Brace of 50's by Ron Buss
Having just spent nineteen days in France and having had some tremendous fishing at two venues I returned to England somewhat troubled. Trying to get back into the swing of things and as yet not even getting the rods out. My problem is I have just had a lifetimes fishing in basically three weeks, although the first week was spent filming for the Gardner Video, due for release in December.
The second two weeks was spent as a holiday, so therefore, I should have had time to chill and get my head round the first weeks results at Luke Moffatts Graviers at Dijon where Shaver and I spent the week on the Point where Shaver kicked off with a forty followed by a good thirty then a mid twenty before his swim dried up. It took me until the Tuesday to catch my first fish but kicked off with a thirty eight pound – Lake Record Common. Which I would have been more than happy if that was my only fish for the week, but Wednesday started off with another thirty, two twenties and finished with an absolute stonker of a thirty two pound Mirror, personally I think I would be hard pressed to catch a more impressive fish – fin perfect, stunning!! I was gob smacked and spent half the night looking at the playback shots on my digital camera.
Thursday morning dawned and as the Nightingales sang I kicked off with another cracking Mirror of thirty seven, followed at 8.15 by a real clonking Mirror of fifty seven pounds. I was almost fouling my shorts, both Shaver and I was stunned as it went into the net.
We just had to have a drink or two to celebrate, we were both over the moon, most if not all day long, when at 7.30 I had another pull on the left hand rod, which I told Shaver was only a Pastie, ‘not by the bend in that rod’ was his reply and I agreed, 25 minutes later he slipped the net under yet another very large fish, some Pastie – at 56 pound 4 ounces, it was a stunner. I was blown away, two upper fifties in just over eleven hours – I had to go and have a shower and change my drawers:
This could not go on surely, but it did, three more twenties and another thirty, which in all fairness was a lifetime of fishing in one week. The Rigs and Tackle tack was all done, the filming finished, goodbyes to Like and we were on the road home to England.
The journey home was smooth and I reached home at 8.00 Saturday evening, where Mac was waiting for me as we were booked on the 2.00 O’clock Ferry from Dover Sunday morning, going on holiday to Phil Roots Sky Lake, just outside Meaux near Paris, not such a big drive. Three hours from Calais would see us almost there. Mac did the driving I was cream crackered.
We made the ferry in good time and without incident we were outside the gats of Roots wood by 7.30 in the morning. A French angler opened the gate and we went in and were soon talking over tea with our two mates Dodgey and Minger who were there for the first week and had arrived Saturday morning. Dodgey had caught a twenty six, Minger was still waiting, we then went and met Phil, Sue and Pat the Bailiff, and during breakfast they gave us the full run down on what had been happening.
Some good fish to just mid fifties had been out the week prior, mostly coming to large 24 ml baits, and stag bait rigs, I had 18mm and various Richworth Pop Ups including my old favourite Tutti’s, having no problems fishing a Tutti/Complex Snowman, this is how I decided to approach the water. I had spoken to a lad who had been there before and he had told me to stick to a baited area, and not to move, let the fish come to you, which is what I stuck to.
Using Gardner Riverge Flouro Carbon Leaders 15lb and twelve pound Suffix Invisiline Hook links tied D/Rig style to take the Snowman hook baits, three ounce Semi fixed Running Leads, I once again kicked off Sunday evening with a cracking thirty eight pound eight ounce Mirror plus a twenty two pound four ounce Mirror.
Once again the Complex was working and I was looking forward to a nice holiday catching a few fish and after Luke’s – size was immaterial. During the next few days I tricked a further eight twenties and four doubles, then a nice forty in the evening.
I had a tricky little bite that I honestly thought was a Bream, but some Bream it turned out to be, at forty eight pound eight ounces, this was a good fight and a good result. The next couple of days I knocked off a coupled of doubles and was thinking that maybe the biggies had done the off, having had no action for twenty four hours.
I had changed the hook baits to 20 ml Pineapple Pop Ups fished with the Drop Shot on the Hair directly under the Pop Up and topped up with critical mass to sink the pop up very slowly. This did the trick, having just gout out of the pit, cleared up the wife beater bottles and wine bottles that had been deposited outside my bivvy the night before when the RH rod was away.
This fish was crazy, tearing across the Lake the small back lead must have been out of the water 90 yards, Mac was there with the net, but had time to go to the Grunting Shed and have a fag before we even saw the fish, but the initial hard fight turned into a slow dogged round and round fight and after 27 minutes in the net it went.
I don’t know who was more knackered me or the fish, Phil arrived on the scene and was soon putting out unhooking matt, sling and scale, Mac hoisted the fish up the steps and I could see this was another lump, and so it turned out at forty seven pounds on the button. I was made up.
Well all good things come to an end, and I had accounted for eighteen fish, but the last four days I never had a bite, I enjoyed those days just as much, insomuch as for the first time in my life I actually saw a Nightingale as well as hearing them sing, silly old sod you may think, but there’s more to Carp Fishing take my word for it, I’ve been doing it for thirty five years.
I started this article saying that I was troubled, unsure as to where I was going with my Carp fishing, after relating this once in a lifetime experience to you the reader, but I now know where I am going – Carp Fishing – See you there.
Be Lucky
Ron Buss
