Good Afternoon.
The fog has not lifted at all today and it has been bitterly cold. A glimmer of sunshine broke through the low cloud around lunchtime but was swiftly fought back by Jack Frost! My braided line has remained icy throughout the day and the outdoor fire has been burning away quietly to add a little warmth to the situation. The birds and dogs have been keeping me company and even a small rat put in an appearance until I got my BB gun out – he then quickly vanished!
Tweet tweet!
Not a beep was heard throughout the night. The surrounding area has many churches, spires and towers. Throughout the day and night the church bells chime and I am sure they are sometimes in competition with each other! At night when I lie in my bed listening to the world around me, I can hear various dogs barking at each other, hourly bell blasts, the odd wailing siren from the emergency services, and of course my gas heater, as suddenly the thermostat decides to fire up the element again. They are all comforting noises and along with my dog’s occasional groan as they dream and sleep, I like this place very much.
Fire Etiquette
I started the day off with some wood cutting. My small axe was wielded as I cut some logs into pieces. Not only was this a good way to warm up, it provided vital fuel for my fire. My fire has now become a pit. I changed the design the other day when I realised it would radiate more warmth. It now has an open side so I can get very close to it, it has a high wall at the back which bounces back the heat, and it is much more efficient this way. The other night after it suddenly had got very cold I realised it was not giving off enough warmth and my vital fuel was being wasted. The following day I made a few stone adjustments, rebuilt a solid wall, and I now have the fire to beat all fires!
The remnants of last night's fire.
All clean and ready to go!
The new fire built and ready to be lit.
Whoosh....be careful when lighting petrol fumes!!
Who needs a cooker...I got me a fire!!
Just like a fireplace at home I clean the base everyday removing the ash. Too much ash stops the oxygen feeding your flames rendering it quite pathetic. In order to have a good fire you must treat it well and in return it will look after you. I gather small twigs and sticks each day to start my fire and I cheat slightly, as I douse some tissue in a little petrol, I then tuck this into the kindling which is surrounded by larger bits of dry wood or scraps from your last fire. This tissue becomes a fire lighter and your fire should then start quite nicely. The logs I cut the other day with the chainsaw were quite damp as the fallen tree was not that old, so I split these with my axe in order to dry them quicker. Around my pit I have piles of different logs, some dry and some in the drying process. It is a fine art I tell you!
On the fishing front today I went out and peered at my hook baits from the boat. They all look fine and have a few 26mm bottom baits still sitting randomly around them. I came up with a tactical baiting plan to try and get some fish looking for food. I rowed out so I was in the middle of all my rods positions and I then fed the whole area with a few kilos of 20mm Red Fish boilies. I was using my throwing stick for about an hour and I probably covered an area about 4-5 acres in size. I often bait up like this but not necessarily in winter time. I just think because of the cold snap it has stalled the carp and they are now not moving much at all. The idea behind the baiting up strategy is if a carp finds one boilie it may trigger it to look for the next one etc…If the carp is in a group then things could get interesting as they suddenly become competitive. I have to try something new each day at the moment as it keeps the spirit high and makes the nights more exciting.
I have a large pile of wood at the ready and I am now going to wrap up warm (as a chilly wind has developed as I have been writing this post), make some coffee, and sit outside and try and pinpoint any jumping carp. It may be fruitless, it may be worthwhile…we will see!
Cheers
Jake and the dogs.
