I've been a little preoccupied of late as this years campaign on the lake has coerced me into leading a double life as an angler. By day I am mild mannered Daniel Everitt tench angler, but by night I become an obsessive predator chaser that lingers round silently in the dark willing any of the three zander, two catfish or five eels that I know for sure are in the ninety acre lake to eat my bait.
God honest truth I am beginning to look like a carp angler I am I've spent so many fruitless nights on the bank. I've even got this short over night session down to a fine art! I finish work for the day, zip home, grab my gear and five minutes later I am on the bank. Within an hour of finding a peg I am set up, baited up and cast out...
Within an hour and a half I am brewing tea whilst scoffing food...
The moment dark falls I am in the sleeping bag cuddling up to my sounder box...
Hell I even set my alarm for around one in the morning so I can get up have a tiddle and check I haven't missed anything, then recast to ensure fresh bait is on offer. After another five hours of kip it's up with the lark, cup of tea, pack of belvita and then break camp.
I strip away and pack everything away in a specific order leaving my rods and net till last. By half seven I am in the car on my way home, by nine I am bathed and ready for a day with the other half and the session is done.
This double life I know seems to be borderline compulsive behaviour, as frankly it is returning very little catch wise. But from what I have seen with carp anglers also partaking of this madness I haven't even scratched the surface. One chap I know has done thirty nights on Coombe and on the thirtieth night he landed three pure bred English commons with linage which likely goes back to the twelfth century. Now although I am not after these hens teeth thoroughbreds, I am angling after something just as rare. So I have asked myself, am I prepared to continue returning to the banks of the lake again and again enduring blank after blank just so as I can have the tiniest chance of a massive zander, an eel that could swallow a tennis ball or even a cat that had been filling up on bream for the last few years might eat my bait? The answer all ways comes back yes.
But! and there is always a but! I know that I have ignored the rivers for over two and a half months and it weighs heavy on my mind that I should not waste opportunity's to get on the river before the leaves fall from the trees. So I think I may have to try and restrain myself or at least change how I spend my fishing time before I begin regretting missed chances on other good weather venues and rue giving in to that one driving force that seems to power anglers...Obsession.
Is that SMASH and Brown sauce or proper mash and Bisto?
ReplyDeleteSeriously, I hope you manage one of the bigger predators out of the pool you have certainly put the hours in,
Tim