The day started off in the usual manner, a quick stop for supplies on the way and I arrived at the Wells at around 9am, not a particularly early start. When I arrived I had the place to myself. I passed the first and second ponds looking into them as I went and came to the third pond where the instincts heighten and the fun begins. For the first hour or so I was stood at the top of the bank watching carp cruise through ignoring any bait I threw at them, be it bottom baits or floating baits, they just weren’t interested. For much of that first period I used the heavy natural cover as a shelter from the rain showers.
At around lunchtime I was sat on the causeway with a ledger rod fishing whilst I ate my pie and crisps. I noticed a few large swirls getting closer to my bank and in double quick time I had a crust of the floater rod which was cast in the path of the oncoming Mirror. Three times that fish swirled at the bait and turned away at the last minute. The forth time it threw caution out of the window and with a lift of the rid I’d hooked the lovely fish. As it rose, each time, I could see every scale, its dark shoulders and its watchful eye. The fish tore off towards the pads, as they all do, and I managed to turn it just before danger. I had it coming back towards me nicely but noticed it was jerking a lot, I hate it when they jerk, the hook usually falls out, and guess what!!!!
That loss hurt, of the 6 fish I’ve had from there this season 5 have been Commons. I’m always happy whatever I catch but it’s really the Mirrors I’m after at Waggoners as some of them are the original fish. I fished on until 6pm but no more action was to come my way. I decided to have a quick stop at the second pond on my way back to the car, I’d not fished this one but had a quick look a couple of times.
I checked out the first few swims but found nothing, then I flicked out a few pieces of crust but still nothing. I bent down to pick up my bag and just as I straightened my self I glanced through a small gap between trees to see a group of three fish, not big fish, but the type of fish that save the blank. At first they nosed the crusts, they were taking something from the surface, but it wasn’t bread, maybe some mixers that were left from a previous angler. But soon enough the small white cubes started to disappear. There’s nothing quite like watching as the free offerings go down knowing, hoping that your will be next, and it was……
The swim I was fishing was quite tight, to the extent that I had to strike by winding really quickly. The rod was low throughout the whole fight and….you guessed it….a glorious, dark Waggoners Common was brought to the net……..
There were Mirrors swimming with the Commons, it even looked as if the Mirrors outnumbered the Commons by quite a margin!!!! Then the heavens opened, thunder cracked overhead and the tree cover wasn’t really helping that much with such a downpour. But I was sure there was still another fish in it, I could still see them cruising around picking at the dead leaves that littered the surface. I only had half an hour at the most until I lost what little light was left but in the swim to the right of the last capture I spotted a couple of Mirrors chomping away, cast a crust in the area and watched as a big pair of lips surrounded it from all sides and the line tightened. I struck that one as I had more room and within and few minutes I had a beautiful mid double Mirror wallowing on the surface. I reached out with the net and just as the cord touched its nose the fish made another dash, this time to my right and straight into some snags on the bottom that I couldn’t see in the failing light. I held on but a few kicks and she was gone leaving me still connected to the underwater obstacle and fishless. I cursed my bad luck, broke the rods down and made my way to the car. I drove home in the rain even more determined to return next weekend and catch that Mirror!!!!
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