Off the Top........

I was stupidly busy last weekend and didn't even make it to the bank, yesterday though a trip to the reservoir was on the cards to try and catch a decent Crucian. I was the first to arrive on the bank and dumped my tackle at my swim of choice, there is lots of weed just in the margins, and lots of cover the Crucians seem to like.

My favored method was to fish a very sensitive float fished slightly over depth just as the shelf drops off.  I had prepared some small cubes of garlic spam the night before and these were flavored with sonubaits spicy sausage flavour shaker. These WERE going to be used with a quickstop on hair but as I left them at home I had to use an alternative hook bait. I had some mixed worms in my bag so I cut of the quickstop and these were going to be mounted straight on the hook.

I knew the weather was going to be half decent and with the water warming up so I also brought a carp rod with a fox bubble float. Whilst they were hovering up the chum mixer free offerings and distracted, a big chunk of bread crust would be cast into the swim, hopefully without them knowing.

I caught well on the float, quite a few Perch, some lovely condition Roach but only managed a small Crucian carp. For it's size it give a good account for itself though, even had the ratchet going on the centrepin.

I was catapulting throughout the morning dog biscuits and the carp started to show on the surface just as the Leamington Anglers work party has arrived to finish the bank clearing. I reckon the big grass carp was mooching about too, as a stupidly long and lean fish was showing from time to time in the swim. The try to give the carp some confidence so my first cast was sometime after they started feeding. The trap was laid and within a few seconds a big mouth engulfed my bread crust offering. How I didn't connect God only knows but the bubble float came firing back without a fish attached.

I added more water to the bubble float this time and was hoping that would have a bolt rig effect and hopefully more or less self hook the fish against the weight of the float. It took half an hour before the fish returned and this time they came in numbers, again after gaining confidence in the free offerings another large piece of bread crust was cast out, this time though after the heart in mouth moment that you get with surface fishing, a carp swallowed up the bread, felt some resistance and made a run for it. 

An arm aching fight and it turned out to be a nice lean common, a nadger under 12lb and as always, in great condition. There is nothing more rewarding and exciting when catching a decent carp when surface fishing, it's a great method, even though it can be frustrating at times.

I've always done better for the Crucians in the evening so hopefully this week with the weather improving I'll have another try for a specimen and maybe that elusive grass carp.