We arrived at the lake at about 7 in the morning, and as I unloaded the kit out of the car I had a feeling that everything was going to come good today, everything was perfect for a winter fish, we were in a mild spell, there was a decent wind blowing to the south west, and somehow I knew it was going to be a good day. We 'abandoned' the barrows in the trees next to the car park, and set off round the lake, marker rods in hand, to try and find some nice areas for the day. It almost seemed as if we knew exactly where we were going to fish, as we kept walking, and walking, until we came to the far end of the lake, to a double swim which just 'looked right.' We didn't even bother with the marker rods, the area looked perfect, the A1 bank margin out to the right, and a load of open water out in front and off to the left, we knew this was the one. The toss of the coin dictated that I was to fish the right hand side of the swim, I was really pleased with this, as I really liked the look of that margin, I was sure it held fish.

Five minutes later we were back with the barrows, and the area began to look better by the second, with the odd fish crashing out in front. Not wanting to waste any time, out of the rod bag came the first rod, rigged up and ready to go, all that faced me now was the choice of bait. I don't know why, but i went straight for a tub of mainline pop ups that had been glugging for a fair while, I was more than happy to put one of these on the hair, and I then topped it off with a little bag of pellet. So out into the open water it went, I felt the lead down, and felt the satisfying bump of the lead landing on the gravel. Quite happy with the positioning of the bait, I proceeded to clip on the backlead, and clip on the hanger. I stood and looked out at the lake for a minute, as I always do after I've cast out, and then set about removing the other rod from the bag. After a couple of minutes thinking, I decided to go for a similar option on this rod, pop up, and small bag of pellet. And out into the water it went, this time, onto the margin i thought looked good when i arrived. On went the indicator, and a quick flick of the line confirmed my fox micron alarms were ready for action. As I turned round to make for the bivvy, with a brew in mind, I noticed my mate had just gone through a similar ritual that I had just undergone, and was also making for the bivvy. So on went the kettle, and I rubbed my hands in anticipation, whether i was looking forward to a fish, or the brew i was about to have, I'm not quite sure, but either way, i was looking forward to something.

I put the mug of tea down on the bivvy table as my left hand rod let out a couple of bleeps, and I watched in excitement as the indicator rose ever so slightly, before settling into it's original position. I turned to my mate, grinning at the prospect of a possible pick up in the next few seconds, but before I had chance to say anything, the left hand rod was away, the micron screaming like a banshee. I quickly scrambled up off the chair, knocking over my brew in the process, and hit into the fish, which immediately started to take line off me. It was clear this want a very big fish, and it was all over very quicly as i had the fish in the net, we didn't bother weighing it but i guess it would have done about 11lb, but a nice chunky common all the same. We had a few laughs about the size of the common, and slipped him back quickly, I was pleased with the nice start I'd made.

Out went the rod again, back into open water, and back into the bivvy I went, rubbing my hands with glee. I sat down again to make another brew to replace the one I had just knocked over in the panic to get to the rods.

The next few hours passed without any action, and i was considering re chucking my right hand rod, the one in the margins, to a deeper area of water out in front of me. I was just getting up out my chair when the micron on my right hand rod let out a one toner, I was in again, and as soon as i picked the rod up, I knew this fish was a lot bigger than the last one. I prayed that it was the winter twenty I'd been after for so long. At one point, when the fish was out in open water, I thought it had come off, as I felt that heart stopping 'dink' on the rod tip, and I began cranking the handle round at a fair pace, thinking the fish had snagged me up and all that was left on my line was weed. I continued to turn the handle, until I realised that the fish was in fact still on, as it went absolutely berserk in the margins under the rod tip. I got the first glimpse of it as it rolled on the surface, it looked a good fish. The fish scrapped fiercely under the rod tip, tearing up and down the margins like a train, after fifteen minutes of fight, the fish took it's first gulp of air and it was beaten. It rolls up to the net and she was mine, as i stared down at her in the net, it looked like the magical fish I'd been after for so long. It looked like a winter twenty.

So we hoisted the fish onto the mat, and began to unhook the big common, nailed in the bottom lip. Then came the photographs, which I haven't received yet, but those gorgeous golden scales must look awesome in the picture. We slipped the sling underneath the fish for the moment of truth, and after zeroing the scales, we lifted the fish up, and the needle swung round, bounced all over the place, before finally settling on 22lb 2oz, so not only was this a winter twenty, a fish ive been trying to catch for ages, but it was a beautiful fish too, every scale was a perfect golden colour, and i couldn't have been happier with my capture.

I didn't have any more action that day, but to be honest, I couldn't care less, a northern winter twenty was such an achievement for me, and I was quite satisfied.


Tight Lines
Josh Hardwick