Two PB Carp from the Trent
Date: Saturday 17 June 2006 I SET UP in my intended night swim, prebaiting the far bank with CSL pellets and the nearside undercut with a big bed of hemp using a large bait dropper. I then had a walk up and down the river with my quivertip rod and some bread flake, just poking around hoping for a bonus chub. I had a few of the usual fast and furious hits but unfortunately the chub were wilier than me, although it bodes well for a future sustained attack targeting the chub.
I started fishing seriously at about 11pm, hoping for a nice double figure barbel to set me up for a good start to the new season. Nothing stirred on the two rods for over an hour and then just before midnight an almighty thump and the far bank rod went shooting out of the tripod river bound. I grabbed the rod and stumbled down the bank to get to river level. The fish was stripping line and heading straight downstream towards the reed beds on that side of the river. I managed to get control of the fish by braking the spool with my hand rather than trusting the drag too much. The fish fought doggedly and kept charging downstream.
Once I got it to the net I found I had caught my first ever River Trent carp weighing in at 9lb 8oz. I was ecstatic, although a minnow compared to what the carp lads on the FishingMagic forum usually catch it was a monster to me. The excitement soon turned to boredom as the clock ticked around and not another bite occurred, so presuming I had killed the swim with the commotion of the fight with the carp, I reeled in, prebaited again with hemp and had a couple of hours kip. The coolness of the morning was too much for me to rest so at 0500 I once more cast out, hoping to catch Boris the barbel on his breakfast patrol. I was feeling good, the warmth of the sun was coming through and the birds were starting to come to life for the day.
Ten minutes passed by and bang, another big bite on the nearside rod, I had took the precaution of setting the baitrunner, so I struck into the fish and immediately the rod bent double and I though that I would snap off. I managed to flick the reel into free spool and let the fish have its head, my heart was pumping then, I thought the Traveller had moved up North from the Great Ouse and I had him on the end of my rod! After what seemed to me an eternity I managed to get the fish under control and I landed a pristine looking 13lb 3oz carp. The night’s fishing turned out a bit different for me, but I had just as much enjoyment and satisfaction as catching barbel and chub. who knows, this experience might have given me the appetite to get back on the stillwaters next close season to target carp. |
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