John Bailey – The Kingfisher Diaries
August 25th 2009
The Wow Factor
I was lucky enough to have some guests up with me this weekend past, fishing the Kingfisher lakes and around. Lots of fun, lots of merriment and some amazing fish.
Personally, I think I've not done myself any favours by dropping out of the carp scene over the last fifteen years or so. I suppose it's down to nothing more than lack of time. Big carp demand much more attention than I've been able to give them. As a result, you really tailor your fishing to your life's demands and the sight of a big carp is something that I've really been missing over the years. Friday morning put that right.
I heard a splash. I heard a reel scream. Then nothing for about fifteen minutes until the air was rent by a great scream of triumph. I sprinted down the bank, down to the bottom bay. And there, ecstatic over a thirty-one pound mirror crouched Adrian, John and Ian (aka Ping Pong).
To say that fish blew me away is an understatement. I suppose, in all truth, it's the first thirty pound fish I've photographed for at least two, if not three years. There was a mighty Russian giant of fifty pounds and, of course, Lee's mid-twenty a year back. But this fish simply glowed vitality and a real in-your-face attitude. It went back with a smack of its tail that drenched us all.
So what I'm now plotting is how to catch fish like that for myself but in ways that fit in with my lifestyle. More stalking. More careful pre-baiting. Short, sharp sessions where I know there are fish, preferably on food I've already put out for them. And when I am fishing, perhaps maximising my hopes by targeting two or three different areas with different baits and different terminal rigs.
The autumn is not a bad time to put all these plans into practise. As the days shorten and dusks come in quicker, it means I don't have to be at the waterside nearly as long as I would have to be in the early summer.
Or perhaps I should jack in work, live on a pittance and, like I used to do, live a carping life to the full!