“FISH MAKE US LOOK LIKE IDIOTS”

THE beauty of fishing is that just when we think we’ve got it figured out, the fish tear up the rule book and make us look like idiots. My most recent match on the Jacob’s AC club lake in Liverpool was the perfect example. With the mild weather, I felt sure of catching carp and F1s in open water on the pole, but after three hours I’d caught next to nothing and was scratching my head.

I’d seen a bloke on the end peg catching in the margins, but the water was so clear, I just didn’t think that’d work. I could see a tin can on the bottom in my peg close in but with nothing to lose and feeling I had to give it a go, I fished the margins with maggots and in the final 90 minutes, caught over 50lb of small carp! What was annoying was that I finished with 73lb and only 80lb won so if I’d have clocked on to the margins a bit earlier, victory was possible.

So, why did those fish want to be feeding so close in? I can only think it was because this part of the swim was where they wanted to be, whether that’s down to the air pressure or because the water was the warmest here. It’s common for this to happen at this time of year and I should have seen it coming after the trip out I had a few days earlier.

I’d been filming a Winning Ways video with Andy May on Chester Lakes, fishing a big, deep old lake for roach and skimmers. The fish weren’t in the deep water and they too wanted to be in a certain depth as when we found them, there were lots of bites to be had. Lesson learned, I think!

“In the final 90 minutes I caught over 50lb of carp”