As i opened the front door the dank musty smell off the landing net hit me again.. the rod sling had stood in the hall where it had been left for the best part of three days. F*ckin 'ell man you had better sort the gear out. The natural high had carried me aloof for a couple of days administered a touch lengthier with a few litres of alcohol.. i was sledgin'
It's happened mate, it was meant to be.. Emotional? yeah it was a very emotional event, though the aftermath hit me very hard. Many personal reasons made the capture hard to take in.. i won't go into any of them they are mine. It was a long time coming, and when it did i wasn't prepared mentally for the hit i would recieve.. Okay, in relative terms it was a capture of a fish, albeit a big one. Any other person than a long time angler would find my words laughable. Those in the brotherhood, those that have spent half their life waiting for an event like this to happen. The sacrifices, the hardships and heatbreak that many have had to endure along the way... they will know.
I had to get back down there.. weekend was approaching fast, and i had nothing prepared. A full afternoon was spent sorting out the mess that had been thrown and stuffed in every compartment i owned. Sorted, and i am at the gates around tea time Friday evening. The drizzle was heavy. The trees heavy with foliage drooped with the weight of the persistant heavy rain. The car park was empty.. In the gloom a feeling came over me that something wasn't right. i went to close the gates and noticed they had been got at with an heavy duty set of bolt croppers.. the other gate had been mutilated too. I phoned Eagle.. Don't leave your motor there mate. I made my way down to the lake, and after sitting under the Evo for an hour, i decided to do one.. it was spooky, a really strong feeling that things wern't right came over me in a shudder and i looked over my shoulder all the way back to the car. Bbbrrr!! cold sweats rippled through my body. I closed the last gate and jumped in the car.. whooah! get a grip man. On the drive back home i was spooked.. the gates had been chopped at with something heavy, and declining to sit on there alone had i think been a wise move... I will return first light and spend the day there.
I suppose the total desire to get back there overtook the logical inhibitions, and the desire had me back at the car park in the dull damp dawn.. In the urgency to get on the bank i left the car on the car park. It would be sound.. i am only doing the day. I was surprised that there was another angler on there, he had been dropped off after i had departed the evening before. I settled for an area that a fish pushed out in a couple of times a few swims onto the lake.. they dissapeared. Around 11.00 am the guy further down waved he's arms for attention.. i photographed a tidy 26lb mirror. I decided to check out the shallows.. it was like returning to a place that you visited way back and had happy memories from. I stopped and looked out at the far margin,the wind was pushing in nicely in a perfect grey sky. I lit a cig and sat on the boards, it looked bang on. Get in there mate my rods are all out directly in front, besides i'm f*ckin off in an hour or so. Cheers mate. Within fifteen minutes i was sat with the rods positioned perfectly reliving every moment of the events from the weekend before.. yeah! A few fish turned up and started to do the rituals.. yes sir.. i will have another one please.
One thing about this gaff is.. everyone that visits you, always seem to creep up on you ...'F**ckin 'ell man' you sh*t the life out of me. It was Bizi.. want a brew? He had come down to check out the damage to the gates, and to arrange the repairs etc. I enjoy the chat with the local guys, they are from the completely opposite side of town, and they always know things you don't.
The late afternoon had broken the greyness with intermittent bright sunshine, and every now and then a fish dipped out in the steady ripple.. looks good for another fella, give us a shout if you want any pics.
I settled back in the chair.. 10 minutes later the phone rang '' Bizi''.. before i answered, i knew what he as going to say... F*ckin 'ell man your windows have been done on your motor. In the space of half an hour Bizi had spent on the lake with me.. my side window and the rear windscreen windows had been tw*tted.
I packed away and made my way back to the car park.. I had come back to Earth allright... with no parachute. If only?.. only one. If only i could have got my hands on the c*nts that wrecked a family car that held nothing at all of any worth to anyone. I wouldn't be sat here typing this.. i would have a few charges against me.

unlucky fella

glad you found the keyboard again though

The tw&ts hope you get your car sorted soon mate

bad sh it m8 its a awful feeling that

fackin c@nts mark, people just dont give a sh!t when it happened to me it got me angry as fack, how to feckin ruin someones day.

Unlucky Tudge .. had it happen to me not a nice feeling..

Monday
The Art
I couldn't believe it... nice little eight metres on a block of flats locally, then get off boys. The air was fairly humid as we got all the gear back down the three storey block.. come on i want to get fishing.
Two rods were bundled, a light 2lb Harrison a Free Spirit ES, along with a small selection of floaters and a few bits for the bottom. Travelling light today, i wanted to be on em and if i had to walk round the Park a couple of times then i wouldn't be killing myself on the 'yomp' round. It really was a glorious morning and a quick chat with a couple of overnight boys saw me on my way again. As i pushed through the trailing leaves off the Willows i stopped dead on the narrow path. I immediately turned into slow motion as i clocked a group of fish a few metres out against some weed beds. I inched backwards up the hill and noticed another group beyond them, and another even further out..'kinnell there were loads about. I baited a rod with a couple of floaters and flicked em beyond the close in fish.. they spooked and moved out toward the second group... b*stard.
After a very frustrating hour or so of missed takes and spooky swirls.. the fish suddenly started to leave en mass. I clocked em going straight down the middle. Eagle stopped by for a chat and witnessed the fish leaving wakes as they headed off to who knows where. Done owt?.. done my head in mate.. they were proper cagey.
A light Westerly got up as though the fish had knew in advance, and pushed in the direction that they had left.. thats it i'm off. I arrived at the end of the lake where the ripple had steadied into a moderate.. i hitched up a tree and through the glittering reflection spotted a group of fish three feet below the surface, and they were moving around tightly. Another group arrived, then the odd straggler joined up with a tidy head of fish. Strange how looking in on fish is almost as exciting as catching them.. well not really but i get a proper buzz. Anyone seen the throwing stick that dog walkers are now armed with? Dayglo coloured piece of placcy with a cup that launches a tennis ball a good way into the lake today it was followed by a Springer Spaniel, that bellyflopped a few times before i had to give him a word... The Springer didn't know any better, it is the closest it will ever get to working in the field and probably the only chance it will get to working with a gun is the owners sons BB gun. Nice one mate!.. Sorry! didn't see you there, yeah.. but your not the reason i paid out for the camo gear... try f*ckin specsavers you kn*b. I tried hard not to unleash into a full on barrage of abuse and looked the other way biting my bottom lip.. hard. Strangely the fish refused to move from there gathering spot, and after a few hard stares he f*cked off. A mirror with a linear pattern halved out only rod length out to my left, then again. Each time the fish sent a black patch to the surface with masses of bubbles fizzing and popping. I quickly tried a line of floaters 20 metres up the bank and they were ignored.. what the f*ck is wrong with em.. again another batch was given the cold shoulder. The mirror came up again in the same place. I quickly fixed up a float set up on the 2lb rod with a small Tiger nut as an hookbait. I cut up a few tigers into small pieces and fired them gently into the area of the show, and directly on top the bubbles that were still exploding to the surface every couple of minutes. My hands shook with anticipation. Get a grip.. i poured out a cup of coffee and lit a cig then moved up the bank to set the depth of the quill to set at half cock. The move up the bank a little was simply not to spook the fish by casting amongst em. Sorted.. i flicked the quill and bait beyond the spot and gently drew back sinking the line as she went. The quill wavered sat upright then leaned back rocking in the waves.. this is what carp fishing is all about fella. A ballast of bubbles broke surface feet beyond the float.. I turned my head as a fish continually rolled to my left a little further out. My feet started to ache in the cramped position i was in and started to go dead, f*ckin ell my feet hurt.. the float rocked round in a circle then jabbed down twice hard. F*ckin 'ell i should have hit that. Masses of bubbles continued to move towards the float, until the float sat in the middle of a fizz resembling a champagne glass full to the brim. A few minutes later the float sank to the tip then lifted and as the float lay flat on the surface i struck hard over my head. Tench? The soft action of the rod threw me and the fish.. i reckon neither of us knew what was going on. I pumped it towards me then away the fish went up the lake. A couple of guys a little further up came and looked on at a battle that went on for a good ten minutes.. it's a Common tudge, i've just seen it.. it was and as it rolled in the net i felt a huge sigh of relief. Man! that was one major battle. A mint looking Common of 23lb on the float.. the early days of my ongoing apprenticeship had paid off handsomely. Float fishing is simply pure magic, and is a practice i try to use as often as possible. The art of angling is still alive, long may it continue.

nice one tudge,back to the old school tactics and still catching em i see

You just can't beat float fishing...

bet you can not catch the tench off the top hey

How much you got to lose?.. ask Paul what he witnessed today .. i can catch you a few Bream off the top too, if you want to double or quits.

tis true... i would never of believed it had i not seen it with my very own eyes

tench takin off the top ? whats the fecks all that about,kin freak of nature

Cracker result Tudge

Tench of the top too kin

Dam fine dangling fella

nah your allright need my sick money lol

Tw*ts doing the motor I think they must have a look out at the flats ???

Back to basics with the float great stuff

Cheers
Saul

Treading
Friday
The air was hot.. you know the one, when you are gaggin' dry every couple of minutes. I stopped and drank half a bottle of iced water before i got a couple of yards from the car park.. jeez! The park was empty, no kids or dogs running around, the swings were still, and silence strangely hummed in the haze across the field down to the lake. I peeled off the rucksack in the shade off the willows and sat holding my head that pulsed in the palms of my hands. A mozzie slid down the inside of my glasses in a stream of sweat and fell on my cheek.... What the f*ck are you doing man?
The surface in the bay held large swaves of white off the sugars that fell silently and slowly like Summer snow. Sh*t conditions for surface fishing, no wind and the surface was clogged to the max with fluff. Half an hour and thats it.. i'm off. A guy that was set up outside the bay came through the trees and relayed what i was already thinking... waste of time mate, been firing floaters in all day, not had a one even look at em. Late afternoon usually sees a little more interest from these fish and whilst i was talking to the guy a group of decent fish went by, high on the surface. F*ck it, i'm here and i'm having a do.
I gave it the biggun with the floaters and sat back under a large willow that gave a good amount of shade. The Gulls on here have been a real nuisance at the last few attempts at offering floaters to these fish... strangely there were none about. The Coots never came over, and the Mallards stayed in the shade to my left. A couple of large V shapes cut along the surface leaving trails in the heavy surface and hit the mass of flaoters hard. Yeah.. this is the one. I launched the controller thirty metres past the action on the surface, and slowly ever so slowly brought it back to the area of disturbance. The mainline picked up the sugars as i brought it back, kinnel it looks like steel cable.. b*llocks, it will have to do. I stopped the drag back to nothing then inched it into the boils and wakes off the fish. It was impossible to see the hookbait in the shimmering glass like surface.. the controller simply dissapeared out of sight, followed by the line zipping back across the surface to the rod tip. I bent into the fish and held on... weird that! it came in like a Bream and rolled over the marginal weed and swam into the net. The guy sat in the bivvy came running into the bay and couldnt believe that i had already netted it.. kinnel man thats a tidy fish... We weighed her in at 29lb 3oz, a nice looking Linear mirror.

Wednesday
Wouldn't waste your time mate.. eh! Whats that? Waste of time mate, they are showing big time, with no one doing owt. I stood and chatted with my human Oracle of doom and gloom for a few minutes,then made my way down to the bay. Overcast, good steady Easterly and as i stood and looked into the bay a mirror flexed itself out of the waves with a loud splash. I ran round the bay and stood as another fish flopped out less than three metres from the bank. Not having it? Why?
I flicked a 12mm chop of enzyme in the ripple left off the show and then totally out of character, i put half a kilo around the hookbait. Half a kilo? My philosphy is simple.. if i am fishing for three hours, i have to get a pick up. The less free bait in the swim, the greater the chance i have of a fish picking up the hookbait, hence the very light baiting strategy. I sat and pondered my action on the extra bait, then eased my worries that i am testing out something new here... do something different. Within ten minutes a fish rolled over the bait.. come on then. It went allright. It powered off down the lake like a maniac. A lengthy tussle ended with a Common rolling in the net. The fish continued to kick the sh*t out of me during weighing, pics and releasing.. the fish need to spawn badly. The Common weighed 19lb 8oz and was one of the old originals from way back, i felt really pleased to see him again in such fine fettle and patted him thankfully. This old male leaked milt continually, and the sheer power and energy he held was a sure sign that nature may not take it's course which could be a worry for some of the big females.. lets hope they get down to it soon.

The rest will come shortly.. no time to think at the moment.

Cheers.

Sounds like they like it hot !

Cheers
Saul

A good read as usual Tudge ... keep it up ..

Buzzin.....even better when I don't know whats gonna happen...

First post on this quality Northern forum, but I just have to say that I've thoroughly enjoyed reading your blogs Tudge. Quality thinking angler (as many of you guys are) and writer. Reminds me of Hutchys writings many moons ago.Keep it coming mate.

Thanks for the kind comments.


Sunday
The Ark
If it carries on like this i will be building an Ark.. where is all this rain coming from? I can't seem to remember conditions being so Autumunal during mid Summer. The gear which has been trebled in weight for the last couple of weeks due to being constantly soaked was stashed in the car.. jeez! A cloudburst hit me in full stride halfway round, my glasses made it impossible to make out the path, come on fella this is madness. Flat as glass with persistant rain, hardly ideal but my only chance for a few days and i am having it. I walked round the lake twice with the gear on the low loader, stopping every at couple of breaks in the trees, trying to get a sign.. sh*t.
A couple of the weekend boys were hurriedly packing away as the rain intensified. As i stood on the opposite bank in the rain trying to perform a miracle by rolling a cig in a monsoon, i was delivered a gift. A mirror half rolled in the margin less than four feet from where i dripped. The rain eased into a light drizzle as a bright ray of sunshine hit the margin, and again the fish rolled in the steam that rose from the surface. The humidity became intense as i stripped off down to my tshirt, and by hand flicked in around eighty chops of Enzyme. I repeated the process with the bait another ten feet further out, if they are travelling i am going to stop em. I sat back peering from under the brolly in the rain that had decided to try and make my fleeting visit as miserable as possible. Fifteen metres down the bank another fish rolled, was it the same fish moved off because of the disturbance? A good mirror pushed out to the right about six foot from the bait, and eased my worries... the're here. The rods were tilted up with slack lines with no hanger or bobbins. Another roll, this time the fish was directly over the bait.. i crept out and crouched down peering at the spot. The surface was pinging off the bait as it was disturbed by the fish, yes! The line looked like barge rope drooping into the water, come on i willed it to go. A heavy fish continued to halve out to the right, and i walked along the bank trying to line it up.. they know, i was ten metres away when it absolutely ripped off, i slipped and slid all the way to the rod and backwound for an eternity. Kinnel! visions of me holding a proper chunk raced through my mind as i coaxed the fish back to margin. This fish wasn't for coming in, it rolled and went in the net first time. Man that fish was a lunatic.. 22lb 8oz Common. In the last half hour i sat there i noticed a good show on the other bank and i went round sodden to the bone and fed two kilo of chops in a good spot. A really enjoyable couple of hours that could have been so easily a wash out.

Monday
The rain continued all night and into the early hours of the morning.. the phone rang from the office, forget it Mark, go fishing or summat. The call was totally unexpected, a few lads are on holidays etc and it has been all hands on deck.. the weather was so severe the gaffa reckoned it was a pointless excercise. A cool Northerly wind with heavy rain set for 25mph.. i was down the lake for 10.00 am. The gear had quadrupled in weight, and the reels, oh the reels £400 a chuck and they looked as though i had dragged em down there in the sh*t. F*ck em, they are tools, they will clean up when they have done there job in hand. I had to take off the specs, it was a pointless excercise trying to look through them in the driving rain. Splosh, right over the bait from the evening before. I don't know why, but i stood for another three quaters of an hour in the rain and clocked another couple of fish in the spot before i decided to settle in. F*ckin dripping again. I had to have the brolly facing away from the water because of the gusting wind and rain.... f*ckin ell tudge your mad for it! setting up in the face of this sh*t, a guy that had been on the other side for a couple of hours had a chat with me then left, your f*ckin mad man, ravin mad he shouted as he slipped and squelched he's way home. I went for it again and put another kilo in the spot, i chucked a little parcel of chops on top and as i ran back and tried to get back under the brolly i got a piercing ringing sound in my ears which buzzed in my head. Weird! i tried to pop my ears by rotating my jaw... the ring continued, i tugged the side of the brolly to scope the rods and immediately set off as the penny fianlly dropped.. the blue led was sparkling in the greyness, and the spool spinning like a top. Yeah!! i shouted out at the top of my voice to an empty lake.
Again the fish went like a demon.. another one? i turned and nodded as a guy that had come down to do a spot of baiting up, watched a spirited battle off another Common.. 21lb. The fish moved up the bank as the afternoon went on and i should have followed them. I should have set up a couple of swims in front and laid a couple of traps, then continued on as i picked them off.. truth is i was totally covered in sh*te from head to foot and was more than happy with the one for the effort.

Don't Believe The Truth

Cheers.

Excellent read once again Mark nice one

Quality angling,especially under those conditions Tudge. They're well on that enzyme bait as well. Interesting!!

Top bloggin'

Mirror, Mirror..
Thursday
How good is it to meet someone that you haven't seen or spoken to for a while? One,of my four hours on the bank had been spent chatting to a good angling friend, whilst my eyes flicked back and forth to the water in between the conversation. Three times the fish left a large silver envelope on the surface... Problem was, it was round the far side and i asked myself if i was going to do the yomp for two hours fishing.. f*ck it.
I stood in the trees soaked through to the back of my 'rukkie' with sweat.. jeez, i'm getting to old for this sh*t. Another fish lolloped out in the large rolls on the surface only thirty metres out. Tight swim with trees overhanging the margin either side, and in the past i have usually had to wade out to net fish. No problem really, if i have to go out to my waist then i will be in. Half a kilo of Enzyme chops were scattered in the area followed by two perfectly placed one ounce lead rigs that hardly made a splash. 6.15 pm and not a sign, it was as if i had thrown stones in to spook em. 10 mins and i had to be off, f*ck em, if they dont want to scoff.. i do, my guts were in knots and i was rattlin' from lack of nourishment. Two rods left on the alarms, everything was stashed and ready to go.. One rod left on the alarm. I placed my hand on the handle.. it was like an electric shock, the rod and alarm exploded making me jump back.. kinnell! the fish flat rodded me as i struggled to find the anti reverse switch under the baitrunner. I gritted my teeth expecting the line to go with a bang, f*ck me.. i released the backwind and mashed my hand in the double handle, chipping the beef off my knuckles that leaked claret all over the reel spool..going going going going.. the line sythed the surface straight down the middle of the lake a good seventy odd yards out, then stopped and thumped back hard through the rod handle. I walked into the water winding down pumping furiously.. f*ckin ell my pockets were full, phone, wallet.. i stepped back out and threw out everything on to the bank. I had sat with all my valuables on my tackle box, in case and had only just put everthing back in my pockets for the off. I ran into the water to the edge of the trees which was just below my waist, and wound down expecting it to have gone. It was still there, i tried to let the fish have head out on a long line in open water. Heavy head shaking and repeated thumps down the line, f*ckin ell man this is one of the big dudes then the lump picked up pace and kited in a huge arc at speed for the margin snags to my left. I walked out up to my mid chest and wound down hard with rod and reel under the water, come on.. i walked round the corner still at chest height and held on.. then all went solid. I got as close as i could, wound down and brought back a lead. I squelched my way round my swim packing away the last bits.. I berated my myself all the way home and into the next day. A bad error of judgement? trying to play the fish out on the long line.. simple as that.

Thursday
Yeah!.. go on then, i will meet you down there, i put the phone down and threw a few bits together. I really wasn't in the mood, losing the fish the previous week still kept revisiting my mind. Work had been a bitch, and fishing really wasn't going to recharge my sapped energy.. mentally and physically i was totally f*cked.
We strolled down to the bay, and immediately Tommy dissapeared down a narrow path through the trees and began settin he's gear up. Thunderstorms and sunny spells had been on and off all day, and in between i sat in the bay waiting and looking.. if i don't see owt i'm not bothering. A few cigs later, a fish pushed it'self out to my left a couple of swims up. I stared hard at the ring left in the margin, then another pushed out less than three feet from the bank.
I slowed as i came out of the foliage, then stopped.. jeeeesus!
The surface popped and blipped with bubbles and debris out of the coloured margin. Strange how you adopt this crouched down posture whilst trying to set up rods etc.. i really wanted to do this one on the float, but the rods were set up and time was at an essence. I lowered in the rods less than a rod length out, pulled off slack line, and crept back up the bank and tried to hide behind a bush.
I must have gained a few minutes of mental energy from somewhere. I squinted my eyes at the line that hung down coiled in between the rings on the right hand rod. I watched it ever so slowly tighten, inch by inch. It was like slow motion.. i thought it was a mind trick and moved toward the rod. The rod trembled on the rest.. the line jolted the reel, then the alarm blared out. Heavy, dogged and tiring.. this fish din't want to come in. Tommy netted a stonkin' Mirror which was photographed and weighed in at 26lb 2oz. F*ckin result that fella.. only been in half an hour. Cheers mate.
I was more than happy with the Mirror, and decided to lower the rod back in the same spot... i might as well put some bait round em both now after the disturbance. I had another hour to go, and sat in the chair with my eyes shut trying to make some sense of this carp fishing lark. Half an hour later the left hand rod absolutely flew. I back winded for an eternity, then the fish rolled out in the bay.. come on, my arms can't take this.
The fish continued to fight with total determination in the margin, and did wonders for my aches and pains. Tommy did the honours again.. we photographed and weighed a lump of of a fish in the shape of a Mirror 29lb 1oz. Cheekily, i lowered the baits back out for the last ten minutes, but knew deep down that i had been gifted a tidy brace of fish for simply sitting and watching for fifteen minutes.
The rest will follow when i get a little time.
Cheers.

I remember as a lad, being set up on the marina, i'd been there 3 days with only a handful of Tinca's to show for my efforts, you came on and knocked out 2 upper doubles from the pointy bay (big uns for those days) within an hour or two, and came walking back round saying you were going home now for your tea.

15 years on, nothing has changed much!

Top angling.

Ads

apart from us all having a bit less hair and gained few extra inches round the waistline

nice read as per mark..

you speak for yourself paul....




nice read swinton.!

Yep....there's not many who ain't been Tudged on there...

He's like feckin Solskjaer...

Quality as per mate....

quality read......and bloody good dangling

Most enjoyable and made up for the fact that I cant go fishing this weekend. Flt as though I was actuallt playing one there for a minute.

Characters
Thursday I flicked another roll up dimp into the Westerly waves and away it drifted down the margin, i had sat on 'Freezing Point' for over an hour and an half.. f*ck all. Where are they?
Intermittent sunshine combined with a good stiff Westerly, perfect conditions. No one on and a chance to fish any swim on the lake is a bit of a rarity nowadays.. no gut feeling, no idea and i'm doing one if nothing shows in the next half hour.
A small group of Coots close to the bank on the far side, shrieked out in alarm and gathered in a circle peering into the depths below.. they backed away (looking at each other.. as if to say, What the f*ck was that down there?) calling out alarms to each other then decided to get off... sharpish.
The Coots were spooked out big time, i lifted the barrow to make my way round and looked over at the spot ( a decent pike could have give em the sh*ts).. f*ckin ell man it's a long way for a couple of hours fishing. The black shape lifting out of the waves had me running like a mad man, whooahh! slow down fella. The rods were baited and sat on the rests waiting and hoping that another show would pinpoint exactly where they were.
That will do, another fish pushed out in the waves.. then another to my right. Lined up and marked with trees on the far bank. Rods in position with a scattering of baits round each, i sat back and poured a brew. There was someone else on, right up the other end, i had been unable to clock their bivvy because of the trees. The fish started to show out about every five minutes or so, and i was literally sat on the edge of my seat. The bushes at my side opened out and a guy came into my swim.. I knew who he was but had never actually spoken to him, allright tudge? Yeah sound mate. It was Jimmy, older brother of Eddyj.
He noticed the fish boshing out within minutes of being sat with me.. kinnel man, they are here ain't they. There, there's another.. he looked at the angle of my line and turned and looked me in the eye.. they on it? Yeah, it will go in a minute. He laughed and commented on how cock sure i was. Over the space of about half an hour we chatted about he's nights blank over the other side and things in general, when the left hand rod interupted us.. go on tudge!
We laughed and joked as i played the fish and he gave me a running commentary of how i was doing. I netted a common after the fish weeding me up solid and a few hard runs up the margin. Twenty? Upper double was Jimmy's verdict. Weigh it tudge. I weighed the fish simply to give Jimmy the satisfaction of knowing how close he's guestimate was.. 17lb 8oz. He was actually bang on which brought about another bout of laughter.
An enjoyable couple of hours was spent in the company of Jimmy. He's enthusiasm and ideas about carp fishing was pretty infectious. He had me asking many questions, and hopefully answering a few. The afternoon flew by and i begrudgingly reeled in and bade him farewell. I smiled on the walk back to the car park and burst out into laughter once or twice, another friend found and one of the better type's of characters in the carp angling scene.

Friday I was meant to be visiting another water(in the darkest parts of sshh! Cheshire)for the afternoon and evening. Time and a gruelling day at work said no. There was an angler a swim up from the previous days action and i sat on 'Freezing Point' again, hoping!!
I shouldn't have bothered. I made my way round to the other side and out of character i simply settled for a swim because it was comfy.. Why am i here when i should be lay in bed getting some hard earned rest? I flicked em out in the margin and laid my head back on the chair and in the afternoon sunshine drifted off.
I must have been f*cked, i had slept for an hour. Bleary eyed i looked down the lake and noticed a splash, i tried to focus and wait for the dog to hit the surface.. eh! I waited, then stood and stretched out my weary bones. That was a fish fella.
I was stood opposite the spot with the gear within ten minutes.. it wasn't a mirage, and i was proved correct as another fish popped out it's head to the gill plate. Ten baits and and a stringer and i am drifting off again, when the spool decided to empty at speed. Steep bank, half asleep.. oh yeah, i tripped and tumbled and nearly took out a couple of tons worth of rod. I don't know how i landed it, i struck with the free spool on and untangled a small birds nest before i gained some momentum and sorted it out. Jimmy had given me the guestimate bug,(20lb on the nail?) i weighed it with a smile on my face.. 18lb 6 oz common, it looked bigger or was it simply wishfull thinking? I laughed, Jimmy would have got it bang on, i know he would.
Enjoyable couple of hours in good company and another friend made, with a couple of fish to boot. It really is good sometimes.
I will try and get the rest in over the next week, before i forget.

Cracking read as usual tudge and nice to hear that A, your still having em. B, Jimmy is still out and about on the regions waters.

Going back a few years now, I had the pleasure of Jimmys company on a number of sessions on Pilsworth. Made me laugh, and ask a few questions as well. Nice bloke and not a slouch when it comes to catching his fair share either.

Car wrecking c***s,find em kill,cover them in paper cuts and dip em in lemon juice,kill em again,kill their family their friends,pet's and anyone who ever met them.However if you think that is a bit harsh then give them a slap and your repair bill.....nice float capture,the best way to catch a carp i rekon

ps the writings is a great read,keep it going,if i have any interesting stuff to say i mite even have a go myself.cheers

Good read again :)...I'll pass on the kind words to Jimmy as he doesnt have access to the internet

How about a visit on my PL fella come to my darkest woods Timber n Troll more than welcome you just taken a swim
me may have lost a few stone but i can still look after myself

He He.. I don't think so fella

Come on sunshine,i need to read more!!!!!!!

Changes
Over the last month or so, i have been going through a bit of a lean spell in terms of bank time, and in general even managing to think about carp angling. A friend said only the other evening, how easy it is to 'slip out of fishing' even if only for a couple of weeks. I guess i have been trying to get all my personal work out of the way, which was backlogged to a rather embarrassing two months. Angling had been the reason for the backlog, and i was getting tired of making excuses to people why i hadn't been and done the jobs in question. Trying to focus on my fishing was getting distracted to much. I set about going doing the 'Foreigners' after work in the afternoons, and at weekends. Get 'em sorted before Autumn then get back in the groove.. I hope it will be as simple as that, i absolutely love Autumn.
Wednesday
Heavy showers, and a frustrating morning wasting my time trying to dry off a flat roof after each downpour saw me heading home not in the best of moods. I pulled into the street and the phone rang.. ya 'avin a do? I will ring you back in a minute. I walked in and flicked through the list of jobs.. not a one could be done with a chance of a shower. Yeah f*ck it, i'm having a couple of hours and chillin'.
A nice strong Westerly with a heavy sky, and a sun that repeatedly tried to peek out and say hello. I looked around the banks which were unusually empty, kinnel no one to even get a bit of a pointer off. I sat on 'Freezing point' and poured out a cup of coffee.. Hoping.
Perfect conditions, surely something will show! I hadn't long to wait, a big fish close to the far margin started lumping out in a large circle.. each time the fish came out it fell on its side sending up a white spray aginst the waves. This spot was becoming quite a regular area that the fish were visiting. After each fish i had picked off from this swim, i had continued to sprinkle a bit of bait in there for a few days after. I am not one for feeding a swim heavily for a period of time hoping that the fish will obligingly be there when it suitable for me to fish. Tactics like this cause to much friction on busy waters, and i don't want it. Over the years i have adopted an approach of giving the fish a 'taster' only in the safe areas that the fish visit and frequent. I also use a few margin spots that i can easily check on. Don't get the misconception that i am a tight c*nt, i simply put the bait in the areas i know that they will visit during a 24 hour period.. and will be inspected and eaten. I apply bait in small quantities, every other day, sometimes only once a week and check it regulary.
Heaving large amounts of bait on top of fish in an area that fish use as a sanctuary can often totally reverse the effect that i want. I am simply applying a bait that i allow them to eat confidently in one area, and when they come across it in another part of the lake.. 'confidence' will be their downfall.

Back to the ballerina carp.. i pushed through the bushes and it was still at it. F*ck me, i hurriedly peppered the ten metre circle with about thirty 'Hot chops' and flicked in the baited rod. Oh yeah!.. i am 'avin one allright. The second rod was placed the same distance out twenty metres to the left in case they moved down on the tow. Chillin? I stood besides the rod for ten miutes telling it to go, come on you fat f*cks. Boosh! out he came agin, f*ck me this dudes a proper show off, again the fish fell on it's flank.. hard. I looked across the lake expecting Tommy to be grunting down the path.. Peeeeeep!!
The alarm made me jump out of my boots. I backwound for time, then pumped hard winding furiously on the baitrunnner handle. Sh*t i must have been gettin into that, the fish boiled heavily on the surface at least 60 metres out.. steady. I let the fish gain momentum and played it out in the deep margin. Yess! I recognised the fish as one that 'Froggy' had caught a month or two earlier, and one i dearly wanted. I rang Tommy.. at the same time giving the fish a moment to calm down in the net. Hello!
Where are you? on me way down. Hurry up iv'e got one.
Hurry up? who do you think i am Lord f*ckin Lichfield.. i am not your official photographer you know.
He arrived, we weighed, 25lb 12oz Mirror.. buzzing? absolutely.
Sadly, work has only allowed me to visit twice more for a couple of hours. I hope to still pop on my local water on and off, but have decided to step back onto another water more often over the next few months, and make it my main choice. I have spent many, many hours mulling over my options for a Winter venue, i simply like to be out there in the Winter.
I have spent the last four or five Winters on Smiths, and it will feel strange not stepping back on there this year.. i am stepping back over a decade or more to another venue. They say never go back, overnighters and longer sessions are being planned as i type and i am really excited about returning to one of the best big fish waters in the North.

I will try to update this on a more regular basis over the next few months.. Cheers.

Top read and good angling also.

Nathan.

Thank you.. Reading the excellent account of your exploits gave me the boot up the @rse to fill in my own sparse memoirs.
Well done on the pb.. great times ahead for you young fella.

Thanks mate, great times for you also.

Now that has just put the boot up my ass to start my Autumn/Winter campaign,Good read again Mark,you inspire me to get out there mate!

nice one mate,makes me want to get the rods out...

Quality as usual Tudgie.



Paul, you HAD best get the rods out, as you'll soon be up to your neck in decorating and DIY.

Ads

give us a bell later eagle m8
ill run you through the knotless knot just to refresh your memory

Quality Tudge ...

more please

'Time flies by' are a couple of words i utter frequently.. the Autumn passed by in the blink of an eye.

October
The sense of anticipation quickly changed to a mixed charge of different emotions as we passed through the gates of the Wyreside complex. I had been thinking of nothing else for a week, with the chance to spend a couple of nights on a place that is deeply embedded in my heart.. had me buzzin'.
A warm welcoming handshake from Bob, and a quick rundown on lifes events since my last visit, saw Tommy and myself heading for for the pond. A quick walk round and a chat with a couple of guys that were in fancied swims had us back at the car park dwelling on where we should pitch. Tommy opted for a car park swim which had small patches of weed to it's left, i ventured to the far end which has a bit more depth and a lot more features beneath the surface. It was noticeable how little weed there seemed to be in the lake in comparison to yesteryear. Just after dinnertime, Tommy had a take from the weedbeds and landed a clonking 30lb mirror. First time back on the place in over a decade and lands a peach of a fish on the first day. The first evening past by with out a show up my end of the lake. On the second evening the fish came round a corner of the island, pushing out to the wrist ofthere tails and falling back sending large silver ripples on the black surface in the twighlight. Dusk turned into inky black, and in the dark i stood with Jacko and watched fish tipping out over the bait for over an hour.. As Jacko made he way back to he's swim he said 'give us a shout when you get one' it's a cert.
I was brewing in the dark two hours before daybreak and the odd fish was still rolling periodically over the bait.. How many then? f*ck all. Done my f*ckin head in, they showed all night and into the hot hour... Zilch!!
I begrudgingly packed away at lunchtime and then mentally dissected the show and no action to my rods for a few days and beyond.. Conclusion: After recounting the tale to a few lads that have been on there for a few seasons... this now the norm, hard to accept for me but i will take it as an excuse.
As i said, the Autumn whizzed by.. the firm i work for has expanded rapidly and a move to new premises along with countless long jobs out of the region, i accepted that i wasn't even going to get down the Park for a few hours. I put away the uneasiness and bad temper i had been carrying around because i couldn't find time, and let it go. For the odd night and day session i could only look at the festive holidays.

Two weeks off.. and the freeze hit the North West.

New Year
January2nd 08
I arrived at Wyreside with the view to fish one of the waters that is productive in the Winter, and holds a good head of twenty pound plus fish and a scattering of thirties. I had seen the weather front heading for England, Siberian winds with a wind chill factor of minus six.. Yeah i'll have a bit of that, least there should be a lot of vacant swims. I downed the hill and clocked a few bivvies dotted around, kinnell. I passed a good swim and carried on to the next lake.. empty. The Winter thirty entered my head and i turned round and settled for the empty swim on number one. Allright mate? the guy next door had been there from the following day and informed me that a couple of fish had been out during the night.. it will do for me.
A couple of hours passed by, then the two guys opposite began the largest full scale assault of a lake with a marker rod i had ever witnessed. I shouted over to them how deep it was a foot to the right of my hookbait before the float rose to the surface.. 'Scouse Barry' next door, wasn't happy, i wasn't happy and neither was the Pike guy further down. The Marker twins continued to f*ck up the whole lake until i started to march round.. then i stopped as i got to the bund that splits one and two. I stood and stared at the flat spot out in the ripple on two, then a head popped out and pirouetted as it went down. I ran back to the gear and threw it in the motor.
This is more like it, 14 acres of water to yourself and i had seen a fish. As the afternoon went by the wind increased from a moderate to fresh, and the biting to raw flesh came with it. I had miscalculated my casts, and as dusk fell a couple of fish popped out beyond my baits. In the dark i recieved a text.. You are either hard as nails or simply daft. The wind became one of those that are dreaded.. 'East' begins with a 'B' up here' words that stuck in my mind and had visited me on numerous occasions over the years. It roared through the trees from behind, and i willed it to get stronger to trash the Marker twins that were facing it on the lake next door. I smiled as i poked my eyes out of the bag and watched nature battering everything into it's final submission. I woke to a flat calm and the stars shining and flickering to a strange silence.. the net was white, the unhooking mat shone.. whooh! i'm not even thinkin of having a p*ss.
Experienced minds and all that? how many times have i ran out of the bag without anything on my feet? I pumped the fish unrelentlessly all the way back over a hundred yards all the time trying to get my boots on my feet arrgh! it was painfull.
It rolled in the net and slid on the hooking mat and almost back into the water with out me even seeing it.. allright, i was hurting. The pain in my hands and feet are hard to describe so i will put it in one word.. Agony. I didn't weigh it, it was a lovely looking mirror of around 12lb. I was really happy when i was back in the bag with the kettle on.
I warmed myself up then got back out and recast.
I woke peering through a slit hole in the bag and recounted the events of the early hours over a brew that boiled as i stayed hidden in the warmth. Daylight broke with grey glouds with a pink glow hanging of there bellies. F*ck me it's snowing. I dashed out for lag and as i kicked off the boots to get back in the bag the right hand rod 'toned' Yeah, i was stood with no boots on again playing a fish. I walked backwards and sat down pushing the boots neatly on my feet as i pumped the fish back. The snow became heavy as i neared the fish to the margin, yeah man this is what you dream about, playing fish in a snow storm.
Paul was on brekkie deliveries and had to dip my net that was frozen solid to the deck. Beautiful, large scaled mirror 16lb 3oz. The cold slowly gave way to a glow inside that let me know why i do these things.


Happy New Year.. and may you all land the one you want.

Nicely put Tudge and about time your writing for us again..

Getting the practice in early too i see ...

Bet its was fcuking freezing up there ..

Remember that night in october well.....!

Really did think it was a dead cert...

Spellbound with your adventures Mr,you really do know how to put the reader on the bank with you mate!Damn good angling "HARDCORE STYLEY"

p.s. you have a pm matey

Inspiring stuff more please

Absolutely superb reads, this and "The Triangle."
Why the mags aren't publishing this sort of thing is beyond me... When's the book out?

Unfortunately all the magazines think basic 'how to do it' articles attract more magazine buyers than more in-depth material....

The older Carpworlds/Carp Fisher magazines do make the current crop of pulp look somewhat boring, unimaginative and oh so predictable....

The old BC mags were great too, Paul.

To serialise these 2 blogs in mags would not do them justice. They belong in a book, all the way. Simply superb.

Absolutely agree with that,fantastic reading each time Tudge decides to type his adventures,TOP QUALITY MATE!!!!!

Very good indeed, on the minor topic, the other week I grabbed a Carpworld out of the pile (all very random) and sat and read Blackwater Part 2. Well it made me think.....What the hell has happened to the mag since 1998????(era). I have plenty of time for ads and promotions as these pay bills and wages, but the writing quality has severly decilned. Very good to read these accounts though.