yonny

Why did you set the rods up? 🤣

Yeah it's a class fish mate and got some history to it too. It does 50 lb now, a genuine Nene Valley brute.

I still have this pic of me from that 2nd night as the rod ripped off with a carp already on the bank. Panic stations 😂😂

I tend only to do Mrs friendly stuff at home; hemp, nuts, maize, that kind of thing. She's veggie so quite likes it lol.

So when I used to do my old catch reports I couldn't add any pics due to publicity bans. Now it's been a few years since I fished the venues I can re-post a few with pics to go with them. To alleviate some of this boredom I thought I could start with this one from Sept '16. The original post is here. Below I'll re-post with kipper shots. If you like it I might do some more over the coming weeks. Two month blank run ended this weekend. The first big northerly of the year hit us on Friday, I'd been looking forward to it for weeks. Headed straight to the end of it when I arrived at the syndi and the swim I'd been hoping to get all week was free. Get in! Rolled a ciggy and watched the water, the wind smashing into my face. Within 10 minutes I'd seen 2 huge black heads break the surface. Bucket goes down, off I go to get the gear from the car. Arrived back in the swim in record time. I'm out of breath but roll another ciggy out of habit and watch the water. Bosh! They're still here. Three singles in the zone, time to get the brolly up, it's starting to rain. Sit back for a couple of hours and the number of shows i see suggests the best part of the stock is in front of me. Need to get some bait out. Ten spombs on the main spot and the carp disappear, as usual. They're still showing but they've pushed way, way out behind my spot and to my left. I sit there for another couple of hours, trying to invent a silent spomb in my head, and see they're moving back in on this big wind. Waves rolling into my swim, rain blowing right into my brolly and soaking me, love it! Closer and closer they come, I'm getting excited. Finally, 3 shows in quick succession right on the spot. Off it goes, the bobbin whacks the Delkim, I'm in. I played it so carefully, it's my first bite since forever it seems. The first run is immense, it strips maybe 40 yards of line, but then it's well behaved and comes in steadily. My mates in the swim now and he does the honours with the net. We recognise the fish straight away, one of the bog originals, and I realise I might have a PB in the net. It's a real biggie, and I'm smiling from ear to ear. Weighing and photo's done, I sit back for the night. As it hits dusk I see one or two shows but it's looking like the bulk of the fish may have moved. I get some kip but I'm up by 03:00 looking for signs. I see nothing, they've gone elsewhere. By 09:30 the rods are in and I'm off searching for them, or rather I've found them, in the swim probably the furthest away from the one I'm fishing. Down goes the bucket, off to get my gear. An hour later I'm back with the barrow. Swim booked, I'm off home to feed the cats. Get back and the carp are still there, now I need to make a decision, do I spomb? I know it'll push them out of the swim but I believe, like yesterday, they'll move back in tonight. So, I fill it in. I see the carp push out but they've not moved too far, same as before. That night I go to bed feeling confident. 03:00 and I'm woken by a single bleep. I turn on my side and stare out at my spot, the surface is illuminated by the reflection of street lights in the distance. Within 2 minutes I've seen 1, 2, 3, 4 carp roll right on the spot. Big carp as well, causing huge rings to roll all the way back to the bank with each show. I'm out of bed now. I get a savage liner on the middle rod, I nearly hit it, but don't. Roll a ciggy, make a cuppa, sit on my hands, this could not look better. Three more liners in the next hour, lots of tea and smoking, rolling and fizzing over the spot. Whack! The bobbin hits the Delk again. Get in! Now this swim is a little trickier to fish then the last one, shallow margins with overhanging trees, so I'm straight into the waders and out into the pond. This one fights like a beast and if I hadn't seen it quite early in the fight I'd be convinced it was another monster. Still, it was by no means small, far from it, and it had the biggest tail I've ever seen on a carp. Mental looking thing, another original, two tone colouration with small scattered scales. That tail is literally ridiculous! Called a mate who's in the next swim round for the photos. I want them done quickly as I'm watching the fish rolling and fizzing on the spot, I know the other rod is going to go off very shortly. Too shortly in fact, because as soon as I get the fish on the Matt I get the take. Off into the pond again while my mate gets the big tailed mirror back in the water. Another decent fight sees a smaller carp in the net. It's the prettiest of the session, a beautiful little fully scaled mirror, and I'm happy as Larry. We get the photos and weighing of both fish done and I have one rod left in the water. I don't want to recast the others as the fish are clearly still on it and I don't want to push them out again. I sit watching the fizzing/rolling etc for an hour before I decide there has to be something wrong with the rig, it should have gone by now. I bring it in, it looks OK, but put a fresh one on just to be sure. Two rods on the spot, one just off it. The fizzing stops, but half an hour later they're back, and I'm getting excited again. Rolling, bubbling, epic stuff. It's getting light now and I can see the bobbin twitch by maybe half a centimeter as I get another bleep. I'm hovering over the rod now and again it twitches. I watch the line, where it hits the water it's twitching, or rather it was, as it's now lifting up through the surface as the Delkim let's me know that it's time to get wet again. Another good fight and I can tell this one is a lump straight away, it hugs the deck, not doing much, a proper big fish fight, like playing a breeze block. As it rolls over the net I recognise it, a solid fish, one of the big stockies, short and wide, a nice, clean, chunky carp (if a little pale looking lol). Two months with nothing then 4 fish in 2 nights. I'm over the moon, All the blank nights are forgotten about. We suffer the lows and enjoy the highs, and enjoying it I am. After the photos the fish have move out, they've cleared the spot, I'm out of bait. It's game over, so I pack up a happy man and go home smiling. The pics came out great. Still smiling now, it's my best session so far of what's been a very difficult, frustrating year, and of course it's not every day you get a new PB. The weights were 20.10 lb, 29.12 lb, 31.10 lb, and 45.12 lb. I also had some nice tench, but since the forum aint called tench.com I omitted them from the report. Roll on the next session!

Or you could pay the 30 quid fine and walk away lol.

No. The smell of markers is the solvent that carries the ink. When you apply it, the carrier (solvent) evaporates, leaving just the ink which is largely odourless.

Yes lol. Although some bars have them built in now!

Level rods is more important than location imo.

I don't think it's half as important as the colour of your leader/tubing etc. A short length of braid will be next to undetectable by man or beast imo, particularly in silt/weed. Indeed. it blends into everything.

Everyone seems to really rate that book. I think it's decent, but not head and shoulders above most others tbh. Admittedly the bit with the Pug and the massive common was captivating lol.

I'll give you 20 quid for the hand sanitiser lol

Same book with an extra chapter at the end I thought?

That sounds v disappointing mate.

That's news to me. I have Ritchie on Carp. What's the other?

In fairness you're not the only bloke that's said that to me mate.

Yeah it's shot up this past couple of years. I think I paid 60 odd quid😣 Skeff's book A Fool and His Eel is good - a bit different to all the others. A work of art. Ritchie McDonald aint on your list either. Both quite cheap.

We just finished this. Absolutely nuts.

Darrel Peck's book is great. He's brutally honest in it. A really good read. Savay by John Harry is a must-read. Forgotten Chapters by Fareham/friends is brilliant if you've not read it. The Chronicles series (Wraysbury, Horton and Savay) are good - especially the Wraysbury one. The History of Yateley books are also good if you like reading about the old Yateley kippers. Looking at your list I suspect you'll already have got some of these tbh.

The first one is half decent. It covers Wraysbury, the 'Brooke etc. The 2nd one is OK, it has the Mere chapter. The 3rd one is OK at best. The 2nd two make you cringe a bit. He talks like he's a victim but you can tell he's anything but. There are much better books out there IMO.

I hate to say it but I find him a little annoying. His appeal for the every day angler to pledge cash to the England carp team left a lot to be desired imo.

That's very light indeed mate. What kind of net is it? I use a Dymag which is said to be the lightest on the market @ 530g.

Awesome! I plan on getting my boy one when he's old/big enough. Me too. Bummer innit.

Yeah man my pride and joy: Fishing gear, bike, family (in that order - joking lol).

Mudgaurds are for girls lol