In the spring of every year the Haydon males usually take part in our annual fishing holiday. The trips are usually a lot of laughs and normally defined by some silly moment. The venue for 2014's trip was the Carp society's Horseshoe lake. The trip would be all paid for by my kind Grandma and Uncle. Happy days!! Unfortunately we were running out of time to fix a date and the trip that was supposed to be four of us ended up being just me and the old man. Anyway we headed off to Horseshoe in the early hours of the morning full of anticipation of a good few days fishing. Horseshoe will always hold a special place in my heart as it was the venue at where I caught my first twenty pounder. A stunning fully scaled and a fish that defines what horseshoe is all about.
The weather for the trip was looking good for fishing. Strong south westerly winds and mild temperatures. The aim for the trip was to have a good time and hopefully get amongst some of the much fabled horseshoe thirties. Our expectations had be dampened a little however by learning of the tragic fish-kill the venue had suffered a few years earlier. Was the venue still going to hold its magic without such a large head of special fish?
When we got to the venue we were to surprised to see quite a lot of anglers already present. With it being mid-week we thought we could pretty much be able to go where we wanted. This wasn't the case. So after purchasing our tickets and having a look over the fence into the famous lagoon swim we set eyes on our first horseshoe Carp. The bay opposite the lagoon was always a good spot to see the Carp and it looked like nothing had changed. Unfortunately the swim for this area was already taken but with the area being on the back of the wind we felt certain there would be fish in other parts of the lake. A short drive to the point of the horseshoe revealed the windward end of the lake. The wind was smashing into the banks like waves hitting the sandy beaches of Exmouth at home. Not the nicest conditions to be sat in but conditions that just screamed Carp. As we walked along the banks we could already see a number of anglers had the same idea and the area was heavily pressured. We then managed to witness one angler land a decent double. The fish were there and they were definitely feeding. Indecisive about what to do we spoke to the bailiff who was patrolling the banks. He advised us of an area that had been producing fish in the last few days and was well worth a go.
So we headed to an area off the wind in a part of the lake known as the summer bay. The summer bay is the shallowest area of the lake with heavy weed growth throughout. It was in the summer bay that I had caught all my previous horseshoe fish so I wasn't new to the area. On the day though all my Carping instincts were telling me this wasn't the place to be. However we set up camp and began setting our traps for the horseshoe Carp.
I set up two Chod rig presentations and began casting around the swim looking for the clearer areas. It wasn't long before I had found an area of light silk weed. This kind of area is full of natural food and although not all presentations suit this area it would suit the chod rig perfectly. I proceeded to lightly bait the area with a few boilies, trying not to bait too heavy as I was almost certain a move was on the cards. It wasn't long before night had arrived and I went round to Dad's swim for a bit of a social and some grub. On returning to my peg I flicked out two rigs into the same area and settled down for the night. At about 1am I was awoken by a screaming take on the left rod. As I got up and put on my shoes to go and strike however the run had stopped. I stood over the rod and seeing the bobbin was pulled tight struck into what I was hoping would be a big horseshoe carp. There was nothing but weed on the end!!! Was this a missed chance? Was it a carp?? Was it a Tench??? Is my rig presented??? All these questions went through my mind and prevented much more sleep being gained for the rest of the night.
The next day came and went without occurrence and it wasn't until early evening when we began to get indications that the horseshoe Carp were in the area. As we sat eating our food in Dads swim we looked out to see a very subtle roll from a Carp just a little left of Dads baited area. Surprised and excited by what we had just saw we stood up and looked harder at the spot. It was at this moment when Dad's right hand rod roared off with a full blown take!! The first horseshoe Carp was hooked! After a short battle we were presented with a stunning horseshoe mirror of 19lb. It was Dad's first horseshoe Carp and the first of the session.
We were off the mark but was this a one off fish or a sign of better things to come?? The night ahead now looked a lot more promising but actually in reality was entirely uneventful. Frustrated by my own lack of success the following morning I began looking in other areas of the lake. With the wind still hacking down the same end I felt less inclined to approach this area which would now have become stale. So as I walked the banks and talked to the other anglers it became apparent that apart from Dad's fish the only areas of the lake producing were at the ends of the two bays on the back of the wind. With this in mind I headed over to the Lagoon swim to find the angler occupying the area was just packing up. Without hesitation I rushed back to my Bivvy and began moving my gear to the area. I'm not one to jump into someones swim while they are in it but this was a chance that couldn't be missed.
By the time I had moved my gear the swim was now completely vacated. With the area having ample space for two bivvy's I couldn't help but go and persuade Dad to join me. So by the time we were both set up in the swim the light had already began to fade. We did however know there were Carp in the area. With this in mind we baited lightly and fished all our rods to the bay opposite which had a rope across it signifying a no fishing area. Being in the closer spot I fished to our own margin whilst Dad fished out and across. The tactics were the same as those used in the previous swim and a quick lead about revealed clear areas closer to the rope and along my margin.
As the light continued to drop our first bit of action in the lagoon occurred. My right hand rod was pulled round with a stuttering take. I struck into the fish and began to battle with my first Carp of the session. The fish pulled hard and eventually found a snag mid-way between myself and the rope. Not believing my luck I began cursing and fearing the worst. As I slackened the line though the fish suddenly pulled out the snag and began swimming straight towards me. Dad quickly grabbed the net and after a lot of flapping in the margins the fish was in the net. It wasn't a monster at 15lb but was another stunning example of a horseshoe Carp and well worth the move.
The night then came and as previous nights went without action. Looking back this was probably a good thing as the next day was to be truly unforgettable. We awoke in the morning curious on the nights lack of action but before we had a chance to even make a cup of tea to talk about it my right hand rod was off again. This was a much better fish and I could feel it plodding away again towards the area the other fish had snagged me up. As I pulled hard to get it away from the danger it kited hard out of the bay and into the main lake. Eventually I began retrieving line and up popped a unbelievable looking mirror in the margins. We got it in the net and after a shout of "Yes" from myself we set eyes on a rather large but bizarre looking Mirror. The fish was definitely one of the old warriors of the lake and one of the real characters too. We weighed it in at 27 pounds so he wasn't a small chap either!! I lifted the fish to see that it only had one eye, and had really tiny fins. It was an odd ball but strangely beautiful in its own right.
The target was achieved in catching a big old horseshoe warrior. It wasn't a thirty but I didn't mind. The day then went on as it started. The spot which was doing the business was a couple feet off the rope along our own bank. We were baiting the spot after every fish with 50 to 100 boilies and it wasn't long before fish came investigating even after the disturbances. Two more mirrors fell to my right hand rod before darkness one of 14lb and another of 17lb. Both of these fish an example of the newer stock that is present in Horseshoe.
The day wasn't without its frustrations however as we had lost and equal amount of fish in the snag that appeared to be attached to the rope. We contacted the bailiff and thankfully it was removed and revealed to be a massive spiders web of lines all attached to the rope. Amazing really as a lot of the takes we were getting were not that close to the rope at all. With the snag out of the way though we looked forward to another nights fishing and hopefully another good morning the following day. The night again though came and went without action. It had now become apparent that the fish were moving out into the main lake during the hours of darkness and coming back into the bay for sanctuary during the day.
We awoke the next morning to a slight change in the conditions and a change that had definitely affected the fish. A look into the bay revealed a lot fewer fish were present and our chances had lessened dramatically. Never the less we stuck at it as it was our final day of the horseshoe adventure. My rods unfortunately saw no further action but Dad managed to sneak one out and unfortunately lost one. The fish was another stockie but a nice looking fish of 16lb.
It was a nice end to the session. We hadn't caught that Horseshoe thirty but we had caught our fair share of the stunning stock that resides in this magical lake. As we began to pack up we talked of how I could get out of work so we could stay longer. Always reluctant to leave, I think we could have stayed not another night but the whole summer. Just two bivvy's, the lagoon and the horseshoe Carp.
Tight Lines!!!
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