The Closed Season Zander Quest Pt.129 - Fribble and Frummagemmed

A night on the town, no cars on the drive, I needed to go fishing. Luckily a bike ride away an area of Zander and Carp, a canal that has given me pleasure over the years.

The problem was ones rear tyre was a flat as my recent Zander exploits. The area of turbid water was only a mile and a half walk though so, and to be fair with a head rather fuzzy with the Wife and I's exploits the night before it would be a nice head clearer.

Now the Zander have been a little off of late so for this session I'd be targeting the carp, they were on the move around here last time so I fancied a proper bend in the rod. One rod a wafter and some pellets in a PVA bag and a float set-up to fish close in with the float sat on the surface and a hunk of bread underneath.

The walk was dispatched easy enough but it was rather muggy with the cloud staying for most of the session. There is no point chucking a bait out in a water as big as this, you need to find the fish. That is easier said than done but as someone who has spent countless hours trudging these waterways you get to know certain areas that hold them.

After a couple of hours I thought I was wasting my time but I return to an area where I'd hooked and lost one before and sure enough tucked up in some cover was a carp. Not a huge one maybe 6 or 7 pounds but eventually after watching it for a few minutes it ventured out from his strong hold.

Now these carp are not stupid, they can actively ignore your hookbait and turn their nose up at anything floating on the surface. These carp are not fished for either, in-fact I cannot remember the last time I've seen an angler here.

With a slow sinking piece of breadflake I slowly lowered it in the water where it was milling around. With a a few freebies in and around the hookbait I crouched down and watched it in the swim for a while doing its best to ignore the bread offering. A boat went by, then another, the fish no more.

However further up from here is an area of thick over and I know there are carp tucked here from previous trips to this area. You could spend an hour sat here and not even know that they are here but sometimes they go on the move especially when the sun is up and you've gobsmacked what this canal contains.

By this time with an hour to go the sun had come out and out the corner of my eye, three carp the biggest between 15 to 20lb came out from hiding. Me watching in amazement, another boat came by so I sized my opportunity. After the swim commotion I managed to get a cracking underarm cast in, with the PVA bag helping the lead from getting stuck in the silt.

Then 10 minutes later a couple of beeps and then all hell breaks loose. I didn't have time to think I need to get the fish away from the snags and under the surface branches. The problem was, this carp wasn't messing around so despite all the side strain I could give with my hand on the spool to up the drag even more, the hooked pulled. I saw the flanks and it was a lovely golden coloured common.

Damn, this is the second fish I've lost in this swim, the other lost a while ago and lost in a similar manner albeit I it was the spreader block failure on the landing net that caused the loss.

I'll be back don't worry, maybe a lead clip set-up next time, to give me as much chance as possible in landing it, if I hook in to one again. You can see why I don't fish for carp very often, because to be honest, I'm just not very good. Oh well, practice makes perfect.