I'm sure you will let me off for sitting here a nervous wreck, I'm still floating although it has only been less than 24 hours since my dreams were made, myths were made reality and a moment in time stronger than any photograph has been etched into my mind never to be forgotten.

If you read the earlier pieces I wrote, you'll remember that I mentioned I had found my own piece of paradise shared with only a few anglers, it was quiet because supposedly it didn't hold anything of a substantial size.

But I had heard rumors, a very close friend whose word I trust before anybody told me of something he had seen lurking in the shadows. Naturally we kept this to ourselves then early in the season and one misty magical morning one of the bailiffs landed the "myth" - he shared the capture with only a select few, fortunately I was one of them and it confirmed what I already knew.

Since my last ramblings I have done several quick overnights on my baited areas which initially had kicked off in style but since my capture of the stunning long common the lake had only done 1 fish over bait, I imagined it was due to the immense weed growth this year as what I had bought in with the long common was literally alive and walked out of my swim on its own!

I needed a new plan or old plan as it may seem, when I first joined the water I decided to target the shallow water as this made up 90% of the lake but after a couple of nights this didn't work and I was forced to rethink, this brings us to my last piece where I targeted the deeper water and caught straight away but now it would seem I needed to go back to the shallows armed with only single hook baits something that had served me well in years gone by.

I opted for an unfished swim that would allow me to fish the plateau, this area was only 2 foot deep all over and had been avoided by most for some reason - although I was later to find out why myself.

Now this brings us up to only a few days ago, my head has been in a mess as only a couple of weeks ago we suffered the heart break of a 3rd miscarriage in just over a year but with the wife well on the mend both physically and emotionally I felt it was time to sort myself out.

After completing my very last day as website manager at the Angling Centre I jumped in the van and made the hour journey to the lake through the madness and mayhem of the rush hour traffic, but once I arrived at the gates all the grief I had endured seemed to disappear in a haze.

With the van parked up I loaded the barrow and made my way round to the now christened "all alone" and it didn't take me long to get two rods sorted with short choddy's and white 13mm pop ups, these were then cast the short 30 yards to the edge of the plateau.

I was expecting a quiet night, I may have been lucky and picked up a fish just before dark but as expected the fish moved off just before 9pm so I set about refueling myself before getting an early night.

I slept like a baby and didn't wake until 5am, after wiping the gunk from my eyes I rolled a smoke and stuck the kettle on - it had been a chilly night and the temperature hadn't risen much since the sun came up so I opted to stay in the bag whilst watching the water.

By 6am I hadn't seen a thing, it was still too cold for them to venture onto the shallows just yet so I pulled the bag over my head and got another hours kip which was more than needed after the last few weeks I had endured.

It was just after 7am when a text on my phone woke me up, I rolled a smoke then stuck my boots on to stretch my legs - straight away I noticed a few bubblers on the plateau about 45 yards out so reeled in my left hand rod, screwed on a fresh hook bait then put it a few yards short of the bubblers in the hope of not spooking them.

After several cups of gods own I began to wonder if I had messed it up and should have just left it where it was but then out the blue the left hand rod pulled up tight before one toning, I was on it in a flash but immediately whatever was on the end went on a powerful run, pulling line of the tightened down clutch, after a 60 yard run I managed to get it under control and back towards me but just when I thought it was safe it went on another powerful run down to my right, instantly I applied the brakes - if it got into the bay to my right it was game over there was no doubt about that, the pressure seemed to work and I turned the fish but out of nowhere just when I thought I was safe the hook pulled and a tail of a good sized mirror broke the surface almost as if to mock me.

I threw the rod behind me and had a slight breakdown, I can't repeat the words that left my lips on that morning but I am sure you can imagine.

After calming down I tied up a fresh chod and put it back out on the spot in the hope of another chance but it wasn't to be be, all the commotion from the lost battle put the wary fish on edge and I was forced to pack up late afternoon with my tail firmly between my legs.

We had planned a day out to London on the Sunday for my sons birthday but with a week off it meant I could get down the lake on the Monday for a couple of nights which is rare for me so as planned I set off for the "all alone" at about 9am on Monday morning.

Once it the swim, I got the two rods sorted with the same arrangement which had been partially successful on the previous session then stood amongst the trees to see if I could spot anything to cast at, there was a chill in the air and a heavy drizzle - I couldn't see a thing anywhere on the plateau so put both rods on the same spots from the previous session then put up the oval in an attempt to keep dry.

By this point I had already decided I was going to do 2 nights, in fact I wasn't sure I would do a night at all - this area was only really good for a daytime bite so decided just to see how things played out.

I sat under the oval all morning chain drinking coffee, getting out in between showers to stretch my legs and to see if I could see anything, it was about 2pm when the sky eventually cleared and the sun came out, almost immediately I could make out the odd fish moving onto the plateau.

I put the kettle on again and rubbed my hands together in anticipation, then the bumblers began so again in an almost deja vu like state I reeled in the left hand rod and put it within a few yards of the bubblers which more resembled a jacuzzi!

I had barely finished my coffee when the rod pulled up tight, I lifted into it before it had a chance to take any line and began to get immediate control - then the fish woke up!

It went on a powerful run heading for the far bank, I slackened off the clutch to let it run and slowly but surely managed to gain some kind of control and began bringing it back to me, then I caught a glimpse of it and my heart began pounding the fish seemed to sense this and got a second wind and powered off down towards the bay, I tightened everything up and applied the breaks knowing that if it got in the bay to my right it was all but over but immediately had to loosen off and let it run, it entered the bay to my right and tried to find sanctuary in some reeds, my line was cutting through a tree and it didn't look good - I had convinced myself I had lost the battle but someone must of been smiling on me, out of nowhere the line freed itself from the branch and the fish began heading out of the bay, slowly but surely I managed to lead it back to me.There was a few more hairy moments under the rod tip but then she popped up as if to say "Ok, you win" I didn't need telling twice and engulfed her in the waiting net, I dropped to the floor to catch my breath.

After regaining normality with my breathing I checked the fish in the net and instantly recognized it, it wasn't difficult though the sheer size of it gave it away but also it had a very strange mark which looked like a fresh wound but had actually healed in a weird way, it was like a flap of skin which had heeled like a lump, hard to explain but you had to see it.

I zeroed the sling then and went to get the fish out of the water, checking all of the fins were against the body before lifting it out and transferring it to the waiting mat.

I struggled to get an accurate weight, I was shaking like a leaf - the adrenaline was pumping, so put it in a flotation sling and found some deep water in the edge to rest it in.

I rang my mate who I knew was already on his way down to see me, he said he was only 5 minutes away so I hung up and went to sit with the fish, sure enough only a few minutes later my mate turned up to do the pictures, he didn't know that the water held this fish but he was about to find out!

I passed my camera to him then lifted the sling out of the water, once on the mat I asked my mate if he was ready then unzipped the sling, I won't repeat the words that left his mouth but he grabbed my hand shaking it with such force he nearly ripped my arm off.

After managing to get an accurate weight and with a new PB under my belt we managed to get a few photographs, she behaved like a true lady - she knew I meant her no harm and as I held her in the water and gently kissed her on the head I am sure we shared a moment, I lowered her into the water and she drifted off out of my arms - not violently in the slightest, I stood out in the water and watched her as she disappeared off out of sight.

My mate helped me out of the water, before shaking my hands once again and commenting that he had never seen such a fish on the bank, I begged him to keep the venue and weight a secret, it was quiet with only a handful of people on there, they knew what was in there but didn't talk about it - just the odd smile and wink.

I said he was welcome to join me, after all what else could be hiding in its' rich weed infested waters, my mate agreed to keep it to himself and shook my hand once again then left me to gather my thoughts.

It started to drizzle once again, I packed the oval away then sat on the bed chair in the rain and tied up a fresh choddy - I was soaked through but didn't care in the slightest.

Once I had got the rod back on the spot I made a few calls, including my mate that first spotted the fish, he was chuffed to bits for me and said he would be down soon so I could tell him all about it.

I began a slow pack up, packing everything away just the rods and net remained, there was still fish on the plateau and a chance of another certainly wasn't out of the question.

A while later my mate arrived, I showed him the pictures and told him how I landed the fish that should never have been, he asked what my plans were but in all honesty I didn't know myself, I could sit it out on this quiet pit and just enjoy the surroundings and possibly another surprise may turn up or could venture off elsewhere, but to be honest, just being there is a buzz in itself so I may just stick it out for a little while yet and see what else turns up.

The light was beginning to fade when my mate left, so I packed away the rods and net and left for home, the feeling of triumph was all around me like an aura and as I walked through the front door my son came running up to me with a big grin on his face "daddy did you catch a big fish?" I just smiled and said "Let me tell you a story"......

Until next time,

Smithy

Following another blank quick overnighter in the shallows on the small gravel pit I was keen to get off the mark.

After a long thought I had a moment of genius, well not quite genius more of a "bugger why hadn't I thought of that before?".

The pit in question is about 10 acres in size, 8 acres of it is less than 3 feet deep - there is a small area of about 2 acres where the depths extend to 8 feet averaging 6 feet deep.

Now as my angling was literally quick overnighters, I was planning my session on where they would be in the morning once the sun had risen above the horizon but as most of my session was during the hours of darkness surely it made sense to try and catch them where they would be at night, why hadn't I thought of this before?!

With my new found plan etched in my mind I popped down the lake on the Monday night to bait up, it looked lovely and just as darkness fell I could make out fish making their way up from the shallows to the deeper water - giving their location away by very subtle rolls, only just breaking the surface.

I had a quick feel about with the maker and found a couple of spots, only 15 yards out that were covered in light weed it seemed the rest of the area was covered in heavy weed and that horrible candy floss stuff.

With the maker popped up I deposited a kilo of XXX 15 millers on each spot then took a photo of the marker on my phone lined up with a far bank marker, my plan being the following night I could turn up and deposit 2 chods onto the baited area with no hassle or noise at all - well, that was my plan I just hoped it worked.

After a busy day at work the following day I found myself battling the rush hour traffic to get to the lake, it seemed everybody was against me getting there but eventually I found myself parking the van an hour and half after leaving work - better late than never I suppose!

After pushing the barrow to my prebaited spots it didn't take me long to get the two rods sorted, both were fished on chods with XXX corkballs as hookbaits then both were gently flicked the mere 15 yards out to the spots.

I knew I had to be packing up by 5:15am at the latest to go to work, so didn't bother with the oval opting to do the night under the stars.

I sat on the bedchair and watched the water for a couple of hours, the tempreture began to drop sharply just after 8pm and I could make out the fish moving up from the shallows just as I had the night before.

Confident that I would be awoken in the early hours by the screech of the Neville I opted to finish my bottle of beer then climb into the bag for a early night.

The next thing I knew my phone was shouting at me to wake up, I rolled over to look at the rods - the hangers were exactly where I had left them the night before.

The air temperature was freezing, my sleeping bag was covered in frost as was my face - I wiped away the icy crystals before rolling a smoke, I really didn't want to get out the warmth of my sleeping bag but 15 minutes later I couldn't put it off any longer and began the tedious task of packing up. Before leaving I left a kilo of bait under my mates bedchair not wanting to wake him then sent him a text asking him to put it on my spots when he packed up.

I then headed up the motor way to work, barely able to keep my eyes open and suffering from a banging headache - once I had been sat at my desk an hour and had drank half a dozen coffees I began thinking about my quick work night, I was sure it was just a blip and that the frost hadn't helped my plan work - I decided I could fit in another night on the Thursday, it was bank holiday on the Friday so I wouldn't have to pack up at the ungodly hour of 5am.

Once home from work in a zombie like state, I tied up some fresh chods, sharpened the hooks and loaded the van - there was nothing left to do other than get an early night as if I am honest I felt terrible.

The following day at work couldn't go quick enough but eventually the clock struck 5pm and again I battled the traffic to get to my destination, despite it being bank holiday weekend there were only 2 other members on the pit and after a quick chat I loaded the barrow and headed straight to my prebaited spots.

Within 5 minutes I had underarm flicked 2 chods on the spots, followed by a pouch of XXX 15 millers over the top of each.

Having the luxury of not having to get up at 5am I opted to put up the Oval and have a bit of comfort for the night, it was forecast to be a cold one but nothing like the frost I had seen on my previous session so I remained confident.

After watching the water for an hour again I began to see a few shows coming up from the shallows so I hid under the Oval and put some dinner on all the while keeping me ears transfixed on the pit listening out for any shows.

By 10pm I decided to call it a night and climbed into the bag for some well earnt kip, I was just leaving the land of consciousness when the sound of my right hand Neville screaming brought me straight back to the land of the living, I was on it in a flash and lifted into whatever it was moving at speed out into the middle of the lake.

After a spirited battle I was shocked to see a small common roll over the net cord, I let it rest in the margin whilst I sorted out the weighing gear and set up the tripod for a few quick self takes which went without any hassle and the little 16lb common was soon on its way home.

After checking the hook point and reshaping the hook link I tied on a fresh cork ball and flicked it out back onto the spot using a silhouette of a tree on the far bank as a marker then put another pouch of 15 millers over the top before climbing into the bag and drifting off into a deep slumber.

It was just gone 6am when the bright sunlight woke me from my dreams and after wiping the gunk from my eyes I rolled a smoke and gazed out over the lake, it was as still as a mill pond without a breath of wind although the chill in the air was prominent.

After finishing my smoke I decided that another half an hours kip wouldn't be a bad thing so pulled the bag over my head.

As I was laying there I became aware of a loud whizzing sound, half awake I tried to work out what kind of bird makes a whizzing sound then peered out of the bag only to see my left hand reel in melt down! This woke me up in an instant, I flew out of the bag not stopping to put my boots on - for some reason the line was sat on top of the roller and not actually in it! This was the second time this had happened in a month despite using Nevilles for years!

I lifted into the fish which was heading down to my left, I just got control of the fish then it weeded me up solid - but by keeping the pressure on slowly the weed gave in and I led the fish back to the bank like a dog on a lead but when it got under the tip the weed that was covering the fishes head fell off and the fish went mental going on several powerful runs.

Eventually, after a good battle the fish gave in and I netted my prize - I was made up with the stunning common that was looking back at me, so I secured the net and again sorted out the weighing gear and camera for a few self takes.

Once on the bank the fish behaved like a lady, I weighed it in at 21.02, had a few self takes then returned her to where she came.

I fired up the stove and chain drank coffee for the next few hours, slowly the air temperature began to rise and I could see a few fish beginning to move back over to the shallows for the day - I could have followed them but if I am honest I still didn't feel great and had a few things I wanted to get done at home whilst the house was empty, anyway I was more than happy with what I had been fortunate enough to have landed so began a slow pack up and headed for home a very happy man.

Until next time,

Smithy

NB. If you are looking for information on improving self takes I have written a small article here.

Well, with the clocks moving forward an hour my enthusiasm suddenly reappeared and I was chomping at the bit to get back on the bank.

My van was due for an MOT on the Friday so I took the opportunity to book the day off work, drop the van off at the gararge first thing then get the wife to give me a lift to Snag Pit.

After managing to fit my kit in her little hatchback along with my youngest son in his car seat we were soon on our way, it didn't take long before her little car bumped along the waterlogged track that lead to the magical Snag Pit.

After a quick scout about I decided to jump in the secluded point swim, I nearly fell on my arse on more than one occasion whilst trekking to the swim fully laden with my gear.

After assessing the scene I opted to fish naked choddies on both rods, both baited with high attract washed out pop ups - I would have liked to have said "before I knew it the rods were out" but this just wasn't the case, it took me 20 casts with my right hand rod to get it exactly where I wanted, each time it hit the clip I felt it wasn't right,it certainly is safe to say that I was out of practice!

After finally getting the right hand rod the mere 40 yards in front towards an overhanging tree I sat down and had a smoke before even thinking about the left hand rod, 10 minutes later I took a deep breath then chucked the left hand rod out which thankfully went out without any dramas first time.

With the rods sorted I then scattered about 30 Odessey XXX 15 millers over the top of the spots, finally I then sat down and sighed rather loudly, the kettle went on and before long all of life's worries seemed to have disappeared.

I spent the whole of the afternoon with my eyes fixed to the water but didn't see a thing, although all the commotion I had caused earlier certainly wouldn't have helped the situation.

It was about 5pm when I received a call on my mobile from my wife giving me the expected news that my van had failed its' MOT, I gave her the go ahead to get the work done as I needed it back as soon as possible - my new ticket started the following week and getting lifts after work and at 5am in the morning was out of the question.

With the fading light I perched by the rods hoping to see or hear something but eventually I decided to crawl to comfort of the sleeping bag.

It was a lovely night to be on the bank and I kept my eyes open as long as I could just taking in the atmosphere but eventually the hard week before took its toll and I entered a deep sleep not stiring until the first few rays of light glistened over the horizon.

I awoke feeling refreshed, I always sleep well on the bank and felt it was just what I needed as the first slurp of morning cofee touched my lips I felt a sense of peace at one with nature - this to me is what carp angling is all about, catching seems to come in at a close 2nd which is just as well given my recent record.

The morning flew by and before I knew it my wife had text to say she was on her way, it didn't take me long to pack the stripped down kit away - I bid the lake farewell and was sat by the side of the track waiting for her when she arrived.

My new ticket was due to start on the Tuesday and thankfully I got the news on the Monday that my van had now passed its' MOT after having the work completed, I arranged to go and have a mooch round the pit with a mate who had fished it the year before the following day.

It was whilst planning the recce that he told me he had the Thursday off work so was fishing the Wednesday night, I didn't think twice - "I'll do a quick work night then!" flew out of my lips.

As I pulled into the gate Tuesday evening I could make out my mate sat in his car with a bag of chips, after I parked up I walked over to him waving my finger with a few choice words, he then opened the door and gave me a rather large portion of pie and chips which he had picked up for me, I immediately retracted my previous statement!

After finishing my dinner, we grabbed a bag of bait each and set off for a walk round the lakes, we walked round the smaller of the two lakes first and despite its relatively low stock we immediately found fish, the signs were subtle but they were there!

After admiring the leviathans for a while we finished the lap of the lake after finding a few more fish and set off up the path to the next lake which my mate was most interested in after he had faired so well on the smaller lake the year before, I was more interested in the smaller of the two - the fish will never break records and the biggest known fish is low 30s but they are amongst some of the best looking fish my eyes have gazed upon.

The bigger of the two lakes holds the bigger fish including a couple of low 40 commons which is what my mate was after, we did a lap of the lake and found the fish on the end of the wind.

We hoped the lake would still be quiet the following evening, checked the forecast and saw the wind would still be pumping down that end of the lake so decided to scatter a kilo or so of bait in the area in anticipation of the following evening.

The next day at work couldn't go fast enough but eventually I won my freedom and made the 40 mile journey as fast as my old van could manage, whilst sat in a traffic jam the news came on the radio and it was all about the Saharan dust that was being blown onto our shores which explained the sand covering my windscreen, after several more traffic jams and periods of road rage I pulled up at the gates, unlocked it as quietly as I could then made my way round to my prebaited swim.

My mate was already in the swim next door and was just getting his 2nd rod out so I didn't disturb him and carried on to my swim, the wind was still hammering down the lake into my face - it looked so good for it, my confidence was soaring although time was not on my side as I had to pack up at 5am!

I threw the two rods together as quick as I could, again fished with naked choddies and hi attract washed out pop ups - both rods went out nicely to the area I baited up 50 yards out.

After letting the flurocarbon sink for a while I carefully (or not as soon will explained) set the bobbins and switched on the Nevilles then sat back and started getting dinner ready.

With an early start the following morning I decided to do the night under the stars, after all it would be less to pack away.

After dinner my mate wandered into the swim, we sat on the bedchair chewing the fat for a few hours planning our seasons, talking bait and a long chat about the bouyancey (or lack of!) of pop ups.

It was about 10pm when we decided to call it a night, I was pretty much asleep as I climbed in the bag and can't remember anything until my phone woke me at 5am telling me it was time to get my arse in gear with a god awful tone.

As I swung my legs off the bedchair I glanced at the rods, the right hand rods' line was tight - I then noticed the hanger was jammed in the roller.

I can't write what I said but I dropped my head into my hands, a few moments later I decided it would be best if I go and inspect the culprit alarm - I couldn't believe it, the line was running down the side of the roller and I had obviously slept unaware through a run.

I picked up the rod and began reeling in, whatever it was had kited well down to the right - the rig was a few yards off the bank when I noticed a 'tap tap',I couldn't believe it, the fish was still on and I had pretty much walked it to the bank like a dog on a lead unaware that it was on the end.

I bundled the net under it and scooped it up as quick as I could - I was in shock!

After securing the net I went and woke my mate as he wanted me to before I left anyway, he was already awake as it was and came over to inspect my prize whilst laughing as I told him my story.

As we both looked into the net the fish seemed to have shrunk by half, my mate started laughing saying that was the smallest fish he had ever heard of the lake doing.

To be sure my eyes weren't playing tricks on me I weighed it in at a 13 lb, still it was my first fish of the year, first fish on my first night from a notorious tricky water so I couldn't complain!

We took a few photographs of the little common then returned her to her watery home, my mate left me to it as I began packing up as quick as I could - 5 minutes later the kit was in the back of the van and I was heading for work rather chuffed with my small prize.

Once at work I felt pretty good but by early afternoon my cheeky work night had taken its toll - still I had not time to relax, I stocked up on a few bits and pieces before leaving work then shot home as quick as I could.

I spent the evening doing the tedious task of spooling up with fresh flurocarbon followed by tying up a batch of fresh choddies, after the van was loaded time was ticking on so I rammed some food down my neck and went to bed to get some much needed sleep.

It felt like I had barely closed my eyes when my alarm told me it was time to work, I had a quick coffee and grabbed my camera batteries then made the hour journey to work blurry eyed to say the least.

The day dragged, every minute felt like an hour but eventually I could leave, the journey to the pit was a nerve wracking one the whole time I was worried the little lake would be stitched up, throw in some of the worse traffic jams imaginable and a few idiots on the road and you can sense the journey I had.

Once I rolled down the track towards the pit I was pleasantly surprised to only find a few anglers on, I immediately decided to get on the end of the wind and although this end was only a few feet deep I thought the fish would get in there the following morning once it had warmed up a bit.

It didn't take me long to ship a couple of rods together with the same naked chod set up that had proved successful earlier in the week, these were flicked out a mere 25 yards and fished as singles - not wanting to cause any disturbance and keep my presence a secret to anything that may venture into my corner.

It was a lovely evening to be on the bank, my mate popped down for an hour and filled me in on the lake and what he had caught and discovered the year before, after destroying my coffee supplies my mate left me to it so I cooked up some dinner which consisted of noodles that were in the bottom of my rucksack from the season before, still they went some way to partially filling in the void in my stomach.

It was about 11pm when I decided to call it a night, I hadn't seen or heard anything but then I didnt really expect to - not until the following morning at least.

I had one of the greatest sleeps I have ever had and awoke at 6am feeling fully refreshed and full of beans, several coffees later I went and sat by the rods waiting for visitors to my area but as the morning wore on it became apparent that the weather forecast the day before was wrong, the temperature barely got into double figures and the wind was bitter, far from the 17 degrees that was forecast.

I gave it until early afternoon praying for a change in the weather but unfortunately it never came, that will teach me for planning my session according to the weather forecast - bad angling on my part but such is life.

As I sit here writing this I am beginning to get all excited again, I wonder if I can fit in another cheeky work night......

Until next time,

Smithy