With the ice finally thawed and some proper Carpy looking weather due to arrive I hastily made my way to the Berkshire club lake I've been targeting, on arrival the water still felt ridiculously cold, after a good few laps and with nothing to show I set up next to a big snag that I knew had done a few fish last winter,
the forecast rain soon hit and it looked bang on, I did the night by the snag but to no avail so was soon moving down the lake in the pouring rain, everything was soaked but I had to find the fish, I repeated the wet process a few hours later, all the time just flicking light leads and singles around with nothing to go on. In my third swim of the day I finally saw what I was after, a very subtle patch of pin prick of bubbles breaking the surface, just a couple but enough. I quickly repositioned a rod right on top of the fizz, casting well over the mark and then skimming the rig back across the surface before letting it fall down, it went down nice and soft in the silt.
Ten minutes later the bobbin pulled up and stuck, I lifted straight in to it knowing how finicky the bites can be this time of year, the fish put up a good fight but was soon mine,
I was absolutely chuffed to bits with this capture the harder you have to work for them the greater the achievement I always think, a single 16mm pineapple n butryc popup on my usual semi stiff hinges with a super sharp size 5 Angling Iron chod hook and a little 1.5oz lead did the trick.
The result - A stunning looking Common of 25lb+ a typical Berkshire bar of gold.
The other side of the magnificent carp
