‘TAKING YOUR CHANCES’ – JAMES VINCENT

J A M E S

V I N C E N T

Taking Your Chances After viewing a DVD showing one magnificent fish named Scaley, James just had to set out his stall to catch her. She may not have been the biggest fish in the world, but sometimes size isn’t important!

E

very year I suffer the dilemma (as do all anglers) of where to fish, weighing up the pros and cons of the lakes, and the stock being angled for, with my biggest concern and consideration being whether the angling opportunity will be available in the future, be it due to predation or oversubscription. Other considerations to be taken into account include angling pressure, access, and rules, along with travelling, but ultimately it’s the capture of certain fish that does it for me. I’m going to reflect on an opportunity that certainly came knocking but, unfortunately for me, was a chance lost, although great

089-092_TakingYourChances_CW261.indd 1

ABOVE Back she goes to fight another day.

benefits in my fishing were achieved and lessons were learned from the experience, but sadly the ultimate prize became an unachievable goal.

For many, fishing is a pastime, simply that, a recreation for passing the time; for others it is a hobby, trying to improve on one’s successes. However, for some of us it truly is in the blood – a passion to catch, hold, and return our prized targets and achieving our self-set goals.

Six years ago I was handed a DVD, which had been made on the banks of a Norfolk syndicate by the regular crew who were fishing it. The creative ability of the now sadly deceased Andy Thomson in the making of the video

really got the juices flowing, culminating in the capture of a fish called Scaley.

As on many syndicates, this was one of those ‘once a year to the bank fish’ – but what a fish, just pushing the 30lb barrier but awesome in its beauty with the size irrelevant. That said, she was steadily putting on the weight.

The DVD made its way to me via a good friend, Tony, who actually got to know the lake owner through a chance meeting at work. He told me I had to sit and watch it as soon as possible.

The stock was impressive, nothing massive, but numerous individual character fish, with the anglers seeming to be a good bunch too. As I said,

89

21/05/2012 19:24

Taking Your Chances James Vincent

the DVD culminated in the capture of the fish called Scaley, and upon viewing the footage, my hair stood on end – only on my back and arms of course, being follically-challenged on the head! Tony knew what my reaction to the DVD would be without me even having to say, “When are we getting a ticket mate?”

The necessary had already been sorted, and before we knew it, we were doing our first night doubled up in the Duck Swim, watching out over the lake. This really was just an overnighter, but it felt great to be on a new lake, angling for a fish we both felt was a realistic target.

The night was pretty uneventful, with only a pike for my trouble. Tony managed three, but all red-eyes, with the biggest of his trio being just over 9lb. Not bad, because Tony also likes his match angling, so a tench of this size opened his eyes to the other species on offer at the venue. I visited the lake again with Tony and fished in a swim called the Ash Tree, unfortunately losing a carp in the middle of the night. This time Tony managed two double-figure bream.

I soon got to know the other anglers on the venue, who were very helpful, but my time, as always, was very limited, so it was a few months before I returned and applied some of the information they shared with me.

My next session was a 48-hour one, which resulted in my first capture of a carp from the venue, along with my second and third. I remember it like it was yesterday; the runs were so infrequent and I was actually on the phone when I received a one-toner.

I lifted into a fish hoping that I was connected to the one called Scaley. A decent battle ensued and I landed a mirror of around 20lb. A few pictures later, the fish was returned and the baited rig was soon back fishing on the spot.

I didn’t have to wait too long for my second fish, and watched as the bobbin lifted and the line pulled from the clip on the same rod. I knew this one was

90

089-092_TakingYourChances_CW261.indd 2

RIGHT The Long Common, believed to be a 30-pounder now.

The first one on any new water is always welcome, even in the rain.

BELOW

smaller, weighing in at 16lb, but it was another of the lake’s inhabitants and one bite closer to Scaley. For me, any fish is worthy of capture and the ones here have grown steadily and all looks well for the future. The third capture of this session was a fish that still swims in the water to this day, and is now believed to be a 30. On its last capture, in the summer of 2011, it weighed just over 28lb and seems to be steadily growing.

My capture of this fish, called The Long Common, at just over 23lb, rounded off a most enjoyable session where I also met a couple of the lake’s characters.

Thor, a duck with a couple of feathers that pointed up on each wing, and Gemima Puddle, a completely white duck that would end up in your bivvy looking for food whenever your back was turned. These characters help make the memories and learning the lake’s secrets more enjoyable – although my next trip, an overnighter which featured a duck encounter, wasn’t so good!

I was stealthily fishing a reedline in around 10ft of gin-clear water, I had fish feeding and a take was imminent.

The alarm sounded but a flapping duck soon revealed the culprit. I was amazed that they could locate food at such depth. That’s all to report for that session, and season, but I had managed

three fish in four trips. Although they all came in one session out of the four trips, it was a good return because a couple of members had angled over 60 nights without managing a capture.

The following season I opted to renew my ticket, hoping to have more time to spend on the banks of the lake.

I kept putting off my first session of the year because I was happy fishing a local syndicate with just five anglers and only a six-mile drive – why ever would I want to travel 40 miles? It soon became all too apparent the reasons why we do what we do…

I was going to fish the weekend with Gary, the bailiff, on the syndicate, but I actually ended up fishing a charity match in aid of Cancer Research on the local syndicate. I was fishing alongside 18 other anglers. The lake had never seen this much pressure, but a barbecue and good company made the whole event a great success, raising money for such a good cause. I managed a couple of fish too, but I missed an 8.00 a.m. call from Gary over on Africa Pit. This was the DVD name given to the syndicate lake I joined in my quest for Scaley.

The place has an air of secrecy, and for many its location is still unknown to this very day and its name is still Africa Pit. Although Gary is now a very good friend, at the time we only really communicated on captures, and I knew he was on Africa for the weekend, which meant only one thing – he must have had her, I just knew.

I tried to call him back but it wasn’t until nearly midday that the news reached me that he had, indeed, caught Scaley, at 34lb 4oz.

People who know me can vouch for the fact that I am not the most organised of people, and I was actually supposed

“The place has an air of secrecy, and for many its location is still unknown to this very day”

21/05/2012 19:24

Taking Your Chances James Vincent

to be fishing with Gary that weekend and therefore missed the opportunity to see her on the bank. This was the kick up the backside my angling needed.

Seeing the pictures reignited the desire to capture her, but knowing the nature of her past capture history, it would be a while before she visited the banks again.

Her beauty had not gone unnoticed and there were a number of new (and keen) anglers holding a ticket for the lake, and with two or three other fish now in the 30lb bracket, it wasn’t too long before the lake was to start receiving more attention and greater angling pressure.

The attention of two lads in particular, who had a lot of time on their hands, was the start of it becoming difficult to get onto fish. Window cleaners by profession, meant that they would always be there in bad weather because windows can’t be cleaned in the rain, which invariably meant the right conditions to catch, in times of low pressure. The early finishes to their working day meant they always beat others to the lake for prime swim choice and, to be fair, they were using the opportunities to their advantage.

I take nothing away from these lads because they are both very competent anglers, but neither the lake nor the other anglers had previously seen this flexible approach, which resulted in great catch returns for them. They were doing up to four nights a week – I was lucky to get that over two months.

Nobody could compete with the time at their disposal and it became a bit of a competition, making the angling a real challenge; you really had to pull out the stops. You couldn’t compete in terms of numbers of fish caught, but taking the opportunities and chances when they arose was good angling.

After a blank overnighter in a swim called the Pub, I had a walk around to bait a couple of spots. I started by throwing a few baits in the Car Park Bay, concentrating on a hole in the weed of about 2ft circumference, which almost reached the surface in some 6ft of water. I did a circuit of the 10-acre lake, paying particular attention to the snag trees, taking around 40 minutes to complete my lap. On returning to the Car Park Bay I spotted a fish sitting right over the hole in the weed, as if waiting for some more bait to be fed.

It gently glided away, but I knew an opportunity was looming. A couple more handfuls of bait and I was on the road, making the 45-mile journey home for a quick check on the animals, a review of work, and a decent meal. I knew the window cleaners would be on by 3.30 p.m. and I also knew the Car Park was the prime swim for a

ABOVE The fish I caught from the hole in the weed, definitely an opportunist fish.

BELOW LEFT The Mug at 35lb 4oz.

It really should be renamed!

BELOW RIGHT The sun sets on another day in heaven.

bite out of the hole, but I had to make sure I got there first. The gear stayed in the car and I hastily did the necessary at home before setting off back to the lake, all the way hoping, but doubting, I would get the swim. Would I beat the WC boys? I pulled into the car park some five minutes before they arrived and the swim was mine. They joked that they would have gone in there but there was nothing to give away the fact the hole was being visited, and I set up accordingly. The swim is right on top of the bay so I knew a night-time bite was more probable, even though the fish was there in broad daylight earlier in the day.

At 11.00 p.m., under the cover of darkness, the inevitable happened and the alarm sounded. I leant into a fish, which came straight out of the hole and made for the main body of the lake. A spirited battle ensued and I slipped the net under another of the lake’s elusive mirrors, a cracking-looking fish and another infrequent visitor to the bank.

This was definitely an opportunist fish and certainly a fine example of taking my chances. Fair reward for the effort made.

On my following visit I had a swim in mind – unless, of course, the lake

91

089-092_TakingYourChances_CW261.indd 3

21/05/2012 19:25

Taking Your Chances James Vincent

told me otherwise. As I walked past a swim called the Lawns, a fish lumped out, making the choice an easy one. On this occasion I opted to lead around, finding some hard silt on which to present a hookbait. The second was in the same area but up tight against a weedbed. The third was positioned to my right into the Car Park Bay and was the simplest of underarm casts at about 5yds’ range. It still took me nine or 10 casts until I was happy with the drop, but when I found it, a couple of handfuls of crushed boilies followed, and the rod was fishing. I set up a snag bar using a bankstick through the reel handle, because I was sure if anything was hooked it would leave the bay at a rate of knots.

I was woken at 2.00 a.m. by a onetoner. With the two alarms in front of me only on night-lights, it had to be the Car Park Bay rod. On lifting the rod from the rests I was immediately flat-rodded and knew a decent fish was attached, making its way down the bar and towards the Point, where it broke the surface, the disturbance visible in the moonlight as the ripples spread out. I was very restricted in the angle I

could apply, due to fishing from a very unpopular and overgrown bank, but I did make ground, and before long I slipped the net under a lump. It wasn’t Scaley, but instead the biggest fish in the lake, a mirror weighing in at 35lb 4oz going by the name of The Mug. Now I know every lake has a ‘mug’ fish, but this reputation had been earned when she was around 17lb and a frequent visitor to the bank. Of course she hadn’t grown to her current proportions by ignoring anglers’ baits, but she was a less frequent visitor as she grew older and perhaps should have been renamed. She died at a weight just shy of 40lb, being caught by three different anglers at 39lb 15oz. Another opportunity gone, but on this occasion I had taken mine.

I did lose a couple in my time on Africa Pit, one in particular I felt was a decent fish. Again, opportunist fishing, and locked up next to a snag. Tackle failure was to blame on this occasion; one of the ceramics had gone on the first guide, and whilst playing the fish, my braided main line glanced the broken edge of the ceramic and cut me free from what may have been Scaley.

That was my last trip to the lake and

“On lifting the rod from the rests I was immediately flat-rodded and knew a decent fish was attached”

ABOVE Kissy, kissy.

Sometimes the fish were visible on the surface.

The very much sought after Scaley on her final capture to Gary Chapman in July 2007.

BELOW

later that season, the summer of 2009, Scaley was found dead. She has graced the pages of Carpworld in the past and even won a competition for the bestlooker, voted for by CW readers. She was one of Norfolk’s finest and at the top of the ‘to catch’ list of many anglers. She made me realise that when you have the opportunity, and often the privilege, to pursue certain fish, it’s often best to take the chances with both hands. We can all make an excuse for not getting out on the bank, but I can safely say I have really enjoyed my last few years’ angling, setting my own realistic targets and achieving them, often against the odds.

I have actually rejoined Africa Pit this year and I’m looking forward to a session or two. CW

92

089-092_TakingYourChances_CW261.indd 4

21/05/2012 19:25