DES TAYLOR “Nothing better than this lake”
Nothing’s better than catching fish like this
LIFE is difficult at the moment, what with the virus, so every fishing trip for me right now is extra-special. I’m sure that’s the case for you too.
This week seemed even more special, though, because I’d gained permission to fish a small reservoir that had been stocked with carp 20 years ago. In all that time since, no outsiders had been allowed to fish it. A couple of the family who owned the water had cast in at odd times and caught a grass carp and a mirror of about 10lb, but that was a few years back. But I was free to go down there and have a session or two, just to see what I could catch.
I could have set up three rods on the pod and tried to empty the water, but I thought the venue and its fish deserved more respect than that. Instead I decided on a 1.25lb test curve rod, a float, 8lb line, a size 10 hook and three grains of corn… on just the one set-up, of course.
On my first trip a southwesterly wind was blowing into about 6ft of water in the margins, so that’s where I sat. It’s great that such waters are still around, and that some landowners will let you fish them if you ask them politely. A first trip to an unfished lake… that’s what dreams are made of.
I set the float overdepth with shot spread 6ins apart on the bottom so the hookbait would stay still where I had put in a handful of pellets and corn.
The occasional carp was showing in the waves and they looked good ones, too – dare I say maybe over 20lb? Then the float slowly sank, and my strike was met with a solid resistance.
At first the fish did nothing. After all, it had never been hooked before and was probably wondering what the hell was going on. Once it twigged something was up, though, it went off like a rocket and fought like a fish twice its size, which I estimated to be about 15lb – a lovely common. Later I had another of around 10lb, but I knew there were bigger ones in there, for I had seen them. They looked to be mirror carp, not the commons I was catching.
Not to be outdone, I arranged another trip to the water, which happened to be my last. The evening before I’d put a few pellets and corn into the same swim and rolled up the next day to see what was about. Within minutes I’d had another fish, again a common of about 10lb.
My mates will tell you I am normally a jammy so-and-so when it comes to catching big fish, but I thought this water was going to beat me… that was until the next bite of the day saw the clutch screaming and the fish reaching the middle of the reservoir before I could stop it.
This was a better one for sure. All I needed was to get it into the net. As it slid over the mesh, one of the most delightful commons I’ve ever clapped eyes on came into view, a fish over 20lb at a guess. As I lifted it up for the camera the sun shone out from dark clouds up above and captured the moment on film.
That was job done. I didn’t need to cast again, because that’s as good as it gets. In the past I’ve sometimes been greedy with my fishing, but not today. Quality trumps quantity!