If you read last weeks entry - David from BCT told me to tie my own after I was constantly getting snapped off while using Gardener and Nash pre-tied rigs. OK well this was the first time in the States that I was using my own tied rigs. Billy was trying them out as well. Anyway I am trying to remember how this went down, I got there a little after 11am and had a slow though steady run soon after I hit it and even though I missed it I thought yep this is going to be a good day. Billy turned up a few hours later and I still hadn't caught though had many of these slow steady runs I didn't connect with any of them, this time I was trying 10mm corn flavoured boilies as well as the usual hominy and I think Billy was using hominy. We were basically fishing the exact same places as the week before and about 3.30pm Billy get a screamer I am so pleased as he hadn't caught one while fishing with me before - anyway I can't tell you much about the fight cuz it wasn't mine lol I can't even remember what it weighed. We are both constantly getting these slow steady bites and we are constantly doing something as we are striking them, rebaiting etc no fish to show for it, so I said to Billy "I'm going to put on a smaller hook, to see if can snag what ever is doing this." the only small hooks I have are these pre-tied Nash hooks in about a size 6 or 8; anyway I am convinced these are Buffs and I put one of the 10mm Boilies directly on the hook and cast it out, I said to Billy just you wait and see me get a screamer from a common now and the Nash slots leader will break." I still couldn't hook whatever it was that was doing this, it wasn't the current as the floodgates were closed so I have no idea what was doing it. I was reading about these underwater camera's maybe i'll get one of them to find out what these bites are caused by.

At about 5.30pm Billy has another run and it's a scorcher, check out the bend in his rod:

I said hey Billy you might have your clutch set to tight and I just got it in the landing net crack the rod broke, the people on the bridge were gob smacked though we had the fish and it was a good one, I was convinced it was a 30lb (Don't some fish really throw you off?) though on the scales it went 24lb 7oz I think, Billy will correct me if I am wrong; so Billy really has mixed emotions he has probably just caught his PB and he broke a rod. What the heck it can repair and guess what? My knots held yeehaa, anyway look at this fish:

So now Billy was kicking my ass, 2 up to Billy. I thought yep get that Nash hook length changed before I get one, good job I did - as on the rod that I took the Nash hook length off I got a screamer, it tore off to the right of my and the line was going through the tree to the right of me so I got out as far into the water as I could to get the line past the tree though it got to deep and I knew there was a good drop off near where I was standing so I let the fish carry on with its run - I saw it surface about 40 yards out which usually means its tiring only for it to tear off again. I start bringing it in and the line is still in the tree so when I get it a bit closer Billy jumped in and snapped the branch that was causing the problems and then got it in the landing net (It's so much easier when you have someone to assist you in these events) another beautiful Carp 24lb 10oz:

A little antiseptic where the hook was and back he goes. Don't you just love this sport of Carp Fishing? Not to be outdone I went and caught my PW (I made that up I think personal worst) no really it was the smallest Carp I had ever caught out of Town Lake and probably a good job as he got caught snagged on a branch on the bottom of the lake and realy had to pump the rod up and down to get them both in. Oh the knots! Go on let me brag a bit, its been a long time since I used to do it before. Next week I am going to Galverston Airshow so see ya here in a couple of weeks. Opps nearly forgot Baby Carp: