A Winter Obsession! - George West

A Winter Obsession!

George West

 

It was the winter of 2014 when I finally decided to venture over to a park lake nearby, known as lakeside country park. I had been looking for a decent winter venue to target, as I'm not one for hanging the rods up during the colder months and actually find it my most enjoyable time of year to fish. Whether that was due to the banks being quieter I don't know, but I always got more satisfaction bagging a proper one in the winter, as opposed to in the warmer months.

One of the main reasons for joining this particular park lake was because it contained a fish known as ‘seven scales’ that regularly topped the 40lb mark and was a 'proper' looking carp. There was also a good back up stock of fish in there to keep me occupied while in pursuit of my target fish. The social side of things was also good, as I knew a couple of other lads on there at the time, which always helps during the long cold winter nights.

That first winter I experienced some savage weather while on the bank and at times I questioned my sanity but I knew the reward was there so I kept at it. On the other hand the weather was unusually mild for winter and the fish kept coming and I banked a number of fish to over 29lb. 

The biggest of the winter at 29lb 2oz

The big girl eluded capture for the whole winter that year, although we regularly saw her show which kept the spirits up. Although seeing her show on your spot and then having a mid double common raffle off wasn't ideal! Still the fishing was good and I averaged 2 or 3 fish a session so I knew I wasn't too far away. Eventually though I had to give up as my syndicate was calling but I would definitely return the following winter. 

Another nice winter common at 25lb 8oz

During that summer I was put onto Oxford carp baits and in particular the mc nut by a friend. Winter was soon upon us again and I decided to get back down lakeside early December, to try and bank my target fish. A similar scenario to last winter saw me a bag a number of commons on my first couple of sessions and at times I felt like given up as there was so many factors against me. The weather was a lot colder this winter and the small commons took a particular liking for the mc nut, which kept me on my toes.

2015 soon crept upon us and my first session of the year was surprisingly mild and I knew something had to come out. I had the obligatory upper double common during the evening but I then hooked into something completely different. The commons usually do a lot of head shaking but this one stayed deep, producing powerful lunges in its bid for freedom. As it got closer to the net I noticed it was a mirror with a huge set of shoulders and thought to myself this is the one. Eventually I slipped the net under her and on closer inspection I realised she was a carp known as the 'dumpy lin', which looked very similar to my target fish. She tipped the scales round to 31lb 8 so I definitely wasn't complaining! 

‘The Dumpy Lin’ caught on a Linch Special over MC Nut

That turned out to my last session until the end of Feb so I was itching to get back as the big girl still hasn't been out. There was 4 of us on that night and we all tucked into our takeaways talking about the prospect of bagging her and how big she might just be. Just before dark I moved onto some showing fish and received a take straight away. After a mental fight an angry 23lb 6 common has me convinced I was attached to my target fish but it wasn't to be. I followed this fish up with another 3 to 25lb 6 during the night, all on the pink Linch specials, which was a good result for the time of year. 

An angry Common at 23lb 6oz

I knew time was running out before I ventured off again for the spring, so I thought I'd give it one last go. I arrived early Monday morning and a steady wind rippled the surface. The odd fish pushed itself out of the water, in the same area I was fishing last week which was encouraging. I preceded to the get rods out and put around 100 baits out as I knew this is the time of year where they start to wake up and their heads down. 

Around 1:30am my left rod signalled a twitchy take which alerted my attention. As I struck into it I was fully expecting another one of the resident commons to be on the end and this was still in my thoughts as I played the fish into the margins with relative ease. This was when it suddenly woke up and I must admit I was rather bullish with it as I tried to get it in the net. The fish refused to give up though and after another 15 minutes of cat and mouse in the margins I was starting to think I was attached to a better fish. Finally I caught a glimpse of a huge frame in the water and my legs turned to jelly as I knew it could only be one of 2 fish, either the ‘dumpy Lin’ that I’d previously caught or the big girl herself. My thoughts were soon confirmed a few minutes later when she was engulfed in the net and there was no mistaken it was her and my target for the last two winters. An 18mm mc nut wafter hanged loosely from her lip as she sulked in the net and the reality finally hit in. I hoisted the sling up onto the Reuben’s and the needle settled on a healthy 41lb 4 which was a new pb……What a buzz! I made a few phone calls and mumbled a load of rubbish to a couple of mates in the excitement. They both agreed to come down in the morning for the photos which was more appreciated.

She looked lovely in her winter colours!

Throughout that winter I baited heavily and the fish really did respond to it. The combination of Linch specials and mc nut was proving hard to resist most sessions and in the end I managed 12 fish in 7 nights. I thoroughly enjoyed the fishing and socials on there and it will definitely be missed, although the bream and small commons waking you up at two in the morning won’t be!

Good things come to those who bait!

George West - Noble's Fishing