Rumours of Monsters

A village pond that is free fishing and has reliable rumours of 4lb perch residing in it. That is something that needs to be investigated and finally I managed to take a few hours away from the business (which is going a bit too well!) and paid a visit. Located in beautiful Cotswold countryside the pond is gin clear telling me that few Carp live there and there was plenty of small fish activity meaning a plentiful supply of food for any marauding big Perch. Good signs.

There are loads of snags to hide in including a fallen Willow that had been down for a long time. 

Having not had chance to visit the tackle shop my only bait choice was some prawns from the freezer. As Martin pointed out via text the Perch would not have seen these before so worm may have been a better bet but I gave them my best shot anyway.

Sadly I think Martin was right (but don't tell him!!) The bait remained untouched. A Carp leapt clean out of the water near the fallen tree and out of desperation for a pull on my string I chucked a Prawn in the direction of the disturbance. Within minutes the float slid sideways slightly and I struck, more in desperation than hope. Surprisingly I was attached to a fish. It was dangerously close to the snags and used all its power to try and reach them. I gave it everything I had on four pound line and my light float rod and thankfully I won.

There was no need to put a weight on such a fish, just admire its beauty quickly and release it back to its watery home. I am not a fan of Carp fishing unless they are stunning, barely fished for and rarely caught stunners like the one above, those I could get used to.
I'll be back and the next visit I will be worm-armed.