Beyond the border - Jan Prchlík

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19-11-2023 - It has been several years since I travelled for carp, outside our republic. I have visited several countries in the past where I tried to catch these fish. Sometimes successfully, sometimes less so. About six years ago, I visited our German neighbours for the first time, and in the course of two years I held two events here, each of which I was quite successful at. Even though hunting here appealed to me quite a bit over the next few years, I didn't get to this country for certain reasons. Until this year, it was time for a comeback, and I was eager to see how I would fare at the new location, which I decided to visit after an agreement with my friend Petr.

The preparations took place quite quickly, as is my custom, and on the second Saturday in May I was driving along the highway in the direction of Rozvadov. The trip went without complications and after a few hours and a few hundred kilometres I'm here. From the information I had about this location, I could look forward to really beautiful water. The reality upon arrival was that my idea was completely different, and the sandpit I stopped at was even nicer than I expected. Large fields of reeds reaching far into the water, a few fallen trees and thick water grass, it must be a paradise for local giants. After saying goodbye to my colleague, who was my sidekick throughout the expedition, I started with preparations.

 

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After agreeing where I would sit, I went out to map the bottom and the part of the lake available to me. It took me about two hours. I was a bit disillusioned with the depths I had to my left. My plan was that I would want to place the rigs at a maximum depth of two meters during this period. Unfortunately, the amount of algae in my area did not allow me to do this. I was able to place the left rod safely at a depth of four meters and bet here on catching with a floating 18 mm Reflex pop up squid bait. For freebies, I decided to use Boilie Champion Platinum B17 for the entire event. It also flew in the amount of two handfuls to assemble. I presented the second rod to the bottom with two balls of B17 under the opposite bank at a greater depth, but I did not fully trust this place. However, since I got to the crime scene quite late in the afternoon, I didn't have that much time to give the mapping the space it needed. I stuck to the motto "morning is wiser in the evening" and after loading the rods I was already looking forward to chatting with a colleague whom I hadn't seen in a really long time.

 

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The main topic was, of course, fish, when I was wondering what kind of carp were there. Several photos that I saw from the local area brought me to a state where I just needed to hear the first beep of the alarm. However, the topic of carp activity, which is currently prevalent here, also came up in the conversation. It was a bit of an ice shower for me when I learned that two local guys, who have been here for the third day, can boast of only four carp the size of fish, which are sold here in tubs just before Christmas. Of course, I didn't throw Flint into the rye. We went to bed around midnight, and I was curious to see how the first night of hunting would go. Before five in the morning the contact came on the rod with a pop up and the ride was really great. Since I had the rod way to the left and the reel brake on in my style, the rod was bent all the way to the signal. A priceless view. I went after the fish, which had already been caught a good fifteen meters in the reeds, and a rather funny tug-of-war began.

 

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On my part, the preparation was a bit underestimated, when I forgot to pack a Hard Core landing gear before leaving, which I would really need in these situations. However, I managed quite well and took the first local resident ashore. I was very happy with the contact shot and felt quite at ease. Although it was not the biggest fish in the current situation, even if it was the only one, I was satisfied. I placed the rod again with the same strategy in a successful spot and went to have breakfast with a colleague. I puzzled over what to do with the other rod, the placement of which I was definitely not happy with. So I set out on the water, and with the help of the echo sounder, and mainly polarized glasses, after about two hours I found, in my opinion, the best possible spot. It was a small, clean sandy patch between aquatic plants within one meter of shore at a depth of 1.2 meters. An ideal place for spring carp fishing.

To be continued...

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