Carp Capers
Updated: Aug 29
The weather's improving, and water temperatures are rising. Encouraged by this and some recent sessions legering with an Avon rod, I dusted down the Carp rods and gave the Abu reels a run. I've been listening to some Carp fishing podcasts recently, and renewed my membership with the Earl of Harrington Angling Club and decided on a club Carp water a short drive from home.
Heatherton Pond is a lovely, peaceful place, watching the water and the different wildfowl.
I was the only angler there, and apart from a dog walker, the place was unoccupied by humans. Then I noticed the weed. Although a work party of Earl members recently removed lots of the blanket weed, there was still a lot, partly due to the shallow water.
Undaunted, I set up the rod-pod, Beacon bite alarms, 10' fibreglass rods, and Cardinal 157 reels and looked for suitable places to cast. Deciding on a spot close-in for the left-hand rod and further out towards the island for the right rod, I catapulted out some sweetcorn, crushed boilies and pellets, and watched and waited.
I watched the Swans, Ducks, Canada Geese and a mother Coot with her brood of five while looking for signs of fish. The sun was warm and the southerly breeze gentle as the morning wore on. After reeling in to check my baits, I felt the weight of the weed and swung the mass of weed onto my unhooking mat. This was going to be challenging.
Deciding to change bait, I chose a pop-up and recast both rods into different spots. Pondering what to do, I thought about a change of plan. After a few more casts to different spots and adding to the huge pile of dried weed next to my peg, I decided to float fish with a short line. Anyway, I neither caught, hooked, nor saw a fish, and decided they must be hiding in the weed somewhere. I packed up and chatted with a few other anglers who'd set up on the opposite bank. They hadn't caught, but they had seen a few fish topping. Maybe next time, although it's a nice place to blank!
The next session was at Birch House Fishery, this time on Kingfisher Lake. I set up the Carp rods and Cardinal reels, one rod baited with bread. Shortly after casting, I had a slow take, then a hook pull, probably a Beam. However, I did catch a Bream on the bread later in the session.
The other rod was baited with fake corn, resulting in a run, and then another hook pull. Then I changed to real corn on the hook and landed another Bream. The rain started to set in quite heavily, so I decided to call it a day.
My final session was quiet back at Heatherton...
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