Good evening.
Happy New Year first and foremost! I deliberately left my post till late as most of you should be out partying! I am sat in my bivvy, I can hear a sound system behind me playing the trashiest music ever, but I guess Italy’s choice of music for a New Year’s Eve knees up is not as good as their cuisine! I am actually set up at the back of a campsite at the moment. The campsite backs onto the lake but unfortunately the fact you are set up in a campsite area carries with it drawbacks. One I mentioned the other day and that is the fact the dogs are not allowed to roam free, and I also have to pay to be here. I don’t mind paying but I don’t like the fact the dogs are treated as nuisances which is why I will be moving in a few days time. The dogs can then roam freely, they can also guard me in case I have any unwanted visitors in the night, and they can chill out a little as at the moment I know they feel confined to the bivvy. I was told the dogs could be off the lead in the area I am stationed at, but unfortunately Flash has been picking up pieces of food laid out for birds (you can’t blame him!) and this has upset a few people because he has been wandering around, just being his friendly self. I have two amazing dogs that I have had from puppies, they are well-trained, and you all know I love them dearly. In fact my dogs seem to attract more attention than me sometimes and quite often the dogs are recognised first, then the cogs slowly slot into place and someone will ask if I am the guy who writes the blog and has two Dobermans!! Yes I am he!
Tonight’s post is a reflection of 2009. The fishing at the Italian lake I am sitting at is slow, but I don’t mind. I actually feel really good just to be here and part of that reason is because it took longer than I wanted to get here! You can try to plan things but sometimes you are restricted by other parties or happenings. Let’s take a look back at the last year!
January was a slow month for me but signalled the birth of the blog. I was fortunate enough to catch a whopping 26.8kg mirror from Cassien on the first day of the New Year but then things got rather difficult. What is the longest session you have ever done in your life? Well I sat at Cassien twiddling my thumbs for 38 days and nights but it was actually worth the wait!
My New Year's Day Whacker!
February saw some lovely fish and most were caught in minus temperatures. I caught Dragger the famous common at 49lb 4oz and two days later I caught a 54lb mirror. I notched up a couple of other 20kg carp during the month, but Cassien was being quite stubborn. Work had to be done to catch any carp and compared to last year March was quite a funny month.
Would you wait 38 nights for this carp!!
March was greeted with a welcome because I had a few surprises in store. I had endured a two week spell of inactivity that seemed to shroud the whole lake. The odd fish was caught but compared to the previous year the movements of the carp seemed quite different. Finally I broke the spell and some good carp subdued to my patient tactics. The highlight of the month was the capture of the big old grey mirror, caught for the fourth time in just over a year, and at a new weight of 25.4kg. I had a good run of fish in the end in March but the action would fade as quickly as it started. Moving from the river bed to the slopes did the trick and hunches do sometimes pay the dividends.
The fourth time in a year!
April came and I had to go and fish elsewhere. I didn’t have to, but I wanted to! I fished last year in Aviron at the same time throughout April and May but although I knew I would certainly catch more carp, I decided to give my swim up to my good Italian mate Danilo. One good turn deserves another and this guy was hungry for those Aviron carp. I admire anyone who can stick it out for long sessions. People quite often criticise anglers who fish for long periods saying it is inevitable that they will catch carp. Fish a long session yourself, see how you get on! I went to a small lake not far from Cassien for a purpose – to catch one of the big carp in the lake. My timing was off-key though and someone else beat me to it catching a 31kg mirror a week before I arrived. I caught three carp during the week from the low stocked venue and the carp were all out of this world!
Probably the most stunning carp I have ever caught!
May saw a new challenge which was the big lake. This was always going to be tough but I struck gold four nights in and a 21kg mirror was my reward. One lesson I learnt from fishing at the lake was the fact location is so important. We found some fish ready to spawn and I was lucky enough to nail one of the original fish that was probably stocked over thirty years before!
I will never catch a better carp than this!
June was a difficult month. Salagou did my head in and after a short stint on the Lot I ended up seeking refuge at a commercial water called Gigantica. When the carp are spawning it can be a difficult time and with the hot weather it made me realise that June was a tough month for carp fishing!
Salagou was good for teaching Flash to swim!!
July saw me getting stuck into Gigantica. I started getting success in the Tree Line swim and it reminded me how much I like fishing to visible features and snags. I had many a battle with hard fighting carp and landed a couple over 40lbs. I made a quick visit back to the UK for meetings with Dynamite Baits and Trakker and then returned to Gigantica to prepare for the WCC.
A typical Gigantica scaley mirror that weighed over 40lbs!
August was a funny month and my dog Flash was very ill. He was diagnosed with cancer to begin with but fortunately he was okay and an abscess was to blame. The boy did well though and due to his illness I ended up catching a new PB in the shape of a huge mirror called Staples; he weighed 64lbs 8ozs.
Staples in all his glory and my new PB!
September saw the WCC at Madine. It was a superb competition and after the competitors had left I decided to stay on and fish for a week or so. I got lucky and my only carp was a lovely 54lb mirror. Sometimes that is the way it happens and I never have any complaints when it works out that way!
One carp caught and it's another public water fifty!!
October was the time for the Orient. What a challenge but my three-week session was fairly generous and my first carp was a 25kg mirror. I know I could fish there for many years to beat that weight and I suppose that is why I probably won’t fish there again! I got lucky again and although the session was testing I also learnt a few new lessons. The main one was to fish on my own in the future!!
I am a jammy so and so!! My first carp from the Orient and it is a lump!!
November took me to the river Moselle and it almost destroyed me! I don’t quite know what it was but I found it really tough. I caught the odd carp but I realised a simple fact and that is not to return to places where you have had a good result in the past as it is only tempting a competition. I fell into a trap and stubbornly stuck it out but in the end common sense prevailed and I returned pale and thin to Gigantica.
Group Nine army carpers pay a visit to Gigantica!
December was probably the most frustrating month of the year as I was just sat around waiting for products to arrive in the post! I finally made it to Italy and I am now fishing and this is where I leave you for 2009. Tomorrow is a new start and 2010 is the year that I hope brings many monsters. We will see!
This is proper winter carping!!
On the whole the year was okay. I am not completely happy with my results but I guess I am comparing them to my first year’s fishing. My aim is to catch ten fifties every year and I achieved that comfortably last year, but this year had many sticking points and irritating months when things did not go according to plan. I am not complaining as I did catch some great fish but my expectations are high and I hope 2010 is a better year.
A 25kg common is my goal first and foremost and Italy I guess is the place to do it. The lake I am fishing at holds a few and my goal is to beat the 23kg common I caught in Italy last year. Once I have done that I will move on to another lake and start another session! The aim will then be to beat that one!
Finally I would just like to say a big thanks to everyone for the support you have given me over the last eleven months of writing the blog. The blog has changed my life really and it has opened several doors and gives me a chance to allow readers to follow my journey. If you have not subscribed yet please do as it only means you get notified when I publish a new post.
2009 has gone…2010 is here!!
Cheers
Jake and my two lovely dogs!
