Limited bankside time 27lb Linear on SSRR
31/05/2010
With limited time due to work and family commitments, I only added pressure to achieving my goal as a field tester for ‘Ocean Fresh’.
I have been using ‘SSRR’ for around 3 months. During these 3 months I spent around six weeks on day only sessions when I could on local club water. Which holds carp up to high 20’s although the average is low-mid doubles. I caught very consistently but only caught fish to mid doubles although these were very welcome during the bitter cold earlier months we experienced. On occasions I managed to get the better fish feeding but they managed to avoid capture as the smaller fish seemed to sneak in and pick up my ‘Snowman’ presentation first.
With the weather improving it was time to move onto another quarry that holds a good head of 20’s and 30’s for the size of the water, although these carp can be very cute at times and go some time avoiding capture.
3 nights in on my campaign and only a fish of 19 lbs to speak of which I’m sure later on in the year will be up in weight probably be nearer the 21-22 mark. I decided to fish a Sunday night as the water is much more peaceful and less pressured from fellow anglers, even though I have to be off early for a full stint at work.
Arriving at the lake it was 5.30 pm and pouring of rain the heavens absolutely opened. Pushing the porter through what seemed to be an infinite field of puddles I found sanctuary under a friend’s bivvy who was having a social with another pal on a adjacent lake. After a chat and a catch up I discovered the lake I was off to fish had only thrown up a bream all weekend. As the weather slowed up I continued my walk onto the chosen water with soaked fishing gear and conditions far from perfect. I spent about an hour looking for the whereabouts of those crafty carp. Eventually I settled into a lovely tree lined bay. To my right was a gravely margin which met smooth silt in around 3 ft of water along the tree line, out in front at around 50 yards range was a deep gully located just in front of a far margin that I’m sure acts as a natural food larder and finally my left trap was set on the bottom of a small marginal gravel slope again where it meets a silt bed alive with creepy crawlies that carp love in around 3-4 ft of water that I have caught many of the lakes residents from in previous years.
After scattering around a kilo of bait over the three spots, in the form of chopped and whole 15mm ‘SSRR’ baits. Out went a ‘choddy’ fished in conjunction with a ‘Helicopter rig’ flying back leads and back leads to keep everything as flush to the bottom as possible on middle and left rod, while the right hand rod was fished with my favourite rig the infamous ‘Snowman’ presentation with a bag of fine chops and 4mm glugged pellets fished on a really slack line along the tree line.
At around 4 am Monday morning the right hand rod tore off and after a ponderous 10 min battle up and down the margin the perfectly formed ‘Linear’ met the cord of my net. Grabbing a breath I let the cracking mirror also catch his breath while I systematically prepared the mat, zeroed the sling and organised the camera, forceps, bonjella etc. As I rolled up the net checking his pecks were flat to the body I was sure it was a ‘30’. On the scales it went only to discover it was 27 lbs 6 oz, well ha ho who cares when they look this pukka.
Tight lines and all that jazz . . . . .
Ian Lewis