Hello again,

I went fishing at Newlands Specimen on Monday for 2 nights.

I set up in the middle Point swim. My RH rod was fishing about 60-70 yds towards the right of my swim. I checked out where the marker float was in relation to the next swim to my right and discovered that the marker was slap bang in the middle of the swim! I decided to leave it there and move it if somebody moved into the swim.

My LH rod was fished to the far side of the gravel bar, around 15-20 yds, straight out. Both rods had boilies around them as freebies, the boilies being spodded out to the RH rig and catapulted out to the near bait. The reason I spod out the boilies is because its more accurate and it attracts less attention from the local wild birds.

The RH rod had a running rig with a 8-10" hooklink and a square 3oz lead. Bait was a Bait and feed Co mixed boilie, as were the freebies.My LH rod had a fish-oil boilie, along with around 15-20 freebies. The rig and weight were in a PVA bag full of pellets.

Monday passed quietly, with only a few beeps on my alarm. It rained a lot in the afternoon, sometimes quite heavy. I went to sleep around 11pm and woke up at around 6.30 am, the weather damp and miserable.
Another fishless night.

Vic had turned up by this time and was busy setting up his rods in the LH Point swim. Vic has been fairly successful on his home made crayfish boilies, catching several tench and bream but sadly, no carp yet. Mind you, a couple of the tench were crackers - 6lb 12oz and 7lb 14oz.
Both were caught using his crayfish boilies. The action has died down now though and Vic joins us in the "...sorry, no fish - yet" club!!

Tuesday morning passed quietly although I did hook a fish for around 5 secs then I had a hook pull.

Gutted.

Vic and I managed to do our bit for the nature watch people by releasing a swans leg from a branch that it had got tangled up in. At least it wasn't attached by a anglers line. Somehow the stupid swan had managed to get one of its legs stuck in the V of a fairly large branch. It could only use one leg and don't ask it to turn left!!!

I started to get a few beeps and liners during the day, even managing to hook another fish for approx 10 secs! I received a few beeps on my alarm so I gently lifted the rod and felt some resistance. Fish on! I lifted the rod into the fish and watched the rod tip as it took up its fighting curve. Suddenly - BOING! - it came off. The rod tip straightens and the line comes in easily. Somehow the damn fish has shed the hook. When I reeled in I immediately took off the offending hooklink and chucked it in the nearest bin. A new rig was assembled and cast out but with no result. Its been raining most of the day ranging from light drizzle to thunder, lightning and monsoon weather. Unbelievable.

Around 8pm I recast my rods for the night and topped up the baits.

I was awoken at about 3am with my alarm emitting 3-4 beeps from my LH rod. I sat up in bed and prepared to get out. Nothing more out of my alarm. I couldn't see my indicator and thought that a rat may have knocked it off on its way past to the rest of the lake. As I drifted off to sleep a thought came nagging into my conciousness - "hang on, my indicators are about 18-24" off the ground. The rat would have to be using a trampoline to reach my indicators."

So I decided to get up and check the rod. What you have to bear in mind is that its lashing down in the monsoon season outside and I'm not keen to get wet. I take the bull by the horns and pick up the rod and immediately get soaked. I notice that the line is at a totally different angle than when I cast in earlier. I reel in slowly but nothing happens. Its snagged on some weed. I gently apply some pressure and eventually the line starts to move, albeit with a heavy lump on the end. Before I could drag the weed in it drops off and I reel in a baitless rig. I rebaited the rig and cast back out. I had got soaked for nothing.

C'est la vie, as the French say.

Around 10 am I thought my luck had changed and that I had hooked a carp. My alarm screamed for a bit and then stopped. As I was running to my rods I noticed a big bow wave between my rod tip and the hooklink. I'd had a line bite of good proportions! The line pinged off the fish's back as it settled back down to its normal position.

I packed up around 12pm and made my way home

Hopefully the next time I post something I'll be writing about the fish I landed.

Until then,

Cya

John