White Springs
   Fishery

 After six years of looking after our two kids, both were in full time education and i found it strange to have free time on my hands! My husband had recently started fishing again after many years so that he could have his time out to de-stress and relax. I decided one day when the kids were in school to join him to see why he loved it so much. We sat by the side of the match lake after setting up with our rods in and it didnt take to long before we started to catch. I can remember the thrill of bring my first fish in and knew from that very moment why people fall in love with this past time, you could say the fish wasn't the only one hooked that day! Although we only had the few hours that the kids were in school, i caught three that day and didnt want to leave! On our next trip down for a few hours we decided to fish on the specimen lake instead which has the larger fish and is alot more challenging. The whole experience is so different, waiting and baiting the area for longer, its a more lay back and wait for the big fight kind of experience. I look forward to one day catching a big fish but i think (at the moment at least!) i enjoyed the match lake more because of being able to catch more and get more bites quicker. So when my husband told me he had bought me my first rod licence i was itching to go and have a solo fish. Walking down from one of the warm chalets we were staying in to the peaceful waters edge seemed like such freedom with only the very basic of equipment with me. I set up and sat there with my rod in watching as the sun started to go down over the water thinking how beautiful it looked and how happy i would feel if i did manage to catch anything. So you can imagine my delight when after only 20mins i had landed my first solo fish and my new personnal best, a beautiful 4.5lb mirror carp. In the sunset its colours looked magical and glowed, i quickly and carefully took the hook out and just stared in awe for a few seconds before placing the fish in my keep net. I cast out for a second time knowing i didnt have much time left as the light was fading so fast and i had forgotten my head light or any other kind of light. From just over the hill i could hear my husband call me and knew it was getting dark and i had to start packing away, so reluctantly i started to pack away my bait, tools and chair but as i was putting it in its bag my carp alarm went crazy and my rod jumped off the front bank stick! I pounced on it quickly and found i had landed my self a 3lb common carp which put up quite a fight for a small fish! So although i had only been out fishing for an hour i had caught two lovely looking fish and was bouncing on my way back excited to tell my family the luck i had had on the lake on my first solo fish! I think its clear to see why so many people love fishing and can only imagine that no matter what kind of fishing you do its addictive! Tight lines peeps, tight lines. x