a quick go at the carp.

The Pit, on a boiling hot and clear day.

With only a few days left until I headed off for Spain I found a few hours free to get some fishing done.
After a little thought of where to turn my attentions to I loaded the car and headed for White Springs fishery.
My first thought was to head for the Old Canal lake and have a look  at the outsize perch that like to hang around the reed lined margins, but with the sun beating down strong and the temperature gauge in the car reading 24 degrees I rethought my plans and decided to have a go at the carp.
I paid my day ticket fee and headed down to the have a look at the Pit, a small water with three inviting islands to go at, as I drove to the lake I stopped to have a quick look on the pleasure lake, and seeing a few fish moving thought I would make a start here even though It gave me no chance of my target size carp, I thought I a good idea just to try and get a couple of fish on the bank first.
I set up two rods, both very simple, a float fished set up to fish casters up in the water and a size 8 hook tied directly to 6lb line to free line prawns or a floating bait depending on what was showing and where.
I feed a small handful of casters every cast and soon enough the quality roach where boiling the water, I watched as several large silver flashes raced through the swim snatching at the bait as soon as it was hitting the water, while all this was going on something took off with my  prawn hook bait I had dropped no more the a rod length out, as the line pulled tight and the tip of my rod pulled around I went to lift the rod and bend into what was hopefully going to be my first carp of the day, only for the rod to be pulled away from me and into the lake, all I could do was watch and the rod moved through the water at a rate of knots. I managed to loop the line of my float road around the butt of the rod and slowly pulled it towards me, I could feel a fishing kicking back so had to take my time. Just as I got the free line rod back into my hands the line snapped and my prize was lost, (not that I deserved to land that fish)
I fished on another hour, taking some of the roach on caters before moving down to the Pit.
There are only a few swims on the pit and with four of them occupied I started thinking the Canal might be a better option again, so I parked up and had a walk around the Pit first to see if there was any sign of lift on the one side that had no anglers on it. Well it was perfect and the fact I could see fish on the top as well as patches of bubbles I did not need telling this was the place to start.


I could see the other anglers on the lake where not having much luck, pulling in a small bream now and then, but no carp were falling to any of the rods that had been there for a few hours I was in little doubt that the fish were in front of me, but would they feed???
I set up a light method feeder and put a peace of meat on a size 14 hook and flicked it towards a patch of bubbles then cast a double dog mixers towards the the island closest to me, It landed no more then a few inches from the corner of the island and was taken straight away, I lifted into the fish and a large swirl in the shallow water was followed by a run I could do little about the only issue being the the fish was going one way but my line was still pointing towards the grass at the edge of the island. I had to find direct contact with the fish or it would be lost, then lady luck gave me a little smile and the my line came free of the snag and I was back in the game The fish charged to my right and before I new it, the fish had the upper hand again as it found a patch of weeds close in and tried to get as deep as it could into the center of them.



I walked to the weeds with my net in one hand and the rod in the other, still not sure just how big this fish was, it could have been 3lb or 33lb i had no idea. I changed the angle of the rod to see if I could workout where the fish was, again I was not in direct contact as the line entered the water well away from the fish, which was now sitting still, just below the surface, I pulled the weeds apart carefully with my landing net to see a the back of a lovely looking mirror carp, not anything to challenge my target but a stunning looking fish all the same. With the good old lady luck still grinning in my direction I managed slip the net under my prize.
The weight was a modest 7lb 4oz but on a day when all others on the lake had not caught I was happy to have banked a fish, first cast, using the simplest of water craft.

My stunning looking Mirror, not a monster but still worth the effort.

I went on to catch a few bream on the method feeder before taking a a single rod to the canal to catch a further four small carp of around 2lb each, before packing up, happy with my days fishing, a little sun burnt and very hungery, but worth it I think.