When It All Comes Right

For that reason I am never ‘really’ sure about this time of year, especially when the carp are pairing up and starting to chase each other around like crazy. Well 2008 rolled around, the weather was unusually hot and the carp seemed to have one thing on their mind… But this year was different and for a change it all came right… Turning into the carp I was amazed to see only one car in situ…yep, the lake was fishing slowly and most were giving it a rest. Tackle on the barrow and lets go hunting the carp. I’d only pushed the barrow a hundred yards to swim 1 when I could see where I needed to be. The shallows were full of carp and the water in front of the swim was so cloudy I couldn’t even see the bottom in three feet of water. Even more importantly the margins were full of tadpoles and carp do love to eat them at this time of year. This will do now lets get fishing. The only problem is that as I said earlier you can set up on a shed full of carp but if they are not in the mood for feeding all you will get is liner after liner. Something or bust springs to mind.
Before I even got the rods set up I mixed up a couple of kilo’s of Hinders incredible ’A’ Mix with plenty of Dynamites tinned Hemp and using my Daiwa Infinity Spod Rod and reel baited three spots with the lot. Hopefully this would tempt the carp to feed and most importantly keep them feeding. Hemp is a great carp bait but put too much in and you can end up getting them feeding like crazy but not taking the hook bait. Setting up well away from the edge ( my spots were under fifteen feet from the bank) the rods were assembled and the shelter put up. I was in no rush as I had the next day off and for a change did not have to pack up at 6 am and fly off to court. Everything was ship shape and the rods were carefully flicked into position. Simple bottom bait rigs with a two bait stringer using the Nutrabaits Biollix bait were used and with the thick weed all were attached to the new Nash Diffusion lead clips. Game on... Tea on...
From 6 pm to 9 pm it was tench after tench which was not great for a carp angler. Mind you if my rigs were good enough to tempt tench then they’d catch carp as well who have far bigger mouths and in all fairness can be a lot less choosey. Darkness fell and apart from the odd splash it was quiet… sleep time for yours truly. Quarter to one in the morning and the clutch on the Basia is going mad as the Infinity whips round….this ain’t no tench, I thought, as I did my best to stop it getting in the reeds. The rod and reel soon subdued it and 23.12 of mirror graced my net…great start. By 5 am I’d had three more and very little sleep but at least things had quietened off a bit. More rigs were retied (I never use a rig twice) and recast accurately. Although the water had started to clear I still felt a big hit was on the cards and baited accordingly. Three kilos of 12mm Biollix freebies were scattered in front of me and the last of the hemp spodded out. I was sure the carp would be moving down and when they did I wanted them in my swim for a feed before they disappeared into the reeds, weeds and lilies to spawn. I really would love to have caught up on some shut eye but the bird life in the shallow end would pounce as soon as I turned my back. In a battle of wills between me, tufted ducks and coots I was not going to give up….
Two more tench graced the net and then another carp at 10 a.m. started the ball rolling again. By mid day I was up to twelve carp to 24.12 ( six over 20 ), 8 tench to 7.12 and one lost fish. I’d run out of bait, milk and food and at one stage had three carp in two landing nets waiting for a photographer. I’d bust my tripod when I fell on it as I got a take mid photo session…amazing….. For once I’d got the better of fish just about to spawn…yes !! Funnily enough the lad who moved in after me only caught two all weekend….success can be that close at this time of year….
More soon
Julian Cundiff