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The awesome sunrise that very memorable morning.

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It was now early May and the warmest week of the year so far by a long way. With the fi sh moving about a lot just under the surface, fi nding them wasn’t a problem, but where they were going to feed the next morning was the burning question.

T H E 4 7 - A C R E

LEARNING CURVEP A R T F O U R

I ended up doing my � rst night where the majority of the � sh were held up, hoping they would go down in the night, but I woke

up the next morning to a lifeless swim! Come 10.00 a.m. I had seen no signs, and with the sun now well up, I decided on a move, so packed the stu� into the van before having a stroll. I found a group of � sh sitting over the shallower humps that are present in a swim and fancied it there, although I was a little worried about them doing the o� by the morning. I was undecided whether or not to set up on the � sh I had seen, so I le� my van and gear there and went up to Rob’s swim for a few brews to ponder the situation. Whilst sitting there with him we saw quite a few � sh head and shouldering just o� a bush in the margin not far from where I had just moved from – typical! I � nished my brew and quickly got back round there and prepared two rods with Hinged Chods on light, 1oz leads with XXX cork balls as I was unsure what the bottom was like and wanted to make as little disturbance as possible. It took me a while to pinpoint exactly where they were showing as I could hear them

but not see them – they were right behind the bush in between the two swims and with the wind blowing directly at me and a lot of trees behind, it was a nasty little cast, especially with the light lead. A couple of casts later and a� er hooking a branch of the tree a� er the bow of my line had gone over it in the wind, I � nally had a couple of rods in place and the � sh were still there. An hour or so had passed with them regularly showing right over the money – one of them was a good � sh with an orange tint to it – possibly my target � sh! I � gured that although I was � shing slack, maybe two lines into the area was too much, or one of the lines was sitting badly, so decided to get them both in to check they were presentable and just have one out – I really felt I should have had a take by now and something was wrong. � e le� -hand one of the two came in with dirty, black, smelly silkweed on it and the lead stank, whereas the rod closest to the bush came back clean as a whistle.

I recast the cleaner rod back to the end of the bush, thankfully, it went back � rst cast and I sat back watching the group of � ve or so di� erent

� sh continue to show. Finally, about 15 minutes later, I heard a few clicks on the spool before it started steadily turning. I was on it quickly and soon had it turned away from the bush that I couldn’t let the � sh go round – if it did it was all over! � e � sh went mad at this point, jumping out of the water like a marlin, ensuring he let all his companions know what was going on! It then tried to run le� , which meant it getting near another bankside tree – this one wasn’t so bad and I could wade round if necessary, but luckily I managed to turn it and keep it in front of the swim where it went mental and tried to bury its head in the bottom. � ere was weed and streams of bubbles popping up everywhere – it was chaos! Once I managed to get it up o� the bottom I waded out and hastily got it in the net as quickly as possible! � e 1oz lead had made it feel like free-lining and every lunge and surge was felt far more than normal! On looking into the net I found a beautiful, heavily-scaled mirror sitting there so I quickly fetched Nathan from further down the bank who helped me weigh it at 30lb 2oz before picturing and returning it.

Look at that, at 30lb 2oz a beautiful heavily-scaled mirror.

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Figuring the swim had been trashed, I quickly got my gear together and did a night in one of the quiet corners where I hoped a few would end up during the night, knowing full well that my target � sh, Choco, gets caught a bit from there too. In hindsight I should really have moved into the area where the � sh were present over the humps earlier in the day, but the light was drawing in fast, leaving me just enough time to � ick out a couple close in.

Nothing occurred that night and the next morning a few � sh showed over the humps, leaving me in no doubt that I had made the wrong choice! A� er packing away the gear I went and sat with Rob again for a quick brew and a chat before departing for home back up the M1. In this time we saw probably four or � ve shows o� the end of the same bush as yesterday; they were back again and there was obviously a good reason why they were returning.

I now had two areas in my head ready to pursue on my return that Sunday – the end of the bush and the shallow humps. My error was further highlighted by the fact that over the weekend the shallow humps produced � ve � sh to mid-30s to a

mate called Chris.Returning on the Sunday, the

lake was pretty busy and with the two plans I had

in my head already having produced � sh

I was a little unsure what to do on my arrival – surely the � sh wouldn’t hang around a� er a few had been hooked

o� the shallower humps, but they were

obviously happy there because on arrival in Chris’

swim he had two on at once! As Chris was o� that day Nathan

had already pencilled himself in, so I did a night in a shallow bay which had a good view of the bush from which I caught the scaly � sh the previous week. I didn’t see any o� the bush so

dropped in behind Nathan on the Monday – in all honesty I didn’t expect the � sh to still be there by then but three takes to Nathan on the Sunday a� ernoon proved they were still happily sitting there, so I moved in once Nathan had departed. I managed a 24lb 6oz common later that a� ernoon and lost another not long a� er. To be honest, I couldn’t believe how much the � sh had put up with, what with the boats and the casting, and I was thankful of the takes because I really thought they would have done the o� by now – they duly did that night and the next morning the swim was lifeless. I chased the � sh around for my other two nights but they didn’t stay put for very long and had moved out of the areas in which I had set the traps by morning on both occasions.

Arriving back early Sunday morning, most of my mates were still fast on so I had a good walk round until one of them was up and about to make a brew! I had heard on the grapevine that a good � sh had been lost over the weekend and just hoped it wasn’t the big ’un. For some reason a few of us ended up congregating in Chris’ swim that morning and as we were sitting there talking, the swans and their newborns were getting in around his tips generally making a nuisance of themselves, as they do(!), when his alarm gave out a few beeps.

“I wound in

at around

1.00 p.m. to redo

the rods; maybe they

had been cleaning

rather than feeding,

as all the rigs came

back as clean as

a whistle”

Here’s the 24lb 6oz common before the fi sh fi nally left the shallow humps.

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We all suspected the swans, but as they moved o� the bobbin stayed tight to the rod and proceeded to pull out the clip – no swan this! It weeded him up pretty much straightaway so out in the boat he went and returned not long a� er with a big grin on his face, saying it was a good ’un! I think he secretly knew it was Choco but didn’t want to say, just in case! While he was sorting out his bits and bobs Nathan peered into the net and announced it was indeed Choco. We all helped get everything ready and the beast was weighed at 50lb 2oz, leaving Chris a very happy man – nice one mate! � is was the � rst time I had seen Choco on the bank since I � rst set foot on the complex as a day ticketer some seven or so years ago, and back then I didn’t really realise what I was looking at – it was only seeing it now that I twigged it was the � sh I had seen on the mat all those years before. � ere’s nothing like seeing your target in the � esh to light your � re and my desire to catch this � sh was now understandably stronger than ever! A� er � nishing o� Chris’ remaining tea supplies with the lads who had gathered to help celebrate the moment, I had a wander and found a few � sh milling about in front of the pipe which was pumping in from the pond behind – that’ll do me, I thought, and quickly went back for my gear. I knew the � sh

had spent a good few weeks hanging around this pipe when it was really hot last year and I hoped they would be just starting to do the same again, what with all the extra oxygen from the pipe. From up the tree it was clear the � sh were doing a sort of circuit – dri� ing along in front of the pipe in the � ow then going back round in the calmer water behind before dri� ing through the � ow once more – they repeated this time and time again but didn’t stop to up end at all, obviously content just � ltering the extra oxygen through their gills. From the tree I could also see two shallower humps glowing nicely through the crystal water – one about 20yds out and one about 45yds out. A plan was hatched to position a rod on the right-hand side (nearest end to the pipe) on each of these humps at the shallowest point I could � nd and one in the edge in front of the pipe on the line the � sh had been taking. � e plan was that if the pipe was to go o� in the night or early morning, as it had the year previously, then hopefully the � sh would come across one of my areas on the two humps as they le� . � e pipe went o� around mid-a� ernoon and the � sh dri� ed out a bit from the bank, giving me a bit of a window to get the rods sorted. I was all sorted by 4.00 p.m. and I was sitting having a tea with the baili� when, out of the blue, the pipe came back on. I gave it an hour then got back up the tree to � nd the � sh had moved back in – a couple of them looked like good ’uns too. A� er a bite to eat I got my head down, con� dent of action in the night. I had numerous liners on the two hump rods through the night so knew they were still about, but no takes were forthcoming. On getting up the tree, � sh were still passing through the � ow but just not dropping down to the bottom. I tried a few di� erent rigs and baiting scenarios over the next few days and nights, as well as trying other little spots in the � ow and just o� it, but to no avail – it was very frustrating watching � sh that I couldn’t get to drop down. Finally, just as daylight broke on the third morning in the swim, the rod on the furthest hump roared o� and I landed myself a nice 27lb leathery-looking � sh; I took a few pictures on the mat and slipped her back. At least I now knew the other spots would do � sh and interestingly, the pipe was not on when I woke up to the run, meaning it was probably one of the � sh hanging in front of the pipe that moved out a� er it went o� in the night. Nothing occurred that last night and I le� the lake having caught, although feeling that I could have done better!

Over the weekend the � sh really gathered

in open water in front of the pipe and two swims to the le� – from memory I think there were seven odd takes into mid-30s that weekend from those three swims. With the � sh still around in numbers big-time I would have been a fool not to drop back into the pipe when it became vacant on Sunday a� ernoon. I’d been thinking a lot over the weekend about the rod in front of the pipe but reasoned that I had tried most scenarios. Baiting-wise I was limited, due to the force of the � ow washing away anything small, such as hemp, pellet, chops, etc. I decided to persevere with the original rig back in front of the pipe as it seemed from the � sh I’d seen throughout the day that the two humps would be the areas this week – it seemed the � sh weren’t so much pipe orientated now due to the low pressure and overcast weather.

Not so much as a beep that � rst night and I awoke to see the majority of � sh showing in between the two bars some 100yds+ back out in the lake. On checking the weather it was due to warm up again with the pressure rising, hopefully meaning the � sh would move back in, so I stayed put rather than moving into the swim le� or right of me from where I could get at them better at range.

I redid the rods at dinner time and around 4.00 p.m. the skies started to clear; � ngers crossed they’d move back in now the sun was out again. I hadn’t seen anything when I got in the bag that night. but quite a few liners in the early hours soon let me know they were back. Another frustrating day’s � shing followed where I couldn’t get them to go down, even though they would happily swim in and out of the � ow for most of the day. Still, at least I was on them, and if they did decide to drop down or the pipe did go o� and they moved out again, I had a good chance of them getting on one of the other areas. Next morning I awoke to the gulping sound of the pipe going o� , I just hoped they wouldn’t go too far. I made a quick brew, and once I’d drunk it, I got up the tree to see what was occurring, but I saw nothing at all. Hopefully they were just hanging about in front, waiting for the pipe to burst back into life, so I kept my eyes peeled for any signs. At dinner time one boshed out just behind my

I got this fi sh all the way back in to around 50yds and started to slip the chesties on when everything went solid, leaving me worried because it didn’t feel bad at all – just a heavy plodder

I got this fi sh all the way back in to around 50yds and started to slip the

27lb mirror – there was no one about!

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furthest rod – there was still one about at least! As that was my last night of the session I decided to leave the rods in – they were around the areas I stood a better chance of catching them from and I didn’t want to spook them, so I took the chance that the bait and rigs were still sound from the previous night.

Nothing had occurred come morning and it had become overcast again, and the pipe still wasn’t back on. It didn’t look good and as I sat there, supping my second or third brew, they started showing between the bars again. I was quite shocked when at 7.45 a.m. the rod on the furthest of the humps pulled up and started taking line, albeit strangely slowly! I li� ed the rod and bent into what was obviously a carp, but one that was not doing much at all, and I virtually led it like a dog on a lead into the net! Looking down into the net I could see a big � sh with a football-type growth on its rear end – it was a � sh known as Chernobyl, and what a strange thing she was! I knew it was a known 40 so I quickly secured the net and ran to get Darryl from the next swim. We weighed her in at 45lb 15oz before getting some nice shots and sending her on her way. When she went o� she was thrashing her tail like mad and moving very little – obviously the reason why the � ght was so bizarre, bless her! I thought I was going to be packing up with a blank under my belt but now I was going home with a mid-40, even if she was a bit of a strange one!

� e weather for this next week was set to be

roasting. Nothing had been out over the weekend, from what I remember, and the baili� informed me that the pipe had just come back on this morning. I dropped my gear in the pipe and went for a wander. I saw a couple show right out in the middle of the lake but le� them to it and dropped in the pipe – I hoped the � sh would end up back there by evening, and if I didn’t go in there it was sure to be taken come morning so I took the gamble! On going out in the boat to do the rods I found a new area in deeper water down the margin to my le� , so put some blocks on it. I couldn’t decide whether to � sh it or not as I thought I had plenty of lines in the swim with the

three as it was. I decided to leave the spot unless � sh were seen near to it during the session, getting a clip sorted just in case it was required. At 3.00 a.m. the further hump rod was away and a steady � ght resulted in a repeat capture from last year, a 22lb 8oz near-leather. Before I knew it the sun was peering over the horizon and it looked set to be a scorcher, hopefully bringing the � sh into the oxygenated pipe area once more. � ere were a few carp knocking about in the bomb-hole of the pipe as the light started to break, so I had a quick brew and scaled the tree again to see what was about. I saw the group of three � sh that were in the bomb-

hole mooching around but no others as yet. Later in the day quite a few di� erent groups of � sh dri� ed in and out but, come nightfall, I wasn’t so sure they were still about! I started getting liners just before � rst light, which boosted my con� dence a� er a good night’s sleep, then around 8.15 a.m., the nearer hump rod was away. � is � sh went mad, running all round the margin to my le� before going out 40yds into open water before � nally giving itself up. I’d just got a long-looking common in the net when the further hump rod was away – not so much of a drama with this one and a mirror of a similar size was soon in the same net before I ran to get help from next door! � e

common went 25lb 6oz and the mirror turned out to be another very near-leather at 26lb 8oz. Surprisingly, once I got back up the tree there were still � sh about so I reclipped the rods and got them back on the spots for the day.

It really started to heat up around 10.00 a.m. and perched in the tree I sat and watched a group of 13 or so � sh move in and out of the � ow – now these were all good ones. I estimated only two of them were below 30lb with me able to identify quite a few of them – one of them was a big linear, possibly the one I caught the year before with Bitemark at low-40s. I sat and watched them doing the usual laps in and out of the � ow until I had to get down from the tree for a bit – my legs were nearly dead! Once I’d got the feeling back I hastily got back up to my perch where I noticed the � sh were taking a slightly di� erent route – the lap now included

I got this fi sh all the way back in to around 50yds and started to slip the chesties on when everything went solid, leaving me worried because it didn’t feel bad at all – just a heavy plodder

I got this fi sh all the way back in to I got this fi sh all the way back in to around 50yds and started to slip the

The strange old carp known as Chernobyl at 45lb 15oz. Result!

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coming along in front of me about 10yds out (meaning I got a liner most times they passed) then back in front of the little point I was on, into the pipe and occasionally having a quick look in the very small bay created by the point to my le� . � e � sh didn’t seem interested in feeding but seemed quite content to hang around in the area, which suited me – the longer they were there, the better! I was up and down the tree all day, keeping my eye on them as I knew I had to take my chance and get the rods redone quickly when they did move o� . � ey seemed so happy around here; I hoped if they did move o� they would return in the hours of darkness, providing the pipe stayed on. Around teatime they slowly began

dri� ing o� down the right margin before hanging in front of the vacant swim – I half wanted to have a go for them down there in the edge, but I le� them to it and took the opportunity to do what I had to and get the traps set. � ankfully, I had the rods out in only a few casts and I settled back, happy I hadn’t spooked them. � e � sh arrived back in the pipe just before dark – I could just make out the dark shapes from up the tree as the light was fading.

Around 3.00 a.m. I was woken by a real � erce liner and was

unable to get my head back down due to the number of � sh crashing close in, so I laid there just listening and trying to pinpoint each set of rings on the surface. At 4.00 a.m. what I thought was a liner had me scrambling from the bag once it had pulled from the clip and started ripping line o� the clutch! On connecting with the � sh I just felt a heavyish weight plodding around, so I took my time with it a� er what I’d seen the day before. A� er about � ve minutes of just basically swimming left and right on a tight line in front of me, I gradually started to get it nearer to the bank before things ground to a halt. I changed the angle of my line and luckily it pinged off whatever it was caught on and after that

it wasn’t too much hassle. As I slid it over the net cord on its side I recognised it as the linear I had caught the year before. On the scales it went 41lb 7oz and although a little down in weight, it looked stunning in the morning sunshine, its two-tone appearance more apparent than in the shots I’d previously taken With four fish that session I drove home to Leicester full of confidence and gagging to return!

On arriving back on the Sunday, it was evident that the � sh had literally just begun spawning, which gutted me a bit to be honest – still they have to do it I suppose, and it’s for their own good, so I le� them to it and took a drive over to Elstow, hoping the Pit 2 � sh wouldn’t be feeling as fruity! Wrong! Should’ve known better, given the weather, but at least I got myself acquainted with the place and saw a few of its prize carp. A� er a quick walk round I returned to Leicester to get a few bits and bobs sorted at home while I had the chance.

A� er con� rming with the baili� they had � nished spawning I returned the following Sunday. A lap of the lake revealed a few � sh showing in a swim on the grassy bank opposite the island. � e problem with this swim is it’s a passing swim – you will catch the odd one or two, but the carp don’t hang around in front of it for long. With nothing else to go on, I reluctantly set up on what I had seen.

Come morning, the � sh were three or four swims down to my right, so I wasted no time in moving. Most of them were showing around 70-90yds out and I knew of a nice double hump feature in front of one of the swims around this range, so settled down in there. I got the rods ready to go out while I waited for them to stop showing and for the wind to hopefully die down a bit because it was really ripping across me from right

At 4.00 a.m. what I thought was a liner had me scrambling from the bag once it had pulled from the clip and started ripping line off the clutch!

At 4.00 a.m. what I thought was a liner had me scrambling At 4.00 a.m. what I thought was a liner had me scrambling

pulled from the clip and started pulled from the clip and started

A repeat capture from the previous year at 22lb 8oz.

The fi rst of two carp in 15 minutes, this one went 25lb 6oz…

…closely followed by this 26lb 8oz near-leather.

Another repeat capture, 41lb 7oz, but when they look like this, who cares?

First carp from the double hump feature at 24lb 15oz.

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to le� – why the � sh were backing o� it I don’t know, but they were, and in numbers too. Around 7.00 p.m. I was just considering chucking singles onto the spots for the night when the wind � nally started to drop a bit. It must have taken me nearly two hours to get all the rods out that night but it was all worth it, as at 5.00 a.m. I had a stuttery up and down take from the le� -hand double hump, resulting in a 24lb 15oz common. It seemed quite content hanging on the back of the wind and proceeded to show in front of me for the rest of the day. I redid the rods around teatime with a thankfully much weaker wind, meaning it was a lot easier. Around 3.00 the next morning I was away again on the right-hand double hump rod. � is one weeded me not long a� er connecting and had me out in the boat in the dark where I netted a mirror, which looked around the 30lb mark. Back on the bank it weighed 29lb 15oz and was slipped into a sack for some trophy shots, once it was light. Once the pictures were sorted and the � sh returned, I watched the water until around dinner time but saw nothing. I stayed put for the last night, a� er sitting up the other end for an hour or two that a� ernoon and seeing nothing. I did see a few on the last morning, but way out in the middle of the lake, so I le� for home, happy with two more under my belt.

I arrived at the lake early Sunday morning around 7.00 to � nd it had been a fairly busy weekend. � ere weren’t many people up and about yet so I sat in a swim with a good view of most of the lake, watching the water for signs. I saw just one � sh show in the same vicinity as I had taken the two � sh from the week before. A mate in a nearby swim awoke not long a� er and informed me there had been a few � sh out into the 20s over the weekend but none of the biggies had been caught. � ere had been a 19-pounder out of the swim but from closer in, and the spots I had caught from hadn’t seen a rig. Whilst chatting I was pondering whether to get back

into the same area when I noticed a bucket, which turned out to belong to the angler next door – gutted! I did a quick lap of the lake before returning to my mate, to � nd out that the chap who owned the bucket had seen � sh over his spot and was no longer moving – nice one! I stuck my gear in the swim before watching the water for another hour but didn’t see a thing, so set up on the one show I had seen. � e wind was blowing a real strong southwesterly, meaning there would be a nasty crosswind, blowing from right to le� , making my 6� round spots at 90yds a bit more di� cult to hit than usual. I got the rods ready and clipped up and just hoped the wind

would ease, which it duly did around 7.00 p.m. It still wasn’t easy, but

a� er quite a few casts I was happy with the drops on

the two hump rods – the other two were further

out but because the spot was a bit bigger it wasn’t as much hassle to land on them. I settled down

for an early night a� er being tired from the

weekend’s work and my early rise. At 2.00 a.m. I was

awoken by a one-toner from the le� -hand double hump spot. � e � sh

didn’t really do much, it just plodded while I gained line steadily until everything came to a halt. I gave a bit more pressure, but nothing moved, so rather than really bend into it and risk losing it, I jumped in the boat. I was soon over the spot, having pinged my line out of a few weedbeds, but nothing was moving – I gently applied more pressure and slowly things began to move. I was fully expecting to see a load of weed appear when a big mouth, then a back, hit the surface, and I somehow managed to get it into the net � rst time. I was pretty

sure it was a good ’un and rowed back to

the bank, praying it was the one I

wanted and not a repeat capture. As soon as I

neared the bank I jumped out of the boat and spread the net arms to see a familiar line of scales down the wrist of the tail – it was the one I wanted, leaving me a very happy man shouting “Choco” like a loony!

I rang my mate and we weighed him at 49lb 6oz – a new PB for me by 2lb 8oz – before slipping him into a sack in the margins of the swim next door, where I sat on my chair making sure he was OK until the � rst light photo shoot. Funnily enough, the sunrise that morning consisted of dark greys and a real reddy-orange, as you will see from the shot – just like Choco! Just out of interest, I caught it from the same swim as when I � rst saw the � sh, albeit a bit smaller, on the mat all those years ago!

Gary did me proud with the shots and we set him free for him to make another person as happy as he did me on that memorable late-June morning. KW

“There had been a 19-pounder out of the swim but from closer in, and the spots I had caught from hadn’t seen a rig”

A few last water shots before I set him free.

The stunning Choco at a new PB weight of 49lb 6oz – job done!

Followed the next morning by this

29lb 15oz mirror.

Preparing to display my prize for the cameras.

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