About 15 mins before time to pack up my little 2-3kg and 1000 sienna combo slowly started bending over and then dropped back. I figured I'd pick it up out of the rod holder and strike on the next nibble... I hooked up and oh my word ..... The line just peeled off the poor little sienna .... I knew exactly what I'd hooked into after the first blistering run out towards the centre of the river. I backed the drag off a touch.... pretty conscious of the fact I'm fishing 6lb braid with a 4lb leader .... I've dropped enough jewies on Bream gear to know slow and steady wins the race. It was heart in the mouth stuff ... at one point the bloody fish took a big run down towards the bridge and the barge that is moored there doing bridge works so I had to take a risk and thumb the spool a little just to turn it around. By this point I was probably in the fight for about 5 mins ... couple of lads who had just arrived for a fish stopped to watch which always adds a bit of pressure lol. A couple of times I could see the top of my rig but hadn't seen colour in the filthy water .... based on the swirls kicked up as it kicked for the depths again it was a decent schoolie .. maybe 60cm or so. This repeated for a fair time ... anytime I'd get it close to the bank and my rig would start emerging it would go off for another run and I'd just have to wait till it calmed the farm and then I could start working it back in.
Finally after about 10 mins or so it started to get shorter runs and I saw a flash of colour ... then it surfaced ... and that really distinctive lateral line .... except hang on ... wtf ... its a distinctive lateral line alright ... but surrounded by the unmistakable golden scales of a dirty big mudsucking rubber lipped puddle pig of a carp. I'd brought my ebay special net - its low quality but is telescopic and extends out really far so perfect for scooping bream out the steep banks of the nong. I got the carp in it but dragging it up the bank the *&%^$%n thing thrashed, tore it up and pretty much dismantled it. I then made the fateful decision to "just grab it" ... I grabbed my 4lb leader in my left hand and whilst it was half beached attempted to stick my thumb in its gob and lip grip it. Never lip gripped a carp before. Surprisingly slippery. It clearly didn't appreciate me sticking my thumb in its mouth because it thrashed ... popped the leader... and it was in the river. I made a futile grab for its tail which I felt easily slip through my hand and it disappeared into the depths.
On the positive side I had the adrenaline rush that a jewie on bream gear brings
. I clearly entertained my fellow fisho's who were most amused that it turned out to be a mud marlin. On the downside my ebay bream scooper is in the public bin at the bridge and my rig, including a swim feeder is presumably still attached to old rubber lips. I thought the rubber had just detached but it managed to tear the net ... so farewell my $15 bargain ... you served me well.
I know there has been a lot of fresh pumped into the system but I'm gobsmacked to hook into a carp at Lynch's bridge. Also pretty annoyed that they are in there and so far below Solomon's .... would have been a pleasure to knock it on the head but not to be. Fat old girl as well - reckon it was an easy 60cm+ comparing it to the 70cm I pulled out of cherry lake a couple weeks ago.
