FOREIGN FORAYS | Tails Of The Unexpected

While 2020 has been such a crazy year, that’s not news to anyone as the entirety of humanity had to deal with the chaos of Covid-19. As fishermen, outdoor and nature lovers, it also meant we couldn’t go fishing. Staying at home meant staying in a prison and after the first lockdown, we simply couldn’t wait to start again enjoying nature once more. Everything went particularly fast this summer, probably because of the fact that once we felt ‘free’ again, we wouldn’t waste precious time inside, and once you are enjoying something, the time flies so damn fast! During the summer we have been particularly busy with filming and product testing, but sometimes, some sessions are particularly more exciting!

This season I’ve had some rods to test from Daiwa – the new Emblem rods! At first sight they made a great impact with their matt black finish, SeaGuide reel seat and guides, plus full shrink grip handle. The rods were available in a range of lengths and test curves but I opted for the 12ft 3.5lb version, as well as a spod rod too.

Great action to test out the gear!

After an initial visit to a local lake to bag a few smaller carp on them first, Vita and I decided to spend the week after on another lake, a bigger and deeper gravel pit where I could really put them through their paces. It was a lake I’d fished before in the past where I know there’s a good stock of carp between upper-double and mid-twenty; not huge fish, but hard fighting fish that would be perfect to test the new rods. I’d also had a 18kg (39lb) mirror on my last visit, which was a real surprise for this lake!

Where possible, I like to explore a lake from the boat to see any potential spots, but on gravel pits like this it almost makes choosing harder – it all looks so good! There are drop-offs everywhere, sand bars, clean gravelly areas, deep holes and shallow weedy areas… where the hell am I going to start!? Okay, calm down Salvo, it’s just fishing and you’ve caught here already and not much should have changed!

I’d had a look around with the boat – the lake was like an eggbox with so many options!

I wanted to cast and challenge myself too in order to properly test the rods, so chose some spots along the far margin some hundred yards or so out. There were bushes and trees that lay on the water surface, and no doubt wild berries and bugs would fall into the water here, creating a natural food larder.

On the right hand rod I fished about 100 yards to a clean bottom in about two metres depth where it rises from five metres. The second spot was just 80 yards out in the middle of the lake where I noticed on the echo-sounder a deep, clear hole surrounded by weed. The last one was on the left side at 90 yards fishing to a nice sand bar in two metres water depth off the end of the marginal bushes. The plan was clear and I got everything in position before taking out the Spod rod and putting the beast to work!

The alarms beeped without any rods out – that could only mean one thing...

The carp didn’t take long to arrive and over the next couple of hours Vita and I landed several small fish off each of the spots. There was nothing big, just a bit of fun but we’d need something a little bit more substantial to get out the best of these rods, but no rush, it was just the beginning…

In a crazy night full of runs, we finally managed to bank some good size carps over 10kg (22lb). In the end enough was enough and we left the rods out of the water until morning! Despite this, I woke up to a beep from the Delkim and I knew that there was only one thing could have been… a kingfisher playing on the rods! I could barely see him in the morning mist but managed a couple of quick snaps just in time – lucky me!

There’s no better way to test new gear!

The action came thick and fast.

Slowly the sun rose behind the fog and the temperature began to rise too. It had really dropped drastically in the night, but it didn’t seem to put the fish off! Coffee, breakfast and time to hit the fishing gym again, equipped with my spod rod. I baited the spots again well with an abundance of crushed boilies, sweetcorn and hemp – the perfect spod mix to get the fish going on the spots, no matter where you are fishing!

On this second day there was no wind at all in the morning and much higher temperatures, which incidentally seemed to be no good for the carp. Luckily, after four hours of nothing, a warm wind suddenly picked up, with stronger and stronger gusts of wind. As it did so, the right hand rod started running super-fast with a powerful fish that finally tested the rod as I wanted. It’s funny how a fish of just over 10kg can make you feel like you have hooked a whale! Unfortunately I never got to see what this one was, as the fish found sanctuary in the weed and shed the hook! Not too bad – at least it didn’t cut the line, so it was just a case of checking the hook, then rigging new bait.

A classic combination – the yellow topper works wonders for me!

Just as I did so, the rod on the left side slowly sounded with couple of beeps as the line fell slack. With the fish coming towards me, I quickly lifted the rod and starting reeling in, before it decided to change its mind and power away into the middle of the lake! Woaaah… I just couldn’t stop it!

Rarely have I had this feeling and it felt so damn strong and heavy! For the power it put in, I first thought it could be a very big catfish, but I couldn’t feel the typical shaking of the head or twisting body. I start getting cold sweats, because on the other side of the line I knew that I might have a real monster of a carp!

This was something different altogether!

After almost 30 minutes of push and pull, it finally came to the top, and in the lovely gin clear water I could see a huge golden shape of a big, BIG common. The fish was only about 10 metres in front of me and just when I was thinking to grab the landing net, the only rod left on the rod pod had a run! Immediately I thought the fish had picked up the other line but no… it was another carp! Luckily, while I landed this mammoth common, Vita had the job of fighting the other fish.

I was literally shocked as I couldn’t contain my excitement like never before… legs shaking, I was grinning from ear to ear like an idiot! I have been lucky enough to catch several big fish in my life, around 24 and 25kg, but this one was much bigger!

Once I’d landed the giant, I waited for Vita to land her carp. I didn’t want to put the fish in the cradle yet, preferring to keep the carp in the water, calm, easy and safe in the net. Luckily for us that I always take with me two landing nets! Vita had soon landed a very good, chunky mirror too and while that one waited in the net, we secured the beast in a retainer to keep it safe while we dealt with her carp.

Vita had a really nice mirror…

Once I’d landed the giant, I waited for Vita to land her carp. I didn’t want to put the fish in the cradle yet, preferring to keep the carp in the water, calm, easy and safe in the net. Luckily for us that I always take with me two landing nets! Vita had soon landed a very good, chunky mirror too and while that one waited in the net, we secured the beast in a retainer to keep it safe while we dealt with her carp.

YES – a new PB!

The tail of an unexpected giant!

I was very happy for Vita also to have landed a nice mirror… but then it was my time. It felt like being in an epic movie: the wind pushing waves against me as I checked all the fins were in place, then it came to lifting the fish… it was so heavy and for a moment I thought it could even be a 30kg carp! Checking on the scale it showed 29.56kg, and without the sling we confirmed the fish at 28.3kg (over 62lb)… A NEW PERSONAL BEST!

The smile won’t leave my face – this is why we do this, this is why we love carp fishing, the travel, waiting and eventually the unexpected. To share this passion and reward with the person you love… it’s priceless! Well, what a way to test the new rods… it’s safe to say that it was mission accomplished!

Mission accomplished – time for you to go home!

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