My hopes were high at first, but I quickly became despondent as the cold started to seep into my bones from the constant gale force winds. It was freezing, the forecast woefully inaccurate, as usual. And even worse no bites.I started out on the small lake, purely because it was more sheltered, but the biting wind still got to me, and I could see no signs of life in there. I'm not going to lie, I very nearly packed up and went home.
On a whim, I went for a walk, up to the island end, and found somewhere that was sheltered, and looked fishable. After lugging all my gear around to the new spot, I cast out, and almost immediately got a bite. I missed a couple more, and assumed that it was skimmers, as they are a problem at Marsh Farm, especially when float fishing with luncheon meat. But I was wrong, and within 15 minutes I had landed a 10-11lb Common. Then, for the next few hours I caught more bream, and had another large carp on, but it spat out the hook.
On my last cast of the day, just as it was getting dark, I hooked a monster. It really was the most exciting bit of fishing I have ever experienced. It bent my Korum Power Float rod double, but it held, and I managed to steer the beast away from the tree that I had been fishing next to. But it lunged again for the tree, and got snagged. With my heart in my mouth, I let the line go slack, in the desperate hope that the fish would free itself, and amazingly it worked, and so the fight was back on. It took at least 15 minutes for it to tire, and with great relief I got it in the net.
When I looked in the net, I really was lost for words. It was by far the biggest carp I have ever seen in real life, let alone caught. A bit embarrassing, but I was shaking with excitement, hence the blurred photo, which is a shame, as it really does not do it justice. Hopefully, this cracking start to the season is the sign of a great summer's fishing.
