Trip #112 – The Viaduct (Cary Lake) – Surviving “Scary Cary”

After the absolute masterclass my eldest put on during our last trip to the Viaduct, he has been nagging me to get back out. He spent the whole week badgering me to go back, but this time he had his sights set on a specific target: the infamous “Scary Cary” lake.

Now, to be fair, I had never actually fished Cary Lake myself before today. I was well aware of its reputation, though, it’s known for housing some of the venue’s much larger, hard-fighting lumps. It’s a bit daunting when you’re taking a youngster, but he was busting to give it a go, so how could I say no?

We didn’t have all day today; we arrived quite late in the afternoon and only had a few hours to play with before the gates closed. But honestly, any time on the bank beats sitting at home faffing about.

We set up on closest peg available, with the lad choosing to fish right down at his feet. The margin looked incredibly inviting, with plenty of cover and signs of fish moving.

The Setup

Paul’s Gear:

• Rod: 12′ Chub Outcast Twin Tip Barbel Rod (set up with the feeder top)
• Reel: Shimano Baitrunner 5010
• Tactics: Small method feeder cast out into open water and down the edge to see if any larger carp were cruising.

The Boy’s Gear:

• Rod: 11′ Carp Power Match Waggler Rod
• Reel: Shimano 3000 GTM
• Tactics: Simple float tactics, fished literally inches from the bank right at his feet.

I started by chucking the method feeder out towards the middle to see if I could tempt a monster, but the real action was happening right on the edge of the wood. The eldest didn’t bother with any massive lobs today—he simply lowered his float down into the margin, dropped in a few pieces of bait, and waited.

It didn’t take long for the resident silvers to find him. Almost immediately, his float was bobbing and sliding away. Because he was fishing so close in, he didn’t even need to use the reel half the time; he was just striking, letting the rod bend, and swinging multiple silver fish straight to hand.

He was in his element, catching a brilliant mix of beautifully marked roach and rudd and a bonus skimmer. It was fast, furious, and proper fun fishing.

After an hour of bit bashing lad’s float twitched, shuddered, and then absolutely buried itself. He struck, and instead of a roach swinging through the air, the rod went into a proper, alarming battle curve. The drag on the Shimano reel started screaming as something very angry decided it didn’t want to be at his feet anymore.

“Dad! It’s another big one!”

It was a proper tense few minutes. Fishing that close to the banking means you’re always worried about snags, but he handled it like an absolute professional. He kept the pressure on, coaxed it away from the wooden platform, and after a brilliant scrap, I managed to slip the net under a cracking mirror carp.

We popped it on the scales, and it went a fantastic 11lb! A new personal best for him on our short sessions, and a proper chunk of a fish for a match rod to handle.

To round off the afternoon, we also managed a lovely, slimy bronze bream and a few more late silvers before the sun began to drop and we had to pack away the gear.

To this day, Cary Lake remains his absolute favourite venue and may well be another “core memory”. And looking back at the smiles and the action we had in just a few short hours, I can completely see why. Surviving “Scary Cary” was a proper result.

Tight lines until next time!