Uncommon Commons Mark Watson
accept full-timers or publicity anglers on their lakes. We assured them that their perceptions of us were way off the mark because we both worked for a living and we didn’t necessarily have to plaster every carp we caught across the weeklies. You could tell we weren’t welcome, but that was tough, we’d paid our money and were there to fish. Thankfully, the unwelcome attention was diverted from us when one of the other members with a severe case of little man syndrome decided to make a right prat of himself by repeating everything the bailiff had just said to us. We could see that the other members had no time for him and just went about their work. After our first taste of Woolpack hospitality we went our separate ways. Jamie was doing his thing while I fished over in Bedfordshire chasing the Willington biggie. Even when June 16th had passed and I’d netted the Willington fish I didn’t head straight back to the Woolpack. It wasn’t until August that I made my debut on the
syndicate side of the Pack. The biggest fish lived in Lakes 5 and 6, which is actually one lake joined by three channels and that is where I headed. The reception was muted but that was fine. I just wanted to be left alone to do my thing and hopefully become acquainted with some of the lake’s big commons. After a few sessions I was becoming more familiar with the lake and the habits of its residents. A couple of the other anglers were even stopping by for a brew and a chat, which made the atmosphere seem a bit more relaxed. I’m sure that by not rushing in at the start of the season my presence had become a bit more acceptable to the clique, as was the fact that my first few sessions were blanks. However, they weren’t wasted trips because I was starting to get a clearer picture of what stock the lake contained, and it was impressive. Along with the three big commons already mentioned, there were at least another four over 30lb, with two of those going over 35lb. Add to that a low-40lb mirror called
“I just wanted to be left alone to do my thing and hopefully become acquainted with some of the lake’s big commons”
M A R K WAT S O N
UNCOMMON COMMONS Mark says there’s something special about a big common carp. Even though there are far more of them around than there ever used to be, they are still vastly outnumbered by mirrors.
42
Targeting commons, or even a specific fish, has often been the main focus of my fishing in recent years. It was the thought of fishing specifically for large commons that inspired me to start travelling down the A1 from my Doncaster home, over ten years ago. It all started for me when I saw some of the iconic pictures of big carp I could target further south. Amongst those images there were just a few commons, but those were the fish that stood out and really appealed to me. Fish like the original Snake Pit Common really inspired me, and I decided I wanted one similar to add to my album. After a few years of travelling I’d
042-045_UncommonCommons_CW263.indd 1
been lucky enough to have had a few big mirrors on the mat, but my PB common was still 28lb. In fact, I’d had four 28lb commons from four different waters, and really wanted to break the 30lb barrier. During my time on St Ives Lagoon I wanted the lake’s big common, which was around 32lb at the time. I didn’t get the common before my time on there was over, but I did hear all about the big commons in the Woolpack just up the road. The tales of Paddle, which was threatening to go over 50lb, were enough, but she wasn’t alone. I was also hearing about two old, upper-30s known as The Long Common and The Carving. I think
ABOVE The Carving was my first 40lb common. It was the first time it had been out at over 40lb and was caught again by the lad who took my photos, which was nice.
Another common, this one weighed in at 28lb.
BELOW
if you are going to give a carp a name, that name should really describe the attributes or features of that fish. When I first came across the name The Carving it literally made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, I just knew it was going to be a special one! My good friend Jamie Clossick and I both managed to get tickets for the 2008/9 season, but this was before the lakes
16/07/2012 15:02
were sold and the old secretive syndicate was still in place. Being carpers who are not exactly shy of publicity, we both knew to expect a bit of a frosty reception. So, to get any potential problems out of the way, we turned up for one of the close season work parties. We’d met up the day before and fished the night on Pit 3, which wasn’t subject to the old close season, and I’d bagged a lovely dark 18lb common, which seemed like a good omen. Morning came and we showed our faces in the car park for the work party and to see what kind of reaction we’d receive. It took less than a minute for a bailiff to start telling us how they didn’t
042-045_UncommonCommons_CW263.indd 2
TOP My first common, not the biggest, but I’m on the way! RIGHT It’s not only commons I love, as my smile shows with this lovely scaly mirror.
43
16/07/2012 15:02
Uncommon Commons Mark Watson
my thing on 5 and I started seeing the odd carp show in there more and more. At the end of September the weatherman gave the forecast that carpers love, with strong, warm, southwesterly winds and plummeting pressure. I’d got a three-night session planned, having extended it from my usual two, and drove down the A1 like a man possessed. The usual swims on Lake 6 were taken and Lake 5 was free of anglers. I set up in a swim called The Stench, with which I’d become familiar and comfortable. For the first two nights I had no indications, nor did I see any carp. I’d been looking hard too, being up early and spending a lot of time sitting on my bucket in the next swim to get a better view. The weather couldn’t have been better, which led me to question whether the carp were in my side of the lake. I had a walk round to find all but one swim on Lake 6 taken, so moving round there wasn’t an option. Doubts had crept in and I was trying to decide whether to stay for my last night or go home and save my extra night for another more promising week. When I’m in this situation I like to seek advice, so I got Jamie on the phone and explained things. He said I’d be mad to leave and of course he
“Woolpack folklore said that in the autumn the carp moved into Lake 6, and that is where they would get caught”
44
ABOVE One in the net, but is it a big common?
was right. I moved a couple of swims down, thinking that if the carp were to pass through the deeper of the channels I could cover an area where they were most likely to end up. I was actually casting over into the water of another swim, but I was sure the alternative line angles would improve my chances. I’d hoped that the fish would reach the baits without having to cross my lines. Bait boats were used quite a bit on there so I’d gone the other way. I’d found my spots by leading around and spread about 200 baits in the area with a throwing stick. The hookbaits were Nash Bait Scopex Squid Red 18mm pop-ups mounted on Multi Rigs, and once everything was sorted I felt confident. I was happy with how things had gone, especially with the right-hand rod. I’d purposely cast it towards some deeper water and it hit the bottom with a thud. I’d usually expect the bottom to be a bit softer in the deeper water with all the detritus that sinks and settles down there, that is unless the carp have been feeding in it. I was more confident than I had been all season but I still had a nagging doubt that the carp might not even be leaving Lake 6. On dusk, I got my answer as a very big carp stuck its head out right over my bait. Still nothing happened on the buzzers but I went to sleep a lot happier than I had been. It was around 3.00 a.m. when I was woken by a few bleeps on my right-hand rod. The line was still in
ABOVE Happy days! The Carving at 40lb 4oz. ABOVE RIGHT The swim from which The Carving came.
Paddle at 49lb. She’s pictured here with a gent called Robbo, who caught the fish just after I’d caught The Carving. I got plenty of camera practice that day!
BELOW
to return the favour with the camera the following spring when The Carving came out next at just over 40lb to the lad who’d done my photos. The fish had gone jet black and looked simply stunning in the spring sunshine. For me, it is the best big common around. I got plenty of practice with the camera that morning because Paddle finally put in an appearance after avoiding capture all the previous season. She weighed 49lb and was caught by a lad called Robbo on his first trip. Two of the lake’s best commons on the bank in the same morning in the middle of a full moon phase. I do follow such things and find it all very interesting, but I don’t let them rule my fishing. In any case, I couldn’t arrange my fishing around the best times even if I wanted to, I have to go when time allows. My capture of The Carving was right on the new moon but there have been many exceptions too. The second year on the Woolpack was totally different to our first after Lakes 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 had been bought by Andy Stafford. Many of the old clique had moved on and those who stayed were now open and chatty instead of offering only the occasional grunt. The old close season was
Uncommon Commons Mark Watson
Cluster and some of the best-looking scaly mirrors I’ve ever seen, running to low-30s, it’s no wonder the locals wanted to keep the place off the radar. The lakes had been quiet through the summer, but heading into September they started to get busy again. Paddle was the fish on everyone’s mind and she hadn’t been on the bank for quite some time. She had made 49lb in the past, so the question was how big would she go and would she break the magical 50lb barrier? Woolpack folklore said that in the autumn the carp moved into Lake 6, and that is where they would get caught. I’m sure some of them did because I certainly wasn’t getting to hear about everything that happened. A few of the locals had saved their holidays for the autumn and were now spending weeks sitting in the same swim. Some of the same people who were so against having any full-timers on there were now fishing full-time themselves. I’d stopped taking my fishing too seriously long before, so I just smiled to myself as I pushed my barrow onward to Lake 5. Even if the legend of Lake 6 was true, the amount of pressure it was receiving would surely push some fish back round into Lake 5. I was quite content to do
the clip but the bobbin had dropped back a few inches. I clambered into my chesties to investigate and the bobbin jerked up a couple of times, letting me know that something had definitely taken the bait. I lifted the rod into solid resistance because the fish had instantly weeded me. I tried all the usual tricks, but the fish and I remained at a stalemate. After a few minutes of leaving the line slack, the bobbin slowly pulled tight, so once more I bent into the fish. Painfully slowly, a weedbed the size of a bivvy headed towards me, but as it got closer I wasn’t sure if the fish had shed the hook. I’ve made the mistake of thinking the fish had gone once before and I wasn’t about to do the same again, so I netted the lot. I shone my headtorch down into the net and began throwing fistfuls of Canadian pondweed in all directions until I found a bunch of nice slimy scales. I’d got a lovely Woolpack carp and judging by the size of the scales I thought there was a good chance it could be the 30lb+ common for which I was hoping. The more weed I removed, the more of the fish I saw – it was actually a great big common! I’d got the mat, sling, sack and scales all prepared then set about weighing the fish. I could tell by the feel of it that it was well over 30 but I did a double take when the needle stopped at just over 40lb. In fact I reweighed the fish by holding the scales against a tree branch to keep them steady and got a true weight of 40lb 4oz. Not bad for my first 30+ common. I’m not comfortable with sacking fish for long periods of time so got the help of one of the more sociable anglers from Lake 6 to do some night shots. He identified the fish as The Carving and it was its first time out at over 40lb. I’ve got some reasonably good shots of the fish but I was lucky enough to be there
done away with and this would be the first time that the big old commons would be angled for in that time. I did manage a few carp through that period but feel I could have done better. I missed out on the big girls, but I did bag another common, a stunning, thickset fish known as The Big Scar Common at 32lb+. Time has moved on and Andy has made quite a few changes to the lakes to make it a better fishery, the most dramatic being the massive otter fence, which now encircles the place. I dread to think what it all cost, but it is the most extensive and impressive I’ve seen. With otter fences there is no point in doing a half-hearted job because sooner or later you’ll be punished for it. The Woolpack fence serves a dual purpose; it is over 6ft tall and besides keeping out the otters, it also stops any fish escaping, because the lakes are on a flood plain. Interestingly, there are several carp in other lakes in the surrounding area that are known to have come from the Woolpack in previous floods. Andy’s ownership of the lakes hasn’t been without its setbacks though. Three of the biggest fish died in quick succession due to spawning difficulties, including Paddle. This was a big blow to the fishery, but a lot of the stock is old and they don’t live forever. Andy has some cracking stockies waiting in the wings for when they are needed. The future looks bright for the Woolpack. Although I had achieved my target of landing a big common, the desire for more was there! Another Cambridgshire pit which I’d actually walked around a few years ago came to my attention with rumours of a very large common reaching my ears. I decided to look into this and was soon forming a new plan – but that’s a story for another time! CW
45