Small victory

"Effort equals success" A phrase that I associate with Steve Whitby - TheCarpCatcher - who's Youtube offerings are refreshingly different from the regular, look what I've caught, stuff. My own carp angling is about as far removed from this stereo-typical circus as it is possible to get and, yet, there are many facets of the quest, on whatever side of the fence, where there is overlap. It's true of all fishing situations, doesn't matter which species you are targeting, location is the number one priority if an angler is to have any chance of success. Only when you have found your quarry are the other aspects, bait, rig choice and associated decisions, of any significance.
Last weekend I discovered some feeding carp in one of my local drains yet failed to get a bite in two subsequent visits, despite some liberal pre-baiting. I made it back out there on Friday afternoon, with a window of some six hours available to me. I set myself up in familiar style, but altered my bait presentation to an all particle approach. Chick peas and maize being my favoured choices, fished in association with a buoyant plastic grain of IB maize just to negate the weight of my hooks. Grateful that I'd decided to barrow out my brolly, along with my regular kit, I endured a fearful thunderstorm in relative comfort before the night calmed down and I could concentrate on my angling efforts. I had registered several occurrences on the chick pea rod, before it eventually rattled off only for me to lose the culprit in the far marginal vegetation. Absolutely nothing I could do to change the outcome, so the rod was recast and I sat back to resume my long wait. It was 22.35 hrs when my other rod was away and this time there were no mistakes and, after a spirited battle, a nice characterful Common Carp guided over the net chord.

A really strange looking carp with no pelvic fins. Not that this deformity caused
the fish to fight any less tenaciously. 

Not a monster, just 9 lbs 8 oz on the scales, but never has a fish been more welcome. I feel like I'd really earned this one; all the struggles of the previous week had led to this capture and, as such, my efforts had been rewarded. A Barn Owl and Egyptian Goose provided some interest as the sun went down and I heard my first Wigeon, of the autumn, as I was packing my kit away just before mid-night. It looks like I might be able to grab one more session before family and work commitments prevent any further outings until next weekend. Now I've managed to unlock some of the code surrounding the capture of the carp in this venue, I will be far more confident in my approach when I am able to get back out there.