Angling features and news

At 3.35am on Friday 25th January 2008  I smashed my personal best Carp out of sight, the session was not planned and soon the story of how it all came about will be revealed on this page.

“Spur of the moment night session lands me a cracking Carp and PB”

Words by Russ Evans

Photographs by Russ Evans and Scott Maslen

 Angling always amazes me with it’s up and downs plus all the disappointments and surprises but above all it is the unpredictability of the sport that fascinates me no end and I guess every other with piscatorial tendencies. Last Friday morning on the 25^th January at around 3.35am, will be a session that will be etched in my memory banks forever but before I get to that crowning moment allow me to give you the build up of events. Wednesday evening I received a call from one of my fishing buddies Scott Maslen who plays Jack Branning in EastEnders, “Hi Russ I am coming down for a session on the Old Lake will you be there”? “Yes” was my reply, “but I am working mate so cant join you on the bank side unfortunately”.

            The following morning Scott turns up at the tackle shop around 7.40am books in, buys a few bits and pieces for his session and as we are chatting about things in general including our beloved West Ham he say’s “why don’t you fish with me tonight, I have enough room in my bivvy for two plus you can use one of my rods”. Now it doesn’t take too much arm-twisting for me to go fishing and as tempted as I was I decided on the I will think about it approach as of course I was working all day plus the following day as well. As the morning went on the thought of a night session on the lake was getting more and more appealing as of yet I have not managed to find the time to night fish the lake which incidentally is only allowed for syndicate members only and in my Christmas edition article I wrote that I had promised myself a crack at the big carp in the lake. I made the bold decision mid morning to go for it and told Scott accordingly but I was going to have to go home first to pick up my bed chair and proper clothing as the night was going to be slightly frosty.

            A few hours later I arrived back at the fishery at 7.40pm armed with all the necessary gear to keep me warm as well as a hot flask of coffee and two Indian takeaway’s to set us up for the night. Lee Bacon was going to join us for a few hours into the dark and he had already had a low double just before I had arrived so that was encouraging for the night ahead. With meal eaten and all gear in place it was time to settle down to see if the carp were going to play ball and with a full moon on show on a very clear night with no wind around it was going to be a pleasant if not cold night. At 10.15pm I had a run and after a good little scrap a nice 11lbs mirror carp was on the bank, a good start but was that the end of the nights action? Just after midnight Lee reluctantly set off home to bed, as he had to be up early in the morning for work and with no other signs of fish apart from the odd bleep on the alarms to keep us both alert not much else happened until later in the morning. At around 3.15am Scott had a good run on his left hand rod and struck into a fish that kited to his left and after a couple of minutes he parted company as the fish tried to get in amongst the margins. It was disappointing but with hooks rebaited Scott had his bait boat back on the lake and whisked off into the darkness to drop off his baits just at the point of the island.

            Settling back into the bivvy I had just pulled my sleeping bag over me and ready for some sleep when after a minute or so I had a good run on my rod, as I leapt off my bed chair I could see that the hanger had dropped and just as it was coming back up again I struck into what felt like the bottom. As I leant into the rod I could feel a heavy thump, a serious fish was on and as I relayed my news to Scott that it felt a proper fish he was soon by my side with landing net waiting. The fish hugged the lakebed as I gradually gained line and guided the fish towards us, all the time I could feel the thumping on the rod as it was shaking its head. After five minutes or so a swirl was caught in my headlight and it looked big, much bigger than my previous best of 17lbs 15oz, which I caught during a Fish O Mania contest two seasons back. A minute or so later Scott placed the net under the big mirror, job done and as I raced back to the car to get my camera I was trying to guess what weight it would register knowing it well over 20lbs. On my quick return, Scott placed the monster on the unhooking mat and then into a weigh sling, as we hooked the sling onto the scales I was waiting in anticipation of the outcome, 28lbs exactly boomed Scott.

            It smashed my PB out of sight and by the photo you can see it was cracking fish, which was taken on two 14mm hair-rigged Richworth KG1 boilies fished towards the island. Even now the events of that night has not sunk in mainly because the session was not planned on my part and it just goes to show with a bit of effort even on a cold January night, records can be broken and my thanks go to Scott for getting me on the bank with a bit of gentle persuading.

Who knows what will happen when we next get on the bank for another session? a thirty pounder each, I hope so.

Top photo: Russ with his new PB Mirror Carp of 28lbs

Middle photo: Scott relaxes in his bivvy with bait boat primed for action

Bottom photo: Scott with remote control in hand directs his boat towards the island the morning after the nights exciting events

            “Tight Lines”

             Russ Evans

Read the Surrey Mirror or the Dorking Advertiser out on Thursday 7th February 2008 for further news of this story

It may have been unplanned and spur of the moment stuff on a cold frosty night but as you can see it was well worth it and so far in this winter period the 28lbs Mirror is the biggest to come out of the fishery.

The morning after, Scott getting ready to re bait and send out his hook baits via a Procat bait boat, a handy tool at night to use when pin point precision is needed to land a big fish and put those baits right where you want them.

Away it goes heading towards the island to drop off the baits. I must admit I was not a great fan of bait boats until this session but although they are great to use at night I would prefer to cast my baits out during daylight hours and catapult out my loose offerings.

This session has convinced me that I should invest in more carp tackle and this season I will be definately doing some planned night sessions during the course of this year, why? I want to catch a thirty pounder now and I know for a fact that at 37lbs the lake holds plenty of fish well over 30lbs.