With one of my gardening jobs cancelled, and it being a quieter Monday than usual, I switched my Wednesday work over and started early both days. By Tuesday afternoon, I was finally on the road down to the lake, although I honestly hadn’t got the slightest clue where I was going to set up. The weather had barely changed all week either — it’s been that cold I’ve even had the heating on for a few hours during a couple of evenings over the last seven days.

I was slightly put off by the bottom lake after last week’s effort. There wasn’t another soul down there, and, truthfully, it was very tempting to give it a go, but the conditions pushed me towards settling on my favourite island instead. Westerly winds were gusting close to 40mph, and there was absolutely no chance I was pitching up on the east bank. It just felt far too cold and exposed. The south bank swim on the first island, however, looked absolutely spot on.

I’d been thinking about giving the Co-De another proper go and had spent the last couple of months soaking a batch of boilies in the Co-De Activator. It finally felt like the right time to put them to use. While rummaging through the garage beforehand, I also discovered a 3kg tub of mixed Nutrabaits boilies and pellets I’d soaked over the winter. Combined with the last of my hemp and buckwheat, it felt like the perfect mix.

The plan was simple enough — fish one area heavily with bait while keeping the second rod much lighter, more as a trap on a transit route between areas. I potentially had the opportunity to stay for four nights if things went well, which wasn’t something I’d originally expected. In typical fashion, though, I’d only packed enough food for about three nights.

By 1530 hrs, the rods were out, and I genuinely felt there was every chance of an evening bite.

At around 2000 hrs, I had to recast the close-in rod after what was clearly a Tench bite. The conditions still felt absolutely perfect, though, and I went to sleep convinced a carp would slip up during the night.

At 0444 hrs, the same rod was away again — another Tench. Unlike the previous one, this fish actually stayed on.

After slipping the Tench back, I recast the rod, made myself a brew, tucked back into the sleeping bag and fell asleep before I’d even taken a sip of coffee. I slept heavily and only woke just before 0800 hrs, thanks to a Cuckoo calling loudly from a nearby tree. At some point during the night, the right-hand rod had produced a single bleep, but nothing more.

The rain had arrived sometime after 0530 hrs, which probably explains why I slept so long. Realistically, I could easily have stayed asleep for another couple of hours.

Today’s conditions are either going to work massively in my favour or completely against me. Westerly winds on this lake are impossible to escape from, and with temperatures still much colder than normal for the time of year, it could easily put the carp off feeding. All I can hope is that the fresh wind gets them moving.

Otherwise, this is going to be a very tough session.

The actual conditions looked perfect — it was just the bitter wind chill and the fact that the carp are clearly holding off, waiting to spawn. That, more than anything, feels like the reason they simply aren’t playing ball.

If by any chance something does pick up one of my hookbaits, I can only hope it’s a big old female looking for one final feed before spawning. It’s going to be tough going, though. From what I’d heard, I don’t believe a carp had been landed anywhere on the lake since Sunday morning.

All I could really do was sit it out and wait.

The right-hand rod stayed exactly where it was until the following morning, while the left-hand rod remained untouched after the Tench during the early hours. Fingers crossed for night number two.

Night two passed completely bleep-free. During the evening, I switched from solid bags to small mesh bags, simply to reduce the amount of bait going into the swim.

I gave things a lot of thought overnight — should I stay or should I go? The carp were clearly waiting to spawn, and the weather wasn’t going to improve anytime soon. In addition, this was my final session until June because of our annual camping trip to Wales.

In the end, I decided I had to stick it out.

There was no real reason to move. I’d seen and heard carp in the area and knew fish were present. All I needed was one big female to make a mistake.

By 1130 hrs, it was time to regroup and tweak things slightly for the final night. I switched over to a 12mm White Blank Saver pop-up and moved the right-hand rod closer in.

Friday — 0800 hrs.

Well… I completely got this session wrong, didn’t I?

There’s always hope during the final few hours, but looking back, I still feel I made all the right decisions based on the weather, the fish activity I’d seen, and past experience on the lake.

By 1030 hrs, I was slowly packing away, planning a 1130 hrs reel-in before popping round to see Ian.

Despite the complete lack of carp, it’s always a pleasure to sit beside the Airfield Lake, taking on its challenges, watching the wildlife, and simply being outdoors. The stars during the final night were absolutely incredible — it’s just a shame I don’t own the sort of camera equipment capable of capturing them properly.

Being outside in nature is something special, and something I think we all need far more of. I’m really looking forward to the upcoming camping trip to Wales — a full week of cooking over the fire pit, collecting wood, and enjoying the beautiful surroundings of Carmarthenshire.

Until next time,

Richard

P.S.
On the other hand, Ian had picked the perfect area for the conditions and managed two absolutely stunning 30lb-plus carp, along with another 20lber. Sometimes that’s fishing — you can do everything right and still end up watching someone else hit the jackpot.

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