The Burping Diary
A summer to remember
After the long bite-less winter of 2007/08 i really was starting to feel the pressures of blanking. Only managing to catch a few smaller carp early spring, it was so very fustrating to watch some other members banking some stunners around me. Fair Play to them tho, i was later to find out it was a product of good angling and anyhow' This was the start of a summer to remember!!!
Yoda with a very rare snow fish, 28lb+ Steve's early season sucsess, 24+
I'll kick this off with the first notable session of the year and try and write a diary style piece as accuratley as i can.
First weekend in May (The Session)
This was the first really decent bit of weather of the year, temps were up into the high teens maybe low 20s and it felt very summery. I ended up droping onto some showing fish in the gate swim and cast out for the night. I lost a fish in the night and landed a 13lb common in the morning. The fish came to the surface in the afternoon for the first time this year so a bit of floater fishing looked on the cards. Most of the day was spent fustratingly trying to get some fish taking off the top, but last thing on the evening i managed a low 20 common just as the light was dropping.
Steve was fishing just around the corner and had also been feeding floating bait and he had a few carp picking off the freebies. The carp infront of me headed steves way and to cut a long story short we were up all night floater fishing. The two of us targeted the fish in ste swim for the night and between us we managed to craft a funky little set-up using isotopes from bobbins and anything elce that we could find that 'glows in the dark' The first blood came to ste with a 23lb common on the little invention and an hour or so later he had a 30lb common on an overdepth Zig. We went to the shop at about 9am to get some more dog bic's as another warm day was enevitable...
An isotope thru a corkball worked nicely 23+ off the Top in the dark
Back from the shops we were both starting to feel proper tired so some shut eye was in order. I cast out 2 Zigs both set at 2ft under the surface and got my head down.
About 3pm i was woken by a stuttery take, after a short but tense fight it was obvious i had one of the big mirrors in the net. Hoisted up he went 36lb 6oz and no doubt one of the real jewels. Two or so hours later the rod was away again, this time the fish gave me a real run about but 10 mins later i had nice mid 20 common in the net.
The cut Tail Common 30+ Mid 20 on a Zig
The Long Mirror 36lb 6oz
I ended that session buzzing like never before and had forgotton about all the blank nights over winter and early spring. I couldn't help but feeling like this was a rare once a year event, especially the night floater fishing bit...
Little did i know...
2nd session in May
Well a bit of a disaster session all round... Steve lost a Very Large Carp at the net from the Hut swim and i lost one in the Fallen Tree swim.
May Bank Holiday
This Weekend coinsided with a big Westerly wind and dull wet and overcast conditions on the menu. With this in mind the East end was the call and a bottom bait attack was the tactic. The first fish came at 8am sat during a heavy rain storm. 25lb leathery mirror was the culprit. It was taken from a deep spot in open water over a few hundred DT Blood n Orange's. I'd just started rolling my own corkballs for the Hinged stiff link and it felt nice to catch on it so i was well chuffed.
A Leathery 25lber Cluster at 28lb
The following day at around the same time in the morning the same rod screamed off and this time resulted in a lovely 28lb mirror. One called Cluster. This again fell to the hinged stiffy and a homemade Blood Orange corkball. The Bank hol Monday was so windy we couldn't fish most of the day but nothing elce occured this session fish wise.
First Session in June
The Weather is once again warm and calm, 12K of mixers in the car and all the other stuff we needed last time is packed and ready...
Arrived late friday to find fish on the surface around the fallen tree and oak swim, mixers were soon flying all over the place. I had a very fustrating first night loosing 2 fish to savage weed beds. Steve had more luck and by the morning had landed 2 on zigs, biggest been over 28lbs.
Low double in the morning Zig caught 28+ Mirror
The next day the weather was crappy with brisk winds and overcast skys, we tried everything to get a chance on the surface but all failed untill last thing on the evenin when the winds died down. I walked up to the Whitworth end with ste policing the rods the other end. within 5 mins i'd seen a couple crash out infront of the gate swim and couldnt belive it that i also managed to get some fish taking off the surface after such dier weather. Anyway we moved round and i managed a 15lb common strait away. Ste managed to get some fish going in front of him on the top so i sat at his to watch the events unfold.
The Floatering was broken by a screaming take from my rod, an epic battle commenced and a good 15 mins later The Rudder was in my net. Never willing to cheat myself it weighed 29lb 15oz of pure power. I lost another a few hours later that was an unstoppable force that destroyed me some 100yards out in the middle of the pit.
The next noteable event happened the following evening, a slow dropback from the back of the island on a bottom bait. I played what felt like a bream all the way to the net and when i went to lift it in i was shocked to find a nice common in the folds. It was 28lb 8oz and the one they call The Tail of Two Halfs.
The Rudder Tail of Two Halfs
2nd Session in June (Red Letter Session)
Well, Most of the session was pretty uneventfull, we got on the fish in the hut and island area and to be honest blew a few good chances on floaters the first night. I did manage to bag the Tail of two Halfs again on a zig the first morning. Crazy eh...
Not alot elce happened untill sunday when the lake went quiet again. I spent the day stalking down the Whitworth end starting right in the far bay. A quick look from up the tree proved my feelings. Most of The Mill's biggies were basking about looking well up for a floater or 10. 1st blood came after singling out a chunky looking common that gave me a 30min battle up to my hips in the drink. Well worth it tho, it went 31lb 14oz and was the stunning Heart Tail Common.
A few hours passed and again i got a chance from the otherside of the bay. This time resulted in a 21lb mirror.
The Heart Tail Common
After Photographing the 21 for me steve went to the shop to pick some grub up and stuff. No sooner had he gone i eyed my next target of a group of fish in the 2nd slope swim just down the bank from me. I cast beyond and drew it back into the pac manning carp, I was soon giving line to a supercharged carp as it ripped across the pond. It wasn't too long untill i had a nice bronze looking mid 20 common in the net. I unhooked it and as i looked up i could see a really big Common taking. Not mucking about i recast beyond it and drew it for an intercept. BANG She took it a good un. After an identical scrap to the last one i had 2 Carp in the net. One a good 10lb bigger than the first and no doubt a PB Common. I unhooked it and as i looked up again i could see steve coming thru the gate. I yelled "get the camera" As he headed off to get it i cast to another fish and it took, no doubt a blunt hook by now no surprise that it came off soon after been hooked. For the records the first was 24lb and the other was 35lb. One hell of a surface brace and one hell of a days angling.
Not wanting to be greedy i was made up for the session, content with my catch, so i had a couple of weeks away from the valley and fished closer to home.
The power of Floater Fishing 2nd half of the brace
The Golden Common 35lb+
During the time away from wellingborough i managed to bag a new biggest common from an old pool by me on the Kingsbury c
omplex. Its only a smallish pool, full of weed and shallow, and i managed to stalk it from close quaters. It was a few ounces over 23lb and one of a few 20s in there. It wasn't long tho till i was once again making plans to hit the mill on the floaters, I'd been out and got glow in dark bits, starlites and a shed load of mixers.
A plan was hatching...
Back to Wellingborough
The first weekend back was early July, unfortunatly it was busy and we couldn't get near the fish so we ended up on the River bank close to the Wier. The Lake didn't get a lookin this week and we ended up mainly fishing the river. It was good fishing, been able to watch the fish on your bait and getting pick-ups. I did manage a low double common and both me and steve lost a fish in the morning 
As Nene Valley as it gets
Two uneventful weekends passed with mainly cloudy and cool weather falling on the sessions, Ste did manage a 17lb common on a bottom bait but it was all quiet from me. With a really hot period of weather on the way mid July and falling on a mid-week day i started to plan a little session on my own with a night floatering attack.
Once in a lifetime session
The Winds were due to switch Easterly and temps set to sore, so on the day of the change i set off for The Mill. I arrived at about 6am to find the lake quiet. The area down the Whitworth end i wanted was free but the wind was still blowing the wrong way. I droped my kit off in the swim anyway and went for a wander with a floater rod. A few hours later i found some carp along the river bank and quickly bagged a 17lb common. The wind slowly but surely switched easterly and it was about 4 pm when the fish started to really turn up in numbers infront of my swim. As usual it was tricky in the day to tempt them to take a hookbait but as the light started to fade at 8.30 the 2nd made its mistake. A 22.10 common.
17lb 22lb 10oz
The fish were really going yampy by now and nearly fully dark so i switched to the nitelite set-up and white hookbaits. Almost strait away i was playing a spirited fish that turned out to be a 28+ mirror. After photographing it and sorting my head out a bit i was trying again.
The fish were taking the mixers out in the middle a bit out of range but every so often a fish wound come pac manning up and down my margins. It was approching midnight when a managed to get that fish to take a hookbait and after a short bream like fight i was looking at a huge grey common in my net. I ran and got jake who was set up a fair way away and fair play to him came and helped weigh and graph a new PB 38lb 8oz Common. After that i put the rod up the bivvie and went to bed with no rods in the water.
(28lb 8oz) Nightime Floater Fishing (38lb 8oz)
I awoke next morning to hot sunny conditions, albeit a bit more choppy than yesterday. I opted to put a single Zig out and set up my spare net to take to the next swim to do a bit of floater fishing. I missed a few takes off the top throughout the morning and afternoon but at 3pm whilst standing in the next swim the zig was away. The fish fought like no other and it took both me and jake up to our weists in water to land it. It was a long mirror that i didn't recognise that turned out to be the lakes biggest mirror down in weight. At 31lb 14oz i wasn't complaining, still, i'd managed to brace the Big Common and Two Tone!!!
Two Tone at 31lb 14oz
The rest of the day was spent over a Jakes drinking tea and giving all my little floater secrets away. I couldn't believe my luck, 5 fish. I could have gone home happy enough with that but i didn't. Instead i went and cast a single zig out just on nightfall, it was in 45 mins when it was away with a 22lb common. After that the wind started changing Westerly again for the weekend, just as the weather man forecast. I had a good nights sleep and woke the next morning to pack up and went home.
When i got home and after looking at the photo's on the laptop i couldn't resist having a check on the weather. Blimey i thought, Its set to get hot Monday and Tuesday again. I pulled a stroke or 5 over the weekend and monday i was once again heading down the motorway with a Floater attack in mind.
I arrived again to find it nice and quiet, in fact i was the only one on the lake. I headed to the same swim as last time to find the fish already there and begging for it. A floater set up was banged together and the catty was cracking mixers all over the Whitworth end. I strait away noticed a fish called The Pretty Mirror, obvious because of its colour and one i dearly wanted to catch. I got her cornered and feeding on mixers quite easly, an impressive eater of mixers she is too. After 3 missed takes i finaly nailed her, her first run was incrediable! she did a 60yard run with her back out the water across the whole Whitworth bay. Lets just say i got quite wet as she kited on a tight line and had to fight my way through 40yards of reeds to net her. She weighed 33lb 14oz, a truly Stunning Carp.
The Pretty Mirror
It must have been an hour and i was in again, with another good fight and the obligitory drenching i had a 25lb 4oz two tone mirror in the net. I had'nt even taken my bivvy off the barrow and a bit of a thunderstorm was brewing. I sorted the kit out and sat out the storm in the bivvy feeling quite chuffed with myself to say the least.
The rain from the storm must have chilled the lake temp a bit because i found i quite hard to get a chance after. I opted to fish the Zig for the day an take it easy planning to hit it proper after dark. The Zig sang its song twice in the evening once with a foul hooked common that i slipped back and again by a 21 mirror just as it got fully dark. Another storm pushed through on the night and the fish never really gave me another chance that session. I packed away the next morning and headed home.
25lb 4oz 21lb