I returned to the tiny pond I fished when barely a leaf graced the trees earlier in the year, a water so small you could easily skim a stone in any direction and find land, however this wasn't early spring hoping for bites, today I had bigger fish in mind and hoped for some tench, failing that I would be happy with anything although I only had two baits - pellet and bread, the maggots were left at home much to the dismay of the hordes of ravenous tiny rudd, I had had enough of them from last time.
The pond looked great although not as weedy as I hoped and one pull through with the weed rake signalled no more raking was needed, in fact I didn't even fish the raked swim instead opting for another spot in a tight corner where fish were already bubbling, I'd be a fool not to fish there and I could always move if bubbles showed in the other swim.
I decided on 6lb line on a reel I usually use for mullet on holidays as it was snaggy in my little corner of the pond, a corner so far removed from any mullet fishing that's for sure, lilies one side and trees the other, not forgetting the one I was sat under which gently reminded my rod tip of it's overhang on several occasions.
Starting on pellet I struck as the float buried amongst the bubbles only to get a couple of rudd, the tench didn't seem to be playing ball and bites were hard to connect with, the rudd were nice ones though and in wonderful condition.
All this time I was distracted by some carp in the corner, now there's only five or six in the whole pond and here they were in front of me like a flotilla of grey battleships, cruising around with a gunmetal sheen in the clear water. On went a larger hook and off came the shot, then out came the bread for I just had to have a crack at them.
They weren't going mad for it like they do on some ponds so I was happy when the smallest one of the group came in and took my piece of bread, more a destroyer then a battleship, I was less happy when it tore line off before destroying me in a snag. I had the clutch set all wrong and It must have come loose somehow when not being used, there was hardly any tension at all and it's no surprise that trying to apply some with your fingers is no substitute for the reel doing it. I should have checked this on set up, it was poor angling and I was angry with myself.
I stopped for lunch before setting up again, a kingfisher beeped as it flew low over the water and a roe deer went by slowly in the woods on a ridge right behind me, although far too concealed for a photo opportunity. By the time I was halfway through my lunch another carp had returned and I quickly tied on a new hook whilst trying to eat an apple, the rest of my lunch could wait as I was getting a second chance.
This fish was larger and harder to tempt and so it was lunch was finished, I waited patiently then the battleship returned, however I was the one all guns blazing this time and I wasn't messing about although you never know if you have gone too far the other way and set the clutch too tight, anyhow I was about to find out.
The grey shape slurped it down and I didn't give an inch at first as the little corner of the pond erupted, then I let it run a bit whilst keeping it away from snags not wanting to yank it in as I was in control, it still took a little while until I slipped it over the net, no mistake this time, in doing so it looked jet black in the shady water under the tree.
I love the colours of fish in clear water and carp are a great example, the grey gunmetal battleship was more of a rustic oak galleon, even darker perhaps, either way she was a beauty and easily the largest carp I have had from this pond given I have only ever had one here previously.
I chilled for a bit pouring out the last bit of dregs from my flask, soaking up the moment and looking up upon hearing rustling once more to see the roe deer return from it's journey, using exactly the same route through the undergrowth, on the higher ground above me no more than a couple of rod lengths away, it's hind quarters illuminated in the sun as it stopped momentarily before moving on.
Even my stale old coffee tasted good right then at that moment, the collection of events making something great. That's fishing right there in a nutshell, why we do it, why we love it.
After the break I tried once more to get some tench, not helped by the weather which went from cloudy to sunny, not helped either that I'm not the best tench angler and one that is easily distracted by carp, kingfishers and deer. It was in the shady spells when the bubbles arrived but several missed strikes on pellet indicated those rudd were still at play.
I tried some more bread this time on the float to see if I could get some more of the little bars of gold but they were either too quick or too small as my bread danced about in the clear water before even getting to the bottom, then I cast towards the weeds and bang!
The float buried, something took my bread on the drop but it sure wasn't a rudd, it was continuously trying to dive into the weeds, under where the carp previously sunned themselves, if they were battleships this was a submarine, a green one too as I finally saw it was my quarry - The Tench.
It looked a long fish as I battled it to the net through the clear water watching every dive for cover and countering it. It was absolute perfection once again, there wasn't a mark on it's body, I was in awe of the condition of this wild fish, not one scale was out of place and it looked it had been painted and varnished. I quickly weighed and photographed it and it turned out to be a couple of ounces over my best tench for here, a perfect fighting fit tinca that was another new venue pb for the little pond.
