Back for another crack at the carp, but I was to be disappointed.

I was fishing by about 16.00. Light ledgering with luncheon meat. For the first hour I didn’t get a touch. The meat had been nibbled by small fish but nothing even lifted the bobbin indicator.

As the sun disappeared behind the trees at the back of me I started to get bites. Most were tentative affairs, with the bobbin rising and falling. Probably smaller fish trying to mouth the largish piece of luncheon meat. A couple were fast positive takes that I thought might be carp, but I was doubtful. I missed all of them.

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At 18.15 a slower and more deliberate pull enabled me to hook the fish, which turned out to be a nice rudd of 1lb 4oz. I remembered the camera today and had set it up on a tripod behind me, with the objective of getting some better shots than those of fish in the net. The rudd provided an opportunity to try this arrangement. Space was tight but I managed to get a shot. The lighting was difficult as the trees behind me cast a shadow while the lake formed a bright background.

Not long after (18.30) I managed to hit a fast bite that lifted the bobbin in a single pull. It turned out to be a roach of the same weight as the rudd. On reflection the fast bites I had earlier were probably roach. I again took a photo, this time using flash, which has caused the fish to ’shine’ a bit.

I had set my finish time at 19.30 as it would be almost dark by 20.00. For the remaining hour I used larger pieces of luncheon meat in an attempt to attract a carp but it was clear that the rudd or roach were still trying to mouth the larger bait. I missed a couple of bites that certainly weren’t carp.

In the end the carp didn’t show, or weren’t interested. It had been a very bright day; whether this was the cause or whether the carp just weren’t in the area is anybody’s guess. There was certainly no sign of them near the margins.

Perhaps next time I’ll try float fishing for the rudd and roach. They’re certainly a good size and are worthy of more dedicated attention.