Milton Mayhem… A Dream Start to Summer.

2nd July 2018

Luke Wallace’s Milton Mayhem…A Dream Start to Summer.

After a long cold spring angling on a low stock Reading pit and ever-increasing work commitments meaning long periods away from family life, Luke decided to rejoin a water much closer to home for a change…one he had fished a number of years ago as a club water but was now less busy having become a syndicate ticket in more recent times.

With a decent stock of carp in around 12 acres of water, it is a mature venue set in the heart of the Kentish Stour valley. A good mix of long dark commons to mid thirty and some lovely old valley mirrors, as well as some newer carp introduced to bolster the dwindling older residents. A handful of the really old characters from the original stock are still about, and the two most sought after are the Swirly common and the Milton mirror. Both fish were well over forty pounds in their prime and have been incredibly sought after over the years.

With the heat of May Bank holiday triggering heavy spawning, Luke’s first trip just a fortnight or so later fell at the perfect time. Cool east winds and overcast conditions were exactly what was needed and on the second day of that first weekend it all came good. In a flurry of action one of the lakes sought after old mirrors, the Little Milton made a mistake and on picking up Luke’s hook-bait he was soon in the net. A lovely dark slate coloured common followed, alongside one of the lakes oddun’s (one of the rarer fish to slip up), a chunky charcoal grey mirror completed the weekend. What a start!

Being close to home certainly has its benefits and Luke took full advantage getting back down the lake after work when it was quiet, ensuring to get plenty of his heavily glugged Sticky Krill boilies onto the spots in preparation for the weekend.

With similar weather conditions to the previous weekend and a low pressure moving in, Luke dropped straight back into the same swim and those old carp really responded to that prep work – they were not going to pass up on the chance of a good post spawn feast! As the bites clocked up over the next 24 hours, the weather turned moody, with a straight south wind blowing into the swim. It was just perfect conditions! Just on dusk, one of the lakes most sought after, the Jurassic looking Milton Mirror paid Luke a visit…the cherry on the cake of an exceptional few weeks angling.

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