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“The Best of two” Tuesday

After a search for local lakes on the internet I found carpitright.co.uk. After a brief phone call with lake manager Ray I knew the “Carpitright” Lake was the place to go and  boy was I right!

Problems with my eyes meant that certain lakes were not feasible for myself to fish but Ray assured me that I would have no problem at his lake. The day began at around 9am where on arrival my son and I were greeted and introduced to the lake by Ray.

I couldn’t believe my eyes when I first saw the lake and its surroundings.  A picturesque setting in the heart of Dorset near Wimborne Minster, away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. The sun was high in a clear blue sky and the wildlife was out in abundance and it was still only the beginning of spring.  It really is a small piece of heaven. After a walk around the Lake I identified a swim close to the car park where there was an edge of an island with an overhanging tree.  It looked the perfect distance for me to bait up and fish from my pole at 11 metres and  a depth of 6 ft.

It wasn’t long before I was getting bites and within the hour I had my first fish on the landing mat.  An immaculate looking mirror carp of 6lb 4oz had embraced my landing net after quite  a tussle!  The fish still had the curtain on its lip suggesting that it was highly likely it had never been caught. This was the case shortly after when ,again after a vigorous tussle, I had what looked like a possible PB common carp on the landing mat. Ray was on hand to help me weigh the fish and I watched in anticipation as the scales went round to 15lb 12oz  - a new PB.  What a great start!
A great tip if you are ever fishing this lake and like photos of your fish is to ask Ray to take them on his camera. Not only is he knowledgeable when it comes to fishing and wildlife but he is a great photographer too.  A look through the many pictures on the website will confirm this.
A quick kiss and it was time to put the beautiful unmarked fish back into the water.  After a congratulation and shake of the hand from Ray and my line was soon back in the water.

I began to wonder to myself - was there anything that could top off the day that I was already having, then suddenly Ray was behind me with a cuppa tea!  That’s right he can provide refreshments too!

By mid afternoon my swim had gone quiet and the temperature had dropped quite considerably.  The change in light meant that I would only have about an hour left to fish until it got too stressful for my eyes.

My son had earlier packed up his tackle and had sat next to me, enjoying the beautiful surroundings and keeping me company when my float went under.  A different type of bite suggested this was a different fish, possibly a Tench. As it came into the net I could see it was a rather large Tench, so large that when put on the scales it recorded my second PB of the day at 6lb 12oz.

What a fantastic end to the day  - two PB’s and every fish I caught was unmarked and completely flawless.

I cannot recall in all the years I have been fishing a Lake so beautiful and peaceful and stocked with such perfect fish. I will certainly be fishing at this lake again and if it’s half as good as the day I had then I’m sure it will be memorable.