Good Evening.

I was woken this morning by a slow drop back, just after 8am. I was pretty sure that my lead had ejected and to begin with I presumed it was a small silver fish. I wound down and felt very little as I reeled in. Occasionally things went solid but I kept reeling and eventually I saw my line near the bank kiting to my left. The Sonik prototype rods I am using are very stiff and not exactly what I would call responsive. I felt very little as I changed the fishes direction and suddenly in front of me, at my feet, was a carp!! It was then that I realised I would actually need my landing net!

The first carp fell to a 20mm Mussel and Oyster pop up tipped with white corn.

Catching a fish on the first night is always pleasurable and this was no exception. I did not weigh the carp but estimated it to be around the 8kg mark. It was very pale in colour and in good condition. I strolled up the bank to see how the other two had got on during the night. Christian had three fish to 10kg and Danilo had a good night’s rest. We are catching fish though whatever the size and we all agreed that we might be in for a good session.

I wandered back to my swim and got the rod back into position. The bottom of the river bed or lakebed is actually quite soft; a mixture of mud and sand. I have an anchor in my boat and there was some deposited on it yesterday evening after I had dropped one rod. It does not smell bad and I don’t think it goes very deep on the bottom – it is more of a covering really. I have caught carp fishing in thick mud before so I am quite confident in this kind of situation and I also think that my pop ups with their white tips of colour will help greatly.

PVA stocking for extra attraction by the hookbait.

I checked my emails and wrote a short tweet on twitter, when my middle rod suddenly went into carp mode. It was now 10am and there is nothing better than getting a run in the morning sunshine. I hopped in my boat and went out to meet the carp that was pulling quite hard. My backlead followed me all the way out and suddenly disappeared as I got over the fish. The fight wasn’t prolonged and I soon had another pristine common in the net.

You can just make out the other hook if you look closely.

I will make you better again!

Crude and painful!

Danilo had seen me out in the boat so he came down to take some photos. On closer inspection I noticed the carp had an old hook in the corner of its mouth, which was where I had hooked it too. I removed my hook and then got my forceps and scissors as some delicate surgery was needed. The hook was attached to some leadcore which was being used as a hooklink. The leadcore had wrapped itself around the gill and had actually started to grow over. After some careful work with my surgeon’s hands I neatly removed the obstruction and I swear I heard the carp say thank you!

Number two of the morning.

After some quick shots I returned the little fella and he swam off strongly, no doubt feeling much better after his short ordeal. I went straight out and redropped the rod back into position. I also placed a bottle marker with some reflective tape attached to act as a guide at night. I dropped this at the back of the channel. The centre of the channel is 15ft deep and either side the depth is 10ft so there is a nice difference in depth and I am sure the carp will use this as a regular patrol route on their travels. Most carp on big waters are very nomadic – always on the move. They can clear you out very quickly and for that reason I mixed up 5kg of boilies, chopped and halved and added some liquid attractor to boost it. I then scattered this along the centre line of the channel covering a distance of approximately 100 metres. My three rods are placed along this line. I must admit that my rods were placed rather quickly last night and I decided to focus my attentions on the river bed as a good starting point. It is working so I will stick with it and try to create a good spot over the next two weeks. Incidentally the water temperature is a healthy 8-9 degrees C.

A simple bottle marker with the addition of reflective tape.

Nothing else happened during the rest of the day and it was no surprise really. The sun got very hot and it was nice to sit and enjoy the fine weather. I am sure most of the action will come from the hours of darkness till mid morning so I have made up a boat pack which contains all of the essential bits of tackle so I can redrop my rod immediately after a fish. Not only does this mean you have your hookbait back in position quicker, it also increases your chance of a good brace of carp. It could be the difference between catching one ten kilo carp or a twenty kilo carp too! Dropping the rod back in position immediately after the capture also saves vital boat battery life.

I am now going to eat some food with my friends and see what occurs during the night. Hopefully it will be a busy night for all of us. My friend Christian who has fished here many times informs me that it is quite normal to catch small fish to begin with and the bigger fish usually move in after a few days – I think the next few days could be quite exciting and if the fish all look as good as the one in the picture – bring them on!

Catch you tomorrow.

Jake and the dogs.