Adam Johnson Start as you mean to go on.
Another few weeks come and go and with didaly squat to my name in the way of fish. This is no surprise as on my current target water Four Seasons Fisheries Lodge Lake I have done over 30 nights so far this year with out a fish. But that was about to change dramatically.
I work on Four Seasons Fisheries so spend a lot of time walking the lake chatting with anglers and baiting. I Usually fish 3 overnighters a week on a Monday Wednesday and Friday. This week though I decided to not fish the Friday or Monday but to bait up and let them get their heads down. I finished work on Monday night at around 5 – 6pm and made my way round the lake with a bucket of bait and my trusty cybershot throwing stick. After baiting a few spots with a combination of the Nash monster squid soluballs and the monster squid in purple, black and original I jumped in my car and made my way home.
As I pulled on to the drive with the sun glaring in my eyes I just knew it was right for a fish. I managed to make my mind up. No longer had I got home I was back on the road zooming down to the lake (below the speed limits of course). I pulled in to the carp park and wasted no time getting the barrow and walking round the lake. I ended up jumping on the back of the freezing cold easterly wind in the hope that the carp where taking shelter and enjoying the first bit of sun we had experienced all year. The rods where quickly knocked up. The right and middle rods rigs consisted of a Nash weed safety bolt bead Diffusion camo leader with around a 16 inch hooklink made up from the Nash NXT braid going down to a size 7 Fang X hook. I fished this with a critically balanced orange 10mm Monster Squid popup topped with a grain of Enterprise tackles midi pop up corn and finished it off by threading 3 Monster Squid Chain Reactions down the hooklink.
The left rod was whipped up with a solid bag full of the nash gyro bug mix. As a hook bait I used a Enterprise hybrid boilie with a purple monster squid boilie pushed inside to make a oval bait. I fished this with a size 8 fang twister hook on a 3 inch supple braided hooklink. Once all the rods where rigged up I made way getting them on the spots. The left rod went up near the point of an island on a bar that protrudes off. Then came the middle, which sat between the two islands in a silt trap just behind a bar and finally the right-hander that went up to the other island in a deep gully that runs the length of the point of the island. With all three rods positioned I clipped on three Nash 4 gram EZI slid backleads. I tightened all the lines for 5 minutes just to pull any bow out and to pull the lines down in the water before slackening off and popping up the Hog brolly.
Another 20 minutes passed and I jumped up to clip on the bobbins as I leave them off while sinking my line. With the traps set I made my way round to the peg next door for a look, as I was sure I had seen some commotion there when casting out. As I wandered over I heard a bleep and thought nothing of it. Then another. Then another. I ran back round to find all the bobbins sat as previously, despite that fact I thought I best stick by the rods for a few more minutes just to be on the safe side. No sooner had I touched down on my chair the right hand bobbin fired in to the blank and the alarm began to shrill its war tones across the lake. I jumped up and lifted in to a rather slow moving but not heavy carp. My instant suspicions where that it was a stocky. After a not so spirited fight I had the fish bundled in the back of the net. I snipped off my leader and took a moment before peering in the black mesh. Low and behold a white shadow was it in it. Not only had I nailed my first of the year but also it was a stunning white koi that had previously never hit the bank. I was over the moon. I unhooked the fish and quickly made another rig up while I let the carp regain its strength in the retainer sling. I thumped the rod back out on the spot and made a phone call to a mate so he could come do the photo duties. Once he turned up I slipped the fish on the mat and lifted it on the scales before lifting it for the camera for a few trophy shots. The weight was only 13.8lb but after all those hours blanking, baiting and walking it entirely turn out to be worthwhile. As I slipped her back to her watery home I joked to my friend that I would call him up again in an hour with another on the mat.
I made my way back to the peg where I slackened off the right hander again as I had repeated the process of popping on a back lead and tightening up while the fish was in the net. I gave it 15 minutes and a few phone calls before clipping on the bobbin. Sat back on the bed I started to scribble down the fish in my diary, as I like to keep a note of everything I find on the lake or catch. Minutes after the pen had hit the paper line began peeling from the spool on the right hand rod again. The diary went flying across the peg as I zoomed out and hit in to another lump. This time it I was not met with the same head shaking or light weight I had had previously but instead the rod met the resistance of a heavy fast moving fish. The carp instantly stripped 30 yards of line off me before slowing down. I managed to turn the fish and the slow heavy battle commenced. After a good 10 minutes of trying to lead the fish in I finally had it kissing the spreader block. With one quick sweep of the net she was mine. I dropped the rod and just stood blank for a moment taking in what had happened. With only 4 fish being banked since January to god knows how many anglers I surely had not just landed my second in a hour. I walked to the waiting net and peered in to see another fish I had not ever seen. It was bb a stunning mirror that again had never hit the bank. I popped the hook out and got my mat and camera ready before phoning my friend to tell him the news. He came rushing round to do the honors. Up on the scales it went 21.10lb. Not the biggest of fish but still one of the fish I have had to graft hardest for. The photos where done and I slid her back. I tidied up the mess and went back to the brolly. With the rod back in position I made my self a cup of tea and sat staring over the lake, watching the sun go down and feeling rather smug. After the light had dropped I hopped in the bag for a early night. Nothing else happened that night but as I packed up at around 6am in the morning sun I felt amazed at what had happened and all that hard work had not just been wasted. Another fish in the few fish under my belt and getting ever so slightly closer to unlocking the Lodge Lake code and nailing my main target fish The Big Lin.
Tight lines Adam