The Carpy Couple, Chasing Carp: Going Against The Grain

The New Swim

I have been fishing a local lake near me, it's fair to say this lake has its on and off days and can be slow at times. The carp can be very shy but if you get things right, it can be productive and throw up a few surprises at times.

Let me tell you a bit about this lake. Its about 8 to 9 acres in size, but don't hold me to that! It's shape is like two bowls, with a narrow and shallow canal that connects the two. When the water level is up, the fish can swim between the two lakes. But as last summer was really dry and the winter has been dry too, the water level has dropped quite a bit and the shallow canal has dried out. This makes it in to two separate lakes at the moment. It has a good head of fish, mainly low doubles but as I said, it has been throwing up some surprises lately. This has got me fishing it again as I really don't know what secrets this lake holds.

This lake is very mature and beautiful.

However, it does have some really big down sides to it. There is no bailiff. This means it's not looked after by anyone apart from a few anglers like myself, who care about the state of it. As it's a park lake and there is no fee for permits, it attracts a fair share of bad anglers who like to misuse it as a place to get drunk and leave there litter, which in turn gives the rest of us anglers who fish it a bad name. But hay ho, we will carry on fighting the losing battle to try and keep it tidy.

As the weather gets warmer, the more fair weather carp anglers will come out in force. This is when the lake starts to fish hard. Sometimes its good to go against the grain. As the lake starts to get busy, I will forever be thinking of ways to keep catching when the pressure starts to make the carp shy away. The picture left, is my latest way of trying to trick those carp in to feeding. Then I could snare one or two. It all started when I was fishing on the opposite bank and noticed that most of the water out in front off me was not accessible. This was down to the big willows that over hanged and made it impossible for me to cast to the showing fish I could see. After having a lead around, and found it would be near to impossible to land the carp. This was because some nasty sunken snag's between me and them and it would be mad to try and fish this safely.

The next day, I walked along the the opposite bank and noticed where the water level had dropped. I realised that with a bit of work, I could cut a small swim in the ball rush reeds that thinned out in-between two trees. I also gave these trees a slight prune back, so I had just enough room to cast and squeeze two ten foot rods in. I prefer to use the 10 foot rods at this venue as I feel it gives me a slight edge over other anglers. I can fit into places other people generally won't fish, due to lack of room.

Once I had made the small swim, it opened up the whole of the water in front of me. This was a place the carp felt safe. Gradually, I started to apply a little bait. Steadily, I increasing the bait before putting a rig in front of them. I wanted the carp to gain confidences and feed safely with out being caught. I done this stealthily until I thought it was time to put my plan into action.

The morning came. I walked to the spot I had hidden and kept a secret for the past week. I was so excited at the thought of fishing the swim. But at the same time I knew that after doing so, someone would see me and it would no longer be a secret. The weather was perfect, low pressure, cloudy, with the odd spot of sun bursting through the clouds. I put my bite alarms in place, got the rods ready and everything seemed perfect. I flicked my rigs out on the spots I had been pre-baiting. One of them being hard and gravely, the other being clay next to a snag- I applied a little bait. I sat back and watched the water- waiting with loads of confidence.

I had been in the swim for about 30 minuets and the rod screamed off. After a bit of a battle this upper double common was safely in the net. I was well happy. So instead off being greedy, and recasting the rod, I decided to pack up quickly. I apply a little more bait to keep the carp coming back. This was to keep carp feeding with confidence in the area. As it was still morning and just got light, there was no one else on the lake. I covered my tracks so my spot stayed a secret for that little longer.

The next day, my husband decided that he would take the older two kids fishing with him. This is so they could play at the park. He asked if it would be OK to fish the spot I had been working on. I was more than happy to let him as I knew it would not be long until someone else noticed it. As Lloyd and the kids arrived at the lake there was already a couple of people fishing. Lloyd asked if they had caught anything and both anglers told him they hadn't even had a knock. Lloyd continued to the small swim I had been working on. He set up and flicked the rigs back on the spots I had been baiting in the same way. He put out a little bait over the spots and sat back watching the water while teaching our kids how to tie rigs. An hour past by with nothing but as he watched the water he noticed a lot of bubbling and fizzing over the clay spot next to the snags. Within moments the water erupted as the Delkim screamed off. After a good battle, he slowly gained line, being careful not too put to much pressure on the fish. He tried his best not to pull the hook as he knew this fish felt a little special. He slowly pulled her over the landing net. She was his! He was so happy as he had never seen this fish before. The the other fellas that were fishing down the other end of the lake came down to see the commotion. They gave Lloyd a hand to weigh the fish. She came in at 22lbs 6oz. Lloyd was over the moon with his catch. This fish had never been caught. To our knowing, it was in perfect condition- fat, deep and thick. A truly beautiful common.

But the capture of the common carp came at a price. The location of the swim had been compromised. The capture had massively disturbed the once un-fished part of the lake. Now the carp don't feel as safe at this location anymore. They have become too weary.

However, I already have the next plan in my head. I'm ready to put the next plan into action.