Hello all you Carpers out there as you have read previously I have been blanking on a regular basis.
I’ve been trying different rigs, gravel, sports silt beds etc: anyway I decided to try the washed out boilies approach as I mentioned earlier in this section.
Well has you know blanking is all part of carp fishing and I hadn’t had a fish out for at least 6 weeks and I had been fishing mainly on average 2 nights a week arriving at the lake at around 7.00pm and leaving at 6.00am to go to work as I use weekends for family and socializing.
.JPG)
I arrived at the lake 7 o’clock on the Wednesday evening as I was setting up it started to rain. When the rain stopped I saw a few fish moving so I put in a bit more bait than I normally do say around 1 ½ kg round 20 freebies scattered around 20 square metres.
That night I blanked what a surprise nothing showed that day either; that next evening I put a kilo of mainline pulse over the washed out mainline N R G so it would look like another angler had turned up in my swim and used washed out N R G as hook bait as I had planned to do previously in this section.
Nothing happened till around 2am as I got up to relieve myself I just looked at my rods in despair and said come on you buggers and the middle rod gave 2 bleeps and off it went.
I stumbled down the bank grabbed the rod and picked it up.
This fish was going full steam by now I fought like a daemon, I got it around the other rods with out disturbing them, and into the net and amazingly the middle rod that was about 10 yards away from this one was away, yes! I was away again, this was a big fish but, I was too worried about the previous fish in the net and let this one go solid in a snag and lost the bugger, well I weighed the fish at 26.14 lb, wicked. I popped it in the sack and settled back to sleep.
Around 3.30 am the right hand rod roared off and I was into what felt a heavier fish after a good scrap it was in the net without looking I lifted him up and it felt like a 30 and low
and be hold it was the half liner at 34 lb I was buzzing!!
As I had only one sack with me I had to put two in the same sack but they where fine together, not wanting to leave them in the sack for too long I made my way around to my old mate of fishing past roll dragged him out of bed for some photos which was very good off him to be of assistance returned the fish and went back to bed feeling relieved and very contented what a result ha ha!! So washed out baits can be very effective on hard waters I’ve just proved it so give it ago.
Well I’ve had a little break from the hard fishing and been fishing the lake next door to Broadwater which is stuffed full of carp ranging from 8lb to around 23lb.
I have just recently got hold of a VW camper van which is ideal for fishing this lake in the cold winter months and the best advantage is my daughter Amy can fish with me and be warm at night when temperatures can drop below freezing at this time of year. .JPG)
On the first session I intended to clear out the cupboards and freezer of any unwanted bait, I came out with around kilo of mixed boilies consisting mainly of shellfish bs and mainly pulse and N.R.G which are good quality baits.
It was the first night fishing in the camper and me an Amy were very excited about our bivvy on wheels, well we finally arrived at the lake parked it up 10 yards from the water edge it was perfect and proceeded to plum the area and found part of the main gravel bar that runs diagonally to nearly the other end bar of the lake.
Behind this part of the bar I found a dying weed bed which can still hold a lot of natural
food at this time of the year coz there hadn’t been any frost as it was only mid November.
We had cast one rod just off the bar and near the weed bed, one on the main bar and one in the margin.
I hadn’t cast the third rod out and the one on the main bar was off Amy was a jammy little bugger. She did really well and landed it herself a 14 pounder but that was the first fish of many, we fished the lake every Saturday night for 3 weeks and ended up with over 40 fish up to 17lb between us.
.JPG)
During the week I would put the odd night in on Broadwater with no success as it is very hard water but that didn’t last forever.
A week later I managed to get out again for 2 nights and used the same method and lost a good fish, the first night and next afternoon I bagged half tail at 26lb 2oz wicked!!
Christmas was out the way along with the New Year and the day after New Year I was at the lake.
The weather was very mild for the time of the year mild enough that the South Westerly wind should push some fish into the bay which is quite shallow between 3 and 4 feet deep with plenty of drying weed and reed beds, so this place warms up quick in these conditions and can be full of natural food as we haven’t had any hard frost as yet.
Me being lazy fished out of the camper it does make life easier as I’m allowed to fish this
swim at night only with my camper parked there. Well there I was trying to get 3 rods out 
before dark. Lets say I got there in the end one rod in the gap to stop anything swimming through it; one on the tree roots and one on the reeds.
About 2 hours later the tree roots rod was bleeping like mad, bobbin going up and down which meant the fish was shacking its head trying to eject the hook Damn! MISSED IT!! The rubber on the hair had blown over the knot fewer knots which means the bugger had got away with it.