Ryton - On a good day.

Well, the Carp at Ryton are awake. I've heard several reports of anglers catching a few upper double Carp so I couldn't wait to get back onto the pool. The information desk and peg two were occupied and I stopped for a chat, one of the lads had fished the day before and bagged a few good fish and showed me a picture of a good mirror, I was very pleased to see that Morris's Mate is still with us and looking a little chunkier. I made my way over to Morris's on the far bank and settled down for a long session. From this side of the pool the first section of the road bank looks a little strange, most of the tree's have been cleared ready for the bank/peg work to begin.

I fished PVA sticks and bottom baits on one rod and pop-up's on the other, the sticks were out on a spot that I'd seen a fish show a couple of weeks ago, the pop-up was on a very long chuck to the back of the tree's, this was the first to see some action which typically happened when I was reeling in the stick rod. It was a rather uneventful fight that resulted in a small chunky common of nine pound in the net, still, very welcome.

A little chunk!

As soon as the first Carp had been released I checked everything over and put the rod back out to an area where a fish had shown about half an hour earlier, I always take my time to sink the line and it was whilst I was doing this that I felt a couple of sharp tugs, the line then steadily drew up tight, I flicked the bail arm shut and lent back, fish on! This one felt a little better and took me all over the place as it kited through the shallows and into the waiting net. Another fine common of fourteen and three quarter pounds.

This ones not so orange.

A short while later I lost another much bigger fish off the same spot, again it kited around and I lost touch with it as it entered the shallows of the next swim to my right, I always try and learn from my mistakes but I always forget that if I bully the Carp at Ryton too much, I will lose them and this is exactly what happened, it threw the hook, that horrible sick feeling entered my stomach and expletives exited my mouth.

About an hour later another fish went off like a rocket, the third one from this spot, this time I took things slowly when drawing it closer to the net but this wasn't out of choice, this was a much bigger fish and I wasn't going to lose this one. I let the fish go when it wanted too and drew it in when it let me and it wasn't long before I had it safely in the mesh. I was hoping for an upper double and was very surprised when the needle pulled passed twenty to settle on twenty pounds and eleven ounces.

Mint!

I carried on fishing till the sun set but I didn't get any more takes, I didn't even get anything on the stick rod, not even a Tench!