Good Morning.

I am back at my house after packing up early this morning. After nine night’s I decided it’s better to be happy with your results and walk away, rather than stay on in the hope of catching more, and possibly be faced with packing up in the pouring rain. I also had another reason to pack up a night earlier than expected, as at 9pm last night I caught a new personal best mirror carp from Sierra Brava! A regular reader, Martyn, commented earlier in the week how my carp senses seemed to be functioning well during this session and I guess he was right. In yesterday’s post I made the bold comment that it would be great to finish my session off with a 30lb+ mirror – I got it right again as my fishy prediction came right!

I made a couple of subtle changes to two rods yesterday and placed them about five yards further out than they had been throughout the whole session. I did this because I had a hunch that it may produce something larger, as quite often big fish can be in the vicinity of smaller feeding carp, yet they can often hang back, almost watching their counterparts feeding, but possibly not wanting to join in due to sensing danger! People often talk about fishing off their baited patch, and what I was doing was essentially that.

I also did something I haven’t done before on one rod, also to try to tempt a larger fish. I am not going to say what it was, which is unusual for me, as I don’t normally have secrets! However, as it worked, I would like to see if it works again on my next trip, before I reveal what my simple change to my hookbait turned out to be!?

After I ate my dinner last night, I was hoping if I had a run, it would be on this very rod. Five minutes later, as I was sat outside, the rod took off – don’t you just love it when that happens! The fish powerfully took a lot of line in a short space of time, and then slowed down. I gradually bought it back towards me as it kited inch by inch to my left. I was expecting the fish to put up more of a battle to be honest after its initial surge of strength, and then I heard a small splash a few metres out, and my heart sank a little. I suddenly thought the fish had fooled me completely, and it was in fact another small carp, but then it bobbed to the surface and stayed there. I could see a pale and large shape that grew and grew as it got closer to me, and realising I had a big mirror coming straight towards my net – I was then completely gob-smacked!

I broke the net down quickly and carried the fish to the unhooking mat. My size 2 hook was securely in its bottom lip, so after gently removing it, I transferred the fish into a retainer and weighed her. The needle swung round and settled on 38lbs or 17.23kg to be exact. My previous biggest mirror at Brava was a mid-thirty so not only did I get my 30lb+ mirror, I also got a new pb mirror from Sierra Brava. What a result!

A two-tone mirror from Brava weighing 17.23kg

I left the fish to settle in the retainer, secured against a bankstick, and got the rod back to the mark. Three spombs followed and then I checked on the fish. She had tilted to one side and wasn’t looking comfortable so I guessed that she was having problems with her swim bladder. I never like to unnecessarily retain fish for long periods of time especially when the fish looks in distress, so I quickly got my camera equipment sorted out, did the deed behind the lens, and carried the fish back to the water. I stayed with the fish for twenty minutes until she seemed to let out a big burp of air! Only when I was satisfied, did I let her swim off, and happily, she looked okay, and was not tilting to either side as she waddled off into the depths.

It is very important when you have a carp in this condition that you don’t let it swim off until you are completely sure it has recovered. The best technique is to hold the carp under the surface and gently let go. If she rises to the surface and tilts to one side then there is obviously still a problem. The danger sometimes is the fish can seem okay and swim off quickly, partly due to stress, then once the fish has swum a few yards it can suddenly resurface; meaning the fish is now out of your reach, and you are now unable to help the fish recover. Carp care is not just about unhooking mats and miracle anti-septic products(!), and it is always your responsibility as an angler to return a carp that is healthy and strong.

Finishing my session on a high with my new personal best Sierra Brava mirror carp!!!

Nothing else happened for the duration of the night. The weather is not exactly how I would like it as the winds are easterly for the next few days, so once morning arrived I made the hasty decision to call it a day. Packing up took about two and a half hours, as I like to pack everything away, so it is ready to go at a moments notice. My house is now set up so I can quickly unload everything straight through the front door into two different rooms: a tackle store, and a bait room. I even have a drying room outside for smelly items such as unhooking mats and slings. It is just as well that I currently don’t have a girlfriend, as although it might be the carp anglers dream house, I am sure a female would have other ideas!!!

My next session is planned in a weeks time. I will be doing another longish session and will continue my mission to catch my first twenty kilo carp from Sierra Brava. A fifty pounder would be nice, but one step at a time!

Thanks for following my blog during this session. I hope you have enjoyed reading about it as much as I have enjoyed writing about it. Finally, enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Cheers

Jake and Flash!