When things don’t go to plan…

Or do they ?

By Jamie Collins

I’d like to tell you about a session I recently enjoyed at the syndicate lake I’ve been fishing in Essex. The lake had been shut for a few weeks to let the fish spawn and give them a bit of a rest in this stressful time. I managed to get over to the lake a few times and have a look around and put some bait in the area I’d seen the fish, just sticking out some of the awesome ‘Aqua Dynamix’ monster worm boilies that I’ve been using recently into a swim closest to where I had seen them.

The lake was due to open at 6 am on a Saturday so I loaded the van Friday night and set the alarm nice and early to try and beat the crowds, but like all good plans managed to sleep through my alarm and didn’t wake up till about 7. That was my early start out the window. So, quickly got myself to the lake for about half 8 and to my surprise there was only a few people there. Someone, unfortunately, had dropped into the swim that I’d been baiting; bugger I thought. However, with no one else to blame but myself, I set about finding some fish elsewhere. Luckily, it didn’t take long for me to notice a couple of fish sticking their heads out at the shallower end of the lake near a big weed bed - so that was the swim sorted.

I quickly unloaded the van and got my gear to the swim. Afterwards, I sat down having a look with a cuppa and it was clear that the fish were up in the water. I thought it would be a good time to stick a couple of zigs out for the day while I had a plumb around with the marker rod to find a few spots. As the evening drew in and nothing happening with the zigs, I set about getting the rods out for the night to the spots I found earlier in the day: a nice clean area in front of a weed bed at about 60 yards. So, with 2 rods clipped up and armed with 2 monster worm hook baits, the rods were flicked out to the spot both with small bags of crushed worm boilies. Then I spodded out a couple of kilos of whole 12 and 16 mil worm boilies, 2 kilos of crushed boilies and 4 kilos of hemp. The third rod was left on the zig for the night on a small piece of black foam, dipped in the maggot boilie dip, another excellent product from the ‘Aqua Dynamix’ range, which seems to stick to the foam for hours, making it perfect for the zigs.

As I settled down for the night, all seemed quiet and all the signs I had seen earlier in the day seemed to have disappeared. I went to bed thinking I’d made the wrong swim choice. It wasn’t until 5.30 am, the left hand rod burst into life, and I hit into a very strong fish that put up a very good account for itself, until I nervously lifted the net and the fish was mine (I’d like to point out this was the first fish I had out for a while, so was a great relief to have her safely in the net). As I lifted her onto the mat, I could see it looked to be a decent common, and the scales confirmed that at 32.4 lbs. After a few snaps, I slipped her back and got the rod back onto the spot. I stuck the kettle back on and watched all the bubblers coming from the spot. A few more hours passed with no action, but the spot alive with bubbles and a couple of shows, I was stumped why the rods hadn’t gone again. Then, as though I tempted fate, the same rod ripped off again, and I was, again, into a very strong fish. After a short, but strong battle, I had a decent mirror in the net. This time, the scales went round to 31.8 lbs. Happy days, I thought as I slipped her back, first night back on the water and I had two 30s under my belt – couldn’t have asked for more!

The rest of the day seemed to drift passed with no more action, so I set about getting the rods out for the night again, leaving the two rods on the spot where I’d had the fish from, and putting a couple more kilos of monster worm and hemp out over the top of the spot. Then, decided to change the third rod from the zig, and put it about 50 yards further along the weed bed and from the spot that I’d caught the other fish from and scattered about 100 monster worm boilies over the top. Once all the rods were out, I sat watching the water with a few brews, and before I knew it, it was after midnight, so thought it was time for bed. Just as I was getting into my bag, the left hand rod, again, burst into life, and two weed beds later, and a dogged fight under the tip, I had another good fish in the net. This time the scales lay settled at 35.14 lbs. and what a cracking looking mirror it was!

I definitely went to bed that night with a smile on my face, but only to be woken at 5 am by the right hand rod, that was further along the weed bed, ripping off. Unfortunately, soon after hitting into it, the hook pulled. To be honest, I wasn’t really bothered, as it had already been an unbelievable session, and one I won’t forget for a while! Just goes to show even if you’ve got a plan that goes wrong, if you find the fish, things can still turn out better than you intended!

Tight lines and GET ON THE WORM!