Boothsmere Uncut: Part 3 - The Long Session

The weekend could not come round quick enough, I knew where the common was feeding and I just had to get back up there. With a little reorganisation at home I managed to get back on Booths by the Wednesday morning just 50 or so hours after leaving. On arriving I found I had the place to myself. Elated I crept down to tench corner and proceeded to set up way back from the swim, whilst doing this I saw a few fish cruising at range, it was going to go off I thought. I was here till Sunday, it had to go off! Two rods out and one for the common as usual, saw me settling in. Within twenty minutes of casting I had a screamer! I hit the rod and it arced over, the fish stripped line and took some stopping, eventually I turned it and guiding it towards the bank and a waiting net. On to the mat it went, again a mirror with few scales, at first glance I thought I had caught ‘no name’ but realising that there was no black eye I had a different fish, at 24lb 3oz she went into the sack whilst I got myself sorted. I had recently purchased a digital camera and this was to be the first capture since doing so. All ready and the fish went up in my arms; click-click and all was done, a quick check of the photos, perfect, and away she went, not the common, but what the hell, a lovely looking fish. This I later found out was ‘Barbed Wire’ at a good weight. She was carrying a good amount of spawn in her belly.

As the day wore on it became obvious that most of the fish seemed preoccupied with the yearly rituals of spawning, I was a little gutted as I thought that was going to be it.  Many fish were starting to show in the little bay on the back wall. That was enough for me; I quickly reeled in, grabbed my surface fishing kit and marched around. This area is where nearly all the mosquitoes and midges in the world seem to like to live. Within minutes I was being eaten alive. I got up on my feet and started to have a good mooch round the margins, trying to find a fish. Whilst doing so I started to scatter surface baits all around this end of the lake, with this heat wave on I was sure a take would be coming off the top, if only I could persevere with it. Onto the boards I went armed with a rod, mat, dog biscuits and net. All day I continued to pour baits in with only the occasional fish showing interest in them (but lots of mozzies taking a serious interest in my head, face and arms,) slurping down one after the other, but not the hook bait. This was going to be harder than I thought. They were too busy cavorting with each other to show a great deal of interest, but nevertheless I slogged away in the heat of the afternoon sun. Hours later dejected, I made my way off the boards and back to my kit. Chris arrived soon after asking if anything was showing, I told him of my capture and showed him the pictures on the camera, but kept my surface fishing knowledge to myself. Having seen so many fish on the far bank I decided to give up tench corner to him and haul my ass over to the back wall, for the night, sure I was going to catch.

On arrival I saw that what must have been the entire carp population were now in the bay spawning heavily. I persevered with the surface baits but could not get a take. All evening they kept it up, right in front of my nose, even during the hours of darkness I could here them thrashing the water to a foam. After putting up with a large shoal of ‘tinca’s’ all night, I was knackered and in serious need of sleep. At first light I wandered into the bay to see that all the fish were still at it. Out went a few pouches of dog biscuits and up came a few fish, slurping away at the baits. I overcast the fish and excitedly drew my hook bait into the area, they ignored it. Shortly after this a chap arrived who Ritchie had gone to France with the winter before, he saw what was happening and instantly set up a surface rod. Within minutes he had had a take and landed a fish just over 19 lbs known as the ‘Speckled Hen’ she was bursting with spawn, and therefore handled with extra special care, quickly photographed and back she went to be immediately courted by some smaller simo’s. Within no time this bloke had another fish on the bank, an ‘ocean’ fish, at around 15lbs. I was made up to see they were having it, but when was it going to be my turn. These felt like they were my fish, I had got them going on the baits and now he was catching them all.

I moved tighter into the bay near the drain point and cast my bait tight to the overhanging trees, in no time at all a fish rose and slurped my bait in, I struck, the line parted and out bolted the fish into the main body of the lake, followed by its suitors. I could have cried, instead a smoke and a brew was in order. By late morning I was as sunburned as you can possibly get, two days in this strong sun, with little or no sleep, and I was exhausted. I heard a crash to my left and saw that this bloke was into another, this time it was ‘Scar tail’ again at 22lbs exactly. That is it! I was furious and back to it I went. I swung my baited hook towards the tree, where I had lost the other fish and crouched into the long grass. With the lilies alongside me on the right I knew if I did have a take I would not be letting it go anywhere near them. Slurp, away went the bait into a rather large mouth, up went the rod and I was finally in! Off it went steaming away, trying to get into the trees, not a big fish I thought, till it changed direction and steamed into the pads, there was little I could do to stop it. I locked up my clutch to stop it taking line and let the rod take all the strain, the fish wallowed and I caught a glimpse of scales, yes I thought I’ve caught the smaller common, known to be about 17lbs, I felt a little disappointed even though this could still be my personal best common. The bloke was alongside me with the net waiting as I turned the fish again, it tried to gain cover under the trees but to no avail, I wasn’t going to let it get in there. She rolled onto my line and with a grating feeling gradually came over the front of the net. “It’s the big common” he said, I went to pieces, dropping the rod and dancing round in circles. Elation wasn’t the word; I cried a tear of happiness.

Photos done, the common weighed in at a staggering 27lbs 4oz! Yessss. She was mine at last. Away she swam out of the bay to be courted again 40 yards or so out. I collapsed on my bed and gave up. Job jobbed. All my life I had dreamed of catching a big common. Now I had just smashed my personal best common by about 10lbs. If another fish was never to grace my net I would not have cared at that time. Phone calls had to be made, Ritchie was the first and rightly so, he had been there with me all the way, and I just wished he could have been there at the time.  As I spoke to him over the phone I was looking at the camera images in my hand with a grin on my face that would have made the Cheshire cat proud. Phone calls home and then texts to a few matey’s. A kettle and a smoke later and the phone would not stop beeping with messages of congratulations coming in. I was in a mess.

Sun bearing down on me I cleaned myself up and lay back trying to sleep. Impossible. That night I put all my rods onto the rests with the rigs in the eyes. Confident the carp wouldn’t be feeding yet, as they were still spawning, I wasn’t putting baits out for the tench tonight. I needed sleep.  Since the battle with, and the capture of the common, most of the fish had moved along the reed bed towards tench corner. Chris had seen this and moved his baits accordingly. Good angling. I slept most of the night but awoke to the sound of a text coming through off Chris. It stated that the fish were all over the place in front of him and to come and get a piece of it! I don’t think I’ve ever wrapped up so quickly. I was with him in about 20 minutes watching fish crash and roll all over the rafts of hornwort. Big scale rolled about 15 yards out, that was it for me, out went some biscuits and up came some fish. A bait was flicked out, but again they didn’t really show any interest in the hook bait but would feed on the freebies. I changed down in hook size and recast. Immediately Big scale came up surrounded by half a dozen Simo’s, she slurped and away went the bait into her cavernous mouth. Up went the rod and round went the spool, she took off on a very short run. She was banked inside 5 minutes, this due to her probably being worn out, from the last few days cavorting. If she hadn’t looked so much bigger than the last time I had banked her a month earlier, I would not have weighed her in her condition. Very carefully we unhooked her and I was ecstatic, could she go 30lb?  Not quite as it happens just short at a weight of 29lb 12 oz, who cares, what a fish. I went to phone Ritchie, then thought better of it, he would be here in a few hours anyway and I didn’t want to do his head in, I had just caught two out of three of both our target fish in just under 20 hours. Wow!

Chris and I both slogged away at the remaining fish that were showing but neither of us could buy a take. Ritchie arrived and I spilled the beans to him, he was made up for me, that was obvious, but I could tell he was a little gutted as the odds of him catching these fish now grew even less, certainly for this weekend. Chris wrapped and said his goodbyes, leaving us with a handful of fish still in the area taking the occasional dog biscuit off the top. It would be early evening when Ritchie had a nice mid double ’ocean’ fish off the top. I followed this with a grey speckled fish of 17lb 3oz at about 8 o’clock and then a mirror of 15lb 2oz with half a tail at about 8.30pm. An amazing weekend. I fished through till Saturday evening with nothing more other than a few tench to around 5lbs for my troubles. Even though I had 24 hours of my session left I called it a day. Enough is enough, I was wasted, burnt to a crisp and eaten alive. I wonder what the mozzies eat when I’m not there?

Phil Wain