Si-fly
Well-known member
I hope this is the right section?
I don't normally fish freshwater, but I was missing my fishing on holiday so booked 2 days at this amazing lake just 20 mins down the road.
Fishing, was 7am-7pm, but after arriving and sorting stuff out it was about 0830 before I got a bait out.
I was getting a fair few line bites which were promising, then had a run after a couple of hours, which unfortunately stopped as I struck
Oh well, fresh baits went out.... 12mm boilies on sz 6 carp hooks.
More baiting up and nothing else till my lunch turned up and then the right rod started twitching... I picked it up and could feel small pulls on the line!!... Bloody typical minute I get my lunch..... I wound down and hit it...... WOW!!.. I'd hooked it and whatever it was, wasn't very happy!
It started to strip line at a hell of a rate... 80lb braid to a 50lb hook link.... I don't fish heavy braid so wasn't sure how much pressure I could apply, but I kept increasing it, and it made no difference
The fish went up the lake, past the lad to my right, then went round a corner and continued up the lake past another angler before it decided to take a rest!!... Crazy.
Luckily for me one of the lads that helps net the fish for you swam out and acted like a pivot for the line to keep it out the bushes/trees on the corner it went round.
As it rested I started to slowly gain line and it came back out to the center of the lake and finally back in front of me at about 80y.
All this time my heart was racing.... I'd never had a fight like this, and I could only dream what size it might be. There are some real monsters in this lake.... Makes things super exciting
Anyway, it started going left towards a bank, and I slowly gained a few more meters of line... Confidence was building and I tightened the drag a bit more.
Um..... Maybe not a great idea as the fish turned and for a second time headed right, up the lake...... And it kept going, past the lad on my right, round the corner, and up past the next guy again!!... Once round the corner I couldn't see anything, just the line pouring off the reel, and the lad out in the lake a 2nd time.... Poor bugger, he was earning his cash today
.
Eventually it stopped and slowly it repeated the previous path back to my left, as I gained some line.
The fish was now doing shorter and shorter runs 60y,40y, 30y etc.... And after an hour of hell, I had it close.... But it didn't like the net..... Bugger just go in I thought!
And after a few tries it was in.... Oh relief is an understatement, and soon was replaced with sheer joy, buzzing I was.
What a fish it was too, one of the bigger Carp in the lake.. Estimated at 140lb+....it was huge, I could hardly get an arm round it to grab a fin for the pics!!
I was hanging, but no time to waste, out went fresh baits
A few hours later, I had a screaming take, and another great scrap, my poor arms were hanging, but maybe after 30 mins this time I had no2 in the net....around 70lb.
No more bites after that... And a welcome trip to the bar!
Day 2
I got there at 0630 and put a bed of bait out, ready for a 7am cast.
All quiet till 10ish then a nice run and scrap from another nice fish.... This felt different, as was almost in when disaster... Hook pull... Fook
This time I had slime on the hook link and the lad said Mekong catfish.... Ah bugger I wanted one of those
Very few of these had been caught lately so when the lad next to me then had one around 80lb 20 mins later I did wonder if it was the same fish?
Anyway baits back out and all quiet till after lunch, when I hooked a crazy fish that powered up the lake and across to the other side giving a lad on that side a run.... Lucking he heard the shouting and didn't strike.
This fish took about 120y off a tight drag before it stopped, but unlike the first big girl, that was its only mental run, and the next 30 mins fight was within 60y or so.
Turned out to be another fish in the 60 range with a massive tail!
After that it was quiet, and come 5pm I changed one rod over to a fish bait along the margin. Hopefully I'd find something different.
30 mins later the fish rod screamed off, and again a heavy weight fish was attached
It was going through my head what it might... All these different monsters in here.... Could be any of them!
It definitely felt heavy and slow, then it kept hitting the bottom, and eventually it held fast.... Solid!.... Shit I thought snag?...... No said the lads.... Must be a stingray
Didn't expect that... They are a rare catch I believe.
Anyway I was convinced it was big, and it took a lot of force and patience to slowly drag it in with it stuck fast under the rod tip in 6ft of water.
Finally it came free and popped up..... I was amazed..... It wasn't that big..... Must have really sucked down in the mud.... Crazzzy!
That was it, my lasts fish, the sun set and it was time for a last cider and back to our hotel.
What a fab couple of days.... I'll never forget!
Cheers Si.
I don't normally fish freshwater, but I was missing my fishing on holiday so booked 2 days at this amazing lake just 20 mins down the road.
Fishing, was 7am-7pm, but after arriving and sorting stuff out it was about 0830 before I got a bait out.I was getting a fair few line bites which were promising, then had a run after a couple of hours, which unfortunately stopped as I struck
Oh well, fresh baits went out.... 12mm boilies on sz 6 carp hooks.
More baiting up and nothing else till my lunch turned up and then the right rod started twitching... I picked it up and could feel small pulls on the line!!... Bloody typical minute I get my lunch..... I wound down and hit it...... WOW!!.. I'd hooked it and whatever it was, wasn't very happy!
It started to strip line at a hell of a rate... 80lb braid to a 50lb hook link.... I don't fish heavy braid so wasn't sure how much pressure I could apply, but I kept increasing it, and it made no difference
The fish went up the lake, past the lad to my right, then went round a corner and continued up the lake past another angler before it decided to take a rest!!... Crazy.
Luckily for me one of the lads that helps net the fish for you swam out and acted like a pivot for the line to keep it out the bushes/trees on the corner it went round.
As it rested I started to slowly gain line and it came back out to the center of the lake and finally back in front of me at about 80y.
All this time my heart was racing.... I'd never had a fight like this, and I could only dream what size it might be. There are some real monsters in this lake.... Makes things super exciting
Anyway, it started going left towards a bank, and I slowly gained a few more meters of line... Confidence was building and I tightened the drag a bit more.
Um..... Maybe not a great idea as the fish turned and for a second time headed right, up the lake...... And it kept going, past the lad on my right, round the corner, and up past the next guy again!!... Once round the corner I couldn't see anything, just the line pouring off the reel, and the lad out in the lake a 2nd time.... Poor bugger, he was earning his cash today
.Eventually it stopped and slowly it repeated the previous path back to my left, as I gained some line.
The fish was now doing shorter and shorter runs 60y,40y, 30y etc.... And after an hour of hell, I had it close.... But it didn't like the net..... Bugger just go in I thought!
And after a few tries it was in.... Oh relief is an understatement, and soon was replaced with sheer joy, buzzing I was.
What a fish it was too, one of the bigger Carp in the lake.. Estimated at 140lb+....it was huge, I could hardly get an arm round it to grab a fin for the pics!!
I was hanging, but no time to waste, out went fresh baits
A few hours later, I had a screaming take, and another great scrap, my poor arms were hanging, but maybe after 30 mins this time I had no2 in the net....around 70lb.
No more bites after that... And a welcome trip to the bar!
Day 2
I got there at 0630 and put a bed of bait out, ready for a 7am cast.
All quiet till 10ish then a nice run and scrap from another nice fish.... This felt different, as was almost in when disaster... Hook pull... Fook
This time I had slime on the hook link and the lad said Mekong catfish.... Ah bugger I wanted one of those
Very few of these had been caught lately so when the lad next to me then had one around 80lb 20 mins later I did wonder if it was the same fish?
Anyway baits back out and all quiet till after lunch, when I hooked a crazy fish that powered up the lake and across to the other side giving a lad on that side a run
.... Lucking he heard the shouting and didn't strike.This fish took about 120y off a tight drag before it stopped, but unlike the first big girl, that was its only mental run, and the next 30 mins fight was within 60y or so.
Turned out to be another fish in the 60 range with a massive tail!
After that it was quiet, and come 5pm I changed one rod over to a fish bait along the margin. Hopefully I'd find something different.
30 mins later the fish rod screamed off, and again a heavy weight fish was attached
It was going through my head what it might... All these different monsters in here.... Could be any of them!
It definitely felt heavy and slow, then it kept hitting the bottom, and eventually it held fast.... Solid!.... Shit I thought snag?...... No said the lads.... Must be a stingray
Didn't expect that... They are a rare catch I believe.
Anyway I was convinced it was big, and it took a lot of force and patience to slowly drag it in with it stuck fast under the rod tip in 6ft of water.
Finally it came free and popped up..... I was amazed..... It wasn't that big..... Must have really sucked down in the mud.... Crazzzy!
That was it, my lasts fish, the sun set and it was time for a last cider and back to our hotel.
What a fab couple of days.... I'll never forget!
Cheers Si.
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..... But cheers mate.... Beasts they certainly were 
