Two weeks after my last visit to willow lake when I caught the 40 and the 30 I returned for another session. However unlike the previous session where Gary and I had booked the whole lake, this time I would be sharing it with six other anglers. I had a busy morning and so by the time I got to Willow all the swims on three banks had been covered and all that was left available was 3 of the 4 swims on the north bank. However I felt happy about this as I had seen the weather forecast for the next 48 hours and the wind was due to swing round and blow hard from the south - south west straight into the north bank.
When given little choice in swims most of the time I seek to get as far away from other anglers as I can because fishing pressure can play a big part in how the fish respond. Often they will move away from areas simply because of this fact regardless of the prevailing conditions.
There was three lines out over the south bank, nine lines on the west bank and another six on the east bank and they were all bow string tight. This covered the entire southern half of the lake and I felt sure that this pressure would move fish on. Sure they were accustomed to it as these swims are permanently occupied 24/7 for most of the year but I knew also that if the conditions switched in my favour on the north bank which is the least fished bank I had a good chance of scoring a fish or two.
The first thing I did when reaching the car park swim was to dip my hand in the water, the wind was blowing directly in from the north and the water felt cool. On moving around the lake I did the same in each swim and concluded that the temperature was pretty even all around until I reached the north bank which was flat calm and getting the sun on the back of the wind. Walking along the north bank I found that swim 10 in the north east corner was occupied and on chatting to the fella he revelled that he had caught one in the night and was about to move out so I walked along the north bank to the far end and stood in swim 7 for a while.
On dipping my hand in the margin I could feel that the water temperature was much more comfortable and this gave me confidence, now all I had to do was decide which swim to fish. After having a chat with the lads on the east bank in swims 12, 13 and 14 I decided on swim 10. I reckoned that fish were already in the area and I might be able to sneak a quick one, but if not I could always move up the bank. After moving in I had a conversation with the chap in swim 12 as he was putting a marker rod down to his right within 30 meters of me. He had told me that he wanted to cast down towards that corner and I knew if I wasn't in it he would almost certainly put a line all the way down there. I suggested that since he could fish to his left and straight onto some great spots it might be a good idea to give us all a little room and that it would be prudent if we kept as far apart as we could to give each other the best chance
However I was disappointed with his reaction as he said he intended to cast there and saw no problem with it. To be honest I felt that he was out of order. He was occupying the entire east bank with some of the best spots on the lake with access to most of the main part of the lake. In my opinion he should not have cast to his right towards me but did, however I think if I had not been in the swim he would have put it all the way down cutting off the entire corner of the lake and giving me even less of an option of where to fish. After watching this chap casting down towards me I decided to go around and have another friendly chat to see if he would see my point of view, but he did not, so I let it go at that, as it turned out he ended up completely blanking whilst watching me catch...
For the first few hours I was there I used my Smartcast to find out what was in front of me. Most people using a marker rod will cast out to an area and then attempt to find somewhere to put bait and whilst this works well I find the use of my smartcast gives me much more information. Not only will it tell me the depths showing contours and weedbeds but on drawing back the sensor it will also tell me what is in-between the bank I am on and the spots I wish to fish. This is important because by finding out how the lake is made up and contoured between myself and the chosen spots I get a much clearer idea of how the fish will move around the areas and the best line lay for my lines.
Just like humans Carp are creatures of habit and will move about a lake in pre-defined ways and routes. Having a good idea of the contours between me and my chosen spot will allow me to decide the best strategy and if a spot is fishable. It’s no good casting to a spot if your line is going up and down all over weedbeds and obstructions as this will negate any advantage you have in using slackened lines, especially fluorocarbon. So if I cannot see a way of avoiding this it will influence which spots I settle on and indeed the swim I select to cast to those spots from.
The margin to my left on the east bank had an area that came up to 7 feet from 9 and formed a small plateau dropping back down to 9 feet. Two to three yards out on this area I placed two baits and a half kilo of my improved homemade Berry boilies. The third rod went out to an area 30 yards out that had a slight depth change of 9 to 10 feet; another half kilo of The Berry went out onto that too. When using slackened lines I wind the line back onto the spool carefully to remove any unnecessary slackness as this ensure I get the best indication. All rods used a 1 ounce lead and a combi-rig either with a balanced popup or a snowman setup but I was also going to ring the changes too with hydrated bottom baits and popups that were balanced. Hooks was another area I wanted to pay more attention too also so I had with me my usual FOX SSC’s and Nash Fang twisters.
The evening passed into night but not before a good rain shower had burned itself out on the changing wind. I had become increasingly aware of being ‘cut off’ from the rest of the lake and felt that once I had spent the night in the swim and ‘claimed’ the area I could then perhaps move down the bank to the next swim on my right giving me more room and continue to fish it. I always prefer to fish ‘too’ fish rather than right on top of them and moving up the bank was going to give me access to the main area of the lake as well.
I was up early the next morning and nipped down to the next swim to have a look see. The wind was swinging around from the north east to the south south-west. It was a new wind, warm and building, so after contemplating my predicament the decision was made. Within an hour I had moved my soaking wet bivvy and all my kit as quietly as I could into the next swim up. I set up my rods using my Chris brown two rod buzzer bars either side of the swim, one rod on the left hand side out onto the 7 foot plateau near the reeds on the east bank and the other two on the right. After finding some areas in the margin to my right and a nice little gravely hump all the rods where set and I settled back for a brew. All three rods were fishing close in and I wanted to do that as I was convinced the carp would move into the margin areas following the warm oxygenated water the new wind would be pushing over.
As the day wore on I swapped around my rods, rigs and baits. I tried popups and balanced baits in a variety of ways. Apple coring popups and bottom baits with foam inserts. I swapped my rigs between my combi and my 20lb IQ rigs, both of which will reset. The combi performed better with a balanced popup than a bottom bait but did not do well with the snowman. This was because the hook link material was not stiff enough to counteract the weight of the hook baits, however when I apple cored the bottom bait it began to work fine. I moved the right hand margin rod up onto the six foot margin closer in and I kept on putting in small handfuls of my homemade Berry boilies out onto the spots at regular intervals and with each cast.
By 7:30 in the evening I was spotting and hearing fish roll right in the margins where I had my baits. The lake was obviously switching on, with the conditions looking better and better all day and the steady build-up of bait trickling into the swims I felt that one of my rods was bound to roar off at any moment. At 8:00 o’clock the right hand rod up the margin in 6 feet of water roared off and after a good scrap a nice chunky mid double common slid into the net. First one under the belt! It’s always good to get that first fish! It means you are getting it right and things are working, a real boost to the confidence.
The rest of the evening passed into night and it wasn't until just after dawn the next morning when that right hand rod on the margin roared off again, this time with a nice chunky 20lb mirror. More bait was placed on the spots and a celebratory brew was put on. Conditions were perfect, the wind was howling into my swim, the lakes surface was warm like a swimming pool and fish were beginning to betray their presence, sweet!
I went and stood behind the margin reeds with another fresh cup of hot black filter coffee in my hand and out of the corner of my eye I watched a large fish roll off the margin near my left hand rod on the east bank. The wind blew into my face and I thought about how I could spend the rest of my life doing just this. I only stood there for minutes but all the worldly things were set adrift and all that remained was the wind in my ears and the smile on my face.
Then as if I had forgotten its very existence the left hand rod screamed out at me and I was suddenly shaken out of my revelry. Rushing to the rod I grabbed it, engaged the bait-runner and in a blur swooped it back into an arch. The tip pulled over and over until the clutch began to give line as the fish made its way steadily back out into the main body of the lake. It was on about 70 yards of line before I put the brake on, bringing it up near the surface in a boil. The fish kited hard to the right pulling out from the bank again taking line off the clutch but with no weed or snags to worry about I let it go.
After a few minutes I managed to work it back within 40 yards of me, a few more minutes and it was 10 yards out but I still had not got a good look at it as it doggedly refused to budge off the bottom. If I didn't know better I would have thought it was a catfish as they fight in a similar way hugging the bottom. Up and down the margin it raced but with slackened lines and both my other rods off the front rests and down into the water I wasn't worried about it snagging them. It was a good five minutes before I managed to slip the net under the fish and it was then that I saw it for the first time, one of the old ones and a good size too!
With another three or four hour’s left of the session I was confident that I might be able to pull another one out so I put on the kettle again and sorted out some breakfast. By 8 o’clock the wind had really picked up bringing with it some rain but I had already stashed my kit in the car leaving my rods chair, umbrella and brewing kit for the last few hours fishing. At 8:48 I was scrambling for the left hand rod again this time for a right hard scrapping mid double ghosty. The rod really tore off bending right around to the left and was going like a good un’ before I even got the rod up and into its curve. Luckily I had the presence of mind to put the camera down as I was filming and get it all on film, 9 minutes in all it took me before I slid the net under my forth and last fish of the session.
Its trips like these that keep you going back, ones where tactics, bait and gut feeling all come together and produce something that I still find even after all these years, more thrilling and more satisfying than anything else I do.
