Part of the joy of fishing is the fact that we can take it as seriously or light heartedly as we please. I'm a firm believer in variety, if only for the sake of that element forgotten by too many of todays die hards; simple, straightforward pleasure.
My continuing battle against the carp of Exeter Canal has been anything but straightforward fun however, more a process of mozzie bites, lost sleep and self examination. All the more satisfying to catch another fish therefore, this time a nice solid mirror carp.
Over the course of several sessions I'm finally getting to that stage where things run smoothly- from loading the car to having everything where I want it for the night ahead. Set ups keep improving, if only because I can't bear the thought of leaving baits weeded up or poorly presented all night long. Again, tiger nuts have been my first choice to avoid bream, popped up to stay weed free and well buried inside solid pva bags. Nothing is fool proof however, and after a screaming run at around 4 30am, I was turning the air blue as the fizzing reel got in a right mess and jammed solid with trapped line. Improvisation was needed- and fast- so I played the fish fly rod style, like some kind of demented Bob Church. After some serious heaving about and more expletives the fish was bundled into the net. Phew!
On a lighter note I've been doing short sessions with a fly rod for carp and also rudd, lately on Tiverton Canal. What a sheer joy these beautiful fish are. In contrast to the slog of carping, travelling light with just a rod, net, a few flies and leaders affords a true sense of freedom. It's generally a cast and move operation, trying to carefully cherry pick basking rudd. Little buzzers and hares ear variants have been good so far; sometimes you get a take, sometimes the rudd just turn away or just ignore the fly altogether. Either way, it's all excellent fun and a half pound rudd kicks quite beautifully on an ultra light trout wand.
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