Fishing Report: A Big One in the Bush [Transom pond Razvanje]

This time everything happened extremely quickly and spontaneously, and that's usually the best way.

I've been thinking for a few days about going on a daily fishing trip to one of the nearby ponds - maybe Betnava, the Pivola pond, or the Transom Pond in Razvanje. The last one I know best, at least I thought so.

And as if my friend Jure knew or sensed this, on our old forum he started asking about conditions of the waters around Maribor, our hometown.

When I saw his question about it I thought “let`s make a good day out of it”! So, I called him and he told me that he is interested in testing and setting up his new Daiwa Procaster fishing rod he bought a few days ago. And just like that, we went to the well known Transom pond.

We decided to spend our fishing day on a larger pond. This location has two ponds, and the small one almost guarantees a catch but the fish are smaller. The bigger pond holds bigger fish, but harder to catch.

There are still some small American catfish in it, and together with them some quite big specimens of other species, especially carp. We both decided we want to catch them, but we had one “small” problem. Our equipment. I will tell you more about it a bit later.

How Did We Start, What Did We Do?

When we arrived at the Transom pond at 7 AM, there was no one there. Everything was really easy going. We looked around a bit and found a good position near the cottage.

Based on experience my father gave me about where and how to find fish and of course based on sun and wind, we settled down on a big pond. If you don’t know what are good conditions for fishing, check out here ...

The wind was blowing in our faces, the sun was warming the part of the pond where we wanted to fish, and in front of us was also the famous bush.

This pond definitely doesn’t lack them ...

All that had to be done now was to check out the water line and see were we might find some overhangs, holes, and obstacles that are crucial to land a big one!

I placed a small lead (a teardrop) on the hook and began to measure the depth right next to the bushes, all the way to the shore.

Since I had a float mounted on the rod weighing only 2g, and the thickness of the nylon was only 0.20mm, the idea of fishing right next to the bushes seemed a bit "controversial". Casting over long distances to the bushes is negatively affected by the wind.

But, any slightly larger carp, of which there is no shortage in the Transom pond, will most likely hide away very quickly into the bush. It is difficult to stop it with such equipment and this would be followed by snapping and loosing fish.

So, I decided to cast a little wider to maybe lure some fish away from the brush, and I fished a little closer to shore.

For prebaiting I used boiled corn with hemp and wheat which is my favorite mix for this location. Fish here respond very well to this natural food so I threw it into the water!

My friend Jure mounted a "waggler" on his rod, (a sliding float), which was a little heavier than mine, and for this reason he threw it much more easily into the "heart" of the pond, right next to the bushes where the fish were hiding. Choosing a good float is very important and you can check it out here ...

Unfortunately, his nylon was as thin as mine.

Then something happened in my head, and it occurred to me: "I really wonder what will happen when one of us catches one of the big fish swimming in this water!?"

And we didn't have to wait long for an answer...

How it Ran Into the Bushes? [A BIG One!]

Thoroughly chosen position, chum in the water, and tasty corn as hook bait quickly resulted in a first catch! It was babushka, but it was around 400-500 grams, which is very big for babushka!

Almost immediately after Jure casted his waggler towards the bush where we threw our chum just moments ago. As soon as it hit the water the float started “dancing” around near the bushes!

The fish on Jure's hook was not so big to cause trouble, so Jure brought it to the shore routinely and without major problems. After all, he is an experienced angler.

A little later, luck smiled on me. I was fishing a little closer to the shore and far away from the bushes. My light float went under water, and I alson landed my first carp!

After a long time, I felt the excitement when the fishing reel "sings" and when the fish gives you an adrenalin rush.

The carp that I brought to the shore was not exactly a "giant", but I was extremely happy with it.

We continued fishing and waiting for an answer to my previously asked question: “What will happen ...”

And it happened...

Despite the fact that I "tightened" the fishing reel a bit after the first carp, this new fish showed me that I was so wrong when I criticized my father who always used much thicker lines in this pond. He was the smart one and apparently, I was a bit ignorant!

This fish pulled my float completely under water. I tightened gently and the whole ordeal started!

The reel made quite a sound, I played with it, I was tightening more and more, and I really didn’t have high hopes for anything with 0.20 mm line. Jure told me to be careful and not to let it go into the bushes. About 30 or 40 meters of nylon was pulled and that was just enough for this fish to reach the bush, gets tangled, and for everything to go quiet.

I waited a little, I hoped, I wished that I had managed to stop the fish, but unfortunately, it was stopped by the bushes. Immediately after that everything broke, and I was left empty handed. Fish, hook, and float, everything was gone. To be honest, I was really interested in “who” took it all away.

It seems that we got an answer to my question from before. It happened and it went into the bushes, where I least wanted it to go!

How the Day Went from There?

After this exciting event, I only caught a babushka or two, one small American catfish on sweet corn, and finally my float, brought by the wind and water!

I also learned something new again - if you have an old Lada, you can't drive it 300 km/h.

I really want to know how this big carp looks like. For the next time I have to put on a bit thicker line, tighten the reel a bit more, and find out!

And in the end, the words from my elderly neighbor, who has been fishing on this pond for many years, when I told him the story: "Ah, you have no idea, that's not how it's done!"

Thanks neighbor and good luck to you too! Haha. :)

So, What to Do to Avoid my Destiny?

Carp fishing is a science if you want to break a world record, but for a nice specimen from a local pond, you can use the basic beginner’s setup.

This includes:

• CARP ROD – cca. 12 ft carp rod with 2,5 pounds test curve.
• REEL – choose depending on carp size, but up to 5000 (this is max) is OK for pond fishing.
• LINE – depending on the rest of your equipment and line type and properties, go between 12 and 50 lbs. Yes, now I know it too haha! To help you - here is an easy converter from mm to lb when it comes to line strength.

To make it easier, choose the right rig, get an alarm if you want one, and get a rod pod. If you want a complete and detailed list for carp fishing, check it out here!

Conclusion

If you are wondering if it is possible to catch big fish on light equipment the answer is YES, it is possible. However, it requires a mixture of experience and luck!

On this day, I had some experience, but the “luck ingredient” was missing. The moral of the story is not to overestimate your gear and knowledge, and underestimate the fish.

If you want to land it and avoid wondering “what was on the hook” make sure to prepare well. And even if you don’t succeed, you will have a great memory and a story to tell! I sure have a lot of stories and fishing reports to share!