The more and more you get into carp fishing the more you realise how much equipment is needed to catch your beloved quarry! Trust me your bag keeps getting bigger and that half a mile trip around the pit to your swim just keeps getting harder. So What do I do, I go and add more to it including a bivvy, 5 season sleeping bag, bivvy table, head torch etc….I could go on forever! That's right I have entered into the world of night fishing!

Carping is such a wonderful experience, not only for the prize fish but the socialising factor of going fishing with friends and generally enjoying yourself – hopefully!. Its one of those sports that you can talk to anyone and everyone about – night fishing is a whole new ball park and its fantastic!

Being on the committee for Blackfords Angling Society I'm lucky enough to have a night ticket for all the pools, so once every 2 weeks or so me and Scott (the Chief) don the warm clothes and head down to the somewhat quiet banks for a nights fishing. We usually go down to Calfheath Reservoir. Due to its sheer size there's no chance of getting in other people's way and there are many options even with four rods from one peg.

When you first start nights, you soon realise what essential items you need and what you need to bring next time, including your head torch! The best thing about nights is that the bigger fish seem to feed a lot more confidently and basically you have a much better chance of landing one more so than in the daytime.

The first night fishing expedition for me was at the reservoir. Me and Scott headed round the pool with an absolute mountain of gear and by the time we got round to the far bay we were shattered. It took 10mins to catch my breath! We set up in an area that doesn't get fished often and as a result the larger residents of the lake tend to reside here – hopefully giving us a much better chance of a big bite. Ted (the pools caretaker) had previously given me some advice about fishing the edge. I've never been to the pool without seeing Ted; He used to fish the pool everyday for years, so you'd expect him to know a little about it. In his words:-

"Ok, handful of cat meat in the edge, Ok"
"Put a roughed up bit of luncheon meat on the hook, Ok"
"Strap yourself to the nearest tree, Ok!"

He really does crack me up!

Anyway as I was saying….We set the rods up and decided to put one of our rods in the edge and the other out about 80 yards to a gravel bar found during day time fishing. We scattered 100+ baits over the gravel and used singles over the top.

For the edge Scott put on a bottom bait with a scattering of the same bait. I opted for the pop-up approach (I know it's not cat meat – I didn't have any!) So with the abundance of swan mussels I chose a mussel pop-up from Cotswold Baits with a scattering of Mistral Baits shellfish pellets and a few trout pellets. I know this isn't norm but I was trying to suss out how often the fish come across an opened mussel ready for eating and I assumed it wouldn't be very often so a single should be enough to stimulate a feeding response.

Anyway, by now the steak was cooking nicely and I was feeling optimistic as the sun slowly dropped out of view. It wasn't long before Scot's gravel bar rod was off! It was just going dark and a lovely 14 pound common slipped into the net

YES! Scot said elated as he bagged the first of the trip. Just to add – we marked up all the rods to the required length using a bit of electrical tape and used far bank markers that you would see in darkness as a point to aim for. He must have got the recast spot-on as 20mins or so later another mid double graced the ne.

"That's how it's done aaark!" he explained.

My frustration grew and it was now getting late with not even a bleep to my name. After a few midnight snacks we where all but ready to get settled in the sleeping bags and get some well earned rest. The next thing I remember was being jabbed in the arm "Burns, Burns, Wake Up!, your rods going off"

All I heard was a couple of bleeps and then a short lasting tone. I rushed out of my bag and ran out of the bivvy only to be greeted by silence. I could only think it may have been a duck or something so in my dazed state I went back to bed. I had only taken my shoes off when the same rod leapt into life with the alarm creating nothing but a single tone! After tripping up and almost falling in the drink I lifted into a very angry carp.

As scot fumbled about getting his shoes on I tried my hardest not to let the fish cross all the other lines. The problem was that the fish was already close to me from the start, so I was playing a feisty carp with all its strength with 3 other lines next to me at 2.45am.

I don't know how but I managed to get it under control and soon my prize was wallowing in the bottom of the net.

"It's a big'un Burns!" said Scott.

An instant smile was upon my face with the relief of not blanking on our first night out. We got the unhooking mat ready and a bucket of pool water before lifting the fish out. Its only when you lay them on their side that you appreciate the depth and breadth of bigger carp. It pulled the scales round to 19lbs. "Kerching" I had a new PB common under the belt "what a result".

After a few early morning photos I carefully lowered him into the water, let him regain his bearings and let him drift away. This can be the best moment for me as you see the whole fish in his own environment and you know you fooled him, documented it and released him back without harm.

After a little recovery and calm down I put the rod back to the spot and retired to the bivvy a happy man. There was to be no more action for either of us for that night but I didn't mind and neither did Scott.

The morning came round and the kettle was boiled for the brew and the cooker was out with bacon sizzling sending a beautiful mouth watering smell into the air. We sat there munching our bacon sandwiches reflecting on our first night fishing expedition. The main point was the fact of how hard it is to get out of that warm cosy sleeping bag in the middle of the night and that even though it is silent around the pool there are some very unusual sounds that you wouldn't hear in the day and basically make your hair stand on end – nights can be spooky!.

All in all night fishing is ACE! All you must do is make sure you have the right gear as it can get pretty cold at night, even in the middle of summer (this year especially!).

I personally spend a lot of time on e-Bay searching out good quality items at lower prices as shops tend to be a little more expensive and you can pay the same for a lesser quality item. Another note to add is get yourself a decent bed chair and sleeping bag because I could think of nothing worse than waking up cold with back ache!

The last thing to add is make sure your fishing in a fairly safe environment where you are less likely to be disturbed by people and make sure your mobile's are well charged – just in case!

Happy Night Fishing

Burnsy