With low water levels on my local river, many species have been taking advantage of the cover and high oxygen levels afforded by weir pools. When several of the regulars reported being broken up on feeder gear, I guessed that carp would be the culprit. The head of carp present has rocketed over the last few years as floods have ‘liberated’ them from the many fisheries that border the river as it winds through the Devon countryside. The long term effects on the river will have to be monitored but at the moment it gives the angler looking for some alternative carping some amazing action.
Arriving at first light, I immediately identified a long crease running a third of the way across as the perfect spot to ambush any carp sitting in the slacker water and moving into the faster water to feed or to clean themselves against the gravel bed, something I’d seen them do regularly on other rivers. A dozen balls of damped down pellets mixed with corn, and boilies were deposited onto the spot, swiftly followed by a couple small mesh pva bags on simple safety clip bolt rigs, 10lb line and my 1.5lb multi feeder rods. As I sat back to watch the tips gently bounce to the rhythm of the current, my anticipation grew.
As the hours passed and as the sun reached higher into the sky, it was clear that the fish weren’t in the area, as previous experience has shown that river carp will generally never turn there nose up to a free meal. Despite the increasingly difficult conditions I moved one rod into the very fast cauldron of water just a few feet from the weir sill in the hope of a barbel. Only a couple minutes later the rod lurched over in the rest, on picking the rod up, the fish continued to take line as easily from the clutch as it had the Freespin, sure enough a few minutes of arm ache later and I was looking down at a cracking double figure mirror, passing the catch of as a fluke I re-positioned the rod, a few minutes later and a repeat performance as an angry carp tore across the weir, the rest of the afternoon was a blur with 9 carp hooked and 6 stunning commons and mirrors landed to just under 17lb, as well as a solitary bream.
It just goes to show that even in the most difficult conditions, trying something different often pays off.
