As the sun sets the fish come out to play...

Slippery mother fuckers!! I swear to god, these fish know exactly when to cause maximum chaos. My dad and I had been fishing all afternoon and we didn't get a sniff, but the very moment after I had zipped down the door to my tent, taken off my boots, climbed into bed and zipped up my sleeping bag, then they decide to take the bait...

BLEEP!(I raise my head from the pillow)

BLEEP BLEEP!(I open one eye to check to see if it's my alarm or my dad's that's being triggered)

BLEEEEEEP!(It's my alarm alright, and the fish has taken the bait. Time to get my arse out of bed!!)

For those of you who have never fished for big carp using barbless hooks, once a fish takes your bait you have about 20 to 30 seconds to strike your rod before the fish unhooks itself.
Therefore, exiting a zipped up sleeping bag and scrambling for your boots in the dark is a sight to be seen. Imagine a baby elephant climbing out of a car window after being stung by a wasp and you begin to get the picture.

So, with my boots on backwards I fell out of the door. I don't think there was an object I didn't trip over. Tent pegs were being pinged out of the ground, making them fly around like circus knives, but all I was focused on was reaching my rod. Fortunately, I made it there just in time and feeling the weight of the fish through the taught line is a rush I'll never get bored of... Once you strike that rod and begin to battle with the fish the excitement and anticipation just grow with every passing moment... What kind of fish is it? Catfish? No, it can't be, the pull on the other end is too smooth for a catfish. Well, in that case it has to be a carp...but then how big of a carp?

Fishing at night makes this experience all the more exciting as your senses have little time to prepare. I mean, one minute you're counting sheep and the next you're in a midnight tug-of-war contest. For me there is nothing better than this(and this is coming from someone who loves his bed!).

In this case I won the battle and my Dad helped me land my prize before we weighed it, took a customary photograph, and then released it back into the water.

The rest of the night was relatively quiet with only one more mad dash for the rods. This time it was my Dads turn and his catch beat mine by just 1.5lbs.

It wasn't until the morning when things got going again, but the fish that woke me up was a corker!

This large specimen gave me bragging rights all the way home. My Dad had one more later that day, weighing in at 14.5lb, and this meant we both went home happy.

Another reason we left with a smile was because, while we were there, I managed to get my fishing gear checked-out by the bailiff and was given the all-clear to fish on the hallowed Six Islands lake. This lake is not for the faint-hearted and holds many Catfish weighing between 30lb-100lb!!! My Dad is already a member of the Six Islands club and can't wait for me to join the gang on a monster-hunt.
Fingers crossed, the next fishing post from myself will be a very interesting one that is filled with pictures of me holding my first monster catfish...

Until then, take care and keep on steeming!

Oh yes, before I go, let me share one more great moment from my fishing trip.