Good Afternoon.
As the title suggests my first carp of 2010 was captured early this morning; the long-awaited carp and one I have worked very hard for. It wasn’t a monster but that is not the point; I am off the mark which is the main thing and this carp has taught me a few lessons about watercraft and paying attention to carp’s movements. I think my dvd player will no longer be a feature of my equipment as I have realised that by hiding in your bivvy and absorbing yourself in a film, it may be enjoyable, but you are potentially missing out on hearing signs of fish. I deliberately left my dvd player and dvds in my van after the first session and I think it was a wise decision.
An Italian carp for all my readers.
The take came shortly after 2.30am. After having a few small white fish and getting used to the stuttery takes, I was convinced this was another white fish. The rod, on a single rest, was at an angle to the position of the hookbait and the rod’s bend was absorbing much of the power of the fish, hence the reel did not strip line. I was relieved to see the bobbin hugging the underneath of my rod as I reached it and pulled into my first carp. I walked back to my boat, dragging it across the stoney shallows and hopped it. As I reeled towards the fish I suddenly felt a grating feeling. The line had gone behind a small sunken stumpy tree in the shallow water. It was near this feature that I had placed my hookbait and I was confident the fish had just gone behind it and kited in one direction. On reaching the point of entry for the line I had a few nervous minutes as I tried to free the grating braid. I am using the 25lb version of the Cherokee braid on this reel and it held up fine to the abuse I gave it. Fortunately, the braid suddenly sprang free and after reeling up the now slack line, I was pleased to feel a thump on the other end and I was now in direct contact with the fish. I soon saw the carp under the surface and as I already had presumed it wasn’t huge, it was no surprise to see a nice common twisting and turning for freedom. All I had to do now was get it into my frozen landing net!
It was very cold last night and a frost had developed by 9pm. I dipped my crunchy net into the lake and prepared myself for the final few moments. The carp was determined to have his last say and kept fighting for its life. Two times it swam under the net and after fearing I was going to lose him after such a long wait, I was very relieved to slip him finally into the waiting net. Hooray!
It was obviously cold by the time I returned the short distance to my swim. I slipped the carp straight into a sack and left weighing till the morning. I returned out in the boat and redropped the rod back into position and then after putting the rod back in the rests, I jumped into my bivvy, whacked the heating on full, and warmed up my hands. It was worth every minute and at last I had caught one.
I sat up for another three hours in my porch confident I was going to have another carp. At 4am a few bleeps from another rod had me off my seat. It was a small fish enquiry though and the bobbin hung slack. The fish had managed to pull the lead out of the clip, but last night’s chub also did that without any problems. I decided not to redrop this rod as I did not want to disturb the area, and after sitting up for another hour, I called it a night.
Have I found the key?
The photographs were done first thing. I weighed the pretty creature and the scales read 22lb 8oz or 10.2kg. There are plenty of small carp in this lake and they are all in pristine condition. The big fish are here and in numbers and you just have to wait for your chance. When I fished here in 2008 I had caught about eight smaller carp before I latched into my fifty pound common. I think there is more chance of a bigger fish at this time of year, but the promising thing for myself is I now know I am doing something that resembles good fishing. It has taken a while to get the jigsaw puzzle put together and that is always part of the challenge of carp fishing. If I get another in the next few days then I will know that is wasn’t a one off.
The fish took a pink 20mm pop up from the Dynamite Bait’s fluro range and this is the Strawberry and Cream flavour. When I arrived at the lake I asked if pop ups were working and most people here don’t use them as they are convinced bottom baits work best. I normally have confidence in pop ups and I think I let their comments cloud my judgement a little at the beginning. I did try pop ups in the other swim, and I also fished shallow water; but I primarily used bottom baits as my main attack. I suppose it is another lesson in fishing – fish how you normally fish and be confident in your techniques.
Back tomorrow with more news from Italy.
Cheers
Jake and the dogs.
