I was going sea fishing this week… We had a trip booked, I’d bought new tackle, ordered the appropriate bait, and was all set for an early start to travel to Fleetwood in Lancashire to board the boat with some friends, and enjoy a day at sea; lovely. Then it was cancelled. The day before. I know a sea fishing trip is always at the mercy of the weather, but I was especially disappointed to miss out on this one, so disappointed in fact, I went fishing to get over it!

In truth, the bad news arrived just as I pulled up at the lake in search of a few carp. I’d just got out of the van when the phone pinged, so was in a foul mood as I barrowed my stuff across to the waterside. In the holdall, I’d got a couple of rods which needed to be photographed, so silently set them up, mixed some groundbait, attached a method feeder and positioned the bait. Still feeling fed up, I set the camera on its tripod, then watched as the bobbin flew up, the alarm squealed, and the first carp of the day was hooked. Good. I could get some ‘rod bending’ shots, then pack up and go home to sulk…

A double figure mirror hit the mat, which was quickly followed by a similarly sized common, then another mirror. I decided to stay until I’d used up my bowl of bait, so continued to drop the method feeder in, and pick off fish after fish. With the exception of a couple of bream, I landed nothing but double figure carp. It may be a little presumptuous to say so, but my life… it was boring fishing! I definitely felt as though I had returned to my recent rut, so the following day, I decided to try a completely new club lake.

Black Lake is a small secluded pool set amongst farmland. Its quiet, tree lined, and looks ‘right’. I had little idea what may reside within, however I had noted a few bream pictured on social media, so set up a cage feeder, slipped on a pre-tied hooklink with a size 16 hook, and added a couple of maggots. My groundbait was Spotted Fin Carp Super Blend, a general purpose mix which is easy to get right, and to which I added a handful of Catalyst pellets (bream love pellets!) and a small amount of hemp to cover all bases. A few quick casts got some bait in, and I dropped a baited rig on the spot to see what would find it and sat back to enjoy a brew.

After an hour, a barely perceptible quiver of my sensitive carbon tip alerted me to my first bite, which proved to be a roach of an ounce or so, not big, but at least it was progress. The weather soon turned from bright and sunny to much colder with a brisk wind rippling the lake, and after overnight rain, I wondered if I was going to catch much else. A second bite saw a perch of matching proportions to the roach, so that was two fish for two ounces… match winner! I kept plugging away, casting every ten minutes to keep the bait going in, and eventually I got a much better bite; the slow pull of a bream, and a fish of around two pounds came to the net. The next cast bought the same result, as did the next half a dozen, as bream after bream tripped up over the hook bait. It was soon time for another brew, and as I reached down to top up my mug, out of the corner of my eye, I noted the ‘tip fly around and the rod was wrenched off the rest!

Kicking my tea everywhere, I grabbed the rod, and felt a much better fish. My light 3lb hook link was going to be well stretched during this fight, but luckily, my clutch was set to slip early…just in case! I gently played the carp to the net, and was delighted to find a beautifully dark, plump fish of around six pounds on the mat which had fought far harder than its modest weight might suggest! I sat for about four hours, slowly getting colder as the autumn weather blew wind and rain at me, before a phone call suggested a visit to McDonalds with my grandsons; an infinitely more attractive proposition…

I loaded the van, happy with a few nice fish from an unknown water, especially after witnessing another angler turn up, fish for less than an hour without a bite and pack up again, so I gathered I must have been doing something right. I’ll return again I think, as I’ve also heard rumours of pike, but for now, I’m looking forward to a trip abroad again, though without a fishing rod unfortunately, but I need something to cheer me after a cancelled sea fishing trip! I’ll be back soon, so tight lines until then…