Christmas at Cassien

It was so good to be back on the banks of Cassien for the Christmas period once again. You see the last couple of years have been a bit hit-and-miss and I was determined to make it back there for the end of 2009. It wasn't particularly straight forward as with the release of the book this year I have to attend most of the shows, including the VBK show in Belgium, but what a great show that turned out to be! It really feels like one big get-together of friends and of course Martin and the Solar team were there too so a great time was had by all - thanks to all the VBK team for making us so welcome.
It was straight after the VBK show that Joan and I left for Cassien, it was during the start of the cold spell and we drove through snow and sleet but we made it in good time. The news was that the lake had been fishing quite well with the water level rising after heavy rains, but the sudden drop in temperature had halted things somewhat. I expected a tough time to be honest, but was just glad to be back at the place which means so much to me.
It was all very quiet for a few days. Not many anglers were on but there were no signs of carp and it was very cold, but finally, five days after arriving my Club Mix boily was picked up in the early hours and it was like I'd never been away. After a tough battle in the freezing darkness I landed a nice mirror of 44lb 8oz and to be honest that made the trip - I didn't need another fish.
A change came in the weather - it turned much warmer, but with it came the rain - lots of it! It rained for almost five days solid and I was so glad for the South Westerly clothing which meant that we could carry on with things and remain dry! The warm spell did bring with it a bit of action and two more cracking mirrors of 41lb and 47lb 8oz followed. From a tough start with limited time it was actually turning out to be a great trip.
Christmas Day started in the best way possible - I was dragged out of bed at 6am by a screaming run! I always hope to get a fish on Christmas Day but I hadn't actually achieved that since 2005 so this was quite a special moment and the 26lb common which was on the end was most gratefully received. Needless to say the rest of the day was spent eating, drinking and just smiling really!
The only problem with the Christmas period now at Cassien is that you know the crowds are going to arrive and they did from the 26th onwards up to the point where it really became packed-out. We were due to leave on the 28th so it didn't matter too much. I wasn't expecting any more action as the fish often turn off when it's busy but as we were packing up with the just the rods and the bivvy to go, one of the rods roared off but unfortunately the fish got around a snag and I retreived the rig minus the carp. It was a shame to end that way but I couldn't complain with the fish I'd already caught and after all it was just nice to get back and spend some time at my favourite lake.
Happy New Year - Briggsy