Chapel Lake,France (The last night)

The last night was upon us,we'd caught many fish of a certain size,lost a leviathan (we are all convinced it was a very large Carp,not a Catfish)..I'll be honest,the wind had blown into my bivvy door all week and I was glad to be heading home the next day.
However,there were obviously massive fish in front of me.I decided to fish completely different and place a bait in the middle of the lake in about 6 feet of water and 15feet of smelly black silty goo.
I was tempted to tie the much-lauded Chod Rig but as I've never caught a fish on it,I opted for the trusty 360 rig which I have much more confidence in.
The bait was a bouyant boilie whittled away so that it balanced perfectly,this was placed mid lake with groundbait laced with flavours and oils to mask the smell of the lake and a few boilies.
Sitting back to enjoy the evening,I drank fine wine and watched Water Voles swimming in the margins as darkness fell.
At around 2:30 am I was awakened by the screech of the mid-lake rods alarm,a belting run,no need to be locked up,no snags, just the half submerged lily beds that I'd noticed in the area whilst out previously on the boat.
I struck,standing in the crisp night air alone,my bivvy and mat taking a frosty lustre,my breath visible like smoke.The rod did take on a satisfying curve,but the tip and line were in the branches of an overhanging tree.Curses ensued,the fight continued and the line pinged through twigs and lilies,the fish stayed hooked and plodded as I slowly gained line.
Some time later,as I shivered with cold and adrenalin the fish was beaten and below me,the line still through the trees preventing me from landing the fish,I called to one of the lads to assist and after some effort it was in the net.
On lifting the net he exclaimed "this ones a bit bigger bud"....the fish was retained safely until the daylight hours, and here it is,I was delighted with this capture and felt that I truly earned it.

In conclusion ,Chapel Lake is by no means easy but the rewards are there for those that want to make the effort.The lake is beautiful and owner Tony is very accommodating.More details can be found here.