It’s funny how things happen, one minute I am sitting feeling sorry for myself, due to three cracked ribs the next im looking at the disappearing Dover cliffs on my way back to Forest lakes My good friend Andy and Bob had decided on a late trip at the end of October when most others had had there fill Talk on the way over was would they still be on the munch how big and how many were we going to bank

Ive been mates with Andy since he acquired the lakes eight years ago and fished it on various occasions but ive never had a Fifty out of the place Ive not been able to go for the last couple of years and have had to listen as I heard stories of yet another fifty coming out ,to be honest I was beginning to doubt my mates scales as it wasn’t that long ago that we were catching them at 35lb,Well I shouldn’t of had those doubts as after about 4hrs of the rods being in the water I had my first bite which turned out to be a 53lb mirror, I was meant to be resting my ribs, but when the wife saw the pics of the fish in my arms and me grinning like an idiot it sort of gave the game away

The fishing slowed up a bit during the week but many things happened that made the hours on the bank worth the while, the highlight of which was two Roe deer coming right up alongside the Bivvy along with Red Kites and countless Scurvy night skies

The last morning came around all too quick and the fish came back on the feed, I started the proceedings with a 35lb mirror, followed quickly by Andy with a 46mirror which I thought was going to be the death of me as I went to photo it only to get half way along the dam wall before my buzzer went into over drive which had me haring back to the rods just a little out of breath!! Another 35lb mirror graced my net fifteen minutes later followed shortly later by another! What a mad hours fishing 3 thirty five pluses and a forty six for good measure!!

There in there make no doubt and how those fish have grown, all the time we were there the fish were boshing through the night, and jeez there were some real lumps heaving themselves out the water!

I love the place not just the angling it’s just so peaceful and pretty and you can’t hear a bloody motorway! Im glad he is my mate you and Bob never paid me for the biggest fish!