Burrows 'A Time To Reflect The Truth'

"From The Second We Are Born, Two Sides Are Drawn" Paul Warren 2016

                                                   

Having been out on the bank a lot recently, 'taking into account it's now Spring 2016', a lot of anglers that seem to hibernate for the winter are once again venturing back out onto the banks. It's always a minor culture shock for me because on most of my waters through both late Autumn and Winter, rarely do you see another soul. It's usually at this time of the year when I start to reflect on things, it seems a natural thing to do. Everything is once again starting to bloom and grow around me and from time to time I wonder if I, myself, have grown a little to. For me the years seem to be racing by and most the time I feel like I'm living my life in a trance.  

With the warmer weather finally arriving and a new season imminent, I find the passive atmosphere that Winter fishing provides for me, disperses, and all of a sudden an undercurrent of competitiveness seems to rear its head. This is not in my imagination, it really just seems to be the way it is, I guess it happens in everything when a large amount of people are participating in the same thing. 
I've mentioned it a few times before, I'm not a competitive person, I don't go fishing to be 'the top rod' or try to catch all the 'biggest fish', too me that would be very dull. 

I understand that if you are taking part in a 'sport' then you have to ingest the hunger and perseverance to be the best you can be. For me though, angling isn't a sport, it's a hobby, competition just doesn't come into it. But with the way 'modern carp angling' appears to be going, a strange competitiveness seems to spill out onto the banks of most waters up and down the country. This to me is a real shame because it's all so very easy to be lumped in with this whole mentality.

I don't class myself as a 'modern carp angler', in the same way that I never classed myself as a 'modern drummer', actually I don't even class myself as a particularly good angler, I just get on with doing my own thing. Even in drumming there was a fairly large minority that tried to turn it into a sport. "Who can play the fastest roll", "who can play the fastest double bass drum". I use to sit back and ask myself, what has any of that got to do with music? the answer was simple, .. nothing. 

From my point of view it's the same with angling, we've all met the guys who are sponsored by endless companies, tell you that everything you are doing is wrong, has had loads of 30's & 40's, can cast further than anyone else, and has 'apparently' had a vast majority of all the big fish in the waters you're fishing. Fair play if that's what "said angler" wants out of his own angling, but why broadcast it? it's not a competition, but to a fair few people that I meet out there, it seems it is. It's fair to say that I have nothing in common with these kind of 'anglers', we might be participating in the same thing, but that's as far as the comparisons go. 

Simply Existing

I understand we all do things for different reasons and each of us are entitled to take from it what we feel we require. But the minute I personally feel like I'm in some sort of competition or part of the 'rat race/carp race'. I have to devise a way of removing myself from it. I remember when I went to a drum clinic a few years back held by a drummer called Jimmy Chamberlin, he was a player I had great respect for, he was classed as a 'drummer of a generation', I can vouch for that, his playing communicated to me like no other.

The first thing he said when he came out on stage was "if you've come to see me play really fast press rolls and lighting speed blast beats, you've come to the wrong place". In that one sentence, he hit the nail right on the head. For him, it was about the drums and their place within music, there were no over-inflated opinions of his own ability, he's a very humble human. I related to his statement so much, it shot me right through the heart, it wasn't about his ego and it wasn't about 'his' talent.

It was about the drums as an instrument and their relevance within music as a whole. I can relate to his statement so much regarding both my life as a drummer and an angler, it hasn't been easy. I started focusing on my angling and my writing after my mental illness got the better of me. After a god awful fight to get to the point where I could function again, I realised that if you get to a stage in your life when you don't feel like you have a reason to live anymore, you've got to give yourself a reason. 

You've got to fight and hold onto to something that will pull you up from the abyss, people that have never experienced what I'm talking about won't understand what I'm saying, you can try, but until you've been there yourself, you will never truly get it. In this situation you either let it beat you, or you get the hell up and fight. It was 'touch and go' for me, but I chose to fight. My lifeline came in the shape of a carp, angling has been the only constant in my life that I've always loved. I grabbed it when I needed it and held onto it tight, it eventually pulled me home.

Unfortunately though, I'm left with some very difficult symptoms as a result of what I went through, it doesn't get easier but you learn to cope, one of my main coping strategies is this very blog. When things get tough I fish and then I write, this whole blog was born from a point in my life I never want to revisit. It isn't a tool to try and get a career in the angling industry and it certainly isn't a platform to "big myself up" on, what it is, is my life line and the reason why I pull myself out of bed everyday and get on with what I've got to do. 

Taking into account everything I've said above, it might now make it pretty clear for people as to why I actually go fishing, and why I have very little patience with the back stabbing, bickering bollocks that seems to plague 'our' beloved pass time. I've been on the receiving end of some pretty nasty stuff, especially with the armchair anglers on social media that pass up being a twat as "banter". Like I've said before, think before you shoot your mouth off, you have no idea what people are going through.

To mirror the statement that Jimmy Chamberlin said, "if you've come here to see big carp after big carp, fancy tackle and rigs, and an example of me casting 200 yards onto a clear spot the size of an ashtray, you've come to the wrong place". For me, this blog is about having a voice in a world that likes to mute independent thinking, it's about the angling, the carp, the process and the journey, and maybe the odd monster along the way, it's really that simple. 

So With No Further Ado 

My alarm clock let wail at 5:30am and I was up and out the door within minutes, my destination was Burrows down in Snodland, Kent. I finally had the opportunity to get a long day session in and I just couldn't wait. It had been a while since I'd last taken a trip there and I was feeling inspired about getting back on its banks. Burrows is by far my favourite place to fish, mainly because of the stark, bleak landscape that surrounds me. It's situated deep within a valley, in the distance you can see scattered farm houses, fields and woods. I've whittled away endless hours on its banks for the past 10 years now and the prospect of fishing it still evokes a crazy amount of excitement.

Burrows In Bloom

A quick stop for fuel and supplies saw me 'high-tailing' it down the motorway at a barely legal speed. Rushing to the gates, unlocking the padlock, I was in overdrive, I felt like a junkie rushing to get my fix. Parking up and getting the barrow loaded, I calmed myself down and proceeded to take a very slow walk down to the water. Everything felt perfect, I instantly got 'flash-backs' of sessions gone by. I felt strangely sentimental as the branches were getting caught in my hair whilst I struggled along the uneven pathways, the quacking of the mallards was as loud as ever, and, above all, the smell, I smelt summer. It was one of those days when angling really felt like a gift.

There were a few anglers scattered about the lake so my options were limited, I decided I'd give the spot I targeted on my previous session another go. Taking into account that last time I'd had eight fish from it, I was hoping I could replicate the results. The other advantages of setting up in this swim was the fact I could get fishing quickly. I knew that 12.5 wraps put me perfectly on the spot. Before setting anything up I decided I was going to put a nice spread of bait out. I had the perfect bait for the job, Monster Squid, in the warm weather nothing beats the smell of fishmeal.

A Simple 'Blow-Back'

On a few of the waters I fish I know that at the right time of the year I can get away with putting a lot of bait out. Burrows is one of those waters, I know the fish tend to move around in groups and from experience I know that if you keep the bait going in. The carp tend to move in on it and if you play the cards right, you can pretty much keep them there. I want to get the carp competing, if you can make this happen then you can end up having a really productive day. After some serious throwing stick action I got both rods rigged up, wrapped and I was ready to go.

My rigs were both semi-fixed inlines, I was going to be fishing singles on the hair, no mesh bags or stringers. The hair was nice and long, I'm a big fan of long hairs, I think they produce very good hook holds. I always use a ring when I fish blow-back rigs, I personally think the rig performs better than if you are using a tiny piece of tubing in its place. Because the hair is long, before I cast out, I place a small piece of rig foam around the hook. This will ensure that the hair doesn't get tangled during flight.

View From The Swim

Both rods went out with ease and landed perfectly on the money, nothing beats a good cast. Back-leads were slide down both lines, the bobbins were set and I was now ready for the days proceeding to kick in. I felt super confident but I know all too well that you can't predict anything when it comes to Burrows. It has a great way of drawing you in and then kicking you in the nuts when you least expect it. Coffee was now on, I sat back and soaked everything up around me, it felt so good just being outdoors. To my surprise I was getting a few bleeps and liners from the off. It was clear that there were carp moving in front of me.

'Boom'... my right rod was away, line was tearing off the clutch, I pounced nearly falling headfirst into the water. First fish on, its initial run was momentous, steering her my way, she really woke up close in. After a short sharp moment of chaos, the landing net mesh engulfed the fight, first fish of the session was contained. Lifting the net out the water, I was greeted with a picture perfect example of a common carp, it was long and thin with a fair old paddle on it. I was very pleased, before unhooking the fish I left it in the net and got another three handfuls of bait straight out. If there were more carp there I wanted to keep them feeding.

A Classic Common On A Classic Bait

After a few quick photos I sent her home, I checked the sharpness of the hook, it wasn't doing it for me so a new hook-link was put on. The rod was wrapped and out it went, the second cast felt even more satisfying than the first. The bobbin was once again set and I was back in the wait, it's always a great feeling when you get a quick bite. Almost instantly I was getting indications of fish in the swim again, I sat back visualising the whole spot clouding up with silt and sediment as a shoal of carp were having a good root about on the bottom.

An hour or so passed, during this time I kept feeding the swim a few handfuls at a time. It really felt like the right thing to do, just like my previous 'Burrows' session, I was going for a 'big hit' and to maximize my chances, feeding 'little & often' was the right way to go. A little more bait had been applied, the left rod was the next one to go. Lifting into the fish I felt instantly that this was a little scamp, the take was erratic and I could feel it darting around and shaking its head like crazy. The fight was quick, fish number two was greeted with the net, it came in the shape of a lovely mirror.

Slate Grey

Once again, I checked the hook, it felt good for one more bite, the rod was wrapped and cast back out. I was on a roll, another few handfuls of bait were introduced, this time I spread it over a slightly larger area. I was thinking that if a good number of fish were out in front of me maybe I could draw more in. The more carp there were competing for the bait the better. The plan for the rest of the day was simple, if and when I get another fish I was going to stop introducing loose feed. I didn't want to fill them up, I wanted just enough food in the area to keep them poking about.

After a while of the rod being back out, the sun started to dish out some real heat, with the temperature rising all the liners slowly dried up. It was clear to me that the fish had temporarily vacated the spot. I had a feeling that it was going to do me a few more bites but I'd be looking towards mid to late afternoon. I decided I'd reel the rods in and go for a wander. If I saw evidence of carp now up in the layers I'd consider fishing zigs for a few hours. A good few of the anglers that had been fishing had now left so I pretty much had the place to myself. 

The Art Of Observation

I took a slow quiet wander around the lake periodically stopping and taking a seat, there weren't any clear signs of carp near the surface so I decided I'd ride the afternoon heat out and cast out just as it started to cool off. There are advantages to resting the swim, mainly it gets the lines out of the water, I was hoping that by the time my baits went out, a few fish would've moved back in. I whittled the hours away just 'hanging out', it was so peaceful and an ideal time to just let my mind wander. Soon enough the afternoon made its exit and I headed back to my swim to see if I could catch a few before I left. 

Rigged up and wrapped, both rods went back out, I didn't even have time to get my bobbin on the right-hand rod, it was practically away when the bait hit the water. The carp made a wild bid for freedom kiting tight to the right but I managed to pacify it just enough to start guiding it my way. Battle commenced and after a spirited fight, I teased another mirror carp over the landing net. There's nothing quite like a quick carp to get proceedings back underway. 

Taken On The Drop

The rod went back out, as explained before, no more bait was added, I knew there was enough attraction in the area to keep any fish grubbing about. The plan was to now maximise my chances before I called it a day, the days end was in sight so I was hoping that I could at least manage one last fish. There was a strange calm for about 40 minutes and then I started to receive liners off of both rods. Without a doubt, there was more than one fish now out in front of me. 

Sitting watching my rod tips I spotted a proper heavy jolt on the left tip and then it burst into life. The bobbin smacked the blank but the reel drag didn't kick in. The fish tore tight to the left, the rod was doing a great job of playing the fish before I'd even managed to pick it up. Lifting the rod, I was instantly connected to a crazy energy. The fish was tugging and darting all over the place. I loosened the drag, still staying in control, I let it tire itself out. Once it had 'blown its load' it really was the simple task of guiding it safely into the waiting net... Result!!

Fish Number 4 On The Monster Squid

Slipping the fish back I only had an hour or so left, I cast the same boilie back out, set the bobbin and started to pack away the non-essentials. I usually draw this process out for as long as I can, it was in the closing minutes that my right rod gave out a 'wail' and went rocketing off. Grabbing the rod, and having it arch around tight to the right, the fish had already made its way up the right side margin at a crazy speed. It never ceases to amaze me just how much ground a carp can cover in a matter of seconds. I held on, letting it tire itself out, before inching her closer and closer to the waiting net. She slid in with ease and I was lucky enough to close the session on a lovely looking common. 

A Closing Bite

It was the perfect way to bring the day to a close, it was a productive session. I think resting the swim for a few hours, without a doubt, had its benefits. Because I've fished Burrows so much you start to develop a sense and understanding of the way the fish behave and when they're most lightly to feed. I guess that's the advantage of focusing on one water. 

But to be honest I'm not the kind of person that would feel satisfied just sticking to one lake constantly. I do like to challenge myself and with each water you fish, your perspective is always changing. I find the more you can pull yourself away from your comfort zone, the more you learn and understand. I took a slow walk back to the car park, it was very quiet, once again, everything felt close to perfect. I had a heavy workload ahead of me, once done, I was sure that another water was going to come calling. Lets see where I end up. 

Until Next Time

Wick Mere 'A Royal View'

I hadn't really been in a rush to get back down to Wick, mainly because, with the woods closed, the going swims were pretty much on rotation 24/7. When I think back to the previous year doing 'days only' I literally drove myself insane trying to bank my first carp, I must of done at least 25 sessions before breaking through. It was really very simple in the end, you had to be on the fish to catch them and because the woods were closed, they grouped up in that area and pretty much stayed there. Two swims gave you access to where they were hauled up, when I managed to get into either of these swims, I caught. For those of you that keep up with my blogs, you'll know that it all came good in the end, but it was a very frustrating journey.

The Day Closing Over Wick 'Summer 2015'

There were some whispers that the woods would open up again once the water had drained so the trees could be felled. No one was certain exactly when this was going to happen, I felt that once the carps 'safe zone' had been taken away, it might start to push them back into actively patrolling the whole water again. Having spent so much time fishing elsewhere I suddenly had a 'calling' from Wick to get back on its banks. Instead of planning a long drawn out session I made the decision that I'd do a half day visit, sometimes a quick, short, sharp, shot does the trick.

One of the things that always gets me excited about Wick is the stamp of commons that it holds. They're dark, long and really hard fighting, actually, as I sit and write this, it's been reported that a 42IB common has recently graced someones net. It doesn't surprise me at all, the mere is fairly large and has so much weed and natural food for the carp to feed on. Give it another few years and I think it's going to hold a very large head of big fish. It's a water that I will always visit and I believe there are still a few surprises ghosting around in its depths.

A Memorable Wick Capture

On the day of the session it was humid and muggy, partially overcast with patchy drizzle. My carp senses were in overdrive, it felt so right for a bite and I couldn't wait to get the rods out. I had a feeling the 50 or so miles ahead of me were going to feel very long. My mind was stitching together so many different scenarios, I was really hoping that one of the 'going swims' would be available, if not I knew I'd be having to fish in 'no mans land'. It's a proper head-ache when the swim you're in is as dead as a dodo, but you can clearly see the carp partying in an area of water that you just can't reach. 

This can be a common experience on Wick, they're not afraid to show themselves, more times than not, they put on one hell of a display as they leap continuously out the water. I've counted up to 30 shows in the space of a few minutes, it's as if they're laughing at you. Times like these I have very little going through my mind other than, Carp-1 Paul-0. Today was going to be different though, I could feel it, and I was going to do my very best to get one of those lovely dark commons in my landing net mesh.

On arrival I was very surprised to be met with an empty car park, it was looking like I was going to have the whole of the mere to myself. The adrenaline kicked in, I proceeded to get the barrow loaded at an alarmingly high speed and headed down to the waters edge. I was afraid that my excitement was going to cloud my judgement so I took some time out and slowly walked the whole of the water. Everything looked so perfect, the clouds were moody, there was a light drizzle and the world around me appeared so vivid. Standing alone with only my dog Eric as company, I really felt like I was stood within a water-colour painting. 

As expected, the carp were putting on a show, a few leapt clean from the water just by the island. I counted four shows along the back end of the woodland bank. It was pretty clear where I needed to be, so I headed round to a swim that gave me access to both the woodland margin and the island. Once in the swim it suddenly hit me just how heavy the weed growth was, this was going to be really tricky, not just getting a bait in but also sinking my line properly without it getting embedded in all the surface weed.  

Swim Position

Before even contemplating getting a bait out I wanted to have a feel around the spots that I was planning to fish. I didn't want to dedicate a great deal of time to this, solely because I didn't have a great deal of time ahead of me. Also, if there were fish in the area I didn't want to be spooking them away. A couple of measured casts later I'd found a few spots where the weed wasn't too bad. Usually in these circumstances I'd fish a 'safe' helicopter system but this time around I opted for my 'pop up claw' rig.

Pop Up Claw Rig

The above rig can be fished on both a rotary system or a 'semi-fixed/running' lead arrangement. Today I was going to use a 'POM' lead setup, this is similar to the 'COG' but without all the 'bells & whistles', simply put, you have a secondary running swivel on your hook-link that connects to a grommet in the lead. The hook-link is a lot longer than usual and I find when fished in combination with a perfectly balanced bait, it presents itself perfectly over low lying debris and weed. 

Secondary Swivel Pressed Into Grommet

The advantage to this setup is simple, if you have to ditch the lead then you're able to do so. I don't endorse ditching leads at all, but on the occasions where it would be detrimental to the fish not to, then I'm all for it. Dropping the lead on every take just for the hell of it, in my mind, is bad angling practice. Due to the amount of weed in front of me I was going to need all the help I could get to land a fish safely. 

The actual claw of the rig is produced by simply steaming a curve into a full length of heat shrink tubing, how aggressive that curve is, is entirely up to you. The final element in my mind which makes this rig so effective is the micro swivel on the hook, this creates what I call "a safe 360" effect. Meaning that whatever direction the carp comes on to the bait from, it allows the hook to spin around and hopefully take hold. 

Micro Swivel In Place Of A Hair

The image below shows the finished presentation from above, if you can visualise the water being nice and murky with weed and debris fluttering around. From a 'carps eye view', it sits proud offering a tasty little treat that any passing fish would find hard to resist. It always takes me a little time to balance the bait perfectly, it's key to get the hook-bait to sink super slowly so it rests on whatever is on the lake bed, you don't want the bait burying itself and disappearing into a mass of debris. Finally this will be fished on a leader, again, I'm not a fan of them but with the amount of shelves and swan mussels that are in Wick, it has to be done.

A Carps Eye View

So, now with all the technical waffle out the way, it was time to get on with some fishing. With both rods rigged up it was now a case of getting them on the spots. The left rod was wrapped 13 times, this put me directly under some overhanging trees right at the start of the woodland bank. Due to the crazy weed out by the island, I found a clearer spot directly out in front of me, 10 wraps placed me perfectly on this. My bait of choice was Strawberry Mivvi, I decided I was going to put out two fairly large spreads. I wanted to try and attract some fish in, taking into account a fair number of freebies would fall into the weed.

View From The Swim

The rods were out, the bait was out and now it was time to sit back and take it all in. There's nothing quite like sitting back and putting your feet up when you're 100% confident in what you are doing. The coffee came out and so did the sun, here I was alone on the mere with a proper "Royal View" in front of me and one of those long dark commons that I always seem to dream of could be moments away from making its presence known.

Too my surprise the left rod flew into action whilst I was enjoying my coffee mid-gulp, I shot up spilling it all over me and lunged for the rod. The fish took off up the margin at crazy speed and managed to shoot headfirst into a lovely thick weed bed. I kept the pressure on, there was a slight jolt and as quick as it was on, it came off. I took the positive "there were fish in the swim". So I brushed myself down and got the rod back out, followed by three modest handfuls of bait. This time I was going to 'lock up', this would hopefully put the breaks on the take, giving me a better chance of avoiding the same thing from happening again. 

Eric Keeping An Eye On Things

The afternoon progressed and the carp activity increased, there were fish showing all along the woodland bank and around the island. My expectations were through the roof, I knew it was just a matter of time before I received a gift. As I sat clocking the activity around me a carp jumped within yards of my left hand rod, it looked like a good fish. I was willing it to find my bait, in preparation for what might occur, I hovered close to my rods, I really didn't want to lose another fish to the weed. Perched, striking hand at the ready pure poetry ensued. The rod arched round and it was away, I was on it like a shot. 

The carp tried to take the same route as the last one, immense side strain stopped it in its tracks. I kept the pressure on, the fish was giving me some serious stick but I held tight adjusting the clutch accordingly. Very slowly she was coming my way, weed was strung all up the line and I sensed that there was a fair clump attached to the end tackle. The rod was creaking, carefully I continued to guide her my way, quarter of the way out, the fish surfaced, I briefly witnessed a long dark back cut through the surface layers. The adrenalin kicked in, I had to land this fish.

The closer it came the thicker the weed, it was 'touch and go' but with steady and gentle pressure I managed to tease her over my net, what a relief!. Parting the abundance of canadian that engulfed everything, I was met with a beautiful dark common, a classic Wick mere specimen. I didn't bother weighing her but I guessed she wasn't far off 20IB. Size is irrelevant, it was once again the process of this capture that interested me. The presentation was right and so was the location, once again, a short, sharp session had produced the goods.

A Classic Wick Mere Common

The rest of the day retired itself to evening, no more bites came but I was more than happy with the result. I made my way back to the car as the sun was setting, the world felt somewhat perfect for the first time in a long while. Now I'd had my 'Wick Fix', my mind was already thinking about where I was going to head off to next. I was feeling that my next trip might be a little closer to home, it appeared that Burrows was now calling me back and it was a calling I wasn't going to pass up.

The Stock Pond 'The Time Thief'

A considerable amount of time had passed since my last session, I'd managed to get out on a few trips but they all resulted in a blank. The weather had been so hot and I'd found myself scratching to get a bite pretty much everywhere I went, add a lot of work into the equation, a fair chunk of summer had flown by in a instant. I managed a few fish out the Braxted reservoir but they were nothing to really write home about. I still had a lot going on off the bank but I did manage to steal an afternoon in between everything. I chose to make a trip back down the stock pond, I was inspired by my last session. 

Looking back over my previous years results, I had one hell of a season, for me, the current year so far had been pretty tough going. I certainly wasn't getting out as much as I would've liked and the heat we'd been experiencing, without a doubt, had slowed the fishing down. Putting all these minor points aside, I work on the basis that you just have to work with what's available to you and make the best of it. I find that when we get prolonged periods of heat, it might be nice to be out on the bank but it's not always best on the fishing front. I think there can be a huge misconception about summer angling, for those of us who fish through all the seasons, you do find yourself looking forward to the warmer weather.

As we know, when the heat comes the fish start feeding 'more' and they're usually very active, I think subconsciously we feel that we're going to start hauling the minute summer arrives. From past experience I know that it's not always the case. Spring can be a very productive period, but if the heat hits quickly and water temperatures rise fast. The carp can become very sluggish and before you know it they're thinking about spawning. At this point, feeding isn't high on their priorities, then we have a "post-spawning" period and depending on the lake you're fishing, it can take a while for the carp to start feeding properly again. 

In conclusion, for me, the best times to be out on the bank are spring, late summer right through Autumn, up until mid winter when the first ice freezes the waters. When I have my angling head well and truly screwed on I find, if I'm not careful, I'm constantly looking ahead to the changing of the season or the impending months. The expectation is always there, that if fishing has been slow, 'the carp are sure to kick off' any week now. Adopting this outlook, life can pass you by very quickly, each pivotal point of every year in my mind is angling related. The saying "don't forget to the smell the roses along the way" is very fitting to this mentality. I really have to master living in the now and appreciating time, time is not something to be wished away, it can either be your friend or a thief, it's all down to how you choose to use it.

On the day of the session I had a few things to do in the morning, the plan was to get to the water just after midday. The stock pond is usually pretty good for a bite come the late afternoon, I wasn't in a rush. If I could tempt just one fish then I'd be more than happy. Half day sessions can be quite refreshing, for my perspective to stay finely tuned I need to balance my time on the bank carefully. When I'm on shorter sessions I'm inclined to try a number of different things that I usually wouldn't go with on my long day trips. If I get results then I will carry whatever approach I'm using over into my full day sessions. 

For example I really learnt how to fish adjustable zigs on a series of half days. Once I'd learnt how to make the method work for me then it was a lot easier sitting behind my rods on a long session feeling confident in the approach. It's not about how much time you're out on the bank, it's about how that time is used, that's what counts. I found that when I use to fish consecutive nights, a few days in, I was so dam tired that I really wasn't fishing effectively, I expelled most of my energy on trying to stay awake. My angling is all about the 'mindset', to finish my point off, "the less time you have the more effort you put in to make something happen".

Upon arriving at the pond I was met with a deserted landscape, other than the horses, coots and geese, I was the only human about, the main lake was also empty. The weed was flourishing, it was way heavier than my previous trip. I took some time to have a mooch about, paying close attention to both the reed lines. When the banks are deserted, the carp love to get behind the reeds, you can usually see them ghosting in between the stems. I didn't see any signs of them close in so I decided to target the open water.

The wind was pushing hard down into the bottom corner, this is an interesting little area, you have a small set of reeds out in the open. A lot of weed always gets pushed down and collects along the edge of both the reeds and the margins. There's nearly always a few fish passing through, there's a small gravel bar that gently descends from the point of the reeds. I was going to be fishing both my baits on it, one rod was going to be a foot or so off the reeds, the other, a couple of rod lengths along. 

View From The Swim

In the image above I've marked up where the 'gravel run' is located, it's only a few feet deep. In the back ground you'll notice flat spots, this is weed. Down to the right of my swim is a corner which was thick with the stuff, I had a gut feeling that a few fish would be holding down amongst it. I was really going to have to sink my line because I didn't want the fish to detect it if/when they were passing through the channel in front of me. Just like last time, I'd given myself one cast on each rod, I didn't want anymore disturbance than necessary. 

Regarding my bait, today I was going to use a combination of fruity flavours, I wanted to have a proper fruit cocktail going on in the solid bags. On the hair was a cut down Pineapple CSL bottom bait, the crushed boilies consisted of 'Strawberry Mivvi', 'Raspberry Ripple' and 'Honey Nectar'. I liked the idea of mixing both a sweet birdseed and Milk Protein bait together, I was going for maximum attraction on this session. Because the lake was chocked I knew there was going to be a hell of a lot of "naturals" to compete with. I wanted something that a passing carp just couldn't ignore.

A Fruit Selection

My hook link was a short trigga-link combi, the lead was my usual 2.5oz flat pear inline. All of this was going to be tightly packed into a medium sized solid bag. Thinking back to most of my sessions on the stock pond, I've always caught on the old school flavours. Combining them all together made complete sense, also it was something a little different to what I'd tried before. If I could tempt a bite then it was an approach that I would put into practise on my other waters.

Visual Attraction

So, with both bags tied I very carefully made the casts, it was such a short distance that I was able to get them spot on. Even though it was only a short cast I feathered them down, each bag literally kissed the water with two quiet 'plops', I was happy. I had the afternoon and early evening ahead of me, I took a seat, sparked the kettle up and prepared for 'the wait'. The stock pond is a place I could easily sit by even if I didn't have my rods out, I've mentioned it before but its location is special. It's all flat lands and vacant plains that stretch down to the estuary, there's nothing quite like looking as far as possible into the horizon to help untangle the thoughts in your mind, 'I live my life in knots'.

Testing A Bag in The Margins

A few hours passed, I'd be watching the water carefully when all of a sudden a fish cut the surface down in the corner to my right. The bank I was on was very high so I kept low to the ground and went to take a closer look, it was very clear too me that there were two carp moving very slowly through the weed. I sat quietly whilst they poked about, they were rather clumsy in giving themselves away. I put this down to the fact that they hadn't detected my presence, once again, this highlights how important it is to keep bank-side disturbance to a minimum.

I suddenly felt really confident, if those fish were to move out the corner and come my way, they were sure to come across one of my traps. Also, working on the basis that there might be other carp in the area, I was positive that a bite was on the horizon. Sitting calmly was very difficult now, I was anticipating a bite, I was really on edge, any moment my prize could reveal itself. Polishing my third coffee off didn't really help calm the situation.

3rd Coffee 

I continued to watch the carp until the activity disappeared, they were there for a good half hour before moving off. The wind dropped and the cloud came over, it was now approaching early evening, time had passed so fast. My anticipation held out and when I received a 'liner' on both rods, it became clear that fish were now moving in front of me. Minutes after the liners my left rod bleeped a few times, the bobbin dropped a few inches, paused and then BANG!, it was away. The fish went powering off up the lake, I leapt on the rod with lightening speed but the fish had already ploughed through a submerged weed bed. 

I kept my panic to a minimum, the whole reason I was fishing with a leader was if a situation like this occurred. I kept the pressure on and just held it, you don't need to "rip in to them" in these sort of situations. Once I'd reached the maximum pressure that I was willing to use, I held it at that point. I could feel that I was slowly gaining some ground, the carp was starting to fidget, a minute or so passed and the game was back on, it was out, I was relieved but the war wasn't over yet.

I was now fishing on a tight clutch letting the rod do all the work, the fish attempted to bury me again but I managed to stop her, she was tiring, so was I. Very gently I was teasing her towards me, I caught a glimpse of a lovely dark mirror, it looked like a fair size fish. The net was lowered, teasing her a little bit more.. RESULT! she was safely in the net. I gave both me and the fish a few minutes to recover, it was nail biting stuff. Clearing the weed that she was buried in, I was met with the sight of a lovely old mirror carp, and what a carp she was. 

The Battle Was Won

I was over the moon with this fish and another prime example of what the stock pond has to offer, it always amazes me the stamp of fish that are lurking in such a small water. Another short successful session was now underneath my belt, from a 'perspective' point of view, I really do enjoy quick trips, especially if you manage to catch. With each carp I catch I seem to get an injection of enthusiasm, in that very moment of releasing the fish I experience a high that can't be replicated through any chemical drug.

I packed up slowly, once everything was on the barrow I decided to walk around the water one last time, the light was fading and the wind was calm. The distant lights over in Rochester were illuminating the horizon line, there was no one around, not a single soul. It was magic, what other pass time puts you in such amazing places, as I stood there, now in darkness, I found it so hard to believe that I was only 30 minutes away from the capital. Loading the van, I was once again 'city bound', on the journey home I was planning my next escape, time to get back up Wick mere.

A Different Kind Of Wilderness

Micklem Mere 'Fishing For Mysteries' Part 4

A few weeks had passed since my last session, I had a lot of work to do, even though I wasn't physically on the bank my thoughts were. I go through stages where I really do find it hard to curb my obsession, it's hard to strike a balance between work, family and fishing. If I'm not careful my angling has a tendency to bleed into every aspect of my life, when the weathers warm I start getting the itch, I picture the waters in my mind and mill over the spots I'd like to be fishing. 

At certain times of the year I get flash backs to years gone by and the baits I was using at the time. I think back to when me and my friend would cobble all our pennies together, we'd go down to our local tackle shop and buy all the ingredients we needed to make Nash 'Sting Fishmeal'. We'd gone halves on a bait making kit, we use to stink our parents houses out on a regular basis knocking up kilos of the stuff. We'd be furiously rolling, deep in conversation, nattering about the secret carp that lived in our local club waters.

During the summer holidays we'd go fishing for a week at a time, our only connection with reality was when we use to take a trip to the tackle shop or supermarket to stock up on supplies. We use to spend most of our time on a lake called 'Holts', which is now known as 'Stream Valley Fisheries' down in Crowborough, East Sussex. It was on this water that I learnt how to fish, it was magic, located deep within a valley surrounded by trees, it was like another world. I remember fishing it a few years back and I literally got a lump in my throat thinking back to the amazing times I'd had down there. There was a small group of us that use to fish all the local lakes for the carp.

One of my fondest memories was when my mates Dad would occasionally bring down fish and chips and a couple of cans of beer, we'd put the cans in a bag in the margin to keep them cool, we'd secure the bag with a bank stick and as the sun started to fade we'd crack-em open and sit back watching the day end. It seems a shame that I'm not in touch with any of these 'old friends' anymore. But as we know, life happens and we all go our separate ways, I feel blessed to still be fishing and all these great memories will never fade. My angling journey has been so great and I will continue it until the end of my days.

'Holts' 1994'

The day of my Micklem session I woke up early to bright sun and a totally blue sky, summer was in full swing. Opening the window in my bedroom, the fresh morning air came seeping into the room, I took a deep breath and inhaled the new day, exhaling yesterdays remnants. It was a fine day to be alive, an even better day to get out and get fishing. Gone was the calm demeanour of my last few sessions, today I just couldn't get to the water fast enough. I wanted to witness the mere waking up, the bird life, the dew on the grass, everything, the sense of clarity that it all provides is something that I need to soak up. 

All these things might sound rather fruitless to the "non angler", but for me, all these elements are vitally stitched into my journey. My fishing has three separate elements, 'the environment', 'the process' and 'the capture'. All three married together is what makes my carp angling so important too me, it's what motivates me to get out there and get stuck in, it's all about experiencing the finer points in life that are so often lost. It's taking the core elements of what fishing is about, and if you keep them at the forefront of your mind, your enthusiasm is always primed and the flame never seems to flicker. With this outlook, never once have I felt burnt out.     

Micklem's Awake

I pulled into Micklems carp park as the sun was rising, there was dew on the ground, the atmosphere felt so fresh, the bird life on the water, as usual, was extremely active. I took a few minutes to load the barrow and then made my way down to the waters edge, I had the whole place to myself. Taking a seat on one of the handy little wooden benches, I decide I'd sit and watch the water for a while. Just being by the mere at that time in the morning was special, the only souls for miles around were just me and Eric 'my dog'. To be honest, I was so content within the moment that I didn't feel the need to get the rods out at all.

I could feel by the sun on my face that it was going to be a really hot day, I decided to head up towards the back bay area, hoofing it round with the barrow, I started to feel energised, all of a sudden getting the rods out was of top priority, I was excited. Today I'd left the spod rod at home, I was going to focus solely on solid bags, I wanted to keep the fishing nice and clean with as little disturbance as possible. Arriving at the swim the wind was pushing nicely into the back margin, this was where I was going to put one of my rods. 

Micklem Back Bay

The 'make up' of the back bay is very interesting, you've got shallow margins that suddenly fall away to depths in excess of 10ft, there are a few spots that go even deeper. I've found that there are sporadic patches of weed in places, hence why I opt for solid bags, I can sit confident knowing that the bait is well presented.

Thinking back to my previous sessions, I always see fish show in and around this area at varying times of the day. My plan was to fish one bait just off the overhanging bushes that lined the back margin and the other, quarter of the way down the marginal slope, in my mind I'd have two different depths covered. In regards to rigs and presentation, as mentioned before, nothing was going to be changed other than the deduction of the spod.

Solid Bag Mix

My solid bag was made up of both Salmon Marine and Multi-mix pellets, added to this was some Hot Chilli Hemp method mix, porridge oats and a generous 'gulp' of Almond Oil. My hook bait was a single grain of imitation corn topped off with half a 10mil Pineapple Cream match boilie, this combo had pretty much produced all my fish so I decided I'd stick with it. This was going to be fished on a short 'trigga-link' combi, the lead I was using was a 2.5oz gripper, this was going to be setup 'semi-fixed'. As usual, there's nothing complicated, for me the most important aspect is where the baits were going to be placed, it's all about the right location. Images of my rig can be seen here Micklem Mere Part One

Before making the bags up I performed a few measured casts feeling carefully for 'the drops', I wanted a short drop on my margin rod and a slightly longer one on the rod that was to be fished on the slope. My margin rod was clipped up at 13.5 wraps, this put me perfectly under the tree-line, the 'slope' rod was clipped up at the same distance, theoretically I was fishing both bags in line with each other, the only difference between them was the depth they were fishing at. Both bags were tied as close to perfection as possible, each cast landed exactly where I wanted it to, I was happy and finally fishing.

A Neat Bite

A few hours passed and the heat started to kick in, Micklem has a tendency to become a sun trap, even with the brolly up, it's hard to find relief. I took both my shoes and socks off, rolled my trousers up and paddled in the shallow margins. I love doing this on really warm days, it brings back memories of when I use to visit my nanny and grandad down in Littlehampton when me and my sister were kids. 

We spent so many summer days in the sea paddling about, when the tide was out we'd run for what seemed like miles to get to the water, the beaches were empty in them days. I started to sense that I was on my own little sentimental trip this session, what with my memories of fishing Holts. When I think back it makes me feel like I've been on this earth a lot longer than 39 years.

View From The Swim

For the first few hours or so I was getting solid indications that fish were in the swim. Periodically I was getting liners on both rods but as of yet nothing translated into a bite. I was convinced something was going to occur so I just sat tight, I was only going to recast when and if I got a bite. A couple more hours melted away and the sun really started to beat down, I'd spotted a few carp showing towards the back of the bay. There were a number of shows all over the lake. The carp had obviously become active, from past experience, if you haven't had any early bites, chances are some action will occur mid to late afternoon.

Eric Seeking Some Shade

The day was steadily passing, I was still getting the odd knock on both rods, I was surprised that I hadn't managed to even pick up a few small carp yet. I toyed with the idea of a recast but I genuinely didn't see the point, I was confident in my approach, I just had to stick it out. For all I knew some carp had clocked the bait but weren't up for a feed just yet, my hopes were now pinned on late afternoon. To be honest it was such a lovely day, just being on the banks of the mere was a gift within itself, fish or no fish, it's all part of the process.

The day had evaporated, before I knew it, it was now approaching 3 o'clock, I felt the magic hour was a whisker away, the wind dropped, the temperature dropped and a few patchy clouds moved in over head, it suddenly felt pretty dam special. Now with the water like a sheet of glass I tried to clock signs of feeding fish. The binoculars came out and I started to scan around the bay, carefully looking for streams of bubbles, anything that gave me an indication that fish were in the vicinity. Towards the back of the bay I spotted a few patches, there looked to be more than one fish having a poke about.

This got my blood pumping, "surely they were going to come across my bait". I sat pinned to my chair, I found myself holding my breath, urging one of my rods to go racing off. A single bleep shifted my attention onto my left hand rod tip, the tip nudged and then, BAM!! it was away like a train. Lifting into the fish, it felt pretty powerful, this certainly wasn't one of the many scamps, this felt special. I was using my light rods so every pull and tug was translating through the blank directly into my soul, "I love players rods". There was no hurrying it, I grabbed the net and walked just above knee height into the water. I was now well and truly connected to both the carp and the mere.

It was slowly edging towards me but I had to be patient, it topped just a few yards out and I was met with a fleeting fleck of bright orange. I was somewhat stunned and for a split second I was wondering what the hell I'd caught. The shock subsided and I suddenly remembered that there had been whispers about a couple of 'koi' that had been spotted during spawning. If so, it was very clear that I had one of them literally yards from the net. The buzz had now turned from excitement into panic - "I had to get this fish in". I increased the pressure, slowly guiding her my way, inches turned to millimetres, just a little further, as the net engulfed her, the relief and the joy washed over me in equal measure.

Micklem Gold ... Literally 

It was obvious that I'd unearthed one very special jewel, I have no doubt that there are more surprise residing under the meres surface. I know I repeat myself but this is what angling's all about for me, it's the not knowing, uncertainty can be a beautiful thing. Amongst the many small fish you tend to catch, there's sure to be a few surprises amongst them. That's one of the reasons why I've decided to put serious time into the place. I look upon it as a journey of discovery and with each fish caught a little piece of the meres story falls into place.

With a few shots taken, I got back in the water to set her free, it was a pleasure to watch her slowly drift off back into the abyss. No time was wasted in getting another bag tied and back out, if fish had moved in and were now actively feeding, I wanted to cash in on it. With the bobbin now set I took a seat and got the binoculars back out, there seemed to be some signs of feeding in the deeper water, more towards the middle of the bay. I felt there was still a good chance of another fish, in the meantime I sat immersed in the memory of my previous capture, what an incredible carp.

The next bite came pretty quick, this time on my right rod, it all happened so fast, it made me jump. Leaning into the fish, it had already bolted clear of the bay and was heading out into the main body of the mere. Again, this was a powerful carp, it was rocketing along, I adjusted the clutch tighter to try and pacify its momentum. This failed, it just kept on going, it was at this point my mind started fragmenting my thoughts, could this be a secret monster? I was dying to find out. I was now in the water again with the net by my side, the fish had clearly 'blown its load', it was now just a case of gently guiding her my way. Soon enough a lump of common carp was resting in the mesh.

Another Surprise

This common was a proper brute, its huge mouth was full of living natural food. I doubt very much it had been caught before, I was so pleased, two good fish in a day from Micklem was a right result. It goes to show that I didn't need to be spodding bait out to pull the carp in. It also demonstrates that with perseverance comes rewards, I've be very determined about catching some of the better fish and I feel I'm finally 'breaking through'. 

After returning it I slowly packed up and made the long walk back to the car park, everything was calm, me and Eric were still the only souls around. Looking back over the water as the sun started to fade, it looked very different, all of a sudden the idea of hidden monsters was more than just a rumour, it appeared that they were very real, I was already looking forward to getting back down and giving it another go. Locking the gate behind me and preparing for the long drive home, I thanked the mere for providing me with another day to remember.