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