Burrows 'A Ghost In Winter' Part 5

So my escapades continue and my obsession is compounding with every day that goes by, work has been hectic but it seems however busy I am I just can't shake the desire to be out on the bank. I work in music so I spend a lot of my time flying around the country, the one thing that makes the hours pass is my continued analysis about my angling and thoughts about the waters and the possible tackle items I may want to purchase in the future. Add both bait and blogging into all the above and my mind is just full of fish. The symptoms of bank side withdrawals really seem to kick in when I pass any stretch of water that rests so temptingly along side the motorways. I look at them with wonder, visualising where I'd fish, picturing secret monsters elusively avoiding capture.

So after a few weeks that felt more like a millennia, I was able to get myself back on the banks of Burrows and I was more than fired up to get the carbon contorting and hopefully unearth one or two more diamonds. Since my last visit things had changed a lot, I was now having to get my winter layers on, the cold was penetrating right down to the bone, winter was clamping down on everything in a pretty big way. Defiant, I had to keep on going, there was no turning back, from the very start of this winter stint, I'd made up my mind that I had to see it right through to the bitter end. As long as the coffee was flowing and I kept busy on the bank, I felt I could ride it all out with minimal discomfort.

This was the session that I was going to be putting my new approach into practise, my tackle was stripped right back, 12ft rods were now 8.5ft, rod support was now a single tripod and the carp care kit was a protective chub cradle and unhooking mat. It wasn't about the luxuries anymore. Today I wanted to stay as active on the bank as possible, introducing minimal bait on up to four different spots and slowly rotate between them. I'd been thinking hard about this method and I couldn't get any real rest until an ample amount of time was dedicated to it. If all goes well I decided that it would be an approach that I would incorporate into my general fishing throughout the year. 

Towards the end of last season I was starting to sense a 'predictability' in my approach to some of the waters that I'd been fishing. During these periods I feel that I am simply going through the motions rather than really thinking about the task at hand. Incorporating a mobile approach into the armoury was something that I felt I needed to keep me on my toes. I believe that different waters all respond to different things and I always like to dedicate a solid amount of time trying to find out exactly what these things are. 

Rotating Spots 'A Summer Shot To Warm This Blog Up'

That's why I've never got on with the idea of turning up to every venue, spodding out kilos of bait, casting to it and proceeding to sit there for 72 hours waiting for the fish to eventually find it - "this doesn't feel like fishing to me". Only doing day sessions I need to maximise my time and really focus on the finer points, baiting approaches and location being the two most important aspects. "A single bait in the right place pays far more dividends than 10 kilo in the wrong place".

So, with all the above fresh in my mind it was now time to put my thoughts into practise. Just like my last session, I arrived at the lake for noon, it was a cold overcast day with the odd break in the clouds, this allowed the sun to momentarily appear, giving a slight rest bite to the bitter air. I'd decided to target the far side margin opposite the muddy double swim. This time though, I was going to be fishing literally a few yards out from the rod tips. Because I was using minimal bait it was going to be so much easier if all I had to do was throw it by hand a few yards in front of me. Also I'd be lowering the bait in, not casting it, the whole point was to fish without any kind of disturbance. Priming more than one spot and very carefully lowering it in made total and utter sense to me.  

Scaled Down Tackle For Staying Mobile

The swim I'd chosen was one of my favourites, it very rarely gets fished, it's obscured by trees and overhanging branches. There's a long row of steps gently descending down, once at the bottom you have the whole bowl end to explore. Today the lake was empty, if there had been people over the other side in the muddy double, I would've fished elsewhere. My plan was to fish the margins either side of me, it shelves down deep close in and I had a gut feeling that a few carp might be ghosting around.

One thing that I always take in to consideration when fishing close in under the trees is debris on the bottom. It's common sense that through the years leaves and branches would've fallen into the water and slowly broken down. I was planning to fish just on the edge of the debris with a small scattering of bait. One of my rigs of choice for tackling moderately littered lake beds is the 'Withy Pool' rig, it's an effective presentation that I've caught plenty of fish on. I fish it on both a semi-fixed lead setup, or rotary style. With chods and stiff hinged rigs taking precedent now days the humble 'Withy' seems to have sunken into obscurity. 

View From The Steps

My bait of choice today was the ever faithful Tutti Frutti, you just can't go wrong with this flavour, over the top I was going to apply a handful of mixed pellet and some broken up Caribbean boilies. The free offerings amounted to about two handfuls, this was more than enough to attract a passing carp, I really didn't want to over do it. Before casting out, this baiting mixture was added to four more marginal spots, the plan was to fish for an hour and then move, I was going to repeat this process, rotating between each spot, hoping I could steal a bite or two.

Regarding my rig, its construction is very simple, I was using Rig Marole 'Skinful' with the coating stripped back just under the silicone that creates the 'Withy' curve. This ables more free movement, and on a feathered cast naturally pushes the hook-bait away from the lead. On the coated part of the braid, I rub in some tungsten putty, this is to ensure that the hook-link would be nicely pinned down to the bottom. I created the curve by steaming heat shrink tubing around a narrow glass, doing the curve yourself allows you the option on how aggressive you want it. On the hook is a small 'stopper', not only does this give a 'blow back' effect, by changing its position, changes the angle of the hook in relation to the bait, again, I make the angle as aggressive as possible. 

Thread The Bait On To The Micro Swivel

Finished Presentation

I always critically balance my pop up rigs, the main reason for this is because I want to slow down the descent of the boilie and, secondly counter act the weight of the hook, the rig needs to comfortably come to rest upon any debris that might be on the spot. Finally I use a micro swivel to attached the bait, this allows the hook to spin 360 degrees making it a very sensitive presentation.    

When I cast out I always put a PVA nugget around the hook and compress it, this will delay the descent of the bait allowing the lead to settle, once the PVA nugget has dissolved, the bait will gently flutter down, combine this with the 'critically balanced' element and you can sit confident knowing that you're fishing effectively, when tackling, light weed, leaves etc, your presentation can really play on your mind, especially if no bites are materialising. 

All these small little touches add up to make a reliable 'bigger picture'. I've been accused in the past of thinking about rig mechanics way too much, but I believe you have to really focus on this aspect of your angling, it's the last few inches that can make or break your sessions. As I've said many times before, nothing has to be complicated, just reliable, functional and suitable for the situation that rests in front of you.

On With The Session

Taking everything above into consideration, I lowered both my rods on to my first two spots, applied my freebies and perched myself on the steps, the kettle was soon boiling, the simple joy of cupping my hands around a nice warm mug of coffee was looking to be a fine moment. The day was dull but beautifully vivid, I was surrounded by pastel colours, the water mirrored its surroundings, I just sat in silence with my attention firmly focused towards my rod tips. 

There was an excitement running through me, I was eager to see if my new roaming approach was going to bring rewards. I'd set an alarm on my phone for an hours time, then I would move to spot two. I would continue this process until it was time to leave. I really didn't have to wait very long for a bite, thirty minutes in and my left rod ripped away, I was somewhat surprised and as I grabbed it I was hit by a huge sense of achievement, all the little pieces of the puzzle that I had been stitching together in my mind instantly came to fruition. 

The fish was fighting hard and really put my little margin creepers through their paces. The rod handled the fish beautifully and before I knew it I was eyeing up an incredible looking mirror carp, without a doubt the best looking fish I'd ever caught from Burrows, the water never ceases to amaze me, it can have a habit of throwing up some real surprises. 

That's the great thing about having a good few years of a lake behind you, it takes you on a journey and with each fish caught, your picture expands, gains colour and you see it in its 'many forms'. That's why I think that solely targeting big carp can leave you with a hollow impression of a water.

Through the years I've met so many people that "only want to catch the big fish", and then move on. This outlook seems a shame too me, you never really get any insight into any of the lakes that you choose to fish. I think 'fishing for numbers' can leave you with a very simple 'blue print' of a lake, and you can miss out on acquainting yourself with some of the more unique character fish that could be hidden in the shadows.

Beauty In Its Wildest Form 

After the capture I upped sticks and moved to my second baited spot, it was pretty clear that there were a few fish down my end of the lake. On Burrows, if carp are present, you can pretty much guarantee a bite within the first 45 minutes of casting out. Making my way down to the second swim, I made sure that I was as silent as possible, if a few fish were milling around, I didn't want to spook them. This approach was all about stealth, trying to steal a bite from right underneath your nose.

View From The Second Swim

As you can see in the image above, I wasn't fishing very far out at all. There's a steep slope that shelves down to around 9ft, just as it starts to slope up you hit rock and gravel, landing on this transmits a solid "DONK" through the blank of the rod. If you can get your bait on the bottom of the shelf, you're definitely upping your chances of a pick up, and as I felt for the drop, I could feel that I'd landed on the hard stuff. Due to the bottom that I was now fishing over, I changed both rigs to bottom baits, still opting for the ever faithful Tutti-Futti.

I was hoping that a few fish had already moved in and cleaned my sparse free offerings up, with this in mind, I put a light scattering of pellet over both baits, gently set the rods and took a rather uncomfortable seat in the undergrowth. Again, twenty or so minutes in and my right hand rod tore away, scrambling down the bank to grab it, I very nearly ended up falling face first into the water. The fight was frantic and I really had to hold on hard to stop the fish from getting in the sunken snags either side of me. A few minutes of lunacy passed before I ended up netting my second fish, it came in the shape of a perfect looking common carp, scales sunk to a smattering under 17IB.

A Short Range Common

The approach was working well and as I moved to my third spot I felt pretty dam confident I could steal another bite. I repeated the process, shifted my gear and very quietly positioned my rods, applied a handful of pellet, and again, hunched awkwardly down in the undergrowth. Time was gaining some momentum now and as the day evaporated into mid-afternoon, I sparked the kettle up. 

It was starting to get colder, the wind was picking up and things felt desolate. I sat it out for just over an hour with no luck, so I got my things together and proceeded to my fourth and final spot. The plan was to stay until after dark, being one that's always on the search for isolation, the prospect of the sun setting, leaving me shrouded in darkness was a vision that I just couldn't pass up.   

View From The Fourth Swim

Again, the process was repeated, baits were placed and a small amount of pellet was added. Had any carp moved in during the day? my mind was racing, without a doubt, fishing in this way keeps your excitement/expectation levels sky high. You really get a sense that "anything could happen" and the fact you're staying mobile really makes you feel like you're working the water, instead of just sitting and waiting, hoping that a fish might come your way. 

The sun started to set, the sky looked electric, both light and dark blues engulfed the world overhead, the remainder of the sun lit the horizon up like gold. It's a these times I really get a sense of just how microscopic we as humans are, within ourselves, our worlds and in our minds, it's as if we are infinite, but on the surface of the earth, we are simple pin pricks in existence, microdots. Firmly anchored to the planet, I sat in darkness hoping that one more fish might just be on the cards.

A bleep from my right hand rod pulled me back from my trance, another small bleep upped my heart rate, there was a tiny light from one of my bite alarms now showing me the way, shortly followed by a screaming frequency... Fish On ! leaning into it, I could feel it was heavy, it plodded and pulled, I guided it gradually towards me, cushioning the lunges as it went. As I got her in close I switched my head-torch on, giving my eyes a few seconds to adjust, a big common suddenly came into focus. As she slid onto her side in front of me, the landing net mesh engulfed her thick frame. Scales fell to 23IB.

A Common After Dark

What a result, this session had been one hell of a journey, I started at the bottom of the bowl end of the lake and finished at the bottle neck. The approached worked better than what I thought it would, on top of this, it really felt like I'd earned every fish, and I know that if I'd stayed static on a spot all day, I wouldn't have had this result. As I stated in the first part of this blog series, "the less active the fish become, the more active you have to be". 

As I packed up and made my way to the car I once again felt really optimistic about my future sessions, I started to think of all the different waters that I could try this approach on. Little did I know it, but it would be a long time before I could get back down Burrows again. Through the coming weeks my work was to accelerate and I simply didn't have anytime to fish. 

The next part of 'A Ghost In Winter' will be the final chapter, I've really enjoyed recalling all my sessions, and looking back I had a pretty dam productive winter. Fishing all year is extremely important to me, I always find that I learn so much and your perspective continually shifts and grows. Everything you've learnt can then be applied when the warmer months take over. An anglers journey never ends, it's constant and, for me, that's my main motivation, never to stop, to keep going, there is no such thing as 'The End', it's just a continuous set of new beginnings. 

FINAL CHAPTER WILL FOLLOW SHORTLY 

Burrows 'A Ghost In Winter' Part 4

One of the great advantages in writing about my angling is that I get a chance to look at it all from a distance, this allows me to clearly understand what I've done with my time spent on the bank and what path I'm going to take in the future. I only seem to experience a true sense of clarity once the process of writing and recalling has been completed. 

The moment I press the 'publish' button, it's like setting a ship off to sail, within the final moments before departure, you then get a true sense of whats been constructed, and as it sets sail or takes flight 'whatever metaphor you chose to use' it's now free to become whatever it's destine to be. It's at this time I can use whats been written to plan my future sessions, catalogue mentally what's worked well and develop a few areas that I feel were lacking.

What I mean is this.. when I look back through my winter sessions on Burrows I can see that I was thinking in a proactive way, adapting, changing and trying things that I'd usually sit on for a good while before putting them into practise. I've managed to catch some really nice fish and I think this is because, basically put, "I was doing the right thing", so obviously I was going to get "the right result". This demonstrates how adapting and always trying to be progressive in your thinking can make all the difference, it's too easy to stick to just one way of fishing. 

You simply can't do the right thing and get the wrong result - and visa versa. If you're continuously not catching on a venue and you're fishing it in exactly the same way every time you go, change one thing, and repeat this process until the bites start, sometimes the simplest of things can make all the difference, any change you make needn't be complicated, simplicity is always the key. Combine this way of thinking with confidence and conviction in your own choices and I'm willing to bet the worm will slowly turn and with time, you'll landing net mesh will be gracing some gifts.

Getting To The Job At Hand

This blog is going to account for a short day session, it was during this period that I got very busy with work so I had to slot my angling in when it was possible. This time around I'd decided that, to a degree, I was going to replicate what I'd done previously, the only difference being that I'd moved one swim up to the left. You can get away with fishing this area of water literally a few yards out. I call this swim 'The Spit' because it resembles a narrow walkway that branches out further than the rest of the bank side. 

I personally love this spot, when you walk out to the end of it, you're surrounded by water, the view is incredible and when the wind blows hard, it's as if you're at the apex of a mountain, you feel so isolated, many times I've got myself soaked and blown sideways standing on its edge whilst wrestling a carp. Directly under your nose it shelves right down to 7/8ft and has proved to be a pretty successful patrol route in the past. With the cold wind shifting the water, I visualised the carp lurking in the deep. 

Face To The Wind On The Edge Of The Spit

On the day of the session I arrived for noon, it felt brutal, you could really feel a knife in the wind, it was cutting. This already got me thinking that my vision of the carp haunting the deep channels could be right, I felt pretty optimistic. I'd decided I was going to be sparse with my baiting approach, I really didn't think the carp would be up for feeding much, maybe if at all. 

My bait of choice was Caribbean boilies that I'd soaked in Tigernut & Maple glug, they were very potent and I knew 100% that if fish were visiting the area, they'd find them hard to resist. Over the top of each rod I was going to put a handful of multi-mix pellets that had also been soaked in the same glug. I'd left the pellet soaking so it was just on the edge of breaking up, I wanted them to almost disintegrate whilst they were passing through the water columns, not only would this create a wide area of attraction, it might also pull any fish in the mid to upper layers down on the deck, or at least in the rough area of where my baits were.

An Anomaly On The Landscape

Rods were set, I was fishing tight to my back leads, bobbins were literally touching the blank, I'd set everything up so it was as sensitive as it could be. The kettle was on and the waiting game had now officially begun. I took a moment to think about my previous sessions, it felt good to be concentrating on one lake. As most know who read my blogs, I have a lot of waters on the go at the same time. I think putting all of my attention into one lake, 'especially in winter', was the right move, it allows you to go through a much more systematic process. 

A Single Mini Spomb For My Left Hand Spot

Winter time is all about giving yourself the best chance of catching, even though it can be a rather lonely period, fishing through the colder months is vital for me to continue to gain knowledge and understanding of angling as a whole. The bigger picture you create for yourself on the bank, the more chance you have of being able to tackle any water that you might come across in the future. If I'm not learning I don't feel like I'm fishing right, each time I walk away from a session I make mental notes of everything that I can use to my advantage on future outings.

View From The Swim

Along with both glugged boilies and pellets I'd topped off my hook-baits with some of Krystons Doppel-Ganger. This is a very versatile substance that comes in a variety of colours, it's super buoyant, flavoured and best of all you can mould it into any shape you choose. In theory I was fishing a mini 'snowman' style presentation, I wanted that little bit of buoyancy to counter act the weight of the hook and again, present something a little different to your standard round shape.

Topped With The Doppel-Ganger

A few hours passed with no action, this alone proved that the drop in temperature had without a doubt effected the fishing. But as we know, this is all part of the puzzle, I knew what I was doing was spot on for the conditions, I just had to wait it out. On the upside, I was the only one on the water, the colours around me were vivid and both me and the landscape were taking a good old beating by the elements. 

I decided to take it all on the chin, keeping the brolly packed away, I took pleasure in inhaling deep, clean breaths of fresh air, combining that with an immense intake of caffeine, I was pretty high on life, the thought of a blank didn't bother me at all. On the other hand, the thought of me having stayed at home to not soak all this up, that just wouldn't have been an option.

Suddenly my right rod was away, totally taken by surprise I grabbed it, composed myself and I was soon "back in the zone", the few hours of no action were soon forgotten as, after a solid fight, I was staring into the eyes of a lovely mirror, draped in its winter skin. It was a lovely mid-double, I didn't weigh her, a few quick photos and she was back in her watery hideaway, what a tidy little result.

A Spirited Mid-Double Came Out Of Nowhere

The rod went straight back out on the same spot, along with a handful of bait. Back-leads and bobbins were reset, all was calm after the momentary chaos, the kettle was back on and I was sitting once more staring in trace over the water. The wind started to ease and the low sun shone brightly, I sat thinking about angling, the excitement, the expectations and the sheer buzz you get when the alarm sounds. 

I find every time I get a run I experience a 'time shift' effect, you can sit for hours and days waiting for a fish, the second the rod goes off, all the time spent waiting simply vanishes within a few seconds. On experiencing the capture and of course, the release, it's as if you're refuelled for 'the wait', you get a feeling of optimism as you recast, re bait and once again take a seat. Patience is a beautiful thing when you're in pursuit of carp, patience has to be mastered and as mentioned before, one of the main foundations that lies within patience is confidence in knowing that you are giving yourself the best chance of getting a bite.

Late afternoon arrived, all was quiet, I hadn't seen any evidence of fish, I was thinking about packing up but this thought was soon erased when I heard the bobbin on my right hand rod smack onto the blank. I was in, the rush in my gut erupted, time once again became irrelevant and I proceeded to battle with a ball of chaos that was weaving around the water in front of me, I held on, let the carp blow its load and soon netted a moody looking common. Once again, I didn't weigh her, she was a good mid double and very much welcome.

A Perfect End To A Session

Once again I felt it was a pretty solid session, it was clear to me that things were starting to slow down. This however was not going to put me off, I believe that carp are catchable all year round but you have to change your view point on how you're going to go about catching them. My gut was telling me that there were still fish to be had. My next session was going to be the start of my mobile approach, as the fish get less active I need to make sure that I keep busy on the bank. Both location and baiting correctly is going to be vital if I expect to get any kind of result.

As I made my way, once again, along the muddy path and up to the carp park, the whole complex was deserted. The sun had set, it was very eerie, I packed the car and decided to walk back to a point where Burrows could just about be seen through the trees. I felt connected, and at the same time, totally alone, for all I knew there could have been a nuclear war raging, but I had no interest in the outside world, it's something I find hard to be a part of at the best of times. I knew I'd found my place years ago and as long as I'm by the water then I know everything is ok. 

There's No Place Like Home

CLICK HERE FOR PART FIVE

Burrows 'A Ghost In Winter' Part 3

It was a week or so before I managed to get back on the water again, work had kept me away, but during this time I'd been thinking a lot about how I wanted to approach my future sessions. Firstly I was done with "the muddy double" swim, I'd had a solid result but I felt that if I was going to stand a chance at catching some of the better fish, I was going to have to pick my spots wisely, I didn't want to retread old ground. 

"I'd like to point out before I start that I'm aware that some of you that read this may fish Burrows and think "what the hell is this guy on about, it's a runs water", and to a degree that is very true, if I wanted to load the far margin up with bait and sit on it, I'd have plenty, but I don't have a great deal of interest in approaching the water in this way. I'm searching for the diamonds, the bigger fish that haunt the place. I've had many productive sessions fishing it in a predictable manor, but this series of blogs is not about fish numbers, its about fish quality and exploring the water a great deal more than I have in the past" 

Part of my winter planning was to chop and change things around, I didn't want to play it safe, I wasn't going to learn anything if I carried on adopting the same approach. This went for both bait application and the spots I was choosing to target. You only gain a wider knowledge of what's in front of you by exploring all the options available. Some of my best results have come from the sessions when my intuition has completely overridden my literal thinking. You'd think that with all the years of fishing the lake, I'd know pretty much all there is to know, but I don't see it that way. There are so many variables within carp fishing, almost too many. I believe the carps behaviour changes constantly, especially on pressured waters or venues that don't have a closed season.

Theory Time - Please Bare With Me

"A pressured fish never has any time to really act naturally, there's always lines in the water, piles of bait set to create an ambush, and of course, angling activity on the bank. The older fish have seen everything there is to see, time and time again, and I believe that they constantly adapt and change their habits to survive, to feel safe, it's a natural instinct, not only in carp but in humans to. How many times do we hear that "X" fish hasn't visited the bank for "X" amount of months or even years? It isn't 'luck', I believe it's the sign of a creature that is so acutely in resonance with its own environment that it naturally  adapts and changes accordingly"

"I first started thinking about bigger carp in this way when I read Lee Jacksons book 'Just For The Record', 'The Quest For Two-Tone'. The aspect that really stood out to me was when he first started to fish Conningbrook. The carp were very visible and they had their habits, a fairly simple approach seemed to bank most of them. Once they'd been caught a few times, their habits changed, they didn't show in their usual spots, the majority of the time they didn't show at all, and as time went by they became harder and harder to catch. Was This Luck On The Carps Side? no I don't believe it was, I think they'd wised up and obviously adapted to their now, new environment, and proceeded to exist with far more caution than before. Even when it comes down to feeding, why is it certain fish can "get away with it" and others seem to get caught all the time. I don't believe it's a conscience thought on the fishes part, I think again, it just comes down to instinct and experience... I know this sounds crazy, I might be giving THE CARP way to much credit, but I find that if I think like this, you are keeping your mind open to every possibility, and in doing so you're more willing to grow and adapt as an angler." 

So, going back to my original point, I don't believe you can ever learn everything there is to know about any of the waters that you fish, especially when/if the carp are constantly shifting the goal posts, which I believe they do .. a lot, but, of course there's always going to be the odd exception to the rule.    

Mystery Returning

Back To The Session

On revision, nearly all my good fish have come from the channel that runs down the centre of the lake, it really doesn't get fished a great deal. In the deepest part, you're looking at about 9ft of water, all my bites have come from between 5.5ft and 7ft. I visualise the channel to bare resemblance to a valley surrounded by gradual fields that gently slope down either side. I was looking to place my baits on both sides of the channel, in roughly 6ft of water, too me this felt like a good depth to be fishing in. In my mind it was the perfect 'middle ground', especially if the carp were swimming in the mid-layers down the centre of the lake.

With all this in mind, come the day of the session, I was fired up to get down to the water as soon as possible. I arrived on the bank around 8:30am, I took a relaxed look around, there were no signs of fish anywhere so I proceeded with my plan. I headed to the centre of the lake, put the kettle on and got my rods sorted out, I didn't use any marker to find my exact spots, I could pretty much judge by the drop on both casts that I was in the 'ballpark' area. 

My chosen bait was Green Lipped Mussel, I know that this type of bait is favoured more for the warmer months but I've done very well on both this and other fish-meal based baits in the colder conditions. My bait application was going to be the complete opposite of last time, I was going to fish heavy, creating a nice spread of bait all around both zones. Whenever I use fishmeal & GLM baits despite the time of the year, I fish them heavy, it always seems to feel natural to apply them in this way. It's the milk protein baits that I have 100% confidence in using, when fishing with singles or minimal bait.

GLM & Multi-Mix Pellets

To create a little more attraction around my hook bait I was going to fish small PVA mesh bags. Each bag would contain crushed GLM boilies and mixed pellet, the pellets I favour are designed to breakdown fast, even in cold water. Along with the added attraction, this would also create a nice fleck of colour which I hoped would help to encourage a bite.

A Nice Tidy Package

Once both rods were in position I started to apply my bait, I spread it all around both spots, I wanted bait distributed over a fairly large area in different depths and, at least two handfuls were applied a good few meters away from both hook baits. My thinking behind this was to hopefully pull in any carp that might be mooching around on the bottom and at different depths, patrolling along the slope of the channel. Even though it was cold I had a gut feeling that I might be able to get a few fish competing. Again, I'd like to point out that all of these decisions were acted upon intuitively, I didn't want to entertain my conscience thought in any way. "It was a gamble - but I was willing to go with it" 

View From The Swim

As I placed the bobbins and finally took a seat, I was feeling pretty optimistic, the temperature felt slightly up compared to my last two sessions and it felt like it might just be enough to help produce a few more bites. And with this thought, my right-hand rod was off, I didn't even have a chance to get poetic, slightly stunned I leapt for the rod and I lent back into something that felt pretty dam heavy. The fight was short and before I knew it I was staring at my first carp of the session, it lounged in the landing net mesh, looking as perplexed as I was, "talk about a quick bite". Scales fell to 20IB.

As Clean As They Come

To be honest I was taken by surprise, my system didn't have time to compute the fact that I'd managed to bank a real good fish so quick. "Maybe some of my far fetched theories weren't so nuts after all". It's only as I sit here writing this, looking at the image of the carp above, do I realise what a truly awesome catch it was. It was yet again another example of why I've spent minutes, hours and many years, perched on the banks of Burrows. I truly did 'unearth a diamond' with this one.

Once she was returned I got the rod back out and baited up with another generous spread of boilies. My left rod was still perfectly perched, waiting for a passing fish, I just left it as it was, I knew it was primed for a bite. I finally had time to take a seat and soak in my surrounds, everything appeared very still, almost too silent, I could feel that the world around the lake was in hibernation, even though a few shrubs and trees still had some green leaves on them, you knew this was all so very temporary, they were simply the last survivors - "maybe I was to".

A single bleep off the right hand rod broke my day dreaming, a second bleep upped my heart rate, before I knew it, it was flying away again. Sliding down to my rod, I lunged and grabbed it, whatever was on the end was darting around all over the place, I could feel it shaking its head furiously, it surfaced, it was a mirror that looked none too pleased that she'd fallen for my ambush, eventually winning the battle, the mesh slid under a lovely mid double common, I didn't weight her, she was a monster in her own right.

Future King Of The Water

I love fish when they're wearing their winter skin, they always look so vibrant when the days are dull. On returning her I repeated the process, another large offering of boilies with the rig cast gently over the top. That spot was obviously working for me, still, the left hand rod was yet to go, I felt confident that it eventually would so once again I left it where is was. As I sat back down my mind started to wander once again, I decided to spark up another coffee and made a concerted effort not to get too tangled up in my thoughts. I watched the water, the clouds and the coots, you can always rely on the coots to put on some kind of performance, this helped the time pass fluidly.

White, No Sugar

A few hours past, all was quiet until out of nowhere the left rod took off, "took off" is an understatement, it was a ferocious take. I was on the rod fast, still the fish had taken so much line and was edging closer and closer to the far margin snags. I held on for dear life and the blank creaked as it bent double, it felt like a good fish. We had a wrestling match that seemed to last forever and I struggled for a while to really feel like I was in control of the situation. Eventually I won the battle and another good looking mirror slipped its way into the net mesh. Scales fell to 21IB 6oz, I was blown away.

A Winter Wanderer 

Once again the fish was perfect, not only does it go to show that trying something different can pay off, it's also a perfect display of the fact that Green Lipped Mussel base mixes can still get you bites in the colder weather. I usually have a 'default' way of thinking when winter comes, "surly it's the season for the sweet birdseed mixes and the ever reliable fruity milk proteins". This session was proving otherwise and I was going to take this all on board for future winters to come.

Both spots had produced and they'd produced very well, I'm glad that I was able to tame my obsessive mind enough to think clearly on how I wanted to approach the session. After this fish I was in two minds whether to pack up, I was obviously on a roll and when you're getting gifts from the gods, it's rude to turn your back on them. I decided that I was going to sit it out until after dark, I had an hour or so to wait, I felt like witnessing the closing of the day, one of the continuous highlights of my angling existence has been under the summer sun and below the winter moon, these are two polar opposites that fit so perfectly together.  

The day retreated and within a few minutes I was surrounded by the dark, the clouds became heavy so there was literally nothing for the retina to focus on. I sat tight with me eyes squinting in the direction of my rods, I was hoping the sound of my alarm screaming would provide me with navigation. All remained still, and it continued like this for a good hour before I saw a light in the darkness. My right hand bite alarm gave a small indication, the LED shone like a landing beacon and then stayed constant as the rod ripped off. 

I stumbled down to the rod, flicked the head-torch on and lent into the void, the clutch ticked, I was in to something and it felt pretty solid, it took line, it was heavy, the fight continued for a good few minutes before I eventually netted a really good looking common, there's something slightly sinister about playing a carp in the dark, I find it to be so much more sensory because you're going by what you're feeling rather than what you're seeing, once in the sling the scales sunk to 23IB.

23IB Common After The Dark

I was slightly stunned, three twenties in a session is good going, taking into consideration that they're not exactly in abundance in this water. This carp was an incredible way to close what can only be described an as amazing session. It goes to show that changing your approach over a series of short stints can really payoff, it always pays to experiment, "if you don't try, you'll never know". 

It goes without saying that I was excited to get back down again, I'd already planned how I was going to approach the next few sessions, again, it was going to be different. I was planning on staying mobile and gently feeding a few different spots up, rotating between them. This was an approach I've always wanted to try on Burrows and it felt like the right time to do so. As I struggled with the barrow through the darkness and up the muddy path to the car park, I felt like the diamonds that I was so eager to unearth were slowly uncovering themselves. I look forward to continuing to prospect the water, if I'm lucky I might even land a bar of gold. I'd like to leave you with a poem I wrote whilst on the bank called 'Bridges Fall'.

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