I arrived at the Mills on the last Wednesday of
March and was greeted in the shop by Simon who
reliably informed me that the only swims worth a
shout were 26-29. With this in mind I began to haul
my gear over the soaked meadow and round to the
furthest point of the lake; swim 27. I had a quick
chat with Mark who was fishing swim 29. He’s had
plenty of success over the last few months. He
confirmed what I was hoping not to hear, that there
had been no fish out for a couple of weeks. From the
outset I was not overly confident of my chances. The
way I saw it, it was my first session in over 6
months, and a chance to get away from the wife, so a
fish would have been a bonus!
Low pressure was dominant, and the weather very
unsettled. After getting a soaking setting up, I
finally laid back and relaxed looking forward to
what the next 3 nights could bring. My rods were
staggered in distance across the lake, chods on all
3; One pop up, and two bottom baits. Conventionally,
chod rigs are fished with pop-ups but I thought I
would present some bait on the bottom, as I have had
no real success with pop ups on the Mills. I
presented my baits where the old lily pads usually
lie in the summer, thick with silt. I had intended
to fish single hook baits on all 3 rods, but
‘bottled’ it and I fished with a tiny PVA bag
stocking with 3 crushed boilies just for added peace
of mind.
The weather had turned wet and extremely windy,
and after getting broken sleep throughout the night,
I awoke to the sight of a carp, sticking its nose
out of the water, just yards from my bait. My heart
raced in anticipation as the fish tore at the thick
silt below, producing a cauldron of bubbles. Within
seconds, I was out of my bag and into the wet,
latching into the fish which had taken a liking to
my pineapple bottom bait. The fight ensued, but
ended up being a little disappointing, as the fish
came in like a wet sack. Oh well, I was still made
up. As I peered into the net, the fish had stunning
brown and deep red markings, a lovely looking beast.
I sacked it up, and waited for Bill who later came
down to do the honours, the fish turned the scales
to 20lb 8oz .
Bill informed me he would be coming down to join
me later on that afternoon, but he was somewhat
disappointed that I had swim 27, as he had his heart
set on it. The wind and the rain had not dampened my
spirits, and the lake suddenly came to life. I had
liner after liner, during Thursday day, which came
to nothing, but I knew that I had lots of fish in
front of me. My confidence was sky-high. I was
confident in my rigs after nailing the previous
fish. I had scaled my end tackle right down, using
size 8 hooks tied to a 2 and a 1/2 inch hook link. I
didn’t go for a mega stiff rig as I felt they can
look a little awkward if they do not lay flat on the
bottom. I formed a bait loop and attached a small
rig ring from which I tied my bait’s with some
floss. I used black suffix stealth skin to match the
colour of the bottom. With the fish taking the
bottom bait, I had no hesitation presenting all
three on the bottom.
After being joined by Bill who is always good
company, the day soon went, and I arose on Friday
still confident of more fish. However, the weather
had really turned for the worse and it was blowing a
gale and it was lashing down with rain. I was
contemplating going home and putting my feet up.
However, I was soon talked out of this by Bill. How
thankful I was. The wind had changed direction and
was really hammering into swim 47. I quickly re-cast
my rod about 60 yards towards the prevailing wind to
the left of a conspicuous gravel bar with a 3 bait
stringer, nice and easy!! I thought immediately that
this could bring them on and really stir them up.
After missing out in the early morning which is
always a predominant feeding time, I was not
surprised to see my indicator twitch a few times,
just after midday. I raced to my rod, winding into a
larger resident, the fish was moving slowly but
steadfast all the same. I called Bill immediately
and exclaimed excitedly that I had a lump.
Jimbo with Moonscale from Taverham Mills
at 34lb
As the
fish came closer, it was apparent I had a large
mirror.
At this point my arm was really taking a
pounding and then the fish rolled at 15 yards. It
was at this point that Bill shouted “Moonscale”.
With that I told him to shut his mouth! I knew it
was, but I didn’t think about it but we had both
seen the unmistakeable scale. There were one or two
sickening moments as the line grated on his side,
but 5 minutes later, Moonscale was lying in my net.
I thought I was dreaming, and Bill was as excited as
I was.
We got Splash round to do the honours, and I
sent him back to fight another day. The fish I had
caught over the two days were a real bonus. I went
on to lose another smaller fish, possibly a tench,
on Friday evening. But I was still really buzzing
with my result, and felt I had truly earnt it, after
some long drawn out blanks at the Mills in previous
years. I had to thank Bill for making me stay
another day. If it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t have
caught Moonscale. As yet, I have not renewed my
ticket for next year, however, I am gagging to give
it another bash.
