Stuck in a Rut ?

I started this morning admiring the lovely red sky . " Red sky in the morning Sheperds warning ". Well perhaps I should have heeded the warning .

I had planned a trip to a local lake , which has to be accessed via a long lane then via a field track . All went well until I had reached the lake . I decided for some reason to move the car and face it back down the track , just in case of any issues with the mud later in the day . Well I got stuck ! Well and truely stuck ! Luckily a bit of tooing and froing freed me and I made good my escape . What to do ? I decided to leave the lake and go elsewhere in search of a dry place to park !

Another local lake beckoned and off I went .

I have been experimenting with a set up  for using a swing tip . It was a method I really liked as a teenager and seemed pretty successful . I had tried a fibreglass Diawa leger rod exactly like the one from the 1970's when I had used it . But it was to say the least a bit of a floppy pole ! So £25 later I had a new Shakespeare Sigma Specialist 10 foot rod with a scew tip ring . A bargain !

The lake has a small population of Perch , so I tried my luck with a worm approach and as I flicked the bait out i remebered the old adage :" a fool at one end and a worm at the other " .  Was I to be the fool yet again ?

I had forgotten that casting with a swing tip demanded a careful approach to prevent a tangle !

One to the fool !

Pretty soon however the tip was dancing to a tune dictated by a number of small Roach .  I got the hang of waiting for the first tremble of the tip and striking on the " up " . A line bite was also easy to read once you had your eye in . I was enjoying the trip down memory lane hopefully there would be nomore mud to trap me  !

Once again the tip trembled then lifted smartly , a strike met with the rod hooping over and the ABU reel churning : no Roach this one then !

The rod handled the Carp ( it had to be ! ) very well  and was surprisingly powerful for what is a very cheap rod.

The lovely looking Carp I estimated at about 8lb and after a quick photo ( the tape is set at 18") I put her back .

I then checked the rod again and found that the rod was described as rated for lines up to 12lb . No wonder it had some hidden power reserves !

Out went the worm again .

One to the fool and one to the worm !

Surprisingly I did'nt get anymore Roach . In fact no bites at all .

Then the rod was ripped out of the rest and the swing tip went into horizontal mode !

The culprit ...

Another Carp , this time about 5-6lbs .

Worm 2 : fool 1 .

I was lucky to get a present for Xmas that has been on my Amazon list for a while ; a barometer . I will be taking it along with me on my fishing forays and noting the pressure . I will keep you posted .