I must admit, I nearly didn’t bother going this week. After a run of scorching hot days, the thought of sitting lakeside in 30-degree heat with the carp sulking in the margins wasn’t overly appealing. Yesterday had hit 30°C, and the forecast promised the same for the end of the week, but today was a different story altogether—just 22°C, overcast, with a welcome breeze moving across the lake. A short break in the relentless heatwave. That alone convinced me it was worth a go.

Ideally, I’d have liked to fish Tuesday into Wednesday night, as the conditions then looked even more promising, but work and commitments meant that wasn’t an option. So I settled for Wednesday into Thursday. Sometimes you just have to make do with the window you’ve got.

I rolled up around 1:30pm, gardening jobs done and dusted, and immediately felt a lift in mood compared to the past few stifling days. To my surprise, the lake was almost empty—only three other anglers dotted around. I honestly couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen it so quiet, probably not since the winter months.

With so few on, I was faced with the unusual dilemma of choice. Normally, it’s a case of fitting in where you can, but today I could pick more or less where I liked. That made the decision oddly harder. I knew the temperatures were forecast to climb back up towards 30°C on Thursday and Friday, so I wanted shade above all else. With that in mind, I opted for a swim called Bird Hide.

There were a few reasons behind this choice. First, I’d heard that the carp had been holding up around the Plateau area, but with the pressure of several anglers moving in there, I doubted they’d stick around for much longer. Second, the Bird Hide gave me plenty of cover from the trees, which would be essential once the sun broke through. Third, it kept me at a good distance from the other anglers. I’d considered this area before, even thought about fishing to it from another swim, but never quite got round to it. It had been on my list last week, so now seemed as good a time as any to give it a go.

I baited up with my usual mix—pellets, hemp, a scattering of boilies, and a handful of solubles. Nothing fancy, just a solid mix that’s worked well for me recently. On the rigs, I stayed with hard hookers tipped with half a pop-up, a presentation I’ve grown confident in. If there were fish about, it stood a good chance.

The evening slipped into the night quietly. To be honest, given the dramatic shift in weather, I half expected some kind of action, but the rods remained motionless. That’s fishing for you. By dawn, I was up and about, scanning the water with a mug of coffee in hand. Sure enough, I saw a couple of shows not far from my baited area. Wasting no time, I reeled in and flicked a hookbait tight to where they’d broken the surface. I told myself I’d give it a few hours before the sun burned through the cloud. Once that happened, I suspected bites would be hard to come by until the evening.

Later in the morning, I noticed more activity on the left-hand side of the island. After some thought, I decided to move my right-hand rod across in that direction, just to hedge my bets. I introduced four large Spombs of bait over the top and topped up the other spot for good measure. It felt like the right move, but as the hours passed, nothing materialised.

By the time the session was drawing to a close, I’d come to terms with the fact that it wasn’t going to happen. Despite better-than-expected conditions, the carp simply weren’t having it. Sometimes you can do everything right and still not get the reward.

At 08:12, the bivvy was already packed away, and most of the gear had been loaded into the car. I’d set myself a 09:00 reel-in, as I had a list of things to get done at home before heading down to the beach with my daughter and her friends later. With any luck, the sea would be calm enough to get the kayak out. If not, I’d just have to sit it out on the sand, which I always find a bit dull—I’m not one for sitting still without a rod in my hands. My mates would no doubt tell me to take a bass rod along and make the most of it, but family time is family time. I like to keep that separate from my fishing.

So, no carp this trip, but plenty learned, and another swim ticked off the list.

Until next time.

Richard

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