Starting off with the odd session on the particular lake filled me with excitement and a buzz I couldn't let go of. Seeing photos of the fish inside the water, I couldn't resist taking a leap and getting the rods out. I was well out of my comfort zone, especially up against the people I was fishing next to. I decided once I started to drive, I had the power to be down more often and keep some bait trickling into some areas, starting to add nights to the blank, which was very hard to stay confident with. Having a couple of times where fish were on the spot feeding, I couldn't get bites when I needed to, but that's what this lake is about catching them off guard and there is no better way than getting them confident on a certain bait and area.
After chopping and changing my rigs to rigs I hadn't ever cast out before because they are the well-known "big carp rigs", I look back now and realise it was silly. I went straight back to my go-to rig on a clean area, and that's exactly what worked. After baiting up on the Monday, then the Thursday with no intentions of fishing, I saw an opportunity for a quick night after work and decided to get down there. Rods straight in the spot, beds of boilies around, and fishing a matching hook bait, I knew I couldn't go too far wrong. With the days spent wasted while they were taking advantage of the sun for 18 hours of the day, I decided to have the rods ready to go and bait already out there, and by the time dusk came, I threw them out with no wrapped baits. Even with the nuisance of thousands of crayfish, I had a feeling I would be alright, and having to add length to my rig when fishing a spread of bait, I got that rod out on the spot.
In the early hours of the morning, I woke up to a flurry of beeps, and around the time I had this carp, the pike were spawning and smashing into the lines left, right, and centre. I didn't think much of it, but as I was up, I got out of bed, and with the mist being so bad I couldn't see my rod from my bed, I thought I should check how my bobbin had sat just in case I'd been done. I got over to the rod and there was no noise from the alarm, and that was because the take had pulled my rod off the alarm and it was stripping line as quick as my heart was beating. Picking into the rod and feeling a fish on the end was relieving, but I knew I would have to be careful playing this, as losing a fish from here would be a complete nightmare and everything would've gone to waste.
Not a single noise came from me after this fish took me everywhere. A fight like I had never had before from a carp, and not being able to see the fish go over the net cord due to the mist was a struggle. I remember looking down into the net and holding my breath for which one it was, as I know each and every fish from memory. Excited like a kid at Christmas, I realised it's a common, and that is 1 of 13 fish ticked off the hit list and even better, 1 of 2 commons ticked off the hit list. With it being a target for my first fish, I felt so much weight off my shoulders in that moment. I shouted like never before. The moment felt surreal. After 13 blank nights and learning the whole lake on my own, it was such a good feeling, and having the help of Octopus, I wouldn't have been able to be down so much putting bait in.
Knowing what fish it was and the weight when it last came out, I knew it would be a buzz seeing the scales go round to a new personal best, and an unreal carp to show for it a brute of a common and definitely one with some stories. I phoned a friend to come down and do some mega shots.
That is how perseverance pays off, and it sometimes may not seem worth it, but it definitely is. It will definitely be one to remember. It definitely helps having that reassurance of one of these carp under my belt for the future to come, and hopefully for some more targets to get ticked off. I have a carp known as "The Rouge" in my album, and what a great experience to have with it, especially with my uncle being the first one to catch it from this lake 12 years ago when it got moved across lakes. It is a great feeling that I have.
Now there is one ticked off, there are definitely more for me to chase and great experiences to come, and the buzz is bigger than ever now. This year has only just come to life.
