april mags (1) - Flipbook - Page 56
EXCLUSIVE
u p my options. All the sw i m s
o n the riverside bank w e re
u n reachable and Th e Co p s e
w as a no go, so I decid ed o n
T he Beach.
As described The B each h a s
a great view of the mai n b o d y
o f the lake and enough ro o m t o
g e t all my gear in, so I wast e d
n o time in getting the b i v v y
k e p t m e a h a p p y c a m p e r.
Base
camp
established
I we n t a b o u t t h e t a sk o f
leading up, this is one of my
f a v o ri t e a c t i v i t i e s w h e n c a r p
fishing as I start to feel I’m
putting some real work in and
b u i l d i n g u p m y k n o w l e d g e.
My aim was fish as long as I
c o u l d t o wa r d s w h e r e I ’d s e e n
u p . I can hear your crie s o f
d i sgust, bivvy up befo re r o d s
o u t, an affront to the c arp i n g
G ods themselves. But be f o r e
y o u judge me, know the f l o o r
w as an absolute bo g, an d I
w anted a base ca mp w i t h
g r ound sheet sorted to s t a s h
a l l the gear and keep it d r y.
I n all seriousness thoug h i t i s
i m portant to remember, w h e n
y o u know you’re in fo r a to u g h
s e ssion weather wise co m f o r t
i s key, it ensures you wan t t o
b e and stay there meani ng y o u
w i ll fish to your best abi l i t y.
E v erything feels ten ti m e s
h a rder in the rain and m u d,
s o wet dirty clothes, sl eep i n g
b a gs and beds would n ot h a v e
t h e sh o w i n g f i s h , I w o u l d s t i l l
be a long way off but as close
as I could get.
The lakebed out in front of the
beach is like an egg box made
u p o f g ra v e l s p o t s i n a m o n g s t
silt gullies. The gullies sit in
around 6ft of water with the
g r a v e l sp o t s r i s i n g u p t o 4 f t .
I t w a s o n e o f t h e s e gr a v e l
s p o ts a t 1 8 w r a p s I d e c i d e d
o n f o r t wo o f m y r o d s , I p u t a
3 r d o u t d o wn t o t h e r i g h t s i d e
o f t h e s wi m i n t h e s i l t a t 1 2
w ra p s f o r n o r e a s o n o t h e r t h a n
i n s t i n c t. A l l t h r e e r o d s w e r e
on Ronnie rigs with bright
yellow mainline pineapple
p o p u p s . O n ce t h e h a r d w o r k
w a s d o n e, I s c a t t e r e d a f e w
BigCarp 54
