I have been lucky this weekend and have been given the opportunity by the family to get out on the bank again. So, I’m thanking them for that.
Ian and I fancied a change of scenery this weekend and headed over to the Airfield Lake. We had not been here for some time and this swim has a great view of 3/4 of the big lake. This would give us a chance to see where the carp are; generally everywhere this time of year. It’s tracking down the bigger fish which is a real issue and they generally don’t show themselves until after dark.
As I know this swim very well, it wasn’t an issue I arrived after Ian – by some 10 hrs. I was only planning on putting out a small bag on each rod with a 15 mm Catalyst wafter on and then putting 3 small spombs over each area to start with. I would then move on from there over the course of the next few nights.
After a few hours of playing around with the Deeper, I finally settled for a nice spot in 6ft of water and the other rod was just off the tree-lined margins of the island to my left. I often see carp along there. It was only 3.5ft deep, so I wasn’t going to put too much bait out, just in case the swan came along. I was sticking to the Catalyst wafter.
Finally, the afternoon heat cooled down. It wasn’t even forecasted or very pleasant, we were both glad when the evening arrived.
Morning arrived with a screaming run for Ian and it was soon safely in the net. We quickly realized being about 8 lb, it was not the biggest ever caught, but it was a carp. This should always boost your confidence as it shows there are fish in the area and they’ve started feeding.
Still, no fish for me but the day is looking a lot better, there is a gentle fresh breeze and plenty of cloud cover. Hopefully, I will be in with a chance of a carp in daylight hours.
The carp are certainly very active and crashing about everywhere. As the weather is holding, with no sunshine and still a good breeze across the lake towards, all I’ve altered is moving the left-hand rod to the point of the island. This is where there were a few fish topping first thing this morning. I’ve put a small bit of plastic corn on each wafter to make them a bit more visible, in the hope an inquisitive carp takes a look.
Well, the third night passed us by again without a bleep. This lake is turning into a real headbanger – this was once one of the most productive areas. I can’t really see why the fish would keep away. There is probably 4 acres of water out there, with a mass of features. This may be the issue. But this trip, I made a point of fishing similar features but in different areas where we still seeing fish crashing about in front of us.
I’m not sure when I will be back as I have family plans for the next month. This will only give a couple of quick overnighters and I was thinking its time to try the Estate Lake again, we shall see where we end up.
Until next time
Richard
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