Well, I`m back from my day at Stanwick Lakes and had what we could call a very interesting day. Got there just after 7:30am and it was blowing a bloody gale. Swan lake where I`d planned to fish was at one end of the complex and was extremely exposed and choppy. As I walked around I noticed Mallard Lake (very similar to Swan as far as the rang and size of fish goes) seemed to be a bit calmer in a few areas but I found Coot lake which was a tiny lake in comparison to the rest and it looked gorgeous, lots of reeds and lilies plus I could see bubbles coming up all over the place. I setup and had my method feeder out containing dynamite halibut groundbait, hemp, sweetcorn and some chopped curried mussels. I had a tutti fruity boilie on the hair and within 10 minutes had a 2lb mirror which was a very good sign. However, after that it went quiet for the next 90 minutes so I moved round to the other end of the lake and setup there. within 15 minutes I had a nice 3.5lb common carp then my best fish of 4lb, which was another mirror. Sadly my day went badly pearshaped after this. I had a small tangle in the end of the rod and on walking to the tip of the rod I slipped on a very muddy area behind the peg and went over backwards scratching my arm to buggery on the bramble branches behind and ever worse I landed awkwardly on my left ankle. The pain was staggering. I could barely catch my breath. I had to sit down for 10 minutes to recover then decided that although it was much earlier than I`d intended to finish that I`d done some serious damage to my ankle and decided to pack up very carefully and hobble back to the car with all my gear which now weighed twice as much. I went to the doctors later that afternoon and was advised to go to the hospital for an x-ray. 4 hours after getting to Northampton General Hospital and checking in at the A&E department I was finally seen by someone to be told no fracture but major tissue damage around the ankle. I`m now strapped up, off work for the week and hopping around as I can`t put any weight on it!
Despite this I had a great time at Stanwick, I will definitely be going back again, dont know when now and think the knackered ankle was worth the pleasure of catching 3 nice carp, the best haul I`ve ever had in one session which shows how little I`ve achieved so far.
Next time I`ll beat my pb of 5lb!