Chris Plumb's Blog

Now then, this half a carp you are claiming……I think perspective is needed here

 

I baited the rig, cast out to a spot that I had been fishing all night, ok, so I missed by about 10 yards but that’s not the point.

 

Having sorted one rod, I then went to retrieve and re-bait my other feeder, which, on reeling in, was tangled with a long length of braid. I knew this braid was attached to something immovable in the lake having lost a feeder earlier in the night, plus about 60yds of 20lb Power Pro braid....my fault, didn't realise I was close to the backing join and the knot wasn't as good as it should have been....again, not the point though.

 

Bearing in mind this was, 1) a potential trap for any fish, and, 2) a problem for anyone fishing the swim after me….I then attempted to retrieve aforementioned rig, which meant I had to get into the lake to reach the loose end of the braid. At this point, I must confess to asking for you assistance, to hold the rod that was tangled with the braid, while I wrapped the loose end of braid around my hand to try and pull it free…..not a good move as braid cuts skin quite badly if pulled hard. Plan needed to be revised before I succumbed to massive blood loss, whilst stood in the lake, with water dribbling over the tops of my wellies….yes I needed more assistance. Having asked you for a small piece of stick which I could use to wrap the braid around, you kindly passed me half a tree instead.

 

So, transferring the braid from my slashed and torn hand, to the tree section, I was then able to make some progress in my attempts to retrieve at least as much of the braid as I could.

 

At this point, focus comes back to rod 1, which had obviously been cast so accurately, forget the missing the target bit, that it had landed near to a carp that was thinking about breakfast. Whilst this carp wasn’t the least bit interested in our recently consumed sossage and egg sandwiches, the scent of my secret mix method feeder goo would serve well for its own dawn feed….at which point, it took the bait and hooked itself, before belting off up the lake and triggering the bite alarm.

 

So, I’m attached to some braid, via a large piece of tree, bleeding heavily, wellies flooding…..and you pick up the rod and proceed to bring in an 8lb carp. Oh, I forgot to add, with my free, but bleeding, hand I had to wield the landing net to capture the fish…….and you want to claim half of it !!!

 

I leave the readers to judge whether you deserve half a carp ….and for any who are interested, my hand is healing, my wellies are nearly dry, and I got all the braid back, plus my feeder and even the bit of fake corn that had been on the hook

And who handed you the ½ a tree and expertly steered the carp away from the danger area so you could continue your recovery operation! Mind you given how little action we had - it was the law of sod kicking in to get a run at just that moment!