Carp Fishing Poem Analysis

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Carp and Coincidence. By Alan Tomkins Carp fishing seems always to have been surrounded by a certain aura of magic and mystery, particularly on the more secluded and intimate waters. It's sad that much of this has been dispelled with the carp boom of the last few years. The hair-rig started the rot, and the ready made boilie finished it off! But reading through many angler's experiences, especially on Redmire, one wonders if, at times, there are other influences at work. I don't know why there should be, or why it would seem to apply only to carp fishing. Perhaps because, of all the angling methods, the pursuit of carp gives more time for contemplation, more time for outside forces to get into the mind. Or maybe these strange happenings are …show more content…

The goal in those days was to catch a double. (God! don't times change - now you're nobody until you've had a 40!) I was being pestered by bream that night, and had already landed two of quite reasonable size. What with that, the full moon, and the wind rattling the trees and bushes, I was having great difficulty in getting any sleep - which was crucial as I had to go to work the next day. It was one of those spooky nights, and each time I closed my eyes I was forced to open them again to investigate a sound which just may have been something nasty! But virtually on the stroke of midnight the wind suddenly dropped, and all the clouds cleared away from the moon. The lake went flat calm, and it was obvious something was about to happen. I sat up on the bedchair a little frightened. Out in the lake a carp rolled over the bait. It was so light I could tell it was a common, and it looked quite big. The whole scene was so weird and dreamlike I really did pinch myself to see if I was awake. I was, and became even more so when I heard the slight click of the contacts coming together on the bite alarm, followed by the weary buzzing of the bell - a noise both horrible and exciting. I struck with little enthusiasm, expecting another bream. It soon became apparent that this was not a bream, and after a long and thrilling fight on my old cane Sealey octofloat I was opening the folds of the …show more content…

Funnily enough though, I do get it when pike fishing, when an unexplainable urge to move a bait has often resulted in a take. I could do with it working more often when I'm carp fishing. One incident does come to mind though. I was fishing a reedy lake, and had one bait positioned at the right hand end of a big reed- bed. I had picked up quite a few fish from this particular spot, and though I'd tried other positions around the reed bed, this was the only place I'd had a take, or seen a fish. Until one day I had this irresistable urge to put a bait at the opposite end, a place where I'd never seen a fish, or known one to be caught from. It seemed ridiculous, but the urge was so strong I just had to reel in one of my rods and re-cast to the spot that was attracting my attention. Because of over-hanging trees, I couldn't cast from where I was, and had to walk down the lake, past the trees and cast from there. This I did, then walked back to the rods, paying out line by letting the reel backwind. It did seem that the reel was backwinding rather quickly, but I dismissed it as imagination. Until I stopped walking, and the reel kept backwinding. I struck and the water at the far end of the reeds erupted as a surprised carp tried to put distance between himself and an equally surprised carp angler! It turned out to be a nice leather, around 16lbs. I never had another take in that

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