Same cunning plan, with better execution – 29th April
After forgetting to take some essential items last week I thought another attempt at pellet waggler fishing was required. This time I checked the tackle bag thoroughly as I put it into the boot of my car.
And having learnt that trying to get to the lake in the rush hour is not the best move, a much more leisurely start was made and I was settled into my chosen swim just after 11am.
Same plan to be executed as last week, initially fish the margins and scan the lake for signs of carp on or near the surface. So I did…..and just like last week, the float in the margins didn’t do very much, although occasional bubbles indicated there were at least fish in the same place as the bait.
Perhaps my garlic flavoured spam was not to their liking, but then it would appear that neither were the prawns, breadflake or maggots that I tried. After about an hour, I spotted a couple of carp near the surface and in range so began to fire out a few pellets. Immediate interest was shown, a cast was made with the pellet waggler gear and before I could catapult another few pellets the float disappeared! The hooked fish set off at a rate of knots out towards the middle of the lake and the new rod, a Garbolino Carp Rocket, took on a very scary bend !! However, I soon worked out that it was supposed to do this, allowing the use of lighter lines, and as the adverts had said, it still had a good bit of power to control the fish. A couple of minutes later, the rod was christened, a portly 9lb 8oz mirror lay on the unhooking mat, my plan had worked, the rod hadn’t snapped, and I had successfully knocked over my coffee in the rush to reach for the landing net
Ten minutes later, after a freshly poured coffee, and a few more pellets being fired out, I had interested fish back in front of me. Second cast and a few pellets fired out, float dives under, another fish is hooked. A longer scrap this time, using a 6lb hook-length I was still a bit wary of just how much pressure I could apply at times. The common carp in this lake also fight a lot harder than the mirrors, and so it was a good five minutes before this one was netted, 10lb 10oz!
Shortly after this the sky darkened over, a couple of rumbles of thunder, and then the rain hammered down ! I was going to try to continue with the pellet waggler method as it would have involved me getting very wet, so I hunkered down underneath the brolly for a while and watched the float in the margins…..do nothing again.
The rain storm eventually moved off to soak other people elsewhere, so more pellets were fired out and I’ve just realised that I’ve waffled on too long…..two more casts saw two more mirror carp hooked and landed, one just under 12lb, and the smallest of the session, one of 8lb 7oz.
I went home very pleased to have been able to try this tactic, and even more so to get a few decent fish. Four fish, around 40 lbs in total….strewth I’m starting to write like a match angler But, a bargain at just under £30, the new rod had been a pleasure to use, and was still in one piece….well, three if you are being pedantic, as I know someone will, it is a 12 foot rod, in three sections.
1 Comment
Recommended Comments
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now