I Had a couple of trips to the club pond this week, what with the rivers low and the school holidays on I just wanted somewhere quiet to chill for a bit, even resisting the urge to fish bread on the top. Last time I was surface fishing I chatted to another angler who was fishing prawn for perch and getting a few too, I was quite jealous so decided to have a crack myself with the little pink crustaceans.
To cut a short story even shorter I failed miserably, despite fishing the same spot in the same way. Trying to read the swim I would say that the carp were pushing out the perch this time as any stripey action was spasmodic between carp showing up. That's fishing though and the two carp I caught were more than welcome.
A few days later I'm down there again this time armed with maggots as I knew I would catch loads, whether I would get through the roach was another matter and sure enough they were dipping my pole float and taking off with my single maggot with abandon, the fact that I caught quite a lot of perch this time was not lost on the ironymeter although they were small and nothing really bent the rod well until a crucian/goldfish showed up like a bar of gold in the sunshine, it was a clonker too, a real beauty.
In the following half hour I caught a nice mix of all the species but it was mainly roach, small perch and rudd and they were starting to boil on the surface for the feed. It was time for a break.
I stopped for lunch enjoying the sun thinking i'd give it another half hour after and a small robin landed on my lunch box infront of me, took some maggots and a few crumbs of my crisps, shame they weren't prawn cocktail as it could have almost been surf n turf, but I'd had enough of prawns by now.
The robin left as the local trouble showed up, approaching me whilst tilting his head as he walked right over my gear, glazed black eyes blinking with a roll of film in a lazy manner, I threw some maggots at him and he was slow to react unlike the robin who would have spotted each and every one. He took a few before I tried hand feeding, it worked on a robin on the canal earlier in the season but I was thinking how this chap had a much bigger beak. I was glad he didn't take up the offer.
Mr Magpie was more interested in what I was eating and soon snaffled the piece of ham I threw down from the corner of my sandwich, this was followed up by a bit of lettuce then the corner of the bread, this must be fine dining compared to maggots, even the bread was wholemeal, so healthy too, the magpie ate well although he struggled a bit with the bread, so I chucked the other corner into the margins of the lake.
Slurp, Slurp, Slurp.
As I tucked into the rest of my lunch, it was interrupted by that unmistakable sound as a carp was taking the crusty corner I just threw in complete with mayo, the rest on my fingers which I quickly wiped down. I had the corners of the other sandwich left in the lunch box, I just couldn't resist it could I?
I knew they would soon drift away and knowing I only had a few bits of the worlds worst bread (they were wholemeal crusts covered in mayo!) I removed my shot and attempted to hook a bit of crust on my size 18 barbless. I had no time to change hook or was too lazy and I think it was the latter as I wasn't worried If it didn't work, I knew I could get fish off the top if I wanted to come down armed with the white stuff for a proper session, no this was more just a bit of impromptu fun.
What an achievement it was - hooking the bread I mean. If you have even tried hooking floating crust on a size 18 you'll know how hard it is, but somehow it stayed on, that was until something small started hitting it and it came off, all that effort and it's dismantled by a 3oz rudd - I had to laugh.
I tried again this time with the very last bit of my lunch.
Plop!
Right in front of the carp's nose, I remember the line looking like gossamer from the bread to the pole float laying there flat on the surface, far finer than what I would use in a floater session, this could be interesting I thought.
The carp wolfed it down my crust, it was recycling at it's finest, my line straightened and I'm pretty sure Mr Magpie flew off making a noise behind me somewhere as I sprung into action from the deck, joints cracking as I uncrossed my legs. I was thinking this is fun at the same time as thinking I'm too old to be sitting like this fishing like a kid. It was fun though and after a hectic scrap a carp was in the net to finish the day off nicely.
You're never too old to be fishing like a kid I concluded.
It wasn't the biggest, nor the prettiest of fish and it had a small mouth so maybe using size 18s with floating baits is the way to go, I'm only joking of course but make sure you eat your lunch, because if you don't everything else will.
Be sure to save those crusts though.
