Meadow Lake – Rolling the Dice on the Weather

With rain forecast for Wednesday and my gardening jobs finished early on Tuesday, I was off to the lake. The only question was, which lake?

Rain was coming up from the south, but the wind was due to push through from the north. That would limit my options on Airfield Lake, and with my energy levels having been a little low over the past few weeks, I wasn’t particularly keen on tackling the track down from the tower. It’s far from flat, and barrows have been known to tip over along the way!

With that in mind, I decided to take a drive around Meadow Lake and see how things were looking. There were only three anglers fishing, which gave me a few options to consider.

Unfortunately, one of the swims I fancied had recently had a makeover. Until the ground settles down, it would be like a bog and potentially a little dangerous. I also looked at the swim I’d fished on my previous visit, but with the wind direction, I wasn’t convinced it was the right choice this time.

Instead, I settled on the swim opposite the one that had been worked on, hoping nobody else would choose it.

I’d be fishing a couple of spots that had produced carp for me previously. Admittedly, this isn’t the most productive swim, but it throws up the odd fish now and again, including one of my target carp. If you’ve been following my blogs, you’ll know this swim has featured quite a bit over the winter months, and it will be featuring again, along with another spot where I plan to introduce bait gradually.

For this session, though, I decided to get the bait in properly.

My mix consisted of my usual combination of Nutrabaits boilies and Jurassic Particles, along with a few 24mm EnerGize Boilies. Terminal tackle-wise, I went with Hobo Armour, stiff booms and Ronnie Rigs, finished off with 24mm EnerGize Harded Hookers.

The left-hand rod would be fished with a small Castaway-PVA mesh bag filled with Nutrabaits pellets and Himalayan salt, soaked in hemp oil. The right-hand rod would be fishing a single hookbait.

With the north-easterly crosswinds, I knew keeping everything 100% accurate could be tricky, and accuracy was going to be important. There was no point introducing bait to an area if I couldn’t consistently get my rigs back on the spots.

0126 hrs – First catch!

I was lying on the bedchair listening to the rain when the right-hand rod suddenly burst into life.

The carp surfaced a long way out in the pond. Thanks to the glow of the surrounding light pollution, I could make it out on the surface as it gradually made its way towards me. I’m not a massive fan of carp coming towards you during a fight, but the hook held firm, and soon enough, it was safely in the net.

30lb 5oz Common

A superb-looking carp, my first of the session and my first fish of October. I’d already had a great start, and with the odd carp still bosh-ing out in the distance, I felt there was a good chance of another bite before the heavy rain arrived.

0840 hrs – A little surprise

The rain had become quite heavy during the night, but by morning, it had eased to a light drizzle. The wind had also arrived, hopefully pushing a few more carp in my direction.

I’m sure there were fish tucked away beneath the overhanging trees, but casting too close to them in these conditions would almost certainly end in disaster. Sometimes it’s better to leave them alone and concentrate on the water you can fish confidently.

At 0840 hrs, the left-hand rod was away. Initially, I thought I’d hooked a tench, but as the fish came closer, it turned out to be a small, fully scaled carp.

I’m not sure whether it was one of the more recently stocked fish or a carp that had grown on in the lake, but it was a welcome addition to the session.

0917 hrs – A proper battle!

Just 37 minutes later, the right-hand rod burst into a screaming run, with absolutely no warning.

This one was a real hard-fighting carp. I was ready to net it on the right-hand side of the swim, but things quickly changed as the fish powered out into open water, passing underneath the other rod.

I ended up playing it out in the open, with the carp desperately trying to get underneath the overhanging trees and into the snags. I was having none of that, and on several occasions, I had to apply some serious pressure to keep it away from trouble.

Eventually, it began to tire, and I gently slipped the net underneath it.

31lb 7oz Common

What a cracking-looking carp! Two thirties in the net, and it wasn’t even lunchtime. Meadow Lake was certainly delivering, and I was more than happy with my decision to come here.

1230 hrs – Time to top up

With no signs of carp since around 0930 hrs, I decided it was time to get the Spomb out and introduce some more bait.

If I was going to tempt another bite during the afternoon or early evening, it felt like the right thing to do. The spots had produced, the bait was going in, and now it was simply a case of waiting to see whether the carp would respond.

Only time would tell.

0630 hrs – One of those mornings

A single bleep woke me at 0630 hrs, but there was no follow-up.

Instead, I was treated to an amazing, flat-calm morning, with mist hanging over the lake. It was one of those moments when you just lie there, take it all in and appreciate where you are.

Times like these remind you how lucky we are to spend time in places like this. The fishing is one thing, but being there to witness the changing conditions, the wildlife and the stillness of a misty morning is every bit as special.

1230 hrs – Stick or switch?

By 1230 hrs, it was certainly time to put fresh bait on the rods and consider whether to move one onto another spot.

I’m a little reluctant to do that at the moment because of the baiting programme I’ve got underway. I’ve been putting time and effort into these areas, and I don’t want to abandon that work too quickly.

I have been contemplating putting one rod along the margins to my right. Interestingly, that area hasn’t produced a bite for me from this particular swim, although I did catch from there a few winters ago when I poked a rod out from one of the day swims.

For now, though, open water is where my confidence lies. It’s what inspires me at the moment, and it’s an approach that’s been producing results. Sometimes you have to trust what you know, rather than change things simply because the action has slowed.

0519 hrs – Another one!

I was dreaming away when the right-hand buzzer suddenly started screaming.

Attached was a lovely Meadow Lake common, long and lean, with a huge tail that gave me a very hard fight right under the rod tip. It certainly made me work for it!

22lb 15oz Common

With it still very much dark, I settled back onto the bedchair, watching and waiting for the first light of day to arrive.

The wind had picked up overnight, and the rain showers had returned. For carp fishing, these were simply the perfect conditions, and I couldn’t help wondering whether there might be another opportunity before I packed up.

1030 hrs – Time to roll the dice

After spending some time studying the weather conditions for the next 24 hours, along with the forecast for the following week, I decided to roll the dice and head home.

It wasn’t an easy decision, especially when the conditions looked so promising, but sometimes you have to look beyond the next few hours and make a decision based on the bigger picture.

I’d had a cracking session, with three carp over 30lb among the captures, a smaller fully scaled carp and plenty to think about for my next visit.

The baiting programme will continue, and I’m hoping the time invested in these spots will pay off as we move further into autumn.

Fingers crossed it all pans out.

Until next time,

Richard

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