Park Life – Over before it’s Began….

After some news of a new permanent contract at work on Thursday I was keen to celebrate, so I arranged for my long suffering carp angling companion Pete to come over on Friday evening and enjoy the finest eastern delights from the local Indian takeaway with me and my wife.

Friday evening soon arrived as did Pete and whilst making him a brew in the kitchen he noticed my hook sharpening equipment on the side and said “Off to the Park are we?” I just simply replied “Yes mate first thing in the Morning”, now I can’t remember his exact words but it went something like this “I’m not being funny mate and please don’t take it the wrong way but you’re a fu%$ing nutter, you have started a campaign on an 80 acre days only pit with 30 fish in it in January, you’re putting in all this effort and it may be for nothing if no one takes on the fishing rights in March”, this shocked me a bit and I didn’t really know what to say, in fact it did make sense but I went on the offensive and just replied with “I’ll be done by then mate, its only takes one bite!” he very simply replied “Yeah and I could pull Cheryl Cole on a night out but I don’t go every night hoping it will happen!” I could see his point, I certainly had chosen to make life difficult for myself, I love the Park and the challenge but the two factors that held me back were the days only rule and the fact that the lease will be over in March so I certainly wouldn’t be able to have them on my own terms, the days only was doing my head in! A few hours on a low stock 80 acre pit was just not enough and time was running out anyway and I hadn’t even seen a sign of a fish since I started at the beginning of January.

Our Indian soon arrived and we tucked into it laughing and joking about old times and being generally in good spirits, Pete left at about 11pm so I finished tying a few rigs and then retired to bed ready for my early start on the Park Lake still intent on going.

I awoke blurry eyed and wobbled down the stairs and put the kettle on, knocking back two very strong black coffees to bring me back to the land of the living, once I was in a fit state I jumped in the van and made the short journey to the park.

Once parked up I set about loading the barrow and began the barrow journey to the same swim I fished before which incidentally I had prebaited a few days earlier before work with a couple of KGs of Live System.

My plan of attack for this session….

Once in the swim it took me no time at all to get three rods rigged up and unlike last time I had brought my wellys so I could wade out past the tree canopy to make casting slightly easier.

One rod was fished on a chod and was whacked to the horizon, the other two were baited with 10mm Ngage XP hook baits and fished in a pva bag, both at 90 yards range.

Once the rods were sorted I put the kettle on and sat back to think, Pete’s words were playing heavily on my mind and I decided that he was right I wanted a challenge, a low stock pit but I wanted to fish it on my terms, no silly rules just me against the fish so I decided that until the future was more clear on the Park Lake, this was to be my last session for now on the water.

Broken, but not Beaten….

I then began to think “errrrmmmmm so where do I go now?!” I could just flit about a bit until I made my mind up or could go back to the Snag Pit to finish what I started last season. It was then I that I remembered that I had been invited down to meet the fishery manager of a new syndicate on a previously only lightly fished low stock Pit, which is meant to hold a few surprises I made the phone call there and then and arranged to meet on Sunday. Obviously nothing is set in stone yet with regards to the syndicate as it doesn’t start until later in the year but it was nice to have a plan so I could just mooch about until then if need be.

Anyway as the morning wore on the sun began to show itself and it was quite pleasant sat next to the Pit,that was until a mad Labrador came bombing into my swim knocking my coffee over and running straight into my rods! I said a few expletives’s and decided that I had made the right decision!

It was now mid-day, I hadn’t seen a thing to note other than a few rather attractive young ladies jogging up the track behind me!

I put the kettle on once again and went and stood by the rods praying for just a sign if anything although it would have been great to bag one so I could leave the pit with a spring in my step but unfortunately neither materialised and I was forced to pack up later in the afternoon and leaving with my tail firmly between my legs, I was leaving broken but certainly not beaten and once the future of the park is revealed I hope to return and continue the quest but the way I want to do it.

But for the immediate future my own angling is unclear but you can be sure whatever happens I will be out there hidden behind the rods somewhere Chasing Myths…..

Until next time,

Smithy

Park Life - Feeding the Obsession

I began to question my sanity as I was scraping the ice off the inside of the van windscreen this morning, spraying ice all over the interior and in my face during the process!

I turned on the ignition and the dash lights lit up, I glanced at the thermometer - it read an outside temperature of -3c…I just said to myself  “see Smithy, it isn’t that bad” and chuckled as I pulled off the drive, I was leaving slightly later than planned due to a dodgy curry the previous night!

Two minutes later I was pulling into the Park gates, there was already a few dog walkers mooching about the café, no doubt having a hot drink after a long walk through the heavily frosted Park.

I made my way up to the over flow car park, noting the sign that said “overflow gates close at 4pm” as once again I had forgotten my key so needed to be packed up and off my then.

Once I had parked the van I quickly set about loading the barrow then skipped up the path to the same area I fished last time.

The conditions couldn’t have been any worse, there was not a breath of wind, clear skies and sub-zero temperatures but it beats being sat at home in front of the TV.

Once I pushed the barrow down the incline into the swim I quickly set about getting the rods sorted, all three were fished on running chod’s baited with the ever faithful Northern Specials.

The ever faithful Northern Specials fished on running chod’s….

I had exactly the same problem as last time with regards to getting the rigs out there due to the canopy of trees a few feet above my head; I really must remember the chest waders next time!

But once again after a bit of bending in awkward positions and cursing I soon had 3 single hook baits at 60 yards range.

As usual I sat back and fired up the coleman and rolled a smoke, the park was getting busier now and over the next few hours whilst I sat with my eyes fixed to the water I lost count of the times that I heard passers-by behind say “oh look,there’s a fisherman, never seen one here before!” and “he must be mad”, one women looked quite annoyed that I was there. I think I heard her say something to her friend along the lines of “well what if I wanted to let my dog swim in there?, he can’t now” I just mumbled something like “go away” – well kind of!.

Is there anything better in the world?

The thing that I really do like about the Park lake though is the look on children’s faces when they see you, all camouflaged crouched behind 3 rods at first they look intrigued and just stare in amazement then run off back to their parents shouting  about this ”strange man who’s fishing and he’s going to catch the biggest “. I really hope they leave the Park  thinking about fishing and that this somehow influences them to take it up as after all these children really are the future of our sport.

Anyway back to the fishing, I hadn’t taken my eyes off the water all morning but hadn’t seen a thing although to be honest I really wasn’t expecting to given the conditions.

By now it was about mid-day, I was knelt down by the rods praying for something to stick its head out when I received a text from a friend called Chris, I hadn’t seen him since the summer when I was fishing down snag pit, he had celebrated his 30^th birthday the previous night so was feeling a bit rough but fancied a walk to clear his head so said he would pop down for a brew and a catch up.

About an hour later I heard a familiar voice shout “well I can’t see any wet slings!” Chris was here!

So I fired up the coleman and we chatted away about what had been going on in the last few months and excitedly about the new season, both of us full of expectation….well hope, I guess!

The next couple of hours flew by as when I checked my phone to see how long I had left I couldn’t believe that it was nearly 3:30pm!

Giving them some food!

I grabbed a bag of Live System out of the barrow bag and put a couple of kilos out using the throwing stick, I won’t be able to get down next weekend due to a Carp Show in Norwich so just wanted to put a bit of food out to keep the area ticking over, I will try and pop into the park on my way back from the show next weekend to top the area up with a few more kg and later again that week before fishing it the following weekend all being well.

For once I really didn’t want to get locked in, normally I wouldn’t turn my nose up at a sneaky night on a day’s only water but the wife was due back from her mums with the kids and I couldn’t wait to see them so once the barrow was all loaded up we jogged back to the vans just beating the 4pm lock up time, I quickly loaded up the van then we bid each other farewell and headed for home.

Once home, I unloaded the van and checked the post and was pleased to see a Carpology amongst a load of bills, that’s my night sorted then…although I really should make a start on the chapter I have been asked to right for an Ebook!

Until next time,

Smithy

Park Life - An Obsession is Born

Well despite over sleeping by an hour following a hard first week back at work, I was pulling into the country park a mere 10 minutes after getting out of bed, it was great to be angling so locally!

On arrival, the gate to the over flow was locked and stupidly I had forgotten my key, so I loaded the barrow in the public car park and began the long barrow journey towards the top of the Pit. I was greeted by a strong  South Westerly which was gathering in strength by the minute.

I stopped a couple of times to look in a few likely areas but in the end settled for a swim that gave me the command of a large expanse of water and also had the added bonus of being slightly hidden down an incline right by the water’s edge which was well out of the way of the busy park track, my idea being that I wouldn’t be bothered by every Tom, Dick & Harry asking the same old “are you fishing?” “Caught anything?” questions, oh how wrong I was!

I quickly set about getting the rods sorted, all three were fished on chods with my ever faithful Northern Specials but getting the rigs out there was slightly tricky due to the canopy of trees 6 ft above my head but with a bit of bending in an awkward way and a slight bit of cursing I soon had two rods out at about 60 yards range and one down the left about 20 yards out.

I settled back in my chair and put the coleman on for brew, within an hour I had all kinds of dogs bounding through the hedges into my swim, some bloody great things and others which to me looked more like rats – are they supposed to be fashionable or something?

Trying to hide from every Tom, Dick & Harry…

Just after 11am, an old friend called Jamie who I haven’t seen for over 12 years got in touch through Facebook and popped down to see me. It was great to have a catch up and a brew together and it transpired that since we last saw each other the Big Carp bug had really bitten him and whilst chatting he told me that he loved the Park Lake I was on and fancied a ticket, he’s hoping to join me for a short day session next weekend…..small world eh?!

After about an hour we bid each other farewell and he set off for a walk round the Park with his daughter, I fired up the coleman once again and sat back with a brew.

The old park lake was really pulling me in, something about it grabbed me - my mind was racing with thoughts about what it could hold and my excitement was building by the minute.

Whilst sat there trying to unravel the mysteries of the park I heard a scrambling of debris behind me, I turned around and was shocked to see a little old lady stood right behind me. I don’t think she had ever seen a Carp Angler before and looked quite intrigued, she didn’t say a word just smiled and stumbled back up the incline and wandered off……was she a ghost??!!

Hoping for a glimpse of an Old Warrior…

I just chuckled to myself and started humming the song “Park Life” by Blur, time was now getting on and I hadn’t seen a thing, not that I expected to see much, despite the mild temperatures it was still only early January.

I went and sat down by the rods for a few minutes hoping to get a glimpse of what the magical pit held but unfortunately my time ran out so I started a slow pack up, leaving the rods out right until the last minute before heading home.

Since I left the Park yesterday I have discovered that the Club who control the Park are giving up the fishing rights in mid-March due to the 80% price rise in the lease owned by the local council, which won’t affect my mini campaign too much as I plan to be elsewhere by then but what it may affect is my chance to go back in the future to pit my wits against the 30 – 40 magical old warriors that inhabit the 80 acre Park Lake. I’m hoping another club takes control or the council sells season tickets as it obviously wants the revenue, hence the price increase in the lease so I can’t see angling stopping on there full stop.

So with that my thoughts are now with returning to the Pit next weekend, I have already sorted the Kit so with a bit of luck I shall be pulling into the Park at the crack of dawn as long as I don’t over sleep again!

So until then, be lucky

Smithy

Christmas Heartache & New Beginnings

Well what a terrible year 2011 was, both in terms of Angling and personally, the final straw for me was the unexpected passing of my father in law last week, after that the New Year just couldn’t come quick enough!

I am just hoping that 2012 is going to be better, it certainly can’t be any worse that’s for sure!

Anyway onto the Carping, after receiving the terrible news about my father in law I was easily persuaded to join Martin on his syndicate on New Year’s Day.  So New Year’s eve was spent prepping all the gear ready for the Day Session the following morning, I have to admit it was nice waking up with a clear head unlike the rest of the country, although I was tempted to hit the bottle a few times the previous evening!

I met Martin in the lay by off the track and we loaded up the barrows before heading through the woods to the pretty little pit on the other side. Unsurprisingly we were the only ones on there so had the whole lake to go at, we stood in an area that covers the middle of the lake and enables you to view the whole expanse of water for a good 10 minutes whilst puffing away on a cigarette but didn’t see a thing, in the end we decided to set up on the bank opposite.

After making our way round to the opposite bank I wasted no time in getting the rods sorted, one rod was fished 6 feet off an Island in 4 feet of water, the other two were fished at about 30 yards range, all were baited with Live System extra hard 10x14 hook baits in a pva bag of 15mm Live System Chops.

With the rods now sorted I fired up the Coleman for a coffee, incidentally it was this Coleman’s first outing as I had only bought it a few days earlier, my old one had served its’ time and was beaten and battered beyond repair!

The day past with little to note and to be honest I didn’t hold out much hope as the sun began to drop over the horizon, just as the light began to fade Martin had a flier on his left hand rod which after a brief battle turned out to be a pretty little mirror. Shortly after returning her my left hand rod pulled up tight before one toning, this fish really didn’t make much effort to get away the fight was over in seconds and soon enough I was smiling in front of the camera with a cracking little mirror.  

My biggest of the day, what a cracking little mirror…

Not long after returning the mirror Martins right hand rod pulled up tight, he lifted straight into it and after a brief scrap a little common was soon pulled over the net cord. After returning her we both commented that we were more than happy with that on a January day session, but the action didn’t stop there.

An hour later my middle rod pulled up tight, I lifted into it and felt little resistance and pretty much just reeled another little mirror straight into the net, why they weren’t fighting? I’m really not sure but my only guess is the cold water temperature.

With two a piece we were both more than happy, it was now about 8pm and completely pitch black but we decided to sit it out for another couple of hours to see if we could push our luck and winkle another one out, I was pretty hungry by now so warmed up a tin of chilli that was in my rucksack. Just as I was tucking into that I heard Martins alarm let out its merry tune so I quickly finished the last of my dinner then strolled down into his swim, this one put up a better account of itself and after  5 minute’s we were admiring a nice scaly upper double mirror,  once safely photographed and returned I went back to my swim and sat by the rods willing one of them to go, I needn’t have worried as 10 minutes later the right hand Neville shrilled for my attention, once again the fight was very short lived and before I knew it another little mirror was safely in the folds of the net, we quickly weighed and photographed her then returned her to her watery home.

Another little one for me, size is irrelevant in January!

It was now gone 10:30pm so we decided to call it a night and have a slow pack up, leaving the rods out right until the last minute hoping for another but to be honest I think we had used up all our luck this session!

We were both pretty chuffed following the day’s events, 3 each in January is a great result on that water regardless of size.

My next session all being well shall be on Saturday, it will be the first session of a very short campaign probably lasting only until the end of Feb/early March on a day’s only 70 acre park lake with an estimated stock of 30 – 40 fish to 40 lb+.

Not an easy task at the best times of the year let alone in the winter, but the Lake is only 5 minutes from my front door and it will be nice to have the wife bring the kids down to see me (and on call to do trophy shots!) and who knows my luck may just continue but to be honest I would be more than happy blanking on there for 2 months, it’s nice just be out there chasing myths.

Until next time,

Smithy

Penguins and Polar Bears!

Well I managed a short session down on the pit which is located behind snag pit, I arrived mid-morning intending on doing the night but upon my arrival I was met by three of the four bays being frozen which didn’t leave much ice free water.

I checked the forecast on my iPhone and it was due to get very cold that evening, I was pretty sure the lake would be frozen solid by late that evening but decided to make the most of my time and just fish until the light started to fade.

I dropped my kit off into one of the point swims which commands all the ice free water and one which I have fished a few times so know the bottom pretty well, all 3 rods were rigged up with solid bags and placed up against some ice bergs at 35 yards range.

Roll on Spring!

After the rods were sorted I fired up the Coleman and sat back to take in the tranquillity of the intimate pit, the water looked lifeless and to be honest I didn’t hold out much hope, morning soon turned into afternoon with noting to note other than my brother in law popping down the lake for a chat and before I knew it darkness began to fall, so with that I started a slow pack up before heading for home.

The following morning I received a text from a mate who was walking his dog round the pit, it simply read “It’s frozen mate!” so I made the right decision there, I hate waking up to a frozen lake!

I’ve just checked the forecast whilst I have been writing this and it is due to turn milder tomorrow until at least Christmas Eve, so all being well I will finish work early enough on Friday to allow me to get my Christmas shopping done (typical man!) and that means I should be able to do a quick day session on Christmas eve if I use some of the brownie points I have cleverly accumulated this year!

So until then, have a great Christmas and I hope Santa carp brings you the fish of your dreams,

Smithy