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By Bill Hopkins
Arthur of course is a carp! A common carp that resides in Hawk Lake in the North West of England. Arthur also happens to be a female, the name originally given to her because of a scar situated on her gill. Hence: I shall say no more…
The following tale is compiled from a trio of events beginning in the Autumn of 1995, when we first became shall I say attached…
I had arrived at Hawk at midday. The water was delightfully calm, with just a hint of a breeze. It looked good again for the second bay, an area that I had concentrated upon the 2 sessions previously.
The bivvy was non-too-gracefully erected upon a swim known as the Highbank, and an area well known for producing at night. I settled in quite nicely, eagerly awaiting events of the next 48 hours. That is if any events are forthcoming!
The first night passed quietly, without a bleep to the alarms! And I lazed throughout the humidity of the next day reading and drinking a never-ending supply of tea.
As darkness approached the 2 rods were recast. The left-hand rod to an area two-thirds across the bay and baited with around 100 birdfood boilies. The right-hand rod was cast to a tight area 2 feet from a clump of reeds on a gravel patch that slopes down to the silt. Most of my results had previously come from this area, the trick being to pull the lead down the gravel slope until it rests in the silt. The hookbait would lie just on the edge where gravel and silt met. This was again baited with about 100 free offerings.
At 11.00pm I had 2 bleeps on the right-hand rod to the gravel patch. Without hesitation I lifted the rod into the darkness and connected with a chunky looking mirror of 18Ib 12oz. The rod was recast with a 5 bait stringer and I was confident it was back on the spot.
My next acquaintance with Arthur did not actually occur until some 3 years later. It was June 1998 and I was 10 nights in at the start of the season and doing quite well as it happened. I had already had over 20 fish to 25Ib 5oz, yet this one particular day I was looking for a move. The fish had moved out of my swim in the first bay and I was looking for somewhere further up the lake.
During this second week of the season the madness had quietened down somewhat as most anglers had by now pulled off. The main pads swims halfway up the lake had became vacant and I felt I was sure to catch if I gave them a go. Over the past 9 nights the 2 pads swims had produced over 40 carp yet they had all been doubles. Nothing over 20 pounds had been caught.
I elected to fish the leftside of the pads and eagerly cast 2 rods as close to the features as I could get them. Almost instantly I had action landing a 16Ib 12oz common. As I netted it the other rod jerked forward as the reel was set as tight on the clutch as possible, and I was into another. I had to give a lad called Steve a shout who was further up from me to bring his net, and in went a 17Ib 7oz mirror. 2 further doubles were to follow before all went quiet and darkness fell.
It was a pleasant night being warm and overcast but with being on such a long session I was completely knackered. I fell asleep at what I would guess to be around 11.00pm.
A single bleep had me diving for the rod! Which I found was not under the bedchair. Half-asleep I heaved into the offending creature, which I was sure was well into the pads by now. Everything was a stalemate for a few seconds and then the fish began to move, I gently eased it back towards me and out of the dense pads into open water. Funnily enough once in the clear the fish just swam directly towards me and went straight in the net. That’s handy I thought! But on looking in the mesh I realised I had met up with an old friend. I couldn’t believe it! She went 30Ib 4oz this time and looked immaculate.
Now Arthur does tend to make an occasional appearance on the bank, and to various anglers. However! In general she only appears probably 3 to 4 times annually, and if you do catch her above 30 pounds your quite lucky as for most of the year she remains at around the 28+ mark. So to catch this fish both times over the magical 30+ mark I can only think of myself as privileged to say the least.
There again…
The summer of 1999 and I was on for a 24 hour session fishing through to the following evening. I couldn’t really decide where to get but favoured either the burnout swim in the deadlength or the leak swim further up the lake. I looked across the water in the deadlength and it looked carpy to say the least. I was about to get the gear from the car when a lad called Bob appeared and asked where I was getting as he wanted to get in the burnout swim. I said that I fancied it there but also favoured the leak. It was only the fact that he had been there before me but couldn’t make his mind up on where to go that I told him to get in there and I would get in the leak. I wasn’t bothered either way, I could always find fish and move first thing in the morning anyway. With that I took the gear and went up the lake.
I spent the night without any confidence whatsoever. I hadn’t seen a single fish in front of me although the conditions were good for the area. I decided to be up early the next morning to Find fish and move.
It was 4.30am. I was up and on the lookout for carp. I wandered down the lake as I had not seen much further up and found fish in a couple of areas in the narrows. I thought I might get a chance there in the day but thought I would see how Bob had done in the burnout swim. As I got to the swim I found it to be empty. That was funny I thought! And walked into the second bay where I found Bob on the Highbank bivvied up. I couldn’t believe he had changed his mind again and hadn’t fished the burnout after-all. I went straight back to the burnout swim where I knew the fish were going to be that afternoon. I just had that feeling…
I collected the gear and perched myself onto the burnout swim with the bedchair under a big oak tree. It was a lovely day and I could make out fish cruising along the far reed line, the dorsal fins glinting in the sun as they broke surface. They were sure to feed this afternoon as the day cooled off.
It was about 3.00pm and I was having yet another cup of tea whilst watching this one particular dorsal fin cruising up and down a particular stretch of the reeds. It was well to my right but would follow the far bank until it reached this little hole in the reeds where it would disappear. After a few seconds it would reappear and then slowly move back down the reed-line before turning around and repeating the process. I waited for the fish to slowly wander down the reeds away from the hole which was only about 12 inches square and wound my right-hand rod in. I put on a fresh bait, a little 14mm pop-up and cast it to my right into the hole first time. I couldn’t believe the cast! So I just put it down to luck. I put on a backlead, positioned the bobbin and eagerly awaited for the fish to return.
10 minutes went by as I watched this dorsal fin and it started to slowly move back towards the hole. In it went and it disappeared from sight. 2 bleeps went on the optonic and I heaved the rod into nothing. I couldn’t believe it! I’d missed the bloody thing! I looked across and the fin had appeared again and was slowly making its way back down the reeds to my right. I wound back in, checked the rig which was fine and recast. Straight back into this little hole went the rig. 2 casts out of 2 spot on that was unheard of for me. I could still see the fish and once again it had turned around and was moving back towards the little hole in the reeds. If it goes in there again, it must be completely stupid I thought. And yes in it went! Again 2 bleeps on the optonic and again I heaved into the rod, though this time I had something
attached. As I was playing the fish Bob appeared and watched as I landed a large common. As it rolled into the net I’d almost guessed as much and turned to Bob and gasped `It’s Arthur’. To say Bob was not happy would be an understatement. He cursed me all the time I was weighing her and cursed twice as much when she went 33Ib 8oz.
This was to be Arthur’s largest ever weight, and of course the third time I was to catch her over thirty. The next time she made an appearance it was a few weeks later to another angler at just over 28 pounds. Unfortunately Arthur never made an appearance on the banks of Hawk during the 2000/01 season and the fear is that we have lost her. If that is the case then the tale of Arthur is now at an end.
And in retrospect I’ll have lost a good friend.
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