freeline-105 - Flipbook - Page 94
EXCLUSIVE
Sandmartin lake had a f e w
2 0 lbers to scraper 30’s a n d
m allard was owned by t h e
f a r mer who allowed a bi t o f
w i ld swimming and the o d d
j e t ski from time to time. We
d i d get a bit of permissi o n t o
f i s h there. I started f ish i n g
K i ngfisher Lake in the Octo b e r
a n d plann ed on fishing r i g h t
f o r t h e s a m e t h i n g t o h ap p e n
again, another line trailer! A
c o m m o n o f a r o u n d 2 0 l b. L e s
M a r sh wa l k ed i n t o m y s w i m
a n d a sk e d i f I h a d a n y t h i n g
I jokingly told him, “This
place is a piece of piss I’ve
already had 2 on the marker
f l o a t !” I k n e w t h i s a r e a w o u l d
b e t h e p e rf e c t w i n t e r s p o t
t h rough w inter until I cau g h t
B e nson. It didn’t reall y h a v e
w i nter for m, and I was t o l d
i t was difficult, but I w a s
u n deterred. That fir st ses s i o n
m arkering around I fo un d a
l o vely silt y bowl that sa t a t
t h e base of a small plat e a u ,
a n area that I really fanci e d a s
t h e silty bowl would act a s a
n a tural larder and the sl op e o f
t h e plateau offered d iffe r e n t
d e pths for the fish to m o v e
u p and d own as th e w a te r
t e mps fluctuated. I pla c e d
m y marker flat out and wh i l s t
b a iting a rig the marker f l o a t
r o d tore off, and I reeled i n a
2 6 lb common trailin g lin e. I
q u ickly clipped back up o n l y
t o t a rg e t a n d e v e n t h o ug h i t
was in front of a swim called
the lock swim I decided to
f i s h i t f ro m t h e r a t s s w i m a s
I th o u g h t i f a n y o n e se e n m e
catching and jumped in rats I
could drop into the lock swim
a n d b e o n th e s p o t . I b a i t e d
t h a t a r e a r el i g i o u s l y 3 d a y s
on 4 days off with crumbed
boiley and around a gallon of
magots each time as maggots
w e re a l l o w e d b a c k t h e n . I h a d
a f a n t a s ti c w i n t e r c a t c h i n g
33 fish. The highlight of that
campaign came in the January
when I managed to catch the
n o r th e r n c o m m o n a t 4 1 l b 1 0 o z .
H o w e v e r, e l a t i o n w o u l d s o o n
turn to despair as 10 minutes
BigCarp 92
