It’s finally over!

After 6 barren nights by the lake, and only 1 fish since the beginning of November, I bagged this little cracker at 10am today (As always, click the picture for a larger version)

At 14lb 2oz it may not be the biggest fish I’ve ever caught, but few others have taken such hard work to get on the bank. The fish was taken on 3 pieces of fake corn, popped up about an inch from the bottom on a Kryston ‘Supernova’ supple braided hooklink. If you look back at yesterday’s post, it was taken on ‘Rod 1′, in 2.5ft of water.

The take came only 10 minutes after making the awkward cast through the bare willow fronds, and consisted of a sharp lift, followed by a very pronounced dropback. As I was sitting only 2ft from the rods I was on it in a flash, and after a short dogged scrap I slipped the net under my first December Carp from St James’ lake.

Having unhooked and returned the fish to the water in the net, it was time to test out my new camera, and how it would handle the ’self-takes’. I’m really pleased with the result, and I think it shows off the winter colours of this mint specimen exceptionally well.

I can’t tell you how much of a buzz it was to quietly slip this fish into the water knowing that the single reason I caught it was because of the thought and effort I had put in the previous day - that’s my kind of achievement!

And all before the frost had melted…

Stumble it!