Three Choices, One Bay, and an Eighteen-Pounder

It’s not often you walk onto a carp lake and find yourself with options — real options. Not the “one free swim nobody wants” kind of choice, but the sort where you actually stop and think for a moment, weighing up which peg might put you in front of the fish.

This week, luck was on my side. Meadow Lake, usually busy at the best of times, had space. Three swims stood empty, all of them with potential.

The wind was the deciding factor. A stiff south-westerly was pushing across the lake and piling straight into one of the bays. This wasn’t just a lazy breeze — it had that warm, pushing quality that can transform a swim. In my head, the picture formed instantly: coloured water pushing into the margins, food drifting in on the current, and carp using the cover of wind-chopped water to feed without fear.

Decision made.

I drove down to the bay and quietly dropped my bucket behind the peg — the unspoken way of claiming it before anyone else got the same idea. The sky was low and moody, the kind of grey that hints at a change. The wind carried the smell of damp leaves and distant rain, and as I stood there, I caught it — the sound of water breaking in a way that isn’t caused by wind alone.

A minute later, my suspicions were confirmed. Two carp showed. The first was a lazy roll, the second a cleaner, head-and-shoulders push through the surface. Both were in the zone I’d been eyeing up.

That was all I needed to see. I’ve learned over the years that when the carp show themselves like that, you don’t waste the chance. But at the same time, blundering in and thrashing the water with leads is the quickest way to make them vanish. This needed to be handled quietly.

The Silent Search

Rather than reach straight for a rod, I dug the Deeper out of the Tuff Boxx. It’s not something I cast about blindly; for me, it’s a tool to be used with precision. The trick is not to disturb what you’ve already found. I made a single, controlled cast well off to one side of the shows, letting the wind take the Deeper on a slow, natural drift across the water I wanted to map.

This is a method I’ve honed over dozens of sessions — using wind and patience to let the Deeper do the work for me, rather than crashing casts directly into the prime area. Watching the screen, I could see the shape of the lake bed coming to life in lines and colours.

I started with the wide beam, scanning for any obvious features or marks of fish. Once I had the general lay of the land, I switched down to the narrow 7% beam to pinpoint what I hoped was there — a spot that would make all the difference.

And there it was: a clean, gravelly patch just off the edge of a thick weed bed. The kind of clear spot that carp love to skirt around, especially when they’re moving around the bay.

Setting the Trap

I’ve never been one for overcomplicating my baiting approach. The plan was my usual: a scattering of Nutrabaits boilies — some whole, some halved — mixed with soluble baits for a quicker release of attraction. Enough to get their heads down without filling them up.

Each cast would carry a Castaway PVA mesh bag, packed with crumb and micro pellets to add instant attraction right on the hookbait. I matched this with a 4oz flat distance Scruff’s lead — heavy enough to set the hook instantly, but still suited to the relatively short chuck needed for this spot.

By the time the rods were clipped and in position, the bay felt alive. The wind was properly hacking in now, turning the surface into a sheet of tiny peaks and troughs. Leaves and odd bits of debris drifted past the margins, all pushed by that constant south-westerly. It had all the makings of a big hit.

The First Night

Dusk on Meadow Lake has its own soundtrack. The coots start their bickering matches, the wind sighs through the trees, and somewhere far off, a moorhen makes its piping call. I sat with the kettle on, letting the warmth seep into my hands, watching the bobbins sway gently in the wind.

The first take came in that strange quiet before full darkness — when the last of the light has gone from the sky but the night hasn’t fully claimed it. The bobbin twitched, then lifted in a sharp, decisive motion. The rod tip lunged over, and I was on it in a heartbeat.

The fish felt solid but not unstoppable. It kited left at first, testing the line tension, before turning and plodding steadily towards the weed bed. A firm side strain kept it moving, and soon enough the head torch beam caught a bronze flank beneath the surface.

The net slid under an 18lb common, thick across the shoulders, its scales catching little flecks of light. Not a monster, but a fine, honest fish — the kind that still gives you that buzz when you unhook it in the net.

Hope Rises — Then Holds

That fish set the tone for my mood. With the conditions only set to improve over the next 24 hours, I was quietly confident. Everything felt right — the wind direction, the water colour, the temperature.

Morning broke with a sky that was neither fully clear nor threatening rain, a soft light spilling over the trees. I refreshed the spots, added a bit more bait, and settled back with the feeling that the next take could come at any moment.

But carp fishing isn’t a game that cares much for your confidence. The hours ticked by. The wind kept up its steady push, the water stayed perfect, but the alarms stayed silent. I watched the bay until my eyes ached, scanning for the flicker of a tail or the bulge of a back. Nothing.

By the final morning, I’d accepted that my one bite was going to be the only bite. The conditions had held, but the fish — for reasons I’ll never know — had decided not to. That’s the way it goes sometimes. You can do everything right, and still, the lake keeps its secrets.

The Walk Away

Packing up was slow, deliberate. I’ve never been one to rush off the bank, even when it’s been quiet. There’s something about that last look over the water — a silent agreement between you and the lake that you’ll be back.

As I wheeled the barrow into the back of the car, I thought about that common. Not the biggest fish I’ve ever caught, but earned in a way that means something to me: finding the fish, reading the water, and doing it with as little disturbance as possible.

I’ll take that over a lucky drop any day.

Until next time,
Richard

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