NYE - Carping in the storm - Mopley Pond - Martin Noble

New Years Eve
Carping in the storm - Mopley Pond

Martin Noble

I arrived at the lake around 4pm NYE straight from work, the light was fading fast & I wanted to get the bivvy up & rods out  so I could see what I was doing before darkness & the forecasted storm hit! I put 3 rods out, one to my left tight against an over-hanging branch & reeds, my middle rod straight out in front of me tight up against island margins & my right rod up against some dying of reeds from the summer.

I was using a KD ring on all rods with a critically balanced Shoreline Red Bull tipped with a little Quest Baits fluoro Pimple Pop. Each rod also cast with a tiny PVA bag containing 3 crushed boilies & a small quantity of pellet in each mesh bag. I also catapulted about 10 freebie boilies around each spot.



KD Rig with Fluoro Tipper

I quickly got the rest of my gear sorted & quickly made way into my bivvy as the rain was already coming down & getting heavier by the minute also with gusts of winds.

I tucked up into my sleeping bag and cracked open a nice cold beer…it was NYE after all!

The wind was becoming stronger & stronger, the forecast predicated 60mph winds & I was becoming a little concerned about the 2 tall pine trees behind my swim coming down on top of me hoping that I wouldn’t be crushed to death during the night.

Tall Pines behind my swim

An old large oak tree had fallen in winds just a few nights before in a couple of swims up from where I was which didn’t help my nerves!

I must have dozed off as I was awoken by the sound of fireworks in the distance, 12.00am – 2014! I was led in my sleeping bag thinking about everyone in the pubs & parties having a nice time & wondered what I was doing down hear all on my own when suddenly my right hand rod screamed off…fish on!

It didn’t fight particularly hard but when a nice little scaly mirror slipped over the net I was chuffed, not a monster but didn’t matter, it was a beautiful fish & I was off the mark plus my first fish of 2014!

Off the mark! Beautiful scaly Mirror

This put me more in the zone now, at least the fish were feeding & being drunk down the pub didn’t seem to matter anymore.

The gale force wind & rain made it impossible to get a photo so I just got a quick snap of it in the carp mat & got it back.

I recast the best I could in the 60 mph winds, put another handful of freebies out and got back into the bivvy quick. The rest of the night was pretty quiet fish wise, had a few knocks here & there but never led to anything.

Next morning I waited until it was light enough to see & recast all 3 rods with fresh baits & PVA bags along with a handful of freebies around each spot.

The storm was certainly hitting hard now with the rain was coming down hard & the wind nearly taking my bivvy away.

Around 12.30pm my left hand rod swinger slowly raised up to the rod & stopped, line bite I was thinking when suddenly it tore off & the alarm burst into life. I was straight out the bivvy & into something that felt a little better this time.

With the wind & rain battering me in all directions the fish was kiting to my left & right staying down in the deep water.

Eventually it broke the surface and I gently slipped the net under a nice looking mirror. It went 20lb 8oz on the scaled, not a bad start to the year! I managed to get a few self timer pics & slipped her back into the depths.

20lb 8oz Chunky Mirror

Felling very happy I got the rod straight back out on the spot again with a small pva bag and another handful of freebies.

Time for a cuppa & to dry off after getting completely soaked through. As the day was slowly slipping away I decided to do another night even though the conditions were terrible. I don’t get much time out on the bank these days running Noble’s Fishing Store so I thought I would make the most of my limited time, plus I was enjoying some peace & quiet after a manic Christmas. I also had the whole lake to myself which was an added bonus.

Around 3.30pm I had a similar bite on my left hand rod as earlier on, I was out the bivvy in a shot as the rod tip bent round & I hit into another fish. After a short battle a lovely big scaled mirror rolled into the net, a lovely looking carp weighing 16lb 6oz!

16lb 6oz Scaly Mirror

After a few self timer pics I slipped her back & quickly got a fresh rig, bait & pva on & cast straight back on the spot, then back into the bivvy to get shelter.

By the time Id got everything sorted it was already starting to get dark again. I hate the short days & long dark winter nights, it didn’t help with a think layer of dark black clouds.

At 10.20pm I was awoken with my middle rod tearing off, I was straight out the bivvy & struck into another carp. After a 10 minute battle in the darkness a nearly leather looking carp was in the net. It didn’t look to bad in size & when I got it in the sling & on the scales it went round to 17lb 8oz, happy days! Got a few self timer pics & slipped it back to fight another day.

17lb 8oz Leathery Mirror

I got the rod back out to as near to my spot as I could see as it was so dark with another handful of freebies and quickly got back into the warmth of my bivvy as the rain lashed down.

I tied up a few spare rigs and made up a few more PVA bags & was back in the sleeping bag for a bit of kip.

I woke at around 3am to find the clouds had completely cleared away to reveal a sky full of stars, with this also came a sudden drop in the temperature. I made a quick brew & enjoyed the stars for a while before cocooning myself back into my sleeping bag. With the temperature drop it wasn’t looking hopeful for another bite.

No more fish came and I soon had to pack up my gear to be at work for 8am – back to reality. Not a bad start to the year & for time of year! Can’t wait to get back out on the bank.

 

Martin Noble - Noble's Fishing