Enter the Dragon! Syndicate Carp fishing.

I didn't know it at the time but the 12th season on the West Stow Carp syndicate would be my last. But as it happened it was probably as good a time to leave as any. This is how I met up with a Carp older than me (37 at the time) and the most sought after Carp in the 17 acre Suffolk lake.

It was midsummer and I was starting a midweek session after the stunning Carp that inhabit the lake. The lake was quiet angler wise so I had a good chance of finding an area that would give me a chance of catching. After a walk around the lake i decided to fish a swim that gave me open water and an island to target. I saw a few fish show in the open water and there were nearly always fish around the island. I fired out a choddy towards the corner of the island and another to the bottom of a plateau in front of me. I scattered my homemade squid n shellfish boilies over the rigs and sat back to take in the atmosphere. Nothing happened that night and I was getting restless. I sat next to my rods scanning the lake and noticed a fish jump clear of the water up the top end of the lake. This was the sign I needed to move. And on a lake that can be very busy is not something you can do too often.

I got to the new swim that commanded a bay where the wind was pumping right into. I cast a choddy left to the bay entrance and cast a combi rig into the open water right on top a fish I just saw come up. No alarms. Just the rods on the ground and the net ready just in case. Suddenly the open water rod made a ping as the line pilled from the clip. I pulled into a strong fish that made me work hard from the off. It made several strong runs but each one less so than the previous run. It glided into the net and when I lifted it I knew it was a goodun! Surprisingly I was the only angler on the lake and it was Friday afternoon! I had to weigh it on my own (which was a struggle) and the needle spun round to 38lb 10oz. A new pb! I didn't recognize the fish at the time but it was a fish called "the Dragon" and normally weighed well over 40lb. He was probably around 40 years old and the most sought after fish in the lake. I managed to get a few good self take pictures to capture the memory of this special Carp.

That was not the end of the action though. Just minutes after returning the Dragon the other rod was away! Again a hard fight was sapping my energy and I had not recovered from the previous fight. Without too much drama I netted a very long common that was immaculate. Again I weighed and photographed the fish on my own. She weighed 29lb 10oz. Worth the move right?! Lol. 

I called it a day for that session but went back for a few more and had a few fish too. I was so happy to catch the Dragon and it seemed a fitting season to call it a day on West Stow for pastures new. I may go back one day as there are still some cracking Carp in there. But for now I have other waters that need my attention : )