Fueled by a tale!

The pool was practically deserted today, there was one angler with family in tow, in the far corner trying for another Carp like the one he had a few weeks previously but he looked to be struggling with the weed which is by far the worse I've seen it, the last time it looked this bad was four years ago when the level was down by more than a foot. 

I did my rounds and headed off to Jubilee fueled by a conversation I'd had with Barry on Wednesday night. He'd phoned just before ten with tales of a single mirror carp he'd caught that evening, a monster at just over 23lb caught on a biscuit fly. (Monster for a fly rod that is!)

It was hot and I think the fish population of the lake were all on the top, I could see Bream, Rudd and plenty of my target, Carp. I started feeding biscuits and up they came and it was long before I had the first fish of the day on the bank and I think I've seen this little fella before.

I moved around to the point and got the fish feeding fairly close in but as soon as the fly landed on the surface they became cautious, drifting up to examine every biscuit rather than snatching them off the top. They moved further out  and I had to lengthen my cast to drop the fly at the back of the biscuits I was feeding and did fool a couple of fish into taking, they were only small commons but they really do fight hard for such small fish this is also enhanced by the use of such a fine carbon stick to catch them on, I love fly fishing for them and someone else that does is Barry, he arrived at around six and fished the point swim but struggled to connect with the takes he was getting but did manage to get one good fish. 

I on the other hand, was struggling with ducks, as soon as you turn your back they were in the swim cleaning up the biscuits but I kept feeding and the fish stayed around. I struck into one take which I could tell was a better fish by the way everything went solid, I saw it's tale and dorsal a couple of times and it was good so I just had to hang on, get it under control and in the net. Bigger fish don't seem to thrash around as much as the smaller ones that twist and turn very quickly so it wasn't an epic battle, it plodded around in front of me taking line when it wanted to eventually it gave in to the constant pressure and slid over the cord. Barry did the honours with the camera and I lifted my prize, a long and lean 14lb 4oz Common.

Last one of the first quarter.

Only a short session on Friday, I didn't get to the lake till just after five thirty and I made a hasty start that didn't feel right, even though the wind was blowing into this swim from the right direction it just didn't feel 'Carpy' so I moved to the point opposite the island and just as I put my stuff down a Carp popped it's head out of the lake infront of my swim, that was more like it.
It was good half an hour into the session when a Tench made an appearance, they are very welcome and prove that the rigs work well but I was just hoping I wouldn't get too many more of these as Carp were my target, I'd already seen another good fish show on a slightly different spot and decided too put my next bait there and not long after I did it went off, something heavy was shaking it's head around in it's bid for freedom and it escaped, the rod was rebaited and put out onto the same spot.
Andy stopped for a chat on his way out of the park and we had a discussion about rigs and exchanged a few ideas, we also saw a Carp being caught on peg one which is always good to see. It was getting late and I was thinking about packing up when a one toner screamed out from one of the alarms, the rod tip was pulled round as a good fish made off with the bait, I picked up the rod and allowed the fish to run before engaging the clutch, it just carried on going and kited in towards the front of the island, I turned it and it came towards me twisting and turning along the way, the closer it came to the mesh the smaller it felt and at one point I even joked about it being a tail hooked tench, instead a nice Mirror Carp rolled over the cord and into the waiting net. Photo's were taken (Cheers Andy) and a lifted scale was attended to before it was released. It weighed in at 12lb 10oz's.

It was still light when this picture was taken, the flash makes it look like the middle of the night.

Sunday Session - What a Cracker!

With my commitments that had been put off from Saturday out of the way by lunchtime, I was free for a late session on Sunday and started at around three. After about an hour and whilst chatting to Colin on the top of the bank one of the rods was off, the screamer I thought was a Carp ended up as a rather feisty male Tench but welcome all the same.

Another hour passed and I was just swapping my sunglasses for my specs when I had another screamer of a run. When I struck it felt proper carpy this time and I'm not sure if the fish knew what was happening as it tore about in all directions and swam over my second line dragging this around, it did eventually give up for the net, Andy was watching from the top of the bank and assisted in the photographing and weighing. (Cheers Andy)

Andy gave me 16lb for this common.

Just before seven, I was again at the top of the bank having a chat with Barry who had just packed up for the evening and the same rod was off again, why is it that fish always bite when you are furthest from your rod, just about to eat or packing up to leave?

This was another Carp but I was very confused by the fight, it was heavy but felt a bit like a Tench, Barry suggested it might be one of the big bream but when I saw it I was very surprised, the shape was like a mini Malissa but as a mirror carp, very short and a belly like a football, I'm sure Colin mentioned this fish earlier on so it was nice to catch her the same day.

14lb 8oz.

I'm not sure if Melissa's genetic make-up has anything to do with the shape of this mirror but I do know of another common of a similar size in the lake (Short Round) with the same extended belly, could they be Melissa's offspring?

Short Round, Melissa and the new member of the family.

I was very happy with the way the evening was going as I've only managed single Carp per weekend so far so to catch two in a session was great. I'd just recast one rod and left it on the rest to allow the line to sink when the bobbin on the second rod hit the front of the alarm, there was no run so I initially thought it was a Tench and struck expecting one, what I didn't expect was a Carp, it tore off at at great rate of knots away from me straight down the tree line and broke surface before heading in towards the trees, I put some pressure on and turned it but it kept twisting and turning before swimming straight back towards me, it wasn't too long before I had it plodding around under the rod tip making lots of short energetic runs, it refused the net several times but eventually submitted.

Another immaculate Common at 17lb 10oz's.

This was a cracker of a short session.

What a difference four years makes!

A short session this morning, starting early I was surprised to be the only one on the lake but on reflection it was the opening day at Jubilee which I think explains why I had the place to myself for most of the morning.

Not to bore you with details but I only had one fish out today and it was the only touch of the whole session. This Carp fought like stink and I could tell it was a little better than the others I've had so far this year by the way it refused to come to the net preferring to just plod around making very short powerful runs. Eventually the fish gave in and rolled over the cord into the waiting net and as I parted the mesh to look at my prize I thought this Mirror Carp looks familiar and a mirror at Ryton is a rare sight. I took pictures and weighed the lump before releasing and as soon as I got home, out came the photo albums and there it was, caught in 2006 and much smaller at only 7lb 12ozs, 'Morris's Mate'.

'Morris's Mate' almost four years ago.

I'm glad I've kept a photo log of all the Carp I've caught at Ryton, as well as helping me to identify individual fish it's also acting as a guide to how well the Carp are growing.

This is what 'Morris's Mate' looks like today at 17lb 14ozs.

I wonder how big Morris is?