Hmmm, overnight carp fishing.
You either love it or hate it and having not slept under any form of canvas for probably twenty five years I thought it was about time I bit the bullet and put a couple of nights in. Also, I have promised to take my son, James, fishing overnight so thought I could kill two birds with one stone and test drive a session. Now, by test drive I mean make sure that I can remember how to set up a bivvy (a posh tent) and all the other bits and bobs.
So, come the August Bank Holiday weekend, yours truly decides that he should get down to the lake around 8pm, giving enough time to set up camp and get the rods out before dark. I reckoned without a warm muggy evening and rain. Sweating like the proverbial, and then doused by steady drizzel, I finally had the shop set up around 9:30pm. Only problem was I was a little damp! Okay, clothes can dry out overnight. Which left me a little short of clothes for the first night, but the sleeping bag was way better than I remembered from my youth and the bed chair was awesome (I will post a review of some of my kit in the next few blogs).
The lake is located near to the M25, and I was amazed that the steady hum of traffic never seemed to abate all night. Where on earth are all these poeple going at all hours? Okay, so a lot is freight (love the French system for trucks at weekend by the way but that is another whole story) but what is the rest? Shift workers? Tourists?
Well, I unfortunately didn't catch any carp (no one else did wither which saved face somewhat), but I did catch nine lovely bream up to about 6lbs in weight. I also managed to plumb up a new swim, finding a whole bunch of features, and felt well pleased with myself. I even got a bite a 3:00am which had me scurrying about the lakeside in my boxer shorts (not a pretty sight - thank heavens it was dark!) so christened the night bite club as well.
Coming away, I am convinced that I took way too much gear (kitchen sinks come to mind) so next time I will trim down what I take. Some of my existing gear is a bit too heavy duty, some optional, but for the most part I am very pleased with what I have put together over the last twelve months for this trip. Some items as I say will be reviewed in future blogs as stand alone entries. I also have some thoughts around other tackle items I want to use, either buying ready mades or thinking of other ways of making things happen. Alas, after my father passed away ten plus years ago, I have lost the use of a workshop with lathes and mills, so may have to find another way of making my own (I made my own lightweight aluminium banksticks about thirty years ago with Dad's help and they are still around somewhere. If only I had made them in stainless steel I could have conquered the market well in advance of the Solar and Matrix boys...).
That's it for now. Keep an eye out for a few tackle reviews and further thoughts from the trip.
Cheers
Viking
You either love it or hate it and having not slept under any form of canvas for probably twenty five years I thought it was about time I bit the bullet and put a couple of nights in. Also, I have promised to take my son, James, fishing overnight so thought I could kill two birds with one stone and test drive a session. Now, by test drive I mean make sure that I can remember how to set up a bivvy (a posh tent) and all the other bits and bobs.
So, come the August Bank Holiday weekend, yours truly decides that he should get down to the lake around 8pm, giving enough time to set up camp and get the rods out before dark. I reckoned without a warm muggy evening and rain. Sweating like the proverbial, and then doused by steady drizzel, I finally had the shop set up around 9:30pm. Only problem was I was a little damp! Okay, clothes can dry out overnight. Which left me a little short of clothes for the first night, but the sleeping bag was way better than I remembered from my youth and the bed chair was awesome (I will post a review of some of my kit in the next few blogs).
The lake is located near to the M25, and I was amazed that the steady hum of traffic never seemed to abate all night. Where on earth are all these poeple going at all hours? Okay, so a lot is freight (love the French system for trucks at weekend by the way but that is another whole story) but what is the rest? Shift workers? Tourists?
Well, I unfortunately didn't catch any carp (no one else did wither which saved face somewhat), but I did catch nine lovely bream up to about 6lbs in weight. I also managed to plumb up a new swim, finding a whole bunch of features, and felt well pleased with myself. I even got a bite a 3:00am which had me scurrying about the lakeside in my boxer shorts (not a pretty sight - thank heavens it was dark!) so christened the night bite club as well.
Coming away, I am convinced that I took way too much gear (kitchen sinks come to mind) so next time I will trim down what I take. Some of my existing gear is a bit too heavy duty, some optional, but for the most part I am very pleased with what I have put together over the last twelve months for this trip. Some items as I say will be reviewed in future blogs as stand alone entries. I also have some thoughts around other tackle items I want to use, either buying ready mades or thinking of other ways of making things happen. Alas, after my father passed away ten plus years ago, I have lost the use of a workshop with lathes and mills, so may have to find another way of making my own (I made my own lightweight aluminium banksticks about thirty years ago with Dad's help and they are still around somewhere. If only I had made them in stainless steel I could have conquered the market well in advance of the Solar and Matrix boys...).
That's it for now. Keep an eye out for a few tackle reviews and further thoughts from the trip.
Cheers
Viking
