win
a pair of
nr toro rods worth £615.98
I S S U E 3 2 2 J U LY 2 0 1 7
pecky does it again!
BRITAIN’S BIGGEST CARP-ANGLING MAGAZINE
carpworldmagazine.com
THIS ISSUE SPITFIRE STUNNER P20
carpworldmagazine.com
Chris Elden managed to tempt the awesome-looking Long Common
BRAND NEW BAIT
001_COVER_CW322.indd 1
A DREAM COME TRUE P56
After finally getting permission, Iain Macmillan headed off to Austria
JULY 2017 Issue 322 £4.75
DAY TICKET 50 P42
Lee Birch banked a new 50 after returning to Bluebell Lakes’ King fisher
CRAFTY CATCHER, BAIT-TECH, MAINLINE, NASH, STICKY, AND MUCH MORE 13/06/2017 13:35
C O N T E NTS
I SSUE 3 2 2 | J ULY 2 0 1 7 7
10
13
20
EDIT O R ’S C O M MENTS
F ROM THE BI VVY
S WA N S O N G
SPITFIRE STUNNER
Steve welcomes you to the July issue of Carpworld, he also talks about spawning and a recent trip to Birch Grove.
Interesting stuff we thought you might like to know… Get in touch if you have something you want to share:
steve@anglingpublications.co.uk
The unstoppable Myles Gibson continues his campaign on Black Swan, and has banked some truly spectacular fish from this far-from-easy venue.
Good observation and sharp tactical angling bagged one of the country’s best commons in just a few hours for Norfolk big-fish man Chris Elden.
STEV E BR OAD
C A RPW ORL D
M Y L E S G I B SO N
CH R I S E L DE N
27
cover s t o ry
35
top pick
42
49
PEC KY ’S PR O GRESS
BAITWORLD
NEVER GO BACK… MAYBE
This month, Pecky headed off to an undisclosed venue somewhere in Europe for a further 2 weeks’ fishing, but did he track down the fish of his dreams?
We take a look at the brand-new bait sprays from Mainline, the particle range from Crafty Catcher, and some great products from Bait-Tech.
They say you should never go back, but when it came to Kingfisher on the Bluebell Lakes complex, Lee thought he would make an exception to the rule.
Dave discusses the close season, making plans, and preparing for the summer months. He also relives some of his opening-night memories from the past.
DAR R ELL PECK
C A RPW ORLD
L EE B I R CH
DAV E M OORE
56
63
69
A DREAM COME TRUE
THINK TAN K
T H E F W O RD
Iain Macmillan and Ian Smith set off on the adventure of a lifetime, heading for a little-fished venue tucked away in the heart of Austria. I AI N MAC MI LLA N
Shock or snag leaders – do you use This issue sees Mr F bag three cracking them, and if so, when and where? This fish against the clock. But a session on is the question we put to our panel of Wraysbury 2 was cut short when the carp decided it was spawning time. experts this month. PA UL F O R WA R D
OU R E X PE RT S
WHEN THE HEAT IS ON
79
top pick
C O L O U R A N D LI G H T A simple title, but not a simple discussion. Does colour really matter? Here, the man who knows from his extensive diving experience reveals his thoughts. R O B H UG HE S
42
27
79 cover story 4
Carpworld j uly 2 0 17
004-005_Contents_CW322.indd 1
13/06/2017 11:38
WWW.CA R PWO R L D M AGAZ IN E.COM
F: facebook.com/CarpworldMagazine | T: @CarpworldMag | ig: @CarpworldMagazine
COMPETITION
144
WIN A PAIR OF NASH NR RODS| PAGE 77
SUBSCRIBE! all this
d of Carpworl plus 12 issues door for just your delivered to
£
66
A N A M A Z I N G DY N A M I T E O F F E R | PA G E 1 5 8 86
91
98
106
ASK T HE EX PERTS
LETTER TO A S MA L L I S L A N D
WA L K YO U R O W N PA T H
RE T UR N TO E B R O
Our guest experts answer questions on boosting bait, how much bait is really needed for a week’s session, and how to spool up to avoid twist.
Simon has witnessed the importance of using good HNV food baits, but the best bait in the world won’t work if the application isn’t correct.
After securing a place on a syndicate known as the Owls, it soon became apparent that this maze-like water was going to be a tough nut to crack.
Andrew and his friends had a great trip to Spain’s River Ebro, where they enjoyed some top-class action by going afloat and getting mobile.
THE PA N E L
S IM ON M AN SB R I D G E
TOM OLIVER
A NDRE W RI S T E
113
121
129
137
FISHING F IASCOS
CHILL E D O U T
YO RKS H I RE T H E N A N D N O W
R I G W O R LD
Trying not to cross international borders, and narrowly avoiding the eye of the storm are just a couple of the things which have affected Adam when fishing.
With the fish in the estate lake on the verge of spawning, Chilly had one last go for them, and what a session it turned out to be.
Simon looks at the changing face of the Yorkshire carp scene since he moved to the county almost 25 years ago.
Mike looks at the impressive new tungsten tubing by Deception Angling, and some of the terminal tackle our European counterparts supply.
ADAM C L E W E R
IA N C H I L L CO T T
SI M O N CR O W
F EA T UR I NG M I KE KAVA NA GH
153
161
171
144
top pick
W E AR E PIRATES
TACKLE W O RL D
ECHOES
STILL CARPING ON
Julian and friends headed off for their greatest adventure ever, to tackle the mighty Rhône Delta where it flows into the Mediterranean in southern France.
We take a look at the latest gear available from Nash, Cygnet, Sufix, Fox, Vision, Wychwood, Chub, Greys and JRC.
All the latest catch reports from around the globe – don’t forget to send yours in to get in print via our website: carpworldmagazine.com
May means work parties and fishing the Mangrove, but just being at these Shropshire meres is still such a thrill, and they become increasingly enjoyable.
JULI AN J U RKE W ITZ
C A R P WO R L D
ST EV E B R I G G S
TI M PA I S L E Y Carpworld j u ly 2 01 7
5
004-005_Contents_CW322.indd 2
13/06/2017 11:39
FEATURE
DARRELL PECK
PECKY’S PROGRESS
After a session in France, Pecky headed off to an undisclosed venue somewhere in Europe for a further 2 weeks’ fishing, but did he track down the fish of his dreams?
Carpworld J U LY 2 01 7
027-032_Pecky's_Progress_CW322.indd 1
27
05/06/2017 12:38
F EA T UR E equipment I didn’t need for the next venue. Back in the autumn, while surfing the search section of Instagram, I came across an image of a rather special carp. At the time, I didn’t know how big it was, or even the country where it lived. What I did know was that it wasn’t just big, but also exceptionally beautiful. After doing some research, I found out where he swam, and, more importantly, that I could get a ticket. Out of respect to the locals, that’s as much as I want to say about it. No reference to the country or to the lake, but I will share the story of the capture with you. For the past 3 years, my own angling, not filming, has been focused around long sessions in Europe, and I am always on the lookout for fresh adventures. Nothing motivates me more than when pushing the boundaries of what I have done previously. For me, at this moment, there is no better
ABOVE: Trying to get everything sorted for the next venue. RIGHT: Checking a few spots with the little boat. BELOW: The first few days were frustrating.
H
aving just finished 3 nights on Abbey Lakes in France, I made the long drive to Friesland in Northern Holland, to meet up with Arjan Verkoelen. I had his trailer and he had just taken delivery of my new one. Unfortunately, the traffic around Antwerp was savage and I didn’t arrive at his until around 9.00 p.m. I had been in the car since 12.00 o’clock and I was absolutely knackered. Luckily, Arjan kindly offered me a bed for the night. The following morning, the contents of my van were strewn across his lawn for a mass sort out. Anything I didn’t need for the adventure going forward was to be left behind. I left my trailer, and all the bivvy boat-fishing way to do this than by chasing bigger carp, or tackling bigger and more challenging venues on the mainland. May, or lambing season as I like to call it, certainly offered a great opportunity to stack the odds in my favour of a quick capture of this fish, especially with 14 nights available to me. The lake isn’t easy by any stretch of the imagination, and to the best of my knowledge, it hadn’t produced a fish that year. Having said that, there were no other anglers present when I arrived. More often than not, the hardest thing about carp fishing is making the time, and the second most difficult thing is jostling for position with the other anglers. Without other anglers in the way as such, I always feel confident that if I can find them, catching them is the easy bit. The first few days were spent looking
28 Carpworld j uly 2 0 17
027-032_Pecky's_Progress_CW322.indd 2
05/06/2017 12:38
FEATURE
ROB HUGHES
C O LA NOD U R
LIGHT
This is a simple title, but not a simple discussion. Does colour really matter? Here, the man who knows from his extensive diving experience, Rob Hughes, reveals his thoughts and observations.
Carpworld j u ly 2 01 7
079-083_Colour_And_Light_CW322.indd 1
79
01/06/2017 16:39
F EA T UR E
ABOVE: Think about the colour of the bottom and how your bait will look resting on it. BELOW LEFT: Incredibly, this was plankton. It makes sense that carp’s eyes have polarising capabilities. BELOW RIGHT: Fluoro baits work in a slightly different way to normal colours because they ‘grab’ more light.
S
ome will have you believe that colour doesn’t make the slightest difference, and that carp can’t see colour anyway. Others will be convinced that yellow bait is the key, or red is the one. Whatever your opinion, there is no doubt that, sometimes, certain colours will out-fish others, and that alone is sufficient evidence that colour matters. As you probably know, I’ve spent a lot of time underwater, and looked at loads of different colours and how they react in different light and different situations. I’ve also heard an awful lot of ‘barstool expertise’ about what is and isn’t the situation with colours. What I can say from my experience, is that some colours seem to catch me more fish. There have been numerous times when using certain colours has made all the difference, or has brought a bite that I wouldn’t have got without the change, but it goes much deeper than that. The Carp The first thing I want to look at is the carp itself. What can it see? After all, it doesn’t really matter what we see, it’s what and how they see that is of the greatest importance. We know that carp are dirty-water-dwellers in the main, and know they have a sense of smell. It goes
without saying that they can use both their eyes and their noses to locate food. They can also taste it. Additionally, they use their eyes and their lateral senses to warn them of danger, and their sense of hearing to notify them of both. But how do they see? For a start, it’s fairly well known that they can focus on objects, detect movement, and differentiate contrast, and this is where camouflage and concealment of rigs come into play, but more of that in a different feature. There are also a lot of answers in nature itself. In fact, I’m of the opinion that nature has the answer to almost everything. We either haven’t found it yet or don’t see it. A practical example of whether fish can see colour is solved by looking at the fish themselves. It’s no surprise that most midwater fish are silver-sided; light from below and dark from above, and predators such as pike and perch are green. That tells us an awful lot about how fish see. In addition, the only fish which has really
been ‘interfered with’ in our waters is the carp through selective breeding, which is obvious underwater (commons excepted) because they don’t have a natural pattern any more. It’s believed that carp are pretty short-sighted, i.e. they cannot see long distances, and rely primarily on their sense of smell. However, having watched literally hundreds of them underwater, nothing will convince me that when a fish is relatively close to the bait, it doesn’t use sight to locate it, with smell as a secondary system. They look for food with their eyes. Simple as! The Korda underwater footage of the fish homing in on a particular-coloured bait sort of backs this up, although I appreciate that there are flavours involved as well. Polarised Light Something that has pricked my interest recently is polarised light. This is light which is effectively seen on one plane, e.g. linear, as opposed to its usual state
80 Carpworld j uly 2 0 17
079-083_Colour_And_Light_CW322.indd 2
01/06/2017 16:39
F EA T UR E
JULIAN JURKEWITZ
we are
p i r at e s
Julian and friends headed off for their greatest adventure ever, to tackle the mighty RhĂ´ne Delta where it flows into the Mediterranean in southern France.
144 Carpworld j uly 2 0 17
144-150_We_Are_Pirates_CW322.indd 1
07/06/2017 11:39
Carpworld j u ly 2 01 7 145
144-150_We_Are_Pirates_CW322.indd 2
07/06/2017 11:39