After a week on the home front (my Mum's on the Wirral), Yosemite Sam finally told me "you've reached your destination, ya no good bushwhacking varmint". Unbelievable how sweet those words were.
This morning, car packed, to the Commie I go - first item packed was the I-pod. I just wanted to be left alone to catch some fish. Much as I love me Mum, a week there accompanied by putting her house on the market in order to downsize removed the tag of holiday. A change is as good as a rest? Cardiac arrest, maybe.
Arriving, rocked up to a swim I'd had an eye on a wee while back, on the end of an island. As well as 13m of pole to reach it, I also fancied something a bit different and also set up a Drennan Tench float, PXR 4000 with 8lb main to a 14 to 6lb bottom. This was for a bag of prawns, in the first instance.
Started on the pole with a musical accompaniment of some serious Motown toons, The Temptations, Martha Reeves, Edwin Starr, that kinda thing.
Potted in the usual mix of chilli hemp, 4mm spam and 1mm micro pellets. Five minutes in with my mind wandering, I missed the first bite. Not happy, my mistake. Growl. Back out with a 6mm spam cube and made no mistake after another ten minutes, a tiny common around a pound and a half. The start of a run of commons, mirrors and F1's, nine on the bounce from around 1 to 4lbs.
Coffee and a change of tactics, baits. Out came the rod and prawn cast past the island and reeled back to the edge. The decent sized prawn didn't attract too much (ie: any) attention whilst my coffee did. Just as I finished the first cup, it went. Struck into what felt fairly solid as it tried to escape back behind the island. I steered it back out into open water and, eventually, a nice looking mirror of maybe 5 and a bit slid into the net. Back out, more coffee, and an F1 around 2lbs nailed the prawn.
Coffee done. Back on the pole and into the second hour. Spam again. A couple of skimmers in quick succession, both around the half pound mark. Then the carp returned, three more between 1 and 3lbs. I potted in a whole cup of hemp and a few cubes of spam and this seemed to kick some life into it. After one more carp around a pound, a succession of skimmers and roach turned up. The skimmers from around 4oz to a pound or so and the roach from 4oz to about 10oz. Nothing giant but all looked mint condition.
Hour three and the fun really started. The first carp was the biggest of the day, circa 9lbs and kicked up a right old fuss, a real battle from a real old warrior which looked like it had had a real hard paper round. Proper toughie.
The day was going exactly to plan, a few fish and nobody (especially predatory estate agents) bothering me. After a handful more roach, skimmers and a solitary perch around 4oz on the spam, the float dipped to kick off a fight which felt a bit unusual, didn't think it was a carp as it didn't go charging off but corkscrewed down to the bottom, as it felt to me.
It turned out to a bream around 3lbs. Fun. Washing my hands from a bottle of sparkling water, back out and a few small carp were waiting. I tried prawn on the pole, had a couple of carp on it but nothing out of the ordinary so back on the spam.
Into the fourth hour and I regret to say the barbel were conspicuous via their absence today. No tench either, or any of the stillwater chub that lurk beneath.
Three more carp soon followed, all around the 2lbs mark, with a sprinkling of skimmers and the very odd roach. I also managed to bump something which felt big and angry.
The last hour went the same way, another handful of small carp and one of around 6lbs which put up a good show.
I'd have to guess (not that it worries me) that the final bag would have been 60 - 70lbs. The day gave me what I wanted and needed, a few fish, some me-time and time left to get home and fill the washing machine with a week's washing. Deep joy. I could feel a fish and chip supper coming on.....
Take care, all.
