On my second session I continued to get amongst the fish. I’d popped down for a quick overnighter and using the same tactics managed four mid-doubles and two tench. This time Meteor cork dust ‘wafters’ did the business on a rig incorporating 15lb brown Sink Skin and a size 8 Covert Mugga hook. The fish fell from two different spots and were caught over a kilo of mixed 15mm and 18mm Meteor boilies.
My third session was certainly one to remember.
This time I arrived after work as I had seen some big fish during my last session and was sure they wouldn’t have gone very far. After having a good walk around during which I didn’t see much I decided to trust my instincts…
I set up in the same area and opted for the chod approach on two rods, baited with a CC Moore Meteor cork ball pop up. I fished one of my chod’s right in a weed bed, the other was close to a different weed bed but fished just off of it rather than in it. My third rod was fished with a CC Moore cork dust wafter combined with the same combination inside the Gardner PVA bag filled with Crushed Meteor boilies, CC Moore shrimp pellet and a little CC Moore Antartic Krill Meal. This rod was fished on a gravel hump that had produced well in the past and was an area that I was extremely confident of receiving some action from.
I fished over almost two kilos of boilies on the chod in the weed rod. This was my ‘all or nothing’ rod and I had the feeling that if there was a big fish in the area and it was hungry it would get on the spot and rip into the weed to find the boilies. The other two rods were fished with about half a kilo on each of them, just a light scattering. Darkness soon fell and I stayed up for a couple of hours listening for signs of fish. It was very quiet and I soon started to doubt my swim selection as darkness fell and I drifted off to sleep.
I awoke early the following morning and the lake was still very quiet. It was first light and I looked at my watch and made the decision to give it three or four more hours before leaving. After a quick cuppa, the doubts started creeping in and I began to worry that I might have made the wrong swim choice. Suddenly a huge patch of fizz appeared over the heavy baited area. I sat admiring several patches of bubbles coming up from that spot for well over an hour happy in the knowledge that there were fish feeding on the bait.
Scratching my head, a few doubts began to creep in and I wondered how well my rig was presented. I debated on a recast, but thought better of it, knowing full well it would probably spook the fish that were there. Another hour passed with no liners and no fish boshing or rolling but still plumes of carpy bubbles were still appearing over the spot.
I began to take the bivvy pegs out of the ground and slowly started to pack down, wondering if I should of used a bottom bait just off the edge of the weed bed. One of the rods then registered a slow take as the bobbin slowly rose up to the rod blank. Quickly, I was on the rod and pulled into a big weight. The Mirage Fluorocarbon began to lift out of the water and I could see a lot of weed on the line right the way down to the leader and the fish.
I wasn’t quite sure what I had hooked as a large ball of weed was covering the fish. The carp dragged me into weed beds and then went over to an island by which there is a mass of lily pads, desperately trying to do me in whatever it could find.
This was no match for the Mirage as it cut through the weed and pads like a Ninja’s samurai sword. I couldn’t believe it watching it literally tearing the pads to shreds and whilst still with the huge weed debris above the leader.
Finally, I managed to gain the upper hand and started to gain line and soon the fish was coming in closer… It was then I caught a glimpse of the fish’s flank boring deep into my margin, illuminated in the morning sunlight and I smiled as I could now see it was a chunk!
After a few more heavy ponderous plods the fish was in and over the net cord. As I looked into the net – removing a massive bundle of weed from the fishes head – I asked myself the question is it a 30 plus? A moment of doubt crept in as reconsidered its bulk as a really good twenty.
After sorting the unhooking mat, scales and weigh sling I was ready to find out for sure. As I lifted the scales slowly the needle went straight past the twenty mark and into the thrity zone, settling on 31lb 14oz to be exact! I was chuffed as I had trusted my instinct on this occasion and chosen to fish where I had seen fish on previous trips, and in the knowledge that I have personally fed the area quite a lot of the Meteor bait throughout the season and the baiting up had now paid off handsomely!
It just goes to show if you have established a bait from the start of the season, even when you have not fished the water heavily for a few months the priming of areas by putting a fair amount of the bait ensures that the carp will come looking for the food source and happily feed on the particular bait again and again (building their confidence). I feel that once they have a taste for the bait and gain this confidence they find it hard to resist.
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