When the Plan Changes – A 42 lb 12 oz Meadow Common

I so nearly headed straight to Airfield Lake, but decided to drive around Meadow Lake first. Much to my surprise, only two anglers were fishing, so I thought I’d better take a closer look around before making my decision.

My choice of swim was largely based on which way the wind was blowing. I hadn’t seen a thing on the surface, and generally, I prefer not to know too much about how the other lakes on the syndicate are fishing. Otherwise, I’m far too easily tempted, especially when I know I need to focus on one lake rather than between two.

I do like to make at least one trip to Meadow Lake during September and October, though, just to get an understanding of how it is fishing before I spend the winter here. It’s about building a picture, watching the water, looking at how the fish are using the lake and, ultimately, getting a feel for what might be happening beneath the surface.

Having decided to stay, I would keep the bait approach exactly the same as my previous trips on Airfield Lake. I have complete confidence in that approach at the moment, so there was absolutely no reason to change it. The hookbaits would remain exactly the same too.

Nutrabait Mixed Size & Range of boilies, Jurassic Particles (Hemp & Buskwheat) alonf with a 24mm EnerGize Hardened hooker, in conjunction with Hobo Armour, with a small Castaway Pva mesh bag filled with Nutrabaits pellets.

I eventually settled on a small point, fishing out into a bay area that would receive the majority of the wind over the next 48 hours. It looked like the wind would steadily build and push into the area, and that was enough for me to give it a go.

By 9pm, I was tucked away in the sleeping bag. I was absolutely knackered after a hard week of gardening jobs. The day had been made even more interesting when I arrived home to find a plastic pipe had split behind the washing machine.

A quick trip to Screwfix, £2.45 later, and I was back home fitting the new connector. A quick test to make sure everything was watertight, and I was finally on my way down to the lake.

It had already been a long day, so getting into the bag by 9pm felt very welcome.

At 00:35, the right-hand rod gave a couple of tentative bleeps before pulling up against the buzzer and holding there.

I was straight out of the bag, picked up the rod and slowly started to pump the fish in. It was immediately obvious that this wasn’t a tench, but whether it was a carp or simply a fish buried in weed, I wasn’t sure. I hadn’t found any weed out there yet, but carp have a knack for finding whatever weed or snags they can.

After about ten minutes, it was still far from happy. It kept trying to head away to the left, so I eased the pressure on and slowly worked it closer towards the waiting net.

Eventually, I managed to get it within netting range and slipped a big old lump over the cord.

I thought I knew what I had caught, but at that point I just concentrated on getting everything ready. There was no point guessing until the fish was safely on the unhooking mat.

Once I had everything sorted, I lifted the net, and there it was.

42 lb 12 oz Common.

Happy days!

It was the big common.

I may have lost this fish a couple of years ago, and if it was the same fish, it certainly hadn’t got any smaller or any less mean. Seeing it safely in the net was a pretty special moment, especially given how close I had come to not making the trip at all.

At 05:07, the right-hand rod rattled off again.

This fish fought considerably harder than the first one, putting up a really intense battle and making me work for every inch of line. It was clearly a lot lighter than the common, but it certainly didn’t know that.

It took some time before I finally managed to get it over the cord and into the net.

21 lb 11 oz Mirror.

The second carp of the trip, and another very welcome one.

By now, though, I had hardly had any sleep, and I was beginning to feel it. Once the rain arrived, I tucked myself back into the sleeping bag and managed to grab a couple of hours rest.

A day with Ian

At around 10am, Ian popped in to say well done and ended up staying, fishing the other side of the point.

It was really nice to have a proper social. We haven’t had a decent one for a good few months, so it was great to sit down, drink a few brews, chat about fishing and generally put the world to rights.

That continued throughout the day and into the early evening.

We probably had a couple of glasses too many, but with both of us having a completely bleep-free night, it turned out to be the best night’s sleep I’d had for a good few weeks.

There really is something to be said for a full day on the bank, plenty of fresh air, good company and absolutely nothing going on.

Although I suspected all that fresh air would probably catch up with me eventually!

Checking the swim

With the wind due to pick up over the course of the morning, I decided to use the opportunity to drift the Deeper over the swim.

I didn’t want to disturb the area unnecessarily, so waiting for the wind to give me a hand seemed the sensible option.

I checked over the spots I had been fishing, and they were still looking perfect. The Maps+ work I had done before arriving had certainly paid off, and it was reassuring to see the spots were exactly where I wanted them to be.

I always enjoy drifting the sonar over a lake bed every so often. Things change, and carp have a habit of moving things around and changing the landscape beneath the surface. What might have been a perfect spot a few months ago can look very different later in the year.

It’s another small piece of the jigsaw.

Three nights well spent

I managed another very peaceful night’s sleep, and by now I was really glad I had decided to stay for the full three nights.

What had started with me almost heading to Airfield Lake had turned into a brilliant few days on Meadow Lake.

A 42lb 12oz common, a 21lb 11oz mirror, a proper social with Ian, plenty of laughs, a bit of fishing and, perhaps most importantly, some time away from everything else.

Ian had one more night to go, so hopefully he would get a nice reward for his efforts as well.

Sometimes the best sessions are the ones you almost don’t make it to.

Until next time.

Richard

Get 10% off Deeper with Code – RICHARD10