Mystery

I was walking around an old estate lake this morning, before going into work. It's at least 300 years old - possibly 400. Surrounded by dense woodland and about 25 to 30 acre in size.

It was my second home as a child - only a spit away from where I lived. It was a captivating place when I was young, but has now lost something.

The water is now full of smallish roach; perch and bream - match fished by the leasing club.

I remembered back; to the superb fish I caught and encounters I experienced (the loss of a roach which I have not bettered 30 years on and the year I hooked 2 unknown carp which powered off to the other side with my totally under gunned gear). I even experienced a ghostly encounter, one very dark night, during what proved to be a very eventful tench session.

I have come to the conclusion - the essence of fishing for me is in the title. What single most magical aspect keeps you on your angling journey?

1 would agree with that when i ever ive returned to places i fished
its not been at all the same, better to keep the memories

What was the ghostly encounter?

The unknown is something i look for in my angling. I like to target BIG waters such as rivers and canals because they are just such big venues and fish can come and go often travelling for miles, you never know what may turn up next. The same goes for the Scottish lochs, pure mystery.

You cant beat finding a water that isn't being fished by anyone else, every trip is engrossing and expectation is high, it could hold the fish of your dreams or just contain some stunted tiddlers, but you have to try or you will never know.............

Sadly waters like this are few and far between and your very lucky if you find one.

I'm pretty sure it's not 'mystery' with me. I am driven, and have been since I was a kid, but I think it's closer to an addiction with me.

Going back to places fished years ago is never the same. Best to keep fond memories. These places now appear too small where once they were huge. The fish also smaller and not in the same numbers. one place I fishes took a good hour and a half to walk to across country, hard fishing and not even worth a visit in winter. Summer we had small roach and perch, if lucky a jack pike to a wopping 2lb. Once saw a guy catch a 9lb pike which he killed, we thought it was huge, biggest fish me and my mates had ever seen. Now the place is only half its size, silted and weeded up. Keep meaning to go back and have another try.

The only mystery I like is 'where has Chris gone for the afternoon'. Sneaking out for ellicit extra fishing trips Chav Professor aka international man of mystery........

Catching my first ever Carp from a 90 acre gravel pit! I was not sure it contained Carp until I saw them crash out, I fished a week session and caught a 17lbs Mirror! There was still mystery as I landed Carp to over 30lbs, but saw fish that dwaft mine! Mystery indeed, maybe one day will will find out the secrets locked within the pool!

Danny and noknot.

Similar vein of thought as me.

Stillwaters - especially big ones, which are untouched - offer mystery.

Canals and rivers, due to their size and lack of pressure - offer mystery.

That estate lake I fished, threw up some increadible sessions - not just related to fishing, I may add. The monsters and myths have all gone; replaced by small fish by the thousand.

I have often wondered why I move on from a fishery when having tremendous success - the truth is, when:-

- I feel I've cracked it
- Can almost predict what I will catch
- Catch consistently more than the locals
- Identify frequent repeat captures from photos

..... The mystery has gone .....

Time to move on, to a water that re-triggers the imagination of what is contained within it's depths!!!!