Everything seems to be in a rush as autumn pushes on and knocks at winter’s door. Golden leaves soon hit the floor and from nowhere toadstools appear overnight. The weather will not settle and is pushed along by winds while every creature living below is busy preparing for what’s to come. As an angler it’s easy to get things wrong, as windows of opportunity close quickly, so it’s important to know which angling opportunities will be gone soon and make the most of them. Every lake is different, but my local venues are productive until the first hard frosts, before shutting down till Christmas has been and gone. Carp therefore always have a place in this part of the calendar and although short, it certainly can be sweet.

The week was typical of autumn, where the weather couldn’t make up its mind what to do but as my 24-hour session grew closer, the wind abated, the clouds parted and while the nights had a nip to them, the days did their best to make me believe it was summer again. The dawn that greeted my arrival was also splendid but unfortunately, I had no time to enjoy it with the prime period for a bite fast approaching. Frantically, I loaded the barrow and was on my way, still needing a torch to unlock the gate. I’m not a fan of rushing unless needs must but it was quite possible that if I missed this morning, I’d have to wait until the following one for a chance to come my way. Hopefully, I’d have time to relax later with a carp or two under my belt, well that was the plan anyway.

Fortunately, the swim was one I knew well with an old wooden platform jutting out of the reeds, originally constructed for fly fishing. The damp algae coated timber meant I had to slow down if I didn’t fancy an early morning dip and I shuffled out across the planks and onto the platform like an old man! Putting all but one of the rods down, the first exercise was to place a dozen spomb payloads over an area I had been successful on in the past. The previous evening, I had made two small buckets of a mix I hoped would prove attractive: crushed Krill boilies, Krill powder, whole 12mm Krill boilies and copious amounts of liquid creating a tacky concoction. After completing the task of spombing, not only was the bottom filled with attraction but so was the water column that I duly cast three leads through. Each one was carrying a combination of 18lb fluorocarbon main line with a helicopter arrangement. Two pieces of ESP tungsten putty sat above this to help pin the line down even more. The hooklink was a 10-inch length of Tungsten Loaded on a pre-tied size 4 ESP Ronnie Rig with the essential Krill pop-up tied on. With the disturbance finished, within 20 minutes and total confidence in my presentation, a bite felt like a certainty during this prime period of the morning.

I’ve fished long enough to sense when my quarry is close by which was confirmed with the odd flick on the line hanging off the rod tip. If you really want to see line bites watch the line and as I don’t believe any type of bobbin shows you everything that is happening. So, with the knowledge of carp present, I was perplexed by the lack of action and as the hours ticked by I scratched my head even more. Suddenly a screaming alarm distracted me, followed by a buckled rod as a 30lb common surged across the lake before breaching 70 yards out. A fish thrashing on the surface wasn’t ideal even if it was a spectacular sight and the relief was palpable when the line started to form a more acute angle. Now this might make me appear ungrateful but once the carp was under control, my mind returned to thoughts of why it had taken so long to get a bite as try as I might, I cannot ever stop assessing the situation which is as much a curse as a blessing. Still, for now, I enjoyed a moment with a beautiful carp that was the epitome of autumn.

I’ve fished long enough to sense when my quarry is close by which was confirmed with the odd flick on the line hanging off the rod tip. If you really want to see line bites watch the line and as I don’t believe any type of bobbin shows you everything that is happening. So, with the knowledge of carp present, I was perplexed by the lack of action and as the hours ticked by I scratched my head even more. Suddenly a screaming alarm distracted me, followed by a buckled rod as a 30lb common surged across the lake before breaching 70 yards out. A fish thrashing on the surface wasn’t ideal even if it was a spectacular sight and the relief was palpable when the line started to form a more acute angle. Now this might make me appear ungrateful but once the carp was under control, my mind returned to thoughts of why it had taken so long to get a bite as try as I might, I cannot ever stop assessing the situation which is as much a curse as a blessing. Still, for now, I enjoyed a moment with a beautiful carp that was the epitome of autumn.

This started with the pre-bait and the other bucket of Krill, particles and liquid, which would have to be taken home. Instead, now only 3 kilos of Krill boilies would be going in the swim, spread over an area the size of a tennis court. Changes were also made to the rigs with a lead clip system replacing the helicopter arrangement and a size 6 ESP Gripper rig fished in conjunction with a straight bottom bait. This time, I would be fishing at the same level as my free offerings. With the plan hatched and executed all I could do was wait for the hungry carp to return.

As nights grow longer, daybreak becomes more special. It’s always with a sense of expectation that I sit and watch the sun return and that day was no different, what had changed however was, whilst there was no more than a golden tinge to the water’s surface, my left-hand rod signalled a bite and before I could deal with the carp responsible the right-hand rod was away as well. A shoal had arrived again for breakfast but this time there was a price to pay. Five carp in total fell foul of my new approach in 3 hours proving that the line between success and failure can sometimes be very fine. Always assess what is happening in front of you and most importantly understand how your quarry is behaving because this is what will truly improve you as an angler!