This trip I have gone back into the same swim as before. I just had a feeling it was the place to be. I will just have to wait and see.
Same swim, same spots and the same tactics as before.
Let’s hope I am right, eh folks?
About 11.45, the right hand rod was off with a fish diving under a tree. I stuck the rod tip under the water, held on and slowly gained line. (What powerful fish these are.) Once under control, I played the fish out and safely hand a nice 20 lb 14 oz Common in the net.
I placed the retaining sling in the water and moved back towards the trees it had been feeding under.
Well my feelings where correct about this swim. Lucky me.
With the nights drawing in nicely, it appears that its that time of the year when I just about arrive at dusk and have to set up in the last light of the day. This is also where, if you have done your homework well in the Summer, you should be able to slip into a swim, check your notes and be happy that you are fishing a good area.
Tonight is the first of many where I will have to set up on the dark and pack up in the darkness of the morning.
If you are confident with your information you have logged down, you can even spomb out some bait but not too much.
So far this trip, the bream are still very active – unfortunately, as it can be hard work getting up through the night when Jack Frost had been about.
There will be a lack of photos on sessions like this one, so I may use the odd old one which is Wintry.
Well, the night passed with no carp and yet more bream. I did hear some fish topping which was very promising.
Today, I fancied fishing in one of the day snag swims. The wind has not settled down, so the conditions are still very favourable, the wind is still from the south and very warm. Unfortunately, it will swing round over the next couple of days, this is a pain, as I have been let out for a 48. This is very nice indeed and thanks to the family for that. I will just have to make the most of it. Any luck, it may be quiet, as all the angler’s who have been out may have used up their time, we will see.
I do love this swim, despite only having bream from here, it just screams carp.
With perfect margins left and right.
I have just dropped the baits down with a Versacast, a tiny bag and a good hand full of very crushed up boilies.
I am out for one of my short day sessions as the weather is still perfect. Unfortunately, there are 3 other angler’s thinking the same and are nicely tucked up in the perfect swims. How can you blame them? I would if I could.
After a drive and a look round. I think that may be the fish may have pushed down as far as the bottom bay. This is a day swim area and its behind the island which the strong S/W wind is pushing on to. I have looked at the area a couple of times before but I had not fancy it. However, with the wind pushing in, it was looking so much better.
So I flicked a couple of small mesh bag’s out, which had been filled with micro pellets and soaked in Krill & Tuna Oil for the best part of a month.
One at the back of a small island which is situated behind the main island.
The other rod was quite close, at one end of the bay it is full of overhanging trees and this would be a good area for the fish to rest up.
Both rod’s where fished pop up and with a Versacast filled with oil.
I crossed my fingers as I only have 30 minutes left before I need to get going, to collect the kid’s, you just never know.
Unfortunately, it was not going to be my lucky day today.
It’s been sometime but I am out night fishing on a Sunday. Hopefully this is going to be my plan through the Autumn and Winter months. It will be mostly on this like with the odd day pike fishing.
I have picked one of the point swims this time. According to the weatherman, the wind will be swinging around to the south and there is a nice storm pushing through over night. This should steer the fish up and I have been told they do move on the wind here.
This swim has a nice bay area with a small island to the right of me and open water to the right.
After a plumb around for the best part of an hour. I was happy with what I had found and felt that one rod would be fished on a nice 6 ft plateau with 8 ft around it. This would be a good start and the second rod would be fished at the back of the bay.
Just in front of the reeds where there was a nice clear area. I spomb’d out around 10 large loaders of ground bait and poloni boilies over each spot.
The ground bait was a mix of Bait-tech Poloni ground bait and the big carp method mix.
With a bag of particles and a tin of sweetcorn with a good load of Krill & Tuna Oil for good measure.
Both rod’s had pop’s up on with a Godman Versacast filled with the Hemp oil to add to the attraction.
And by now it was time to get the Ridgemonkey going for a nice bacon sandwich, with a cup of coffee, sit back and enjoy the view.
As darkness fell, I spotted a fish sticking it’s head out, not too far away from my left hand rod. This gave me a nice confidence boost before I got my head down. At around midnight, the wind started to pick up nicely and rattle the bivvy around a lot and I was still thinking of that fish. By 0230 and no signs of any fish including the bream, I finally drifted back off to sleep and woke to a couple of bleeps on the left rod. I quickly got to the rod and turned on a small pen light which I have in my pocket at night, so I can check what’s happening as I never remember to grab a head torch. The bobbin was up the top and tilting forward and holding steady. With another single beep, I grabbed the rod and pulled into a nice lump that was having none of it and headed straight into the open water and past where my right hand rod was. This was a good 70 yards away. At this point, I knew I needed to turn the fish and get it a bit more under control. There is a nice overhanging tree on the right side of the point, which would be a right royal pain if the fish got into the bay round to the right of me.
I had the rod tip under water and I was pumping the rod hard to keep it away from the tree. I could feel the fish fighting hard and I new that it was close to the tree and it finally broke water just the other side on the tip of the tree. Luckily, the water is deep at the front of the swim and I buried the rod farther underwater and pumped nice and slowly, the fish passed this danger point. It clearly knew this and powdered off into open water in front of me again. I thought I would have to repeat the process (clever bugger), unfortunately for the fish, I was aware of it though and put a good bit of side strain on. The fish was well away from the tree and after a good few more minutes of plodding up and down the margins with a couple more bids for freedom (under the tree) it was all over and I could breath a sigh of relief as the fish was safely in the net.
And it tipped the scales at 34lb 8oz and a new PB for me.
What a stunning long fish, which gave it all the power.
I checked over the rig and recast the rod and checked the time and it was 0515. With only 45 minutes before the alarm was due to sound, I just sat and made myself a brew.
