Chasing Elusive Grass Carp

Around 6 years ago I was fishing a small local lake that my friends and I have the privilege to night fish. Being a day fishing only lake, it is an advantage to be able to angle at night. We offer our help to the couple who own, run and live on site at these 2 lakes. A lot of maintenance is our way to repay the favour of letting us night fish there. Back in 2015 a few of us were there for a night. Always a social with a good chance to get a bite. A lot of banter and majority of the banter is aimed at a good friend of ours, Pete. Or pest control as he loves to entice the bream. I was set up in peg 1 and Pete was to my right in peg 26. I had a good little spot between 2 bushes and was fishing to it. Pete managed a bite quite early on and with a rod buckled over deep in battle, my alarm started to ring out as his fish headed for safety. I shouted over that he may have picked me up. Doing the right thing I said I would pick the rod up and open the bail arm. As I lifted the rod I noticed my line was pointing 25 yards away from the spot and moving left. I quickly wound the reel handle and lifted the rod higher. As I did, the rod arched over and all of a sudden a torpedo jumped out the water like flipper the dolphin. It was my 1st sighting of a grass carp and I was connected to it. Before I could think of how to control the fast swimming fish, my hook pulled. Absolutely gutted to lose this fish but I was determined to feel that power again and winning the war by getting a grass carp in the back of my net. 

There are 2 lakes on site. The top lake is the course lake and full of carp amongst other species. The bottom lake used to be a trout lake and in recent years, has been stocked with 4000+ tench, crucians, perch etc. We have spent many daylight hours and nights fishing the course lake for the carp that reside in there, but never put any time in on the bottom lake. Knowing of 2 grass carp in the top lake made me wear my blinkers and try to single out the battle I lost out on that summer's evening. Knowing there are 4 maybe 5 grass carp in the bottom lake and up to 35 carp, the bottom lake always gets sidelined seeming too tricky for a social.

Fast forward 6 years from that loss and I had a weeks holiday from work. Chatting to another good friend of mine, Vinnie and his 2 sons had the same week free. Soon Vinnie and I were putting pen to paper and organising to fish the week on the bottom lake. There were going to be "nuisance" fish to plough through but anglers have to wade through the stock to get to their target fish. I have never targeted a specific known carp on any lake I have fished but my mind may be changing now. Not knowing which bait or rigs work on this lake due to anglers not angling for carp, I was organising my tackle going into the week blind. A few confident snowman rigs were tied but also some rigs I've never used were constructed in the days leading up to departure day.

Monday morning and my alarm clock rages out. No hesitation of snoozing today, I jumped out of bed and headed to the shower. Once showered, the kettle was switched on and the last bits were loaded into the car. I needed to wait for Browns Angling to open as I needed some maggots for Vinnie's son's to use on their float rods. 8.30am the doors opened and I was in there making a swift purchase. If you are like myself, it is hard to go into a tackle shop for less than 10 minutes and spend less than £50. But I managed to walk no further than the counter and spent £3.50!!! Once back in the car I needed to go to purchase food and drink. Half an hour and £45 spent in Aldi (including an argument with the till assistant for trying to short change me from £60) I was heading for the lake. Vinnie and another friend Kev, were already at the destination and setting up the trailer tent he was to be using with his boys, Brandon and Lincoln.

I arrived at the lake just after 10a.m and drove through the gates knowing I had 4 nights ahead of me. This trip was mainly to relax, catch-up with mates and try to chill. Of cause no fisherman can go to a lake and not want to put the effort in to catching fish but with a very low stock and having never fished the lake, we were going into the unknown. So normal procedures would no doubt endure but 1st and foremost, get set up and settled for the coming days. Vinnie had already set the trailer tent up, or the council estate as was soon nicknamed, and Kev had chosen to fish to Vinnie's left. A big open water bowl area lay in front of us and I walked the banks for a little while. I chose to set my camp up a couple of swims down from Kev's left but chose not to fish until late afternoon or early evening. The marker rod was setup and I did spend a little bit of time exploring the lake bed in front of me. The day passed pretty quick and soon we were feasting on dinner and enjoying a lot of laughter over a few beers.

The evening and night passed and I was soon waking to a bright sunshine with mist rolling across the lake surface. I felt fresh and in the mood to put the effort in watching the water for signs of fish. I expected the lakes residents to be tricky to catch. After a few quick coffees (I mean quick too as apparently I drink a hot brew too fast) I started walking the banks looking for a carp or 2. Slowly creeping through the foliage to be as stealthy as possible lead to no sightings of carp. I did notice some likely spots in the margins that I would place a small amount of bait on.

The day was full of consistent rain and if it wasn't for Vinnie's tent, we would have been bivvy bound and unsociable. In between rain showers, I returned to check the spots and when the sun broke through the dark clouds late afternoon, 1 of the spots looked clouded up. I chose to leave the area free from rigs and sprinkle some more bait on the area.

The few anglers that were present in the morning and through into the afternoon had all left so out came the marker rod. A good few hours late afternoon and I was beginning to picture the topography of the lake. A lot of silt is present all over but at 14 wraps I found a harder smooth area. The depth was 11' and all around the zone dropped to 13'. Horizon markers were picked and I put the spomb rod to work. 15 spombs of hemp, maize, chick peas and crushed boilie were deposited on the spot and I clipped 2 fishing rods ready to go into battle. My ever faithful snowman rig was cast on the right rod and a multi rig was cast on the middle rod. I chose to use my left-hand rod as a roaming rod and coupled the lead clip to a Ronnie rig. I felt happy with everything but not high in confidence. We all sat down and fired the BBQ up for many burgers, chicken, sausages and it was time to feast. We went into early hours drinking and chatting about random things as always. It was time for bed and ready for a new day.

Wednesday morning rolled around and the sun was out. The bivvy was heating up quicker than a tomato plant filled green house and I needed to get up and gather some fresh air. The wind had picked up and was blowing into my left. I felt like today would be a good day. A sixth sense you might say? Something in the back of my mind made me feel a fish was going to get caught today. I didn't know who might capitalise on the conditions but I felt something special was going to happen. I was greeted at the council site with a hot coffee and the smell of bacon sizzling away. My eyes were fixated to the water and the wind blowing to the opposite corner of the pond. I was adamant a carp would show. After some coffees and a few bacon rolls I decided to reel my rods in and bait the margin spots up. 

Both Brandon and Lincoln had smashed through 3pints of maggots catching many perch, a few rudd and roach. Us older kids had drunk many bottles of beer and Kev opted to visit the Browns angling shop in Leighton Buzzard and replenish alcohol and food. He left just before lunchtime and went armed with a list and some money. I chose to grab my rig box and hookbaits to figure out a plan of attack. I could not take my eyes away from the far margin where the wind was pushing into. Then I had a lightbulb moment. I wanted a rig that was going to sit flat and a bait that would hover just above. Nothing out of the ordinary. So I opted for a German rig with a wafter bait. A milkynut dumbbell wafter with the top sliced off replaced with half a homemade pop-up on the top. I figured the carp do not get fished for and the anglers that do fish this lake are using small baits like pellets and corn etc. 

Once equipped I walked round to my bivvy and grabbed a rod whilst slipping into my waders. I was not in the water long as the margin was too deep past 6 feet. So I climbed back out and reached across the reeds and rushes with my rod lowering a bare lead to feel for a harder spot. Crack...I felt a hard gravel patch. Tiny and I mean tiny!! At a guess it was 10 inches in diameter. I lowered in my chosen rig but because the gravel patch was so small, it took me a few attempts to find it. Once happy I dropped 6 boilies in. I didn't halve them or leave whole but instead chose to squash them. I then walked the rod back 20yards to my swim and slackened the line before placing on the alarms and rod rests. Something inside made me feel confident and I opened a beer and sat with Vinnie. Soon after sitting down , Vinnie's eldest son, Brandon, had a take on his carp rod. All excited he was playing his first proper fish. Not much of a battle lead us to believe nuisance fish and lo and behold, a bream popped up and into the net. He was happy as a pig in muddy stuff and it went on to weigh 4lb 8oz. 

Kev arrived back from his shopping spree and quickly flicked his 2 rods back out. Without any hesitation, his margin rod was bouncing on the alarms and soon a 4lb tench hit the back of the net. Kev wanted no photos as tench aren't his thing but Brandon and Lincoln were delighted at seeing something other than perch and we had to let them hold it.

We sat back enjoyin the sunshine when 2 bleeps were heard from my receiver. As I climbed from my chair a short burst of bleeps sang again. Only 30yards from my rods I ran around. The left hand alarm was lit up and the bobbing had pulled up. I waited for another indication assuming a line bite under the rod tip. Watching the rod tip, it started pulling left in slow motion and then whack....the bobbing hit the alarm whilst the line pulled tight. Picking the rod up I knew I wasn't playing a tench or bream and with such a dense reed line I slipped into the waders. Carefully walking out I was soon into 4.5 feet of water and in battle with something unusual. It was moving about under the surface slowly whilst plodding about. Completely in the dark to what was attached, I was gaining line when all of a sudden the waters surface broke. Like a submarine surfacing, a happy looking face gazed back at me, turned to my right and absolutely charged off like a bullet train. "Oh my god" I shouted as I was shaking with adrenaline. 6 years I had been chasing the battle and I was finally attached. After taking 40yards of line the carp was waving the white flag and put up no more resistance. The canon sized grass carp graced my net and I had won the war. 

Vinnie grabbed the net whilst I sorted camera, sling and scales etc. Now I've heard grass carp come in quite easy and save their energy in case they are captured. True to form, Vinnie took 1 for the team and got soaked whilst the grass carp tried to escape. We all laughed but soon turned out attention to the fish. Jumping in the water, I cut my line and slipped the net into my retention sling, I lifted up a beast whilst Vinnie helped out from the bank. This was big!! Once out of the net and into the sling, we lifted the fish for the scales to spin through digits. They finally settled on 37lb 10oz. My first grass carp. My first fish from the new lake and I capture the biggest resident. Buzzing is an understatement. 

Photos were taken, although with a fish not wanting to be out of the water, it was hard to get some decent shots. We put the fish in retention sling and settled it in the margin to rest for 15 minutes. I knew what was coming next so once back in the water, I unzipped the sling and the grass carp was racing back to its watery home. With my back turned to the lads I took a deep breath, turned towards the bank and took a full bait buckets worth of water to the face.

I wasn't in any hurry to get the rod back out. Celebration beers and phone calls to family and close friends replaying the experience and from nowhere a bite alarm was ringing out again. Kev had a right-hand rod in meltdown. A short fight took place revealing a perfect 20lb common carp. I have never seen such a clean carp and the mouth was immaculate. No hook marks on its rubbery lips and seemed to be uncaught. 

The next 2 days were quiet on the fish front but I was amongst 4 others that had experienced an amazing 5 days. Vinnie was kicking himself thinking the photos of my capture could have been better but I comforted him with the fact photos don't tell the story of the landing fish. Yes it was an amazing grass carp but the most important part to me was experiencing it with friends. We all created and shared those moments and all have our own tales to tell.

'till next time...

Carper Dee

Island Lakes, France. The return...the planning begins.

January 10th 2020, 5.30pm. A text message from the main man Adam Fenlon had landed in my inbox reading "Do you want to fish Island Lakes again. Need to know ASAP as there's 2 spaces available and we are top of the list with a queue of carp anglers who wish to go. The dates are Saturday 20th June till Saturday 27th June". Like a mad man I was in the office at work to check holiday availability. After persuading my boss to allow me to overlap 1 day with another member of staff the reply was simple. "Looking good boss". Island Lakes the return was happening and with 5 and a half months my mindset was preparation already. How am I supposed to sit on my hands or even get any sleep for the next 5 and a bit months? My experience of Island Lakes 2018 was the best to date throughout my fairly short fishing career. The buzz of going to France for the 1st time was exhilarating but I was not expecting the trip Fenlon and I went through. This time however, I am worse than a kid on Christmas Eve. The thought of going back to the beautiful surroundings that Island Lakes is engulfed in is enough to go fishing for a week and blank. It truly is a special picture perfect place.

Swim 12

Swim 2 courtesy of Joe Andrews

The next excitement filling my mind and causing sleepless nights is the carp that reside under the water's surface. These are some of the best carp my eyes have come into contact with. And they are tricky characters too. It's not an easy lake and we were told this before the last trip. "It's a hard lake to fish, it is no runs water, bites can be very tricky to come by and it is full of weed" were some of the comments we received. Since fishing there we can go in fully prepared. I am sticking to my same tactics. Fish simple effective rigs, do all my homework when I get there and do not rush. I will be there for a week. Get the bivvy up and be comfortable. Watch the water like a hawk and put the marker rod through its paces from the off. I spent over 6 hours plumbing around in swim 12. I have all that information written down in my trusty blue book and should I feel swim 12 again I can refer to all my details. The swim choice has to come 1st though so I am not thinking too much about where I want to setup. For now I can think about the swims and where I would be searching throughout the water. The double swim 5 and 6 is on my mind as I spent so many early mornings watching the water with carp bosching and feeding similar areas each day. Swim 5 was always on Fenlon's hit list but the choice was never made by us. Swim 7 and 8 was occupied by Andy and Karl on the previous trip. Again, I spent a lot of time watching this allocated water the swims cover. It would be nice for Fenlon and I to fish a double swim in June but let's get there 1st and see what the carp are telling us and where everyone wants to fish.

Looking towards swims 5 & 6

As for now sat at home thinking about tactics and the lake, it would appear I am in need of a few rigs to be tied. So the tackle box comes out and the components I am confident in are placed in front of me to start tying fresh rigs. With the tablet set up and Ridge Monkey videos on YouTube playing I start tying. Unaware of the time passing by I realise my Korda rig box is unable to hold any more rigs. I must have been preparing rigs for France in my head. 29 snowman rigs, 10 multi rigs and 17 Ronnie rigs take up the space and impossible to fit anymore in. Oh well at least fishing sessions in the near future are covered with fresh rigs. 

'till next time...

Carper Dee

Long needed social.

It's been a while since my last blog and there's no excuse. I write these blogs to re-live experiences and to share memories. In recent times though I've bottled everything up. Back in July my nan was rushed to hospital. Without going into details, health problems were causing her issues with walking and standing. A proud independent woman who took on the world as a single mum from the 60's and 70's finally gave in and wanted help. Spending a short time in hospital however, was the last place she experienced day to day surroundings. After a visit from my mum and dad, nan's daughter and son in-law, she peacefully left her loving family and heaven gained another angel.

Nan had grown her wings and I was distraught and felt lost. I never got to say hello to her again and our next time spent together would be to say goodbye. I felt so lost in memories that I had no enthusiasm to do anything in my spare time. I spent 7 weekends helping my mum clearing nan's bungalow and belongings. Sat at home 1 weekday evening and I could hear my nan telling me to smile, get off my feet and go to the syndicate at the weekend. A few messages back and forth to my good mate Fenlon and the plan was in place for the coming bank holiday weekend.

Saturday morning and the alarm clock raged out and I was up, dressed, coffee being prepared and the excitement was kicking in. After battling to wake my son up and getting him in the van we were Esso bound for a dirty Gregg's sausage roll and to meet up with Fenlon. Soon on the road and we had the drum and bass way too loud but a quiet drive wouldn't be normal for us. The syndicate lake is only 20 minutes away and on arrival the banks were empty. A couple of laps and we decided the session was not a serious time and we would chill out, reminisce and enjoy some laughter. The day passed quite quickly and all of a sudden my son was hungry and we were cooking dinner. Darkness settled in and my eyelids were heavy so an early night was needed and into the sleeping bag I ventured.

Unsure what the time was, I woke up to a bright sunrise and the bivvy was heating up. A coffee was brewed and I stood searching for signs of carp. The center of the lake was alive with feeding bubbles and a kick up my arse made me realise I wasn't fishing effectively and had decided the "that'll do approach" had been used the previous day. Not happy with my fishing tactics and no where near the feeding carp, I visioned my nan looking down and shaking her head at my laziness. A change of tactics were to be met strictly and try to catch a prize. New rigs were tied, a small amount of bait was prepared and then a spanner got thrown into the mix....my son wanted to go home!! All I was glad about was the fact it was August bank holiday Sunday and it wasn't 6pm at night. The time was well before lunch so I agreed to take him home. There's nothing worse for an 11yr old than being made to sit behind motionless rods because your dad's being lazy and sweat in the hot sun. With lessons used from Lewis Hamilton I was quickly dropping him off at home and already back to the lake.

I really put the effort in and found 2 good spots to fish. My 3rd rod was going to be dotted about in different areas to my left to pick up a chancing carp. We were fishing the left hand point swim and there is a lot of water for 2 anglers to search. Fenlon was exploring the island to his right and picked out a spot towards to channel on the right side. A few carp had been patrolling around the islands and a single pop-up attached to a Ronnie rig was all he cast. The plan was to bait later on but throughout the day his trap was left. And the trap proved to be effective. Out of nowhere his delkim melted into a one tone and he was locked in battle with a carp not wanting to give up. A good 25 minutes and the carp threw in the towel and graced fenlons landing net. A beautiful common was sulking as the sun was setting for the evening. Onto the mat and ready for weighing was a bit of a lump and looked like it may be the biggest carp caught at the new syndicate between us. The scales were lifted and the joy of finally seeing a 20lb carp was set. 20lb 15oz common. Top angling Mr Fenlon. Photos taken and the carp set back to it's watery home, we cracked a celebration beer open.

Fenlon cast a new rig and we decided to get all the traps set for the night time. Bait spread about for a free munch, we sat back as the sun left us with darkness. It was a very clear night and there was a bright moon. The stars seemed close and 1 was very bright. Fenlon joked that the brightest star was my nan shining down on me and he shouted "come on Dee's nan, have a word with the carp god's for him". A little tear was brought to my eye and then I remembered my lucky duck I'd been given. Everytime I was greeted at the door by her in the past, she always smiled and spoke the same words "hello my duck" followed by a hug. She had a lot of duck ornaments and I wanted 1 to take fishing with me for good luck. Out came the lucky duck and placed under my rods.

The time was around 10pm and all around was complete silence. We both sat looking at the moonlit water waiting to see a carp jumping out the water or listening for carp jumping in the background. But nothing happened. We reached for another beer when all of a sudden my line could be heard pinging from it's line clip and then the instant scream from a 1 tone ATT bite alarm. I was in and so was my rod. The take was so vicious the rod was pulled round and away from my alarm and nearly into the pond. Grabbing hold of the butt section and reaching for my reel I quickly loosened the clutch so the carp could take control for a bit. About 10 minutes passed before I was able to gain control of the battle. Another 10 minutes quickly passed and a show of a mirror carps head was visible under the spot light of the head torches. He must have been having a breather when all of a sudden the rod tip buckled over and the re-energised carp was taking line from my reel. This was by far 1 of the best battles I had been locked into and I could feel my forearm and bicep turning into a 1 sided Popeye. A short burst again and this carp also threw in the white towel. I was done but what an adrenaline rush.

We unhooked the carp and the sling was set to zero on the scales and up we lifted a 16lb 10oz fully scaled mirror. That capture was for my nan and once the carp was released to fight another day, I looked up at the bright star and whispered "cheers nan".  She must have enjoyed speaking with the carp god's as over the next 3 hours I managed 2 more carp all from the left hand rod. A 14lb mirror and a beautiful 9lb mirror. A well deserved session and I fully enjoyed being on the bank.

'till next time...

Carper Dee

Maiden French fishing trip...lessons learned.

It was packing up morning and nothing else  happened on the other 2 rods. Fenlon woke up at 6.45am to find me watching the water once again. With the middle rod left out after my loss he asked if I was packing them up not realising what had happened. It had passed over me already and I was back on cloud 9 after the week I'd had. The beds were packed down and loaded into the van. Bivvy was soon following along with the rods. 2 cups of tea polished off and we were venturing round the lake to meet the others. No one caught on the last night and I was the only 1 to get a bite. Karl asked if I knew what I had lost and I quickly said it was a 40lb carp. Andy wondered how I knew it was a 40lb considering it was no where near to netting and I said "I had a 30, 50, 60 and a 70....40 was the missing number in the sequence". We all laughed and took 1 last look at the lake and headed off in the vans. What a week we had encountered. A truly special place and the return trip is already booked for 2020. The weather was seasonal with cold winds, hot sun and heavy downpours. Snow and ice were the only experiences we did not fish through. The company was on top form and there were plenty of laughs. A good group of blokes to go with. A week away from my son was hard but keeping in touch with him daily made it easier. I couldn't wait to get home and see him.

The journey seemed to take forever. On the way to Island lakes we were on motorway after motorway. The home journey was for some reason travelled parallel to motorways give or take a mile in between us. The sat nav me and Fenlon were using kept asking us to make many U-turns yet Andy, convoy leader, continued driving the scenic route as best described. I started to feel sorry for Fenlon who was once again driving as his clutch foot was in full use. A lot of roundabouts and a lot of gear changing every few hundred yards must have been tiring but he didn't make a fuss about it. A couple of hours passed and we pulled over at a service station for food and a break. It gave us all a chance to sit and talk about the week. Unfortunately Alan never got to land a carp or even go into battle for that matter. I wish he would have made the move sooner and I could have pinpointed where the carp socialise during the morning hours. He was probably in 2 minds whether to move or stay put. My little blue book has positions written down to look at should swim 6 be fished in the future. We were soon back on the road after McDonald's and toilet break.
Fenlon was still beaming with excitement and we chatted about what we had learned over the week. Neither of us had ever had the opportunity to go out in a boat to view a fishing spot. I was personally pleased with the knowledge of feature finding with my marker rod. The feeling of casting a rod and landing a lead on gravel is the easy part. Knowing you are dragging a lead up, over and down a gravel bar has only ever been described and I suppose guess work when using a marker rod. Having the chance to look down from a boat clarified I am capable of finding spots. Presenting rigs that I use in England were effective and no tweaks were made. A lot of anglers go to France and use new rigs or make many changes to their rigs with the mindset that French carp are harder to catch. This can result in lost fish and not knowing which difference hindered the rig mechanics can ruin the chance of landing that fish of a lifetime. Both Fenlon and I stuck to what we know and it paid off. The biggest challenge we both had was how weedy the lake was. Weed is daunting at the best of times and in places Island lake looked like a flooded football pitch. We have both fished weedy lakes but the weed at Island Lakes was on another level. Fenlons biggest accomplishment was changing swims. This is a guy who likes to setup in a swim and wait for the fish to come to him. But he knew that staying in swim 10+11 was a bait and wait swim and not what he wanted this week. The move would have to be done and early in the week was perfect excuse. That and the fact I ran off with his rods probably. When fishing I try and watch the water a lot. This week though I took this to another level. Either in my swim or standing in other anglers swims I was fully concentrating on the water. Another milestone was playing and landing such big creatures and doing so with no one to help me. There is 1 thing that really put the cherry on top of our achievements. Bailiff Mick spoke to Andy soon after Fenlon caught his 29lb. All lakes have rules and at Island lakes there is a rule that any angler that has never fished France must fish as a pair. We were not aware of this rule and we chatted to Mick about people saying we were heading to such a hard lake for our 1st trip to France. Mick never mentioned to us and went to see Andy. He said that if this information should have been brought up on arrival day. Andy had visited this lake a few times and didn't think about the rule. He apologised and said they would all help me and Fenlon pack down and move. Mick was quick to say that there was no need. He had watched us both setting up, finding spots, helping each other, moving Fenlon together and catching the biggest carp caught that week on our own. He had 100% confidence in our ability and said we were both good anglers. That comment was amazing to hear and be passed on. A truly proud moment in my fishing journey to date!!

The time flew by and all of a sudden the road ended and we parked up at the channel tunnel. We didn't have long until boarding the train so a quick toilet break and coffee purchased. Sitting in the van we were directed to our carriage and it was time to say Bon Voyage to France. 35 minutes later we said goodbye to our fellow anglers and we were home bound. We were on the home stretch and already planning the next outing. After catching the 69lb and 59lb carp we were both told that our English fishing was ruined. Neither me or Fenlon go fishing for target fish or big fish only. Being on the bank next to a lake is what we personally enjoy. The surroundings, the peace and quiet, the time to relax and get away from day to day life is what we go fishing for. A bend in the rod is always the fun part and landing a fish no matter the size is the prize. But the biggest quest of each session is to learn lessons and the week in France taught us some of the most valuable lessons to use in the future outings.

'till next time...

Carper Dee

Maiden French fishing trip...missed opportunities

3.30am and the bite alarm was stuttering. Heart beat racing hoping the now silent receiver started singing a continuous tone. Walking down to the rods the middle bobbing was sitting tight against the alarm. Looking across the water my thought was loose weed drifting through the water and had collected the fishing line. A few minutes passed and the odd single tone was all the receiver played. Slackening the line was my only option. I could have reeled in and recast the rod but disturbing the swim seemed the wrong thing to do. In hindsight I should have brought the rig in for confirmation. Around 9am I reeled in and on inspection of the rig it was clarified that a carp had picked it up and ejected it. For future reference this lesson taught me to know my rig is fishing effectively not think it is.
It was now Friday and only 24hours left on the lake. The sun was beaming down and the hottest day of the week. A bucket of bait to prepare for the evening feed time was produced and the decision to pack up items that wouldn't be required was my plan. Speaking to Fenlon he was ready for home. He had no intention of fishing and felt he had achieved all he wished for. All tackle was to be packed up and loaded in the van leaving only his bed and bivvy to pack up the following morning. As I had my 2 man bivvy I thought it would be better for him to put his bed in mine for the night and it was 1 less item to pack on departure day. Suggestion agreed I left him alone for a slow pack up. Once back in my swim I took the time to enjoy the surroundings. The lake is a truly stunning environment and the water was flat calm. I've never seen perfectly mirrored reflections everywhere you looked.

The day went by at a slow pace which suited me as I was thinking back over the moments from the week. It seemed surreal knowing all the lessons I have taught myself over the 7 years of fishing had worked to my advantage and helped with the huge achievements. I had said to the other anglers before we arrived that my main goal was to learn lessons. If I was able to get a bend in the rod it would be a bonus. I never go fishing 'expecting' to catch. In a way if a blank happens (and they happen to everyone) I am not leaving a lake disheartened. If you have high hopes and the plan isn't playing out, you go through the thought process that something is broke and too many changes follow. I would have been 100% happy if I did leave Island Lakes with dry nets and sling. 

Late afternoon Fenlon was packed up and drove the van round to load items I wouldn't need. A few beers each and a belly full of BBQ food saw us into darkness. My rods were in position and bait was waiting for carp to munch on. With the clock ticking by we were soon ready for sleep. 

1.20am and I woke up to my left-hand alarm bursting into tune. All was quiet again once at the rods and the waiting game began. My bobbing had dropped and I was in decision mode again. Hit the rod or leave it. The alarm let out 2 more beeps and the bobbing headed South. Instantly I grabbed the rod, tightened the clutch and started reeling. As I pulled the rod tip into the air a weight could be felt. With no indication of a carp trying to escape I knew I was attached to a ball of weed. Once at the bank I untangled my rig and again realised the rig had been picked up and ejected. Rod clipped up and fresh rig attached, I cast to the spot and scattered a handful of boilies. 

My receiver flat lined at 5.15am and there was no argument that this was a bite. The middle rod tip was trying to exit stage left and the line was leaving the spool like a bullet train. I instantly felt a powerful carp charging through the water and then hiding in solid weed. Holding on tight for a while the carp shook its head and swam into open water. Gaining back some line the carp suddenly headed to another weed bed. Locked up once again I kept the pressure on. A short while later the carp was free and I was pulling my prize towards me. Thinking I was winning the battle the carp fought back and was soon in another weed bed. 40 minutes had gone by and the carp had found its last hiding place. In a slow motion action the carp shook its head sending the feeling through the line and to my fingers and the sensation of an ejected hook point soon followed. Battle wounded I just stood holding my rod looking across the lake. I was gutted to say the least. The sky was grey and fog had filled the lake. Kind of matched my feelings. I didn't recast the rod, just lay back on my sleeping bag looking through the bivvy door.

'till next time...

Carper Dee

Maiden French fishing trip...time to feast.

After another night of intermittent sleep I felt tired. Unfortunately it wasn't the carp keeping me awake this time. The thunder storm that passed over the lake was like no storm I've ever experienced. It felt really low in the sky and the thunder was so loud that it could be felt through the bed. If my Mrs was with me she would have referred it as "angry" and "cross thunder". Morning was breaking and the sun started to rise over the trees. The lake surface once again had mist rolling across. I stood at the front of the swim sipping a hot coffee watching the water. The carp were on their early morning routes and giving up their whereabouts to the eagle eyed angler I try to be. I've watched many YouTube and dvds on carp fishing and the saying "it looks good for a bite" is often used. Both myself and Fenlon have looked across ponds and said the same but all of a sudden stood in that moment looking at my view it really did look good for a bite. With a chill in the air, clouds amongst the sky and the activity the carp seemed to be in, it felt like the carp god's were looking down putting the final puzzle pieces together. My mind was made and giving the carp a good serving of grub today was set in stone.

Between Fenlon and I we had brought 60kgs Blakes baits nutmix maple boilie for the week. My daily plan was to make a 3kg bucket of chopped, crushed and crumbed boilie with a dose of matching glug. I had also brought Sticky baits Manilla glug which was also put in the mix. Throughout each day I used a throwing stick to put out whole boilies. With today's baiting plan I checked how much bait I still had. 12kg still frozen in the freezer with 2 nights before departing for home. More than expected 7kg was quickly deposited into an air dry bag so the boilies could thaw. Looking for signs of carp it was clear they had left the spot so the rods were reeled in. A rusty shower was needed and a visit to Fenlon as I hadn't heard from him.

Music was playing from Fenlon's hut and his kettle was boiling. Perfect timing for a brew I said. We sat and chatted for a while and spoke about ours plan of attack. After Tuesday's sleep catch-up he still looked exhausted and asked me to help him with bait preparation and possibly baiting up later that day. The week had seen hot sun and heavy rain but the humidity was the same throughout....sweaty!! A lot of effort and hard work had been put in by the pair of us but my good mate was visibly feeling it. I left him to relax and agreed I would be back at 5pm for baiting. 

The day was quiet again. Rob and Alan in swims 3 + 4 had chosen to move into 5 + 6. This was a good move as every morning the carp were queuing up in front of 6. Personally I thought the move came 1 day too late but there was still 40hours to go and Alan was the only angler yet to catch. Fingers crossed he could create a meal that would stop the carp to feed and trick 1 into taking the hook bait. The sky opened up around 1pm and I jumped in the boat to view the area I was baiting up. Earlier in the week the clear patch was big enough to fish 2 rods. However, with the sun shining it was an unexpected sight. The carp clearly enjoyed the bait and had torn through the surrounding weed to get every last crumb. The area was around 2.5 times bigger and easily enough to place all 3 traps.

An hour of baiting using my spomb and I got all 3 rods clipped up to their distance. Hook baits attached to rigs ready for the night ahead and extras on standby for recasting should I get a bite. Fenlon baited his swim from his boat as did the other anglers. Dinner being cooked and my rods were cast. I had good feelings as the sun was setting and made sure my slings were ready, nets were in close contact and life jacket in position should I need to get in the boat. It was now up to the carp to do the rest.

9.45pm the alarm screamed carp and I was bent into a hard charging carp. I was attached to a warrior that had no plans on making this easy for me. Deep into a weed bed it headed. Once free it took me into another and another. My adrenaline was rushing but each weed bed it took me had me praying not to eject the hook. 45minutes of beating me up and I lifted the net to another mirror carp. Battered I was but I quickly clipped the rod up and recast to the spot. A  few spombs cast out to entice the carp back and Fenlon unexpectedly entered my swim. He had woken up and could hear I was into a fish. He then realised he had nodded off and hadn't cast his rods. The carp weighed 52lb 4oz and photos were taken. Fenlon headed off with me having to persuade him to cast out.

Feeling confident of more bites I used the throwing stick to scatter 0.5kg boilie over the area and I got back in the sleeping bag. I woke up at 1am in desperate need of emptying my bladder. Through the trees I could see head torches shining from Andy and Karl. Karl was playing a carp and also enduring a proper work out. Back in bed for 20 minutes before I was again rushing for trainers and down to the rods. The left hand rod was being stripped of line and I was again playing a carp. What felt like a torpedo racing through the water I enjoyed another battle. 15 minutes of fun and the carp was in the net. With the knowledge of Andy and Karl being awake surely I didn't have to feel guilty about radioing Fenlon did I? Andy answered the radio and ventured round. I got into my waders, grabbed the camera ready for photos and Andy arrived. Not wanting to get in the way he stood by my bivvy watching my procedure. I cut the line at the net then threaded on another lead clip and tubing. Next I clipped the rod using the distance sticks and cast 5 spombs over the spot. Rod then recast and I was ready to lift the carp to the cradle. Each angler has their own routine and Andy said he enjoyed watching mine. Fish care applied and I lifted the sling to a 33lb 7oz mirror carp. Photos taken, another hand shake from Andy and he headed for his bivvy. 

                  
Another scattering of boilie and I was back in the bed waiting for more action.

'till next time...

Carper Dee

Maiden French fishing trip....A storm's brewing.

Another morning, another enjoyable sleepless night. I sat on my bed smiling with the previous nights achievement. 69lb was a huge weight and to catch a bigger carp the following night is unbelievable. After a coffee I reeled in and baited the swim with a scattering of boilies. The sky was looking miserable so I grabbed my coat and camera and set off to visit Fenlon. Parked at the swim was Mick's van. He was doing his daily round visiting each angler and getting the nights news. Walking into the swim I see Mick and Fenlon down by the rods and noticed Fenlon holding 1 high in the air with rod tip buckled over. He was deep in battle!! The left hand spot had paid off and something was putting up a fight. With a thick band of weed in close this fish knew where to head. For 45 minutes Fenlon was locked into something that was buried in weed no more than 5ft from him. Keeping the pressure on  Mick was saying "let the fish know who's guv'nor" and "don't give him an inch, keep the rod held tight". 30 seconds later he changed and the words "right what's this bladdy fish doing except making a mug of you" blurted out his mouth. All of a sudden the weed broke from its roots and the carp was surface bound and swam into the net. It definitely put Fenlon through his paces. Mick hung around to see the scales read 29lb 1oz and then headed off to see the other anglers.

Carp back to its home safely and the kettle was fired up. My good friend looked shattered. The heat and humidity was taking its toll on Mr Fenlon and I suggested he reeled in and tried catching up on sleep. It didn't take much persuading and he was tucked up. I walked the short trip to my swim and prepared a bucket of bait for later that evening. The rest of day was spent watching the water and baiting the spot with boilies and throwing stick. With rain coming down at times throughout the day the carp were crashing everywhere. All the fresh oxygenated water was hopefully playing to our advantage and the carp were using a lot of energy. From past sessions the rain has always provided me with bites so I was high in hopes the carp needed to feed.  

Evening was fast approaching so I baited the spots with the bucket of bait and cast the hook baits for the night. My dinner was cooked and the rain came down again. This was another heavy downpour followed by thunder and lightning. A phone call home to speak to the Mrs and my son got me a bit emotional. I always take him fishing and the longest I've fished for without him was 2 nights. Talking with him about school and the things he was doing after school made me realise how much I was missing father n son time. Finishing the phone call with good night, I had a quick tidy up in the bivvy and put myself into the sleeping bag. My phone received a WhatsApp message that made me smile and laugh. 

Wednesday morning came round with no action on the carp front. The weather had brightened up and the plan for the day was to all visit the next town for beers, food and chat about the trip so far. A 15 minute drive and we were parked up and looking for somewhere. We found a restaurant and entered to order beer. A lady greeted us and she had 8 anglers looking at her with stunned faces. Her attire was simply high heeled shoes and a short blue dress. On a 20, 30 or maybe even a 40yr old this would be normal. At a guess the woman behind the bar was close to 60 and her suntan was so dark that DFS could add a new colour to their brown leather range. Beer going down well and the atmosphere amongst us was lively and we needed some food. The restaurant we were sat outside had stopped serving food. And the restaurant next door had also stopped serving. In fact everywhere was closing and it was only 1pm. Heading back towards the vans and Karl asked a shop owner where we could get food. It turns out that on a Wednesday between and 1 and 5pm, the French have a siesta. Hungry and disappointed we headed back towards the lake. Driving through a small village we noticed a bar and pulled up. We all walked in asking for beer and the land lady was quickly pulling pints. After another 4 pints the land lady knew she was on to a winner and offered us omelette and pomme frites. Give that woman a medal. It wasn't long and she right footed her husband out of bed and was serving up food. Bellies fed and a couple more beers and it was time to get back to the lake. 

Driving in yet another rain storm we quickly got back to the swims to sort the rods out. By the time everyone had baited up the rain was really heavy and the thunder was back. This was the loudest thunder I had heard and seemed really low. Another epic lightning storm mixed with lake filling rain pour had everyone sat in their bivvys. Laying in my sleeping bag trying to get an early night was going to be impossible. I had the cover over my face and the lightning was so bright I could still see the flashes. My only thought now was "please don't get a bite. I don't fancy holding the fishing rod ready to get struck by lightning".

'till next time...

Carper Dee