Chilly Winds, One Chance and Lots of Questions

I arrived at the lake earlier than normal this week, having decided to load the car before heading off to my gardening job. Thankfully, it was in a quiet area, and I was only working on the front garden, so the car and all my kit would be safe enough while I worked. It saved me the usual trip home to reload everything afterwards, and with the house on my route to the lake anyway, it felt like a proper win-win situation.

With that cold northerly wind still hanging around and absolutely no signs of spawning carp yet, I headed straight back down to the bottom section of the lake again. I’m really growing to love this area of the water. It just feels right down there — quiet, tucked away and full of potential.

My baiting approach would remain exactly the same. Particles and boilies alongside small mesh bags packed with pellets soaked in hemp oil. Simple, subtle and giving the carp just enough to keep them searching around the spots.

Hookbait-wise, I made a slight adjustment. One rod was armed with a 15mm EnerGize Corkie Wafter topped with a 12mm EnerGize pop-up, while the other rod would continue with a White Blank Saver, as they’ve been working wonders recently.

The weather still looked far from ideal. Pressure was steady at 1015mbs, but the wind direction was all over the place. Air temperatures were sitting around 16 degrees, although there was even talk of a possible frost on Thursday night. Looking ahead, next week seemed much the same. Personally, I can’t see these carp spawning anytime soon unless Saturday suddenly brings a proper rise in temperatures.

1800 Hrs

Honestly, it felt more like March than May.

The northerly wind had a proper bitter edge to it and, despite the thermometer showing 15 degrees, it felt far colder sat behind the rods. Gloves were soon on, and I’d already climbed into the sleeping bag to warm my feet up.

On the positive side, the carp still appeared active enough. That was the one thing keeping confidence levels high.

Let’s hope it stayed that way.

2220 Hrs

The left-hand rod suddenly gave a couple of isolated bleeps.

At first, I dismissed it as bats. It’s a common occurrence around dusk on this lake, and the indicators often twitch as they clip the lines in the fading light. But then the rod absolutely melted off.

Definitely not a bat.

The fish powered hard from right to left margin, plodding deep and heavy in that cold water. After a long, stubborn battle, I finally slipped the net cord under it on my first attempt.

Happy days.

25lb 13oz Common

After the last two sessions, I was relieved to get one on the first night. Confidence instantly returned. Another bag was quickly attached using PVA cable ties before the rig was flicked straight back onto the spot.

At some point afterwards, I drifted back off to sleep until the cuckoos woke me around 0530 hrs. For a moment, I considered staying awake, but I knew I needed the rest. I lay there on the bedchair listening to the lake wake up before eventually drifting back off again, only waking just after 0800 hrs — just in time to phone the wife on her way to work.

1400 Hrs

By early afternoon, I’d decided to switch things around a little.

I’ve always enjoyed experimenting while fishing. Sometimes it’s the only way to outsmart the better stamp of carp. The left-hand rod stayed exactly where it was because I was happy with that spot, but I changed the right-hand rod over to a solid bag presentation.

I’d spotted a few fish showing closer in and felt there was enough reason to try dropping a small mesh bag over them. Two hours later, though, nothing had happened.

That got me thinking.

Where were these carp actually moving from?

The answer, in my mind, had to be the bay over to my right. Open water hadn’t produced anything so far, so I started looking at intercept routes instead. I eventually concluded that the bottom of the marginal shelf was worth a try.

That’s the only real way to crack a swim properly — keep trying different things until patterns begin to form. Eventually, you find spots that repeatedly and consistently produce fish.

I already had confidence in the left-hand rod.

The entire session now revolved around finding the right-hand area.

0926 Hrs

I’d been awake on and off throughout the night.

Conditions actually looked very good. The wind had swung southerly, there’d been some rain during the darkness, and everything felt far more carp-like. Yet I never had a single bleep.

I’ve got a theory about why.

There’s a swim between the two points separating me and the next angler, and somebody slipped into it during the night. In my past experience, whenever someone sets up in that swim, it seems to completely cut this area off.

I honestly don’t fully understand why, because there’s still loads of water to my right, and this swim itself covers a huge amount of area. But time and time again, it seems to change the fish’s movement.

I’d actually be interested to know whether other anglers experience similar things on their own lakes.

At this point, I had a decision to make about whether to stay another night under the same circumstances.

1226 Hrs

After a lot of thought, plus a good discussion with Ian, I decided to stay put.

Part of me simply wanted to understand the swim better.

I eventually found a feature I was happy with before baiting the area with four half-filled large Spombs of my particle mixture. The left-hand rod was redone onto the productive spot again, and by the time everything was sorted, it was around 1345 hrs.

Perfect timing for lunch.

I sat there, eating, watching the water, and reading my book, quietly hoping things would come together on the final night.

As evening arrived, the lake looked absolutely stunning. The wind eased off, the light softened, and for a while my confidence came flooding back again.

But as the darkness dragged on, it slowly faded away.

Despite all the effort, all the thinking and all the changes, that lone common was my only bite of the session.

I’m genuinely starting to wonder whether the carp are simply a bit moody at the moment. Normally, they’re spawning around the first week of May, but everything feels behind this year. Maybe this weekend’s warmer weather will trigger them, maybe it won’t.

Looking ahead to next week, it feels like I could be in for another challenging session.

Still, one bite is sometimes enough to keep the fire burning.

Until next time,

Richard

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Hopefully, the next few nights will produce a few bites.

Richard

Day 1

I’m back down at Airfield Lake for another three-night session. The conditions are almost identical to last week’s, but the pressure has dropped slightly, and a few more carp have been coming out. That’s always a positive sign, so I arrived quietly optimistic that things might just fall into place over the next few days.

Pulling into the complex, there were plenty of day anglers spread around, but still enough water to work with. After last week’s success on the bottom lake, I headed straight there for a proper look. Only two anglers were set up, both at one end, which left the rest of the lake open.

After a slow walk and a good period of observation, I settled on the last point. The wind was hacking hard onto the south bank, and this swim gave me good access to that area while allowing me to avoid the worst of the snags dotted along the margin.

It also dawned on me that I’d never actually caught from this swim before — always nice to have a little target like that in mind. Time to break the duck.

I found three potential spots with the lead, all slightly different in nature, which made it a difficult choice, narrowing it down to two rods. My baiting approach stayed exactly the same as last week — no need to change something that’s working.

The Buckwheat and Hemp went out via the Spomb, just beyond my comfortable Fox catapult range. Over the top of that, I introduced 15mm EnerGize Boilies and Co-De boilie bites, which were perfect for catapulting accurately onto the spots. The plan was simple: top up with the catapult after each fish and, all being well, get the Spomb rod back out mid-afternoon tomorrow to refresh the particle spread — all depending on bites, of course.

The afternoon drifted into a gorgeous evening. Proper springtime atmosphere — Cuckoos calling, Ravens cracking overhead, and that calm feeling you only get when everything slows down around the lake.

1330 hrs – Time for a quick tidy-up. Both rods were wound in, and I topped each spot up with a couple of Spombs. I decided to stick with the same areas for the night, but I’m already thinking I may need to move one rod if things don’t develop. I’ve also switched hookbaits around slightly — just a little tweak to try and trigger something.

2342 hrs – The left-hand rod rattled off, but unfortunately, it was only a Tench. A start, but not quite what I’m here for.

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Day 2

The wind carried on pushing through the night, relentless at times. I heard the odd carp show — mainly in the back of the bay to my left and occasionally out in open water. Enough to keep the confidence ticking over.

The right-hand rod gave a single bleep at some point during the night, but nothing developed from it.

By lunchtime, I topped the spots up again and settled in, really expecting an afternoon bite window. It never materialised. The evening slipped into night, and the night into morning — completely silent. Not a single bleep.

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Day 3

This morning required a bit of thinking.

Do I stay or cut it short?

This swim has a track record — it’s produced some very good carp over the years — so I know I’m not wasting my time. The issue is understanding it properly. The carp are clearly present; I’ve seen and heard them, particularly in the bay to my right. The key is working out their movement routes — where they’re coming in, and more importantly, where they’re coming out.

I decided I’d give it until lunchtime, then potentially get the marker rod or the Deeper out and really tighten up my understanding of what’s in front of me.

0809 hrs – Decision made for me.

The left-hand rod gave a single bleep, the line tightened, and then it absolutely tore off.

The carp kited straight toward the trees on the far bank. I managed to guide it away early, but then it powered toward the bay on my left. That critical moment came — the one where you have to decide whether to give line or lock up and turn it.

I held on.

For a brief second, I felt in control… then it surged again, trying everything it could to get under those trees. What followed was a proper battle — ten minutes of constant pressure, the fish using every trick it had. Under the rod tip multiple times, then bolting back out, then kiting again — gaining line and trying to arc back into danger.

A very clever carp.

I kept thinking, please let the hook hold — the one thought you try not to have in those moments.

Eventually, it surfaced and rolled. One clean chance — and I took it.

I got the net under it.

Relief.

A proper, hard-earned capture.

31lb 1oz Common

An absolutely superb result — my first carp of May, my first Airfield 30 of the year, and I’ve finally broken my duck in this swim.

That fish alone made the decision easy — I’m staying.

With spawning not far off, I know the window for consistent feeding can close quickly, and I also want to build a better understanding of this area.

I kept thinking about the right-hand rod. If nothing happened by early afternoon, it was getting moved.

No chance I’m pushing the left rod any closer to the bay — too many snags — but the right-hand rod could be repositioned.

The plan: just off the bush in front of the swim, right at the bottom of the drop-off. If the carp are moving in and out of the bay, they’re likely following that line.

1300 hrs – Time to make the move.

I repositioned the right-hand rod onto the margin spot I’d primed the day before with a decent spombing of Hemp and Buckwheat. Over the top, I fished a Godman Angling mesh bag with a White Blank Saver — a nice, tidy little trap.

Now it was just a waiting game.

2245 hrs – It happened.

The right-hand rod absolutely tore off. In the rush to get control, I made a poor assumption — I thought the fish had kited right into open water. Instead, it had likely already got itself back under the overhanging trees.

I sank the rod tip and tried to pump it back toward me, but with the clutch a little too tight, it suddenly kicked hard, and everything went solid… then gone.

Hook pull.

In hindsight, I should have let it run out into open water before applying pressure. In the dark, half-asleep, the brain just didn’t compute quickly enough.

A hard lesson — but one that sticks.

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0530 hrs – Up early, rods sorted. I made sure the repositioned rod was absolutely spot on and flicked a couple of pouchfuls of 15mm EnerGize Boilies over the area.

I gave myself until 0900 hrs before packing up for the May Bank Holiday weekend. With the weather turning, it didn’t look like it would fish particularly well anyway.

Despite the early start, no morning bite came.

Still, I’ve taken a lot from this session. I like this swim — it’s not easy, but it’s got something about it. The more time I spend here, the better I’ll understand it, and that’s what ultimately leads to consistent results.

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Until next time
Richard

 

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