With my new syndicate success which I told you about last month I was buzzing to get back down after the British Carp Angling Championship qualifier. However, after one overnight session in which I managed a scraper twenty, work got hectic and I found it difficult to get there. My mate, Darren Belton, had been doing a bit on the Southern Park Lake and having just joined the Mainline Team, he was having good results on the Cell boilies.
With all the rain we had been having my other syndicate was flooded and when Lee sent me photos of the fish swimming around in the car park I knew I would have to jump back onto the Park Lake.
I arrived on Monday night after work and opted for the Long Chuck swim. Both rods were cast to a silty area at a range of 65 yards and I spombed out a couple of kilos of Hinders’ salt and pepper hemp and Cell boilies with various pellets from Mainline and Hinders. The night was very quiet and I did not receive any action and I went to work at 7am. The weather was due to turn on Friday with a big southerly wind and a band of rain coming in during the night. I had to price a couple of jobs on the Saturday morning and take my boy to football so if I went Friday night I would have to be away sharp again.
Darren was at the lake on Thursday and kept me informed and on Friday he rang to tell me that the Long Chuck swim had become free. I explained that there was no way I could get down until 4pm so I was convinced the swim would be taken. Several texts got my hopes up and as I arrived at the lake I was amazed that it was still free, despite the fact that many anglers had arrived earlier.
As I set up, George, who was fishing the bay to my right, was into a fish and after a good battle he landed a cracking 41lb+ mirror. That was it I was well confident that I was in the right area! My two rods were placed on the spot as they were still clipped up from my last trip and I spombed out the same mix as before.
At around 10pm it started raining and the wind got up and it turned into a really dirty night! At 6am I laying awake on the bedchair, I had not slept well due to the weather and I was amazed that I had not had any action when my right hand rod went into meltdown; I grabbed my jacket and ran down to the rod.
The fish felt heavy as it plodded to my right and then to my left whereupon it proceeded to give me a right battle. Up close I had still not seen the fish as it hugged the bottom but it was tiring and as it rolled in front of me I scooped it up. As I lifted the net I saw it was a fish called Alfie and I rang Darren to come and give me a hand. On the scales she went 43lb 5oz. A few photos were taken and a bit of video and I slipped her back; a quick cup of tea and I got packed up for work more than happy!
I was back at the lake Monday night only to find the swim taken so I opted for a swim to the right heading in the same sort of area. As I had fished from the other side I fished 40yds in the same style with two rods and a spombed area and once again at first light I was playing anther angry carp which went 26lb 12oz. Again a quick cuppa and off to work.
I was back at the lake on Thursday evening and I saw several fish roll in front of the Long Chuck swim and with wind still southerly it seemed a good bet once again. The usual spot at 65 yards and again 2kg of bait was spombed out – after all why change a winning formula.
Yet again it was not until first light that I received a fast take on my left hand rod. The fish put up a good battle but was soon in the net and on the scales the fish, a mirror, went 28lb 2oz.
I was not going to return until the following Monday night and by then I had information that the fish had been showing in the middle of the lake so I chose to fish the ‘Pissing Tree’ swim. One rod was fished up the side of the island with a single Cell fluoro pop-up at about 120 yards. The other was fished to a silty area next to a small weed bed at around 80 yards with ten spombs of my usual mix.
I got my head down for the night and, you guessed it, at first light I got a ripping take on the single pop up along the island. Another good battle gave me arm ache and I slid the net under a beautiful mirror which went 22lb 6oz; I was more than happy with that. As I didn’t have much on for once I stayed until later in the morning caught up on some e-mails on my iPad in the torrential rain and managed a couple of tench and a mid double common before calling it a day.
The following weekend I was to take part in the Casting for Cancer match at Brooklands Lake in the Medway Valley. The event is run on a single angler basis, a 48 hour match with the first three going through to the final, along with the highest money raiser. It was a straight out of the hat draw so I decided to get down at 8am on the morning before the draw at 9am.
When I arrived I was surprised that many of 28 anglers were already set up; with bad weather forecast they had decided to bring the draw forward and with only three pegs left in the hat I was pleasantly surprised when I pulled out the left hand side of the ‘Grassy Swim’ – not a swim I had fished before but I had caught at range from the opposite side of the lake so tactics would be the same unless I saw fish in closer. In the right hand Grassy was John, who I had never met but he seemed very friendly and as I set up he made me a cuppa.
The match started at 12pm and in the couple of hours beforehand several fish showed at long range – 150 yards plus. I decided to try a couple of zigs at first, one at 12ft and one 14ft and I cast these to the area where the fish had been showing. The afternoon was very quiet but that was not surprising with 28 anglers casting out all at the same time. I put two solid bags out at range for the night and set my alarm for 3.45am as the fish in this lake have a habit of giving themselves away at first light.
With no action during the night I got up at the appointed time and sat in my guest chair looking for a fish to show and in the next ten minutes I saw 8 shows to my left and two solids were dispatched to the spot. 45 minutes later I was playing a very angry carp but I soon had it tamed and it slipped into my net. It looked to be a low twenty and the marshals were rung and we got her weighed at 23lb 12oz.
It was a start and when I asked what had been out so far I was informed it was the first fish, which really surprised me. The morning went quickly and I was soon reeling in for the barbecue back at the lodge for a couple of hours. It was a great social with family invited and with a very friendly atmosphere; if any of you get the chance to fish in one of these events you won’t regret it.
At 2pm people started getting back to their swims but a few stayed on for a bit and I got back around 4pm and put two solid bags back on the money. Just into dark and news came through that ‘Streetwise’ Dave to my left had just landed a 27lb plus mirror, so I was pushed in second place.
The night was quiet again all round; in fact no more fish were caught at all. So Dave and I and my neighbour John – the highest raiser – were through to the final. A cast off was called for 3rd place and ‘young gun’ Jack got the last spot in the final. It was a great event and I look forward to the final at Broadlands Lake in September.
Well that’s it for this month, tight lines!
