Another Week at Meadow Lake

I had quite a few gardening jobs to get through before I could even think about fishing, so I didn’t arrive at the lake until around 2:30 pm. By then the place was much quieter than it had been earlier in the week, probably because England were playing football that evening. Despite having been to quite a few matches over the years, football has never really been my thing, so I’d much rather spend my time sat beside a lake.

Ian had arrived early that morning, driven around Meadow Lake and settled into one of his favourite swims. Knowing I could always double up with him if every other swim was taken meant I could keep swimming. Before making my own decision, I drove around the lake to get a good look, noting where anglers were positioned and whether there were any signs of carp. After a quick chat with Ian, I wandered over to inspect the swim next door, which immediately caught my eye.

My choice was based more on the conditions than anything else. It offered plenty of shade from the hot sun and gave me several different spots to work with. Most of the recent captures had been coming from either end of the lake, but I was gambling that the increasing angling pressure there would eventually push a few carp into the quieter central section. Whether my theory would prove right, only time would tell.

Unfortunately, the weather had changed. The air pressure was climbing, temperatures were beginning to rise again, and, generally speaking, those aren’t my favourite carp fishing conditions. On the positive side, there was still a lovely breeze pushing across the lake, which kept things comfortable and hopefully encouraged the fish to move around.

For bait, I mixed up a generous helping of Jurassic Particles with 11mm pellets, Nutrabaits boilies and plenty of soluble boilies. I spread the mix over both rod positions and decided I wouldn’t be recasting unless I had a bite. The less disturbance, the better. Both rods were armed with EnerGize Corkie Wafters, one 15mm and the other 18mm.

At 2:05 am, the left-hand rod suddenly sprang into life. Half-asleep, it took me a few moments to gather my senses. At first, I wasn’t sure what I was attached to. Carp? Bream? Tench? As it came closer, my heart quickly sank—it was a sizeable eel. I wasn’t even tempted to weigh it, as I’ve never been much of a fan of eels.

The rig was soon reset with another EnerGize Corkie Wafter and sent straight back onto the spot. Hopefully that would be the last eel of the session, and the next bite would have a pair of scales rather than a long, slimy body.

Sleep didn’t come easily afterwards. I eventually drifted off around 5:00 am, then woke again at about 7:00 am. I think I was expecting the alarms to sound at any second, especially as carp had been showing regularly over the right-hand rod and continued to do so throughout the morning.

Ian wandered over with his morning brew after banking his second tench of the trip. It was good to catch up over a coffee and compare notes. My plan was to leave everything until around 1:30 pm, then topping both spots up with more bait in preparation for the second night, hopefully encouraging the carp to settle down and feed after dark.

At 7:45 pm the left-hand rod gave a couple of tentative bleeps before the bobbin bounced up and down. You just know when it’s a tench, and sure enough, that’s exactly what it was. Ten minutes later, the rod was back on the spot, once again hoping the next visitor would be a carp.

The second night passed without any further action. By morning, I had almost convinced myself it was time to head home. I even decided against staying for the planned third night because, if I’m honest, I just wasn’t feeling it.

However, after checking the updated weather forecast, it became obvious that staying on was probably the sensible decision. With another heatwave forecast for the following week, opportunities to fish comfortably could become few and far between.

At 12:30 pm it was time to get the Spomb out and top up the swim properly. I wish I hadn’t bothered. My shoulder quickly started to complain, and my accuracy disappeared with it. I’d say only about half the Spombs landed where I wanted them.

By 2:30 pm I’d freshened both rigs up, adding small Godman Angling PVA mesh bags to each cast in the hope of creating a little more attraction around the hookbaits. I also decided it was time for a change, switching to a 12mm Pink Pepper pop-up on one rod and a white Blank Saver hookbait on the other. Sometimes a subtle change is all it takes to trigger a bite.

At 4:55 pm the right-hand rod finally tore off… only for yet another tench to make an appearance. The carp were proving incredibly elusive.

The following morning I was up by 7:00 am and found Ian had thoughtfully left an unhooking mat photo waiting for me. At 3:24 am he’d landed a stunning 33lb 11oz common carp. At least one of us had managed to crack it, which certainly stopped the trip from feeling like a complete blank.

By 8:00 am it was time to pack everything away. It was Saturday, and family time comes first.

Although the carp never visited my net, it was still an enjoyable trip. Spending time with Ian, having a proper catch-up, sharing a few drinks and plenty of laughs made the session worthwhile. The only downside was having to contend with far too many tench and that one rather unwelcome eel.

Looking ahead, another heatwave is forecast for next week, which could leave me stuck indoors again. I’m hoping there’s at least a decent breeze like we had this week because it makes all the difference, both for the fishing and for simply being comfortable on the bank.

Until next time,

Richard

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