T.H.P.C: Part Two: I'll Take That.

 The 14th April was a date pencilled in for the end of the crucian carp season on Enton Mere. For the past two seasons I have now spent upwards of ten trips trying my hand at some of the countries largest specimens, if you want one, typically this is where you try. However, and this is what some anglers won't tell you, its not easy. I may have touched on this in the past and I am happy to re-iterate that feeling.

 During March and early April the target was a solitary crucian, not setting my sights high enough? I kid you not, a bite was something to get the blood pumping on what turned out to be some of the most baron hours I've experienced, period. My initial idea was just to fish from around 6pm when I arrived through to maybe 10pm to see what would transpire. The answer was almost immediate. Surrounded by anglers, some of whom had had success and others cursing their luck, I had a steaming run on my right hand rod, the sort of take you'd associate with a tench or carp but I know the crucians run with such tenacity. Having connected with the fish I knew straight away by the dainty fight that it was a crucian, then it all went wrong. The hooked pulled and I began cursing my luck too.

 Conjuring up a run so fast I thought I had landed on the fish and the thought of losing a crucian would soon be dispelled by a hectic evenings sport.....how wrong could I be? Well, one Rudd around 1.04 made an appearance which again I thought was a crucian and then nothing.

 The next morning the dawn chorus was in full swing as the lake came alive with bubbling tench and carp smashing the surface to a foam, not to mention the incessant rolling of numerous crucians, some of which were hitting my rod tips they were that close, but I could not get any response from the little blighters!

 As the morning progressed the fish began to disappear apart from the odd carp here and there breaching. As the clock ticked closer to the sort of time I was going to pull myself away I had a decision to make. Do I stay put on my bed of feed or move to showing fish, after a short time thinking about it the latter was settled on, my target had now changed as my brain had given up on hoping for a crucian, the showing carp were too much of a lure to ignore.

A proper carpers dawn.

 A maggot feeder went straight on the spot they'd been rolling on all morning, the other was flicked out at 25 yards in the vein hope my change of focus would infact catch my original target. Forty five minutes later as I began to sit heavy eyed in the warm sunshine my maggot feeder rod hammered off, almost creating smoke on the newly acquired Delkims!

 For roughly fifteen minutes I battled a stubborn mirror. Powerful run after powerful run was slowly followed by a distinct plodding of a decent fish, I was only fishing with 6lb line and delicate 5 inch hook length at around 60 yards so I had to be careful. With so much inactivity I was basically desperate to land this fish. A few minutes later, after three attempts the large frame of a mid- twenty pound carp cruised into the net, not easy going but, I was very happy with that!


 23lb 6oz, which is my best carp out of Enton, infact, to date, the only one I have landed having lost a couple in the past owing to the delicate tackle often adopted to tackle the crucians.