Spitfire Stunner

SPITFIRE STUNNER

NASH KNOWHOW

SPITFIRE

STUNNER Keen eyed observation and sharp tactical angling bags one of the country’s best commons in just a few hours for Norfolk big fish man Chris Elden.

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SPITFIRE STUNNER

NASH KNOWHOW

THE BIG CHILL I had a lot going on at home the morning I was meant to be heading off and to be honest it was chaos before I finally got there about 11am. I walked around but there didn’t seem much going on and the weather wasn’t great either with a really chilly wind.

Because of the size of the venue Spitfire carp aren’t generally hard to find but after a couple of laps I’d only seen one fish in the margins. Fishery manager Rich Wilby turned up and I had a bit of time out to catch up and he filled me in on what had been happening.

After he left I had had another lap and got to the Boat Swim and immediately saw the Wood Carving Common swimming away in front of me. That carp is like a baby whale, simply huge. If you are ever lucky enough to see a 50-pounder that close, you can’t mistake it for something else or a smaller fish.

Straight away I figured there must be a few around, and got up a tree. From about 30 feet up it was a much better vantage point and I could immediately see a couple of clear spots in the margins and a few shapes, but the water was very rippled and it was hard to be absolutely clear what was swimming about as well.

I saw three fish including a couple of scaley ones, one I thought was Joe’s Fish a mid30. They all had clay on them, and with it being prior to spawning I guessed they must have rooting around like they do for trace elements or whatever they need.

Rich Wilby’s Spitfire Lake in Norfolk has been on my radar for a number of years now, and most people have seen the quality of the fish on offer, with the two big commons The Wood Carving and The Long Common renowned as amongst the best lookers of all.

There are only 15 fish in a pond of around one acre, it’s shallow and very weedy in the summer which means all the usual small water big fish problems. It’s a venue where you have to earn your fish, they aren’t going to give themselves up easily. It’s unheard of for commons to be so big in Norfolk, and because they don’t get caught often they are real prizes.

I’ve had a trip there every year for the last few years and always caught, but always only one fish and every week I’ve fished at Spitfire has always been a hard week with the weather really bad or massive changes in conditions and what I’ve noticed is those fish seem to much prefer settled conditions, constant pressure and in particular warm sunny weather to encourage them to feed.

This year I booked up for the Spring and was hoping to get in front of those fish before they had a summer’s worth of angling pressure, and was so excited thinking about the trip, wondering how to approach it and what I might be able to do to get a few chances.

Normally I chase them around a bit and it’s always hard to know if that’s counter productive or persistence pays off with a chance you might not otherwise have had. For my Spring trip I decided I’d change the way I went about it and instead of chasing them I would try and play a more careful game, finding spots, making as little disturbance as possible and hoping to take them by surprise by letting them come across the traps in their own time rather than getting in their faces. The full moon was later in the week and the forecast was improving with the weather getting warmer so I was really looking forward to it.

I’ve previously only fished it late in the year, normally September or October, and I’ve also felt that by that time of the year they weren’t so keen to eat boilies, probably just as a result of the pressure through the season and previous captures. Even in a week you’d be hoping for a 20 minute period where they might just get carried away enough to feed hard and get caught, it’s always hard work.

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SPITFIRE STUNNER

NASH KNOWHOW

On The Spot The carp were going from left to right along the same route repeatedly, then I saw one head across to a reedbed coming off the end of the island. He poked his head in and had a nose around and straight away I felt I was possibly on to a spot. Even better, because the weed hadn’t come up there wouldn’t be any line lay problems. Often at Spitfire a big issue is not being to conceal line or tackle because of the amount of green stuff between the rod and the hookbait. Good line lay was possible fishing that spot so it was definitely an opportunity for a rod.

I carried on watching, then carried on around the lake to the Road Swim and found the Long Common in the weed, she was right in the teeth of the cold wind.

There were a couple of nice little spots there but I actually decided to leave her be and leave her happy and try there later in the week when the conditions might have made her more catchable.

Back in the original swim, carp were still around on the clear spots so it was time to get rigs sorted and rods ready. Two of the spots were close, behind reeds and lilies, and by using a matchman’s pole to position the rigs I could do it with real finesse, a bit of dissolving foam to ensure the hook was clear of any weed or debris and they settled nicely, with just a mouthful of bait around, enough to get a carp interested but not over face them. Both the close spots were on little in-line leads with a snowman rig.

Unusual Chod Choice I was itching to know what to do with the third rod. On Spitfire I don’t normally fish three, sticking to two to reduce the tackle fingerprint and try and focus on doing the rods I have got as well as I possibly can. On this occasion instinct said I needed to put a third rod out, but I wanted something different for the presentation to the other spots. I’d had a discussion a few weeks earlier with a mate of mine about the chod rig, and the fact that I hadn’t used it for a few years at all, instead preferring long links, heavy leads and the reliable little snowman. On this occasion I wondered if a chod could be the right answer.

I didn’t spend too long thinking about it, and found myself tying one up, clipping a little 1.5 oz lead on the end. I went back up the tree to get the mental picture where the bait needed to land.

Behind the reeds was plateau with lots of candy floss weed, but a

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foot away there was a two foot by one channel of sandy bottom.

It wasn’t the easiest place to cast especially when you are excited, and the first one landed straight on the island - not a good start.

Eventually after a few casts it landed just right, the lead actually touched the reeds, leaving the chod a few feet back up the line exactly on the spot. I knew I had a bait they liked the 4G Squid, now part of the Old Skool range, and Where normally ten baits is the sort of reserved baiting people use on Spitfire, I put 30 freebies straight out, then thought about it and added another 20 for good measure. I knew I had a bait they liked eating and it just felt like the right thing to do.

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SPITFIRE STUNNER

NASH KNOWHOW

Dead To The World The Scope brolly went up and after a couple of burgers I fell asleep for an afternoon nap and was dead to the world. Three odd bleeps on the receiver woke me up, and although I didn’t know what rod it was I instinctively ran for the one fished across to the reedbed, finding the indicator wedged in the alarm and the rod wrapped around. Immediately the carp was kicking really hard, it didn’t feel like a 20-pounder.

Just 20 seconds into the scrap a massive tail came out the water, and it was obviously a big fish and from that point onwards I was trying hard not to think about it. Although there wasn’t much weed out in front, the fish then went down deep and seemed to get stuck, not moving at all. All these fizzes were coming up, and firm pressure saw it inching its way back before it shot round to the right to some lilies. It was kiting and by trying to stop it, I made it worse. There was no way I could risk losing this one so it was trousers off, grab the net and at that point I was in such a state I slipped over, and nearly went in head first.

By the time I got out to the lilies I could get over the top of where the line was stuck and literally unpicked it by hand, suddenly it was out the fish was moving and we were in direct contact again. I was happy I was back in control but was still up to my waist and it was still hugging bottom, 15 minutes in by this time I kept getting little glimpses and the fish I was connected to did look big. Finally I saw it clearly and I knew it was a one of the big commons. First time it came up I steered it straight into the net.

It was such a good feeling. I knew what it was but I needed someone to tell me. I was cold, shaking like a leaf and in a bit of shock I suppose. I kept the fish safely in the net, got on the phone to Rich and he was so happy and so excited – the Long Common was the fish he wanted to see come out. I didn’t really know what to do with myself, just pacing up and down.

I’d been after it for a long time and it was one of the two or three carp I really wanted from the lake. Everything had gone to plan and I hadn’t even fished the first night, only having been there a few hours.

With the light fading we did the photos, and holding her made me realise quite how long the fish was, she was full of spawn and at a really good weight at 47 lb 6 oz but the weight just didn’t matter to me. She was such a clean and pristine carp for such a big girl, such a special fish and absolute dream carp.

I even managed a second one later in the week

When I took the rig out, it wasn’t a superb hookhold, in the middle of the bottom lip but only half an inch back, so I think my name must have been on that one.

Holding her in the water she was just like a torpedo in my arms.

I gave her a little push and she swam away happily, leaving me absolutely soaked and with the biggest grin you can possibly imagine!

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