As I sat at school thinking of all things fishy, the thought of an evening session at Blackwood Pool really appealed to me. It was a warm sunny day with little wind - perfect for a spot of floater fishing.

When I got home I had a few things to do before going, and didn't end up on the bank until about 6.15pm. I arrived to see the venue at its best for stalking; still as a 'mill pond' with signs of fish in the margins, so off I set around the lake, to decide which swim I should approach first. I found a group of fish around five minutes later near an inlet pipe around four-feet from the bank, all milling around and taking interest in some surface debris. I stealthily introduced a small number of mixers into the swim and the reaction was just what I had hoped for! The first fish to come across a mixer simply swam along, saw the mixer, tilted up, and as its lips broke the surface a 'SLURP' could be heard as the mixer disappeared and the carp moved onto the next free offering.

I quickly got my rod setup and freelined a single mixer on a size 6 Ashima hook. The mixers were pre-flavoured mixers from PCI, which seemed to work well on the day. Once my tackle was ready I sneaked down the bank and plopped the bait just a few inches ahead of a passing carp in the hope that it would show some interest. Straight away, before I was even ready, the carp came up and 'slurped' at the bait, but missed it. The fish then turned and swam off. Just before I concluded that the fish had spooked, it turned round and came back for more. This time the fish was on the surface for much longer, and once it's lips had closed around my hookbait I bent into the fish and the water exploded before me. The fish tore off towards the dam and I was pleased to have my first carp of the year off the surface, well, hooked at least! After a good five-minute tussle, the carp was wallowing under the rod tip and was soon over the drawstring of my net! It was quite a dark but fat fish and in excellent condition, and as you would guess, I was pleased when it took my scales round to 7lb 10oz.

I popped her back and kneeled with her until she was fully recovered from her powerful fight, and as I did so, I could see a line of bubble's up in the shallows, as a carp 'mooched' through the silt in search of food. I gently walked up to the spot, and the fish was clouding the water up nicely under a tree, the only problem being that it was feeding on the bottom and not the surface! I decided to chance it, and lowered my bait a good couple of feet ahead of the carp, hoping that the lack of depth would entice her to 'nose up' and take my bait. A few minutes later, the bubble's subsided, and the fished moved off, ignoring my bait but making quite a disturbance on the surface. I re-positioned my bait in front of the fish which now seemed quite active in the upper layers. The fish steadily moved towards my bait and again, in typical carp fashion 'slurped' in my hookbait. I bent into it and the fish just felt like a dead weight as it gently plodded off in the shallow water. There was an island in front of me and the fish headed straight past it and into open water. I managed to gain some line and have it within a few inches of the net before it powered off again heading for the open water. This went on for around five-minutes before I bullied her into the waiting net. As I lifted her onto the mat I could identify the fish as a fully-scaled mirror I had seen on the bank a couple of seasons ago. I rattled off a few shots and slipped her back just as the light levels began to fall.

Blackwood Magic: A double-figure fully-scaled mirror

I stuck at it though, and the fish were still very active on the surface. Other species were getting in on the act too, as I spotted a number of roach trying to 'nail' my mixers among the carp. I cast out my hookbait and just sat patiently watching for any signs of carp in the area, and shortly after doing so, a carp showed up, heading straight past me about four feet from the bank. I steadily reeled my bait across the surface, into the path of the oncoming carp, which I could already see as one of the venue 'known fish', a long mirror around 12lb. Upon seeing my bait, this fish too simply couldn't resist and engulfed the bait with it's huge mouth, as I lifted into another hard-fighting carp. This fish played havoc; coming along the surface, then ripping off near tree roots - it really was quite hairy! After an arm-aching tussle the carp was in the net and I was pleased with my evening's work, topped by this fish that went 12lb 4oz on the scales.

A 12lb long and lean fighting machine!

I rattled off a few more photos before releasing her, and phoning my parents for a lift home, as the beautiful sunset came to an end and darkness fell.

Another enjoyable session at Blackwood....