It went up another quarter of an inch and then it was off on a nice steady run that I was onto in seconds. 
The fight felt very familiar but in my mind I knew it was a cat all along, even though by the end of a very spirited tussle I really knew it was a carp. It came to the net and it was just as welcome, Bob did the honours with the camera and the very nice common tipped the scales at 15lb 4oz. The photo does it no real justice as it was solid muscle and very broad.
My first fish from a new water and what a buzz! At least I knew I was doing it right. Out went a new Nash Whiskey with another eight bait stringer and a couple of pouches of pellets. A quick tidy up, a chat with Bob to see if he had had any movement on his rods, but nothing as of yet, and back to the chair. Nothing else happened down our end, although it seemed the anglers on the point were getting their fair share of action through the night.
It was 2am when the rod under the tree signalled more attention, then a few more bleeps and away it went. This felt a very good fish and it felt very different. As I bent into the rod I felt the fish pull back and the rod arced very hard. It was certainly not a familiar fight to me, for every time it changed direction there came a judder up the line that literally shook my arms before taking off to the left of my swim, screaming the clutch as it went.
It felt like ages, although it was probably minutes before I felt I was getting the better of whatever was on the end and I started to gain some ground. Then it was off again, taking all the line I had just recovered. Surely this must be one of the big cats as I was now convinced that was what had picked up my bait. As it came to the net my headlight caught two beady little eyes in its beam and I knew I had finally done it, my first cat. 
As I laid it out on the mat my mind was buzzing, silently asking questions and taking in the sight of this fine creature all at the same time. Up on the scales it went 10lb 12oz, not a big cat by today’s standards but it sure looked a monster to me. And all that fight from a cat of that size! I was well and truly hooked.
Nothing else happened during the session, so we packed up and headed back just after 7am after proudly putting my catches in the book.
We were tired but the conversation most of the way home centred around our next visit to Jimmy’s, our minds were already tying rigs and ordering bait ready for next time. And maybe next time I’ll find that monster!
My thanks to everyone who made it possible and not one pain killer was needed!Another cat angler has come of age…….
Dave Dowding heads the Mr Wriggles Bait & Tackle company and Tackle Mart .
