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Target Achieved... Michael Stewart
Target Achieved... Michael Stewart
Since my last write up things hadn’t exactly been going to plan, I’d only managed a dozen or so takes in my previous few sessions, with only one fish going over 20lb, the rest had been mostly been low doubles.
With the weather being settled and warm I’d tried to get things going on the surface, but with the hordes of Gulls, Swans, Ducks and even Crows taking my surface offerings it had been extremely hard work and the Carp weren’t getting a look in!
With the lake closing for a month from the end of June and the journey from Norfolk to Northampton becoming more and more of a chore, thanks to two new sets of major road works, I was preparing to call time on the water and start on a new plan, Plan A. However the new plan was soon quashed as I heard through the angling grapevine, that the fish in Plan A were spawning, so it was back to Plan B… well at least for another week or so.
Friday came, and the tackle, along with my dog Jeri were loaded into the Carp wagon as we set sail for Northants, arriving at around 2pm. I was an extremely mild summer afternoon and the temperature on my car thermometer read a very balmy 26 degrees… floater fishing weather if ever I’d seen it!
The kit was prepared and I went off for a bit of a wander, the wind was pushing North Easterly into one end of the lake and three of the six swims In this area were occupied, however I still managed to find somewhere suitable.
Out went the first pouch full of Salmon Oil soaked, Dynamite expander Pellets and in came the Gulls! They were on them before I’d even had a chance to prepare my hookbait!
With a couple of Carp showing interest I fired my controller into the area and soon had some interest, but unfortunately I struck a split second too soon… the water erupted and the fish left the vicinity.
That was pretty much my only chance, as I spent the next couple of hours, in vain, chasing fish around the available swims. With the birdlife becoming almost unbearable I gave up and decided to settle in for the evening, opting to fish the Car Park swim, this decision based solely on the fact I’d seen fish show in the area the previous week.
The first rod was baited with a piece of balanced fake corn and was flicked to my left, to a point in the reeds around five foot deep, with a nice drop off, the trap was completed with a couple of pouches of corn fired over the top.
The right hand rod was fished on an 11ft spice girl (Zig Rig) in 12ft of water and finally the middle rod, baited with a 15mm Crave boilie and 10mm washed out Pink pop-up, was cast 60 yards to an island margin. This spot was baited with a couple of kilo’s of freebies, a mixture of Crave boilies, corn, tiger nuts and halibut pellets.
Friday night and Saturday morning passed without a bleep, so I went looking! Wading to the islands, up and down ladders and in the trees, I spotted nothing, the signs weren’t looking good and to be honest I was getting to the point of throwing in the towel!
With the weather cooling down I swapped my Zig rig for a trusty hinged stiff link and Crave corkball pop up and re-positioned it ten yards to the right of the middle rod in some slightly deeper water. I then topped both rods up with some more of the baiting mix.
I settled in for the evening and listened to the England v Italy game, which didn’t help my mood and around 1am I retired to the bag for the evening, even more despondent.
I’d been in the bag for less than a minute when the middle rod pulled up; no line could be taken as I was fishing locked up.
I was soon on the rod and into a fish, however it didn’t fee l right, as a nasty grating sensation was being transmitted through the rod, there must have been another line coming off the island. Being as careful as I could I gingerly got the fish half way in before disaster struck and the line cut through… Gutted I put the rod on the rest and went back to bed.
Jeri woke me up around 6.30am and I popped the kettle on and decided what to do, with things not looking too promising I thought about heading home, however this all changed when my right hand rod pulled up tight… I hadn’t even added the milk to my cuppa!
With the other line in the swim I picked the rod up and walked backwards as far as I could, doing my best to guide the fish into some open water and away from the obstacles. The fish wasn’t overly impressed and done it’s best to head right towards a reed stack, I clamped down and hung-on and just as I did so I saw a flash of colour; an orange flank and a rod of Mirror scales… it couldn’t be, could it!? Five minutes more and I knew for sure… it was infact the Zipp Linear, a target fish no more, as she was soon in the folds of my landing net.
I let her rest in the net for a while as I finished my brew and got the photography gear together. As I popped her on the mat and slipped the hook out she looked awesome; Mahogany top, orange belly and a perfect row of gold scales down each lateral line.
The scales settled at 30lb 10oz, but in all honesty I wasn’t bothered, the weight was completely irrelevant and I’m sure by looking at the pictures many Carp anglers out there will agree.
Needless to say after slipping her back I slowly packed away and headed for home.
Not a bad way to sign off; however unlike Arnie, I don’t know if I’ll be back.
Thanks www.wellingboroughlakes.com
