Huge weight off the top (but not me) - Kingsland Silver

Kingsland Silver Lake

(Monday, June 25, 2018)

Another hot, almost windless day, on this lake, which is called Silver because it used to be full of silver fish – tench, bream, crucians, chub...everything except carp. Fantastic fishing. But then, one hot summer, they vanished, presumably they died. A local tragedy, really. But Richard put a few carp in there from his other lakes and they have gone mad. There must be literally millions of 1 oz carp and rudd there – put a single floating expander in and a circle of fry a foot across immediately attacks it.

That was a real problem in this match – cat meat lasted only seconds before it was torn off the hook by these fish. There were plenty of carp to 4 lb cruising around, and Trevor, in the righthand corner, where the very gentle breeze  was  blowing, made the most of it, targetting the carp with floating expanders and holding his expander in the surface – it’s allowed on this water.

 

Just a little ripple to my right, until the very end, when it blew into me.

I was in the first swim on the righthand bank, started on pellet waggler, and soon had a 2 lb carp. But although I patiently catapulted out 6mm pellets for the next half hour nothing else hooked itself, although the float bobbed around constantly from the attentions of the fry.

I then tried dobbing a surface-feeding carp, and hooked it immediately – about 3 lb – and successfully landed it. But although I kept throwing out floating expanders hardly any other fish approached. I wandered up to Trevor, and he admitted, after 90 minutes, to 60 lb. The fish seemed more willing to congregate in his swim.

Another wander round and Peter Harrison had some fish well out on a Method feeder with 8mm banded pellet, so I rigged one up. First cast accounted for a 3 lb carp, but then the wheels fell off – three casts; three fish hooked; three lost – two at the net. I checked the size 16 hook and it looked OK, but I decided to change to a size 12 with band. Oh dear, none in my box, so I tied a band to a size 12 Kamasan Animal, and was pleased it took no more than about a minute.

Out again, and another carp safely in the net. But then nothing for half an hour. So I had a real go with cat meat in the side , but never had a sign of a carp – although I hooked a few small fish about 2 oz. So it was back to dobbing an expander on the surface, and this brought another two or three  fish in the next two hours. Then the wind got up a little, blowing right into my face, and the carp suddenly appeared. I dobbed another seven or eight in the next hour until, with half an hour left, most of  the carp vanished.

When the carp went I should have had another try on cat meat in the margins, but stayed dobbing and tempted another couple of stragglers. In fact Peter, next door to me, told me that he caught virtually all his 35 lb in the last 20 minutes on cat meat.

Martin Parker's cap!

Trevor had six nets out.
Nice big platforms here.

Trevor had six nets out, and put 265 lb 8 on the scales – a brilliant performance in that heat. Peter and Martin, second and third, caught on the Method with a pellet – the one thing the fry couldn’t actually demolish. I will remember that in a few weeks when Fenland Rods have a Waggler-Only match on this lake. I was actually pleased, after sitting so long fishless, to weigh  45 lb 3 oz for fourth out of the nine of us.

 

The result - 7, 8 and 9 had our backs to the Small carp lake.
Pegs 1-6 were on the roadside.

The reeds here extend a long way into the water, so when you hook fish on a pole you have to shove on a couple of sections and play it for a minute in the open water. Then when it is well out, ship back quickly to the top two and grab the puller to shorten the elastic. I managed without losing a single fish in the reeds. One small victory on another boiling hot, difficult day.