Guido Richard: Memories come alive again in the distance (1)

January 2024, Dubai Airport:

It's been a little less than four years since I left New Zealand just before the corona madness. Every winter since then, I've had to think about my friends there, about all the trout that are climbing to catch a giant cicada. Of the peace and quiet and the glorious weather there, while it's uncomfortably cold in Europe.

I've already completed seven hours of the journey and still have 30 to go. Somehow it feels like the last time was only a few weeks ago, but it's already been four years. What has happened in the meantime? Long winters, lots of fly fishing trips in Europe, corona lockdown and, as a result, far too much carp fishing ... luckily I'm now heading back to New Zealand! But I'll tell you about all this carp fishing now, because that's what this is all about. 

July 2021, at my home:

After a week of predator fishing in Holland and a fulfilling spring full of carp, my motivation for more carp fishing should have been zero. But the rainy weather, the constant low pressure and all the high water quickly brought me back to the water. I started feeding in a quiet harbour basin, where I suspected the carp were seeking some protection and peace from the high water. I put three kilos of boilies in the water three times, with a two-day break between each feed. On the subsequent first attempt, I immediately caught three small scaly carp and a slightly larger one with a huge tail fin, which fought like no other fish.

The high tide rose considerably over the next few days, but I continued to feed anyway, feeling good about the next attempt. When I arrived at the spot in the late afternoon, it was raining again, the air pressure was particularly low and the midges were already extremely aggressive. The rods were quickly in the water, each with a handful of boilies - the wait could begin. A short wait, because when I looked at the rod, alerted by a single beeper, I saw the swinger slowly come up two seconds later and the rod bend brutally to the right. Once on contact, the fish pulled powerfully along the bung wall; it was impossible to get it up at first. It was only after applying a lot of pressure that I managed to guide it into the net, where I was able to take a look at the big mirror for the first time. The fish was bagged and I radioed my mate Tarik, who arrived an hour later at dusk in anticipation of the catch. We inspected the fish, which was still empty and thin, but incredibly tall, compact and really hard to hold. It wasn't just the weight of 25.5kg that made us beam, but also the fact that there is a maximum of one mirror for every ten common carp.

The rest of the night we fished together with my two rods and managed to land another four fish.

Over the next few weeks, it got very hot with temperatures of up to 35 degrees, so my motivation for carp fishing was gone for a while.

An important side note for the rest of the story: this fish bit exactly two days after the new moon in a large harbour basin system that is connected to several bodies of water. I think some fish swim in there depending on the season or their mood, others stay in the water permanently. In any case, it is impossible to have an overview of the stock.

Look forward to part 2 soon,
Your Guido Richard