On the move.

Arrived at Straits this morning for a session up to lunchtime.
Started by fishing the clear patches as usual but after a while it became obvious there were not any carp about so I had a look about. Saw a big fish in the birdcage swim then some a bit further down. There were loads hanging around near the gap swim so I stealthily set up close in. After a few fish had came in and fed without being caught I went up the steps for a better look. Just then a carp came in and started feeding over the left hand bait and I saw him suddenly shake his head like crazy before charging off ripping line off the baitrunner! After a really good scrap with the fish lunging around on the surface like a pike, I landed it, an immaculate mirror of 11lb.
The swim was now trashed so I moved again, right up to the end of the shallows. The water here was now only about a foot deep and carp were feeding in the dying weed. I cast one rod on to a gravel patch and set up a chod rig to fish across to the other side. After a couple of hours I was just getting ready to move again when the chod rig slowly moved off. I struck into the fish which plodded off along the far edge for a few yards before rolling on the surface, at that distance it looked like another low double but seemed to be wallowing a bit in the shallow water and I managed to draw it in without any fuss. I got it within about 15 yards away and saw that it was the fat fully scaled mirror! My nerves really started going as I knew she would be a good size and it didn't help that she was almost impossible to get really close because of her bulk. With the net pole and my left arm at full stretch I netted her, apart from a split in her tail she was in perfect condition and went 20lb 1oz. A fish I've always wanted to catch!
I had to take her halfway up the lake to find some deep margins for her to waddle off.
After that I moved for the third and last time to the birdcage swim. There were a few nice fish moving through from time to time including one of the big mirrors which looked a mid twenty. I set both rods up close in and after a couple of hours had a take right under the rod tip and after a good scrap in the deep water had a nice 13lb 6oz common th round the session off.