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The Secret Lake

12.00

At last I am installed on the Meadow Bank in (I think) Peg 9. Well, it’s the one past ‘The Point’ swim.

Saw a fish show right smack in front at about fifty yards, so clipped at 13 wraps. Leading showed only light-ish weed so well confident with my solid bags. Another fish showed down to the right, proving once again there are resident fish here.

12.30

Another fish showed to the right.

13.00

Weather overcast but very mild - small airborne flies on the wing. Wind from the SW.

More fish out to the right. They seem to be right in front of the last ladder on the opposite side of the lake. At some point these fish must move down the lake and over my spodded area.

13.30

No line bites - I’m assuming there are no fish in the area. Line bites on this lake seem a pre-cursor to a take.

14.30

It’s gone quiet now - haven’t seen a fish for an hour. Wind increased in strength slightly. Fishing Peg 5 would have been very tough indeed!

21.00

Chris the bailiff has just been along to collect my ticket money - I paid at the shop of course but they haven’t marked me as paid. He’s trusting me this time but in future I’ll have to ask for a receipt. Still nothing. The guys fishing down to my left have had loads of fish including a couple of thirties so it looks as if I’m at the wrong end. Could be that because there are not a lot of lines going out into the water, the fish have not moved up to this end. When I caught over on the opposite bank it was down there. Might have to change my thinking about the movements of the fish.

Inside the bivvy. A late night cuppa before bedding down.

21.30

There was a stuttery, stop/start take on the centre rod… All zipped up, I managed to exit the camp and get to the rod without ending up in the lake and connected with a small fish of about twelve pounds or so which I brought to the bank without any problems.

I was just unhooking it - I’d got my fingers on the hook - when the fish jumped and drove the hook into my index finger! Right round past the bend! Hospital? Don’t know of one near. Fortunately (or unfortunately) I could see the point and the barb which were exposed, poking out of my skin, so I went up the bank and got my side cutters, cut off the point, and passed the hook back through. Blood everywhere!

Catch Notes - fish was caught on a 12mm. Essential Cell Wafter on the cotton hair rig (again) although this is on the rig positioned right over the spodded maize. I have replaced this with a 12mm. yellow pop-up on a 360 rig.

Wednesday, 22nd.November

02.00

The centre rod (the one I had the fish on) is away and it’s absolutely screaming! This fish is mental and zooms about all over the place - even swimming towards me. It feels slightly heavier however than the previous fish, and so it proves - 16:02. Another common. Is there a pod of commons out there?

08.15

Just done a calculation based on ‘Spreadbury’s Law’ and it works out that statistically, of all the fish I have caught from the lake so far, my next fish could be thirty-nine pounds! Now wouldn’t that be a result! This of course to maintain an average weight of 21lbs - half the maximum size of the largest fish which is 42lbs. (Spreadbury’s Law).

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