Fourth Session 2015

Much to my surprise my next session would be in just a few days time, my sessions aren't usually this close together, but the boss had the day off and im never to slow to pass up another fishing opportunity.

I had a quick check of the Met Office weather reports and to my delight, Monday was looking a few degree's warmer than it had been recently, so already the odds were looking slightly better. 

I had planned to cover surface fishing tackle and tactics in this entry but as my fourth trip had come around so quickly I hadn't had the time to prepare any literature or pictures. 

I didn't think I would be fishing until later on in the week, plus I am still waiting for a few bits and pieces to come through the post.

My original idea behind these blogs was to give some detail behind my bait, tackle and tactics within the first five trips and then move onto writing about the more important fundamentals of fishing in the later entries. I am not one for constantly going on about which item caught this fish or which bait caught that, there's already so much literature based around these topic's and I don't feel I can add anything significant to the many writings already out there as I am not really doing anything special.

So I thought I would leave the writing until I was actually on the bank tomorrow, that way maybe I would capture the true essence of fishing, plus it would help to pass the time whilst waiting for a fish. 

I say this with a smile on my face, because as you know Winter fishing can present the hardest fishing of the year, so those long hours of motionless bobbins would be alleviated by keeping my brain occupied.

I sit here looking out over a still mostly frozen lake, the kettle is boiling to my right hand side, the sun is out and I dare not move a muscle as each of my rods are positioned no more than 5 yards out. I can clearly see the line on the left hand rod moving with the wind as it arcs down toward the pool and I have a feeling of deep appreciation with a smattering of hope. To be honest I am truly not bothered if I catch today as I find myself just enjoying being here. 

I had imagined what this picture would look like many times before and it was everything I had hoped for. 

The sun is warming up my feet and legs whilst my trusty brolly protected from the wind behind, I am comfortable, no, more than comfortable, I am in one of those sublime moments that are few and far between. 

I shall remember this moment, this picture, for the rest of my days, and that, at its core, is what fishing is all about for me. 

Not just those rare big fish but those rare moments where you are truly content.
If I had to sum it up with one word, it would have to be Enjoyment, surely that should be everyone's fundamental point.

A Robin has swooped down and perched itself on one of my rods a couple of times now, I presume to see if there are any free offerings to feast upon, but every time I go to grab my camera, he's off into the sanctuary of the trees. Maybe I should try to tempt him down with a couple of crumbed boilies to get a snap of him.

!!!GOTCHA!!!

Sorry for the poor quality of the photo, its all I could manage in the split second the Robin decided to stay still.

There's not a single noise on this pool apart from distant birds calling to one another, the tree's were still baron of leaves but that would all soon change with Spring. 

I am really looking forward to seeing this tiny little pool in its full glory, I can imagine me taking a lot of pictures and maybe doing the odd 24hr session to make the most of the warmer mornings.

I was feeling particularly tired and could quite easily go to sleep, but I didn't want to miss a single moment of today. The only thing that could disturb my peace would be one of the alarms bursting into life, and yes, a fish would be the icing on the cake, but not essential. 

Recently I have been taking an interest in another fellow bloggers exploits, I most enjoy his affectionate writing of his time on the bank, he seems to have a similar train of thought to mine. These writings are so rare now as the majority of carp literature seems to be based around the how to and the what to use, I just feel that the other aspects should also be kept alive. Paul Warren is his name otherwise known as @Charltoncarper on twitter, look him up, he's a great writer and one I intend on keeping an eye on.

The day had been fishless as you might expect and as the sun began to fade behind the wood to my right hand side the temperature slowly started to decline, nevertheless, I had a couple of more hours to go and remained optimistic.

I had even baited a few swims further up with dog biscuits hoping something might materialise, but It just wasn't meant to be today. 

I had really enjoyed my day and made some fond memories, a fish would of been nice but that's ok, there's always next time.

I did put in another 1/2 pound of free offerings before I left in a few chosen spots and bid the pool a farewell for another week.

As always, thanks for reading, I hope you have enjoyed my fishless ramblings, I think I am getting rather good at blanking now, until next time, good luck.