Everything seemed perfect as I arrived at the pond, it was warm but not too hot and a few were already on the sunny side fishing but it was so quiet and peaceful. I had the choice of swims on my favourite side of the pond, this being the first time I have fished there this year as the tree lined bank can be quite cool, today was a perfect day to sit in the shade and watch the world go by so slowly.
My first choice of swim looked like it had roach breeding in the margins as small plops and swirls in the water indicated a smaller species at play so I left that spot well alone, I then walked past a tree that had been pollarded offering the ideal perch for the heron to take flight from, squawking at me for interrupting it's lofty rest. It wasn't long before a decent spot was found (they are all decent on days like this) and my float was in the margins under the rod tip.
I can't recall a year when maggot has worked so well on my club ponds and sure enough I was into carp straight away, fantastic fun on .12 bottom and a size 18, the first of a series of carp broke the mottled shade of the tree, a mix of commons and mirrors with varying colours.
They were really ripping the float under although on a couple of occasions my rod tip being pulled through the rushes was due to my attention being drawn elsewhere, firstly by something jumping into the tree and back down behind me. Of all things I least expected it to be a moorhen, perhaps the arboreal variety, totally on it's own and going up there just because it could I suppose.
Next up were the robins which were a feature for the day, taking my offerings back to their young, one managed to get around 8 maggots in it's beak but the other was entering a Hercule Poirot lookalike contest.
Getting your rod pulled round whilst watching the birds was a laugh, good job I was holding the rod and had the anti reverse off.
I then tried a deeper line in an attempt to get some perch, when I say deeper it was a foot further out and a foot deeper, well two float lengths. I either measure the depth difference between my rod rings or do it in float lengths, that way it's easy to swap depths. I alternated between depths for an hour or so, my deeper line providing some small perch but most fun was had there with the crucians and goldfish.
This one had a fancy tail but it used it to good effect and despite being small tore around like a good 'un.
Meanwhile the robin was tapping out a beat on the tub I use for mixing bread, whacking the maggots on it with a thud thud thud, almost as if it was telling the other Robin to try bread for the last hour for some carp or failing that some greedy gudgeon, so I did.
Whilst changing to a size 12 straight through. I fed a bit of bread on the surface knowing the bird life would feed the swim, too lazy to mix anything up in the tub which was now my namesake's drum. I wondered where the moorhen was (probably up a pear tree somewhere) so had to wait for a lone mallard to break up my slice. I watched as it fed the swim perfectly by the rushes without drawing the other birds in.
With a few freebies fed elsewhere the swim was 'primed' with bread and sure enough lowering the float in.... Whallop! The rod tip was banging round as a carp ripped the float under, straightened my foot of line and tore through the swim before I had time to say" Ooh that's no gudg..." then finding the net after a barnstorming battle, a really nice mirror.
Next cast was to the 'Mallard Zone' which was now without any bird life but had (I imagined) a lovely bed of bread particles in the margins below, sure enough the float is straight under again and the largest carp of the day is in the net, a parrot nosed brute of a common that barely fitted in the net the club provides.
A chap came round for a chat and politely asked why I took photos of the smaller fish yet put the 'lump' straight back. (It was a lump for this pond I suppose) Realizing that my initial response of "I only take pictures of the pretty ones" sounded mighty pretentious I went on to explain my drawings are the ones on the clubhouse wall.
A good looking fish makes a good drawing and besides they sure look good anyway in the landing net, the last fished summed this up as it was a right looker, one to draw in the future and to catch again too hopefully.
It was mostly carp today save for a smattering of cru's, goldfish, perch and gudgeon including one on bread. The roach must have been the ones getting jiggy as their absence was notable. I walked off for some reason singing the Twelve Days of Christmas song in my head but with the partridge gone and that moorhen up the pear tree instead.
As I got to the gate a new angler was starting his day as I ended mine. I was glad I wasn't in that corner of the pond as the blossom there was coming down thick and fast, falling on the car which was now covered in a good dusting.
"I'm surprised how quiet it is down here" he said no doubt eager to get started. "Yeah maybe it's because of all this snow coming down" I joked in response pointing to the blossom as we both laughed. When fishing is so relaxed yet eventful every day is like Christmas when you go fishing I thought to myself, we are a lucky bunch indeed.
Now how does that song go again? 🎵....and a moorhen in a pear tree 🎵
