A twist of fate?

Part one - before I left home (18.00 hrs - 25th August 2016)

As I was walking back from my fifth blank session, on the spin, I chanced upon a small group of carp in a tiny side-stream, feeding on a gravel patch in less than 18" of water! One of them was a lump - high teens if not a twenty? That was at 22.30 hrs last night - I'm going back there for a short session tonight. I don't have access permission and the exercise is extremely covert. A single (split cane Mk IV) rod  - Match Aerial centre-pin and double chick pea, on the hook; my original Steve Neville, proto-type, alarm, light weight hanger and Gardner rod rests. It could get hectic if a fish is hooked? Benno is at his Mum's, this evening, so very close by should I require any help - and I sincerely hope I do. A carp, of any size, will be a result. I will be on site for no longer than 90 minutes, unless I land a carp and require help with the photos.

Part two - upon my return 

It would've been utter folly to have rolled up and caught a carp straight away without any preparation. As it turned out, things took a very strange twist and I encountered another carp angler - an unique occurrence out on The Levels. Much younger than me, (but isn't everybody?) it was immediately obvious that he knew his stuff and, after a very guarded opening, our conversation soon developed into a fascinating two way exchange of information and experiences. I still have much to learn about the carp of these small drains, that's for sure. However, I was given some advice about another group of drains which hold fish in excess of thirty pounds - photos to prove it readily displayed. Game changing news and a quick change of tack. I might have to re-assess my autumn plans given this latest development - we'll see. Anyhow, after all this information overload, I blanked - my head swirling with ideas and half baked plans.

I had been planning the bank holiday weekend sessions for some time and had introduced a fair quantity of "munga" and hook baits in the build up. I was away before 03.30 hrs this morning, fishing two rods just over an hour later. It was obvious that there were fish in my swim, but I had to wait nearly two hours before the left hand bite alarm screamed into action as the indicator smashed up to the butt.

It was an  all action, highly spirited battle with the result being an angry 10 lbs 2 oz common carp finding itself engulfed in the landing net mesh. Well pleased to get a fish, this might be my last visit to this system, for a while, as I begin to explore the possibilities of a new challenge/project.

I had my suspicions that I'd seen this fish before? So it proved as I checked back through my archives and confirmed that it was the same individual I caught on the final day of the 2014/15 season - my first carp from the drains!