March 30 - Royal Berkshire
Time to start carp fishing again and a good way to get back in the swing is to fish a water that's not too large, has a good head of carp that are wary but will respond to good fishing techniques. Royal Berks is such a place. It is the first place we went when we began fishing two years ago, and we still like to go there now and then. The lakes are small, but mature, with lovely scenery and, for me, lots of water fowl to photograph.
Moorhen displaying white flashing, a warning signal to other Moorhens
We put out ledger lines and settled down to wait. It wasn't long before Steve's bite alarm went off and we had the first carp of the day. There seems to be a strain of fish in this lake that has a peculiar 'snub nosed' appearance. The first time we caught one we thought it was just a one off, perhaps damaged when it was young. However, we have caught several more with the same peculiarity, so it seems to be genetic. Our first catch was one of these little "bull dog" carp as we call them.
No. 1 - little Mirror Carp
For those of you not familiar with Carp there are three varieties found in most stocked lakes. The Common Carp is a natural fish and has normal scales and patterns. The Mirror Carp has large scales, and can be fully scaled, partially scaled, or linear. Linear is when there is a single line of scales, usually along the lateral line, from head to tail. The third variety is a Leather Carp, to all intents and purpose it is scaleless. There are also two other species of carp, the Grass Carp and the Crucian Carp. I believe Royal Berks has some Crucians stocked but we've never landed one.
Steve's bite alarm went again and he reeled in a fantastic Mirror. Lovely golden color and pretty scales.
No. 2 - a very pretty Mirror Carp
I was beginning to think this would be one of my "fishing, not catching" days so I passed the time watching the water fowl, and snapped a few photos. There was one "mongrel mallard", a hybrid of some sort. He was pretty though. I recall reading somewhere that Mallards are the ancestors of all domestic ducks. That's why, I suppose, one so often sees these hybrids in rural areas; the Mallards cross breed with local farmyard domestic ducks.
"Mongrel Duck"
A pair of Canada Geese were hanging around. We don't mind them. Unlike Swans, Canada Geese are careful of fishing lines and aren't much of a bother unless you are using floating bait. Most water birds will go after food floating on the water surface, and it is not a pretty sight to have one on the end of your line. Royal Berkshire doesn't allow floating bait for that reason: they are fond of their water fowl population and do not want to risk harm to them.
Canada Goose
My patience was finally rewarded and my bite alarm sounded. Soon enough I had my fish on the landing mat, a beautiful Common Carp. Steve holds my fish up for me, for photographs, as I don't trust myself not to drop them.
No. 3 - A Nice Common Carp
After holding it up, Steve decided to weigh it. It wasn't a monster, but it was a double figure fish, a tad over 11 lbs; two pounds short of my personal best which was another nice Common here at Royal Berks.
Checking the weight of my Common Carp
We didn't have long to wait before Carp No. 4 was kiting around the lake on the end of Steve's line.
No. 4 - a fully scaled little Mirror Carp
I seem to have an affinity for Common Carp... or they for me... because I soon had another one on the mat. I have to say that I find the Common Carp much nicer than the Mirrors. They are natural fish, lovely in every aspect of their appearance whereas the Mirrors look like the mutants that they are. This was my second fish of the day and, as it turned out, my last.
No. 5 - another Common Carp for me.
The sixth fish of the day ... and all the rest for that matter... went to Steve, it was a little Common Carp.
No. 6 - A Small Common Carp
Before long Steve had a nice size Common on his line. When he landed it I looked at it and wondered if it had made a mistake and had really intended to take my bait... sigh. Such is life.
No. 7 - Steve lands a nice Common Carp
I watched the birds some more. The Moorhens were posturing a lot, but there weren't any outright fights. They must be one of feistiest birds around. It's funny to watch them when they have a territorial dispute during the breeding season. Two of them will have a go... they use their feet, rolling back in the water and striking at one another, wings flapping and churning up the water. Even on land they do this, sort of like cocks fighting, leaping up and kicking at their opponent. What is the most amusing, though, is that if there are any other Moorhens nearby they come running and join in. It soon turns into a free for all. I've observed one of these free for alls that included Coots, too.
While I was bird watching Steve managed to land another middling size Common. I duly snapped the photo, wondering if the fish had abandoned me.
No. 8 - Yet Another Common Carp
I spotted a Grey Heron at one of the other empty pegs. The sun had gone behind the clouds and I didn't know if I could get a decent shot. My camera is not the best in the world, and the 10x optical zoom is nice but not nearly good enough for most bird photos. I tried anyway, firing off a number of shots in the hope of getting at least one good one that could be cropped and still look half way decent. I got one that was ok. It's a beautiful, elegant bird all year round, but in breeding plummage it is exceptionally nice.
Grey Heron
As I've said before, Carp come in a variety colors from greenish bronze to bronze to gold to silver. Sometimes they are multi-color, most often having reddish or gold lower caudal fins, and or anal fins of the same color, which contrasts the color of their bodies. But sometimes they are more than one color on their bodies as well. The ninth, and last carp of the day was a particularly stunning fish... a golden colored Common. It was so beautiful I couldn't even begrudge the fact that it was Steve's catch. It was a pleasure just to see such a creature.
No. 9 - Fantasic Gold Colored Common Carp
And then it was time to pack up and head home. All in all it had been a good day's fishing, nine carp, not bad at all.