My first carp.Ledger stops and fairy liquid bottle tops.

Although it was a Sunday. I have always been an early riser. so the need for an alarm clock was limited. Especially on this day, as it was my first foray into the carp fishing world. I was so excited i don't think i slept at all (Still the same to this day!).The sole reason for my mother being up with me was so that she could make my sandwiches fresh for me. Now if you knew my mother that would completely make sense, as she loved to make sure everyone was always fed and watered whatever time of day.  I was going carp fishing with Ollie Butler our next door neighbour and his two twin boys, David and Paul. My fishing had been limited to the odd trip to the river medway at Barming where we lived and one or two sessions fishing for pike at Johnsons lakes in Larkfield. This is where I first caught sight of the serious carp anglers cocooned in their bivvies dotted around the lake. It wasn't till recently that I found out that these anglers were the likes of Chris Haswell and Rod Hutchinson etc.  






                                                   





Dressed in mainly army surplus which in those days was standard dress for most anglers.  I made my way next door just in time to see Ollie opening his garage door to reveal not a car (that was an escort van on the drive) but a fishing store come laboratory for bait making. After marvelling at the myriad of smells coming from the various bottles of flavouring and buckets of mixes. I leant my gear on the wall next to the van.  Ollie wasted no time packing all the equipment needed plus us three boys into the escort. last job for Ollie was to fill the massive tartan thermos with coffee, and with a quick glimpse of mum waving from the front window, (not knowing i had stolen her fairy liquid top for a bobbin!) we were off to our destination which was to be Horton kirby in Dartford. After a quick stop at the corner shop for ollie to get 40 No,6 king size and a mars bar for each of us, we were off.

Upon arrival at the car park it was still dark and the condensation in the cars told me that most of them have been there all night if not all weekend. Armed with my two Gerry Savage carp rods, brolly and various bags of tackle i followed Ollie and the twins as they quietly made there way round the lake to find a swim. As busy as the lake was Ollie and the boys found the only double swim free, while i opted to fish a small swim right in the corner of the lake in a really tight spot. My camping gaz light lit, i set up my chair and brolly and proceeded to tackle up. I slid an ayrsley bomb up the line, and after dropping  4 or 5 i managed to get one of my tiny green and white ledger stops in place. Next i tied (On Ollies recommendation) a size 8 Au lion d'or hook. Bait choice was easy as i had already decided to fish a large cube of luncheon meat on each rod. Notorious for falling off i had used a small piece of rubber tube under the hook to avoid the luncheon meat from falling off on the cast. luncheon meat on  i put the first rod on the rest while i set up the second rod. whilst fiddling around with the small plastic bag of ledger stops to put on the second rod i noticed in the semi dark my rod tip on the first rod was bending to the left in a massive arc and in danger of being pulled off the rest!. I would have had a better indication of the bite but i had not switched my heron bite alarm on!. Blind panic then took over as i dropped everything and picked the rod up.

The tight swim combined with excitement and not being able to reach my net provided me with a very interesting next few minutes. Once a semi calm had ensued and with the fish still providing a very healthy bend in the rod, Ollie appeared out of the semi dark to see what all the commotion was about. He made some room in my somewhat cluttered swim and calmly slid the net in front of me. After what seemed like forever (probably 10 mins),  i finally saw the fish as it turned and as if with a show of defiance it nonchalantly flicked its tail in the air and then surged off up the margin. I applied as much pressure as i dared and managed to turn the fish just before it wiped out a sleeping anglers rods in the next swim.  My arms weren't used to this amount of effort at this hour of the morning and were feeling the strain.  After one more laboured turn on the surface from the now tired fish, Ollie moved in front of me and sank the net in water. With the fish now on its side and coming towards me Ollie wasted no time in scooping in into the vast net. On passing me the net I was thinking what happens next as ollie ran to his swim to get a mat to put the fish on. Ollie returned with the twins just as i was peering into the green mesh at my trophy. Which was a beautifully scalled mirror carp.  After carefully placing the fish on the mat and instructing one of the twins to get some water, Ollie weighed the fish on some avon scales. The fish weighed 14lb but that meant nothing to me as i was still in shock as to the beauty of this majestic creature and the fight it had given me. Then as the early morning mist was sweeping across the lake we returned the fish to its home and rebaited the rods and although nothing else was caught that day (by anyone in fact!). You couldn't have got the smile off my face. Ollie came round to my swim with his massive thermos flask and poured me a coffee, "well done" he said And while Sitting in my chair eating my mars bar and sipping my ballistically hot coffee (healthy fishing breakfast) i thought to myself  "I never got a picture of my first carp", but i did not need one as the sight of that first carp will be etched in my mind forever more.