Enton, Candy From a Baby.....

 ........Or so you would think, constantly in the angling press, social media littered with images of the prizes that any visiting angler could catch, somehow I felt that there was a little more to it than pitch up and bag up on potential British Record Crucian Carp and Tench. Before I go any further I can certainly say it's not easy, those who have caught specimen Crucian's have been in an area that have held them and location over my three trips would prove to be paramount, being just 20 yards from the feeding grounds would be the difference between complete success and failure.

The view from my perch....just 15 yards from the next angler....

 The tactics I employed were fairly simple, with one rod loaded with a 30g method feeder and bouyant maggot with the second rod set up with a standard maggot feeder heli' rig, with Spring in full swing I felt that the maggot feeder would do quite well with the Tench and hopefully pick up the Crucian's as they passed by in their little shoals, but as the hours passed by on three different days my rods both lay dormant with very little else than single bleeps, even as minor as that seems it kept me alert just in case one of those miniature enquires led to a run.

All the gear, but have I an idea??

 Only on the third day did I get a little more than no action as I waited more than half a day to get a clear cut run, I was nagging to a friend of mine who coincidentally was amongst the very fish I wanted to catch when my left hand rod tore off, I scrambled from my neighbour's swim and lent into a heavy fish, the culprit which was almost certain to be a Carp continued to head out into open water when my line went completely slack and the rod recoiled....fish off.

A new favourite of mine, drop one in a pint of water and see the results.

 Just the sort of rotten luck you need when indications of life were so few and far between, the hook just parted from the hook link but on a 3lb bottom it's likely to happen, when it doesn't it's a bonus. It was slightly annoying but you can only tackle up and get the bait back out where the fish may at some point find the tiny single caster, or maggot, or fake corn.

It's a lovely place to waste some hours.

 The plan was to stay as late as possible, this was to give the fish every chance in slipping up, then around 7pm my left hand rod finally gave off a gentle but consistent run, the buzzer was singing away and as I took up the slack the plodding fish on the other end really got my heart racing, this was a typical Crucian fight, slow and not going particularly far, in fact I only needed to retrieve as it made no attempts to swim, so much so I was convinced I'd finally caught my target and knowing the pedigree of the Crucian's in this nearly 20 acre lake it could be the very fish of my dreams.

 I continued to play the fish very gingerly as I did not want to lose it seeing how hard I had worked to get this opportunity, then as I readied the net and the fish approached the surface a Tench broke and I deflated like a hot air balloon, I'd never been so disappointed to see a 5lb Tench in my life....I almost put it back without a photo but as tough as the day was and how hard that sighting was to take I couldn't pass up a photo opp'......candy from a baby? most certainly is not! and for those reading this who have intentions of fishing it, do not go with the preconception that it's easy, believe if you are on the fish then yes, it's fairly straight forward but if your'e not on the shoals then it's a confidence knocker for certain. But in the famous words of Arnie, "I will be back".

One of the best reels I've used.