Surging Storm results in Siberian success

This weeks blog covers a 500 mile round trip in the middle of a storm for a day session with a guy I had never met face to face, on a lake that I had never heard of, and for a species I had never fished for, what could possibly go wrong! If I rewind several months to when fellow shark enthusiast made the offer to try and help get me a Sturgeon for my challenge, I am not sure either of us ever thought we would get it sorted. But with the weeks rapidly ebbing away, Carl and new bride Wendy managed to get a weekend that suited us all booked in our calendars. Carl and Wendy Aldridge have been extremely supportive through my whole charity challenge, they have their own reasons for helping support the Stroke Association. The plan was to travel up to Carl and Wendy's place then we would travel on to the lake and spend the day trying for one of this Midlands Stillwater's Sturgeon. Why travel so far I hear you ask, well Sturgeon although once permitted to reside in still waters are now considered as an illegal invader that should remain with the ornamental pond market. I am not going to argue the why's and wherefores' of CEFAS permissions but as far as I understand these non native sturgeon cannot breed within a Stillwater environment, so the risk must be confined to escapees entering the river system. Anyway there are virtually no waters that contain these fish and following a bit of research Carl had found the venue and spoken with the owner to find out if was achievable. The weekend arrived and before I headed north I needed to sort a few things, first of which was to track down some appropriate wine that would appeal to both Carl and Wendy, fortunately I think I nailed it with this cheeky south African number that Sharkaholic Carl would love.

Next it was prep the rigs and baits, I had decided to fish one rod carp style with pellets but incorporate a longer trace and hair to allow the sturgeon to pick up the bait with its large underslung mouth. The same applied to rod two, this was a free running rig with a long trace and size 6 barbless hook to be baited with a large chunk of luncheon meat. Next I prepared a tub full of PVA bags of pellets which were soaked in halibut oil, so for once I was super organised and would be ready to fish within minutes of arriving.

This Friday was when Storm Callum arrived and this was probably the first proper storm of the autumn, I got soaked loading the car and literally had to dodge items hurled at me by the angry wind, a bit like a contestant in a game of Dodgeball. With the car loaded it was a case of waiting until 2am to depart, I had managed to grab an hours shuteye during a particularly disappointing episode of the Chase. I said my goodbyes to Mrs D and set off in the teeth of the storm, the rain was outdriving me ,and the violent gusts rocked the car from side to side making me question my sanity. Carl had asked earlier if I still wanted to make the trip with the conditions as rough as they were, but its fishing and a storm called Callum wasn't spoiling this party. Fortunately as I approached Bristol the rain eased and consequently so did the spray, a quick coffee stop at good old Michael Wood services and I was re-energised for the final 100 miles. I pulled up to Carl's place just as the clock struck 5am and credit to Carl he did exactly what he promised and made me a top notch bacon sarnie for breakfast. With the breakfast consumed we loaded my car with Carls kit for the next part of our journey. The rain had again started and storm Callum was hanging on like some needy teenager. We spent the next 40 minutes talking sharks although I didn't have a lot to add from this years season, Carl however had made an impromptu visit to Looe courtesy of some SACGB members and had his best day ever with part of a 21 fish catch. The postcode Carl supplied took us to a housing estate and must admit to feeling a little concerned, however after only another 15 minutes of trying, lanes, gates and paths we located the padlocked gate to the fishery. Carl had been insistent we get to the fishery for 7am in time for opening and to ensure we get some good swims. We were at the gate for 7am and another car arrived with a few local anglers, Carl was out of the car and quizzing the guys for some info, once he explained what I was doing they were extremely forthcoming and were confident we would get one. The gate was opened and we followed the two lads down to the lakes car park, to my horror the car park had at least a dozen cars already parked up and I could see several Bivvies dotted along the closest bank. I got out of the car and our new fishing buddies informed that this was a quiet day, I am not used to seeing this many anglers but Carl was unfazed and keen to get started. He grabbed a few items and headed off to talk with the occupants of the nearest dome tent, I followed with my brolly and rucksack. We walked around the lake until we came to a bay with two islands that was devoid of any anglers, this looked good to me and we dropped our kit and headed back for load number two. The miserable weather had kept the dawn from breaking and it was still quite dim, I set up the brolly and chucked everything underneath so at least we had some protection.

The advice of the locals had been to fish luncheon meat in the margins over a bed of pellets, rod number one was done exactly like that and I lowered it carefully at the edge of a stand of rushes. The second rod was fished with a pellet covered in paste accompanied with a pva bag of pellet which was cast to the tip of my nearest island. The traps were set and with the light improving I could now see the lake was a typical commercial although it lacked designated swims or platforms, it was fairly sparse and probably not many years old, the water was chocolate also typical of a water containing a head of Carp.

Carl was fishing to my left and he had decided to fish rigs considerably more refined than mine, his thinking was that if the fish were a bit more finicky, wary or clued up the finer trace and hooks may get some action, its always wise to try a few different things. We were now both set and it was just a case of seeing if the gods of the fish deemed us worthy of some rewards. Then the right hand rod in the margin signalled a bite, the indicator rose steadily and upon reaching the rod the bait runner ticked steadily as line disappeared from the spool. The bait had only been in the water for a few minutes and I wasn't expecting such a quick start, however the strike resulted in a good bend in the rod. I glanced round for the net but super keen Carl was already there net in hand, it was then that a large shark like tail broke through the surface and waved at us before disappearing into the murk again. Both of us looked at one another without saying a word as we now both knew what was on the other end, a nice big Sturgeon. It was a nervous few minutes before nets man Carl scooped our prize and instantly offered his outstretched hand, "you've only bloody done it" stated the man with the Cheshire cat grin. We shook hands, punched the air and then set about getting the photos done, I was in state of numbness, the journey, the weather had all been forgotten as I stared at the beautiful fish on the mat before me. I hadn't even had time to train Carl on my camera so to get the pictures he did shows just how careful he was in getting it right. The fish was a wonderful slate grey, armour plated dinosaur that really has got the traits of a shark, its only the whisker covered head and suction mouth that differs. This species was a Siberian Sturgeon and number 73 on the list, did this mean it was time to go home?

I had missed a few bites on the pellets as I was still walking around like a zombie, lack of sleep combined with a sudden adrenalin rush will have that effect on you. Carl had told me I needed to try for the other species of Sturgeon in the lake the Diamond Sturgeon, that would be the icing on the cake. Then Carl was in and a spirited fish appeared to be the first Carp but as it rolled just out of range it was in fact a brightly marked Diamond Sturgeon, but one more dive caused the hook to pop out. I was gutted for Carl but he was still grinning about the one I had landed, it turned out Carl had been really worried that I may have not caught and as it was his suggestion he felt he would have failed me. I however would never see it like that and fish never read the script so the fact Carl had treated me to the days fishing was a wonderful supportive gesture. Carl was in again on his upgraded luncheon meat, he had added a bit of spice which certainly seemed to be working, this time yet another Diamond Sturgeon but I managed to net this one first time. Lovely looking fish the Diamond Sturgeon and I got a picture of the man himself.

Now I wanted one of those, earlier I wasn't to worried as I had managed a sturgeon and anything else was a bonus, but now seeing one in the flesh I had to try harder. Fresh bait needed and instead of the pellet was now putting in a few handfuls of chopped meat. The effect was fairly rapid as yet again the indicator on the margin rod rose steadily, I raised the rod swiftly into another nice fish and like the first Carl netted the fish first time and once again it was a handshake moment as the bright white pattern of a nice Diamond Sturgeon reflected in the recently arrived sunshine. That really was it now I was made up and Carl's Cheshire cat face was back on the scene, he even managed to start taking photos from different angles such was his confidence in the camera, species 74 in the bag.

Now we were just fishing for fun and with sun out, the big grin out and a good job done we just enjoyed an afternoon catching whatever came along, and that meant several Carp and although not huge it made for fun.

Carl did however slip into his coarse fishing alter ego, the Bream Whisper and he must of had a dozen of them even offering to give me some tips on how to catch them, I however was quite happy to let him intercept them before they reached me.

We heard a lot of squarking and quacking as Donald Trump the Duck turned up in the swim, couldn't believe the duck had a proper trump hairstyle, funnily the duck didn't know how stupid it looked either.

As can be the case I had one more chance at a sturgeon as the luncheon meat was again taken and yet another Diamond Sturgeon seemed ready to give up when the hook pinged out, but I wasn't to disappointed and that was a great point to end on. We packed up at 4pm, the lack of sleep was now weighing heavy on me and I still needed to drive back to Carls. We got back around 5pm and It was great to finally meet Wendy and son Kyle, they made me feel like one of the family. I was treated to a lovely Chinese meal that even a fussy person couldn't complain about and we raised a glass of wine to their recent wedding and a successful day for the challenge. I was so tired I crashed out on the couch after they all turned in and was in a deep sleep in seconds, I was however woke during the night by what I thought was Donald Trump Duck squarking again, and as I strained my eyes in the darkness towards the direction of the noise I was hit by a blast of pure flower extract. The blast was so pungent I felt it was going to lead to death by Pot Pourri and I coughed sharply and quickly recoiled to the safety of the duvet. Apart that incident I slept like a log, and upon waking in the morning I could see the vapour culprit was one of those fabreeze powered air fresheners, now I was wondering did it discharge on a timer or if it felt something smelled bad. Anyway I did raise the matter with my hosts and they confirmed it does just go off and perhaps they should have disarmed it. Well that was the trip over and I was meeting my daughter for lunch in Bristol so needed to load up and hit the road, the rain had started again and once again I got soaked loading the car. Carl and Wendy have been my facebook friends for over a year now and despite Kyle being a little concerned I might turn out to be a serial killer, seeing as I was a guy off of facebook, we all got on like a house on fire. On facebook they come across as a super warm hearted couple, who go out of their way to make peoples day a little happier and I am so glad to say they are exactly what it says on the tin, Salt of the earth people. Thanks guys for all your support this year, your donation to the charity cause, and for playing a key part of putting two more species on the bank, both fish being personal bests, look forward to catching up soon.