Pete Kingsbury - What An Overnighter

Posted Carp News at Jan 17, 2012

I was busy training all week up at Thatcham and every day I was passing Horton on the lovely M25, so sorted an overnighter for Friday as the moon phase was bang on for big carp!

On Friday the car was loaded and the weather was meant to be showers with a south easterly wind changing around midnight to light north easterlies which determined where I wanted to be as I only had till 9am on Saturday to spend on the bank.

I carried out all of my exams and managed to get away around 2.30pm which enabled me to get to Horton at 3.30pm. I quickly signed in and hurried down to my chosen swim to find it empty. I thought I would spread my hookbaits around the vast amount of water that my chosen swim commanded. I was using a new uncoated braid which was creating something the fish weren’t used to as a lot of people are using coated hooklinks or stiffer type material, which do not act very natural. I was using new Dynamite Spicy Peanut boilies and decided to use half a pop-up and half a bottom bait which will critically balance the bait - a tactic I had great success with in my early years carping - along with a stringer of halved 15mm frozen Spicy Peanut Boilies.

The alarm was set for around 2.30am to get up and hopefully see a few show themselves as this was the time when you could usually see them but it wasn't long untill the fish started to show opposite in a swim called 'the sick swim'. At around 7pm, I was starting to pack away my stuff for a move when a couple of fish showed in the area of two of my hookbaits so I made a cup of tea and carried on my visual of the fish gradually getting nearer. A couple of fish showed nearer still, which gave me great confidence but then it started to rain quite heavily so I had to retire to bed and dream of monster carp.

My alarm was set for 2.30am so I desperately tried to get some sleep, but the excitement of seeing the fish early and in the area I was fishing meant I was buzzing. Eventually I must have dozed off as my alarm woke me. Thankfully the rain had stopped and I was able to see the entire lake from my swim. Also, the wind had ceased which helped with any ripples coming in so I could suss out where the fish were but I waited until 4am and only saw one fish show which was further down the lake.

I couldn't believe it. Before the rain they were active, so now my confidence was smashed and I went back to bed to get a few more hours sleep and this time set my alarm for 6am. The alarm went and I felt tired but I still got up as I knew I had to be home early. I made a tea and started a slowly pack away. Everything was nicely packed away apart from my three rods.

Time was marching on so I reeled my right hand rod in and once I had that packed away a carp showed twice, roughly in the area where the reeled in rod came from so I quickly got the other two remaining rods in, checked the hook baits were ok, attached a stringer of chopped baits and then prepared to cast them out. The wind stopped just as I was about to cast and I noticed five patches of bubbles in the same area, so I cast both rods out to the area and placed them both on the floor and packed away my alarms and rests.  

I was sitting on my unhooking mat when a bailiff walked into my swim for a chat. As he did my left hand rod was away. I got up and bent into a solid, but moving fish and it was very exciting as it happened so quickly after casting so I concentrated on playing the fish which was just kiting using its weight to its advantage whilst playing what I knew was a big fish. The head bailiff walked into my swim and saw I was playing a fish when he noticed my other rod was away also, so I picked that up as well which was a bit of an issue as I was still playing a large fish on my left hand rod.

Reluctantly, I passed the rod to Del the head bailiff to look after, as I pumped the fish in quickly before the other fish could gain sanctuary in the nasty snag which is in the next swim along. I managed to get the fish close and I got my first glimpse of it and recognised it as Uno which I new would be a forty, so I gently coaxed her into the waiting net.

Whilst Bob secured her in my net, I picked up my other rod and commenced battle with the other fish which by now was a long way out, so I bent into the fish which also felt like a lump. I proceeded to gain control and gain line, the fish came in a lot easier than the first and soon it was gasping ready for netting and in the borrowed net she went first time. Words can't describe how I felt at that point. I was looking at two big mirror carp in the landing nets with about five people in my swim shaking my hand saying how awesome it was to happen in less than 24hrs fishing. I was gob smacked and still cannot believe it as I write this, I had an opportunity to fish, the moon phase was bang on and the weather was spot on, I just got it right and the other factors fell into place to complete the jigsaw.

Once I had calmed down and got out all my essential weighing and camera stuff we proceeded to get them out one by one. We got Uno out first and she weighed 42lb 12oz. We slipped her back and got out the other fish which turned out to be Alfie at 37lb 12oz so I was well happy. I slipped him back with a smile from ear to ear and everyone drifted away and I packed the remaining bits away and headed home.