Early bird.....

5am on Tuesday 9th saw me back at crf before work,to try tempt a pastie or two! .The morning started off well with two young deer prancing up the track as I pulled up,a lovely sight at 5am.i opted for the jungle swim on Lake 2 and set about putting a few bits of crust out along the margin.wasn't long before the overhanging bush started to move and twitch and I could see there was a couple of fish up for an early breakfast!. I quickly dispatched a nice chunk of fluffy white bread into the area and it wasn't long before I saw a small carp having a look at it,unfortunately from the size of its mouth,which could be seen slurping away at my offering,it was only a baby,needless to say its constant slurping soon reduced the bread to a mouthful,and then it was away giving quite a spirited fight for its size.i took a snap whilst on the mat and released my quarry back to grow bigger and even stronger.

As is normally the case, the spot was quiet for a while after this disturbance so i opted for a change of swim,and as i was about to pack up my few bits and bobs i saw a much bigger fish just ghost out from under a overhanging bush, close to the bank.i quietly put my stuff down and stepped back from view,and once more a chunk of white fluffy bread was dispatched in an unusually accurate manner!
Its lovely being on the bank at first light,birds singing,no alarms beeping,no mallets,just yourself and the water at one with each other.
These early session are some of my most focused as you do not have any distractions and you can properly tune into your surroundings.

This second fish didn't need to slurp away at the bread as it took it in one mouthful, and as i struck my size 10 mixa into it, the water erupted and it proceeded to strip line from my little fox reel,the most worrying part of the fight was the alarming curve that my 1.5tc rod had taken on ,i was sure it would splinter at any moment but gladly it didn't, and slowly it started to straighten.i didn't see this fish until it rolled on top as i netted it,but as most of us know from the head shaking and jagged fight, i knew it wasn't a massive fish,but it was a double ,just! feeling quite pleased by now,5.35am and 2 fish banked.

All went very quiet after this hectic battle,and i sat and had a sip of coffee from my flask whilst pondering where to land my bread next.wasn't long after,when a good size silver common proper came out the water,right by the bush! decision made then.! i suffered hook pull after hook pull trying to temp another victim,and the penny finally dropped when i realised the hook point was proper blunt.i rooted around in my bag for a mixa hook or similar and as i found the packet and pulled it out my bag,the last one fell to the ground to never be seen again, gutted ,by sheer luck i had an old bottom bait rig in my bag,and i cut the hook off,a trusty wide gape from deception angling and this was to prove to be a winner! lol.

With the clock fast approaching time for work i was getting quite desperate,and i started to get a bit more liberal with the free offerings,and about 6.45 i saw another common drift through the previously successful spot,under the overhanging brambles.once more i cast out which to be honest was more of a dangle off the rod tip,and i stood there like a statue for what seemed like ages before i pulled the hook home once more for the third time this morning! yehaaaa! over the moon,finally my lean spell was broken albeit with a few small fish,great confidence booster!

 

 

this was another small fish about 8lb but 3 fish before work was awesome if not somewhat tiring......
after releasing my quarry i packed up and drove off up the drive back to the main road,only to be held up by a stubborn squirrel that ran up the whole lenghth of the drive oblivious to my van behind him! i actually laughed out loud as he ran straight across the road nearly being flattened by a passing motorist! ha ha!