Shit happens

After what feels like a millennium, I've finally got a week off work and the chance to wet a line. I started the break with a trip over to Farlows Lake near Iver in Bucks with my bestie Chris. The whole week had been planned out to precision with two venues linked up to spend a whole 10 days away. Unfortunately the day before we were due to leave I had a call to say that we had been double booked on the second usually exclusive venue and the week was out. Gutted but Chris and I made the best of the shit situation and left at 5am Wednesday morning for the 3 hour drive to London. 

We were greeted by a very busy venue with just a small handful of the least popular swims free. We spent 2 hours walking round and discussing our limited options. After lots of deliberating we decided to fish lake 2 and acquired swim 12 which is a large double occupancy swim with the most water coverage and the open water to a big gravel area mid lake. 

We had a chat with Fishery Manager and good mate Charlie before setting out. In all honesty neither of us were feeling very confident but we cracked on with things and got the van unloaded in the swim and started to get set up for the 3 nights ahead. 

We'd just got our bivvys up when Chris out of the blue told me he'd forgotten 2 ruck sacks which contained all his end tackle, head lamps, buzzers etc....What a nightmare! 

We took a walk round to the Tackle Shop on site and he had to purchase some new alarms and a few essentials for the week. The rest I lent him. We got some rigs tied and some bait out to the bar at 16 wraps with a spomb. 

A 5kg mix consisting of pellets, particle and boilies of mixed shapes, sizes, flavours and colours was carefully cast out to the spot and 2 rods each placed on the money. Chris and I also placed a rod in the nearside margins too. 

Chris was first up to get a run and his middle rod was away to the bar. A very strong take that unfortunately ended with not connecting with the fish. He was again away though a few minutes later on his margin rod and a great close quarters fight ensued with a stunning Colne Valley Mirror of 19lbs gracing his net. 

We both then had large bream before settling in for the evening session. We both spombed a good quantity of around 5kg of just boilie in at tea time after a few more bream had been on the spot. We decided to leave the particle and pellet out of the equation using a boilie only approach.

 

We settled in for a rather quiet nights fishing with nothing more than a couple of bream for our efforts. A recast was made around 9am and shortly after I had my first proper take of the week on the middle rod. 

A real screamer of a take.....The fish fought slow and heavy all the way in to the left margin where it spent a few minutes trying to snag me up. It finally left the area but the fight now felt rather stranger than before???? 

I was now attached to two fish rather than one! Chris netted the carp for me and behind it there was now a large bream attached as well via a rig it was trailing. It turns out that the bream had been snagged up in the margin and the carp plough through the area picking up the rig and freeing it from it's tethered trap. We dealt with the offending bream and then set our sights on weighing and photographing the lovely 26lb common now on my mat. 

A couple more bream found the net before another lovely long common graced the net around 5pm that evening. Chris was really struggling to get through the bream and it seemed like the only spot really producing the carp was my middle and left hand rod to the bar. This became apparent as at 18.30pm I had yet another strong take landing a stunning double figure Mirror carp. We had a bite to eat and sat back with a cider and some good banter watching the new series of Monster Carp on ITV with Dovey and Spooner.....I have to say, what a great production and one of my favourite TV shows of the modern era. Well done guys, excellent tv for the masses. 

Chris retired to bed around 11pm and we settled down for the night. Around midnight my left hand rod was away with a great scrapping carp yet again....Another scaley one found the net and I grabbed a few pics before once again settling down for some well earned zzzzz's. Sleep was not on the agenda though in the fishes mind as bream after bream ensued! At 2.45am I finally received a proper take and bagged one of the best looking mirrors of the session at 23lb 9oz. 

I slipped her back and tried my hardest to get some sleep amongst yet more bream for both of us throughout the early hours. I had a lost fish due to a cut off at 11am on Friday morning....I think this was almost certainly due to the huge numbers of very sharp swan mussels present on the bottom of the lake bed. The line had been damaged badly and I actually lost a couple of rigs on the cast due to snap offs. The last carp of the session came mid afternoon in near 30 degree heat and was again a very very pretty mirror! 

As the afternoon progressed the bream became incessant again and so did the amount of anglers and visitors to the venue! We had a party going on in the swim next to us with dogs, beer, loud radios and generally ruining the vibe behaviour going on. Vehicle after vehicle flowed behind us and endless people asking how long we were staying for. 

It got to a point where both Chris and I had literally had enough and we decided to pack up and head home a day early. 

A great shame to be honest as the fish in the venue are beautiful and only spoilt by the visiting hoards of numb nuts, many not even fishing! I'm looking at this weeks weather and formulating a few ideas for the weeks fishing and may mix it up a little with some varied types of fishing. We'll see what the week has in store! Tight lines all

Keith x