Lady. of a. My initial plans for 2009 were to

Transcription

1 A Brute Lady of a Kev Wilson With a string of enviable captures to his credit, over the past few years Kev Wilson has risen through the ranks to establish himself as one of the most proficient carp anglers of the current time. In the first of a two-part miniseries Kev heads off to Pingewood. 64 My initial plans for 2009 were to target the Fat Lady over at St. Ives in Cambs., however, with it fast approaching spring and with me yet to speak with the man in charge (turned out I had taken one of the digits of his number down incorrectly doh!) I needed to get something sorted for the coming season, and fast! After a bit of trolling around on the Internet, Pingewood seemed the most attractive to me a few Leneys which I had never fished for, as well as a fair number of 30s, and the two biggies Big Pecs, which is a low-40, and The Brute, which can range from low-40s to upper-40s, depending on the time of year. The phone call was made that evening to try to acquire a spring ticket. To my horror, the club had already sold all the allocation of tickets, so I ended up having a ticket for Englefield, about which I knew very little, only that it contained Leneys, was very low-stock, and was very weedy. It had done big fish in the past but whether or not they were still alive wasn t clear, and despite a lot of digging about, I wasn t really any the wiser! Luckily, whilst digging, I managed to make contact with a chap called Tim, who just happened to be a bailiff on Pingewood! Tim very kindly dropped me an informing me that three of the spring tickets had fallen through so there were now Pingewood tickets available. A quick phone call that night and luckily I was able to change over my ticket to Off the mark 22lb 12oz on a Zig Rig a couple of days after the scenic shot, the fi rst of two in quick succession that morning. Pingewood I owe you one for that mate!!! I made two recce trips down in early March for a couple of nights each time, just to have a good look around, if nothing else it was still really cold and the water level was still a couple of feet up on what it should have been. A few of the dreaded bream graced my net but that was all, and carp-wise I saw nothing. I left it another week then headed back down, hoping things might have changed a little. It was now approaching the end of March and the sun was starting to break through more each day. On the last morning of that session it was a particularly still and calm morning without a cloud in the sky. As the sun rose the temperature increased and around 8.00 a.m. I noticed a few small movements on the surface out in the middle of the lake. Closer inspection with the binoculars revealed a couple of fins popping out now and again, along with quite a few other vortexes around the same area. Two Zigs at around

2 The successful Zig setup. 8ft in length were blasted out into the middle, with a trimmed-down piece of Gardner s Zig Rig Foam, one in black and one in yellow, as hookbaits on Size 12 Korda Wide Gape Xs. As I was using heavy 4oz Tournament Leads to get the required distance I used only a trimmeddown lead clip with no tail rubber, just using PVA to hold for the weight of the cast the last thing I wanted was 4ozs bouncing around above an 8ft hooklength if I did get a take! Around 9.15 a.m. the rod with the yellow foam gave a few quick bleeps before dropping to the floor. On leaning into the fish it was obvious the lead had already been dropped and the carp came in without much hassle. A chunky little common was weighed in at 22lb 12oz a nice start. There was only one other angler on who was in the far corner and I couldn t get his attention, so I took a few quick snaps on the mat before returning the carp. A new Zig was quickly tied and blasted back out to the zone. At a.m. the bobbin on the rod with the black foam slammed into the rod and stayed there again, not much hassle because the lead had been lost and another common, a little The next session produced another common of similar proportions to the fi rst couple this one went 21lb 12oz. Amazingly, the tip was bouncing down before I had even clipped on the bobbin and I was in! smaller than the first, made its way into the net this one went 19lb 12oz. The fish seemed to move off left and hang in front of the next swim after the two takes, so I quickly packed away the gear and took the two Zig rods and a few necessities up to the next swim. The fish were over the rods until about 1.00 p.m., when I had to leave for home, but nothing else happened. I left for home, pleased as Punch at having caught a couple, and already planning my return the following week for some more of the same! The first two days of the next session were overcast and cooler, with the wind having swung to the other end of the lake. Although a cold northeasterly, the fish were on it, and I plotted up on them for a few nights, but to no avail. Thankfully, the weather changed for the better Tuesday afternoon and the sun began to break through again, along with the wind swinging back to a westerly. Mid-afternoon I moved back down to the swim to the left of where I had caught from last week, putting out two Zigs again as far as I could, with the other rod on the bottom on a nice sandy patch about 70yds to the right-hand side of the swim. Around 5.30 p.m. the yellow foam rod was away and another common of similar proportions made its way over the net cord this one weighing in at 21lb 12oz. A few bream off the sandy spot had me up in the night and, come morning, the telltale dimpling and fins popping out once again gave away the fish s presence they were right over the zone where the two Zigs were sitting, but nothing occurred. A few of the existing members First of the stunning Leneys at 26lb the Pinge carp certainly liked the old foam up in the water! had introduced themselves and chatting with them I was informed how the biggest fish, The Brute, liked to flick its dorsal fin backwards and forwards like a windscreen wiper when out of the water. Through the binoculars I had seen a fish doing this out in the middle around the zone for the two weeks I had been there, and I left for home that week full of confidence. I must have been halfway down to Reading the following Sunday morning when the phone rang with the dreaded news! The Brute had been out on a Zig from the other end of the lake at 46lb 10oz. With no other tickets, I carried on the journey, knowing the other biggie was still due. On arriving at the lake, the fish were still visible under the surface in numbers, with the odd one flying clean out of the water, so I dropped into a swim where I could get a couple of Zigs near them. This end of the lake is a lot narrower than the end from where I had been catching previously, and although the fish hung around for the rest of the day and the next, they seemed a little on edge. Come morning they had done the off and a quick trot round revealed they were back down the other end. Hastily the gear was barrowed back round to the swim that had produced the previous week. Two rods were already on 8ft Zigs from the swim I d been in before moving, so I immediately blasted out the first with the yellow foam. Amazingly, the tip was bouncing down before I had even clipped on the bobbin and I was in! Although the lead had dropped off, this one gave a good account of itself from 20yds out. John Claridge had just pulled through the gate and made his way over to net it for me. It looked a good carp in the net and we both commented how it must be a near-30 we were wrong! However, at 26lb and being the first Leney I had ever set eyes on in the flesh let alone in my own net I was a happy man, to say the least. Once the fish was returned, all three rods went out to the zone on the Zigs and I got the rest of my gear sorted. The carp were passing over the Zigs all afternoon, with me seeing the telltale flicking dorsal fin three or four times. 65

3 66 Gardner s new fl uorocarbon offering Mirage. A real edge, in my opinion. Finally, around 7.00 p.m. I received another take on the yellow foam, which turned out to be another Leney known as The Baby Plated, at 22lb 5oz these carp were real old warriors and I felt privileged to have caught them! Whilst chatting with the locals I had also been informed how The Brute liked hanging around two particular swims, as well as a certain moon phase which just happened to be the week after next. With this in mind I had already booked some time off work to do a long session around this lunar period, and during the hours of darkness had been sneakily baiting one of these areas for a few weeks because it just happened to be next door to the productive Zig swims! As I was leaving the next day I put out what remaining bait I had for the session onto the spot before getting my head down. Early morning didn t reveal much by way of shows, but once again, as the sun started to penetrate, the vortexes and fins began appearing. Frustratingly, I watched as the fish cruised around my Zigs all morning before I had to head north for home once more, happy with another couple of captures under my belt. My next session was spent chasing the carp around with the Zigs, but to no avail. Big Pecs made its first appearance on the Monday morning to Paul on a Zig from the bay opposite at 41lb 8oz and I had the pleasure of photographing the stunning Pearly Tail at 38lb 2oz for John Claridge on the Tuesday morning, so it wasn t all bad. With the next weekend booked off work I headed down on the Saturday night. I knew the lake was busy and with the southwesterlies forecast I didn t want to miss out on the swim I had been baiting. After a social that evening, for most of the Sunday morning I sat with a mate, Glyn, who was fishing where I wanted to be, in which time we saw The Brute show two or three times! Glyn left mid-afternoon and my rods were on the spots by teatime. I settled down, happy, hoping that The Brute would return the next morning. Well, something had been on the bait I had been putting in, but unfortunately it was only bream, and by first light I had landed at least seven of the snotters! Redoing all three rods as soon as the light would allow, I hoped I may still have a chance of the biggie moving in through the morning. I did see one possible show that might have been it, but proceeded to catch another three bream before a.m., which probably wrecked any chances. To cut a long story short, this was frustratingly the case for the rest of the session bream, bream, and bream!!! Big Pecs slipped up again that dinnertime, this time off the bottom to Bez at 41lb 8oz from the other end of the lake. On two mornings The Brute showed over the baited area a few times in quick succession, only for me to catch a bream shortly afterward, and then The Brute disappeared! I really was pulling my hair out trying different presentations, over different amounts of bait each night, but the bream were picking up everything thrown at them! The long Chods kept them off a little, but, come the crucial times when I knew the big un was out there, they would still find them. The high levels of GLM in the Odyssey XXX I use could have been the problem but on the other hand The Brute was obviously getting to some of it too. I also managed to lose a pike and then land the same fish with my rig still in its mouth that week and then it also ended up in John Claridge s net as I returned for my last couple of days of the marathon. John had arrived on the Monday and because I wanted to shoot off home to replenish supplies, I let him drop in my spot because he was only doing a night. It was whilst walking around on my return Tuesday morning that John landed the pike. Standing on the other bank, and seeing John putting on his waders, I was slightly concerned he may have the big un, but thankfully not!!! The Brute showed that morning out in the middle, so around lunchtime I dropped back into The Lawn behind John. Again, I saw it show twice through the rest of the session but the bream just wouldn t leave me alone! I left for home on Thursday, a broken man, promising to myself never to do a mammoth session like that ever again!!! Whilst I d been pulling my hair out later on that session, Bez had begun catching from about 100yds further down the lake to my left and continued to catch fish most nights until he bagged The Brute, at 47lb 6oz, bang on the full moon nice one mate, well deserved! Second Leney of the day The Baby Plated at 22lb 5oz and a real privilege. It was now early May, with me yet to catch from the bottom. With a number of the bigger residents still to grace the bank I headed back down the following Sunday, regardless of the biggie having been out. I had been thinking about my approach over the weekend and was worried that with the water now being tap-clear the fish were seeing, and spooking away from, my lines, so I spooled up with Gardner s new fluorocarbon Mirage, leaving the 15lb GT80 on my other spools in case I needed to fish at range or for any snag fishing. Having never used the stuff as main line before, I was a little wary about it, but I must say that after using Mirage for a good few months I needn t have worried, and I now use it whenever I can. A swim known as First Point had produced a few bites over the weekend, and with the fish still evident out in the middle and the swim becoming free, I dropped in behind a mate called Glyn (aka The Colonel, after his liking for KFC!). Nothing occurred Sunday night, but around 8.00 Monday morning, fish started showing out in the middle. Two Hinged Chods with XXX cork balls went out into the rings of showing fish with as light a lead as possible 1.5oz Tournaments from memory to reach the required range with the fluorocarbon. It must have been around a.m. when I finally received a take. I was standing in the little gap to the left of the swim, watching the bay for signs when the sounder box let out a quick shrill of bleeps. Back at the rods, the right-hander was out of the clip. A steady, plodding fight followed for five minutes until a decent-looking common broke the surface about 15yds out. The carp ran left, then right, trying to make its way to sanctuary up the margins, but luckily I managed to turn it both times before it began wallowing and gasping for air on the top. I hastily waded out and netted my prize. Looking down into the net it looked close to the 30lb mark. On the scales it went 28lb 14oz and the patch of missing scales near its rear end on one side identified the fish as The Baldy Common. I quickly retained the fish in the edge in my sling

4 before running to the next swim and shouting Paul round to do the honours with the camera. The capture seemed to put a stop to the showing fish in front of me and by early afternoon I was off on a lap to see what I could find. A few small commons were in the snags in Motorway Bay, but nothing major was present so I carried on my walk. As I made my way into a swim known as The Slipway, a half-decent common cleared the water off the treeline to my right. Sitting on the raised piece of ground at the back of the swim I watched intently for any more activity. About 10 minutes later a good mirror head and shouldered about 50yds straight in front. Leaving the water bottle to reserve the swim I hastily legged it back round to get my gear from First Point! An hour or so later all the gear was in the swim, with two rods with the Hinged Chods lying slack on the deck flicked into the areas where I had seen the two shows. By late-afternoon I d seen nothing more, so set about having a quick feel around the areas with a bare lead before adding the float once I d found something. Two silty patches were found close to the areas where the fish had shown, so the two Hinged Chods were placed onto these with a kilo of XXX scattered around the zones with the catapult. The third rod went on a hard hump about 30yds out to my left, with another kilo of bait just in case the fish had moved off into the corner to my left and drifted back through the night. First light arrived without a bleep and I wondered whether I had made the right decision. By dinnertime I had seen only one show, which was right out in the middle of the pond, and with the temperatures nearing mid-20 Celsius, I figured the fish must be in the edge somewhere so wound in to make a lap to see what I could find. Nothing was evident along The Cottage Bank, as it is known, but on climbing a fallen tree in the snaggy corner of Motorway Bay, things were soon to change. There were two commons feeding on a gravel shelf down to my left, then, from behind a bush, a large mirror with a big scale on its right-hand flank cruised below the surface before flicking its dorsal out of the water several times there was no doubt at all that I was looking at The Brute! I froze, and kept watching in a state of excitement to see what else was in the corner. Slowly but surely, a group of 20 or so fish gathered in the corner of the bay with Big Pecs joining The Brute side by side one of those moments when you wish you had your camera with you. A few of the other larger residents were there too, Broken Rib and Silt Pit, along with quite a few of the mirrors around the 30lb mark. I had seen enough, and ran back to get the gear on the barrow and get back round to The Pallets Swim as soon as possible. Once the barrow was in the swim I climbed back up to my viewing point from where I could see the fish were still just mooching about in the upper layers. Watching the fish for most of As I made my way into a swim known as The Slipway, a half-decent common cleared the water off the treeline to my right the afternoon it seemed that most of them were moving along the out of bounds treeline into the bay before doing a few circuits of the fallen willow which entered the water just in front of me. The area they were in was close to snags and I didn t fancy my chances of landing one off the surface on light tackle so didn t bother trying to tempt them onto the mixers. It seemed that my best chance was to get a rod on the gravelly area under the trees on the out of bounds bank and fish one locked up on the near edge of the fallen willow, hopefully snaring one as they made their way around the willow, or moved out of the bay along the treeline the same way as they had entered the area. The two rods went out with a couple of casts for each a Hinged Chod to the willow and a bottom bait under the trees on the far margin over a kilo of bait. The fish didn t seem too bothered by this and I watched them from a tree nearer to the rods until early evening when, annoyingly, they drifted out into the middle of the bay and out into the main lake. With the forecast predicting another scorcher, I stayed put, hoping the fish would return the following morning. Nothing was about at first light, but around 7.00 a.m. I received a liner on the rod over to the far margin. Quickly climbing the tree, I saw a group of five or so tench moving along the margin into the corner by the fallen willow, but no carp were yet present. By a.m. I hadn t seen a thing, and brought the rods in to have a better look down in the corner from the tree and also get the lines out of the way for a bit. From the tree the bay looked dead and was devoid of fish. I hung around until about 1.00 p.m., just in case, but saw nothing, so after putting some more bait on the gravel spot on the far margin, I headed home, a little dejected, although pleased at having seen The Brute in the flesh. A Brute of a Lady Kev Wilson At last, a take from the bottom The Baldy Common at 28lb 8oz. 67

5 The forecast winds for the next week were all easterly-based, so it wasn t really a surprise when I arrived the following Sunday to find most of the fish in the narrower end of the lake. As I sat with Glyn, drinking a welcome brew, we must have seen six or so shows in front of him, within 40yds of the bank, in a swim known as The Containers. From memory, I think Glyn had landed a carp known as Big Scale from the bar in front of The Left Container on the Saturday. There are three swims situated close together here and normally if you re fishing The Left Container Swim then you get The Middle Container as well. We had seen fish in front of both swims and with Glyn packing up later on and the forecast easterly winds looking like they would hold them there, it seemed the place to be. To the left of the Container Swims are a couple of lorry trailers, which are used as an outdoor adventure-type outfit, and consequently the area in front of this is out of bounds to anglers. I was standing on the grass looking into these margins around lunchtime when a few fish mooched into the shallow water followed by a larger-looking mirror which, once I got a good look at it, turned out to be The Brute. There are two jetties either side of the area protruding out into the lake, so I couldn t get a bait right to them but I could fish locked up to the end of the jetty nearest to me, which was hopefully the way they would move out of the area following the wind along the margin. It was pretty dirty off the end of the jetty so a Hinged Chod with a light lead was used until I felt the lead touch bottom, and I then scattered 10 halved baits around it. The other rod, in The Left Container, went in a deeper, silty gully about 25yds out towards Motorway Point on a bottom bait over a few kilos of XXX. The other rod went onto an area Glyn had told me about apparently, whilst Tim (bailiff ) had been helping someone with a weeded fish from the boat a few weeks previously, he had noticed a small spot glowing on the bottom about 30yds out from The Middle Container. A few casts in the general direction, with a hard thump coming back up the rod on the fourth, told me I was close, if not on, the money. As I had on a Hinged Chod I left it and baited with about half a kilo scattered around the zone with the catapult. Mid-afternoon and whilst standing looking out to The Left Container, the rod in The Middle Container ripped off before quickly stopping. On leaning into the fish it shot left and tried its hardest to get around the bush that sticks out. A few hairy moments followed but I managed to turn it and get it back to closer quarters before it hugged the bottom in 4ft of water in front of me, sending plumes of bubbles and debris shooting up everywhere! The pressure on the rod soon did its job though, and before long a mid-20ish-looking common was in the net. It weighed in at 24lb 2oz and finally I was starting to get a few bites from the bottom. I stayed put for the rest of the session because the fish were still about, but no more takes occurred. However, quite a few times early morning on the Monday and Tuesday The Brute showed on and around the deeper silty spot The bottom bait rig that I switched over to from the Hinged Chod. over the bait and I received numerous liners, some of them really vicious. Before leaving I put in what bait I had left three or four kilos of 18mms into the silty gully, hoping The Brute would return sooner rather than later, having got a taste for the bait. The following Sunday saw me arriving to a much busier than usual Pingewood! The northeasterly wind was still holding the fish up the narrower end of the lake and with most of the fancied swims already taken, with a lot of these anglers staying on until the Monday, I had no choice but to drop into a swim in a snaggy corner known as Croptail Corner it didn t look overly inviting but would have to do for the night until I could move once a few anglers had left the next day. A mate, Rich, had a nice result that morning in the shape of Big Pecs at 40lb 2oz from just up the bank from me, which I had the honour of photographing for him nice one mate, well deserved. Glyn was on First Point and had managed to bag one and lose one out of the bay to the left. Whilst drinking a brew in his swim on Monday morning, there were quite a few fish showing out in the open water rather than the bay from which he had caught, so I dropped my water butt in behind. Whilst packing up my gear in Croptail Corner I saw a decent carp show three times to the right of the swim as you look out from it, on, or very close to, an area I had found when I caught The Baldy Common from this swim a few weeks previously. Throughout the morning we watched quite a few shows in open water, before Glyn left around lunchtime. It was a sunny afternoon and by 1.00 p.m. a few fish had started drifting in and out of the bay to my left. I d marked out the clips for the spot where I d seen the decent carp show before packing up last time in the swim, along with another spot more to the left, so those two rods went out without the need of a float the thumps of the lead hitting bottom telling me I was on the spots, with a kilo scattered over each in pouchfuls of five baits. The bottom of the lake was a lot cleaner now, especially when pulling over the areas I d been baiting, so for this reason the Hinged Chods were replaced by long-haired bottom bait rigs wherever possible. Once those two rods were sorted I concentrated on watching the bay to see how the fish were moving in and out. From the view of a good climbing tree I watched 10 or so fish moving along the margin in front of me in shallow water before they ventured back out the middle of the bay an area where I knew there was a clearing in the weed. As I continued to watch from up the tree, the group of fish seemed to change each time they returned and before long I saw The Brute come into the bay and make its way along the margin in front. I tried a bit of pellet over a sandy spot in the edge but only the tench seemed interested in it. My weather printout for the week showed a drop in pressure later that evening with cloud cover moving in, so it was decided to put the last rod on the clearing in the weed in the middle of the bay in the deeper water, over a few kilos of bait. The M4 is literally 100yds behind you on this bank and it was a very busy and noisy night on the motorway. I really struggled to get any sleep that night, tossing and turning until the early hours. Before I knew it, the alarm on my mobile was blasting and it was time to get up and watch the water. The forecasters had got the weather wrong again! and rather than being dull and overcast, there were bright blue skies and it looked set to be a scorcher. I saw a few shows out in the middle around 8.00 a.m., On leaning into the fish it shot left and tried its hardest to get around the bush that sticks out 24lb 2oz on the Hinged Chod. A Brute of a Lady Kev Wilson 69

6 70 before the fish started moving into the bay to my left once more. The plan was to get a bait in the shallower water on the far margin before the fish made it into the margins. Casting into the reeds with a bare lead I walked round and waded along the reeds before tying on my bottom bait rig and leader and dropping it onto a likely-looking spot at the base of the reeds. Twenty halved baits and a handful of crumb were scattered around the Stunning! 35lb 10oz of Leney The Croptail Linear in all its glory! rig and I went back round to sort out my line lay. One last look from the tree to make sure everything was sound and that nothing had moved on straightening the line, I went back round to the swim for a brew and to check they hadn t sneaked into the bay to my right as well. They hadn t well, not yet anyway! Around a.m. I couldn t resist the temptation any longer and had to go to have a look from the tree to see what was happening. From my vantage point I could make out a group of, again, about 10 fish, and as the cloud that was blocking the sun cleared, it was obvious one was a lot bigger than the others The Brute was back, so I hastily made my way back to the swim. I can t even remember sitting on my bed, let alone nodding off, but I woke up in a bit of shocked state around 1.00 p.m.! On checking the rod in the bay to the left, someone had set up 50yds from me on the other side of the bay I couldn t believe it! I watched from behind the bush as he cast in the vicinity of my margin spot and figured I had no choice but to bring it in the spot was closer to him after all, but I would never have dreamed of setting up so close to someone already angling he must have seen the big un too, I guess. That rod was repositioned on a spot in open water 20yds from the corner of the bay and the other two went back on to the spots they were on the night before. Around 4.00 a.m. the rod positioned where I had seen the decent fish show whilst packing up in Croptail Corner screamed off, before quickly stopping. A heavy plodding feeling was coming through the rod, with the culprit just slowly kiting around to the left but not really doing a lot. Steadily, I pumped it into the margins before a large swirl broke the surface about 10yds in front of me. Whilst edging myself out in the waders, the carp continued to wallow before a largelooking frame came over the net cord. After securing the net, on went the headtorch to see what I d got a nice big, chunky linear was looking back at me! It turned out to be The Croptail Linear and spun the Reubens round to 35lb 10oz result! By the time everything was sorted and ready for the pictures it was just about light and we got some nice shots of a truly stunning Leney. I left for home later that day happy as Larry, having baited the productive spot with a couple of kilos and putting three kilos on the spot in The Left Container where I had seen The Brute showing the previous week. A quick phone call to Glyn from work on the Saturday revealed the lake to be pretty quiet, especially at the end where I had caught the linear. Glyn also said there were quite a few fish about and that everyone who was on there was on the back of the wind. Buzzing still from my capture of The Croptail Linear, I rushed around like a madman sorting out my gear when I finished work at 5.30 p.m. and just managed to make it down to Reading and get the rods back out onto the spots on First Point before dark. I settled down early that night, being worn out from work and rushing about. First light revealed only one show over in front of The Left Container, although I wasn t convinced it was a carp it was either a bream or the fish responsible had only just broken the surface. The lake slowly emptied throughout the day but, having seen nothing I could be certain was a carp, I was a little unsure as to my next move. With it being full moon the next day I knew there was a chance The Brute could make an appearance on the bank and I didn t want to make the wrong decision. By mid-afternoon I hadn t seen anything else, so decided to set up on the one dubious show I had seen round in The Left Container on the other side. Whilst sorting out the rod over the prebaited area in the silty gully a big fish flopped out close in to my left in front of the out of bounds part. I finished baiting the rod in the gully with a kilo of 18mms then had a quick feel with a light lead around where the fish had showed this revealed a fairly hard bottom in about 8ft of water at the bottom of the marginal shelf. The left-hand rod went there on a bottom bait with half a kilo over the top. The last rod went out in The Middle Container onto the small spot that produced the 24lb common. I didn t see any more shows that night and again settled down early in order to be up for first light. From first light to around 7.00 a.m. I was receiving regular liners from the prebaited spot, Whilst edging myself out in the waders, the carp continued to wallow before a largelooking frame came over the net cord then around 7.30 a.m. I received a real savage liner pulling the line out of the clip of my bobbin and the clip on the rod near the reel seat. The exact same thing had happened last time I was in this swim when The Brute was showing, but when I hit it and connected to nothing, it stopped showing! For this reason I reset everything and sat back watching once more. At 8.00 a.m. The Brute stuck its little head out right over the bait and my heart began beating just a little bit faster. Around 9.00 a.m. it showed again right on the money. Now I was really getting nervous. I don t know whether it was nerves or whether I thought something was wrong down there, but I felt far from normal!!! At 9.15 a.m. the bobbin went up to the rod then settled back down again as before, then again about 20 minutes later. I was now in bits, wondering what was going on out there. I put the kettle on to try to calm me down a bit. Whilst drinking the brew, at about a.m. a single bleep brought my attention back to the rod in question. Shortly after the single bleep the bobbin slammed into the rod, and stayed there for a second, before pulling out both clips and screaming line from my tight clutch no liner

7 this! A heavy weight was plodding about on the other end, not really doing a lot, and I managed to gain line bit by bit until everything came to a halt. My line marker was only about 5yds off the tip ring so I knew it hadn t got far. Tim had just packed up and left the lake for work and I considered giving him a call to turn round to get the boat out, but decided to lean into it a bit first to see if I could get things moving. Luckily this worked, and, inch by inch, I managed to pull the fish back through the weedbed, which was obviously just behind the spot from which I had hooked it. Once through the weedbed everything became free again, and the fish just hugged the bottom in the shallow water about a rod length out. Steady pressure brought the carp to the surface and I got my first look at it it was The Brute all right and my legs instantly turned to jelly! The next time it surfaced, with its head facing me I managed to pull the beast over the net cord. One quick look to make sure I wasn t seeing things and I let out the customary shout not that anyone heard me, only John Claridge down the other end, but he didn t know what I d shouted. However, he d heard enough to ring and find out what was going on and before long a group of us were gathered in the swim ready to do the necessaries. As John entered the swim I gave him the scales and weigh sling and asked him to zero the scales for me (which is something I always do with a big fish just in case, and for argument s sake!), then, with my mat on top of Rich s we brought the beast onto the bank I thought there must have been some weed or something in the net with it because it was far heavier than expected. The scales were facing the group in front of me when the pole was lifted, and watching everyone s faces it was obvious it was big, as sighs and gasps and dropping jaws were very much in evidence. John asked me what my PB was and I replied 49lb 6oz mate. Why? He replied, Not any more mate, try 49lb10oz! No way! Never in a million years did I expect it would be that big! Rich and John did me proud with the cameras nice one chaps, I owe you both a beer or three. We then set The Brute free, back into its watery home to go and realise someone else s dream for them. I stayed around for a few hours afterwards to try to take it all in (not that it did go in!) before packing up, a happy man, and heading north for home with a rather large grin across my face! A little closer to home there is a day-only lake, on which I have a dabble every now and again, which has the traditional close season. With The Brute having fallen on 2nd June and me currently being ticketless, I decided to do the opening week or two on there whilst something was sorted out for the remainder of the year. Managing to pull the hook out of a decent fish on the second morning, nothing else occurred the first week. A mate rang me over the weekend and informed me he d recently managed to speak with Gordon Howes and there were tickets available for the St. Ives complex, which was music to my ears. The phone call was made and I was lucky enough to get myself a ticket. Whilst waiting for the ticket to arrive I did a few more days on the day-only pit but to no avail. The ticket dropped through the letterbox Friday morning and the plan was made to head down to St. Ives for my first session the following Sunday KW A Brute of a Lady Kev Wilson NEXT MONTH Don t forget to order your issue of Carpworld next month, when Kev Wilson heads off in pursuit of one very special Lady. The Brute, at a totally unexpected new PB of 49lb 10oz happy days! 71