S P E N C E R W R I G H T

Transcription

1 First outing with the N-Gage, 40lb 1oz common! With a Spring in My Step S P E N C E R W R I G H T Full of confidence from his Isle of Wight captures, Spencer takes a trip across to the mainland to try his hand on Roach Pit. His confidence is well founded and success follows success, and ends with the capture of a winter 40 and some well-earned stardom. 56 With a bit of confidence under my belt I was eager to get back over to my mainland syndicate, CEMEX Roach Pit. This was to be my first trip of the year and I had missed the place immensely. The lake is roughly 25 acres in size, and the clear water, combined with an abundance of weed, only complements the fish stocks. There are some stunning fish in there, including big, dark, scaly beasts that any angler in the country would love to catch. I left work on a Thursday night with the car packed and headed for the ferry. Within two hours I arrived at the lake, full of expectation. The lake was quite busy, with all the main swims taken. I had a good look around, when I stumbled upon a group of six fish milling about in the shallows. I left a bucket in the nearest swim and ran back to get the rest of the gear from the car. I got back in the nearest swim and spent some time watching their patrol routes, when suddenly, a big group of fish arrived in front of me, no more than 30yds out. I quickly ripped my barrow apart in order to take advantage of this floater opportunity and was horrified to see that whilst sorting out all my equipment in the week I had failed to repack my floater equipment. It was bad angling on my part and I kicked myself for making such a stupid mistake. I was able to ID some of the fish, which included some of the lake s biggies. My only plan of action was to try to present some Zigs amongst them, which I managed to get in place without spooking them. The line flicked occasionally as they neared the hookbait but no takes were forthcoming, and with no freebies in the vicinity I wasn t surprised that I didn t get a take. With the dropping sun and the cooling temperature, I expected the fish to move off, which they did. I changed over the rods with bottom baits for the night after managing to find some areas of sparse weed and sat back to await events. The liners started almost immediately as the fish moved through the swim. The liners became fiercer, some pulling the line from the clip and I was on tenterhooks, but gradually they stopped and the fish started showing in the middle of the bay. I sat up through the night, listening to them crashing out.

2 The most stunning creature I d ever laid eyes on, The Dark One at 36lb. As the fish moved further out, I was ready to move with them and was packed at 5.00 a.m., making my way around to Sanctuary where I could cover both the open water and the mouth of the bay. I managed to find three spots that were fishable and put some bait out, then left the swim to rest for a couple of hours while I had a wander around to see what else had occurred overnight. Nothing had been seen and the fish were surprisingly inconspicuous by their absence and it did worry me that they had vacated the bay that morning. I got the rods out and continued to trickle bait over the spots on a little-and-often basis. Daz arrived later that day and dropped into the Day Swim opposite but nothing showed. The weekend anglers were arriving, so the lake was pretty much stitched up and the possibility of moving was negligible. With no sightings, I just fancied moving so packed up and moved to an unfancied area a few hundred yards along the bank. I got a rod out and had a quick plumb about to see what the weed was like. To be honest, the weed was hideous, the worst I had ever fished in and I was struggling to get my lead back. This was compounded further when I got snagged up with a braided leader that had been cracked-off. I managed to get my lead back and decided to move back into Sanctuary for my last night with my tail firmly between my legs. With nothing seen or heard overnight it was time to pack up and hightail it back to the island. I d enjoyed my trip and couldn t wait to get back. The following week I had a major result that was to change my fishing outlook entirely. I had used CC Moore ingredients for the past few years in order to make my own baits, so when I saw they were advertising for fieldtesters for their new bait, I jumped at the chance and sent off the necessary details, in hope rather than expectation. I hadn t heard anything from them so assumed I was unsuccessful then, out of the blue, I got an confirming that I was to be one of the lucky ten. I was ecstatic, and I was adamant that I was going to make the most of this valued opportunity. The N- Gage XP was going to be a big part of my fishing armoury and I hoped that it was as good as they expected. With a multitude of ancillary products to complement the bait, I was excited at what permutations I could come up with and hopefully boost my catch rate. My first trip out with the N-Gage was going to be just a day session at Monks. I had taken the day off work and was excited at the prospects that lay ahead. The moon was prime, the conditions perfect but the water quality was anything but. Once I reached the fish I was able to bring the fallen branch up in the water. I managed to gain a bit of line then the fish rose up on the surface and started circling on a tight line An algae bloom had taken hold and the water looked murky and bleak. Catches had been few and far between, which was probably a consequence of the bloom. Whilst setting up, my mind raced back to a Carp Society talk in the early- 90s. The talk was being chaired by Steve Briggs and part of the talk covered fishing at Johnsons, and in particular catching whilst the lake suffered an algae bloom. He mentioned that he was fishing pop-ups off the lead and had done particularly well on this method. With this in mind, I planned to fish over the bar, which was the shallowest part of the main lake, and use a Hinged Stiff Rig with a high pop-up section. A scattering of 14 and 18mm N-Gage freebies were introduced around the offending hookbait to set the trap. Treena also joined me soon afterwards, but throughout the day nothing was seen or heard. Treena popped off to collect Callum from school while I continued to fish. Soon they were back but within half an hour Callum wanted to go home, so we decided to call it a day. Callum asked to reel in one of my rods, but before he did, I commented that I was going to check in the reedy corner just once more before reeling in the rods and packing up. With that, Treena said she was taking Callum there and then, so he would have to reel in a rod another time. Little did I know how significant those couple of minutes would prove to be! I found a small stockie mirror in the reeds, which kept me there for a minute or two before I conceded that I had to pack up and get back home before tea. I was about 20yds away from my swim, when all of a sudden there was the screech of a Neville as line was being ripped from my reel. As I reached the rod I leaned into the unseen leviathan. The rod took its full fighting curve, but immediately I knew that things were drastically wrong. There was a horrible grating on the line and it seemed to be caught around the bar. I had to take drastic action; I slipped into the water, and managed to wade out through the silty margin until I reached the base of the bar and terra firma. I carefully tiptoed my way along its length whilst trying to reel in the slack and dragging along my landing net behind me. I was trying to be particularly careful because one wrong step would have me in deep water because the bar was quite pronounced with steep sides. Once I reached the fish I was able to bring the fallen branch up in the water. I managed to gain a bit of line then the fish rose up on the surface and started circling on a tight line. I stabbed at the fish and somehow managed to scoop it up. It was a common, although I had no idea of its size. I then had the unenviable walk back with fish in tow! Once I made it back, I gazed into the net, and it took my breath away. It was probably 20lb heavier than I anticipated and was obviously one of the lake s big three. 57

3 Spencer Wright With A Spring In My Step First trip back on the island for the autumn. 36lb 11oz. Rewarded with a move. Black Spot Common 32lb. Bags of N-Gage crumb produced on The Pit. I quickly unhooked her and dragged myself out of the lake. I sorted out the mat, scales and sling and hoisted her up. I couldn t believe it when the dial sailed past the 40 mark by one ounce. I was ecstatic and just a few minutes earlier I was about to let Callum reel in my rod! I called Lee and he arrived in record time, with the kids in tow, to do the honours with the camera. It was a real result for the new bait on its first outing in anything but ideal conditions. With my next trip three weeks away, I was counting the days to get back over to Roach Pit. I d planned the trip to coincide with the full moon and hoped that I d get amongst em for probably my last trip of the year. I left straight after work on the Thursday and raced to the ferry then went in autopilot, Ringwood bound. I arrived by early evening and was surprised to see that it wasn t overly busy. After a quick look around I saw the odd fish down the Ivy Bank. With a steady southwesterly blowing towards the corner it seemed perfect, so I settled in for the night. I found a few spots and proceeded to give them a few kilos of N-Gage. My good friend David Meek turned up before dark and chose to drop in 37 next door and, whilst chatting, we had the fright of our lives! A glowing object drifted past us in the darkness. Our first thoughts of being abducted by aliens were soon dismissed as we realised it was just a Chinese lantern. We chuckled to ourselves then decided to turn in, full of expectation. The night was quiet, as was the next day and the following night. The odd fish could be seen out at range, but it seemed as though the majority were holed up in no man s land and also some in the mouth of the channel. As I had been granted as hard as I could to try to tempt him from the underwater forest. The fish plodded around under the tip and before it knew, it had sailed into the net. It was a decent common and I grabbed Mark from up the bank to come and help with the pictures. It was later confirmed as The Black Spot Common. It wasn t a regular visitor to the bank and happened to be the biggest common in there, which was even better. Its weight was 32lb exactly. With the fish safely back in its watery home, I walked the rod back out along the bank and punched another bag of goodness onto the spot. The weather was prime with overcast sky and some drizzle in the air. The occasional liner meant there were still fish about and I got into bed really chuffed with myself. The next thing I knew I was awoken by a screaming Neville. I leapt out of bed and leaned into the fish, only to have it ripped from my grasp. The force of the fish was quite tremendous and I knew instantly there was a very big fish attached. I felt the surge as it went through some weed and continued to take line. I locked up in order to stop it going any further when suddenly, disaster struck and the line fell slack. The gut-wrenching realisation hit me that the fish was gone. I was shaking like a leaf and devastated at the loss. With the rod back on the spot I got back in the bag and relived the moment, analysing what I could have done differently, knowing just what I d lost. I awoke with no further action. I redid the night-time cast and pulled off some slack to let the fluorocarbon line sink, but turned on the buzzer without attaching the bobbin. Within five minutes it was away and I was straight on it. I pumped the rod back, tightened the clutch, and continued to walk back as the fish found a huge weedbed. The line sang in the wind as I carried on pumping and a huge weedbed started to break surface 30yds out. I had no idea if there was anything still on the end, but suddenly a small knock alerted me that I was still attached to something. With the approaching mass of weed, thoughts turned to how the hell I was going to net whatever was attached. As it got closer to the margin I could I lowered the net and was shocked to find an empty net! I dropped the rod, ran into the water, net in hand, and started to rip at the weedbed like I was possessed! _SpringInMyStep_CW242.ind3 3 another night I upped sticks Sunday morning. I went for a wander and found a fish in the channel and decided to make the mammoth move to the other side of the lake. Once in the new swim I found a couple of clear areas. I could get a decent drop but not a pull in the weed, so decided to use solid bags of crumbed NGage. I sprayed a few 14 and 18mm freebies around the area to hopefully get them feeding, and then set up camp for my last night. The move proved worthwhile because after about an hour, one of the rods was away. I was straight on it as the fish pulled for freedom and the nearest weedbed. I gave it the butt and just pumped 22/10/10 14:50:59

4 see the leadcore poking out. I lowered the net and lifted where I thought the fish might be, and was shocked to find an empty net! I dropped the rod, ran into the water, net in hand, and started to rip at the weedbed like I was possessed! Suddenly, I saw the shape of a mirror all wrapped up like a parcel. The net was below my feet and I ended up physically lifting the fish from the weed and placing it in the net myself because there was no other way I could get to it, such was the severity and sheer amount of the weed. Once the fish was safely in the mesh I was able to take a deep breath then suddenly set eyes on the most glorious sight I had seen in all my carping life. The fish was on a different planet to anything that I d been lucky enough to catch before. It looked to be 35-40lb, but weight was immaterial because it just looked like the most awesome carp you could ever wish to catch in your life. I unhooked her in the water then set about getting some help for weighing and pictures. A quick call was made to Meeky. He is, without doubt, the most naturally skilled photographer I know and I wanted him to capture this thing of beauty. I told him to bring his bucket too, so he could drop in behind me because I had to leave within the hour. The immense fish was identified as The Dark One and weighed in at 36lb on the nose. With the pictures done, I slid into the margin, gave her a small kiss, and with a kick of her tail she was gone. I packed up and left with a huge smile on my face. The bait had produced the goods again on its first time on The Pit. With The Pit normally switching off for the winter, combined with low funds, I made the decision that I wouldn t be able to venture back until the last couple of weeks of the season, in March. With this in mind I would stay local until Christmas and have another little crack at Monks to see if I could tempt the Big Scale Common. Surprisingly, nothing had been caught since my common back in September. It had been a terrible year for fish captures and they had simply shut up shop. The water quality caused by the algae bloom had affected the fish and, combined with the abundance of naturals the lake contained, they had simply gone off the bait. I hoped that with the dropping water temperatures and improving water quality I could get amongst them. With just one occasional overnighter available I spent some time down there to get in tune with the lake and to establish some spots I could prime up. I saw fish in three areas and decided to bait these spots at every opportunity I had. After two weeks of this I was ready for my first night. I had seen a few fish show over the bait and I was confident that they were on it, but only results would prove if this was to be the case. It was late October when I got to the lake on a Friday afternoon. It was mild, with a strong southwesterly wind blowing and an overcast sky. Perfect conditions for a bite! All three rods were baited with three single soaked N-Gage bottom baits fished with stringers attached and dispatched to their relative spots. With the rods out it was time to sit back and wait. Unfortunately, within a short time darkness had descended upon me and the occasional liner meant that something was moving out there. I hit the sack and was slightly disappointed not to have anything to show for my efforts come the morning. I still had a couple of hours left so made sure to try to stimulate a bite by baiting over the remnants of last night s bait. With half an hour left, the baiting had the desired effect when one of the rods flew off. The rod Baiting at first light to stimulate a take. 38lb 1oz. She was slightly down on her last capture in the spring when she had crept over 40, but considering the hard summer, she was at least on her way back up to her normal weight took on a healthy curve and the fish immediately started to take line. After about five minutes it surfaced and sailed straight into the net. It looked another really good one. Once on the mat I zeroed the scales and she pulled them down to 36lb 11oz. First blood indeed! It was certainly gratifying after putting in the hard graft with the prebaiting. I took some self-takes then quickly packed up to get home on time, but before I left I made sure to deposit another couple of kilos on the spots for next time. The following week conditions were again perfect. I raced towards the lake straight after work and just managed to get two of the three rods in place before nightfall. The rods were clipped up so it was just a case of lining up the specific visual silhouette on the treeline and casting until it hit the clip. Again, after a heavy week at work I was keen to have something to eat quickly and then straight into bed to catch up on some much-needed beauty sleep! I again awoke to motionless indicators and proceeded to bait up on top of the spots to try to stimulate a bite. It worked for a second time in a row because the same rod roared off. The fight was more determined, with decent surging runs that I couldn t do anything with. This fish had some serious power and I was starting to think I was connected to one of the biggies, hopefully Big Scale. I was getting tight for time because I had promised to be home by 9.30 but I wasn t willing to take any chances with the obvious lump. Finally, it gave up and surfaced, ready for me to slip the net under it. I rolled it on its side and identified her as Chloe, whilst quickly setting up my camera ready for some self-takes because there wasn t enough time to call someone to assist with the pictures. On the scales she pulled them down to a satisfying 38lb 1oz. She was slightly down on her last capture in the spring when she had crept over 10mm N-Gage white wafter and Active Feast stick producing the goods. 40, but considering the hard summer, she was at least on her way back up to her normal weight. She looked really nice and dark as she took on her winter colours. With a few self-takes done she was lowered back into her watery domain and with a kick of the tail she was gone. Before my next trip there was a carp show to attend. The Sandown show in Surrey was organised through The Carp Society and I was privileged to be a part of the CC Moore team on the Saturday. It was great to catch up with the other team members and chat to the customers. It was also an ideal opportunity to meet up with old friends who you only normally see once a year at events like these. I fished the following Friday night. I raced to the lake and got the baits on the spots. It was a quiet night and my mind turned to just how long I had left before it shut up shop because the lake didn t have any winter form. The last time the lake had produced a fish in December was about five years previously, so I knew the odds were against me. With family commitments, I had one overnighter left before Christmas. The spots were still being primed up as I continued the hard work with the baiting. I arrived in the dark on a Friday night and sorted out the rods on their spots. I d been playing about with some new hookbaits I had devised. They were white N-Gage cork dust wafters, 10-12mm in size. They were perfect, sitting the length of the Hair off the bottom, complementing the Size 6 hook I was using. I was also combining this with the Active Feast groundbait that I was forming into a stick mix. I got the three rods out as Taff turned up for the weekend and fished on the other side. In my mind I knew this was the last-chance saloon. I craved just one more fish if the lake would be so kind to me for all the hard graft I had put in. 59

5 Tea consisted of some Pringles washed down with lemonade and, after chatting with Taff, it was off to bed. I drifted off and the next thing I knew, I was being awoken by the sound of a screaming Neville. I was still half asleep as this monster from the deep was stripping line from my clutch with relative ease. I was concerned just how close I was to Taff s lines. He was 80yds away and the fish wasn t far short of that mark as it hugged the far margin. As I started to gain line it was taken back with force. The fish was far from happy and I wasn t prepared to take any chances, I just wanted it in the net. After about 15 minutes the fish approached my margins and disaster struck. There was a bar some 10yds in front of the swim that had some small tree roots protruding from its top. The fish became snagged, and to say I was distraught would be an understatement. I walked along the bank and pulled again, but to no avail. I let the line go slack and soon after the line travelled through my hands, only to pull up to the snag again when I tightened up in a see-saw effect. I was contemplating going in for it, no matter how cold it was because I wasn t prepared to lose this obvious lump, when, suddenly, the line pinged free. For a second I thought it was gone, only for the rod to take on its full fighting curve once again. I locked the rod up, quickly got the fish onto the surface and watched as it sailed into the net. I punched the air and I knew my name was very definitely on this one. With the scales zeroed, she pulled them down to 41lb 12oz. A winter and December 40 indeed. I walked around to Taff but couldn t wake him, so sacked the fish until the morning ready for some pictures. I redid the rod but it didn t really matter. I was buzzing; my wish of one more take had been fulfilled. I packed up at first light and woke Taff to help with the pictures. With the pictures taken, she soon sailed off into the deeps, while I skipped off up the field, fuelled with adrenaline. It capped off a fantastic year s angling which had gone from strength to strength. I d become a part of the CC Moore team and was able to work with some hugely talented individual, as well as having access to the huge range of phenomenal carpcatching products available through the company. Christmas came slightly early for me because I got a text from Alan Welch saying that I was on the front cover of Carp-Talk for Christmas. To get the text from Alan made it even more special, because he is someone I admire and respect immensely. With the New Year nearly upon us there are still many targets in my sights. The biggie from Monks is uncaught for nearly two years, the Big Scale Common remains uncaught since the previous season, and then there are the stunning dark, scaly fish from Roach Pit that I crave. I know anything is possible with my current bait, it s just a case of finding them first. Tight lines to you all. SW With winter on its way, time was running out for a last-gasp fi sh. My wish for one last fi sh was granted. December capture at 41lb 12oz. For a second I thought it was gone, only for the rod to take on its full fighting curve once again. I locked the rod up, quickly got the fish onto the surface and watched as it sailed into the net 60