Lots of fish for me!

Kingsland Small Carp Lake, Coates, Cambs

This was a midweek club match and I drew the noted swim, the one on its own on the end bank. It doesn’t always win, but it tends to produce more big catches than any other; it also tends to be where more fish are lost in the reeds than on any other.

The wind was Northerly, over my left shouder, which meant that this part of the lake was absolutely calm all day, while some of the swims on the right-hand bank had ripple, and it was there that Trevor sat, fishing floating expanders and, as usual, bagging up.

I had made up my mind to fish a simple match – basically cat meat over sweetcorn and pellet, in the margins, which usually produce for me fairly early on. However, within minutes of my starting it was obvious that small carp – around 2 oz each – were going to be a problem. There were millions of them, hitting the line, smashing onto the float, and nibbling away at cat meat. At the end everyone who didn't fish on the surface said they had the same problem.

My swim - in the calm part of the lake, but there were fish there.

A good start

Actually my first drop-in was at four sections out, with sweetcorn, in case fish were not yet close in, and it produced a fish of 8 lb, followed by one of 2 lb. I’d put bait into the margins – a little cat meat one side and sweetcorn on the other, and a switch to these found the tiny carp. But occasionally a bigger carp muscled in on the lefthand swim, and I took two more.

Back out, and another couple of three-pounders came in. I found that using my normal Xitan 12 with puller certainly landed them more quickly than I had on the previous visit using my margin pole with no puller. But I couldn’t get more than two or three fish from a swim before having to move to another swim. After a couple of hours I managed a fish from my righthand margin, and the rest of the match I swung back and forward between the three swims.

I couldn’t see much else being caught, but Trevor stuck at his surface fishing – he was holding his pole well above the surface – so I guessed he was catching well. On the bank to my left they appeared to be struggling in the calm water.

My fish now were mainly between 2 lb and 4 lb, and I kept hoping for a double-figure fish. Dozens were swimming around under the surface, but floating expanders failed to interest more than the odd one – and as soon as I tried to mug a surface fish it turned tail and vanished. The sun was out by now and I had to give up all attenpts at nicking these big fish.

Sweetcorn was best

I was now using sweetcorn, as it seemed the tiny carp were not quite so interested as they were in the meat, and I found it best to leave a swim for at least 20 minutes after baiting it – putting the bait in just attracted the 2oz fish. However I kept snicking the odd fish out. It was challenging – there was no pattern and each fish had to be really worked for, mainly by twitching the bait no more than half an inch, either by pulling it sideways or lifting it.

With a little over an hour to go I went for a third net. Peter and Trevor and Mick were already on their third nets, so I guessed I was not going to win! Oh, the shame of it – in the favourite swim as well!! Terry very kindly made the point as we weighed in, later.

Then, with one minute to go, from the righthand margin, I hit the fish I had been waiting for! It felt large and lumbering, barely moving, though I was sure I hadn’t foulhooked it. I should immediately have pushed on a fourth section, and perhaps a fifth, but I left it on three sections and it drifted towards the side rushes, slowly putting such a strain on the pole I couldn’t easily add another section. Before I knew it the fish was in the reeds and I felt the scraping as it buried itself. You all know the feeling...

Stupid boy!

A determined pull and it started to come out...then went solid. I went to my holdall for my extra-long landing net with hook on the end. More often then not this enables me to hook the line, pull it straight out from the reeds, and the fish comes out. At the very least I can get back my float. But I then discovered that I hadn’t got it with me. I’d put it in my other pole holdall a week ago! Stupid me.

So I was forced to pull the elastic by hand at an angle and the inevitable happened – it broke. Meanhwile the shout had gone to end the match and I’d lost the biggest fish I’d hooked all day. My fault of course, but it was the only one that I’d had trouble with.

Mick Linnell topped the 'ton.'

Peter Spriggs took his fish on paste.

Peter B in the corner had very few fish, but they were big, and he weighed 41 lb. Peter S next door fished his usual paste well oput and took 129 lb 13 oz, which I knew I couldn’t beat. But I was surprised how difficult it had been down the rest of this bank, in the calm, with one angler weighing 11 lb and another 15 lb.

My first net, which I had registered 40 lb on my clicker, was almost 52 lb, knocked back to 50 lb;  I know I tend to understimate weights, but I must have forgotten to click one or two. Next was 46 lb 7 oz and the final one 22 lb 3 oz – total 118 lb 10 oz. Trevor, inevitably, won with 160 lb 8 oz; he is a real all-rounder and would do really well on the Open circuit if he chose to go there.

The result, showing how difficult it was in some swims.

Winner Trevor Cousins.

Bob Allen couldn't fish but came to add
up,  and write down, the weights

I manage third place

I was third, and should have stayed fishing farther out from the bank, where the small carp were less of a nuisance. But I’d had a really interesting day trying to get the carp to take the bait – a lot of the time the bites were quite delicate, rather than the tearaway pulls that I often get here. So all-round a good day for me and I lost only four fish all day, the other three of which came adrift within seconds of my hooking them.

My next match is a weekend visit to Six-Islands on Decoy, where I think the wind direction will determine where the fish will feed best. At the moment a warm North-Easterly is forecast - an unusual combination for the UK. An Easterly is so often the kiss of death in Winter and Summer alike, but we've had it for several days now so perhaps the fish have got used to it. A lot of the lake will be sheltered from this wind, so it's anybody's guess where the best pegs might be.