A Little Luck – Part 4

He continued sitting there in contemplation. What was the big carp doing right now, he wondered. Would she revisit the baited area again or had she happened upon another angler’s bait. Perhaps she’s finished eating for a while. All of these probabilities were raised and subsequently dismissed. In truth he had little doubt that she would come to feed again.

Will she take the hookbait though, he wondered. He ran the idea of her capture through his mind, imagining her perfect scaling and huge girth on the unhooking mat. He visualised her in the weigh sling, and saw the scales sweeping past the forty pound mark.

Lost in this reverie, he was a little startled when a Robin appeared suddenly; landing on a nearby thistle head. Charlie instantly recognised it as the tatty little specimen from the dam; with the missing tail feathers. Slowly, so as not to scare the timid bird, he reached into one of his tackle bags and drew out a small bait box containing some red worms. He made sure the Robin could see a bunch of the wriggling worms in the palm of his hand then tipped them on the ground in front of him.

The bird fluttered a couple of feet away at the movement of his arm and landed on a Sallow twig. It never took it’s eyes off the worms though, as they squirmed on the ground trying to find cover in the short grass. It sat quizzically turning it’s head from one side to the other for a brief moment, then deciding there was no danger it dropped to the grass and began rounding up the escaping feast.

Charlie watched the Robin gobble up the half dozen or so worms one after another with some amusement. He felt the little bird must surely go pop before long, and wondered where on earth it was putting them all. As he watched the last inch of worm disappear down the Robin’s beak with a struggle he laughed out loud,”You’ve just about eaten yourself cross-eyed haven’t you?” He asked the Robin. The little bird hopped back up to the thistle head and eyed him curiously.

“Well, I hope you’ll remember that.” He added, laughing again. “I shall be expecting a little bit of luck this evening.”

The Robin, deciding the restaurant had finished serving, cocked it’s head once more to look at him, relieved itself, then flew off.

With the little bird gone he made himself comfortable in a position where he could see the pads, and relaxed into his chair. His thoughts inevitably turned to the fateful day with his father. Not wanting to tarnish the session he was having, which so far he’d been enjoying immensely, he pushed the bad memories to the back of his mind and concentrated on the job in hand. Mentally planning where he would net the carp and where he could position himself for a self-take photograph, should he be lucky enough to catch her.

The afternoon came to an end. Charlie had hardly noticed the hours slipping by. He’d been engrossed in watching the resident bird life going about it’s busy day on the water. He considered making a brew, and was just about to get out of his chair when something caught his attention. Just beyond the baited area a big flat spot was hovering on the oily surface of the lake. The water heaved and the flat spot developed into a bow wave as a big fish approached the lilies. Charlie froze in his seat. He held his breath and waited.

She was there! In the late afternoon light he could see the big reflective scales on her huge torso flashing beneath the surface. His mouth had dried out and he tried to work his jaws to get back some moisture. She turned in the water slightly, her golden hull glinting, then moved confidently into the pads and momentarily out of sight.

One hand hovered over the rod butt and he gripped his trembling knee for purchase with the other. The hairs on the back of his neck were standing up, the electricity and tension showing in his furrowed brow. The lilies jerked and bent over as the big fish rooted around for the tiny grains. He could plot the passage of the fish as it worked its way through the dense pads, towards his bait.

For a moment the lilies settled and he was terrified that the fish had eaten its fill before finding his hookbait. Seconds later the pads began dancing again and the fish moved closer. Charlie was feeling slightly nauseous and his heart was hammering at an alarming rate. The aggressive feeding spell had stirred the water into a milky consistency now but through the mire he saw her big head appear on the outside of the lilies. He watched in expectation as the great blunt fork of her tail rose in the water and she upended herself over his bait.

Charlie knew he was a split second from hooking this fish of a lifetime, almost definitely about to break a personal record of some fifteen years standing. Above all though, he knew he was about to exorcise a very old ghost! He turned his attention from the wagging tail to his rod tip and watched it with hawser tight nerves.

He was watching it still when the tatty Robin landed on it with a jolt! Charlie’s eye followed the resulting tremor, as though in slow motion, as it travelled down the taut line. He watched in disbelief as the signal was transmitted below the water to the feeding fish, and he watched in horror as the water boiled and a bow wave surged in his direction from the edge of the lilies.

Charlie looked at the Robin, still perching on the rod tip, cocking its head over to look at him. It almost seemed as though the little bird was mocking him. He was numb. It was all too much to take in. The harsh irony of the situation began to sink in. His father’s words echoed through his head. He felt like a cruel and twisted joke had just been played on him.

These thoughts raced around Charlie’s head in a micro-second. Meanwhile, the bow wave continued steadily towards him. He watched it come right past him and only then in the clearer undisturbed water did he realise the fish going past him was a big mirror carp!

The Robin chirruped once, and flew away. Charlie watched it go blankly. He looked back towards the lilies with confusion. There had barely been time to register the briefest glimpse of a huge tail extending up from the bottom and then his rod tip had bent around. Acting purely from instinct he struck and stood up and found himself firmly attached to the big common carp!

Realising she’d been hooked, the big carp burrowed immediately, deep into the lily pads, gulping a mouthful of silt and vegetation and shaking her head wildly in an effort to dislodge the offending hook from her mouth.

Charlie kept the pressure full on the fish, his carbon Kevlar rod pulsing in his fingers under the cork handle. He knew with the tackle he had the carp would not break him, nor would the softened decaying lilies. By keeping the fish under maximum pressure he would ensure the hook not slipping as the big fish clearly intended it to.

Mottled lily pads popped up to the surface as the strong monofilament line scythed through their root system and Charlie eventually felt the fish’s head come around a fraction. He seized the initiative and arced the whining rod around horizontally, keeping up the momentum of the moving fish. She pulled free of the lilies and out into open water. He could feel her bulk now as she hung ponderously in the water for a moment.

Gathering her senses, and deciding the pads were of no use to her, she moved with purpose away from the resistance, cutting cleanly through the water at pace. Charlie breathed a sigh of relief; he was strangely calm now. He adjusted the rear drag reel as she cannoned off into the lake, making her work for each yard.

Charlie waited patiently for her to slow, then piled on the pressure again. Once more she came quite easily as he pumped the rod quickly, winding down furiously between pumps and kidding her back towards him. He eased up as she came within twenty yards of the bank, knowing she had more in the tank yet, and not wanting her to react again, close to cover.

His decision was vindicated when she woke up and headed out into the open again. This time she motored away in an awesome display of raw power. The clutch on the reel sung out loudly as Charlie hung on to the rod tightly. For the first few yards he dare not even attempt to tamper with the drag setting, so explosive was her strength. He regained control and stopped her after about thirty yards, then repeated the pumping procedure.

She didn’t come quite so easy this time, shaking her head and pulling more stubbornly. He’d only retrieved about ten yards of line when she set off again. This time he stopped and turned her before she’d got any real steam up. He knew he’d got her ‘all out’ by now. The dynamic bursts began to weaken, and he brought her closer this time.

She rolled in front of him a few yards out and came heavily towards the net. With her energy resources diminishing the big fish summoned one last effort and lumbered off parallel to the bank. Charlie smiled, he knew where she was heading.

The carp never got within ten yards of the oak tree. Charlie wasn’t limited by his tackle, the way his father had been all those years ago. He knew, barring an absolute disaster, this fish was his. He bullied her back from the direction of the oak and placed the net in the water in readiness.

The feeling as she slid over the cord and when he lifted the deep mesh of the net to embrace her was indescribable! Forty-five years of splendid pleasure and achievement came to fruition at that joyous moment. Charlie punched the air in victory!

As he unrolled the huge beast onto his unhooking mat he knew he’d caught his forty-pound carp. Her broad, perfectly-scaled sides were the colour of polished brass and she looked in peak condition, with a deep healthy lustre. Charlie thought she was quite the most exquisite carp he’d ever seen. She weighed 42lbs and four ounces on his scales.

He quickly organised himself for a few photos and, with this accomplished, he put her back in the roomy net and lowered her into the margin. She gasped gently, regaining her strength quietly in the water. He gave her ample time to recover and when she started to nose about looking for an exit, he knew she was nearly ready for release.

The Robin reappeared, sitting on a twig as though to watch over the proceedings. Charlie watched it for a minute or two and chuckled to himself. Then he returned his attention to the fish. He gathered the slack up in the net and cradled the fish’s body carefully, gently rolling the mesh over her head. Raising her in the water, for one last look before he set her free.

And then he saw it! An almost imperceptible, thin ragged white line of scar tissue on the crown of her head. He hadn’t noticed it in the excitement of the capture, it was only visible because he was looking directly down on the carp now. He watched her slip away numbly, the significance of it dawning on him slowly and overwhelming him. He turned, once she had disappeared from sight, and looked for the Robin.

It still sat watching him. “Thankyou.” He said.