My wife has a hospital appointment this Thursday, which I need to be there for. This means only two nights for this trip. However, if the weather is good on Friday, I can get out there again. I think I didn’t help my elbow last week by going across the metal bridge. I thought I would look at Meadow Lake and, if I found something appealing, give it a go. After two trips around, I finally picked the swim I spent most of the winter fishing in.

I found one other swim I fancied, but I wasn’t sure about spending two nights there. That could be the place to go Friday night.

I wasn’t 100% sure where to position my rods. The margins looked good, but these carp will have you in them in a heartbeat. Plus, the older I get, the more I feel I need to up my chances by oddly keeping away from them, as I guarantee every other member will be casting there. It’s about outwitting the carp and other anglers. I’ve found that keeping away from the obvious spots that have seen bait and a rig week in and week out isn’t going to get you that lump you are searching for.

To outmanoeuvre other anglers, you have to think outside the box, as they say. It doesn’t always work and can take time to fall into place.

I’ve opted to fish in open water, as I do a lot of the time these days. It was a spot that I’d previously found over the winter and seen carp, but I didn’t have a pick-up from, strangely enough.

I have also gone for three kilos of Classic Corn Boilies, a mixture of 15mm and 20mm, with a Catalyst 20mm wafter. The idea is if I see carp in another area, I can simply pull a rod away from that spot.

The weather looked good with a pressure drop and a warm wind from the northwest. It would switch for a few hours on Wednesday but return by the evening. The temperature was due to be between 19 – 21 C, which I can deal with—overall, pretty good.

As the evening arrived, I spotted a couple of carp show along both margins. Two of them were way beyond my swim boundaries, but the other one was pretty close by and looked quite nice. There was a good chance it could move out from under the trees and pick up my baits. We shall see.

Darkness fell quickly this evening, and I was soon in my sleeping bag wondering if one of my rods would rattle off at some point. Two nights—it’s certainly nice to have a change of scenery once in a while.

I was up just before 4:00 a.m. for a wee, as always. I worry about what will happen if I get a run one night around that time and I have my waders on. Age is on my side currently.

I sat up, watched the water and had a brew. I may have spotted a carp, but I’m not 100% sure. Something definitely stuck its head out.

By 5:00, I felt that getting my head down was a good option. I’ve been pretty tired over recent weeks due to being up most nights when fishing the Airfield Lake. That’s the trouble when they are all night-time takes.

I woke up again around 8:30, much to my surprise. I must have needed that sleep after all—still no signs of Mr. Carp.

At 11:20, another carp topped along the right-hand margins. With no activity over the past 18 hours, I felt that I had to move one of my rods off the baited area over there. It’s a shame sometimes we’re not allowed to use three rods because it would really help on occasions like this.

I changed over to a 12mm Fruit Zing pop-up and walked around there to catapult a few boilies about. I also did the other rod at the same time, as it felt like I needed to switch over to a 20mm Classic Corn wafter as well. Just these little changes can make all the difference sometimes.

At 3:38 a.m., the left-hand rod was away. For a split second, I thought it was a tench, but alas, it was a new stocky from last year. Well, I didn’t blank, but I was hoping for something bigger.

10lb 5oz Mirror

It’s also actually nice to catch mirror carp.

At 5:06, that rod was away again, and I had to laugh. Amazingly, it was yet another stocky. I know you can’t pick which carp picks your bait up. It’s definitely funny now, but it’s still a carp and I’ve yet to blank on Meadow this year. It’s particularly fishing hard at the moment, mostly due to the carp having yet to spawn, which is amazing considering the weather conditions lately.

9lb 6oz Mirror

It’s the future of the lake, and they are mirror carp, which we are lacking in this water.

With the rod back on the spot, it’s coffee time.

At 7:00, after seeing a few carp topping at range in the middle of the open water area, I reeled in the right-hand rod, clipped on a 5oz lead, along with a fresh pop-up, and blasted it out there in the hope of getting myself another bite and maybe a better stamp of fish.

My plan is to start a slow pack-up around 9:00 a.m. and move into a day swim by 10:30 until after lunch. The weather isn’t the best, but it will have to do.

At 8:00, I’ve now moved the other rod into the open water. It’s crazy out there with the number of shows happening, considering I’ve only seen four top in the previous 48 hours. I’ve probably seen or heard over 15 this morning. It simply just has to go off at some point or another. 

At 9:30, still seeing carp out in the open water where my rod has been cast, I’m now planning on giving it an hour and a half from the last show, which is about 10:15. Everything is down except for my bedchair and bivvy, which is a quick job. The wind has picked up and is now whipping through here from the northwest. When I get back tomorrow morning, I need to be in this area, but maybe using zig rigs, as I’ve spotted a couple on the surface. I can only hope.

At 10:15, Ian arrived, and we had a chat about what to do. My wife had kindly agreed for me to do another two nights having a social with Ian if he fancied doubling up in this swim. Unfortunately, he didn’t, but he would first check the Airfield Lake just in case the swims he fancied were not vacant. Within about five minutes, he was on the phone saying that the gap swim was free and the conditions favoured this swim better over the next few nights. That was me moving over to the other side of the lake. I was planning on coming back down tomorrow anyway as the conditions were going to change quite dramatically over the next 24 hours, so doubling up with Ian solved that issue. I could go home, take my wife to the hospital, and then go back to the lake without having to pack down and set up again. All parties were happy, and there was a good chance of a bite.

I let Ian pick which side he fancied fishing as he was in the swim first. Plus, I’d already caught something this trip. He would be on the right, and I would be on the left side of the swim. I flicked the marker rod out and found a lovely silty area, then put out three kilos of a mixture of 15mm and 20mm Classic Corn Boilies, and then wrapped the rods up. I still had to do the hospital appointment with my wife, but at least I was all set up and ready to go. The rain was due to arrive around 3:00 a.m., and I’m not sure if I would have bothered going in all that rain.

At 6:30 p.m., I was back on the lake and quickly got the rods out on the spot. Fingers crossed something happens tonight.

The first night in a different swim was bream-free for myself and Ian. The conditions are absolutely perfect: southwest winds with a good blow, overcast and rainy. The pressure is 1005 mbs and falling. One of us is going to get a bite at some point today, I’m sure.

At 11:45, Ian was leading about trying to find something better for him to fish when my left-hand rod burst into action. This carp was coming straight into the bank and towards the net until about 50 yards out. It turned and headed left, doing its best to get under the overhanging trees to my left. I had to quickly step over the other rod and sink my tip as deep as possible, applying pressure to guide the fish out of there and into my swim and under the rod tip. I had a nice group of lilies in front of me that it proceeded to get in and out of several times, but I kept its head up as much as I could until it was in the clean area just in front of me. Then, it was safe to finally get the net under it.

18lb 15oz Common

That will do me. Once Ian had finished sorting his rods out, I reeled in the other one, put on a fresh hook bait, and blasted them back onto my spot.

The rain was pretty much on and off until around 4:30, then it settled in for the night. The conditions are looking absolutely awesome, and I can’t quite believe we haven’t had any more carp today. Hopefully, tonight will bring them on the feed.

At 9:40 p.m., the right-hand rod was away. I gently pumped the carp into the swim. It took some time, but it stayed in the middle. It headed to the left, as they do, and this is where having to wear glasses on a fine drizzly day doesn’t help you. The other rod gave a couple of intermittent bleeps, nothing to indicate that I had picked up the line. Where the carp wasn’t diving down was just to the right, but it slowly became apparent that something wasn’t 100% feeling right. I decided eventually that I needed to pull the line off the other rod just in case it had actually wrapped itself over that line, as I simply couldn’t gain any ground on the fish. I’d see the flash of the fish, and it was a mirror with a big tail, giving it the power no doubt, but it was stuck in that spot. As I reached down to pull some line off the spool, ping went the hook.

I checked how loose the clutch was on the other rod, and the line should have been able to peel off easily. Plus, it would have pulled the lead in a bit. The bobbin had only moved about three inches. I’m not really sure if it was wrapped around the other rod or caught on a lily stem. Unfortunately, my glasses were wet, and at dusk, it wasn’t easy to tell. I can only put that down to bad luck. I’m not sure if I could have actually done something to help the situation.

I reeled in the other rod, wrapped them up, put on fresh hook baits, and put them back out the best I could in the dark. Fingers crossed for tonight.

At 1:45 a.m., the left-hand rod was away with a lovely mirror, but another recently stocked carp. I must admit, this will be a stunning fish in the future.

8lb Linear

Just as I was wrapping up my line, Ian’s left-hand rod burst into life. This turned out to be a 6lb 12oz tench.

With all the rods back out, it was now time to get my head down again. 

At 4:10, my right-hand rod was screaming away as a carp was belting out into open water. I picked the rod up and started to walk backwards and forward, and then backwards again, slowly pulling the carp into the swim. Hopefully, it was heading off to the right and over or under Ian’s lines, not sure which, but it certainly picked one up. It had also gone through a weed bed, and I had to just keep the pressure on until the fish kicked itself free. It then headed into the lilies to the right of Ian. By now, Ian was up and picked his right-hand rod up and stripped off the line so I could play the carp in with no restriction. By now, it was clear it had picked up both lines, so Ian did the same with his other rod. We had discussed that doubling up here would involve something like this with a big fish on. Let’s hope it was the case, as I hadn’t seen the carp yet, but it felt good.

It finally broke the surface. It looked big. Let’s hope it makes the net since the previous one didn’t.

Despite all the issues early on in the fight, it slipped into the net first go. Happy days. I got my line at the rod tip and cut it off, giving Ian the freedom to sort both his rods out while I let the carp rest and sorted out the camera and weighing kit.

34lb 4oz Common

Superb result and I’m glad I continued fishing this week. I should say thank you to my wife firstly for letting me carry on fishing, thanks to Ian for staying on here and picking a different swim to the one I started in and to myself for making the effort to move swim, simply to have a social.

We both got our rods back out, and I got the coffee pot on, as I doubted I would be able to sleep.

It’s very nearly packing up time for me, and the chance of another carp is fading. However, this trip has been full of ups and downs and great laughs, which is really what it’s all about.

At 9:05, I was in full swing of packing up, with everything almost all sorted except for the bivvy and the rod. The skies were starting to look like rain, so it would be rods before the bivvy, just in case the rain arrived. I was walking back to the rods, and the left-hand rod tip pulled down, and the buzzer burst into life. I quickly grabbed the rod and started to pump the carp in. I asked Ian if he could reel my rod in slowly, just in case I had picked that line up. As it turned out, I had. We sorted that out just in time to sink the tip to stop the carp from going under the right-hand trees. I had to also avoid the lily pads. The carp charged through one lot, but I was gaining ground and soon had the carp under the rod tip and began to play it out. It wasn’t having any of that and dove into the pads in front of me. I got it out of there, and it proceeded to head right into another set. Eventually, I was winning the battle, and the carp was wallowing on the surface heading for the net. I couldn’t believe my luck—another lovely carp.

26lb 4oz Common

It was definitely time to head home now. I suggested that Ian put his rods on that spot, as he had yet to catch. By tomorrow lunchtime, he could easily end up going home with several carp.

Get out there, catch a few, and have some fun.

Until next time,

Richard

P.s

I didn’t quite expect to be here within the following 24 hours.

 

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