So last weekend I had a spare 24 hrs so I decided to head down there and see if I could put my Broadlands demons to rest. I arrived at around 11am and had a good walk round and found Carp alley to be completely empty so I sat and observed the water for a short while and noticed a large group of carp circling around an overhanging tree so quickly scattered a few boilies around the area, just enough to make the carp drift away from the spot long enough for me to drop a rig in with out spooking them from the spot completely. This worked perfectly as no more than 10 minutes after casting out they were back in force and I knew a bite was on the cards.An hour or so passed and more and more carp were arriving in front of me, I was stood watching them basque in the sun when all of a sudden my right hand rod screamed off, the fight was on for my first carp from Broadlands in over 8 sessions. after around 5 mins of battling away I finally caught a glimpse of the upper double mirror and reached for my net when I felt the feeling that every carp angler dreads, with one almighty shake of the head he was gone. 1-0 to Broadlands.
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| Bait of choice - Red Crustacean |
Most of the carp that had been patrolling the swim had drifted away so I decided to get spodding ready for the night and put around 10 spods over each rod along with a good spread of boilies. Red Crustaceans being the bait for this session.
The evening passed, darkness fell and I was beginning to get that feeling that it was to be another carpless session when at around 12:45pm my left hand rod shot off like a rocket. There was a large tree to the left of the swim which was the destination of what felt like a very good fish so in order to avoid getting snagged up I got in the lake and waded out to keep the fish away from the over hanging branches, I was getting more nervous by the second having lost one earlier and as I pulled the fish round in front of me I could see it was definitely in the 20's. The net was in the water ready, and just as the head popped up and I thought I had him he had other ideas and shot off back into the depths and with another almighty shake of the head, I felt the same sinking feeling I had felt 8 hrs earlier, he was off. Broadlands 2 , Me 0.
I dragged myself out of the lake and got the rod straight back on the spot with a fresh rig and the sat to ponder what exactly was going wrong, the hooks were sharp, the rigs was tied correctly, the lead had come off in the fight, I just could work it out. as I continued to ponder, to my surprise, off the left had rod screamed again. as I struck into the fish, the thought of what had happened earlier was all I could think about so the shear desperation I felt to land this fish was unbearable. In the lake I went again, this time almost to my waist and I just hung on for dear life as the fish kited around at a rate off knots. around 5 of the longest minutes off my life I saw the fish surface in front of me and quicker than I have ever moved in my life, I stretched out and prayed his head would cross the brow of the net, but like the 2 before him, he was not playing ball and off he shot towards the tree. with some gentle persuasion and a lot of praying I finally got him away and back towards me, his head came up, the net went out and the relief and joy instantly struck as I saw the walls of the net rise around him...Finally!
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| At Last!!! What a relief!!! |
My reward for my effort was this cracking 16lb Common, probably one of my favourite catches given the 2 lost fish and the fact I had not had a carp from Broadlands for quite a few sessions, although they were mainly during the winter.
The night petered out with only a few liners and the morning would also prove carpless with not a glimpse of a carp in sight and with that at around mid-day I decided to call it a day. I can safely say I have not had a session like that in a long time nor have I ever been so happy and relieved to have a carp on the bank.
Final score: Broadlands 2 v 1 Me
