Catch fish with Mike Ladle.

Catch Fish with
Mike Ladle

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For anyone unfamiliar with the site always check the FRESHWATER, SALTWATER and TACK-TICS pages. The Saltwater page now extends back as a record of over four years of (mostly) sea fishing and may be a useful guide as to when to fish. The Freshwater stuff is also up to date now. I keep adding to both. These pages are effectively my diary and the latest will usually be about fishing in the previous day or two. The Tactics pages which are chiefly 'how I do it' plus a bit of science are also updated regularly and (I think) worth a read (the earlier ones are mostly tackle and 'how to do it' stuff so if you are new to fly fishing or spinning these are the ones for you).

07 August 2007.

Carp in hot weather.

My wife seemed to want me out of the house. At least that's how I interpreted her comment of "Why don't you go fishing?" the other afternoon. Needing no second invitation I chopped up a bout a third of a farmhouse loaf (40p for a session's bait seems good to me) grabbed the rod and the bag and set off. It was a hot afternoon, in fact is was very hot. As I took my kit from the car there was another angler in the car park. he was in the process of securing what looked like several tonnes of tackle onto his 'handcart'. Together we set off towards the lake and after about twenty metres my companion stopped and took off his shirt. He made a comment to the effect that he wished he had as little gear as I did. he also said that he thought it was much too hot for decent carp fishing. We wished each other luck and set off to different spots. I chose the snaggiest, person free, stretch of bank I could find and he went towards one of the staged and cleared pitches.

Anyone who has been reading my diary this year may have gathered that the carping has been a bit on the slow side so (in agreement with my recent acquaintance) I was not too hopeful.

I chose a really reedy spot lobbed out a big lump of crust and waited. If a carp took the bread I wanted to be sure it was the piece on my hook. After twenty minutes I was beginning to wonder if I had cast to the wrong spot. the reeds were rustling but always a metre or two away from my bait. I gave a tug to release the bait, wound in, baited up again and tried a second spot. The result was the same, a few shaking reeds and no interest in my bait. One spot, well inside the reed bed, seemed to show more activity than elsewhere so again I reeled in and rebaited. this time I flicked the bait over the curtain of reeds to more or less the place where the carp seemed to be active. It had barely touched down on the water before the big piece of bait that I'd cast the first time was engulfed with a slurp. "Bugger!" I thought. Anyway, time was marching on so no point shifting now. I was right to be patient (relatively patient for me that is) because a couple of minutes later my rod whanged over as a carp hooked itself. The clutch buzzed and the fish splashed about on the surface but with the rod held high I was able to bully it through the reeds. I thrust the net over the brambles and slid the fish in. Phew! just time for a picture and then I put it back.

On my way back to the car I spoke to a few other anglers, mostly legering with a couple of rods. No one had had a bite so I was well pleased with my session.

The pitch.

The little pink arrow shows where the fish took my crust.

Nice.

My common in the net.  The barbless hook dropped out and I put the fish back within seconds.