Step it up!

A wooden platform was installed on the steep bank at the weekend and it'll take a fair bit of work to make it safe. On Sunday, I put a few steps leading up the bank from the cut out on the 'grassy bank' making it a very comfortable swim to use, it's steps similar to these that I'll put on the steep bank, only more of them. The peg on the grassy bank is now finished, enjoy!

After doing some step work on the grassy bank swim I headed over to peg two for a few hours fishing, the east wind was making the choice of swim a bit tricky, I was told of where some fish had shown earlier in the day but still decided to head in the opposite direction and out of the cold wind hoping that a few fish would do the same. I'm trying a new flavoured boilie at the moment so today I had both rods baited up with these and small PVA bags, they were cast out onto two known spots.

I was hoping for a Carp so I could christen my new unhooking mat which had arrived earlier in the week, When I unpacked it Cerys thought it was a new bed and immediately jumped in it, I took the opportunity to give her a quick weigh.

Cerys doing an impression of a 21lb Carp.

It was a good hours wait before the first rod was away, not a Carp but a Tench, it led me a merry dance around the swim and my landing net pole as I tried to net it, I could see that it was one of Ryton's finest so I was eager to get it into the mesh. When I eventually netted it I was really surprised at how long this fish was, the weight, five pound and ten ounces.

One of Ryton's finest Tench.

Another five pound Tench was taken off the same spot a short while later and I lost another just before last orders. After loosing this fish I decided to pack the gear away, the last rod in was the sleeper rod on the most likely Carp spot, it wasn't doing anything so I switched off the alarm and lifted the rod and felt some resistance, for a split second I thought my cast had been a waste of time and had been snagged up on some bottom debris but bottom debris doesn't kick back, it was a fish. I really could not believe that I had a fish on, it must of picked up the bait just as I picked up the rod. I took things easy bringing the fish in and soon had it safely in the folds of the net, then it was hoisted onto the new mat, at last christened with a Carp.

Mat christened!

Another mint Common.

It wasn't a big fish but seeing as I thought I was going to be going home Carpless then this was a bonus at twelve pounds.