Thirty 30's in Thirty nights - by Stephen Buss
Still keen from last years efforts it looked like January was to be the only opportunity for my own carp fishing this year, so I took it. Thirty nights from 27th December camped quietly on the banks of the River Ebro in Spain, hidden dark to all bar boat. This time the weather conditions were more than against me but lady luck sat firm on my shoulder. The water level rarely consistent, the long misty days turned to cold clear nights with a freezing wind and the odd sunny spell from the warmth and glow of my BBQ was a welcome one at that.
During this time I saw just over 200 takes with 176 carp on the bank, not a bad effort considering and one step further in understanding the shoal movements here on the river, based on water levels and weather conditions but more importantly their feeding patterns. From the 176 fish on the bank 61 were pasties or fish less than 20lbs! 37 were 20lb+, 48 were 25lbs+, 22 were 30lb+, 6 were 35lb+ and 2 low 40’s all graced my net.
The swim is a favourite of mine; having first fished the margin some 500 meters upstream back in 2004. Back then hearing what sounded like the sea creature from “Clash of the Titans” roll, head and shoulder to then grace the surface in all its glory in the still of night, was somewhat spine tingling. It was on hearing these big carp continually somersault one after the other one particular evening, which the following sunrise found the rods wound in and I mooched from olive grove through cherry and across pear orchard. It then stood proud before me and a ghostly instinct told me to return to my swim, pack up and fish the remainder of my session in the company of this new found retreat.
The land that it sits on is obviously a private rolling fruit orchard, during the course of my fishing there I have negotiated with previous and existing owners with regard to permission to fish and obtain access to the river side. Fortunately, good relations remain despite a group of litter leaving Brits who stumbled across the swim via boat last year. I have worked long and hard on its banks, when you look at the swims margin features during calm conditions your hairs stand up in anticipation and a sense of fishing somewhere special engulfs you like a challenger space rocket exhaust.
The swim itself is a pin of land with a thick head of bamboo with bull rush, reed lined bays either side; large quantities of bait have been the key to my success here. The deeper right hand bay and straight out into the main river was all that was fishable; it was the right hand bay that produced my Pb common carp of 54lb 14oz back in March 2005, shortly after that capture I decided to spend two days in the water and cut a swim through the thick margin cover in order to fish the left hand shallower bay. To squat on the water side when the suns warmth first hits this shallow bay is a treat as it comes alive, watching bubbles from feeding fish with carp rolling upstream, down, round its reed lined fringe and right in front, under your rod tips is a regular sight for sore eyes..
I was lucky, as the first seven nights of this particular session were spent in the company of several friends; the remainder was spent mainly in silence, all bar the familiar sound of a screaming clutch and the loving purr from 2 feral cats, 3 kittens & Lenka my photographer. The early part of the week was spent with Dan Baylis who fished last year with me on the Danube in Bulgaria; any excuse for him is a good one to come and fish with me here in Spain. In these first few days Jan and Steve from Oxford Carp.com and Louis a Spanish friend from Barcelona fished with us and the couple of subsequent days were spent in the company of Chris Barr, Sean Fay and Stephen Ross before my father, Ian Russell and Iain Macmillan brought up the rear.
I was baiting the swim by boat when Louis bumped the fist fish of the morning and witnessed as a rare mirror carp. For about 5 minutes after the margin hook pull we were all still literally reeling from this missed opportunity but this was to be an omen of good fortune for him as his next fish, some 10 minutes later was to be an immaculate 34lb 8oz Common. A total of 9 takes were snatched at that day, 2 lost to hook pulls, 3 low to mid double pasties, a 26lb.14, 28lb.4, 31lb.4 and 34lb 8oz, all were commons.
The next morning saw Jan and Steve slope off in to Mequinenza for supplies, a slow winding 15 minute drive away. Whilst absent, Dan, Louis and I busied around the camp preparing rigs and bait. The sound of a Delkim stopped everyone in their tracks as a single high toner was all that could be heard from the rod pod out front. Dan was quick to the left hand rod that was nearly bent double pointing upstream as the fish took line at a more than steady rate. A good hard fight was to follow and a 29lb 15oz black common graced the net. It was to end up the biggest fish from the days 5 takes, 25lb 4oz and 21lb 10oz being the next best fish.
With a dropping water level and the moon well into its last quarter the next day was to produce a new Pb common. Jan and Steve have been fishing the Ebro for many years and a 40lb common carp has always eluded them. Another mid morning take from out front at 10:20 resulted in a pristine, never been hooked before 40lb 10oz virgin specimen for Jan. We were all chuffed to bits as it looked as if the bigger fish were moving in. A further 4 takes were had up until night fall from the deeper right hand bay, a 27lb.8, 26lb.14, 25lb.4 and 22lb 1oz.
On dusk the river came alive, we couldn’t believe our eyes as big carp after big carp rolled over all our baited areas, even more so for Dan as it was the last taunting view as he jumped in the car to return to the airport. Louis was to depart via motorway to Barcelona this evening and with a low water level, fish could be heard crashing down stream in the distance
In the previous days a light scattering of boilie and pellet was all that was needed to keep the resident fish occupied. Watching the water down stream it was apparent that a lot of fish were along this stretch of reed lined margin. I decided to up the amount of swim feed in an attempt to create a flavour trail that would bring the carp that I was seeing into our swim. It actually took over 3 days for the fish to move some 500 metres upstream and when they did the action was predictably thick and fast.
The last two days of Jan and Steve’s long weekender were soon upon them, up until this time I thought that the results for such a short session were good, but then the familiar sound of a Delkim piercing the somewhat still day brought action stations to all in the camp. Some 18 takes were to follow with 15 carp on the bank, we mused as we took brace photo after brace photo, a last minute windfall gratefully received by all. The biggest fish from this passing shoal was 31lb 8oz, a fish that Steve gladly lifted for the cameras. This was yet another hard fighting fish with a huge orange tail. One other low 30 and six fish to exceed 25lbs, a cracking average weight with another three 20lb + fish and as ever a few smaller carp and the odd one lost to boot.
Monday 1st January 2007 saw 10 carp banked from 13 takes, I must admit I intentionally poached my first carp of the year from the right hand bay, a fresh and feisty 28lb 10oz common slipped into the net at around five past midnight! That day the pre-bait from the previous days had managed to captivate the attention of a passing shoal. I had consistent action throughout the morning with 6 fish exceeding mid 20lb. The afternoon was spent meeting and greeting two friends of Chris Barr, Stephen Ross and Sean Fay who along with Chris were to spend the next 3 days hauling from this idyllic sanctuary.
The day started and ended in good fashion as Chris banked an impressive fish at 23:45 from the left hand shallow bay that surprised us all when it only weighed 34lb 12oz! The swim had seen a top up in bait, by boat I scattered some 25kg of prepared maize, 5 kg of pellet and 2 kilos of boilies just as the Afternoon mist was making way for yet another clear and cold night.
The second day of 2007 saw the swim we were fishing laden with a thick mist. The water level was starting to rise and the inconsistent level produced an expected slow days fishing. Never the less Stephen banked the best fish, a 31lb common, yet another mint specimen carp. A further 4 takes were witnessed with three Commons on the bank to 26lb 14oz all from out front.
I had a bad nights sleep what with hearing the loud slaps and claps from feeding catfish as their tails broke free from the waters surface. I lost two fish in the dark, the fist at 02:20, the other at 03:15. On loosing the second fish I stood by the rods for at least an hour, full of expectation, however, the next take would come on fist light and we all awoke to the take from Sean’s 33lb 4oz torpedo. A further five common carp were banked this day 20lb.2, 21lb.14, 23lb.10, 25lb.6 and 30lb 8oz. The morning was a clear one, the wind soon whipped up leaving a clear night for a bright full moon that cast long shadows.
Around midday on Thursday I said the last of my goodbyes, time for Stephen and Sean to return to England, Chris also broke down his rods, as he had a trailer load of odd jobs to do. The morning had been a fishless one; however some 150kg of prepared maize and tiger nuts were strategically placed in one heap along the right hand margin in about 3 metres of water. It was when sat facing the afternoon’s warm rays in my own silence that a screaming clutch could be heard from out front. The water level had been dropping steadily since mid morning, this enabled me to tippy toe my rod tip over the edge of the swim point’s front ledge in order to land the fish. The swim, I have learnt is unique to its features as a result care and thought is required when playing fish due to the likelihood of being cut off clean by the margin shelf top, the pebble rig comes into its own in this situation..
At 16:20 I weighed a 24lb 10oz carp, yet another mint common. I gently returned her, re-baited my rod and looked on as the last rays of sunshine waved goodbye. My preference when day fishing is to have the bite alarms switched off, this ensures I am attentive to the rod tops with always one ear out for the sound of a screaming clutch. At 17:15 my left hand rod, had a tip line angle to about 10 o’clock, watching a slow 2 inch pull down was enough to see me on my feet, stood looking down the right hand margin a further two taps on the rod tip with the line now at 11 o’clock and with rod in one hand, spool on the other I silently lifted into another fish.
My rod was nearly bent double when the fish realised it was hooked, fishing with the clutch as opposed to a bait runner I let the fish plod steadily out in to the river. Every meter of line let out brought the fish up in the water by a foot and it soon hit the surface some 100 yards away. At this point the fish turned for the bank and swam toward me at a depth of about a metre. With a bit of steady pressure once the spool had been tightened it was soon taking in big gulps of air and finally kissed the spreader block. A long fish with missing and misplaced scales along both flanks, this carp had obviously been in the jaws of a catfish at some stage of its life, never the less it was a welcome 27lb 2oz. As the evening was setting in, the water level was still dropping, the wind had stopped and a clear cold night full of shooting stars was in its infancy. The swim was alive with carp and small silver fish, sometimes gently breaking the surface with their backs in the bright moonlight, others would then simultaneously launch in competition clear of the margin shelf and into the depths. A small common was banked at 19:30 the start of a hectic evening’s fishing, or so I thought but it was not until 10:15 the next morning that a freshly baited middle rod out front ripped off.
I awoke early, I had many tasks at hand, and the first was to change all rigs from the leads that had previously been flung around to a favourite of mine, the pebble. In addition to tying fresh hook links, I jumped in the boat to deploy another 15kg of hot maize, 2 kilo of pellet and 2 kilo of boilie in a line from the front margin slope, out into 40 odd foot of water some 60 yards from the rod pod. Having cast the last rod, the kettle was wailing away, typical, as the hot water hit the teabag milk mix a screaming reel replaced that of the cooling kettle. After weighing and returning the fish the semi cold stewed brew broke the margin surface in its entirety. I was still in a state of shock as the thunderous take and an epic battle resulted in a large tailed 33lb 4oz golden pumpkin common. The photographer was politely awakened for some pics and it was soon returned to the depths.
I selected two more pebbles that morning, attached to my mainline via free running swivel and small elastic band, placed in large PVA bag with some crushed boilie and lobbed out some 40 yards. Reason being, 10:40 the same rod ripped off with a right plodder that ended up going 26lb 14oz and an hour later a rod in the same area produced a 25lb 10oz beauty. After a sprightly walk to a dusty track for some more pebbles the margin rod fished just off the large bed of maize produced three fish within half an hour, 20lb 10oz, 21lb 6oz and second biggest fish of the day 32lb 6oz which was photographed at 13:55.
The kettle had just boiled, all rods were back on their spots and the race was on to get the first cup of tea of the day down my neck which I did and the next and the next. The conditions were perfect, there was a light mist that had been hanging around all day, there was no wind and the water level had remained low. However the bubbles from feeding fish soon faded into the depths of darkness, the mist disappeared and a clear night saw me ponder over a surprisingly fishless late afternoon/evening session.
Tucked up in bed, snoring in the cold night air, heated by some 25kw of family cat at the bottom of my sleeping bag one of my Delkims echoed a high toner back into the town of Mequinenza. With heart racing as I stumbled into a pair of wellies I waded out to a violently shaking rod tip. The fish was netted after a good 10 minute battle, unhooked in the margin and estimated at around upper double, it was not the 90lb common I had been dreaming about. With 00:25 on the clock and the sound of fish crashing in the margins I patiently shook in the cold as I re-baited my trap.
I then wedged myself back in my sleeping bag and proceeded to drift into carp fishing heaven. My dream was becoming reality as I again woke to the sound of a screaming run, again with heart in mouth and wellies on the wrong feet I cross legged my way to the same rod that was arching upstream. Maybe I am not in carp fishing heaven as a smaller mid double skimmed the surface and onto the mat. At 02:30 the thought occurred to wind the rods in and sleep the remainder with peace of mind in not getting out the bag until morning. But the sound of another big head and shoulder out front saw me reach for the baiting needle and scramble about for a 5oz pebble.
The silence of first light was interrupted at 07:25, the first birdsongs were heard as another good carp rolled into my net, a fish just worthy of the weigh sling at 20lb 14oz. Returning to the river with an almighty splash, the cool margin water dripped from my face, my eyes then widened to a stare as I watched a very large silver common roll right over a rod baited with double pellet. I was reluctant in casting back out, instead the rod that had roared off at first light laid in preparation and at 08:00 a 21lb 4oz fish was taken from a drop back. With all rods freshly out two further fish came from a slightly cloudy morning, a short round 25lb.4 at 09:20 from the left hand bay and a long thin 21lb 6oz at 10:55 from the right hand margin. Two more fish were had between noon and 13:00 both takes bore trademarks of big fish but both ended up to be proper pasties from out front.
The remainder of the afternoon was sat out patiently watching the rod tips, evening then set in and just on dark the slow tick as the spool unwound line was the sound I had been waiting for. The take was a text book one, rod tip slightly bent toward the water with line slowly ticking off the reel at a steady pace. The fish took about 35 yards of line on its initial run and for a moment I thought I had hooked a small catfish. As I gently applied pressure, adjusting the angle of the rod in anticipation of the carp’s movements, to my surprise I soon had landed another big common carp. At 19:45 I weighed a 32lb 4oz peach, it truly was a peach of a carp with an orange, reddish golden yellow belly and had obviously been feeding on the crayfish due to its winter colour.
Another still moonlit night was spent in anticipation, with the water level dropping slightly I had a suspicion that the next action would be when I was just settled horizontal on my bed chair and in the welcome warmth of my sleeping bag. To my amusement the next time I looked at the watch was 06:15, it was to add to the diary the 27lb 14oz common that I had just put back, I decided to leave the rod in it’s rest with hook in butt ring, the sleeping bag was calling but I soon shrugged of its comfort at 07:50 to weigh a 23lb 4oz steam train of a common carp. At 08:15 I had just one rod left out front in the water, as I looked at getting my head round pebbles and baiting needles this remaining rod screamed off and the Delkim was promptly switched off for the day once the rod was in my control. On netting this carp some 15 minutes later I thought that it might go 30lbs+. The fish was very deep but not as wide as first thought, it was still a lovely fish, young, unmarked and at 28lb 4oz it is a fish for the future.
A pattern was soon forming as another fishless evening session saw a pasty unhooked at 03:20. Just when you think you’re in for an extra hour in bed a second early misty morning take at 05:15 resulted in a better fish, another cracking upper 20. The scales pulled to 28lb 14oz, a fish worthy of the camera but returned to the cold misty waters due to the low temperature and lack of warm clothes. Another small fish was banked at 07:25 and three rods were then re-baited, pebbled, bagged and cast back out front.
At about half past nine the first of three boats chugged past the swim, jovial Zander anglers from the Czech Republic full of hope from yet another misty start, it was when the third boat had gone from view that my left hand rod peeled off, surely my mainline could not have got caught in the last boat engine propeller. As I picked up the rod it hooped over and the spool span out of control taking me by surprise, for a split second I thought the line had been caught by the boat as they were all quite close to the bank when they passed. But no sooner as I dismissed the thought the line changed direction and the familiar nod of a big fish saw a rye smile appear on my face. At an estimated 09:40 I netted another lump, a thick set boxed 33lb 12oz. Within half hour another clutch could be heard spinning in the mist and at about 10:25 the scales read 37lb 12oz, I was well chuffed and so was the photographer.
The misty morning proceeded to a thick afternoon fog, with the water level still low my next take at 16:15 resulted in a bumped fish. No sooner as the hook and rig hit my hand for inspection, another spool splliage was heard and a slack line was tightened into what ended up a banked fish of around 12lbs. An hour soon passed and this grey day produced three more takes, from 17:30 to 19:45 a low 20 and two upper 20’s to 27lb 8oz were returned. The evening was another calm one with the only ripple being from surfacing fish. I love fishing and watching this river when it is as still as a mill pond, I’m sure these conditions bring out the best carp fishing as the noise from hard driving winds often sees large shoals of fish sitting mid water when viewed via echo sounder. Maybe they are more vulnerable to the jaws of a catfish when the river is most noisy, when calm they may be able to detect catfish presence easier and feed more confidently in numbers.
Tuesday 9th January 2007 saw another two upper 20’s on the bank before 10:00. It was nearly a brace as the first margin rod sailed away at 09:20, no sooner as I let the tail go of a 27lb 8oz common, a bait that had sat out in the depths roared off and at 09:45 a pea from the same pod of a fish weighing 27lb 6oz. I then rowed 10kg of maize, 5kg of pellet and 2 kg of boilie out to the deeper water and scattered the swims castable long range options with this mix of swim feed. At 12:15 I bumped what I deemed a small fish, from 17:15 to 21:30 four takes was all that was offered and four mid to upper doubles were lovingly returned for another days fishing. The water started to rise late afternoon but on my last torch lit rod tip inspection to switch on the alarms before sliding & into the bag the water was dropping yet again.
As this is a dammed section, when water is let in from Lake Caspe but not run off into the Lower Delta you get a kind of “bath tub effect” water levels initially lower with the increase in flow, then rise when the water hits the lower dam, in turn the water level goes back and forth until more water comes into the section or water is let out. Either way it can be a nightmare to achieve perfect swim feed presentations and to predict fish behaviour based on surface flow and under tow would require yet another lifetime of fishing these waters.
Another misty morning dawned, patches of bubbles in the calm margins was all that was visible, I pondered if there was feeding fish in the margins there may also be feeding fish some 60 yards out in deeper water. A decision was made to row the baits out long, I baited hooks and banded slightly larger pebbles around 10oz. The rigs sat proud in the buckets that contained another 10 kg of maize, 5 kg of pellet and at least a 1kg of boilies, I rowed some 80 yards directly out front and presented all in an area the size of a Big Z umbrella. Returning to the bank I tightened up my lines, whilst out in the boat and lowering the baits a sneaky suspicion that some big fish were below me. This was enough to see me sat touching the rod butts for the following hour and a half, with alarms switched off and a trance like stare focused on my rod tips until as hoped the left hand rod tip nearly touched the water lifting the butt out of the back rest grip.
My heart nearly missed a beat, a clonking take that resonated power and energy in the still morning’s presence as the rod tip twanged away and the clutch poured out line like it was going out of fashion. I was on my feet with rod and clutch in hand within a blink of an eye, the spool was spinning at such a rate it rapidly warmed the palm of my hand. For some time I dare not tighten down on the clutch the rod was violently shaking up and down as the fish tore off upstream and I could tell it was a good fish by the type of bend in my rod. The fish was holding relatively close to the bottom, I could tell this by the line angle from rod tip to water, a true hard fighter with an impressive length, large tail and near perfect scale pattern.
As I folded the arms down and rolled up the net my initial lift brought about a cry of relief, I had been holding my breath as the fish rolled into the net, to have lost this one after such a good fight would have been such as shame. However, the scales read 38lb 4oz and I was chuffed to bits yet again. Looking at the watch it was 11:45, the fish was photographed and released into the right hand bay to sit and sulk out the remainder of the morning. My rig was in need of repair so I sat next to my rods with tackle box on lap. At 12:20 the phone rang, “sorry mate I have to go, I have a take” was my reply as the phone landed on the chair and tackle box on floor. My middle rod, after a wicked rod knock flattened out and the clutch ticked away at a rate of knots. Within 15 minutes I was knelt on my unhooking mat, bobbing up and down as if I were praying to Buddha for delivering me what turned out to be a beautiful 31lb 4oz common.
Sitting back in my chair with a big smile on my face I noticed the water level rising, waves, from a motor boat. Sat in a boat staring straight at me was a little head hidden by balaclava and sunglasses. The boat chugged round the front of the swim quite close in and into the deep right hand bay, I had a visitor. As the front of the boat touched the bank the glasses came off as did the wind proofing to reveal Tom, a Bavarian Guide, his boat was laden with tackle bait and shopping bags of goodies. “Two days, I fish with you” he smiled.
I have known Tom for a couple of years now, he fished in the swim next door when we caught the 2005 record Wels, his son witnessed its first weighing and we have often all sat and talked fishing together. Tom is a good guide, I know he thinks the same of me; I get the biggest steaks when it is his shift in the Bella Vista kitchen but he is more famous in my eyes for some very special catches from the river we share a love for. Catfish were written all over Tom’s face, his rod rests were soon pride of place as were the freshly baited hooks that resulted in bells on the rod tips with my right hand bay rod pod moved over to one side in disgust. Within 90 minutes his left hand rod nearly got ripped out of the rest, after a bout of him groaning and grunting I placed my hand inside the mouth of a 152lb pale grey catfish. Tom then went about rebating and setting his left hand trap with another 10kg of halibut pellet swim feed.
With a big cat out of the swim no wonder I had a string of pasties then 12 hours with out any carp action before landing two thirties. The pellet that had been going in had obviously attracted the catfish as the take on Tom’s right hand rod resulted in a short but well rounded 158lber at 21:45. With the waning moon I recalled having seen big carp in the shallows along side big catfish the previous May and my thoughts regarding the possibility that the bigger fish irrespective of species move around together or closely follow. This was a dark night, hearing shoals of roach scatter on the waters surface was as regular as the fastly rising mist that soon engulfed visibility to just 5 metres.
The following morning was broken by the piercing sound of a Delkim, at 08:30 I scrambled with haste the left hand bay rod pod. At 08:35 another Delkim could be heard, a double take, with the first fish nearing the net the rod was passed and we soon had two small commons amongst the mist on the unhooking mat. Two more small commons were netted at 09:20 and 09:40 followed by another double take at 11:15 as the right hand bay sprung into life. This double take saw an end to the carp action for nearly 24 hours, in this time the carp stayed in the area but moved up into mid water. Two upper 20’s lay in separate landing nets on the unhooking mat, the first weighed 28lb 8oz the other 2oz heavier, a cracking brace but not the size of fish we know that are in here. The misty morning cleared as a gentle breeze brought a few afternoon rays of sun, with the water level rising and the moon in its last quarter a good night’s sleep was had by all.
Tom kindly agreed to deploy 20kg of maize and a 7kg mix of pellet and boilie on a the right hand margin spot before he roared back up the Ebro for the start of a weekends cooking. It was now mid morning, the water level was up and the still water in front produced three takes from 10:45 - 11:20. The second take I lost to a hook pull, having had a great fight from the first fish that ended up 27lb 6oz I was convinced this carp was a bigger one or at least the same size as the third take saw a golden 29lb 10oz common into the net. From mid-day onwards the water level was up and down like a fiddler’s elbow but the clam surface regularly revealed fish activity.
The weather was starting to change as the next morning was mild even at 06:45 when I banked the first pasty of the day. At 07:20 I lost another at the net, a smaller common of about 6lb both were from out front. Another fish ten minutes later and one more at 10:05 from the shallow left hand bay were better and probably both easy mid doubles. I lost another fish at 10:20 and banked an upper double at 10:45 from the right hand bay. It was all starting to get a bit hectic when at 10:55 I returned a 24lb 10oz common and in the time between this fish and the next take out front I managed to knock up a fresh batch of much needed paste. The take at 11:25 produced the heaviest fish of the day, a clean, and scale perfect 34lb 12oz common which had plenty of room for improvement. The morning session concluded at 12:05 when another good carp of 25lb 2oz was returned to the shallow left hand bay.
I waited until 18:40 for the next clutch to get me up on my feet, the morning session was a busy one and the time in between was spent in preparation, maybe the shoals of fish sitting mid water were starting to switch on, or maybe the catfish had moved further up river? All assumptions and predictions went out of the window as the middle rod in the left hand bay shook in my hand, I ended up netting this fish in the front swim as it swam out and then down river with the slight flow from a rising water level. The fish was another superb common carp of 23lb 8oz. Thirty minutes had passed and a mild dark night was setting in. I was just going about switching the alarms on the left hand bay rod pod when I heard a clutch roaring off from behind me. The next hour produced three deep bay takes, 26lb 4oz, a low double and one that got away. Saturday saw 10 fish on the bank from my 13 takes; as the sky started to clear I drifted off to sleep only to awake fresh and early to loose a fish!
I awoke early in anticipation of another action packed morning as per previous but waited until 08:45 for the first take which felt a nice fish but after several seconds all came free from the left hand front swim rod. I shook my head in dismay as I wound in, on checking the hook and rig for any clues, nothing seemed to be amiss. As the new sun rose so did my confidence I replaced the baited pebble by bag to exactly the same spot and at 09:30 the same rod whooped over and I stood shin deep with a familiar acquaintance on the end of the line. A slow deliberate take, hooked from the word go and gently lifted into, this carp nodded slow forcing more line off the spool with each wave of its huge golden brown tail. The fish first headed out into the river, it then turned and swam downstream at pace before turning and plodding some 20 yard past me upstream. The rod tip twanged back and a feeling of less pressure on the rod left my heart skipping as the hooklink pinged off a peck as I turned the fish for the last time and into the net. A huge framed fish with not a single previous hook hold in its mouth, 39lb 12oz of Spanish Gold. I had just put her back from the photos when the middle rod went off and another powerful fish was lent into, a pretty similar fight was to follow but a lighter fish on the weigh in at 28lb 10oz. 12:15 and 14:10 produced 2 low doubles from the left hand shallow bay and I started to think about future fishing strategy.
The water level had remained consistently high throughout the day; the afternoon produced a 23lb 6oz at 16:20 and a 22lb 4oz common at 22:45. A clear cold night followed and in the early hours of the misty morning I had two big opportunities, the first was a missed one, one of my own making and one to definitely learn from, mind you I was spark out when the rod roared off at 02:25. Having bumped the previous lump I was a tad more attentive to the 03:30 take which gracefully wallowed into the net at 35lb 14oz. This fish went into a sack for pictures at first light; it was when the last photo was being taken that a Delkim replied to the sounds of fish on. I gently placed the mid thirty into the margins to swim out into the river at its leisure. The take was yet another absolute screamer but the fight short and sweet, another hook pull to my obvious disappointment. Several hours after the photo shoot and lost fish the clutch from the 09:40 steam train from right hand bay to left hand bay was boarding. Some 15 minutes later with several knit one pearl half a dozen I netted the biggest fish of the session, a titanium coloured 41lb 8oz silver bullet of a common carp. The fishing was just starting to get better and the fish had started to get a bit bigger. The next and last fish of the day at 10:15 soon brought me back to earth with a 26lb 4oz bump. Midday saw a top up in swim feed out front with another 10kg of maize and 2kg of pellet in an attempt to get the afternoon session kicked off, alas.
Fishing double pellet on one rod a take at 19:20 confirmed the catfish had returned, after about 30 minutes my hooklink was bitten in half and about 2lb of snot was removed from my mainline business end after reeling back some 175 yards. Another dark night with a dropping water level and fish everywhere saw me sitting up until the early hours ever attentive. After what seemed a short snooze I was back into landing scraper doubles from 08:45. A good fight from a 22lb 10oz closely followed by an upper double and then a 22lb 40z fish left all rods in the right hand bay out of action within half hour. A pasty at 10:20 and a 26lber at 10:40 both from the left hand bay saw a blur of baiting needle, PVA and all the rigmarole to boot. All the rods were soon back out, two more fish were landed before midday, just past 11:00 I banked another cracking fish of 28lb 8oz and at 11:45 the morning session ended on a 33lb 2oz high.
The afternoon was again fishless and I wondered if the catfish had moved in just as a rod ripped off in true catfish fashion at 19:20, just like the previous evening. As I approached the rod I looked upward in hope that it was a carp, it was, all 4lb 6oz of it, I had to weigh it as it is the smallest carp I have ever caught from this river. It really should have gone in a bucket as live bait but I lovingly sent it on its way with shrugged shoulders. The clear cold night was setting in, Mid January, freezing cold, water level still up and down and another take rang out in the silent still air. The time was 20:45; I had just written the 31lb 2oz common in the book when another rod from out front raised the alarm, the fish was very similar in shape and just shy of the lasts ones weight at 29lb 4oz. Over an hour was to pass in which the fish were defiantly on the move and on the munch, 22:15 was to be the last take of the day, another spotless specimen at 27lb 8oz.
Wednesday 17th January 2007 dawned in typical fashion, a thick mist engulfed all leaving a cold damp start to the days fishing action, I awoke late and a 07:45 take brought about a familiar scramble for the Wellington Boots. I had played the fish for nearly 5 minutes before I endured another frustrating hook pull, the fish was played under no unnecessary pressure and I boiled it down to being just one of those things. The carp’s mouths on the larger fish are very soft; to some I use meat hooks for carp fishing, but in my opinion the bigger the better. I learned the hard way losing a good run of fish to smaller hooks that I thought just tore or ripped clean out; with a bigger hook I tend to nail some gobs shut especially with smaller fish, but with the bigger ones and with their sometimes rubbery top and bottom lip and inner. I tend to get a decent piercing with a large wide gape short shank and thick gauge hook that has the holding properties to get these hard fighting fish to the net. Half an hour later a rod on the same pod peeled line off into the mist, a fair fight was to follow and one very long silver common sat in the sling that went 32lb 2oz.
With just past nine on the clock the left hand rod bobbin nearest the margin in the shallow bay started to drop. I was quick to the rod as most of the bigger fish come to drop backs, most people are afraid to hit these types of takes in the hope that a second later they will rip off. In reality that second later is often too late and the hook has been shook out and the bait spat away. This take was to see yet another silver common in the net, going 25lb 2oz I could here the crowds singing “here we go, here we go”. It was about 10:30, after putting some tiger nuts in a bucket of river water, I then jumped in the boat to deploy a hot fresh batch of cooked maize, having been on soak for a couple of days prior to a first boil on Sunday, it was just a bout perfect with nearly every kernel split like popcorn. I find that maize prepared this way absorbs decent amounts of fluid, big beds of soft split and flavour soaked maize works best at creating carpy flavour trails and is quick to get some fishes heads down.
The morning session came to an end as at 11:55, I caught a small mirror of about 5lb, I was really excited and a fleeting thought of getting stuck in to a shoal of big mirrors eased at around midnight when I finally nodded off to sleep. This was to be a bit of a lull in the proceedings, the subsequent few nights were bitterly cold, clear sunny days gave way to sharp early morning frosts that froze landing net to mat and thermal cover to the deck. Thursday produced just two takes, both low 20’s and both around mid day which with the bitter wind was about the warmest time of day. Three takes were had in Fridays helping, two pasties and a nice 35lb 6oz gem again all around midday. With Friday’s new moon I had high hopes fishing wise, the previous days and nights had been cold, this night was no exception. A bitter afternoon wind gave way to a ghostly still misty evening, the swim was alive again with activity and the water level had remained high as were my hopes for the next days fishing as my head hit the pillow.
It was if I had not slept, Saturday morning started grey, cold and misty, with two pasties, well both mid to upper doubles and already on the list of the day’s achievements. A 09:15 take saw a better stamp of fish to follow, 26lb.8, 31lb.4 and 36lb 8oz glided over the front of my net before midday. The water level had remained high, but on returning the mornings mid thirty I noticed the drop had already started. The bank was another foot bare by the time I recorded the 21lb 14oz common at 13:25 into my diary, by the time 14:10 had reached us and the next fish of 23lb 8oz was put back. The water continued to drop at a steady rate until just after 16:30 when I weighed another nice 24lb 4oz bar of gold. The last carp of the day came at 17:15 and the scales wound round to 20lb 10oz. That night the stars that had shone so bright previously were obscured by clouds, they looked menacing and looked as if they were carrying rain and the water level was still dropping.
Sunday dawned and it was time for my church, I was in need of a long hot shower, Saturday evening had seen the last of the baby wipes and I was in desperate need to serve an eviction notice. I left the photographer in charge of the swim and drove off with the swim behind me at pace. I returned several hours later, I had answered all the necessary emails in addition to a shower, a close shave and a shoe shine. The photographer was in a buoyant mood, the rods were all over the place and the unhooking mats were wet, as I peered into the right hand bay margin 2 sacks were to be seen filled by the shape of yet more big carp. As the story unwound a triple take occurred, the 26lb 14oz had long been released but a 31lb 8oz and a 32lb 4oz were ready to capture on film. The unhooking mats were assembled and in turn the camera clicked away, big smiles and big fish, what a picture. The takes had all occurred around 11:00, that story best told by the captor. The afternoon resulted in a high single and another lost pasty. The mist had stayed all day but the water level had dropped yet again consistently throughout. There was little fish movement during the day, and not much more in the dark cloudy night that followed.
Monday 22nd January 2007 was wet but action packed. At 09:25 I bumped another good fish for no apparent reason, 11:45 saw the first banked fish of the day, a good upper double and a sign of better fish to come. Just 10 minutes later the middle rod in the front swim ripped of again and again, a surprisingly short but sweet fight resulted in 26lb 4oz’s of typical Spanish common laid on the mat before me. The clouds had been building all morning, rumbles in the distance could be heard and the chance of us escaping any rain was zero. In the pressures that built up before it rained I was privy to a feeding frenzy, five fish within an hour all worth there weight in the most precious of metal. The first at 12:45 was another previously uncaught beauty at 33lb 6oz, the next some 10 minutes later 28lb 10oz. The third was a pasty around 12lb, all had come from out front when at 13:40 the deeper bay left hand and middle rods produced in quick succession commons of 22lb 6oz and 21lb 2oz.
With rain imminent, I braved the boat, I had some 25kg of prepared tiger nuts and 25 kilos of maize sat waiting to bait the swim. It took less time than I had originally thought but wanted to give the swims an even spread. The clouds then started to boil open and I turned to dry land and had just tied up the boat by the time the first spots of rain patted gently on the umbrella roof.
It then rained hard from 14:30 - 18:00, to the extent I took shelter in the car along with 5 wide eyed hard purring cats. The rain then stopped for 15 minutes and in that time it was fish on, a 25lb 6oz was quickly returned without any fuss, to have had a few minutes to stretch my legs was treat as the heavens then opened again. Under cover I thought long and hard about the enthusiasm in getting wet if the rain switched the fish on to feed. I had turned all the alarms on once out of the boat and although I could not hear the take due to the pounding rain, the blurry red light from a Delkim through the windscreen saw me sliding to the right hand bay pod. 18:15 was the take time, the last look as I fell out the car was at the clock, 20lb 14oz was it’s weight maybe the rain pouring down my face magnified yet another huge framed fish.
I was quickly back in the action as I had just put the rod against the tree in an attempt to get back into the car as quickly as possible when the middle rod of the same pod produced a high single pasty. No sooner as this fish had been returned the right hand rod peeled away and I was soon soaked to the skin. This third fish fought harder than the previous two making lunges to the margins and fast runs out to the main river, when it finally hit the weigh sling at 33lb 10oz is was well worth the wash. I was lucky to have a full change of clothes at hand and within an hour I had changed my attire and reset my traps during the break in rain. The last take of the day came at 21:30, another low double, the water level was on the rise and the skies soon cleared to showcase an array of shooting stars and satellites that fell down in the swims backdrop. The day had produced 12 fish from 13 takes and the night’s sleep that was to follow was a deep dreamless one.
The next two days saw all the rods wound in and the swims rested, in these two days I took the opportunity to place a stone fire place in the centre of the swim, have a good tidy up and bait the swim in preparation for the arrival of three amigos. Thursday 25th January 2007 saw my Dad, Ian “Chemo” Russell and Iain “Ting Tong” Macmillan winging there way to the swim from Zaragoza airport. All full of hope, in fine spirit and all were in search of some decent content for Ting Tongs Carpology Diary. The pebble rigs were Poo Pooed by all three who switched to leads without a passing thought, I was gutted to begin with but then these lads have some 70 odd year’s carp fishing experience between them. However, it was the secret to my success in the many days prior, a rig that I shall continue to use all over the world. Iain’s diary piece is published sometime in March so keep em peeled around the top shelf!
Monday 29th we all said our goodbyes and I slowly started to break camp, alone again in the swim, a deep sense of sadness came over me as the umbrellas were packed down and the rod pods placed in the roof box. I had really hoped for a couple of real corkers, the likes of carp this river is becoming famous for. Never the less my catch report is one to be proud of and am grateful for this shed load of big fish. I have always said I will be lucky to beat my Pb carp from these waters but the best thing is that when ever I go fishing here I know the opportunity is never too far away.
