John Bird Ten Years for Two-Tone
You meet some exceptional anglers when you produce a magazine of Carpworld’s stature, and one such carp angler who falls into that category is John Bird, or Little John, as he is known to those who fish with him. Little John has spent the last 10 years on the notoriously difficult Conningbrook in Kent, and a few weeks ago he came face to face with his obsession, the mighty Two-Tone, at a British record weight of 66lb 15oz. This is his story.
20
020-031_TenYearsForTwoTone_CW2132 2
23/5/08 13:37:15
new boy label just made me more determined to prove a point. It’s very much different today, of course, and all those anglers have become a major part of my angling life, becoming life-long friends and some of the very best people and carp anglers I know, especially Paul Forward, but more about them later. On my third or fourth night on the Brook I was awoken in the early hours of the morning by Lee Jackson, with the news that Dave Lane had just caught the biggest carp in the lake, the awesome Two-Tone at a mind-boggling 54lb! “Do you want to see it?” he asked. Did I want to see it!? I walked round with Lee and when I saw Two-Tone in the flesh for the first time I was shocked at the proportions of the carp and how big it looked.
John Bird
you were 18, so the following year I got one. Setting up for that first time, the lake was very intimidating and somewhat overwhelming. I started to think I might not get a bite for a year, just the sheer size of the water started to play games with the mind, as it was far bigger than anything I had tackled before. It was only after those first few nights fishing the place that the realisation of the challenge I had taken on began to sink in. I got the impression from the blokes fishing the place that they possibly felt I really shouldn’t have been there, after all I was very young and, to a degree, very inexperienced for a water like Conningbrook. I was very much the new boy and it’s fair to say that they kept it that way for the foreseeable future. However, the
Ten Years for Two-Tone
I
t was 1999 and I was 17 at the time, and I’d been hearing about a venue that held a few carp. The venue was called Conningbrook in Kent, part of the Mid Kent Fisheries water portfolio – ultra-hard, they said. It wasn’t too far from where I was living at the time, and once I’d fathomed out where it was, it looked like a nice bit of water. In the late afternoons when I finished college, I used to walk around it, looking and wondering if the whispers I had heard about the place were indeed true. I think it was Terry Hearn’s capture of the Long Common that triggered me into having a go on there. It was jet black, a proper carp and almost like a woodcarving, just awesomelooking. As I’ve said, I was still only 17 and you couldn’t have a full ticket for the Brook until
21
020-031_TenYearsForTwoTone_CW2133 3
23/5/08 13:38:51
John Bird Ten Years for Two-Tone
The pond where dreams do come true.
y “To this da to in g I can’t be tions o m e e describe th n ed; o one I experienc the I was plotted up in a swim As Dave released the buzzing with , and I was h o massive frame back into called The Lifebuoy and it was e comm n th f o re tu p ca late afternoon when I got a the pond, I thought to other I was yet on the ated st a screaming take, and after a short myself, ‘I really want to v e d lly tota of the fight on the surface, I netted a spend some time here and at the loss ke” common of 19lb. I was well happy go on to catch that carp.’ second ta and totally ecstatic with my first However, I was also telling Conningbrook carp, all 19lb of it! Then myself that I wasn’t here to catch half an hour later I got another screamer. I Two-Tone, I was just here to get a bite. connected and started a really dogged battle, Those first few months really were a time but the carp stayed deep and some 20 minutes for getting to know the pond and the people later disaster struck as the hook pulled out. who fished there, and unlike today there To this day I can’t begin to describe the weren’t actually that many carp anglers on the emotions I experienced; on one hand I was Brook. From memory, the people fishing there buzzing with the capture of the common, yet were Dave Lane (who left straight after the on the other I was totally devastated at the loss capture), Lee Jackson, Ian Brown, Lee Watson, of the second take. The realisation of what had Mark Tolland, Rod Killick, Dave Woods, Paul happened was to bring with it the thought that Forward, Adrian Eves (aka Texas Tom), Kevin I may not get another chance of a bite for who Cummings, and one or two others, so it wasn’t knows how long. over-busy with angler pressure. I carried on fishing two to three nights a Around that time I was really mad for it week until late October, it was an accepted and by September of that year I had fished thing that the Brook closed up shop for the for 60 nights, mainly overnighters after work, leaving the next day to get back to work. I well colder months and the lake’s residents buried their heads until the spring. remember that 60th night though, as it was to Looking back, it was a be my first taste of success. That all-important first bite; it brings back mixed emotions of happiness and disaster.
fantastic first year. I’d had two takes and been present for some of the other captures that took place. Yes, it was a massive learning curve and I really couldn’t wait for the following spring. During that first year, one particular capture that really stood out was of a carp called The Long Common, caught by Ian Brown. I netted the carp for Ian and was able to share in what, for me, was just an unbelievable experience. This carp was to become my main target; I was often able to observe it in the edge and it looked to be very catchable in the margins if I got everything right – and that type of angling prospect really excited me. Another result I remember from that first year was Texas Tom’s capture of a carp called the Friendly Mirror. I can’t remember the weight, but it was a stunning carp anyway. On to 2000 The second year was the millennium year and I started to get active at the lake around April time, as soon as my new ticket dropped through the door. With the start of the season and the weather warming up, the same old faces from my first year started to trickle back to the banks Ian Brown, or Browny, as he is known, with the Long Common at a smidgen over 40lb.
Texas Tom with the Friendly Mirror. The weight is irrelevant – just look at that carp.
22
020-031_TenYearsForTwoTone_CW2134 4
23/5/08 13:42:43
The one they call The Tesco’s Common, caught from Little Conningbrook. She now resides in the Brook and was last caught in 2007 at 38lb+.
Ten Years for Two-Tone
The Scaly at 28lb 4oz, caught at the end of April 2000.
John Bird
of the Brook once again, along with a few other new faces. With the new influx, out went my label of ‘the new boy’, something I was really pleased about, and I felt the majority of the group now accepted me. The pursuit continued and the Brook got my full attention from the off. I was once again putting in the hours, two to three nights a week. It wasn’t until the back end of April that I got a bite and I slipped the net under another of the Brook’s residents, a carp called Scaly at a weight of 28lb 4oz, and my first mirror from the water. There was plenty going on around me, and to be honest with you, I was so engrossed that the first few months are all a bit of a haze as various other carp fell foul to the many traps that were being laid by the other anglers fishing there. One thing that was relevant was the fact Watto, in up to his danglers and in he goes.
that I was able to watch several of the lake’s residents up close and personal, as they were starting to venture into the margins on more than one occasion. Around May time, while walking the Brook, I took myself over the back to Little Conningbrook, not far from the main lake, which held about eight or nine carp back then. I found a few carp to angle for on a very hot sunny day and in two hours of angling I went on to lose what I think was the biggest mirror in the lake at that time. I was obviously disappointed, but with the carp still having the floaters I carried on angling and managed to bank a carp now known as The Tesco’s Common, now residing in Conningbrook. I was soon back on the main lake and in July the water was coated with a blue-green algae, making the clarity of the water very poor. However, I was still seeing the odd carp in the edge from time to time. On one particular afternoon I was making a lap of the lake with Lee Watson, looking for carp in the edge. We didn’t find much, but because I had been the first to arrive, Lee offered me first choice of swim for the coming night. I headed off to a swim called Mouldy Corner, and I remember making my choice based on a nice fresh southwesterly. After arriving in the swim I got up a tree and looked down over the marginal area. There in the water below was The Long Common, all by itself, mooching around a group of reeds. I just about flew down the tree and started to assemble some rods, with shaking hands. Not long after I got the bait in a position very close to a reedbed (I’d waited for the opportunity after
the carp had moved out). The bait was lowered onto a spot no more that six feet from the reeds where The Long Common had last been seen. I was well happy and I was fishing effectively for a carp that I had seen. I sat back and opened a tin of beer, soaking up the sun and the atmosphere of the Brook. Not too long after The Long Common came back in, and with this I retreated behind a bit of cover, awaiting events. A few moments later Lee Watson arrived in the swim and I told him what I’d seen. I remember him saying, “Good chance Johnny, you’ll either catch it or you won’t.” Half an hour later the rod was being dragged into the lake as the culprit tried to make its escape. Instinctively, I knew which carp it was and I stood there in a bit of a daze as it proceeded to rip 50 yards of line off the reel. I shouted to Lee and he came running round to assist with the netting. The battle was long and nail-biting at times but finally Lee slid the net under the anticipated Long Common at 37lb 8oz. I was in bits; a plan had been evaluated, put into practice and had paid off, and what made it really sweet was the downfall of this particularly hard-to-catch carp. I carried on for the rest of that year, the usual two nights a week. I must be honest here; although I was happy at achieving my target capture I wasn’t as driven as I had been at the start. I started to ease off a little on the Brook and venture elsewhere where there was slightly less pressure.
One very angry Long Common, trapped in the edge… sweet.
020-031_TenYearsForTwoTone_CW2135 5
23
23/5/08 13:47:02
020-031_TenYearsForTwoTone_CW2136 6
23/5/08 13:47:23
“
Paul Forward, aka Mr. F., with the awesome White Tips.
The social element on the Brook was truly something to behold, especially with the anglers who were fishing there at that time. I’d formed a particularly good friendship with Paul Forward, plus many others, and I felt that I’d now well and truly earned my place on the pond
Although much of the life at the Brook involved angling, the socials were truly something to behold.
”
John Bird
A young Simon Bater from the late ’90s.
2001 The following year, which was 2001, saw me make a few changes in life. Basically, my parents moved away to Scotland, which left me in a bit of a dilemma as to where I was going to live. I looked at renting in the local area and, by chance, I was talking to Joe, who lived in the big house right on the banks of the Brook. I told him of my current situation and he offered to rent me lodgings in the barn on the side of the house. ‘What could be better?’ I thought, and within a week I had moved all my worldly possessions into the barn. I couldn’t have been happier, as I now had Conningbrook literally on my doorstep! By this time it was mid-July and the odd one or two had been caught. The social element on the Brook was truly something to behold, especially with the anglers who were fishing there at that time. In fact, now in my third year, I’d formed a particularly good friendship with Paul Forward, plus many others, and I felt that I’d now well and truly earned my place on the pond. This was the year that a long-term friend of mine, Simon Bater, with whom I had fished on a couple of other waters before coming to the Brook, decided to take the plunge and come and fish at the Brook. As crazy as it sounds, my angling on the Brook measured up to around 20 nights on the pond that year, resulting in one capture, a small common out of the edge. Living at Joe’s put a different perspective on life and fishing. Basically, Joe had a large ‘Labroweiller’ (a cross between a rottie and a labby), weighing in at an incredible seven stone. Bruce was his name and robbing anglers was his game. One particular Bruce story revolved around a spool of MultiStrand hooklength material. I was walking up the bank one day, after a social cuppa with Cockle (Mark Toland), when I came across Bruce, who was making some rather strange coughing noises. I stopped and watched in amazement as on the final cough he barfed up a full spool of Multi-Strand, complete with its outer plastic case. Baffled by this (and many previous encounters of a similar nature) I set about trying to find out who it had been taken from this time. I went back down the track and came across Cockle frantically searching the grass around his swim for something he had obviously lost. I produced the soggy Multi-
Ten Years for Two-Tone
One from a gone-but-not-forgotten water in Charham, caught while putting my time to good use while away from the Brook.
25
020-031_TenYearsForTwoTone_CW2137 7
23/5/08 13:51:22
John Bird Ten Years for Two-Tone 26
Strand, which apparently he had been searching for, for the last ten minutes! “Where did you find that?” he asked. “Inside the walking, munching, thieving tackle box,” said I. Later that year Gary Bayes got the red card after banking Two-Tone at a notable first capture over the 60lb barrier, providing England with a new record. With Two-Tone now over 60lb there weren’t that many places in the lake where it could hide, and the massive bulk of carp could often be found in the edge soaking up the summer sun. I spent hours watching and waiting for my chance, but still enjoyed everything else about the Brook while this obsession with Two-Tone grew and grew.
Cockle (aka Mark Toland) with the Brook’s Little Friendly Common.
Dave Woods (Woodsy), a true legend and a great friend, with his first-ever 30lb common.
camaraderie around the lake, the likes of which I had never experienced before, life on the Brook was very good. Nobody fell out with anyone, it was a real gentleman’s angling club, to be enjoyed by those who made the Brook what it was, and still is, today. It wasn’t until September that I wet my net again, and this time the culprit was a small common caught from an area called Pump Bay, the take coming in the hours of darkness. It was such a surprise that I nearly wet the bed – again! October came and with it a repeat capture, which is something I try to avoid if possible, but with a place like the Brook it’s sometimes unavoidable. Some of the residents had started to get a little bit bait orientated, some more than others, especially at that time of the year. This particular carp turned out to be the Long Common again, much to the frustration of Lee Watson and Pet Food Paul who were both well into catching this carp. The irony was that I was to meet this carp yet again, in the not-too-distant future! And that, for me that year, was about it on the bite front, but a few others on the lake had started to put the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle into place, namely Lee Jackson who, after a seven-year campaign, caught Two-Tone at yet another British Record weight of 61lb 7oz. Lee put a real plan into operation, which involved liquidised bread and a few other little bits, and the rest is history, as they say. On August 29th 2002 Lee achieved what many of us were there for, slipping the net under that great big fat old mirror carp. Lee left the Brook a short time later with a chapter of his carp fishing life well and truly written. In fact, Lee is currently writing a book about his time on the Brook and the article you are reading now is going to figure as a guest chapter in it, so I’ll leave it there. Hopefully you’ll get to see and read a copy in years to come.
2002 The spring of 2002 brought with it a new influx of anglers and the Brook was beginning to attract the attention of anglers far and wide. Terry Glebioski had caught Two-Tone in 2000, at a record weight, and because of this it was bound to happen. Although the big one was always at the back of my mind, I was still very much enjoying it, angling when and how I wanted, very much on my own terms. My Another good friend who first encounter of that season was with an old is regarded as Conningfriend of mine, namely The Tesco’s Common, brook’s head chef and which I had caught previously from Little bottle top opener, Gary Conningbrook. However, she was a different Rochester with the Fully creature altogether now and whacked the scales Scaled at 37lb. for 31lb, packing on the pounds from the abundance of natural food items that the Brook cultivated in her depths. Although I used the word ‘target’ earlier, at that time I wasn’t really in the frame of mind for setting my “I’d learnt stall out for just one carp. I’d t learnt by now that you’d have by now tha to be daft to put all your e to be three rods into position. Later you’d hav in the day, into early evening, efforts into just one fish on all your the middle rod sprang to life, the Brook. However, a carp daft to put just with the alarm screaming out christened The Friendly efforts into a one-toner. I played the carp Mirror started to creep into e th n o one fish very gingerly for around five my thoughts, big time. Brook” minutes; it was a good fish and I started to fish hard again one or two of the residents’ and by April had managed names were spinning through another carp, a 25lb common from my head. But fate was again to The Sign Swim. I was fishing away and started deal her cruel hand, and a few to see a few carp showing themselves, quite seconds later the hooked pulled startling when you considered the low stock free. Gutted! So, it was back to density at the time! It was a quick-think the drawing board and I just capture; when I say that I mean that I was looking at the prospect of not seeing, let alone carried on fishing hard, and partying a little along capturing, a carp for months, and then out the way. With a of the blue a window of opportunity arose. real sense of I soon learnt to react to these odd occasions when the carp, in my opinion, were up for a bit of food. I wound a rod in and quickly recast to the area of disturbance. The lead went down cleanly in a reasonable depth of water at about 15 yards out and I catapulted a pouchful of particle over the top. Trap set – time to sit back and make a brew. I was very confident of some action and ten minutes later off it went. A few moments after that, into the net went another Conningbrook carp, a very surprised and very tatty common. Around that time I had a bit of an experience What more can I say – a truly magnificent beast. when yet another chance arose. I saw a few fish moving around an area of the lake called The Bay at around 30 yards out and I quickly got
020-031_TenYearsForTwoTone_CW2138 8
23/5/08 13:56:03
Ten Years for Two-Tone John Bird
2003 I was now into my fifth year on the Brook and was working with Paul Forward, doing some general roofing work. It was good fun, because being an angler himself the perfect carpy weather would often result in us downing tools and bobbing off to the local pond. Once again I was into full swing on the lake, kicking off in the March of that year once the first signs of life started to appear. In the early spring I was starting to see a few carp around the lake as they slowly started to creep into the shallower water, but not right into the margins just yet. One day, I was fishing in Pump Bay, an area I favoured after seeing a few fish move in there, off the end of a brand new northwesterly wind. At 7 o’clock in the next morning, one of the rods was off and I was into the first take of 2003, but yet again I suffered a hookpull. I was slightly concerned about this and went off to work seething. I was very intent on revenge. About an hour into the daily grind, while balanced on the top of a roof in Kent somewhere, the rain started to lash down. Paul looked at me and could see I was suffering, so he told me to do the off and get back up to the Brook and catch one. I didn’t need telling twice and an hour later I was back on the bank and back in the same swim. Thankfully, in my absence only one other angler had seen the carp in that area, namely Pet Food Paul, who had
The capture of any Conningbrook carp always brings a social gathering of picture takers and helpers. Proper carp fishing with proper carp anglers.
plotted up not too far away down the bank on The Long Lawn. Within an hour of casting back out, Pet Food had landed a lovely old Conningbrook mirror affectionately known as Tom’s Pet, due to the fact that an angler known as Texas Tom had caught it no fewer than three times. It’s a bit of an exceptional carp, as nowadays it only tends to grace the bank once a year. The magnificent creature weighed in at around 32lb and I took a few pictures for him before getting back to the job in hand. With the carp still in the Bay area I wasn’t
too concerned about the disturbance that Tom’s capture had caused and I sat back, really confident of getting a bite. Around 4.00 p.m. the line hissed off the reel on one of the rods and another Conningbrook carp made haste out of the bay into the open water. After quite a long and hard fight I caught my first glimpse of the carp. Yes, you’ve guessed it – The Long Common for the third time! After a couple of further runs the carp was netted by Pet Food Paul and other anglers around the lake who had not seen this carp before came around to share in the capture of this awesome creature. I was content; I’d settled the score and the world around me felt good. For the record it weighed in at 42lb 8oz, exactly the same weight as the last time I caught him.
“
During that year, and after a misunderstanding involving some rubbish that was left on the bank, I suffered a sixweek ban. It was a bit silly and not very clever
”
It was now early June and I was probably angling harder than ever before. The lake was really weedy that year to the extent that several of the captures needed to be netted with the aid of a boat, and I can remember going out no fewer than seven times in the following months to land carp with other anglers. Although I caught a few more that year, memory and pictures evade me, even though some were significant captures. During that year, and after a misunderstanding involving some rubbish that was left on the bank, I suffered a six-week ban. It was a bit silly and not very clever. During that time away from the Brook Pet Food Paul realised his dream of catching Two-Tone from an area of the lake in which I’d seen carp quite often before my absence. I was back in October and managed another one from The Pump, a small common. Like most years it began to get quiet towards the back end of October, but I thought I’d carry on and try a spot of winter fishing, which, in the end, proved to be quite fruitless because the Brook really did close up shop for the colder months. Roll on the spring!
020-031_TenYearsForTwoTone_CW2139 9
27
23/5/08 13:59:19
John Bird Ten Years for Two-Tone
2004 Around about 5th of March I was hard at again, walking the pond and looking for any signs of activity. While fishing from The Island one weekend, at about 9 o’clock on the Saturday morning, my first take of 2004 was sounding out as the alarm rang its tone. It was good to be back after a long hard winter, and there in the folds of the landing net was White Tips, a carp I’d longed to catch for quite a while. I weighed her and recorded 33lb. As I slipped her back into the pond a new wave of enthusiasm came over me. If memory serves me right I also landed a small common from Perfume Bay that year. The fight was quite spectacular and the carp caught me up in the dense weed several times before I was able to get it into the net. With a few more captures happening around the lake, including Two-Tone to Steve Allcott, July soon came around. In fact, it was almost a surreal situation, as there had now been 21 carp out since the start and there was a real good chance that the big ’un would come again, sooner rather than later. Sure enough, that month saw Pet Food Paul catch Two-Tone again, for the second time in just 11 months! This time the mighty carp weeded Paul and both of us had to take to the boat in an effort to extract it from the dense weed. Once back on dry land we weighed Two-Tone at a very impressive 63lb, then slid it back into its home.
bottom down to his right. I grabbed a rod and ran round there quick as you like, and within an hour it was off. The maggot bait I was using worked and a bemused 11lb common hit the net shortly afterwards. It was 2005 that was to see some major changes to the Brook, as the owners, Bretts, had planned to join the back lake (a small lake that sat to the south of Conningbrook) to the
main bulk of Conningbrook’s water. This was going to change the whole outlook of not just the surrounding land but also the angling. With the changes came an extra 20 carp that had lived undisturbed in the small lake for many years. They were, in fact, direct descendents of the original Conningbrook stock. This would take the carp count to somewhere in the region of 45 carp spread out in roughly 30 acres – game on!
One of the little commons from The Pump Bay; I can’t remember when, but still a result.
2005 I left out the winter on the Brook and enjoyed a spot of angling here and there with some real good friends, anticipating a return in the spring. Once again, by late spring I started to find them in the edge again and on one particular day I got a call from a mate of mine, Andy Kidd, who rang to tell me that he had a small common patrolling the edge and ripping up the
See what I mean about the socials? The Conningbrook crew knew how to wine and dine. Si Bater and Mr. F. with the menu for Jacko’s record party– with the thieving moose sniffing around.
The maggot muncher!
28
020-031_TenYearsForTwoTone_CW21310 10
23/5/08 14:02:51
020-031_TenYearsForTwoTone_CW21311 11
“
Simon finally got the one take we were all searching for; for the second time that year, Two-Tone slipped up
”
John Bird
Si and Dan bring Two-Tone ashore after Simon’s recordbreaking capture.
were all searching for; for the second time that year, Two-Tone slipped up. Once more I was up to my chest in the Brook, wading out to net the awesome creature. As Simon gained control and brought the big carp closer to the waiting net I bundled the whole lot into the net – weed, carp, and all.
Ten Years for Two-Tone
As I said, it changed the angling, and for a while it almost became easier, but it did make the location of Two-Tone much more difficult. The new fish soon started to get caught from both bits of water. On one particular day I noticed a carp jump clear of the water along the riverbank of the new lake. I quickly shot round there and got rods out and into position. I had a take within minutes on one of the rods and was soon netting a new common of around 22lb. As soon The first of two commons from the new part of as I’d got that one safely into the net, one of the the lake, at 22lb. other rods was away. Another common, again a new fish and around the same weight soon joined its friend in my spare net. With the action over from that area I moved to another favourite swim of mine called Pump Bay, back on the main lake. The very next morning I landed one of the old commons, one that has only one eye and weighed in at 25lb. At that time it hadn’t been caught for quite a while. The new lake started to get quite a bit of attention and several of the new carp started to get caught, including some real good looking carp that would go on to become The second of the brace, caught within seconds of landing the first. the future of Conningbrook. With all the recent changes and the fact that Two-Tone was getting really hard to pin down, by the beginning of September of that year tensions were running really high. A lot of the carp had been caught, but Two-Tone still eluded me and others who also wanted to catch it. However, the spell was soon to be broken, as around the second week of September a good friend of mine, Dan Marquick, was fortunate enough to catch the carp of his dreams, and then while revelling in the glory of his capture Darren Lloyd with one for the future. Check out those scales – stunner! he had another two takes within a hour! He went on to lose one and catch another, a small common. This was obviously a massive achievement for Dan and a well-deserved capture, but once again I had played bridesmaid as I waded out into the pond to net the awesome creature for Dan. Well done mate! Even though such a long time had passed since its last capture, I was still determined to stay on the pond and carry on with Brook life, regardless. Another month went by and October came around and the carp were still Another angler who was also making his mark on the Brook around this time in 2005 was Leroy very active, plus there was every chance that Swan. Here he is with the Friendly Mirror at 44lb. the big mirror could get caught again before the onset of winter. In late October, having The Friendly Mirror, given away regained my spirit after Dan’s capture, I by the presence of The Dolphin. was again fishing hard, as was Si Bater, who happened to be doing rather well on the Brook that year. And then it happened again! Simon finally got the one take we
His words were ringing in my ears: “What is it, what is it?” I turned to Si and said, “That’s it mate, you’ve done it.” Two-Tone had once again changed the record books because it had gone up a little in weight. Simon was now the new British record holder, a great result all round. I was really pleased for Simon, and in a way I felt a little bit of the pressure lift. He’s a really good angler and more than anything a really good mate, but he was now going, which in a way left that little bit more of the pond for me.
2006 Things started a little bit differently for me this year. I’d moved out of Joe’s because he had sold the house and was moving away. I was back on the lake in late March looking for the carp with a renewed confidence and a very fresh outlook for the year ahead. My first proper chance of catching that year came in late April when I was fishing a spot on the back of The Island. I noticed a carp we called The Dolphin doing a merry little dance, no more that 50 yards out in front of me. With this carp around I knew that others would be close by, as this fish, in the past, always seemed to give the game away when it was around the other ones. I’d baited a spot further up the bank the previous day because I’d also clocked the Friendly Mirror in the vicinity, skulking around the edges.
29
23/5/08 14:10:06
John Bird Ten Years for Two-Tone
However, after a trip to the shops I’d come The Railway’s back to find the spot done and that’s when I Barbless Common, caught in a storm. saw The Dolphin. I got three rods out over the next hour and was very happy to see one or two carp still in the general area. I got my head down for a few hours, opening my eyes every now and again, spotting The Dolphin a couple more times. It seemed like I’d only just shut my eyes again when the rod was off. Straight away I knew I was into a good fish, as it plodded away on the end of the line. After some 15 minutes or so the carp was ready for the net and I recognised it to be the Friendly Mirror, all bite didn’t come until late July. During this 41lb of it. time Two-Tone had, in fact, been to the bank My next bite came some two weeks later when I was plotted up in The Pump Bay, after three times, once to Quiet Keith and once to the legend that is The Doc. The third capture spotting a group of some 12 carp, including Two-Tone. He kept disappearing whenever he came to none other than Jon Mac, with whom got over a particular spot in the middle of the I shared some great times down at the Brook, times I will never forget with company bay. Going off to bed that night that was top drawer. That July bite for and feeling confident of a bite, “When I e th p u me ended up being a carp christened d it came as no surprise to be e p scoo ort fight sh The Two-Tone Common, at a a awoken at midnight by r e ft a net e carp onto massively spawned out weight of the sound of a one-toner. th t o g d n a ed as astound 26lb, but what a bite it was. After a short but very the mat I w g in ly in h lp o D In late August, while walking lively battle I managed e Th d to fin n hadn’t see I around the lake looking for signs to slip the net under a s a , re e th in the of carp, I stumbled across a group small mirror. Shining the any mirrors of three commons, no more than two vicinity” headtorch downwards I metres out from the bank. They had glimpsed a two-tone mirror, barely swum 10ft to the right when I dropped although it was some 40lb smaller in a single hookbait on the cloudy spot they than the carp I was chasing. Still, another had just made. Three minutes later I was in! result and a great confidence booster. With May now over, the weed was beginning When I scooped up the net after a short fight and got the carp onto the mat I was astounded to really take hold of the lake and my next to find The Dolphin lying there, as I hadn’t seen A few words from Joe any mirrors in the vicinity. He must have and Annette and, of scooted in and picked up the bait while course, Bruce! I was rolling a smoke. In the same month “To all the Two-Tone slipped up yet again, to the fishermen, rods of Jim Hepper, and from a swim it Just a little hadn’t been caught from for a considerable something to have number of years. By September I was with your cups of spending more and more time up around tea and to say a big thank you to all for the party you gave us the The Island area, which was looking really other week. You have all been super friends over good for a bite because I was seeing carp the last years, and thanks also for keeping an there regularly. So, I hatched a little baiting eye on the barn. Bruce has given a lot of you plan and decided to concentrate my efforts reasons to chuck him in the lake, but I’m sure here for a while. This turned out to be a good he has caused a few smiles as well. Joe and move, as over the next three weeks I managed I will miss Conningbrook, but it’s time to move to catch one every weekend, all three carp on. At least it’s not too far away, so hopefully being repeat captures – small common, we may still see some of you. You will all be welcomed at our new house anytime (John has Friendly Mirror, and White Tips! the address). Come the end of October I was thoroughly Take care all of you, and I hope you all, in turn, fished out and retreated until next spring, catch The Big One. leaving the water after an angler called ‘Brain’ caught Two-Tone, its fifth capture that year! All our best wishes, Joe, Annette, and Bruce”
I certainly worked my way through the Conningbrook TwoTone family, as this two-tone common shows, but still the real Two-Tone evaded me.
30
020-031_TenYearsForTwoTone_CW21312 12
2007 I started off on the Brook and fished really hard until early April, when the crowds started to appear. At that time I felt I needed to regroup and gather my thoughts, and in the back of my mind there was a burning ambition to fulfil another dream, one I had harboured
since I first set eyes on it – another carp in another water was also in the frame. I won’t go into detail but I was soon off to another lake miles away from the Brook. Not many anglers were fishing it, but with stunning old carp to pit my wits against, a slightly stealthier approach was very much required. The plan came together extremely quickly and within a few weeks the dream was mine as I stared into the net, face to face with the carp that must be classed as the carp of all carp – nuff said! I was soon back to the Brook, brimming with confidence once again, and the big mirror just had to be imminent as there had been some 22 captures around the pond, and it was still out there to be banked. I started baiting up a few likely-looking areas with a bit of bait that I had got from my friend Si Bater, a lovely fishmeal bait that the carp seemed to love. Over the next three weeks I baited up three spots but was only rewarded with three tench for my efforts, quite a rare occurrence on the Brook. The carp were there though; we were hearing them on quite a few occasions at night. Happy in the fact that a plan was coming together, I arrived on the Saturday to find the swim empty. I rubbed my hands together and set about getting out the sticks. The good atmosphere surrounding the lake, coupled with the confidence that I felt, really made me feel that the time was near and I was sure the big ’un would be out in the next few days. All that mattered to me was that I was there, ready for it and in what I felt to be a prime position. Andy Kidd woke me with a brew the next morning after something of a late night. The anticipation was still there, when all of a sudden Quiet Keith walked into the swim and proceeded to tell me that he’d caught it no more than 30 yards to my right!!! All I can say now, well after the event, is that it must have been some sort of omen, because just three hours later I found myself up at the Railway Lake, another venue near to the Brook. I pulled up at the Railway corner and there out in front of me I saw what I now know to be a carp called Single Scale crash out. With a bait quickly dispatched to the area and another two baits to the left I sat back, confident of some action. Just an hour later and the right-hand rod was screaming, resulting in a tench of around 8lb. I put the rod back out and went to bed. Sometime in the middle of the night I was woken by rain and strong northerly winds. I sat for a while and then drifted off back to sleep. The next thing I remember was getting out for a take, as the left-hand rod fished to the margins sprang into life. The rain was lashing down and the wind was really blowing strong, and whatever was on the other end wasn’t having any of it. I struggled to get control but eventually, after a bit of an epic battle, slipped the net under The Barbless Common, a much sought after carp from this venue, at 37lb. It really was a terrific confidence booster, just at the right time, considering what had just happened back on the Brook. I really had felt ever so close to catching Two-Tone, but as they say, that’s carp fishing! Throughout July, August, and the early part of September, my attentions turned towards Larkfield and other places, but come midSeptember I just knew I had to go back to
23/5/08 14:14:10
”
I was completely and utterly stunned and just sat there shaking as the adrenalin raced through my body at a hundred miles an hour
the Brook for a final push for that season. My only chance came one Sunday afternoon when I noticed some carp showing some 60 yards out in the new section of water, off the River Bank. Once I’d moved into the swim I sat and waited for the next show, so that I could be a bit more accurate with where I was going to cast the hookbaits. The next carp that I saw jump was none other than Two-Tone, and with that I rapidly cast a bait into the dying rings that the great bulk of a carp had left behind. The other two baits were cast away to the left of where Two-Tone had showed. Half an hour later the bite I was looking for finally came, and upon grabbing the rod I immediately thought it felt like a good fish. I was somewhat surprised when, some 15 minutes later, the carp surfaced and I noticed the distinct scales of a common carp, all 23lb of it. Close, but not close enough! I carried on for a few more sessions and later that year Darrell Peck had the pleasure of sliding his net under the Brook’s biggest resident, and that was about it for me for that year. 2008… The Final Countdown It was early March and once again I was back. I spent the next four weekends fishing different areas, but mainly around the back lake near to The Island.
This was to no avail and I only spotted one carp during that time. The first weekend in April, however, turned out to be the start of the end. I pulled up in the top car park and I got chatting to The Doc, who had seen a couple throughout the course of the day. After being on the bank for some ten minutes I spotted my first carp of the session, straight off the back of the Island. I soon had all three rods out and fishing. Saturday morning came around, with the arrival of a few more anglers, and once again it started to get busy, making me feel a little on edge at being hemmed into an area. I had to move, in fact I actually told myself to move. I shot home for some supplies and a bit of tackle I needed and as soon as I got back I spotted a carp up near Bird Point and made a move into the area. I was soon fishing again and feeling much happier about my position. After a couple of hours I spotted a few more carp, and then I noticed one of the other anglers on The Road Bank packing down his kit. With this in mind I decided to move again and packed down, making my way around to the Road Bank. I started to see a few more carp this time, as it was a better vantage point, and I soon had two rods over a spot where I’d seen a bigger fish show. The third rod ended up straight out in front at 30 yards, in between the two groups of showing
fish. It must have been around lunchtime when I decided to put out a bit of bait in the swim on the spots. With a couple of hundred boilies scattered around the two rods and about 300 directly over the top of the third rod, I sat back, a very confident man. Throughout the course of the afternoon I was repeatedly getting liners on the left-hand rod, which told me the carp were still there. By 10.00 p.m. I hit the sack, only to be woken at 2.00 a.m. by what I thought was another pike tripping through the lines as they had been spawning that day. However, moments after I picked up the rod to tend to it I realised that I was attached to a carp, and a good one at that, as it was taking line from a fairly tight clutch. After a ten-minute scrap I shone my headtorch to where the line entered the water and saw a yellowy-coloured flank. Two minutes later up popped the carp directly in front of me and it was then that it dawned on me exactly which carp it was. I couldn’t get it into the net quickly enough, and once in I couldn’t actually believe I was netting it for myself. At that moment in time I suddenly realised I was the only one there. I’d done it! Two-Tone was finally mine. A massive wave of emotion swept over me, so much so that I couldn’t even raise a shout. I was completely and utterly stunned and just sat there shaking as the adrenalin raced through my body at a hundred miles an hour. Soon after, close friends, people who really mattered, gathered there in attendance; pictures were taken, hands were shaken, and Two-Tone was carefully weighed. In all the commotion I glanced at the scales as the needle swung around and finally settled. At that point I realised that not only had I finally caught my obsession, a carp I’d fished long and hard for, for near on 10 years, but I’d also banked a new British record! So that’s my story, but like any story in carp fishing there are always people who become part of it. During my time on the Brook it became a place that certainly brought people together. I made many good friends over those years and I’d like to send this message to all those who made it so special, particularly Joe. “Thank you for the food, the water, the inspiration, and the friendships you all provided, and once again a sincere thank you for everything that you all did for me along the way… I salute you all.” JB
John Bird
“
A new British record and a verified weight of 66lb 15oz.
Ten Years for Two-Tone
Just look at the girth on that!
The final weight that John has settled on after having his scales checked is 66lb 15oz, creating a new British record and a well-deserved place in carp fishing history. Sincere thanks to Little John and to so many other anglers at Conningbrook for making this article happen.
Lee Jackson’s longawaited book will be entitled Just For The Record and encompasses his time at the Brook. It will include several guest chapters, and an all-important history of Conningbrook and its awesome carp. It will be available from Angling Publications in March 2009.
020-031_TenYearsForTwoTone_CW21313 13
31
23/5/08 14:18:22