May 15, 2006 - Pondwood Fishery
So, here we were, our first opportunity to fish a whole day on The Snake, Pondwood's still water course... or in other words... a little stream that has been dredged and widened and flows very, very slowly... and guess what? Yes it was raining. Ok, it wasn't pouring down rain, not at the moment... but we'd arrived nice and early and the weather report indicated it wasn't going to get any better. That's alright, though, sometimes you just gotta fish no matter what.
This was actually our second time on The Snake. We'd come over the Friday before after Steve got off work... he only works a half day on Fridays... and done a few hours. I haven't any pictures from that session. Before leaving home I had checked my camera batteries and they were reading low so I popped them out and put them on the charger. I then put the spares, that I carry in the case, into the camera and checked that they were working. No low battery signal showed. Ha ! Guess what happened when we got to The Snake and I tried to take a picture? Enough said about that.
I don't remember how many fish Steve caught that day, but I know that I had another of my 'dry' days.... my landing mat stayed dry.
Steve and I set our rods up, he was float fishing and ledgering, I was floating close in near the bank. Surprise of all surprises... I got the first strike ! What a change ! A nice size mirror. Hey, this could turn out to be a nice day in spite of the rain as far as I was concerned.
What a way for me to start the day !
After a couple of hours Steve left to get us some lunch and make a run to the bait shop; we'd come out too early to hit either place before hand. The rain was starting to come down hard, so I pulled in my line and decided to wait for Steve to get back. I kept myself busy trying to take photos in the rain. It's hard to capture a droplet of water falling from the brolly using only single shot mode but I got one.
Drip, drip, drip...
Steve returned from the grocery and we had our lunch break. Not long after Steve was in with his first and only fish of the day.
Steve says hello to his Mirror
I felt a need to stretch my legs so I decided to pull in my line and explore further down .. or was it up.. the stream. I fell in love with this little place. If I win the lottery, big time, I will make Pondwood's owners an offer they won't be able to refuse. Dream on, dream on...
More of those lovely bluebells
There were lily pads which fish like for cover...
Do you see the carp?
Big old English Oaks...
Time to head back for more fishing
Side tracked by the perfection of a dandy lion seed head....
... and what look like birch stumps by the reeds..
... Eventually I spy the brolly and Steve
Feeling much refreshed from my walk about, I put out my line and ask Steve if there's been any activity while I was gone. He's not had any luck, a few nibbles but no strikes. I watch the fish, tails up, feeding in the shallow water by my feet. I've been putting out a little bit of bait every few minutes... sweet corn. That seems to be what they like today and my second fish of the day is soon on the landing mat, with Steve holding it up for me to photograph. I'm well impressed, it's a good size common, perfect in every way.
A perfect Common makes No. 2 for me today
The weather is finally starting to clear and there are patches of blue sky periodically as the clouds scud by. It's been a long day and we'll have to pack up soon and head home. Suddenly my rod tip bends round and we hear the familiar whir of taut line running off the spool. I've got another one !! The Snake carp aren't huge, but whatever their size the one thing they all have in common is that they give you a good fight. They do not meekly come into the landing net. In fact they seem to get a second wind when they spy the net and decide to have another run, or even to hop out if you've manage to get them in it. That's just what this one did, it took three tries before we landed her... and even then she wasn't going to sit still. As Steve picks her up for a photo this egg heavy common flips herself out of his hands. She's quite the acrobat !
Whoa, girl !!
Finally still for a moment, No. 3 has her picture taken
It's been a cracking day for me, I've never caught more fish than Steve before. I'm sure that it is a one off and that it will be a long, long time before that sort of thing happens again. But I savor the day and on the ride home I can't seem to keep the grin off my face.