Good Evening.
The weather worsened as darkness fell and the rain that started at around midday strengthened along with the winds. There wasn’t much socializing done last night – it was a case of looking after yourself and staying warm and protected. One thing I always do whenever I undertake a session is I ensure my shelters are put up perfectly so they work as they were designed. There is no point having a top quality Trakker product and not utilising the benefits it provides. I always put mine up so they are very tight and this should prevent accidents in the winds.
A good installation is essential!
Solid...solid as a rock!!
Yesterday afternoon I braved the elements, put on my life jacket, and ventured out to redrop my rod onto the hump spot from where I caught the 12kg mirror. I protected my pva nugget and stringer with a plastic bag to stop it getting wet in the rain as I rowed out to my spot. The winds were very strong at this point and it wasn’t easy. I did a good job though baiting up and dropped my rig on the money before motoring back to my swim. I was rewarded for my efforts at 5am, when a few beeps had me out of my sleeping bag and into a waterproof jacket. I played the fish from the bank because it would have been dangerous in the boat. The wind was reaching its ultimate strength and I know it is possible to play fish from the bank due to the lack of snags. An average common appeared in the choppy water yards from the bank after reeling in for a few minutes. I slipped the fish into a sack till the morning as the weigh in could be done then.
At 5.8kg the carp had put me in the lead for the first time. Danilo has now managed to get his rods out as the winds have switched direction and also died down a tad. The weather is still rather British and grey and overcast with a slight chill in the air. I hope tomorrow it will improve and we will have a little sunshine.The fishing has slowed up a little in the last few days since the weather took a turn for the worse, however, the carp have kept coming, but with slightly less regularity. It would be nice if the temperatures rise as I am sure we will have a nail-biting climax to the winners post!
Is he still alive?
Yes he is!!
It did look like a bomb had gone off in our swim this morning and the bomb had struck the Italian’s side. I am proud to say that I had a good night’s sleep till the arrival of the carp, and apparently I was sleeping so well that I failed to hear the commotion going on outside as Danilo’s bivvy took off, his rods leant against his bivvy appeared by his head, his kitchen umbrella was smashed to pieces along with most of his utensils, and everything was drenched including the Italian himself. In true Danilo fashion he greeted me this morning with two words “No Problem!”
The Bombsite!
It is now time to eat some good hearty food and see what the night brings. We are back to our electric-powered boats for the time being as Christian has returned, and has taken his boat back for a couple of days, and is fishing much further up the bank. We are both used to operating our crafts in bad weather though, so it is not a problem and our boat batteries are full of charge.
The results at the end of today are as follows: Danilo with six carp has a weight of 49.2kg and with eight carp and a weight of 54.5kg is the English gent…apparently!
Back tomorrow.
Jake and the dogs…and of course – the Italian!
