Had a couple of hours free today before I had to do the "daughter collecting from school duties" that always fall on my days off, so about 11:30 I headed to the Glebe fishery. This is only a quick 20 mins drive away and I knew there was a rod already rigged up, in the boot, from last week which would save some time. I was soon there and pulling neoprenes over my school duty clothes when I realized my rod wasn't there...damn. Last week I'd used a 2 peice 11ft rod which didn't fit my boot so after fishing out it had come...yeah, now I remembered. I had an 8wt I used for pike and my ulta-lite one weight that mainly gets used for canal roach. What to do?
Driving back home wasn't an option? The 8 wt would be too stiff for the small carp which I caught the last time I'd fished this lake so it was the one weight.
Not a good start and it was blowing a gale which would handicap the short lite rod even more. Oh well, I was still confident of having a few as last winter this lake was stuffed with hand sized carp that were "too" easy.
I rigged up 4 bloodworm patterns on 4lb co-polymer line, settled in the first swim with the wind gusting in my face and flicked the nymphs straight out infront of my position. With only a foot of line out of the rod tip I missed three quick takes then just as an arriving bait angler asked, "hows it going" I connected with a fish. The best sort of reply!
It was fun on the one weight which was bent double!
Next cast as the line bobbed on the rippling chocolate coloured water I thought the last inch or so dipped under. This mirror proved me right...
Last year they'd all been much smaller but these were great fun on a lite rod. I'd have been happy with a few the same sized, the next was over a pound and quite a handful though.
I added another 3 from that swim, which is usually the banker, the rest of the lake is very hit and miss, in winter. Takes had dried up though so it was move swim, move lake or home. I decided to try the far corner of this lake. Here I'd had a couple of fish last winter and with the wind blowing strongly into it gave me some confidence.
My first few cast resulted in tiny indications that I wasn't sure were fish but a deffinite indication saw my rod hooped over again. This was a better fish to the goldhead bloodworm...
Next cast and I was in again! This time though everything was slow and heavy. After a few long booring runs into the backing the other angler came over to check on the fight. He took my camera and got a few shots for which I was greatful.
Twenty minutes later (well I couldn't exactly bully it in!) and a huge fat mirror was in the net.
I don't know how big it was, no scales, but it dwarfed one I had at the end of summer that went 15lb 8oz! I do know it is my biggest ever fish on a one weight!
Winter is getting better and I was home by 3pm to collect my daughter!
Dee
Winter carp on a 1 weight!
Where's Glebe - it rings a bell but I can't remember? I was in a club last year that had a superb carp lake with no trees on 3 of the 4 banks - ie ideal for carp on the fly - I was really looking forward to it.....then there was some big fall out with the farmer, it shut and got netted out before I had chance to try
On a 'one weight???'
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