My Season so far.......

Well my carp fishing started this season with a 2 night stint on my club water on opening night in May.
I arrived to find that there would only be 4 of us fishing the opening. We all lugged our gear to the BBQ area for the annual BBQ that starts the season off. With a few pound of meat and bread devoured by us we set about the draw. 
My membership card was first out of the hat and with that i plumed for a swim that gave me the middle of the lake. It had open water with a gravel bar about 40 yards out, a lily pad bed to the left of my swim about 30 yards into the middle, and another couple of pads to my left & right in the margins. I chose this as I have had success in this swim before and also because having the middle of a dog bone shaped lake meant that fish traveling from one end to the other would have to come through my swim and hopefully past my baits.
With the swim set up and rods baited up with Cell dumbbell hook baits and small PVA bags of crumb/pellet/Goo hooked up and ready to cast out, I waited for the 18:00 start. It came and the first rod went straight out to the gravel bar followed by about 30 free offerings scattered around the area.
The second rod went towards the pads in open water again with about 30 freebies.With the rods out and my season under way I sat back and waited.
The first fish of my 2012/13 season came at 01:45 in the shape of a 27lb mirror form my first rod in open water. I was using Mantis with a size 8 hook tied knotless knot and a 2½oz lead fished on a lead clip.
With the fish photographed and back in, I re-set the rod and cast back to the same spot and added another 15 scattered boilies. Back to the sleeping bag only to be woken at 04:35 by a nice 4lb Tench on the same rod. Fish returned and re-baited I was greeted by at 20lb 1oz mirror at 05:39 and another at 06:40 weighing in at 22lb 2oz. Both photographed and returned. I set about ready for a day of action.
I was wrong, nothing came until 2150 in the shape of a 19lb 2oz mirror again to the open water rod. I re-baited and went back to sleep. I was woken by my neighbour catching from the other side of the pads I was fishing to with my second rod.
Well no other fish to me through the night. The next one to grace the bank for me was at 10:15 from my second rod against the pads to my left in open water. This was a nice 23lb3oz mirror. This also fell to a Cell dumbbell hook bait with a PVA bag attached.

That was the only fish that I had on my first session.

I returned to the lake a couple of months later due to work around the Olympics. A Clear warm September day found me in a different swim. This one was at the beginning of the lake. It has a small set of pads about 20 yards to my left in the middle and a reed fringed island about 25yrds to my right.
I sent the first rod out to the island baited with Cell again and the second to the pads to my left. I used the same baiting plan as the opening session. I was rewarded with a run at 02:15 where a 18lb leather carp ended up in the net. That was the only fish of the 33hr session.
I have been a couple of times since with no luck. 

Now that the cold and wet weather has set in I have temp hung the carp rods up in favor of trying my hand at Pike & Perch fishing.
I will pen some details of how this is coming along later. In the mean time Tight Lines