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Adam Penning’s Exclusive Monthly Diary JUN 2021

£5.50

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CARPOLOGY – JUN 2021 - 211

IG FI C G SH AR ES I P T NG SE ’S LL ER

211

Land Of The Linears And we’re talking almost 4ft long!

Silt Fishing Rethought

- BILL COTTAM’S £3,000-A-DAY TUTORIALS! - BRIAN SKOYLES: ‘THE CARAVAN YEARS’ - THE LESSONS THAT CHANGED SCOTT LLOYD’S ANGLING FOREVER! - TOM MAKER: ‘KEEP RECASTING UNTIL YOU’RE 100% HAPPY!’

‘Their heads were buried in the lakebed up to the wrists of their tails!’

JAMES ARMSTRONG

CONTENTS

JUNE 2021 / ISSUE 211

Screamer

(I.E. THE BITTY STUFF)

P. 02

The Social

P. 04

YouTube Playlists

P. 06

Landing Pages

Features The Land Of The Linears

By Chris Beasley

P. 24

Carping Allegedly

By Bill Cottam

P. 28

Summer Storms and Super Breed Seagulls

By Adam Penning

P. 38

Tom’s Tour: Q Lake

By Tom Maker

P. 48

Curves and Extensions

By Lewis Read

P. 54

On The Patrol

By Simon Crow

P. 70

The Rotary Letter

By Alex Grice and James Armstrong

P. 90

No Bullsh*t, Just Good Solid Angling

By Scott Lloyd

P. 100

What Lies Beneath

By Mick Clark

P. 110

D Lake Success and the ‘Caravan Years’

By Brian Skoyles

On The Cover

P. 12

THE HUMBLE THROWING STICK… A FORGOTTEN BAITING TOOL?

P. 12

( I . E . T H E M E AT Y C O N T E N T )

P. 70

Photograph

By Rich Stewart About the cover It’s been a long time since James Armstrong graced the pages of CARPology—let alone the cover—but his return is marked with a bang: an epic 4,000 Rotary Letter contribution (p70) and this gnarly old 40lb+ common carp on the cover. “The culmination of several years fishing and a lot of hard work—in fact even coming back from the dead after a big fish kill and presumed dead—I finally managed my dream: the big Park Lake Common.”

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Carp fishing’s most interactive and updated website, CARPology.net

P. 126 ‘If I Leave Here Tomorrow’

By Ian Chillcott

Hardware P. 138

Short and Sweet Nash’s Dwarf range delivers more.

P. 144

Recovery Position Give your prize a breather…

P. 153

Hammer Time ESP have reinvented the Chod hook. Again.

P. 154

Deeply Dippy This is a winner for disease prevention.

P. 110

(I.E. REVIEWS)

P. 153

P. 154

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SCREAMER

THE NETWORK

The Social

TEAM O LO GY

ED I T O R

Joseph Wright E joe@ toffeepublications.co.uk It seems ridiculously unlikely, but I’ve still got my fingers crossed that France will open its borders and I can go to Mirror Pool at the end of June…

SU B ED I T O R

Mark Brewster Looking forward to spending a long-delayed week away in search of marsh fritillary butterflies… waterproofs packed and fingers and toes crossed!

D I G I TAL ED ITO R

Phoebe Stuart I’ve had an enjoyable month getting stuck into my new syndicate water, managing quite a few.

C O N T EN T C R EATO R

Joe Wooltorton Pubs are back open!

That is all.

C O N T EN T C R E ATO R

Luke Venus I finally managed to get a bend in the rod; multiple bends at that! Watch the film on our YT channel: Welham Estate Lake.

M AGA Z I N E

FREE next month: Adam Penning’s Summer Masterclass supplement Aside from a nice cup of coffee, a Kumu hoodie, and the smell of freshly cut grass in the summer, CARPology’s videographer Luke Venus likes nothing more than filming with Adam Penning—especially if it’s for the Inside The Mind series— and this month he got to tick off all four faves by filming Part 3: A Masterclass To Summer Carp Fishing. However, unlike the previous two episodes (Spring and Winter), this time around we’ve produced a 32-page supplement to accompany the film to make referencing back quicker and easier. You’ll find the supplement FREE with the July edition of CARPology, on-sale 24th June. Note: thesauruses are not included with the issue, so have Siri on standby to understand much of Adam’s amazing vocabulary.

ME RCH

End of the line We’ve recently collaborated with original CARPology art director, John Hannent, on a new line of swag: stickers, tees, hoods, mugs, car stickers—all of which will be live on our site within the next month. In the meantime, head over to CARPology. net to take advantage of some end of line items, with savings of up to 60% off!

Y OU TU BE

CARPology’s newest face We’ve wooed Thom Airs—the brains behind CarpFeed—for years, so we’re overjoyed to say that from this month he’ll be working alongside Joe and Luke on our YouTube channel. Right up there with Big Rich Stewart as the ultimate team member for a carp fishing quiz, Thom’s knowledge is second-to-none, so expect yet more great content to CARPologyTV, including the return of CARPology Carpool, this time in Thom’s very own VW Camper Van!

MAGAZ I N E

Brian Skoyles: A trip down nostalgia lane If you’re the sort of person who loves reminiscing about the good old days; gets that warm, tingly sensation in your stomach when you look at lovely old photographs from bygone eras— then Brian Skoyles’ series is most definitely for you!

If you fished back in the 80s and 90s, Brian’s collection of photographs from page 110 will transport you back to those magical times in a heartbeat.

CARPOLOGY PRESENTER

Thom Airs It’s a pleasure to join the CARPology team. The carp are proving a little stubborn in my local venue, but hopefully some much-needed sunshine will switch them on soon.

H EAD D ESI GNE R

Louisa Cribb Pubs, pubs, pubs! The Locks Inn in Geldeston is now open again, run and owned by the community.

I can’t wait to get back there and have a pint!

AD SAL ES

Robert Bell E robert@ toffeepublications.co.uk Finally, we can have a pint in the pub and go for a meal. Let’s hope our French trip still goes ahead in June…

MER C H / SUBS

Ian Homewood Sad to see the old car go, however it was on its last legs. But I’ve bought something newer with loads of nobs and functions, half of which won’t be used!

P R O O F R EADE R

Dennis Bell This issue has been proofed in a pristine, newly decorated office… Jasmine White, very salubrious!

EVERY ADVENTURE IS WORTHWHILE T R I E D

CURVE POINT HOOK

OUT-TURNED EYE HOOK

T E S T E D

BEAKED CHOD HOOK NEW FOR SUMMER 2021

T R U S T E D

STRAIGHT EYE HOOK

CURVE SHANK HOOK

SCREAMER

YOUTUBE/CARPOLOGYTV CARP FISHING

New to CARPology’s YouTube Channel this Month…

45 MINUTE FILM!

H O W-T O AD V I C E

5 Photography/Videography Essentials Looking to improve your photography and videography skills? CARPology’s own videographer, Luke Venus, is here to help. Luke outlines his must-have essentials which help him capture the stunning images you see on our social feeds, in our product reviews (p.138) and the amazing carp fishing video footage you consume on CARPologyTV’s YouTube channel.

Y O U T U B E / C AR P O L O GY T V

IN- SESSIO N

How Ian Chillcott Approaches a 48hr Session Back in April, we caught up with CARPology regular (both in print and on our YouTube channel), Ian Chillcott, for the final 24hrs of his session at Lake Porchard in the Cotswolds—and things couldn’t have gotten off to a better start… On our arrival Chilly had a stunning 20lb+ mirror waiting for us in the net! During this feature-length film, Ian talks through everything he’s doing in great depth, from finding clear spots in the weed to how he’s

effectively fishing Hinged Stiff Links in that situation.

Y OU TU BE /C A R P O L O GY T V

T h e V id e o Ch a p t er s

0:00 In-session with Ian Chillcott 3:13 Productive night 5:12 How Ian stores his rigs 6:34 Re-confirming your spots 11:44 Baiting the spots 13:26 The chosen rig set-up 18:02 Choosing the right time to re-cast 22:14 How to tie the rig 37:06 Finding your confidence 40:40 Recapping the session

FIRST LOOK

GAME-CHANGER! Liquid-Filled Hookbaits Fluoro pop-ups? Old hat. Boosted bottom-baits? Pah! Paste-wrapped hookbait? Been-there-tried-that! If you’re looking for an edge when it comes to your hookbait choice, then you need to watch this video! LK Baits have something that’s genuinely unique into today’s bait market: liquid-filled hookbaits! These special hookbaits aren’t just packed with attraction—they

taste incredible too, as CARPology’s Joe Wooltorton will show you!

YOUTUBE/CARPOLOGYTV

51m baiting pole! Bites within 30 seconds!

This is carp fishing Oli Davies style!

With 36hrs at his disposal, Nash Tackle’s Oli Davies opted to start on the Crayfish Pool on the Horton complex after seeing some showing fish late on the first night. That proved to be a cracking choice… With 3 quick bites in under 24hrs—one of which came within 30 seconds of him dropping his rig!—Oli demonstrates perfectly how effective the Bushwhacker Baiting Pole can be in the right hands. It’s certainly action-packed!

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An EPIC spring session: 17 carp in 48hrs!

There are good sessions, and then there are epic sessions, and then there are biblical sessions, and during their latest outing, CARPology’s Joe Wooltorton and Luke Venus very much experienced the latter! Enjoying 48hrs at the stunning Welham Estate Lake, Joe and Luke use a wide range of methods, tactics and tricks to outwit a total of 17 stunning looking carp (cue: check out the thumbnail above). Sit back and enjoy the show!

Y O U T U B E / C AR P O L O GY T V

IN- SESSIO N

Y O U T U B E / C A R P O L O GY T V

I N -SESSI O N

Subscribe to our YouTube channel (CARPologyTV) to never miss any new films/reviews.

HD Our newest range of mobility-focussed luggage for the on-the-go angler

www.wychwoodcarp.co.uk

SCREAMER

CAPTURED BY

ALEX KOBLER

@ALEX_KOBLER

Hoping karma will be gracious to one…

“The air was thick and charged. In the east, dark-blue clouds drenched in rain, sprouted like fat mushrooms. It was one of those moments when I can hardly put the camera down: the colours were rich, and no matter where I looked, I saw a landscape full of contrasts. The weather-lights became clear flashes, followed by shorter and shorter intervals of thunder. I was standing on the headland to the right, right by my rods, when out of nowhere and just before dark, a bite indicator screamed out. ¶ After a fierce drill from the boat, watching closely and anxiously as the lightning rushed in, I landed a nice common carp in the mid-thirties. I released it straight away, brought the rod out again in a flurry, and made it back to the bivvy just before the rain. I knew that wouldn’t be the last bite of the night, and sensed that something big was going to happen. When the heavy rain had passed, I was then able to take a few photos of the sky streaked with lightning. ¶ I caught two more fish that night, but something really big was happening 700 metres to my right. Shortly before dawn, a Spanish local caught one of the very big common carp of the several thousand hectares of water.”

For more breathtaking images, follow Alex’s Instagram page @alex_kobler and @carpologyofficial

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JUNE 2021

ONES AND ZEROES: CAMERA: CANON EOS 5D MK3. LENS: CANON EF 16–35MM F4L AT 20MM. POLARISATIONS FILTER B&W. ISO 100. F/4.0.

SHUTTER SPEED: 25 SECONDS.

JUNE 2021

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SCREAMER

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JUNE 2021

CAPTURED BY

ALEX KOBLER

@ALEX_KOBLER

Right in the teeth of it “It was no surprise: the weather forecast had already warned me.

Unstoppably, and with all its usual power here, the wind kept building. I put even bigger stones on the legs of the rod pod, and pulled the boat around the point, secured by the 8kg folding anchor at the beginning of the small bay next to me. This way, I still had a chance of getting in the boat with the rod, if there was a bite. But let’s be honest, the way the wind was building up, it was clear pretty quickly, that effective fishing would soon be out of the question.

The pressure on the lines was already enormous, and it wouldn’t be long before the leads would move. The only thing I could do now was to take photos, not get nervous, and make sure the bivvy didn’t fly away. Sure enough, before dark, I had to reel in the rods as the hookbaits were getting warped and I couldn’t stand the bleeping any more. A night of bad sleep followed, but in the morning the haunting was almost over again, and I caught a massive mirror after the massive storm.”

For more breathtaking images, follow Alex’s Instagram page @alex_kobler and @carpologyofficial

ONES AND ZEROES: CAMERA: CANON EOS 5D MK3. LENS: CANON EF 135MM F2L. ISO 1600.

F/2.8. SHUTTER SPEED: 1/3200.T

JUNE 2021

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A PERFECT MATCH TO THE

KRILL

ACTIVE

BOILIES

Utilising a revolutionary coating process, The Krill Active hookbaits are designed to perfectly match their freezer bait counterparts. They offer a more durable hookbait solution for any baiting scenario, producing a halo of attraction around the bait at the core.

THE LAND OF the Linears The capture of special fish in good company… it doesn’t get much better for Chris Beasley as he takes on Dinton

B

CAPTION:

No words…

e

I first acquired my White Swan ticket back in 2013. A friend had put me in contact with Simon who runs the park, and the very next season I found myself on the banks of Dinton Pastures, settling in for my first night… great timing, really, as that would never be the case nowadays!

BACK

it wasn’t just the waiting list that looked different; the stock did too.

The main targets when I first joined were the Twin, Bernie’s Linear, and the one I really wanted, Apple Slice.

In my eyes, that carp was the best in the land. An ancient old mirror which looked as though it had been carved out of wood, it was dark mahogany in colour and had great big appleslice scales along its flanks—just a mega carp! The likes of Triple Row and co. were mid- to upper-thirties at the time, and although they were still lovely carp to look at, they were very rarely talked about. In fact, Son of Triple Row made an appearance during my first night on the complex, when some guy fishing opposite had it at 36lb. That first night was kind to me too. I went on to land four carp, then,

WORDS BY CHRIS BEASLEY

including a cracking fully scaled mirror of 38lb. I remember thinking to myself, This isn’t too bad, but in true White Swan fashion, I then blanked for the next couple of months!

I spent that first year getting around the lake, slotting in as I arrived after work on the Friday night, and although I managed a few more fish before the winter, it was frustrating fishing. It wasn’t until my second year that I could really get stuck in, a change in job allowing me to get down on a Thursday night. This gave me a lot more options when choosing swims, and I could get back into certain areas.

By this time the A-team had a couple more members, and during that second season, a good friend, Bungle, had Triple Row at 44lb. This put it on the radar of many more anglers, and not just those with tickets. It was strange, because it had done forty already, but with several of the older fish doing bigger weights, ‘Triple’ would almost get forgotten about. Another fish which had caught people’s attention was ‘Son’. Just a year on from being another mid-thirty mirror, it popped up at 43lb.

I’d been enjoying the new Thursday-night starts, feeling as though I could fish more effectively, but one particular week, I couldn’t actually get down until the Friday. A strong south-westerly wind had been pumping into the top end of the lake for a couple of days, so I had a good idea of

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOSEPH BRAZIL, CHRIS BEASLEY AND FRIENDS

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where I needed to be. Unfortunately, this area was understandably busy, so I set-up as close as I could, and spent my first evening watching the fish show further up the lake.

By morning, the fish hadn’t moved, but one of the anglers was reluctantly packing down, so I wasted no time in getting my gear round there. I stood at the water’s edge watching big sheets of fizz coming up just rod-lengths from the bank. Two rigs were soon flicked out to where I’d seen the bulk of the morning’s activity, along with a few handfuls of Krill boilie, and I sat back feeling extremely confident.

At around seven that evening, one of the bobbins smacked against the blank as the rod hooped over. The swim was really overgrown with a big set of overhangs either side, so I kept the rod low and just pumped, making sure not to give the fish even an inch.

It couldn’t have been on for more than 30 seconds before I had it in front of the swim, in the deeper water. As I lifted the rod, this big orange thing bobbed half out of the lake, and before I even had time to notice which fish it was, it was in the net! It didn’t take too long for me to recognise the fish I had caught… it was Son of Triple Row, and for me, the first of the ‘proper’ ones.

After that capture, I was able to keep some bait going in on the same zone.

Left alone to do my thing, I managed a bite most trips, until eventually the action subsided. It turned out to be a much better season than the previous one, though, and although Apple Slice was yet to make an appearance, I was more than pleased with how the year had gone. Going into my third season, I felt like I had a good understanding of the lake, and was feeling quietly confident.

MY the following year was in mid-March, and things looked bleak.

Not so much as a bubble broke the surface as I walked the lake, and after a few laps, I decided to pull off and fish elsewhere for a couple of weeks.

I returned a fortnight later, arriving nice and early, but by midday, I still hadn’t seen anything. I was down for a couple of nights, though, and with a cold northerly blowing, I made the decision to do the first night on the back of it. My swim gave me a good view down the length of the lake, so if they were about, I fancied my chances of seeing them. By the following morning, however, I still hadn’t seen or heard anything, and come midday, I had itchy feet.

After doing several more laps of the lake, eventually I saw the first fish of the year as it shuffled out around 40yds from the bank, in a swim known as Spotters. I stood there watching for another ten minutes or so, and saw another two crash out slightly more to my left. Not wanting to waste an opportunity, and with plenty of other keen anglers also looking to move, I dropped my bucket next door and ran back to get my kit.

The fish were still showing, and not wanting to ruin my chances by leading up, I flicked out three single Krill White Ones on Multi Rigs and just felt

first trip back

for drops. Despite me seeing the odd show throughout the day, nothing had occurred by the evening. I decided to leave the rods, though, as I was confident they were all fishing. I remember waking up the following morning feeling slightly dejected, thinking my chance had passed. As I sat there pondering my next move, the middle rod went into meltdown. I picked it up and the fish hit the surface in 15ft of

LEFT: The

winning combo: Krill White Ones and Multi Rigs MIDDLE: Dream achieved! Triple Row RIGHT: Jon’s Lin

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water, before it then charged across the lake to my left, sending out a massive bow wave as it did so.

It was Friday morning and the lake had become fairly busy. I could see a couple of anglers standing on the far bank watching as the fish charged off.

After turning the fish towards me, I caught a flash of yellow as a good mirror twisted on the surface. It wasn’t too long before I had it holding bottom in the deep margin in front of the swim. The water was crystal clear, and from the platform which extends out into the lake, I could see Triple Row twisting and turning, my white popup hanging from its mouth.

Knowing what I was attached to and watching as the fish tried everything to rid itself of my hook, I just wanted it in the net. It was fair to say that by this time, my legs had turned to jelly. After what felt like forever, I

it was just a ploy to get me down there for a social, but after not seeing much elsewhere, I took a walk down to check it out. I was in his swim only a matter of minutes before I realised that he wasn’t having me on. Without wasting any time, I got set up next to him and after a quick lead about, had two traps set. I remember going for a walk to a couple of swims down to my left, where I found some fish milling about. I was close to going back and reeling in to have a go for them, just as I heard Byron shouting me as one of my rods was away—they hadn’t been in long, so you can imagine my surprise as I sprinted the short distance back.

On picking up the rod, I could see my line cutting up through the water as the fish kited. I was standing in the water playing the fish, when all of a sudden, it swam straight towards me, eventually passing me and forcing me to do a complete 180! Facing my own swim, I was then playing a carp as it almost beached itself in the shallow margin. Not long after it had passed me, though, Byron was able to net the fish without any more drama. We couldn’t believe what we then found lying in the bottom of the net. It was

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finally managed to get the better of the big mirror, and as I lifted her up in the water and reached for the net, in she went! I went to get my mate, Tony, who was fishing further down the bank, and if I’m honest, after that it was all a bit of a blur. Celebrations took place that night with plenty of beer and nice food, and in good company. That’s what it’s all about!

It was a funny spring that year, and although I’d had Triple Row, it turned out to be pretty slow, with no more action coming my way until the end of April. It then wasn’t long before the lake had closed for spawning and spring was over.

Once the lake had reopened, I got down one Friday lunchtime for a quick night. A good mate, Byron, had told me how he had plenty of fish in front of him, and had said that I should go in next door. I’m not going to lie, I thought

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LOOK AND YOU’LL FIND

I’ll sit up and watch continuously late into the night, which sometimes causes me to miss the odd early morning below: The one… Apple Slice, absolutely

a fish known as Jon’s Linear, which hadn’t actually been caught from White Swan, after being moved from one of the other lakes on the complex a year or so before. The funny thing was, the swim I was fishing was where it had been put into the lake; it was like it had never left.

After the summer, my mate Paul Eaton managed to catch the one we really wanted, Apple Slice, and to share the moment with him was definitely one of the highlights of my time on White Swan. Sadly, I didn’t get my own chance at Apple Slice as it died a few months later. I was gutted. As I have already said, that carp was the best in the land in my eyes, and just a mega creature. Although there were so many great carp in that lake, that was the one I really wanted. I know it might sound crazy, but I pretty much decided there and then that my time on White Swan was done… when Apple Slice died, so did my buzz for the lake.

I then had a year away from the Dinton complex, flitting around the Reading lakes and catching up with some good friends. The following year saw me secure my Black Swan ticket, though, and so once again I found myself on the banks of Dinton. The fishing on ‘Black’ is completely different from White Swan, and with a new set of challenges and some incredible carp coming through, the buzz was real! The first trip went exactly the same as my first on White Swan, with four carp banked, and although they were all fairly small, it was a great start. By the end of summer, I had managed a lot of fish, most of them

small and only one going over 30lb.

I’d been doing a bit of time in one particular swim, and with the conditions looking prime for that area, I booked a bit of holiday in an effort to get ahead of the weekend crowds. I turned up, and knowing that I had three nights ahead of me, I took my time to get everything set up for the fishes’ arrival. Everything went lovely, and I was feeling extremely confident. After two days had passed, however, and I was left scratching my head. Having seen plenty of carp in the bay, all I had to show for my efforts were a couple of bream. For the final night, I decided to change it up a bit, and found a new spot close to where I’d seen a good fish show early that morning. With the fresh spot baited and everything going smoothly, I settled in for

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bottom:

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my last night feeling much better.

As dawn broke on my final morning, I had a liner on the rod on the new spot. This was followed shortly after by some sheeting-up and a couple of shows. They were definitely about still, but that had been the case for the last couple of days. By nine o’clock, I was contemplating packing up, and just as I stood there sipping tea, the rod on the new spot was away! On picking it up, I quickly realised something wasn’t right. I hadn’t noticed, but a massive, half-sunken ‘weedberg ’ had drifted over my line and settled without giving me so much as a bleep. With the pressure of the fish pulling from one end, and me pulling from the other, this great big weedberg had surfaced. Not

top: Black Swan from above The carp are just eye-wateringly beautiful

wanting to risk getting cut off, I put the rod down and started to strip away as much of the weed as I could.

Having spent time removing a huge mound of weed from the line, I picked up the rod once again to find that the fish had kited down to my left. This made the whole scenario even worse, given that there was a crazy amount of floating weed down that side. It was a good three- to four-feet deep in places, and it stretched 30yds out from the bank. Unfortunately, the fish had gone under this weedbed and had made it to the snags. It just felt like an awful situation to be in, and things really couldn’t have got any worse. I put my life jacket on and jumped into my Bic, before towing myself out to the edge of the weed.

As I slowly inched towards the snag, removing weed from the line as I went, I wasn’t even sure if the fish was still on.

After ten to fifteen minutes, I was able to reach down and grab my leader, and as I did so, I caught a glimpse of this great big linear. It then powered off back towards open water, only to find more weed. I then went into panic mode, and I’ll be completely honest when I say that the next few minutes went by in a blur.

Eventually, I had to hand-line the fish and a huge ball of weed back to the net, half-expecting it to fall off any second.

Once everything was in the net, I started to strip away the dead weed, and there she was: Saddleback! What an unbelievable creature, and I feel blessed to have landed her given the whole fiasco. When your name’s on ’em…!

top: The

I on Black after the capture of Saddleback, and despite it still having a lot of the better fish for me to go at, I had intended to fish elsewhere this spring, partly to have a break from Dinton’s banks, but also because I really want to catch one particular fish from another water— as we know, they don’t last forever.

The problem with this other lake, however, is that it’s extremely busy and has very few swims. I’d been for a walk round on several occasions, but was unable to get anywhere near where I needed to be, so found myself making the drive back to Dinton.

This was the case with one particular trip back in April, and on seeing the forecast for the days ahead, I had a good idea of where the fish would end up on Black Swan. With it coming free and it looking pretty uninspiring elsewhere, I settled on the same plot where I had landed Saddleback some three years earlier. I’d fished this swim a lot over the years, so it was no surprise that I managed to get the rods out with minimal fuss. I decided that enjoyed some mega fishing

Suicide swim Things were progressing well… middle + bottom:

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top: Saddleback!

What an INCREDIBLE carp Jaw-dropping: a 39lb zip linear bottom: Stumpy Lin MIDDLE:

to Myles that I thought it might be a small one, but with that, a huge linear hit the surface just feet from the bank.

We knew instantly which one it was; there was no mistaking it. It was Spike, and before I even had time to panic, Myles had it safely in the net.

It’s hard to put such moments into words, really. Spike is an incredible carp, and a fish of a lifetime. To share these occasions with good friends just completes it. Paul came down for first light and the three of us just marvelled at one of Dinton’s finest, and the king of all linears!

CHRIS BEASLEY

rather than fish all three rods tight on a spot, I’d spread my bets. Each rig was baited with a 12mm Mulbz pop-up fished over a handful of bait. Once the rods were sorted and everything had settled, the odd fish started to show.

I then settled myself for the evening, feeling confident of a bite.

During the early hours of the following morning, a few sharp bleeps woke me up. As I laid there waiting for the alarm to melt off, I could make out the sound of a clutch spinning at a crazy pace. I crashed out of my bivvy and made my way down to the offending rod, which by this time was in total meltdown. As I reached it, I discovered that it had actually been pulled off the alarm—I was almost scared to pick up the rod, the clutch was spinning that fast! As I lifted the rod, I could feel a powerful fish, and slowly, I managed to steady its initial run. There must have been nearly 200yds of line out in the lake, and I was starting to worry, as to the right of the swim, there was a great big aerator which Simon had installed the year before… if the fish kited around that, it would have been game over!

As I pumped the fish back towards me, I prayed for it to kite left. It actually didn’t kite at all, coming back in a straight line! Just as I had it in front of the aerator, though, it kited hard right—seconds earlier and I would definitely have been cut off! By this time, Myles was standing at the back of my

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swim. Set-up next door, he had heard the commotion. He grabbed the net and joined me at the front of the swim.

As I lifted the rod, I turned on my head torch to get a glimpse of the fish. I could feel its head knocking and actually said

END

D

And just to top things off… Spike!

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CARPING ALLEGEDLY Bill Cottam steps forward to offer a few words of advice for those offering tuition, and contemplates a life on the carp-angling catwalk!

BY BILL COTTAM

A @COTTAMCARPANGLER BILL COTTAM CARP ANGLER PHOTOGRAPHY BILL COTTAM AND FRIENDS

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DAM PENNING’S CARPology films have kept me very entertained of late; in fact, I have watched most of them a couple of times on YouTube (CARPologyTV), and have thoroughly enjoyed them.

I don’t agree with everything Adam has to say, of course, but that is an irrelevance as far as I am concerned. I find both his attention to detail and the thoroughness with which he approaches every aspect of his angling very inspirational, and the films have certainly made me re-evaluate certain aspects of my own fishing. He is also a very clear and concise presenter, which, as anyone who has attempted such things will tell you, is an undoubted skill in itself.

I also love the way our man strides so effortlessly and comfortably through the pages of the thesaurus and in doing so, introducing the great carping unwashed amongst us to words and

Congratulations Penners, and everyone involved in making the films.

phrases we would never have dreamt of hearing in an angling film a few years ago. Congratulations Penners, and everyone involved in making the films… awesome stuff!

Attention to detail is everything as far as I am concerned, and although it is not particularly difficult to learn the rudiments of carp angling from books (remember them?), magazines and social media, it is learning the extra couple of per cent that makes that all-important difference, and is the bit that very often sorts the top carp-catchers out there from us mere mortals.

Original thinkers, and those who have the confidence to tread their own path, inspire me enormously in any walk of life, but particularly in the angling world where I can obviously relate to it

Sixty-plus on just enough bait to catch a carp

more. Being able to come up with that extra two or three per cent will always be a huge advantage. It probably will not be as noticeable, however, on those days when, or those waters where the fish are crawling up the bank and eating bait out of your hand, but rather on the really tough venues where pick-ups are very hard to come by. On really difficult waters, it will undoubtedly make a massive difference.

Of course, noFishabil biggie caught over a ridiculous amount of bait

body gets it right all the time, but as in virtually every walk of life, the cream does have an uncanny knack of rising to the top—or at least, I like to think it does!

I was especially interested in Adam’s thoughts on baiting levels, and I wholeheartedly share his views that too many anglers tend to go way over the top with quantities at certain times of year. We live in times where, depending where your allegiances lie, you can buy more bait than you can carry for the price of a Big Mac. That doesn’t mean, though, that you have to shovel it all in within twenty minutes of arriving at the lake.

Most of the carp I have been lucky enough to catch over the last few seasons have come over relatively small quantities of bait, and certainly on the waters I am visiting, fishing for one fish at a time appears to be the way forward, particularly for the larger specimens.

Every water is different, of course, and each will respond to different baiting approaches and applications, but to think that the more bait you put in, the more successful you will become, is

naive in the extreme, and in my experience, it rarely works. Heavily stocked venues where fish are relatively easy to catch are a possible exception, but in my experience, these types of water are quite hard to find in this day and age.

Lake Fishabil in Brittany was certainly one of those waters in the early years, and it certainly did seem that the more ‘nose bag’ you could get in front of you, the longer you could hold the fish, and the more you could potentially catch. Depositing forty kilos of the ever-reliable mix of oat groats, flaked maize and Partiblend, and ten kilos of boilies all over the side of the boat every night, was certainly not unusual in the early days, and even after that lot, we would very often start getting takes off the area within an hour or so.

The mix of groats, flaked maize and Partiblend has served me very well over the years, and has the huge advantage—particularly when you’re using big quantities—of needing virtually no preparation. Simply place the dry mix in a bucket, generously cover with lake water, and leave for 24–48hrs. To increase its effectiveness, add tin of evaporated milk, a good glug of a liquid food and a bit of Nutrabaits Cream or Sweet Cajouser.

I hadn’t used this approach for quite some time when I went to Lac Du Der a couple of years or so ago, and every time I went out to bait up and saw it falling

Preparation is simple

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“Such is the earning potential, I hear Lionel Messi is giving serious consideration to walking away from his multi-million-euro contract at Barcelona to begin teaching us hairy-arsed carp anglers how to spod to a dinner plate, in a cross wind, with one hand tied behind our back.”

Preparing for extreme-range fishing

through the depths, it reminded me just what a great tactic it is when used on the right water.

CAR PI NG A LL EGEDLY T UT O RIAL S

It hasn’t escaped my notice that carpangling tutorials are becoming rather popular. Some of the higher-profile superstars out there are providing a highly sought-after service, and earning a proper pretty penny for doing so. In fact, such is the earning potential, I hear Lionel Messi is giving serious consideration to walking away from his mindblowingly lucrative multi-million-euro contract at Barcelona to begin teaching us hairy-arsed carp anglers how to spod to a dinner plate, in a cross wind, with one hand tied behind our back.

Unbelievably, I myself have had a couple of requests for tutorials in recent weeks, and although a few extra quid always comes in handy, I think it is only fair to look at why I don’t deem myself to be the ideal piscatorial tutor…

Spodding, spombing, dot spodding, impact spodding, and whatever other methods are currently used to get six hundredweight of ‘munga’ out into the wet stuff are, without question, a huge part of the modern-day carp scene, and from what I hear, many carp tutorials provide help with, and advice on such tactics. This is all good stuff which will undoubtedly improve your carp angling prowess. My problem, though, is that I haven’t used any of the aforementioned bait propulsion devices since I was hurling a converted Steradent tube

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around in Shropshire in the eighties.

I think the accuracy of our long-range casting is something many of us would like to improve upon, and I would certainly benefit from an hour or two with one of the masters of the art. To cut to the chase, my casting is decidedly average, and I am no more qualified to offer advice on the subject, than I am on hang gliding! Having said that, I do consider myself as something of an expert in positioning hookbaits and freebies at extreme range… inflate boat, spark up outboard, drive until battery dies, dump the lot over the side. Simples!

Rigs and hookbait presentations continue to mystify many carp anglers. I imagine that learning how to tie a criti-

I doubt you will learn much from me!

cally balanced Ronnie in the dark without the aid of a torch, and being shown how to tie an Albright Knot whilst wearing boxing gloves must both be high on many people’s wish lists regarding what they are looking to glean from a couple of days’ carping coaching. My problem is that I know only two rigs, and as my mate Colin McNeil once pointed out, one of them isn’t very good!

I have always believed that coaches have a responsibility to teach anglers to behave in the correct way, and to ensure that they walk away from their session with an increased knowledge of angling ethics and etiquette. With this in mind, were I ever to offer tuition, surface fishing and Zig fishing would play absolutely no part in my syllabus!

Both tactics are clearly cheating, and

are more reminiscent of clubbing seals or shooting fish in a barrel!

No offence intended, but generally speaking, these are desperation tactics employed by anglers who cannot catch fish using proper methods, and let’s be honest, anything they do catch, doesn’t count anyway!

So there you have it ladies and gentlemen. I have no idea how to use a spod; I am a distinctly average caster; my rigs are decidedly unimaginative; and I will not encourage you to cheat by using floaters or Zigs…

I am not without my talents, though.

On the plus side, I am always supremely confident; I have no problem with waiting for as long as it takes; I can sleep for England; and most importantly, I have yet to come across anyone who can make a better late-night Baileys coffee than me. Prices for tuition start at £3,000 per day!

currently includes hoodies and T-Shirts of great quality up to 5XL, with more products being added as I write. Check out Smart Carp Clothing on all the usual

LEFT: Happy to wait for as long as it takes Right: Courtesy of Smart Carp Clothing

social media platforms or eBay. BILL COTTAM

Swivel on it!!!

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Please excuse the blatant plug, but I just wanted to give a quick shout-out to the guys at Smart Carp Clothing. They have recognised that there has been a real gap in the market for top-quality carpy clothing for larger people, and have also spotted that I have a massive future as a male model! The Smart Carp range

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www.bmgtackle.com

ADAM PENNING’S CARP DIARY

When it finally came the rain was like movie rain!’

F R U S T R AT I O N A N D F O R T U N E S U M U P P E N N E R S ’ D I A R Y T H I S M O N T H …

N O N - S T O P E AT I N G S E A G U L L S , 7 L E V E L S O F H E L L B E H I N D A M O Z Z I S C R E E N , MOVIE-STYLE RAIN AND A COUPLE OF STUNNING CARP

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S U MM ER STORMS AN D SUP ER BREED SE AG U L LS ! @adam_penning @Adam_Penning Sticky Baits TV Adam Penning Carp Angler

BY

ADAM PENNING

PHOTOGRAPHY BY

ADAM PENNING AND FRIENDS

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Believe me, I was constantly thanking the CA CAR RP GOD

overseers for blessing me with not only huge great fortune but also for not making me not wait too long for it!

A All too often it can take a while for things to ‘click’ but at the new syndicate, the picture seemed to become quite clear after just a few short weeks of angling. Whenever I am lucky enough to be on the wheel of good fortune, I always make an effort to constantly take stock, sit back and appreciate each moment for what it is. All too often these ‘high rise’ phases are gone and it’s back to reality with a jolt; you reflect a year later and realise it went in a blur and you wished you’d savoured the moments a little more.

At Grendon, I was having some of the best fishing I’d had in a long time. A beautiful lake, populated by lovely guys, and of course, some incredible fish. The angling was pretty straight forward to a degree. The bottom was largely barren because the syndicate had been dyeing the water to inhibit weed growth. I’d been told this had been utterly rampant in recent years and they’d decided to try and control it. Personally I prefer vodka clear, weedy water but I totally understand the motivations for keeping the herbage under control. There are, however, two major issues that can result from this; the first is that the fish can be incredibly flighty and twitchy because of the lack of cover. The second can be a bit more concerning—without an abundance of weed, big old fish don’t have anywhere comfortable to spawn. It’s a very difficult balance to strike but the guys are trying hard and I think this year (2021) it should be about right.

My ‘style’ of carp fishing is a very visual one and the two strongest parts of my game are floater fishing and stalking in the edge. Due to the blue/green hue in the water, visibility was no more than perhaps 5ft at best which meant that watching the carp travelling the edges and cleaning off spots was taken out of the game.

I knew the carp would still be traversing the bottom of the shelf and often my angling would take advantage of that, but it made it tricky not being able to sit up a tree and watch them. I imagined that there would be various polished off feeding and flanking spots here and there.

Sometimes I could find them close in with a bare lead and often they would do fish but it simply didn’t com-

pare to the huge edge to be found by being able to see them, so from that point of view we were all very much on a level playing field.

The floater fishing was similarly removed from my potential arsenal—I have never fished anywhere where the seagulls are as unstoppable. Throughout the decades, they have got worse everywhere but I have always found that with the application of plenty of bait, feeding them off was always achievable. Anywhere else it usually meant no more than an hour of pain before they would be sated, and along with the swans, geese and whatever else, they’d fly away to sleep off their full bellies. For such occasions, I always carry a big bucket of cheap biscuits and use them to feed the hordes as I carve out a determined route to some un-mithered floater fishing.

At Grendon, the gulls would simply not stop eating.

I’d have the same flock of 50 or so and they would literally eat, non-stop, all day. I’d stare in disbelief thinking there must be a glitch in the matrix or something. Were they a new super breed that had evolved rapid digestion and as soon as one biscuit went in the mouth, the previous one would come out of its arse?! It was really like that and a couple of times, I’d end up feeding well over 10kgs to the same flock and still they came for more. It just didn’t make any sense to me and pushed me to the edges of my sanity!

I’d used audible counter measures a few years before.

A good mate had got hold of a recording of gulls getting harried by some sort of hawk. Apparently the sounds were played at the local landfill and also at airports to keep birds away. The shrill sound of the hawk as it ripped into the gulls really was a thing to hear and I managed to get the recording to play on my phone. Previously, I’d used a massive great boom box and that had worked really well at the Quarry. In fact, it would clear the lake not only of gulls but all the geese, swans and everything else would leave the area too, clearly terrified of the sound of this apex predator doing its stuff!

At the lake you can park the van behind swims and so I rigged the MP4 recording to the speaker system,

Poised and ready for action

opened the doors and played it at full volume. To begin with it worked a treat—I cleared off the gulls and managed to get a few carp taking. It all looked quite positive but after a short while the bastard things started to ignore it. I’d never seen this happen before either—they really were like a super breed of seagull.

What followed over the course of the summer were some of the most frustrating attempts at floater fishing I have ever experienced. Honestly, I was at my wits end with it. Sometimes I would abandon all thoughts of fishing and just keep stubbornly firing bait at them, determined that I could feed them off and be the ‘winner’

“I’D END UP FEEDING WELL OVER 10KGS TO THE SAME FLOCK AND STILL THEY CAME FOR MORE. IT PUSHED ME TO THE EDGES OF MY SANITY!” 0 3 1

My next thought turned to preservation—it was a hot day and I decided I would wrap the bird in a bag and keep it in the fridge overnight so it would be good for the next day. As it happened, at that point the wind changed and the carp all drifted out so although I was now armed with the very best deterrent, the fish had all gone! I carefully wound in the gull, ready to put into storage for the next day, but somehow it came off and drifted into some reeds where I couldn’t get to it. I was exasperated, I can tell you!

A while later, one of the lads who likes a ‘spicy cigarette’, came wandering round. We had a chat and then he said, ‘I know this sounds weird, but I swear I saw you cast out a

TOP

Learning his trade

BOTTOM

Paradise

but I never could. I still cannot make sense of it now.

How can you have two massive swans, full to the brim, sleeping under a willow along with the ducks and geese while fifty little white birds that weigh about 5ozs each, carry on eating endlessly?

One day I accidentally found the best edge of all. I cast out my controller and as it went through the air, somehow a seagull got tangled in the line. I quickly brought it in but realised the taut line had somehow broken its neck. After a short period of grieving, I decided to use the poor dead bird to my advantage - at least then some good would have come from its death…

Taking my Spomb rod, I passed the quick change clip around the gull, under its wings and then clipped it back on the line so it formed a kind of noose. I then cast it out as far as I could which was only about 30yds, but it was far enough. The limp, lifeless bird sat there on the surface and proved to be the very best seagull scarer I have ever seen! All the remaining flock either departed the scene completely or went 200yds up above, soaring on the thermals, refusing to come back down. It was a major victory.

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TOP

The very best of times

BOTTOM

Cool cocktails with an old mate

seagull earlier…’ I looked at him sideways and told him he really needed to stop smoking so much of the strong stuff!

The floater fishing was, nonetheless, something that I stubbornly persevered with all summer. It was mindbendingly frustrating, but admittedly I am something of a piscatorial masochist. Eventually, right at the end of the summer, I’d finally get a reward and a pretty sensational one too, but more of that in another issue.

N

T

Now it was August and a cloak of hot, humid weather wrapped the country in a sweaty embrace. We’d been meaning to catch up with Steve and Helen down at Churchwood Fishery in Essex for a while and a weekend date had finally come around. We headed down and sipped cool cocktails while the kids all played in the moat that runs around the house. Steve had stocked it with an abundance of silvers, tench and suchlike, along with a few small carp too. There was a lovely old wooden bridge that spanned the lilies and together we sat there, float fishing under the hot sun. It really was wonderful and we were all able to get plenty of bites but neither Steve or I could hook a carp, despite the fact that there seemed to be one or two about.

I’d taken River float fishing a couple of times before and he’d really enjoyed it. He sat with us and positioned the float where he thought looked good which was against the gentle advice of Steve and myself who thought it needed to be a bit further out. Anyway, it turned out that River knew better and as the float buried, an excited strike led to the whip folding over as the elastic surged out! A proper battle followed with the adults trying to advise and assist while this little fiveyear-old boy hung on to his straining pole! Eventually Steve was able to net it and we looked down on River’s first ever carp—it really was a wonderful moment.

The sultry weather was due to come to a welcome end a week later as intense deluges swept across the country, driven by stormy Atlantic air flows. On my return to Grendon for a two night session it was still oppressively hot, with the break in the weather not due until the following day. I’d found the fish and had them pinned down in an area they liked to visit when it was really hot. One angler was leaving which gave me an opportunity to get into the area and I decided to fish it from the next peg down, giving myself more room and more options.

It was humid beyond belief and would be the hottest night I could ever remember. Thunder rumbled in the distance and even sitting still, sweat ran down my back and front, soaking my shirt completely. The horseflies were savage and I spent most of the afternoon battling them off me. Even at ten that night the temperature was still 23 degrees—it was like being in the Caribbean and I had to strip down to just my boxers, sitting dripping wet behind the mosquito screen.

I’d found three really nice little spots, baited them accurately and felt quite confident. It certainly seemed that there were a few fish in the area and that was further confirmed as a wood pigeon took a low swoop down to my left, spooking a big fish that was just under the surface.

Not surprisingly that night was immensely uncomfortable. I lay on top of the bag in just shorts all night and

“IT WAS HUMID BEYOND BELIEF AND WOULD BE THE HOTTEST NIGHT I COULD EVER REMEMBER. WITHOUT A MESH SCREEN IT WOULD HAVE BEEN 7 LEVELS OF HELL!” 0 2 7

A very old looking common

even at 5 a.m. it was still too hot to get in the bag. Without a mesh screen it would have been 7 levels of hell!

It was approaching mid-morning and I was on my fourth strong coffee of the day. I was wondering what my next move might have to be. I hadn’t seen anything and the last time I’d heard them—rolling in the deep—was at about 3 a.m. I was starting to fret—good weather was coming and I needed to be able to capitalise on it. Would I have to move? These thoughts and more went through my head as my mind churned over the potential outcomes. Then, totally unexpectedly the rod I’d placed in the margins, suddenly twanged up tight and lurched over!

The fight was fairly unexciting, which suited me perfectly. When I peered into the net, I could see a very old looking common indeed. I weighed it at 31lbs and clicked off a few self-takes just as the first patter of rain began to fall.

10:11 a.m.

Heard several sloshing over near the middle rod. Such a buzz. Looks really good for something to happen.

Everything is set perfectly.

This is one of the most cataclysmic downpours I have ever been out in! At times I can barely see the far bank, sixty-yards away! There is a river of water flowing under the bedchair. This is monumental—hail, lightning, thunder directly overhead, it’s like the end of the world!

06:36 a.m.

11:11 a.m.

Slept awful. So damned hot—never known anything like it. This swim is like a furnace—there is no air. No bites. It’s just gone a bit greyer, and thankfully a little cooler. They are saying heavy rain soon—it can’t come fast enough! Are the carp still here…?

Still hammering down! Never seen anything like this kind of intensity. Thunderstorm still sat directly overhead. Managed to see ten carp show in the area over the last hour, all close to the open water rods. They are still here and in good numbers too I think.

22:21 p.m.

The predicted summer storm… and boy did we know about it when it arrived!

“I LEFT WITH A COUPLE MORE FISH AND A CONTINUED MARCH TOWARDS WHAT I HOPED WOULD BE THE ULTIMATE PRIZE…” 0 2 7

Very gratefully received!

Throughout the following hour, the storm slowly drifted away. I was counting the seconds between lightning and thunder crash—slowly it had gone from being simultaneous, to five seconds, then ten. The sky stayed heavy and grey and slowly the humidity returned but thankfully, not with the blast furnace ferocity of the previous day. I redid the rods mid-afternoon, two of them going perfectly but with a patchy Spomb performance on the longer one which I was really berating myself over. The more I watched the more I saw—I was pretty sure that the majority of the stock was in the area and with another night ahead, I felt confident of nicking another.

Having had zero sleep the first night, and with the slightly fresher weather, I dropped into a very deep sleep that night, not long after it had gotten dark. I heard a few more go over out in the darkness and then I was gone, into a dreamless, coma-like state.

At a touch after 2 a.m., the same margin rod did the job and went from totally silent to the most savage take imaginable in about half a second! It was all done on autopilot; my stupefied mind in a complete state of discombobulation. Slowly my senses came back to life;

I was holding a rod which seemed to be very bent. It was dark, so dark that I couldn’t actually see anything, not even the sky. A light breeze and fine drizzle enveloped me, helping me to regain my senses and I managed to somehow eventually net a long looking mirror carp.

Mirrors are a lot rarer than commons so the fish was very gratefully received indeed. It weighed 26lbs and I managed to get myself together enough to set the camera up for some self-takes amidst the light rain; it really was a lovely old fish.

That was it for the rest of the session and I left with a couple more fish and a continued march towards what I hoped would be the ultimate prize. Things were very much clicking into place and the last time I’d blanked was now several months behind me. All I needed to do, I kept reminding myself, was to keep doing exactly what I was doing. The king of the lake, the monstrous common named Tyson, was still on the edge of my mind. I wasn’t focussed on him, not yet. All I wanted was to be able to continue to catch a few fish along the way and enjoy my angling; I was living amongst halcyon days and as I drove out of the gate, I prayed they would continue.

ADAM PENNING

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TOM’S TOUR

Q LAKE, YORK

WO R DS BY TO M M A K E R PHOTOGRAPHY TOM GIBSON

BY TOM MAKER

Tom’s Tour… Q Lake, York Northern Exposure After his successful filming trip and debut for Pecky and Scott’s CarpFix TV, Tom Maker heads to Pool Bridge Farm in York, for a crack at the venue’s Q Lake…

After we last put pen to paper, I found myself sitting on the banks of Brasenose, having felt the Linear bug once again. After that first St Johns Lake haul, I seem to have been on a real roll with my angling, despite pretty much all of it being part of a commitment, be that

filming-based, or product- or photography-related. I’ve squeezed in sessions on Acton, Hunts Corner and Manor, but my travels this month take me north, not only to see the boys from the Sticky office, but for an opportunistic visit to the lovely Pool Bridge Farm in York,

and more specifically, Q Lake.

Ahead of my trip, though, I was due to meet up with Tom Anderson for a spot of lunch, before Tom Gibson and I headed to the lake. It had been a long time since I’d seen Tom (A), and it was great to enjoy a bit of laughter as we caught up.

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TOM’S TOUR

Q LAKE, YORK

THE SESSI ON

After stuffing my face with a lovely burger, we made for Q Lake, around a 40-minute drive from where we were, and with a view of grabbing some supplies on the way. Weather-wise, it was looking good—even up north!—with low pressure, warm nights and southwesterly winds forecast—the timing couldn’t have been any better, to be honest! The odd heavy downpour saw me anticipate, and indeed dread a wet start to the session, the mother of all storms coming over as we made our way to Morrisons. Fortunately, though, this proved to be just a flurry, and we continued on to the lake.

I had visited the lake once before, around a few months ago when we began this series during the days-only period. It hammered it down all day, we hardly saw a thing, and where the fish seemed to be showing, we couldn’t

TOP The very unique Q Lake BOTTOM A closer look at my chosen area

Venue Focus: Q Lake Dug in 2008 and was stocked with handpicked carp, this uniquely designed lake allows anglers to fish from the central island. As of spring 2020 there are at least 5 30s and over 100 20lb+ carp, with quite a few of these pushing the 30lb mark. Showering facilities are provided for those fishing the Q Lake, and there are pizza, Chinese and Indian takeaway services that deliver to the complex. All pegs must be pre-booked using the online booking system. poolbridge.co.uk

BY TOM MAKER

get near. I was keener than ever, then, to get my revenge on the venue after that abysmal first outing! It was absolutely freezing too—any more excuses?

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MAKER’S Q-LAKE MIX With a bait ban on anything but pellets and boilies, Tom wanted to make his the most attractive on the lakebed…

THE L AKE I T SEL F

After arriving at the farm, we drove straight down to the lake.

The complex itself really is top drawer. It has only a few match or coarse lakes on site, along with the newly dug M Lake. As mentioned earlier, the one we’d be focusing our attention on this time around, however, was Q. The fishing on Q is pretty unique, and I believe I’m right in saying that the water is the first of its kind in terms of layout. A bridge takes you onto an island in the middle, and everyone fishes from there to their water in front. This not only benefits the angler by having his or her own slice of water, but the carp also have 360 degrees of movement around the lake without barriers. You’re not looking across the pond into someone else’s bivvy, or sharing the same water as someone else. Each peg has a clearly marked area that’s your water, and you do as you please with it; it really is a great set-up that Mike has created.

The lake being a members’ water with a booking system, Mike had kindly allowed us to reserve several of the remaining pegs in the hope that we’d enjoy some success. As with all new lakes, our first point of call was the water’s edge, where we looked for signs of carp. It didn’t take long before several fish gave away their whereabouts on the end of the wind. They made it pretty clear from the off, that they were liking that particular area, and fortunately, we had booked the three remaining pegs at the same end. Fifteen minutes passed, with several more shows during that time, all spread around the bay in front. That was enough for us to take a steady stroll back to the van to grab the gear, ready for the afternoon and evening

1: Start by adding a few handfuls of 12mm Krill Active to a bait bucket. 2: Next, add a mixture of 4mm Bloodworm and The Krill pellets. 3: Finally, add a dose of L-Zero-30T and Pure Calanus Liquid. 4: The perfect mix, brimming with attraction whilst fishing a match-the-hatch Krill Active Wafter.

ahead. With the carp clearly around, I wasted no time in getting a rod flicked out to the area of activity, before I then set up camp for the evening.

BE 1 1 0% H APPY…

By the time I’d got myself sorted, it was well into the afternoon, as I started searching for some decent areas for the rods.

I’d been told that the venue is

pretty choked with weed, but its growth had been held back slightly this year after the introduction of Blue Dye. Finding the right spot to present on, would therefore be crucial.

The far margins were where I started with the leading rod, and at first, my weight went down with a half-decent thud. It came back clean pretty much every time, but I could feel a slight re-

TOM’S TOUR

Q LAKE, YORK

sistance as I dragged it back towards me. Most might just feel the drop and be happy that a spot is presentable, but I couldn’t sit there with 100 per cent confidence, without also having a cast with the grappling lead.

I was casting as tight as possible to the far margin, as this is the place where a lot of the anglers said the carp like to use as their patrol route around the lake. A few pull-backs with the grappling lead confirmed my suspicions, inasmuch as there were a few strands of weed still growing that could easily cause a problem if I were to cast a rig amongst them, and especially so if it grew vertically. It wouldn’t take much for a rig to get snagged, therefore hindering presentation. Whilst some might say that I thrashed it to pieces with the leading rod before I finally settled, everything needs to be perfect before I can present, and it doesn’t matter how many casts it takes—one rod presented effectively is far better than three which might not be!

My left-hand rod was cast

tight to an overhanging willow— this was actually a spot from the peg next door, but with that free, I spread my rods more. The second was sent towards the reeds in front, and the third shorter, to a shallower bar which seemed to run through the middle of the lake. I had been told about a spot called Matt’s Pads, but I think I was in the wrong swim to fish it. The three rods had all been placed in areas of varying depth, just to hedge my bets.

We’d planned on staying two nights if need be, but if we had a successful start, we’d also decided to wrap up the following day. Simple D -Rigs with Krill Wafters were cast to the spots, each accompanied by a decent hit of bait. With the carp clearly active, there was no reason why you wouldn’t give them some grub in an effort to hone in on the spots.

A venue rule worth mentioning is that it’s a pellet/boilieonly water, so a little tip in these circumstances is to ramp up the attraction with liquids, but only

There were a few signs that they were around…

BOTTOM LEFT I wasn’t 100% on the drop, so I put the grappling lead out there…

RIGHT And I’m glad I did!

TOP LEFT

where it matters. As I was using Krill Active boilies, there was no need to coat, or pimp, shall we say, the baits themselves, as they’re already brimming with attraction; it’s a case of merely using some soluble liquids that give off plenty of smell.

As the evening drew to a close, Mike, the owner, was fishing a few pegs further round, along with Tom who’d also flicked the rods out for the evening. The carp continued to show, but more towards Tom, who was to the right of me. The constant liners continued into dark, with all of us getting the occasional rise-and-drop on the bobbins.

One I had, really pulled the rod around, but as the bobbin settled back down, I realised that it was just that, a liner, albeit a somewhat savage one.

Mike later joined us in the swim, along with a member called Lee, and we sank a few beers as we watched the sun set before us. I turned in pretty early, as the travelling had caught up with me. It’s some slog to Pool Bridge from my house down south, so I was eager to catch up on some zeds, in the hope that the usual bite time of first light would arouse me before my alarm. I couldn’t believe how warm it was; the nighttime temperatures in the preceding weeks had been pretty low, but those we were experiencing were into double figures, and the carp were clearly very happy about that too.

Tom’s Top Tips From The Session Fish to what you see. I wasn’t going to set-up until I saw some signs, especially as it was a new lake 1. Take your time, investigate the area within an inch of its life and don’t leave it to chance, as it could cost you!

2. Go with what you’re confident in, i.e. rigs and bait that you know work.

3. There was a slight pressure to catch, but enjoy your fishing. This will make you far more relaxed, and you’ll end up fishing better as a result.

4. Take a trip up north sometime… it’s not that grim!

BY TOM MAKER

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Spots found, it’s time to wrap up I used two presentations: 360s and D-Rigs with wafters 3. Simple D-Rigs with Krill Wafters 4. Bang on the money!

5. The traps were set 6. And now it was time to chill and just enjoy being out 7. The nighttime temperatures were lovely and high 8. The fish felt really odd—almost tench-like—and turned out to be a tiny common of around 4lb!

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INT O T H E ACT ION…

The night soon passed, and although the liners continued, no bites came my way. Just on first light, however, and as predicted by the other anglers, the action

began, as the rod underneath the small willow tree went off.

Straight away the fish kited left, and it felt half-decent too. It’s only around eighty yards to the far margin, but when they kite as

TOM’S TOUR

Q LAKE, YORK

41

TOM’S Q LAKE TIMELINE 21

170 : 4: 0 5 0A . M .

BREWS LET IN BY MADE THE IN OWNER. THE OFFICE.

5

14:00

LEFT FOR MORRISONS.

13 11

15 0 :: 3 30 0 A.M.

BACK A ZIG IS TO THE VAN TO TIED ON GRAB THE GEAR. THE THIRD ROD IN CASE ANOTHER SHOWS AND THIRD ROD CAN COME INTO PLAY.

17

16:30

ROD WRAPPED TO FARMARGIN WILLOW.

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17:15

BREWS ON, AND SITTING BACK TO SOAK UP THE EVENING.

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21

170 : 4: 350A . M .

QUICK LET IN BY TOUR THE OF OWNER. THE FACTORY—JUST TO BE NOSEY!

5

14:30

ARRIVED AT MORRISONS TO PICK UP SUPPLIES.

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15 0 :: 4 40 5 A.M.

FLICKED FISH SHOW OUT AMONGST SINGLE THE BIRDLIFE, TOWARDS SHOWING SCARING FISH. THE GULLS.

18

16:35

RIG CAST TO FAR MARGIN WITH FIVE LARGE SPOMBS OVER THE TOP.

37

17:22

CARP SHOWS OFF THE END OF THE SPIT BETWEEN TOM AND ME.

3

TURN IN FOR THE EVENING, HOPING THE CARP WILL PLAY BALL.

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11:30

BAIT PICKED FOR THE SESSION AND PLACED IN THE VAN.

69

15 13

107

194: 4 : 405 A . M .

38

TAKE THE LEFT-HAND ROD.

18:15

MIKE AND LEE JOIN US IN THE SWIM. CIDER OPENED!

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05:15

16:50

RIG SENT ONTO SPOT WITH ANOTHER FIVE SPOMBS OVER THE TOP.

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18:00

TOM IN THE SWIM; CATCH UP WITH DIARY AND NOTES.

15 1 ::0 50 5 A.M.

LEADING FIRST BREW’S ROD MADE. SET-UP FOR FEATURE-FINDING IN FRONT FOR LEFT AND MIDDLE RODS.

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16:40

LEADING ROD TO THE REEDS IN FRONT. SPOT FOUND CLOSE TO THE BANK, JUST BEFORE PULLING INTO WEED AGAIN.

195: 4 : 050A . M .

ARRIVED THE COOTS ATAND POOL GULLS ARE HOLDING BRIDGE FARM. OVER THE MAIN BODY OF WATER.

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15 0 :: 4 55 0 A.M.

BIVVY AND SECOND SHOW, BED SO SET-UP THE THIRD TO MAKE ROD THINGS WITH A MORE ZIG IS CAST TO IT. COMFORTABLE.

19

181: :0405 A . M .

BOOKED TABLE BARROW STRAIGHT OUT OF THE FOR LUNCH. VAN AND ONTO THE FIRST FEW PEGS TO WATCH WATER.

LEFTFIRST THE MORRISONS. SHOW OF THE DAY! A CARP STICKS ITS HEAD OUT THIRTY YARDS OUT, AND WAY CLOSER THAN THE RODS.

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20:10

SET OFF TO BARROW STRAIGHT STICKY OUT OF THE BAITS HQ. VAN AND ONTO THE FIRST FEW PEGS TO WATCH WATER.

D AY 1

Everything, as it happened at Pool Bridge Farm…

8 :40: 0 0 4 5A . M .

05:22

LANDED A DECENTSIZED MIRROR.

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8 :63:0 0 3 0A . M .

CALLED NO SIGNS, ATSO COSTA CHOOSING DRIVE PEG 5 FOR THRU TO BEGIN A COFFEE. AS IT GIVES ME A GOOD VIEW OF THE LAKE.

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182: 3 : 105 A . M .

NO LEFT SIGNS, STICKY SO HQ. CHOOSING PEG 5 TO BEGIN AS IT GIVES ME A GOOD VIEW OF THE LAKE.

118

15 0 :: 11 0 0 A.M.

STANDING THERE AREIN TWO PEGSUBTLE 6 SHOWSWALKING AFTER IN OPEN WATER ROUND TO THE THE LAKE. RIGHT.

15 17

16 1 ::110 5 A.M.

CHECKED THE ZIG RIG SPOTS IS FOR REPOSITIONED, THE WEED WITHFURTHER RIGHT AFTER GRAPPLING LEAD. POTENTIAL CARP SHOW.

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17 2 : 0 0 P. M .

RIGHT-HAND MIDDLE ROD ROD IS SWITCHED TO A ZIG RIG. BROUGHT IN CLOSE AFTER FINDING BAR ON RETRIEVAL—A FEATURE WHICH COULDN’T BE IGNORED!

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BACK TO BED, WITH FISH SECURE IN THE NET.

182: 4 : 455A . M .

CATCH-UP LEAD ABOUT WITH IN THE THE MAIN BODY TOMS OVER OF LUNCH. THE LAKE; DEEPER GULLY FOUND.

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15:12

SAW CARP ROLLING PRETTY MUCH STRAIGHT AWAY.

16 18

16 1 ::1156 A . M .

FOUND STRANDS BAITED ROD AND OF RE-CAST INTO THE SILTY GULLY. CANADIAN—GOOD JOB AREA WAS CHECKED!

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17 2:0 30 5 P. M .

RIGHT-HAND THE SUN’S WARMING ROD CAST UP. RE-CAST WITH ANOTHER MIDDLE FIVE ROD WITH SPOMBS OVER A RED IT. ZIG ALIGNA AFTER THE BAILIFF’S ADVICE.

19:30

CHEWING THE FAT WITH MIKE; CHATTING ABOUT THE LAKE AND THE VENUE.

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05:25

8 :94: 5 0 4 5A . M .

ARRIVED LEAD ABOUT AT STICKY IN THEHQ. MAIN BODY OF THE LAKE; DEEPER GULLY FOUND.

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18:30

CARP ROLLING TO MY RIGHT TOWARDS TOM— MAYBE I DISTURBED THEM TOO MUCH.

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06:00

TOM WAKES ME UP.

D AY 2

this one was doing, they always feel better than they might actually be. Eventually, after a decent fight under the tip as it got ever closer, it rolled into the net.

It looked like a twenty-pounder

at least… happy days!

I secured it in the net ahead of full light. I knew Tom wouldn’t be long with the camera, as I’d already seen him about, catching some shots of the sunrise. I

slipped back into bed for another twenty minutes, before Tom duly arrived to see what I had.

He’d also managed one on first light too, one of the older commons in the lake at 16lb 8oz, and

BY TOM MAKER

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06:15

WEIGH AND PHOTOGRAPH FISH.

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07:20

RODS BACK OUT ONTO THE SPOTS.

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07:55

LEFT-HAND ROD AWAY AGAIN ON A SINGLE— CHANGED FROM MATCHTHE-HATCH BAIT TO MULBZ.

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08:20

BREAKFAST EATEN; COFFEE DEMOLISHED!

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1 9 : 5 0 P. M .

LITTLE FISH PICTURES. ANGLING TIMES COVER SHOT…?

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10:30

PACKED AWAY AND VAN LOADED.

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06:30

RODS REELED IN. TAKE HERBS FOR A WALK.

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07:25

COFFEE AND BREAKFAST TIME!

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08:00

FISH LANDED—TINY LITTLE COMMON!

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08:50

MIKE’S BACK TO INFORM US THAT PEG’S BOOKED. DECIDED TO CALL IT A DAY.

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09:45

FILLER SHOTS TAKEN FOR THE FEATURE.

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10:45

DRONE SENT UP… WISH I’D STAYED!

a nice touch. We then treated everything like a little bit of a social, without the serious side, or pressure to get the feature done. Every now and then, you just have to unwind, and it was

Diary time to keep track of the session

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TOM’S TOUR

Q LAKE, YORK

nice to simply enjoy the session for what it was. Angling doesn’t always have to be super serious; you can chill out and enjoy the moment, regardless of the outcome. I stumbled out of bed once more, and we rattled off the shots on the bank behind.

The fish was a solid-looking mirror of 23lb 2oz, and easily the biggest fish I’d caught that far north, that’s for sure! With the feature seemingly in the bag, the slight element of pressure was off, and we enjoyed breakfast whilst taking the photos.

A V IEW FROM ABOV E

We both needed to stretch our legs with the dogs, so we went

BY TOM MAKER

for a stroll after reeling in and clipping up the rods with a view to being able to get them back out as soon as we returned, and by the time we got back, the sun had risen above the bank and was beaming down into the far margin. The same willow looked good for a bite again, so I made sure that rod went out first with another good hit of bait. I don’t think it was out any longer than 30 minutes before it was away again. This time, though, the fish felt really odd, and almost tench-like. It turned out to be a tiny common of around 4lb. It was, though, nice to see that the fish had successfully spawned, and that there’d

TOP LEFT Result!

My biggest carp from this far up north!

BOTTOM LEFT

A lovely lowtwenty from Q Lake TOP RIGHT

Gibson got in on the action too!

MIDDLE AND BOTTOM RIGHT

The perfect way to start the day… carp, coffee and a sausage and bacon muffin!

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be little or no need for stocking.

There are a few large cats in there too, so to avoid them too, as they’ve been growing over the years, is some achievement.

Mike came around once again to see how I’d fared, and he was chuffed, of course, to find that I’d managed to get my revenge. My swim was booked from lunchtime, so we had to decide whether to move, or just call it a day.

Tom’s swim did look good for a bite, and the fish had pushed around his way during the previous evening and night, so it would have been good to head that way. In hindsight, I should have, but given the long journey back, and also that the feature was already done and dusted, we called it a day, returning to Sticky’s headquarters before making the trek south with some bait for the following week.

With the gear loaded back at the vans, Tom sent the drone up for some aerial shots of the lake, to give you all an idea of where I was fishing, and of the lake’s set-up—we’d chosen not to send it up during our fishing time, as it may have disturbed other anglers. What we saw on the footage was an abundance of fish at the bottom end where we were—more in front of Peg 7. All the fish, though, were just under the surface. Did this mean that a lot of the liners we were all getting were from the fish swimming through the upper layers?

Potentially, it seemed, and it was certainly food for thought that an all-out Zig approach might well have worked. I know Mike isn’t a huge fan of them given the weed, and with no artificial baits allowed, the approach would have entailed trimming down pop-ups. Maybe, though, I could’ve had more fish. Who knows? What I did know was that I was a happy angler, walking away with a lovely carp for my efforts, having spent time on a lake which I’ll definitely return to in the near future.

TOM MAKER

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H O W - T O // K I C K E R S A N D E X T E N S I O N S //

Extensions and Flippers Lewis Read returns to explain more about rig mechanics. This time around he gives some thought to your extensions (read: Line-Aligners and Noodle arrangement)…

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WORDS

Lewis Read

PHOTOGRAPHY

Lewis Read and Joseph Brazil

H O W - T O // K I C K E R S A N D E X T E N S I O N S //

I REMEMBER THE FIRST TIME I saw a proper hook extension; it was on a historic Colne Valley club lake. The noted member trotted past with his rods banded together, staying mobile and proactive… a proper angler and one who caught far more than his fair share. Naturally, being nosey, I clocked the rigs—longish nylon links on lead clips—and each hook had an extension of at least a couple of inches! He had been catching very well too, so this all stuck in my mind. I was fascinated and pondered as to just what kind of bizarre carp angling witchcraft and trickery this could be…

I have come to understand the mechanics that make this arrangement tick a little better. The principles that ensured our friend had a successful day’s angling back then, are exactly the same ones that hold true to this day. The combination of an extended shank ensures that the hook enters the fish’s mouth correctly orientated, and then has to leave the mouth with the all-important sharp and pointy bit facing the fish’s lip. This is a very simple sounding, yet it is an exceedingly effective principle.

Since those days, the use of extensions has evolved enormously, having been refined as anglers experimented with profiles, lengths and different materials, ranging from a bit of Biro inner tube in the own the years,

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early days, to the refined shrinktube arrangements so popular now, thanks largely to their phenomenal effectiveness.

Evolving from the simplest straight extension, the use of shrink tube has obviously enabled forward-thinking anglers to develop really aggressive rigs such as the Withy arrangement, which utilises a curved section of shrink tube (very curved now, despite being a gentle flowing curve at inception), angled kickers, and longer, Noodle-style extension. Some of these feature at least one angle or

curve, and in some cases more, to ensure that the hook is controlled and highly reactive when inhaled by a browsing cyprinid.

I always feel that both kickers and hook aligners work best with non-reversed hooks, and as with most rigs, the devil is in the detail. In this case, the kicker is best kept in perfect alignment with the shank and the hook point, without a twist or kink that could force the hook to react, favouring one side of the twist or the other. This is a detail that is really important for fine-tuning most rigs, but it is es-

ABOVE: All the kickers

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H O W - T O // K I C K E R S A N D E X T E N S I O N S //

that a good rule of thumb is for balanced hookbaits to come from the hook shank—positioned opposite the barb is a good starting point.

Alternatively, heavy, unbalanced straight-out-of-the-bag hookbaits are reliably fished with the Hair trapped round on the bend—just like the Flipper Rig. With the Hair trapped in this manner, those heavy hookbaits simply help drag the hook point down, adding yet another layer of control in terms of consistent presentation, and then hook placement, the ultimate expression of which is great hook holds.

BLOWBACK OR KNOT?

pecially important for those which utilise a hook extension or have a stiff hook section.

length of the kicker inside the lip… nirvana indeed!

ADD A DROPPER HOOKBAIT WEIGHT

*This is the main reason the new Noodle Kickers are slightly stiffer than other preformed extensions, as it is vital that the Noodle stays in the right position.

Hookbait and Hair positioning can be varied, and I would suggest

With this style rig, fine-tuning the tubing by adding a small kick near the eye will cause the hook to react extremely quickly; it almost acts like it’s priming the hook, so to speak, so it is already in the right place well before the main angle at the tail end of the kicker does its job. At worst, if fish are feeding gingerly, this means the hook will take hold in the scissors, just on the initial hook reaction, whereas fish confidently browsing will invariably be nailed with the full

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This is a perennial question. If I am using bait that is likely to attract the attentions of small fish, then invariably, I’ll trap the Hair with a small section of silicone, or maybe a hook bead if I’m being really fastidious with my rigs. This way, the hookbait presentation cannot be ruined by small fish knocking the blowback ring up to the hook eye.

With more carp-focused hookbaits like boilies, nuts or large particle, then I am happy to revert to the blowback ring on the Hair.

TOP: Nailed on the Noodle BOTTOM: Upper 30 from Blue Pool (Burghfield) from late last year

A further subtle tweak which really helps the rig react positively and reset consistently, is the positioning of

H O W - T O // K I C K E R S A N D E X T E N S I O N S //

the dropper or tungsten putty close to the end of the shrink tube or preformed kicker on the stripped portion of braid, just far away enough to still allow the hook to rotate, but near enough to avoid tangles—about 1cm is more than enough. And there’s no need to be shy either; a nice, extralarge dropper will only enhance the reaction and rotation of the hook, so the rig reacts even faster.

LINE-ALIGNERS

Despite the two being lumped together under the title of this little piece, I personally think of linealigners as an entirely separate entity. The tighter tolerance from a much finer and defined exit point, and created by using a fine needle

LEFT: Rig ring vs. silicone RIGHT: Large Droppers to help flip the hook

and flexible tubing, ensures that you can exquisitely fine-tune a linealigner to an extremely high level, making sure that the hooklink and the hook point are aligned perfectly.

Despite the focus on semi-rigid shrinking rig tubing for many

kickers, I think there’s something to be said for utilising silicone tubing with a more natural feel, and is less obtrusive, due to texture and the shorter length of most linealigners. The silicone certainly still creates the same aggressive

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H O W - T O // K I C K E R S A N D E X T E N S I O N S //

flip when the carp inhales the hookbait, and the hooklink tightens over the fish’s lip, and it may be worth considering if you find yourself playing with rigs one day.

THE RIGHT ANGLE

Ah, and before I go and forget again, there is one last little detail which may bring a few extra per cent to your rigs, and that is the angle that you trim the end of the line-aligner.

Almost all readymade kickers feature a nice tapered end, but if you’re making your own hook aligners, try trimming the end so that it is

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angled (top edge removed), as this will ensure that the end of the tube cannot get in the way. Admittedly, it is just a small tweak, but it’s one which just makes the whole rig feel right, and ensures it reacts right, more of the time.

THE RIGHT PATTERN

Hook pattern choices are never set in stone are they! As with almost all rigs, the choice of which pattern to use is often based on personal preference and confidence. As long as you are confident that the mechanics of the rig are not impaired—that is to say the hook is still rotating aggressively—then simply utilise your favourite pattern.

So, whether you fancy trying a hook pattern that features an outturned eye (normally poo pooed for this type of rig), a straight eye, or a conventional in-turned eye, as long as you test the finished rig and it functions as expected, you should

TOP LEFT: A Line-Aligner with no top TOP RIGHT: And one with…

BOTTOM LEFT: The Palm Test BOTTOM RIGHT: The Rig Test Above: The preferred patterns

rightly be confident that all will be good when it gets picked up and embedded in those big rubbery lips.

Testing bottom-bait rigs are best done with hookbaits in place, but I have yet to find a way to balance hookbaits and pop-ups in air, so I prefer checking these by drawing the rig across the back of my hand, or out of a mildly cupped hand— talking of which, reminds me of Catholic school!

If you suffer from inexplicable hook-pulls whilst fishing conventional rigs, or feel that the fish are regularly feeding on your areas and getting away with it, then there are always simple options to help switch things around in your favour, and tinkering with the hooking mechanism doesn’t necessarily mean changing everything, and it may be the case that a seemingly small adaptation can tip the balance in your favour.

LEWIS READ

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BY SIMON CROW

UNDERSTANDING

PATROL ROUTES SEASONED CARP ANGLER, SIMON CROW, HAS DONE HIS FAIR SHARE OF CARPWATCHING OVER THE DECADES SO WE ASKED HIM TO SHARE HIS THOUGHTS ON HOW TO READ THEIR ROUTES AND USE IT TO YOUR ADVANTAGE…

IT’S BEEN SAID A MILLION TIMES BEFORE IN ARTICLES, BUT UNDERSTANDING CARP IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE JIGSAW. IF YOU ONLY SHOW AN INTEREST IN RIGS AND BAIT, YOU’LL BE OVERLOOKING THE PART THAT MAKES CARP FISHING SO MUCH EASIER. KNOWING HOW THEY LIVE AND SURVIVE IN THEIR ENVIRONMENT CUTS OUT ALL OF THE BULLSH*T FROM THE CONSTANT FEED OF THE INDUSTRY. KEEPING QUIET ON THE BANK, FINDING WHERE THEY LIVE AND FEED, AND UNCOVERING THEIR DAILY HABITS IS THE QUICKEST WAY TO CATCHING THEM.

arp are quite simple creatures.

They live pretty mundane lives, doing the same thing day after day, year after year. This is where your watercraft takes over, learning to read the signs and making the right predictions. It is something we are learning all of the time, as all waters are different so the more experienced you are on a venue, the easier the pieces slot together. Sure there are similarities on all waters, but the longer we spend watching and walking a water, the more we get to know about it.

Watercraft knowledge comes with experience. It isn’t easy to teach but in this feature I’m going to try and give you an insight into how I approach patrol routes and how different they are to feeding areas.

All waters have them, even the smallest of them all.

Carp use them to move about their home, in much the same way as people use paths and roads or animals use hedgerows and tracks. It may be a marginal shelf, gravel bar or set of reeds they will follow to get where they want. They may change over time, or they may remain the same for years on end. It all depends on the venue and how much of an influence outside forces have on it, such as nature, weather and that all important game changer, angling pressure.

Some of the best patrol routes of carp are in the margins, especially those tight to an island. Carp love anywhere they can escape the danger of anglers and

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they will hug that island margin as tightly as they can. They might not pick up bait from there, but you can be sure they will use it as part of their daily routine. It’s the same with a ‘no fishing’ bank. They will recognise its safety aspect and visit it all of the time, almost like a ‘check-in’ spot where they will meet up with other carp. I’ve seen areas like this having rubbing stones where almost every carp in the lake goes to rub its flanks, especially the male carp. You very rarely get bites from these spots but you can be sure they get visited on an almost daily basis.

Other areas around the lake that the carp will use as part of their daily circuits are gravel bars, especially those that run the length of the lake and direct the carp from one area to another. A small snack-sized trap is the perfect way to fish something like this, with a PVA bag or high-vis single on top of the bar in the summer or at the base of the bar during windy autumnal conditions.

Long lengths of reedbeds are another typical patrol route of the carp, especially early in the mornings when they begin their daily routine. Simply put, the bigger and more obvious a feature is, the more

TOP Thick weedbeds are an absolute magnet for the carp during the spring, summer and autumn months

BOTTOM A small trap fishing for one bite at a time resulted in this patrol route thirtyplus common

likely it is to get used by the fish. I’ve had some great catches from big reedbeds, some of the most notable being from Orchid Lakes in the Alamo swim. The carp love the big reedbeds to the right of this swim, mostly because there’s no swims along the Sailing Club bank where the reeds are. It doubles up as a safety area as well as a patrol route and it does some great catches if you tackle it with the right approach.

Fishing for one bite at a time like I mentioned earlier is the way to go here because the angling pressure on most busy lakes makes the carp treat these areas differently to their ‘feeding spots’.

CASE EXAMPLE…

To explain what I mean by this I’ll mention a patrol route observation in the simplest form. I used to own a house with a pond of about 0.25 of an acre. I dug it, landscaped it and stocked it myself. It was quite a simple pond with an island in the middle and shallows at one end and deeps at the other. It didn’t take long for the carp to settle in when I stocked it. The biggest was a double of about 10lb with the rest being singles.

In total, there were about twenty carp in there.

I’d watch them for hours, mesmerised by their behaviour. They loved to hug the island margin, swimming round it all day long. They preferred one side more than the other, especially when going from the deeps to the shallows. It was their patrol route, the way they moved about their home. The more I watched them, the more obvious it became. They used one side of the island as their routeway, even though the pond was tiny. They had their preferred areas too. For some reason you rarely saw them in the corner bay at the house/shallow end. This was at the opposite side of the island to where they regularly patrolled.

I had no idea why they preferred that one side of the island more than the other, but I guessed it had something to do with it being more sheltered from

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the wind. The other side was exposed to a strong easterly coming off some big fields. Whenever they went from the deeps to the shallows they followed the same route along the sheltered side. Their behaviour may also have been due to the fact they didn’t like that one corner bay. I could only speculate on the reasons, unlike my observations about their patrol routes which were nearly always the same.

After about a year I knew the routine of the fish like the back of my hand. I could predict where they’d be on a daily basis. If anyone came to visit and they wanted to look at the pond I’d be able to tell them where the carp were without even walking it. They were like clockwork every day. Then one day I saw the biggest resident and wondered how big it might be. It looked like it had grown a lot and the angler in me decided to catch it. I saw it on the ‘favourite’ side of the island and cast out a float with some sweetcorn on. Moments later it was away and I caught the one I wanted at 16lb!

Now we’re coming to the interesting part. All it took was that one bite to change the atmosphere of the fish with regard to that area. From that moment onwards they were different at that side of the island. They still followed their favourite side a lot more than the other but now they swam through it quicker. The spot where I’d hooked the biggie had

TOP Getting to know your target water and how the carp move about it is one step closer to catching them

BOTTOM The biggest fish in Farriers Lake known as Scar weighing 48lb 15oz caught on a snack-sized tactic

been marked. It stayed like that for several weeks/ months. The biggie was especially spooked from that area, and let’s remember these were totally naive fish. Only that one carp had been hooked, and it remained like that for almost another year until I let my nephew fish it.

Now imagine a lake that is under intense angling pressure where the carp have been hooked on numerous occasions from almost every spot on the lake. If the carp in a small garden pond with no pressure react like that after one capture, how do you think they would respond at the opposite end of the

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for another because you are just ‘snacking’ and not having a meal.

Of course some prebait will always help get bites from patrol routes. Trickling in a bit here and there in between your fishing trips, then going in with the small traps is the way I’d approach it. When they’ve been caught a few times from these areas, you can be sure they will be passing through a bit quicker and with little intention of feeding. This is where a

spectrum? The point I’m trying to make here is that angling pressure has a massive effect on the behaviour of carp. It spooks them from their routine on both a short- and long-term basis. I’ve seen it with my own eyes on numerous occasions, regardless of the size of the venue or how much fishing pressure it is under. Even on somewhere like the Orient in France, where there are thousands of acres for them to swim freely, you only have to hook one or two fish before they’re spooked and the message has spread.

A couple of years ago I stumbled across 200+ carp in Italy Bay. They’d gone there to spawn. They were all over the place but were gone in an instant as soon as I hooked one! The next day, they were back again because it was part of their routine but this time they were a lot more wary than the day before.

THE BEST WAY TO BAIT

Having an awareness of how patrol routes differ to other areas of the lake determines how best to approach them from a tactical point of view. Putting baits on patrol routes can definitely produce fish.

The problem is getting consistent action from them because there is a world of difference between these places and spots where the carp go to feed. In my experience, big beds of bait don’t go well with patrol routes, whereas they definitely do in places where the carp go looking for grub. Small snacks is my preferred way to target the routeways, the aim being to nick a bite off a carp that isn’t really interested in feeding. It’s a bit like walking through the kitchen when your missus is doing the baking and you steal one of the biscuits she’s made. You rarely go back

TOP A big fish sulks in the net as another campaign comes to an end

MIDDLE A covert set-up with traps set close in on a marginal patrol route

BOTTOM Invaluable tools for finding the drop-offs, ledges and patrol routes of carp

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bright pop-up in their face might just annoy them into picking it up. The amount of fish I’ve had on this tactic is ridiculous.

It’s all about understanding the water you’re fishing and getting to know the habits of the fish. Some marginal spots they will go to feed on a daily basis. The same with ‘no fishing banks’ or island drop-offs so you may be able to use a bit more bait. There’s always going to be a bit of trial and error involved in deciding whether somewhere is a patrol route or a feeding area but once you’ve managed to suss it, I guarantee you’ll be one step closer to solving the puzzle.

SIMON CROW

TOP Even on small intricate waters, the carp have patrol routes they follow on a daily basis

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HOW-TO // PRO ADVICE // SPRING TACTICS

Mainline: Pro Tactics Your monthly dose of the finest advice from the finest anglers out there. This time we kick off with advice from Dave Lane, along with more know-how from Arron Copp and Jon ‘Shoes’ Jones.

TOP: A lovely Linear caught over a scattering of Cell

HOW-TO // BE DIFFERENT //

MIDDLE: A scattering of Cell boilies— you just can’t beat it!

BOTTOM: The throwing stick came out of retirement… 37lb 1oz mirror

AARON COPP

Breaking The Norm “If you get the chance to buck the trend, then take the opportunity,” says Arron Copp

OING WITH THE CROWD

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and employing similar tactics as everyone else can be fine, but there is more than a little truth in the saying that doing the same as everyone else, equals getting the same results as everyone else—i.e. yes, you will catch, but the results probably won’t stand out.

This reminds me of a season I spent on a venue in Essex a few years back. It’s around 18-acres in size and at the time had a relatively low stock of carp. The lake was known for being infested with

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Arron Copp

crayfish, and due to this, spodding particles and using plastic hookbaits had been widely employed.

That said, the season before I arrived, the owner had managed to eradicate the crays. For sure, I was not the only one to seize the opportunity and start employing a boilie only approach, but the vast majority of other anglers continued to spod, and some stayed on the particles.

My point being, the carp had grown used to coming across tightly baited areas, and quite possibly fed cautiously on those baited spots. Judging by other anglers’ results that season, that was generally the case.

By early summer marginal weed was present in most swims, and my action generally came to Chod Rigs

fished over a scattering of 18mm Cell (which helped slow down the ravenous shoals of roach), but as the season wore on, the weed died back and the carp were spending more and more time out in the main body of the lake. My spod rod remained at home the whole season, and instead I put my old throwing stick back into service. Whilst the seagulls made daytime use a little trying (to say the least!), at dusk and into the darkness I would generally use the stick to spread around half a kilo of boilies over the rods, and judging by my results, that relatively wide spread of bait/boilies only approach, was certainly successful, and really did help single out the better fish.

By the time I pulled off the lake the tactics described had accounted for several mirrors over the forty mark, and a fifty pound plus common. If you get the chance to buck the trend, then take the opportunity.

HOW-TO // BIDE YOUR TIME // DAVE LANE

Don’t give up on the day too early Although the prime time during the summer is just before and after daybreak, Laney advises not to reel in too early after those times…

HERE IS NOTHING quite like

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summer carp angling.

Yes, it may not be as productive as spring or autumn, but it’s warmer and there are always chances to be had. Whether it’s early morning feeding spells, floater fishing during the day, stalking on little pre-baited traps or just chilling out next to a barbeque with a cold beer, you really can’t beat it.

In this country we spend so many months of the year waiting for the sun, when it finally comes, I like to

spend as much time as possible out in it, preferably fishing.

I find June and July can be particularly good months, either side of spawning when the fish are a little less cautious and willing to eat a bit of bait. I like nothing better than fishing weedy waters at this time and creating spots by regular baiting, watching as my spots grow and grow as the carp strip back the weed to uncover every last morsel.

Pre-baiting and topping up areas when I leave plays a big part in my

Top: Late to the party BOTTOM LEFT: Making the most of summer and BBQ season!

BOTTOM RIGHT: Smart Liquids play a big part in my approach

summer fishing, using everything from the smallest particles like hemp and corn mixed with lots of ground and chopped boilies and, of course, topped off with a few handfuls of whole baits and coat the lot in Smart Liquid. I definitely find that the mixed sizes of baits have a better effect at keeping spots cleaned off. Not only are the carp feeding on these sorts of baited spots but so are other species and a busy swim is a good swim.

Although the prime time for bites during this period has got to be the hours just before and after daybreak, it doesn’t do to give up too early and go off stalking or mooching about. I have caught countless carp around nine in the morning in the middle of summer, which is way after first light and often quite hot by then. Leaving the rods out for that extra chance is often the difference between success and failure.

I remember in high summer on St Ives Shallow Lagoon I was catching regularly and making video blogs every week. Most of the bites were like clockwork at first light and I managed to actually film a few takes.

However, most sessions I would finish off the video with a closing clip mid-morning before packing the camera away, and then appear again a short while later with a last-minute extra fish. It wasn’t just on the odd occasion either and I actually extended my sessions until midday before leaving the lake, just to make sure I wasn’t missing out on that bonus fish.

TEXT

Dave Lane

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HOW-TO // EYES OPEN // JON JONES

Get Up and Find the Carp!

URING THE WARMER

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months of the year, at any point of the day, you’ll find a carp feeding or you’ll find a chance to get a carp feeding. Some people would disagree with that, but all I can say to that is tough! Get up and find the carp! I’ve often sat in my bivvy shading from the sun wishing the evening to arrive so I’ll have a chance of a carp or two. What the heck am I thinking? Go and find the carp, bait a few marginal shady spots, surface fish, try a Zig—we have numerous ways to catch carp during the warmer, sunnier days, so don’t sit and wait for the carp to come to you when you can go to the carp.

Summertime stalking is one of my favourite things to do. Searching around the lake looking for that

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Jon Jones

one chance that will ultimately bring you an extra carp; one extra carp other anglers aren’t even going to see let alone get out of their bivvys to try and catch.

Carp close in are much more alert to noise, movement, rig presentation and bait. Choosing the correct rig is down to you, but bait in my opinion needs to be right.

That’s why I try to use two things when stalking in the edge: pellets and tiger nuts. Combining whole and crushed Power+ Particle TigMix with Response Pellets can get any carp feeding. Presenting a small, chipped tiger nut over the top with a short fluorocarbon rig you’re on to a winner every time.

So just remember the next time you’re sitting in your bivvy wishing the day away, just think for a second

and remember what I have said.

Get up and find the carp—there’s a chance somewhere right now!

TOP: A mid-twenty mirror stalked on a hot summer’s day MIDDLE: Stalking using Response Pellets and tigers produced this lovely common BOTTOM: Whole and crushed tigers are perfect for stalking hookbaits and feed

WHO’S CAUGHT WHAT?

‘What’s Occurring?!’

A Multi Rig armed with one of our Limited Edition Pink Pinenana pop-ups proved to be the attractive cherry on the cake or in this case a feed of Activ-8 boilies for Phoebe Stuart recently, who slipped the net under this lovely mirror from a silty area of the lake at short-range.

A couple weeks of heavy work commitments didn’t stop the run of big fish results Mitchell Miller has been enjoying on Frimley Pit 3, bagging this 35lb 4oz mirror on a recent session. Fishing a new Freezer Bait on test along a snaggy margin doing the do for Mitchell yet again.

Allowing a few days for the lake to quiet down after the new season opening paid off big time for Mitch Plowman recently, who landed two fish from Kingsmead 1 topped by this 42lb 6oz mirror known as ‘Boris’ falling to Cell pop-ups fished over particle and Cell boilies.

‘Blown away with this one! Proper gravel pit warrior from the weekend’ that was the message we received from James Dixon along with his catch report of this 34lb 12oz common carp from a Cotswold venue. Cell boilies and particle soaked in Smart Liquid doing the do.

Wow! Just checkout the lovely colouration of this dark Essex mirror banked by a soaked through William Teodorini recently. The 30lb 2oz mirror falling to a Cell pop-up fished on a long running Chod Rig fished over a weedy area and a spread of Cell Freezer Bait boilies.

Expecting the fish to follow a strong southwesterly wind, Kamil Urbanczyk set-up on the end of the wind and the move paid off perfectly, landing 14 fish topped by this 36lb 6oz mirror which fell to a feed of mixed Cell and Hybrid boilies dispatched to the island margin.

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HOW-TO // CATCH REPORTS

Another month, another round-up of success stories. Caught on Mainline?

Then visit their website, submit your catch report and join the elite - just like these anglers!

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Baiting up a clear, shallow area where carp had showed at dusk to avoid too much attention from diving birds paid off for Alan Williams recently, landing this 36lb 10oz mirror on Hi-Visual Pineapple Juice pop-ups fished over mixed Cell, The Link and Essential Cell boilies!

After a busy few months of work commitments, Katie Watkinson was ready to break the work mould with a night on the bank. Katie decided on an area where fish were fizzing, with a Milky Toffee popup and PVA bag presentation producing this mirror shortly after.

It’s been great to see carp fishing legend Richie McDonald back out on the bank catching some lovely carp from a new Embryo water. Shelf-life High Impact Spicy Crab boilies scattered along the marginal shelf with a throwing stick the winning method for Richie.

Matthew Baldock continued his recent good form fishing Chilstone Stour in Kent with a recent session producing this 30lb 12oz mirror.

Cell Balanced Wafters fished inside solid PVA bags of Spod & PVA Pellets over areas of low-lying weed the winning approach!

Jack Meyer enjoyed a big-fish session at Wellington Country Park recently, landing a 44lb 12oz mirror, 46lb 12oz common and ‘The Heart Tailed Mirror’ at 50lb 4oz! Cell/Milky Toffee Snowman rigs fished over Cell boilies coated in Smart Liquid doing the busines

During a busy weekend after the close season, Jack Cox began his K1 session with some luck, coming out third in the draw and then landing this 31lb 4oz mirror from his fancied peg. Milky Toffee pop-ups fished over Smart Liquid coated Cell boilies the winning approach.

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The Rotary Letter This month’s guest Rotorians are Gaz Fareham and Oz Holness

ROTORIAN 1: ALEX GRICE

I’d like to thank Joe, the editor, for asking me to contribute to this month’s Rotary Letter. For a number of years, I have enjoyed reading insightful contributions in this part of the magazine, from many anglers I have looked up to as I progressed in the angling world. To follow on from Scott and Tel is a real privilege. They’re two switched-on and meticulous ‘thinking’ anglers, so I hope I can shed some light on a couple of the subjects previously covered.

First and foremost,

Right: Less time scrolling, more time watching

THE DETRIMENTAL EFFECT OF SMARTPHONES SCOTT KARABOWICZ ASKED: Whilst smartphones can be a great tool for communication, accessing weather updates and monitoring moon phases, do you think they have had a detrimental effect on your watercraft and observation in recent years?

as my work in the industry largely revolves around access to a smartphone for updating social media, answerThis is a tricky one,

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ing emails etc., so from my standpoint, I would say it is more about a work-fishing balance when I do get out on the bank. The scary

thing with social media, is how your personal time can be swallowed up by it.

Browsing through the likes of Instagram can take hours from your day, and I put my hands up when I say that I am a sucker for picking up my phone to scroll for hours at a time, even when I am out on the bank.

I had an interesting conversation with my brother regarding this recently, and the accessibility of information and the knowledge available to anglers at the lake, through social media and the likes of WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger.

Does this have a negative, or a positive impact on your ability to fish, or to make the decisions you would normally, when turning up at the lake blind and without any prior knowledge? I think we can use social media to build a picture of the lake, and the swims we want to fish before we even arrive at the lake, and for me, this does have a detrimental effect on my fishing, and clearly, it’s the same for others!

As anglers, I do think that in general, we have become somewhat lazier when it comes to watercraft, not only because the lakes are busier and the swim choice is more limited now than it has ever been, but also because of the information available on venues via social media pages and groups.

It seems that now, everyone just wants exacting information. Where have the bites come from? What spots? etc. We do very little off our own bat to make something happen, and based purely on our own decisions. I certainly think that turning up at a lake uninformed, before making decisions based only on JUNE 2021

TOPICS COVERED THIS MONTH:

1. The detrimental effect of smartphones 2. Too much, too early 3. Homemade specials or shop-bought?

4. Our Zig Rigs cheating?! @ALEXGRICE1 @ALEXGRICE1 CC MOORE TV

THE ROTARY: ALEX GRICE

JUNE 2021

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“Having too much information beforehand, though, can prove misleading and brainfrazzling.”

Above: Phones can be beneficial but also distracting

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what we see and notice, is far better and much more rewarding when it comes to making a judgement on where to fish, as opposed to using what is technically dated information from social media enquiries. How many times have you turned up, managed to jump into a swim that had been raved about on ‘social’, only to then blank and regret making the decision you did?

Years ago, before we all had a smartphone, we would turn up to the lake and just fish, using our eyes, ears and having walked the banks, instead of spending

days prior to our trip digging for information on group pages, forums and Facebook. There is no doubt that prior knowledge will, in some way, affect your decisions when you are at the lake, and it can, at times, be valid, useful information.

Having too much information beforehand, though, can prove misleading and brain-frazzling.

How many times have you heard from others that areas have not been doing bites recently. You can easily write off these areas based on the opinions of others, and not your own, so what you hear online and through social media, in my opinion, should always be taken with a pinch of salt, until it has been properly investigated, and looked at through your own eyes.

When it comes to actually being at the lake and observing—which I think Scott’s question is mainly based around—I do think, from a personal perspective, that I turn to my phone

at times when I am set up, with my rods out and fishing. As anglers, we spend countless hours on the bank in pursuit of our quarry. We can easily become distracted by our phone, and quite often, we might miss those all-important signs.

Recently, I have been making the effort to put my phone away during periods when I am likely to see, and react to fish activity, and especially during the early and later hours of the day.

As part of my routine home life, I practise meditation and being in the moment, so to speak, fully observing what I see. I feel this can play an important role too, when it comes to watercraft. There is certainly a difference between fully observing the water and being in full focus, and halfheartedly doing so as you switch between looking at the water and your phone.

I strongly believe that to observe the water effectively, you have to be fully engrossed and concentrated in watching for any signs, with no distractions. The harder you look, the more you will notice and see, and by putting away your phone and minimising its interference, your focus on the water will allow you to understand what is really happening.

What I am saying is, leave your phone alone completely, and just take time to fully focus on doing one thing, be that watching the water, appreciating the wildlife and birds, or noticing subtle changes in the weather.

You will be pleasantly surprised by what you observe and learn by doing so, and leaving the perhaps ‘less effective’ times of the day for quickly browsing through your phone.

JUNE 2021

TOO MUCH, TOO EARLY SCOTT KARABOWICZ ASKED: Have you noticed anglers start putting out too much bait early in the season when the fish are just waking up, essentially reducing the potential productivity of a lake in the spring?

MUAN J RE 2200221 1

Top: Are we using too much bait in the spring? A handful in the right place is enough Bottom: Stick… or not?

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THE ROTARY: ALEX GRICE

and more so this year. It has been apparent, that despite the lack of warmth and fish activity, anglers have been baiting up with large quantities from the get-go. Now, I don’t know whether this is down to the fact that we could get out and do nights earlier after lockdown was eased, or not, but in my opinion, it has certainly had a detrimental effect on the productivity of the lakes I fish. I think when it comes to introducing bait, as an angler, you have to be realistic about the time of year and the conditions you’re faced with.

One of my thoughts behind this, is the fact that by the time we came out of lockdown last year and could go night fishing once again, it was mid-May and we had already seen record high temperatures for April. As a result, the start of night fishing meant that the carp were well on their way to spawning and had built up an appetite. Baiting worked from the off, but the water temperatures were high for the time of year, C e r t a i n ly,

and the carp were well up for a bit of food. This year things couldn’t be any different, and I think as soon as night fishing was allowed again, anglers got a little ahead of themselves with their baiting. As a result, it sent the fishing backwards.

Going back a number of years, the faithful single was the go-to tactic for many during the period up until the middle of May, but it just seems that as the years have gone on, anglers are more eager than ever to ‘fill it in’.

This, in turn, has made bites actually harder to come by.

A big factor in this is water temperature, the effect it has on the fishes’ metabolic rate, and how much actual food they need to sustain their health, and their body mass. It is surprising just how many anglers out there think that the first bit of sun will spur the carp into getting their heads down, despite the water temperature still being only around 10 degrees!

I have always been an advocate that, during the early

parts of the year, being cautious with bait allows you to feel your way into a trip, and gauge whether the fish are up for some food. Piling in the bait from the very start can quite simply ruin, or drastically reduce your chances of getting a bite at all, when in fact, a single hookbait or Zig would have brought quick, or multiple bites in the right circumstances.

Also, choosing the right bait during the early spring period is important too, with the water still being cold— particularly this year, given the multiple frosts—the digestibility of the bait you use is a key aspect. Your choice of bait, such as sweetcorn, for instance, or low-oil and open-texture boilies, and the use of soft food items etc., will affect the amount a carp can comfortably digest and carry on eating. Personally, during the spring, I’d rather keep on my toes and rove with singles, trying different areas like shallows and sun traps, as the fish begin to move about a great deal.

These tactics will bring multiple bites on the right days.

On the subject of baiting, do you still use the humble throwing stick? I see very few using one these days.

Granted, the resident birdlife can make things tricky, but have you found ways of getting round this when using one? Some of my best spring results have come from a lightly ‘sticked’ area of bait.)

(QUESTION:

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HOMEMADE SPECIALS OR SHOP-BOUGHT?

SCOTT KARABOWICZ ASKED: Do you prepare special hookbaits for the spring, something that might entice a semi-dormant carp, or do you rely on proprietary shopbought or match-the-hatch hookbaits?

Top: My primed spring hookbaits Bottom: Spring grin—the pimped up specials do the business again…

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to this one, for me, is a bit of both really! I am fascinated by hookbaits, colours, flavours, additives etc., and I quite often think deeply about what triggers a carp to investigate that little round ball attached to the end of my rig. As an angler and whilst also working in the industry, from time to time I do hear little stories about what others do with their hookbaits to supposedly give them an edge.

With some things, you just think, There’s absolutely no way that will work!, and at other times, Yeah, I can see the logic behind that…

As anglers, we all have our favourite hookbait colours, flavours and sizes. I believe a lot of this is down to a nostalgic feeling you get when you smell a hookbait, or flavour I guess the answer

tones that take you back to a certain period in your angling. Following that, I also believe strongly, that if you are confident in what you are using, you will catch more, and fish better, and that confidence comes largely from the hookbaits you choose to use and stand by.

Some off-the-shelf hookbaits just have that instant appeal you know will work.

Others will bring doubt, and so simply will just not work for you. As a result, you won’t give a hookbait or a feed bait its fair share of rod-hours, and you’ll be doubting it the whole time it is in the water. I have always found it hard to have confidence in a fruit, or citrus hookbait, through spring into summer. This will sound strange to many— and don’t get me wrong, as I know they certainly work and a lot of anglers catch on these types of hookbait— but I have always stuck to the shellfish- and savourytype baits in both ‘match the hatch’ and colours.

A lot of this certainly stems from growing up using squid-flavoured hookbaits and catching well wherever I took them. From those early days, I have just refined my approach and gained more confidence in the type of hookbaits I use today, whether fished as singles or used over bait come the end of spring.

There are a lot of good,

shop-bought hookbaits about today, but from a personal perspective, I have always enjoyed tweaking off-the-shelf hookbaits, especially corkballs, so that I am happy and feel that they have that little extra to offer. I don’t have a lot of time now to create my own hookbaits from scratch, but instead, I dry out my shop-bought, Odyssey XXX corkballs for a week or so after purchasing, before I then add additional liquid and powders until they are just right. This isn’t a process which can be done overnight either. I try to do mine on a six-month rotation, so the corkballs have time to fully absorb the flavours into the paste. Come the end of autumn, I usually begin work on a fresh batch of hookbaits for the following spring, utilising the same flavour-powder combinations I have used now for nearly 10 years.

Going back to Scott’s question on enticing a semidormant carp into feeding, I don’t necessarily read heavily into creating hookbaits which are optimised for certain times of year, or are dependent on water temperatures. You hear many anglers say that a particular essential oil is brilliant for winter use, or a certain flavour works best during the summer etc., but I’d much rather have a single type of hookbait which I can fish JUNE 2021

“I’d much rather have a single type of hookbait which I can fish confidently with, not just in the spring period, but right through until the late autumn.”

cific Tuna Whites we do off the shelf are brilliant, but drying them out for an additional five to ten days before placing them in a small bag with a few drops of my preferred blend of liquids really does kick them on to another level.

On the subject of hookbaits, do any Rotarians believe that balancing hookbaits is unnecessary, or is something we can overdo, in theory making them react unnaturally? In recent years, I have been less fastidious about balancing my baits, and my results, in my opinion, have changed very little.)

(QUESTION:

confidently with, not just in the spring period, but right through until the late autumn, without the need to chop and change flavours.

Certainly, some of the coloured hookbaits I use

are off the shelf (whites and pinks), but I boost them with the addition of a blend of liquids and essential oil I mixed and applied in small doses a good number of months before. Our Pa-

SCOTT KARABOWICZ ASKED: Do you feel that a large part of the season can be wasted trying to tempt cold-water carp off the bottom, when the fish are using the mid- to upper layers more, as they feed on emerging hatches rising from the bottom? Do you consider the use of Zig Rigs as cheating, or are they an effective method for fooling the rarer carp in the cooler months?

Right: Cheating? Not in my opinion…

MUAN J RE 2200221 1

out, all year, and in all types of weather, just to see how my catch rate is affected, and whether you could outfish a baiting approach simply by presenting slivers of foam suspended in the layers, all of the time.

I do strongly believe that

THE ROTARY: ALEX GRICE

ARE ZIG RIGS CHEATING?!

Zigs are hard to beat in the spring. Take this year, for example. We have had some very cold nights and warm days, coupled with cold, northerly winds during a large proportion of the early spring period. One of the waters I have been fishing

had a lovehate relationship with Zig fishing, which I think is down mainly to the number of fish I have lost over the years whilst using the method. Like many other anglers, I know full well just how effective Zigs can be, certainly at times of the year when big hatches occur, and also during periods of warmth through the spring when it can seem almost impossible to tempt bites off the bottom. I have said to myself some years, that I would just like to fish Zigs out and I have always

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is a fair-sized pit of around 40-acres, with depths averaging 12 to 15ft in places, and in general, it has been slow going from the off.

Since switching to Zigs and refining the depth, I have been getting bites consistently, usually in the window between 6 and 10 a.m.

Something interesting occurred recently, when I woke up to a blanket of thick, cold fog. The previous day had been warm, and as a result, I had set my Zigs to be fished in the top five feet of the water column, leaving them undisturbed into the night.

There was a heavy drop in temperatures overnight, the fog came in, and by the 0

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Top: Spring Zig success, a rare one too!

Bottom: A recent Zig result in the fog

morning, it was Baltic, at around zero degrees Celsius. Despite the freezing cold air temperature, I had three bites in quick succession, fishing three-feet under the surface in around 10ft of water. This really played with my head, to be honest, as I certainly thought that the freezing fog would have pushed them down. Much to my amazement, however, those bites came relatively close to the surface, considering the depth of water.

Weirdly, they are the only bites I have ever had in fog in nearly 20 years of carping, so it was certainly food for thought for future sessions.

Scott’s point on Zigs being deemed as cheating is something I always hear from the older generation of anglers. Whether this is because they did not use Zigs from an early age, I do not know. But for me, I think grasping the use of the Zig and doing so effectively is something of an art in itself. I would certainly not describe a successful Zig angler as a cheat, but I know few who would!

One of my gripes with Zig fishing is when fish become foul-hooked, quite often in the pecs as they glide past the suspended foam.

If this suddenly becomes

a regular occurrence, I do think that it is in our best interest, as anglers, to leave them out.

Still on the subject, a while ago, I experienced something a little strange whilst fishing adjustable Zigs. I had a take on my middle rod, lifted into it as the fish kited right towards my other adjustable Zig positioned at a similar depth. Moments later, the line began to tick away on my right-hand rod.

After a weird fight, it transpired that the fish had been hooked twice in the bottom lip, on both my middle, and my right-hand Zig hookbaits which had been sitting side by side. I was baffled, and I guess I will never really know what actually happened, but when speaking to a close friend, I found out that he had exactly the same thing happen to him, a year or so previously.

Talking about my experiences whilst fishing in fog, and the fish hooked twice on Zigs, have any Rotarians had similar strange things happen? Can any relate to what I’ve explained with other events or strange occurrences which have also left them baffled?)

(QUESTION:

ALEX GRICE

“After a weird fight, it transpired that the fish had been hooked twice in the bottom lip, on both my middle, and my righthand Zig hookbaits which had been sitting side by side.”

JUNE 2021

@JAMESARMSTRONG123 JAMES ARMSTRONG ANGLER @JAMESARMSTRONG_ CC MOORETV

ROTORIAN 2: JAMES ARMSTRONG I haven’t put pen to paper for a while, or keys to keyboard anyway, so I am delighted to be tapping away on this rainy Sunday evening, contributing to the latest Rotary Letter—hope it doesn’t need subbing too heavily, Joe, as I am a little rusty! The rainy, cloudy weather brought about by another low-pressure system looks incredibly inviting out there, but fishing can wait until tomorrow morning when my son and I will be off angling for the day.

I have been writing for CARPology for years, but have never featured in The Rotary Letter, having generally written diaries and other features, so I am excited to get my teeth into the intriguing subjects covered by some of the country’s most respected carp anglers. I am following on from my protégé (not so young anymore!) and good friend, Alex Grice, with whom I worked closely at CC Moore. I am sure there will be some thought-provoking subjects to consider, as he’s an intricate, forward-thinking chap. Anyway, here goes…

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Caption: The rough and raw pits require eagle eyes, not head down in a phone

JUNE 2021

THE ROTARY: JAMES ARMSTRONG

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JUNE 2021

A ‘SMART’ USE OF YOUR TIME?

ALEX GRICE ASKED: Whilst smartphones can be great tools for communication, accessing weather updates and monitoring moon phases, do you think they have had a detrimental effect on your watercraft and observation in recent years?

an advantage in my angling and a hindrance, but there is a happy medium, and I make sure that I am disciplined with its usage, because there is no doubt about it, if your head is buried in your phone all day as you scroll through Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, or watch Netflix, you will miss key signs or shows. If you have to scroll, save it for the hours of darkness.

As mentioned, they are reasonably accurate when you’re checking the weather forecast and anticipating wind changes. I rely on my phone quite heavily in my angling, should I plan to move onto a fresh wind, or get in a swim before the fish arrive, for instance.

Although I don’t pay much My phone can be both

THE FORGOTTEN BAITING TOOL

ALEX GRICE ASKED: On the subject of baiting, do you still use the humble throwing stick? I see very few using one these days. Granted, the resident birdlife can make things tricky, but have you found ways of getting round this when using one?

Some of my best spring results have come from a lightly ‘sticked’ area of bait.

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attention to them, they are great for monitoring moon phases too.

In terms of other smartphone functions, my job is media- and marketingheavy, so I have to spend time each day updating social media and checking emails. I do dedicate some time to do so, generally during known slower periods.

After a while, you will learn when these slower periods on the lake occur and when you can have some downtime, and it is important to understand this.

I must admit that the more that smartphones improve, the more I am becoming a little lazy in ‘happy snapping’ with my phone, as opposed to using my SLR for photos. Don’t get me wrong, I would never shoot a prized fish or striking scenic image using my phone, but for blogging shots, and also RAW videos, I find myself reaching more and more for my iPhone 12 Pro. It shoots 4K 60fps, which is more than enough for my video blogging, so they certainly can be handy.

Smartphones can also

I always have my throwing stick in the bag, not only for boilies, but also for introducing Mixers in the summer months. It is a forgotten tool, but quite why, I don’t know, because it’s probably my number one choice for a spot of late night pre-baiting, as it’s quick and easy to use!

I very rarely go fishing without having pre-baited an area, or several areas of the lake. Quite often, I will

be very helpful tools when you’re at the lake, and actually help your watercraft if used wisely. One of the best apps I have used is Google Earth. When joining a new water, I scan the images with an eagle eye, using the tool which allows you to track historical changes of the surface of the water.

I will often locate those prominent features usually seen only from a bird’s-eye view. Not only that, I can gauge distances to certain spots using the ‘ruler’ tool.

This again allows me to then mark up fairly accurately as I explore swims and areas of the lake.

Overall, I would say that using a smartphone sparingly can be advantageous, but if you’re glued to one all day, then it can indeed have a detrimental effect on your watercraft.

Whilst on the subject of technology, what are your thoughts on drones being used on the bank? I’ll leave this open, as some use them for filming and others for fish spotting. What are your thoughts?)

(QUESTION:

find myself baiting up wide areas, perhaps the size of a tennis court, during the hours of darkness. This is to home the fish onto my chosen boilie, and also to get them used to feeding in that zone. It is a tactic I use to much success on large gravel pits. I will break down the pits into manageable chunks, and bait up with 18mm boilies using a throwing stick.

I keep 18mm shelf-life JUNE 2021

prior to firing them out.

In terms of stick choice, I recently swapped from a standard model to one of the carbon versions. These are far easier on the arm, and will ‘fizz’ your baits out to even greater distance, probably due to how light they are, and the hand speed you can exert.

“It is a forgotten tool, but my number one choice for a spot of late night pre-baiting, as it’s quick and easy to use!”

‘Sticking’ Tips

ing for a roaming Chod Rig or a Hinge over silkweed.

If you do opt for the stick, make sure that your baits are hard and dense enough to go out there without them splitting. A throwing stick will force a huge amount of spin on a boilie, and they will split with ease.

Try using an air-dried bait.

Shelf-life baits are also often a little firmer, so they’ll help. Always lubricate the stick with water before use.

This again, will help with resistance and prevent the baits from splitting. Finally, if you find that baits are still splitting, try filling a bucket with water and dunk them

Air-dry your baits or use shelf-life ones, as they tend to be firmer.

2. Always wet the stick thoroughly before use.

3. Use 18mm baits, as they go further.

4. Bait up with a stick at night to avoid the birds.

5. A carbon stick is far easier on the arm.

1.

As we have been talking about boilies, what are your thoughts on refreezing them after use? Also, are you one for using them straight out the freezer when angling, or do you prefer to let them thaw out?)

(QUESTION:

THE ROTARY: JAMES ARMSTRONG

baits in the van for baiting up, and whenever I get the chance, will nip to the lake to introduce some bait, often during the pouring rain, and in the dark too. By doing it this way, the birds won’t touch it, and the ‘sheep’ won’t see it either, so it’s a win-win.

The main thing I like about using the throwing stick is that you are encouraging the carp to work hard for each bait. It is a spreadbait tactic, so they will often be a little easier to catch and you don’t need to be so ‘spotty’. I fish more cumbersome rig presentations when utilizing a stick, opt-

THE WORK/FAMILY LIFE BALANCE GAZ FAREHAM ASKED: How do you balance your work and family life with carp fishing in practice, week to week? And how and where would you be fishing if you had only 12 to 24 hours each fortnight or month at your disposal?)

Left: I love the hustle and bustle of a park lake, there’s always something going on

JUNE 2021

a juggling act for me, because I have a wife, two young kids and a pooch to look after—although he comes fishing with me. That said, I have a very understanding missus and she is also more than aware that fishing is not T h i s r e a l ly i s

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only my job, but my life, and without it, I would be unbearable to live with.

We have a bit of a deal, and that’s that I am allowed up to 48hrs’ fishing time each week on the bank.

During this, though, I have to fulfil my sponsorship commitments—be they filming, articles etc.—my baiting up, and tutorials too. It really is a balance, as I say, and I have to plan my fishing time wisely, often basing it around the weather. I am extremely fortunate, and thankful that I am fairly free to go whenever. I have to weigh up family plans and work commitments, but generally it’s pretty simple to juggle a few things around. If I need an extra day here or there, I can normally talk my wife around. I guess it’s a bit of give and take too… if I go fishing for a few days, I will then spend a few days

at home catching up and having time with the family.

If I had only 24hrs a fortnight to fish, I would be angling locally on a park lake somewhere. In Milton Keynes, I have a plethora of these. Some are easy, some hard, but I love the buzz of them. They can be a little odd at times, and you are constantly bothered by the public, but I quite like the fact that there is always something going on, and some of the fish are the most perfect old carp you’ve ever seen. Also, with these waters being so close to home, I would be able to bait up with ease and keep things ticking over, even if with such limited time available.

Recently, I did have one very weird experience at one of the park lakes I fish, and it was a little unnerving at the time. It was three in the morning, I’d had a take and was playing a carp in a

heavy, monsoon-like downpour. I was plotted up near the main path around the lake. Behind me were a couple of kids, their eyes glued to their phones as they walked along the path, getting absolutely sodden. Two minutes later, they were under a nearby bridge. Five minutes later, they were peering into a bush near my swim. Grabbing a bankstick from under the bedchair, I asked them what on earth they were doing. “We are looking for Pokémon, mate!” one replied.

They looked at me as if I was the weird one. Then again, I was reeling in a carp in the pouring rain to then have my photo taken, and they were catching imaginary Pokémon! You’ve got to laugh!

What’s been your strangest experience on the bank?)

(QUESTION:

THE BARE ESSENTIALS RICH STEWART ASKED:

Have you ever noticed something, or spotted a little sign that has changed your fishing on a lake?

Yes! I first witnessed just how

deep carp will feed in silt, on an old estate lake in Bedfordshire over 10 years ago, and later down the line, on the beautiful Lower Drakeloe Pond at Woburn Safari Park.

I was really struggling on the estate lake at the time. I would find fish all the while, and even have them feeding over me whilst receiving only liners, and little or no 0

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JUNE 2021

action. As you can imagine, I was really scratching my head. Rig-wise, before I had discovered that I was, in fact, presenting my bait above the carp, I was carefully balancing out pop-ups mounted on Helicopter Rigs with the top bead pulled up. My thinking was that I wanted to present a rig which didn’t bury out of sight, thus making it easier for the carp to see, and then suck in the bait. Consequently, I would create ultra-slow-sinking baits presented on long and supple braided links on Helicopter Rigs, looking for them to just flutter down to JUNE 2021

Left: The incredibly silty estate lake in all its glory.

Once I’d viewed them from up the tree and identified that they feeding deep in the silt, I’d cracked the code Right: The Perch Common just hours after I’d seen them feeding head to tail in the silt!

ing a bait several feet above where they would want to feed when over silt.

This was a huge gamechanger. I went back to the drawing board, and this time opted to fish long and supple hooklinks with bottom baits to a light lead-clip arrangement. A small PVA bag of whole and chopped boilies was attached and lowered into the silt where they were feeding—the fish had since vacated. Later that night, I received the take I was looking for. I went on to land the Perch Common, and several other of the lake’s residents followed during the next few weeks. Whenever I target silty old meres or estate lakes, I always remember this, and if I see ‘fizzers’ over deep silt, I fish in it!

THE ROTARY: JAMES ARMSTRONG

“Their heads were buried in the lakebed almost up to the wrists of their tails!”

the lakebed and rest on top of any detritus.

After several blanks and, as mentioned, a lot of head scratching, something needed to change. It was whilst walking the small, silty water that I noticed a few clouds of mud making the water murky. I shinned up the nearest tree to get a better view of the activity, and after scanning the surface through my Polaroids, I noticed tails wafting just inches below the surface in the shallow water. Their heads were buried in the lakebed almost up to the wrists of their tails! I couldn’t believe just how deep into the silt they were feeding.

I watched for hours as they gorged on natural food in the silt, no doubt digging their snouts into it as far as they could—maybe it was bloodworm they were feeding on?

I imagined my perfectly balanced pop-up and extra-long hooklength in this situation, obviously nowhere near their mouths… I was present-

Do you think alien smells can taint or affect our bait? These might be from smoking, filling up with petrol en route to the lake, or indeed handwash, which in this day and age, everyone uses.)

(QUESTION:

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“Over the past few years, I have definitely balanced baits less frequently, and even opt for an overweighted popup at times.”

Above: This old dog was caught from the extremely silty Woburn on a brazil nut

OVER-BALANCE HOOKBAITS ALEX GRICE ASKED: On the subject of hookbaits, do any Rotarians believe that balancing hookbaits is unnecessary, or is something we can overdo, in theory making them react unnaturally? In recent years, I have been less fastidious about balancing my baits, and my results, in my opinion, have changed very little.

One hundred per cent! Unless you are presenting over weedy detritus (not silt), and spread-baiting so the carp are moving from boilie to boilie, then I definitely think we can over-balance our baits—as I’ve already alluded to in one of the previous questions. On hard lakebeds and when fishing over ‘bits’, the last thing I want is a hookbait wafting up off the bottom. When carp feed tight to the lakebed on

small particles, their lips are very close to the bottom and the fish move slowly as they hoover up everything, unlike when they feed on spread boilies. In the latter situation, I would opt for a bottom bait, perhaps a whittled-down tiger or Brazil nut which contains a natural level of buoyancy anyway. A wafting, ultra-balanced bait will go all over the place at the slightest flick of a tail. Not only does

THE PHOTO MOMENT IAN POOLE ASKED: One of your target fish is on the bank and a photo shoot’s about to take place. What are your thoughts regarding photography at the moment? Do you reach for your phone, prefer a more old-school DSLR, or have you embraced the mobility and simplicity afforded by the new mirrorless format? What gear are you currently using to photograph those special ones, and how much do they mean to you?

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it act in an alien manner, it may also get caught in debris off the bottom as it moves, or worse still, go into a fin. Over the past few years, I have definitely balanced baits less frequently, and even opt for an over-weighted pop-up at times, as carp definitely find these very tricky to eject. By over-weighting them, you’re almost creating a tiny, short hooklength attached to a lead (putty), as it is encouraged to drop down into the mouth.

Do you alter the length of your hooklength for certain situations, or have a standard length and just adjust the beads of your Helicopter Rigs to suit, i.e. move it up when fishing over chod, or have it tighter on a harder lakebed?)

(QUESTION:

trusted pals is around—and there are only two or three—then I will always do self-takes.

That way, you have only yourself to blame if the pictures don’t come out the way that you wish.

A few years back, I managed to bank one of the A-

Unless one of my

JUNE 2021

MUAN J RE 2200221 1

Top: Although I mix up my landscape photography, I stick to a Canon 6D MK2 and 35mm lens for self-takes Middle: An old rogue from the park and a photo I managed to salvage having had an onlooker take it for me Bottom: With no pals about, I opted for self-takes with this recent fish known as Small Tail Common at over 40; I was well happy with the result

at a different angle—when you have 99 shots, you have a lot of time to get the shot you want.

I am sure there are some better, more modern cameras now, but I’ve used my current model for a few years now, and would be hard-pushed to change it.

I very rarely see night-catch shots these days.

There’s no doubting daylight shots are better, but if you catch a fish early in the evening, do you release it without photographing it, sack it, or take a night shot? If you opt for a night shot, how do you go about it, and what camera and flash-lighting set-up do you use?)

(QUESTION:

THE ROTARY: JAMES ARMSTRONG

team from my park lake.

The capture was seen by a member of the public, who annoyingly then hung around like a bad smell. As a result, I decided to let him have a go with my camera, because he assured me that he knew how to use an SLR. I configured the camera with the settings I wanted, using a larger aperture than usual and higher shutter speed just in case. Well, the shots were out of focus!

He’d actually focused on a bush in the background… and the framing was terrible! I am pretty picky when it comes to catch shots, and this was a lesson well and truly learned the hard way.

Since this incident and as a consequence, I have taken hundreds of self-takes.

If I’m honest, I have mastered them to such a level that they are just as good as, if not better than trophy shots that might be taken by another person.

I guess it’s all about preparation and having the correct equipment. I use a Canon EOS 6D MKII, which is a full-frame camera, complete with a 35mm f2 lens. I create the perfect shots for my taste, with this combination. In order to achieve the results, I use a bankstick and one of the JAG Camera Stick Adapters with a simple dual thread which facilitates attachment of an SLR. The camera itself has a spirit level function, so I can get it set up perfectly with the horizon dead straight. The arrangement also saves carrying a bulky tripod to the bank, which will weigh you down and add extra load.

When I catch a fish, I will safely transfer it to a flotation sling, firstly to give it time to recover, and secondly to allow me time to prepare my self-take equipment. I then position my mat, rather than a cradle—the mat features a flap which you can secure the fish with. I grab my water carrier, and position the camera, ensuring that the mat is centre of the frame.

Using the interval timer function on the camera— from memory, set up to shoot 99 shots at 7-second intervals—I configure the settings and then shoot some trial images. The camera autofocuses in this setting, so there’s no need to focus manually—this is a hugely advantageous feature for hassle-free selftakes. Once I am happy with the framing, light levels etc., I can safely press the shutter release on the camera and hold up my prize. The beauty of the MKII is that it has a flip screen, so after every shot I can view the result. I can then adjust my framing if I need to, or shoot

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Above: Having a family and other interests has definitely prevented any angling burnout

JOE MORGAN ASKED: Do you prefer to focus solely on one target water, or target one fish at a time, or do you like to have more than one option?

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fire, and on my phone I have a long list of carp and venues I’d like to target in the future.

I made the mistake several years ago of targeting one large common, and I didn’t really think about anything else in the future. I didn’t bother researching other wa-

JULIAN CUNDIFF ASKED: Has anyone ever found that working in the industry has affected their love of carp fishing?

If so, how did you ensure that it didn’t kill your drive, as it has done for many? How many times have you heard that working in the trade 24/7 has dulled that desire? Did you recognise it, and how did you handle it?

ONE TARGET OR MULTIPLE OPTIONS?

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on the campaign or challenge ahead, but generally I like to have more than one option. The main reason for this is that if my target fish comes out to another angler, it doesn’t stop me going angling. I always like to have a few irons in the

LOSING THE LOVE

Nope, not one bit in all honesty. I try to keep my private fishing separate, although that isn’t always easy. However, the fire and the desire have never dwindled… I am a true angling addict. I think the fact that I have other interests helps, so my life isn’t fishing seven days a week.

If it was, I do think that I would burn out, as 48hrs a week really is more than enough for me to get my fix.

I love to play golf and go to

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the gym, and I have a busy family life too. I’m even partial to the odd beer at the local boozer, so by having other interests, I don’t feel like I have ever burned out.

I also feel that by having an interest in other species helps. In the winter, the carp fishing definitely goes on the back burner, because I like nothing better than targeting the amazing perch and pike that inhabit our river systems. I get my angling fix

this way and it probably fires me up for the carp fishing when it’s warmer.

I do have many mates that used to fish full-time—real bank tramps!—and whenever I would speak to them, they sounded like they had become lazy. I think that too much time on the bank can really eat into your angling drive, as you become part of the lake’s furniture.

Keeping active and giving myself time to look forward to getting back out on the bank really helps to ensure that the fishing fire stays lit inside me… I mean, as I am writing this, I’m beginning to rush it a little because in two hours I’m off angling. I have been fishing with my young boy all day today, and we caught a few, which was nice, but with the weather so good outside, I have got to get over to the park lake too, even if it’s dark. This is the sort of drive I feel you need when pursuing special ones. Tonight could be the night, and if it is, it was well worth the late start.

Without this desire, effort and drive, I probably wouldn’t bother, and may as well just play more golf, or take up gaming… I have never been one for games consoles—not since Sonic the Hedgehog and Street Fighter anyway!

I t r e a l ly d e p e n d s

JUNE 2021

or if it starts to wane. I am also keen on floater-fishing, so will join lakes that are renowned surface waters.

I also always like to have easier waters for the winter.

There’s nothing worse than a carp-less winter, so to answer the question, these days I like to have several options.

After a long stint of blanking when targeting a specific fish—something we can all relate to—does your confidence ever wane so much that you start tinkering with your tactics, baits and rigs, or are you a stubborn mule who knows what has worked in the past, and sticks by it until such a day that it eventually happens?)

(QUESTION:

ters, and didn’t put my name down on any lists. Well, I caught that common quicker than expected, and was a little stumped as to where to go next. In fact, although it was an incredible capture, it ruined the next year’s fishing because I had nowhere else to go and so just flitted about.

This didn’t do me any good… to be honest, I just couldn’t

get my teeth into anywhere and my results suffered.

Since then, I’ve made a real effort to obtain a few tickets at a time, some for tough waters, and others for lakes that give you a good chance of a few twenties and thirties. It is always nice to have waters you can go to to get your confidence back on after a row of blanks,

Top: I always like to have a few lake options up my sleeve Bottom: The beautiful Lower Drakeloe

JAMES ARMSTRONG

THE ROTARY: JAMES ARMSTRONG

MUAN J RE 2200221 1

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SMALL, STEALTHY AND SILENT Audible indication through easy connect wireless receiver.

Receiver also has silent/vibration function.

Ultra-compact ergonomic design Feature packed, simple dial adjustable, micro sensitivity.

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Up to 150m range.

Stainless reinforced screw and soft rubber rod inserts.

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STARTING FROM: £109.99 FOR A SET OF 3 PLUS RECEIVER

Set of 3 HD3 Alarms

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N O B U L L S H * T , J U S T

G O O D

S O L I D A N G L I N G W I L L O W L A K E , L I N C H

H I L L

SCOTT LLOYD RECOUNTS EVERY CARP ANGLER’S DREAM AND WORST NIGHTMARE, ALL IN ONE, AS HE OFFERS A GLIMPSE OF WHAT LIFE’S LIKE BELOW THE SURFACE, THROUGH THE LENS OF AN UNDERWATER CAMERA…

Captions:

Left Getting the underwater cameras ready for action…

Top Right The clarity was perfect on the spot Bottom Right Ready for some bites!

Words by: Scott Lloyd Photography: Tom Gibson, Dan Wildbore and friends

C ARP BEHAVIOUR is something I have always been intrigued by, and I have certainly seen my fair share of it. Before my back was as bad as it is (I know, get the little violin out!), I almost lived up trees. Having the extra height helped me see a lot, but I always longed for a closer look, and thanks to Tom Anderson at Sticky, my wish was granted.

Armed with a set of extremely complex underwater cameras, a film crew and I descended on Willow Lake at Linch Hill. I was familiar with the lake, but nothing more than that. The clear water and reasonable stock of wise old carp, however, seemed to provide the perfect combination for somewhere to put my techniques to the test…

Captions:

Top The first one

of the session, here she comes…

Middle A lovely mid-twenty Bottom Christened the Underwater Fish and the first one for the cameras!

KEY PART

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TRIED AND TESTED Why change what isn’t broken?

about the trip, and having got to grips with the cameras in the previous weeks, I was confident with what I had to do. There were, though, a few limitations to bear in mind. First, they had to be placed in the margins, as the cables which controlled I WAS BUZZING

them needed to be able to reach where they were sited. Second, through my testing period, I’d noticed that fine particles such as small pellets and powders tended to cloud the swim too much for footage to be viewed clearly. These factors didn’t bother me in the slightest, as I knew the perfect spot to position the cameras, and wanted to fish just how I do normally, using only boilies and nuts.

I wanted to know if my tactics worked as well as I thought they did, in front of the cameras. I baited with a few handfuls of boilies and nuts, and awaited the arrival of the carp. The tench and silver fish were straight in on the spot, the carp coming in soon after. Having the luxury of using the cameras, I waited for the all-clear before positioning a rod on the spot. With it being a rockhard gravel area, I went in with a Noodle Rig and Krill Dumbbell Wafter. The only difference to my usual presentation was that I tipped the bait with a piece of white pop-up to make it more visual on camera.

The fish had munched their way through the vast majority of the bait,

which was a surprise, and something I will come on to later in the piece. There were still a few fish visiting the spot, and sure enough, it didn’t take long for one to make a mistake. It was

a real thrill getting the call on the walkie-talkie a split second before the bobbin hit the deck as an angry carp charged away from the snags.

I soon landed a lovely mid-twenty mirror, which proved straight away, that my tactics did indeed work. What I was interested in from that point, though, was how I might refine things. You can never be perfect in angling, and I was sure the underwater cameras would reveal something which would help me add extra percentages to my game.

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KEY PART

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FOAM PARTY CANCELLED! PVA Foam was a necessity in my angling, but not anymore…

PVA FOAM has been a mainstay in my angling for as long as I can remember.

I couldn’t cast a rod out without it… until, that is, I watched some of the footage from the hidden cameras. I was of the opinion— like most anglers are I am sure—that the foam almost comes off on the cast, if not within a minute or two of the lead touching down.

Even in the relatively warm waters of Willow in late spring, however, this certainly wasn’t the case!

The PVA foam took anywhere between ten and thirty minutes to come off the rig, and all the while, numerous thirties, and even a near forty-pounder swam around it, feeding on the

Captions:

Top I missed out on many quick bites Bottom It took so long to dissolve

bait in the swim. Although it wasn’t seen in the film, as the fish was well away from the camera, one of them actually sucked the rig in while the foam was still on it—absolute madness! Of course, the fish wasn’t hooked, and I ended up missing out on several opportunities of a quick bite.

As a result, I stopped using the foam, and was super happy with how the rig sat without it. By using a balanced bait and hitting the clip just right, the semi-stiff hooklink kicked everything away from the lead system. It landed perfectly every time, and this cemented my decision to think very carefully before using PVA foam in the future, especially if a quick bite’s on the cards.

Below:

Top By using a balanced bait and hitting the clip just right, the semi-stiff hooklink kicked everything away from the lead system Middle I was confident the rig would sit well without foam Bottom Using the Noodle without foam was the only way to go

KEY PART

3

THE LAY OF THE LAND Good line-lay can be the difference between getting a bite and not!

IN CARP ANGLING ,

there’s no better combination in terms of main line and leader than a strong and reliable sinking

Captions:

braid, joined to a long fluorocarbon leader. The direct contact that the braid gives you, along with the inconspicuous leader material is unrivalled in my opinion.

However, a sticking point was highlighted in the film, and that was line-lay.

The swim was very much alive with fish, with half a dozen carp visible at any one time during peak periods of the day.

With so many fish in the swim, I started to get

Top I used a longer bankstick to get a better line angle Bottom Left Thinking Anglers SBX Braided Mainline was important in getting my line lay correct Bottom Right Rich doing what he does best and capturing the moments perfectly

a few liners, which in a normal fishing situation, you would be forgiven

for thinking was a good thing. The underwater cameras painted a very different picture, though, as with each liner, a carp would spook away from the swim having picked up the line with its fin.

This certainly put the fish on edge, and really quietened the swim down. I figured the only way around it would be to adjust my line-lay. I raised the front bankstick and slackened the line off slightly to create a steeper angle. This helped the line settle in the deeper water between me and the spot, and worked a treat. The fish returned soon after, the liners stopped, and I started to get bites again.

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Captions:

Top The Noodle Rig is designed to hook carp around

an inch-and-a-half back inside the mouth Middle Tench feed almost vertically and don’t often

get caught on the Noodle Rig Bottom Nailed!

KEY PART

4

NO-NUISANCE NOODLES Avoid those nuisance species with the ‘naughty’ Noodle

S O M E T H I N G I H A D always known, but had never seen from a fish’s eye level, was the Noodle Rig’s ability to avoid nuisance fish. Obviously, I use the Noodle Rig for its incredible hooking ability with carp, but the other reason is to avoid the pesky tench which are prolific in the gravel pits I normally target. Don’t get me wrong, a few slip the net, as it were, and get caught on it. More find a way to spit it out, though, and this is

exactly what I saw when watching the underwater footage back.

The reason for this is simple physics: the long kicker and big hook, along with the hookbait, require a reasonable amount of force to be sucked far enough into a fish’s mouth for the hook to find a secure hold. As highlighted on the footage from the underwater cameras, tench feed very differently to carp: they tip up almost vertically, with their faces really close to the bottom.

The vortex they create is much less powerful than that from a carp, and so the rig doesn’t go all the way into their mouths and they manage to spit it out. It was great to see this happening so clearly, and the Noodle is a rig I will continue to use in any bottom-bait angling scenario.

helped sustain the carp activity for much longer than when we’d baited with smaller offerings.

Even though I had switched to larger baits, I still used far more than I’d planned to, especially for a spot close in. It really cemented how good the Krill Active was—far better than a standard boilie. Even when the fish had practically cleared the spot, they kept rooting around, as the tiny particles in the coating had worked their way into the gravel. It was like a feeding frenzy at times,

KEY PART

5

BAIT BIG OR GO HOME Large baits in even larger quantities win the day

I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN a fan of small baits, and even on venues where there are a fair few nuisance fish, I always used 12 or 16mm boilies. I was confident that the Noodle Rig would help me avoid the tench until Mr. Carp came along, but clearly, I have been getting well and truly done!

At the beginning of the session, I baited with 16mm Krill Active, and the fish clearly loved it.

It wasn’t just the carp, though, as everything from the tench, to the massive

roach Willow is famous for munched through it.

Normally, when fishing close in, I use a lot less bait than I would out in the pond, as I normally fish for one bite at a time in the edge. Once again, however, the cameras painted a totally different picture of what I’d always assumed was happening.

The tench and roach were cleaning me out faster than I could put it in! Having witnessed them polishing the spot of boilies, I switched to 20mm Krill Active, to try and keep some bait down there for when the carp came along.

This switch worked, the 20mm baits being too big for most of the nuisance fish, and they simply attacked the coating as best they could, before they gave up and moved on.

This left the swim peppered with bait, and certainly

Captions:

Top Bigger baits

certainly helped keep the carp in the zone, as the smaller fish could only peck away at the coating, aiding the dispersion of the outer layer Second The 20mm baits made sure the carp could get a look in Third The delicious outer coating Bottom A lovely midtwenty going back after slipping up over a bed of large baits

and even though we kept the baits as large as we could, there were moments when you couldn’t see a thing on the camera footage… it was like carp soup!

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KEY PART

6

CONFIDENCE IN SPADES Confidence catches you carp!

final night of our trip, and having caught several fish in front of the cameras, I was brimming with confidence that my approach was as good as it could be, so much so that I decided to put everything I had learned into practice by fishing a rod out in open water for the night. Just like the spot in the edge, I baited with large, 20mm Krill Active, along with a few handfuls of chopped tigers. As it had worked for the cameras, I also stuck with the little white sight bob on my hookbait. It looked absolutely prime for a bite, and I went to bed GOING INTO THE

full of anticipation.

Sure enough, early the next morning as the sun lit up the lake in a wondrous orange glow, I found myself attached to a very angry carp. Eventually, a wide mirror with a perfect line of lateral scales popped up by the net, and I scooped her up as the sun

rose above the trees. It was a fish we had seen feeding in front of the cameras, and one I really wanted to catch. At 33lb 6oz, the fish was a great end to what had been a brilliant session, one which had also proved to be a huge learning curve. I came away from that trip with a confi-

dence in my approach like I had never had before, something which I am sure will lead me on to my next target… watch this space!

SCOTT LLOYD

Captions:

Top The perfect way to

end the film & session!

Bottom Back she goes

When did you first hear about the Snaggy Pit, and what made you want to get a ticket at the time?

MICKY CLARK: “It was around 2016 when I first heard about the water, through James Armstrong. The complex had been closed for a number of years due to the foot-and-mouth crisis in the early noughties, and after that, they simply never reopened it. Eventually, many years later, a lucky group of anglers—James being one of them— managed to fish the lake and get a flavour of what the unknown wilderness had become, and had to offer.

“It was James’ photographs of fish from the pit that really caught my attention. He’d had a common over 40lb, along with several back-up fish which looked equally as nice. There was also reported a sighting from a boat, of a huge mirror too, with massive scales along it and a super-wide frame. Eventually, it was banked, but there was absolutely no record of the fish ever being caught before, a tantalising prospect for any angler. The capture was even more special as it was a Dink-strain fish, with veritable roof tiles running down its back and dropping down to its flanks. To me, that’s what carp fishing is about, and the mystery surrounding it made that fish even more exciting.

“Throughout my first year on the waiting list, my friends kept me in the loop and sent over a few amazing photos to keep the fire burning. After just one season on the waiting list, I managed to sort my ticket out for the following year, and I was absolutely buzzing to get stuck into the place.”

TOM GIBSON:

WHAT LIES BENEATH… WE TALK TO MICKY CLARK ABOUT HOW A WATER’S REBIRTH BROUGHT ABOUT THE CHANCE TO TARGET SOME PARTICULARLY ELUSIVE, AND RATHER SPECIAL CARP…

AN INTERVIEW BY

TOM GIBSON WITH MICKY CLARK PHOTOGRAPHY BY TOM GIBSON, MICKY CLARK AND FRIENDS

TOM GIBSON: You’ve been on for a number

RIGHT: Summer

evenings on the pit—it doesn’t get much better

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of years now, and you’ve caught some very notable fish in that time. What keeps bringing you back to the lake?

MICKY CLARK: “Fast-forwarding to the present day, I am now three seasons into my angling on the Snaggy Pit. It has been one hell of a journey, which is the very reason I have kept my ticket. There’s still a lot of mystery surrounding the lake. In fact, the three biggest fish have remained un-captured throughout this time! The big scaly, and the two big commons have

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TOP: A unique setting which

you soon get used to BELOW: It’s not only the carp that are old at the Snaggy Pit! LEFT: Bobby loves it just as much as me!

BOTTOM: The best moments

evaded some seriously good anglers, and seem to be totally immune to capture, shall we say.

But for me, that will make the moment all the sweeter when it all finally comes to fruition.

“In all honesty, I would take any of the big three; you can’t really pick and choose when they have done just a handful of captures in their entire lifetime!

It’s not like they have died and gone missing either; the fish are regularly seen from boats, but just never seem to get caught.

Each year, there are a few new ones that appear from nowhere, some of which are thirty-pounders, immaculate in every single way, with no record of ever being caught. The thought of these fish and the main big ones keeps me going, as you never truly know when one will turn up.

“The lake itself is also right up my alley. It may look daunting, but after a few years I feel like I know it quite well. It simply offers everything I want in my angling. The fish themselves, combined with the quiet banks and diverse angling situations make it one of the best lakes around, in my opinion.”

TOM GIBSON: The fishing scenario is

certainly one that poses a unique approach to your angling. Does this keep the campaigns fresh and exciting?

MICKY CLARK: “The whole angling scenario around the Snaggy Pit keeps you fresh, that’s for sure. It’s so unique and special, it’s hard to get bored with it.

There’s barely a weekend that goes by where I don’t want to get the rods out on there. Of course, the wild, crazy-looking snags are synonymous with the lake. Trust me when I say that they are savage! It’s practically mini-forests of bare trees, intertwined to form an impenetrable, safe fortress for the carp to live in. For me, it’s one of the main reasons why the bigger fish don’t get caught. They know the danger of the open water outside the snags, so they don’t feed there very often, if at all! Put it

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can be a harsh world. There’s no bailiff down your neck 24/7, and the other members are super respectful of everyone else’s fishing; it’s almost like it is your own private lake to do as you please on. Common sense obviously prevails in this scenario, and I absolutely love the way the fishery is run, and the whole atmosphere on the lake.”

As an outsider looking in, a boat can often cause more problems than it solves, but I’m presuming the use of one on an open pit like this helps massively?

M I C K Y C L A R K : “ When the lake is quiet—which is most of the TOM GIBSON:

TOP: Preppin’ MIDDLE: Having

use of a boat opens up a new world in your angling, and spot finding too BOTTOM: The boat changes everything

this way, if you had an unlimited supply of food in your house, but there was a bit more outside surrounded by bear traps, you wouldn’t eat the stuff outside would you! Whether we give the fish too much credit, I will let you decide, but they know we are fishing for them, there’s no doubt about it.

“Aside from the obvious snags, another aspect of the fishing on the pit that excites me is the use of a boat. Being at one with the water, directly above your potential spots gives you the ultimate advantage, and until you have done it, you don’t know what you are missing. The lake isn’t too deep, maybe 5ft average, and as such, you can see everything, from individual stones to the fish sunning themselves within the confines of the branches. The accuracy and peace of mind a boat gives you is so refreshing; you are always fishing perfectly, exactly where you want your rig to be.

“The final thing that really keeps me coming back is the solitude, and the escape from what

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time—you can mooch around in your boat after your session, and find new zones or see where the fish are holding for next time.

The amount of time and effort the boat saves is insane, and I have no doubt that the fishing on the lake would be worse if you weren’t allowed to use them.

“One of the main things that the boat has helped me understand is just how often we get done without us seeing the slightest bit of indication. It seems this happens a lot, particularly when using a lot of particles and small baits. By seeing it from the boat as clear as day, it gives me the opportunity to change my rigs accordingly, and really try to work out the best way of actually connecting with something.

“Even though the boats are an edge, there are a few drawbacks, one being that everyone can easily see your baited spots, just as you can yourself. Thankfully, people do tend to leave you alone, but they could potentially use what they see to gain an advantage. As well as this, because everyone has access to a boat, when the lake is busy on a weekend, there are often a few on the water. This puts the fish on edge and can be a massive hindrance.

I think if there weren’t as many boats on the lake, the fish would move around a lot more during the day, as currently, they spend their days in the snags away from everyone bobbing about.

It’s not difficult to work out… the vast majority of bites are through the night and the early morning period, which is the quietest time for boat traffic!”

TOP LEFT: I love using

a variety of larger and smaller items, especially when the birdlife can be a real pain at times BOTTOM LEFT:

Washing my baits out to mimic the area being ‘safe’ has worked a treat for me TOP RIGHT: Simplicity… it’s more about where you put it!

BOTTOM RIGHT: Heavy and droppable

venue has been shut for nearly two years now because of the pandemic, but before then it was a regular venue for midweek sessions after work. It’s the perfect place to keep me busy during the week. I can walk the dog around there and take a rod with me, just in case I see something to go on. I am hopeful that the lake will be open and back to normal again from 16 June.

“There’s a handful of others I frequent, but I don’t tend to go in full-bore on them; I just look for opportunities here and there. I pop down to these with the dog and a bucket of bait every now and then, just to keep things ticking over. One in particular has a fish which I saw a few seasons ago. It is a very big, rather special carp, and one I would love to catch one day.”

Your successes on the Snaggy Pit haven’t gone unno-

TOM GIBSON:

ticed. Without revealing all your secrets, is there anything particular in your approach which is helping massively with your ever-growing album?

MICKY CLARK: “Bait is the most important part of my approach.

Once you have sorted the location element first, of course, bait is certainly next in line. Like many have said before, pre-baiting is an edge, and if you don’t do it, then you are missing a trick! If

As well as the Snaggy Pit, are there other waters you like to keep an eye on to mix things up?

MICKY CLARK: “I do have a few waters which keep me busy between trips to the Snaggy Pit, the main one being my local park lake. Unfortunately, the TOM GIBSON:

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heartened if the spots weren’t visited for a week or two, as I knew when the conditions were right, that the fish would move in and take advantage of the free meal. It was vital to keep several areas baited around the lake, as quite often, the fish would move off an area if I caught a couple and wouldn’t return for a few weeks. I then bounced around my other areas, almost chasing the fish as they moved around the lake. This was the key to consistent results. It all started with the consistent baiting of the same spots on the lake, week in, week out.”

TOM GIBSON: Working full-time and

the fish establish themselves on a food source supplied by you, it makes them infinitely easier to catch, especially if they can feed on it without getting caught between your fishing trips.

“Using last year as an example, I baited three areas or swims, with a maximum of four spots in each. If there were only a couple of spots within the swim that looked good for a bite, then I didn’t push my luck. The key was consistency: I kept the bait going in… not loads and loads, but enough to occupy the fish for a fair bit of time before they moved on, hoping that they got a taste for it, and more importantly, remembered where their free dinner was!

“Using the boat made the baiting part easy, as was identifying the spots to bait. There were clear feeding holes created by the carp and absolutely begging to be exploited. It’s important to mention that I never got dis-

ABOVE: It’s a

very agricultural way of angling, but then again, it’s a very unique environment!

fitting fishing in, in-between must be a tough routine. How do you put yourself in the best position when it comes to an upand-coming session?

MICKY CLARK: “Without a doubt, I am very much at a disadvantage when it comes to my fishing, but if you want it to work, like anything in life, you must put the time and effort in. As such, I try and fish every weekend, and I even squeeze in short sessions between work on more local waters.

“In the week or so leading up to my sessions, I keep my eye on the weather and if it’s looking better on a Monday and Tuesday, rather than the weekend, then I take advantage of being self-employed. I can take the time off and make it up over the weekend, making sure I am always fishing in the best weather conditions. I also book time off around certain moon phases, as I believe they play a big part, especially if they are combined with good weather conditions.

All of this together, helps me maximise my time on the bank and keeps the fish coming more consistently, rather than having to slog it out in terrible conditions for no reward.

“Last season, I made the ef-

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fort to get down with a bucket of bait almost every Wednesday, which involved a four-hour round trip. This extra bit of effort, and the time invested in the week leading up to a weekend session certainly put more fish on the bank. If I was to give one bit of advice to the working man, as it were, it would be to go that extra yard, and bait up during the week, as it will just shorten the whole process.”

If you could pin a capture down and label it as one of your favourites so far, amongst the array of carp you’ve caught since joining, which would it be?

MICKY CLARK: “It has to be a carp called the Long Island Fish, not just because of its weight, but for the whole history behind it. The fish actually used to live in a lake next-door called Long Island, and was thirty-pounds even in the nineties. Back then, that was a huge weight, and still is to most these days. It was probably a lot of anglers’ PB, or potential PB… those who were fishing or targeting it at the time.

“Now, going slightly off on a tangent, when foot-and-mouth disease hit in the early 2000s, I believe they netted a lot of the lakes and were going to rework them, with a view to take more gravel from them. As a consequence, that lake was one of the first to see a net drawn through it. Pretty much all the fish in there, then made their way into this particular lake and make up some of the stock.

That fish must be in excess of forty-years-old, a true survivor.

That carp has graced the nets of some great anglers, from all walks of life and generations, so to have my time with it, and be part of its history too, is something I’ll cherish. It’s not all about weight. The story behind these captures is what makes it for me, and will always be at the top of my priority list.”

TOM GIBSON:

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PART TWO: THE EARLY ’80S…

D Lake Success and the ‘Caravan Years’ THE CARP KEEP COMING AS BRIAN SKOYLES RETURNS FOR ANOTHER NOSTALGIC LOOK BACK AT HIS TIME AT WAVENEY VALLEY LAKES, AS HE ALSO RECALLS HIS FIRST EXPERIENCES OF HOMERSFIELD

BY BRIAN SKOYLES PHOTOGRAPHY BRIAN SKOYLES AND FRIENDS

1

Van 19 on the point, and relaxing family time

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MY LAST TRIP,

in the autumn of ’79, had left me with a lot to learn. For the first time, I’d got in the second swim on D lake, facing the brambles. I’d fished the open water, however, and not to the brambles of the far margin. This wasn’t by choice, but because I just couldn’t reach them.

With the arrogance of youth and my inexperience, it never really occurred to me that it was because my casting was naff. I obviously just needed better rods, and so, job one, over the winter I would upgrade them.

I started searching around for longrange rods, and in those days, there wasn’t a lot of choice, and even less so in my price range. I’d never actually seen one to hold and waggle about, but from the adverts, the Hunter 3 blanks sounded okay, so I ordered a pair. They were described as fast taper, and they were certainly that. From a fine tip, to a butt diameter significantly larger than my beachcaster, my first problem was going to be finding a reel seat that would fit.

Eventually, I finished the rods, and it was time to head out to the school playing fields to master the art of long-range casting. If I’m honest, I hated those rods, but combined with my Mitchel 410s, I thought they would give me the required range, and so my fast-taper

broomsticks were good to go!

The Hunter 3s did indeed give me the range I had hoped for, and I caught some good fish on them from both the brambles and under the oak, but I never really liked them. After a couple of years, I managed to save up enough cash to invest in my first set of carbon carp rods. Kevin Maddocks’ KM1CFs were the ultimate. These were multi-range carp rods with a test curve of 2.25lb, capable of casting 100yds… did we really need rods that powerful!

The early ’80s produced another new PB for me. This was in the shape of a lovely upper-twenty mirror. I also started to have a bit of company in my bivvy. In July ’79, our first child, Karen, had arrived, and it was only right that I introduce her to life in a bivvy.

1

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FUN TIME!

I loved the atmosphere on Waveney.

Bill was the complex manager and Elsie ran the shop. They were a lovely couple and they always made you feel welcome. Some evenings, owner Norman Symonds would stop for a chat when walking Lucas, his Rottweiler, and from time to time, Liz and I would also chat to Vera, Norman’s wife.

The local lads fishing the lakes at the time were a great bunch, and very good company. I became good friends with one local angler, Pete Regan, and I really enjoyed the times when we met up. Pete was, and still is a superb carp angler. I learned a lot from him, including information about the Hair Rig. As we all know, the Hair Rig was to

Welcome to Waveney

revolutionise bait presentation, but its widespread use was some way off. Although most of us by this time were using boilies, there were still issues with actually hooking the fish. Standard practice was to side-hook the boilie, but unless you were quick on the rods and struck hard, the hooked-to-landing ratio was not brilliant. Lots of rod hours were spent with hands hovering over rods, as you tried to make contact with twitches, and short sharp lifts of

the bobbin that stopped just as you got ready to strike. Many a cup of tea ended up in my lap as I lunged forward to grab the rod just as the twitches stopped!

I can remember being a bit puzzled at the time, seeing how one or two regulars—who were obviously in the know— would spend time getting ready to cast with their rod propped up against the bivvy door and their hands inside. From time to time, they would glance left and right to check whether the coast was

clear, before finally casting. It was all a bit furtive. Something was going on, and in the end, it was Pete who put me out of my misery.

I guess, like any carp angler around at the time, I latched on to this new way of presenting a boilie, and did everything I could to get all the facts, probably ending up more confused than I had been when I started. The rig was so named because originally, a human hair had been used in its trials. I had short hair, though, so had to make a trip to the nearest tackle shop for a 50yd spool of 1.7lb Bayer Perlon. I didn’t have a micrometer, but this looked about right. The length of the ‘hair’ had to take into account the distance from a carp’s lips to its pharyngeal teeth, so as the fish sucked the boilie into its throat, the hook was perfectly placed to take hold in its lips. Hooklengths were long, and the hooks small, so the carp would not suspect a trap. With all my new knowledge, I joined the ranks of the furtive, baiting up and casting out only when no one was about.

This reminds me of another ‘secret squirrel’ time, when Bill Cottam and I were fishing a crayfish-infested water in France. Between us, we came up with a way of fishing glug-soaked wooden balls. It worked well when all else had failed, but it was agreed that if ever we

Hunter 3s, Mitchel 410s, and a D Lake fish from under the oak

LEFT Good friend, Kevin Reade, from our Fritton days joined me from Great Yarmouth for a social on D Lake RIGHT 1982 and a nice D Lake fish

had a fish on when other anglers were about, as soon as the fish was netted, we would jump into the water and unhook the fish before anyone could see what we were using. I guess the other anglers fishing at the time must have reckoned we’d been sitting in the sun too long, or had had a few too many bottles of red wine. Sorry, I digress.

Another trick I picked up when fishing D Lake was ‘foaming up’. Pre-baitrunners, open bail arms and monkey climbers of some sort were the order of the day. On one visit, I noticed that a couple of the lads had large lumps of foam jammed in their rods’ butt rings (you’ll notice, that out of discretion, I’ve added ‘rods’ in this sentence!). Curiosity got the better of me, and I commented on the foam. The answer was so simple: it provided steady pressure on the line as the fish moved off with the hookbait, rather than having the pressure-and-slack situation experienced with just a monkey climber, thus making it much harder for the fish to stop and then eject the bait as the line went slack. I loved the idea, and I soon acquired some suitable pieces of foam, cut from washing-up pads.

I’ll always remember the first time I used the foam back home, and being asked by another angler what it was for.

Being a bit of a prat, and obviously not as pleasant or mature as the Waveney lads, I replied that as the water was a bit murky, the foam helped keep the line clean as I wound in. A week later, the same angler stopped in my swim once again, and produced a pocketful of foam. He thought the foam was a great idea to keep the line clean, but did I not realise, he said, that I didn’t need to keep it in the rod ring. He kept his in his pocket, and just pushed it into the ring when he wound in at the end of the session. I still feel a bit guilty, to this day!

The more I became part of the local scene, the more I became the subject of some of the practical jokes on D Lake. I got done with bivvy-spinning on more than one occasion. In fairness, my bivvy leant itself to spinning. My basic 50-inch brolly with a central pole

had a wrap thrown over it. The sides of the overwrap hung down to the ground and were pegged out. The brolly would then be pushed up a bit to tighten the sides. In use, the arrangement was not the most comfortable. I could just get my cheap sunlounger opened behind the central pole, and get to lay on it by carefully sitting as central as possible, before then leaning back and sliding along behind the pole. I had to be careful not to go too far along the lounger, or it would tip over and I’d end up arse over tit in a heap, the lounger pointing upwards at 45 degrees. Once in position, though, it was reasonably okay.

Anyone who knows me and has nightfished with me will vouch for the fact that I’m a heavy sleeper, so I suppose I was fair game for the bivvy-spin. Simply wait for darkness and my snoring, carefully lift out the pegs, spin the bivvy 180 degrees and re-peg. Job done, the door is now at the back! Move to alarm, pull line continuously and shout, “Skoylesy, you’ve got a take!” A half-asleep mad scramble would follow… and no door!

All this never failed to amuse the anglers waiting outside.

On more than one occasion I awoke to

My new Waveney PB from D Lake Karen was getting into bivvy life BOTTOM Shaped bits of foam—perfect for any butt ring TOP

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MIDDLE

find that a ‘For Sale’ sign had appeared on the back of my bivvy or next to my rods, but the most devious prank was the reverse-spool trick. Basically, in the open-bail-arm days, the line would hang

down, trapped on the spool by the monkey climber. When asleep, several yards of line would be peeled from your spool, and then the line was trapped in place with an elastic band. The spare line was then hand-wound back onto the spool, but the opposite way to how the bail arm turned. Everything was then repositioned so that it looked okay… that is, until you picked up the rod, closed the bail arm and started to wind. At this point, the line paid out instead of coming back onto the spool. Looking back, this was a potentially very daft trick to play, as it could result in a lost fish if a take occurred when the trap had been set. Fortunately, that never happened to me, but I did get in a couple of proper tangles on the first occasion I got done, before I twigged what was going on.

DUCK OFF!

Not all memorable moments were manmade or concerned fish. One session, whilst fishing the brambles swim, my bivvy door was facing across to the far margin, and things became uncomfortable with the arrival of a very deep, low pressure system. As the day progressed, darkening rain clouds and strengthening winds did not bode well for a comfortable night, especially as the wind was blowing directly into my bivvy. I’d done a bit of a modification to the door, adding some ties and loops along the inside, so that I could have the door partially open in the event of bad weather.

As dusk approached and the rain came, I retreated into the bivvy and adjusted the door so that I had a gap of about 18-inches at the bottom. This stopped

the rain coming in, but allowed me to see my rods as I laid on the sunlounger.

There was no let-up in the rain, but at some point, I still fell asleep…

Waveney was a family venue, and was also home to several families of ducks.

These were popular with the children, and they often fed happily on bits of bread etc. As a result, they became almost semi-tame and were not afraid of being around humans. The rain that evening, was too much, even for the ducks, and the slight opening to the safe, dry haven that was the inside of my bivvy proved very inviting. So, whilst I slept, they must have come in and settled down for a relaxing kip, disturbed only by my snoring. That is, until I got a take!

The remote alarm next to my ear burst into life. In the pitch dark, I shot up, as did several ducks, totally panicked by the noise and my movement. Total chaos ensued as I, and the ducks tried to find the partially closed bivvy door in the dark. I was getting scratched and messed on in equal measures. On my hands and knees, I finally made it out into the open. By then, however, the run had stopped, and had come to nothing. The inside of my bivvy a complete shambles, with the kettle upturned. The sleeping bag was half on the lounger and half on the ground, covered in a combination of duck droppings and feathers, and it was soaking up all the water from the upturned kettle nicely! I stood in the pouring rain, in my muddied stockinged feet, trying to find the source of the blood trickling down the side of my face. I gave up, wound in the second rod, and returned to the caravan for the first aid kit!

The Animal Casual family fun on C Lake, dressed for a trip out

My homemade hookandlowering tool!

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BOTTOM

Tim and Bill were my goto bait experts

THE ANIMAL, AND 30-PLUS FISH TO OVER 30LB!

The two main swims on D lake were often quite social, in the sense that anglers on the lake would often pop there to keep in touch with how it was fishing. On one such occasion, I was fishing the brambles, and as a group of us stood around chatting, I had an absolute flier. As I struck, the rod hooped over, and out in the lake, this fish leapt from the water, shaking its head violently. From behind me came the comment, “Take it easy, you’ve hooked the Animal!” This meant little to me, but as I played the fish, it was explained that this particular carp had a real attitude, not specifically in the water, but also, and particularly on the bank.

“It’ll go crazy and more likely bleed from the gills. It always does it, and it doesn’t seem to come to any harm,” I was told. This all proved to be true, and sometime later, the Animal beat me up big time as I tried to hold it for a picture.

I gave up in the end, as it wasn’t worth the stress for me or the fish.

A little later, some gossip emerged about Homersfield which blew me away.

Someone had been for a 24hr trial fish and had apparently had 30-plus fish to over 30lb. Homersfield had been cropping up in conversation for a couple of years. Rumour had it that Norman was

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developing it as a potential premier carp water, but up to this point, I had no definite details. I had never even seen the place, but over 30 fish to more than 30lb would be unbelievable fishing, and just a dream. Could the story, though, be true?

Homersfield became of serious interest. The tale of the 30-plus fish to over 30lb turned out to be true, but it wasn’t not quite the dream fishing I had imagined. Yes, Norman was developing Homersfield with plans to form a syndicate on the lake, and he had invited someone to have a trial-fish. That trial, though, had taken place soon after the lake had received a significant stocking. My understanding from various conversations was that the lake held a small head of original carp that were well established and quite large. The 30-plus fish to over 30lb, however, com-

prised single-figure stockies and just one original. In some ways, I was a bit disappointed when I found out the full facts about the catch, but I also loved the subtle wind-up that came with the way the session had been described. It hooked me big time!

I made sure that I expressed an interest in joining the Homersfield syndicate, and managed to have a look round. The first impressions were awesome, and it was time to keep my fingers crossed.

THE POINT SWIM (C LAKE)

D Lake was becoming too busy, plus the caravan situation wasn’t ideal. With Karen getting a bit older and a lot more adventurous, the positioning of the caravan we usually hired, at the back of the E Lake field, was a bit of an issue from the family-holiday perspective. If I was

fishing D Lake, Liz and Karen were some way away from the facilities, and finding quality family time was a bit tricky. C Lake had some static vans next to the lake with reserved swims. I’d never really considered C Lake, but needs must, so we booked the van midway down the lake, and nicknamed its location the ‘Point Swim’. It was to be the start of several years of fishing C Lake which combined the best of times and the worst of times, but more of that later.

Our first holiday on C Lake was brilliant. Our second child, Martyn, had arrived in Sept ’83. It was mid-August, and we relaxed and enjoyed family time.

The weather was glorious and the fishing was easy, both on the surface and across to the far tree-line. The tree-line was a bit like that on G Lake, in that large overhanging trees formed a shady canopy, under which the fish patrolled up and down. Opposite the Point Swim were a couple of gaps, which meant that you could cast very close to the bank.

You needed to stay close to your rods and ‘hit and hold’, but an accurate cast would almost guarantee a take.

Baiting up was also straightforward.

You could walk round to the far bank and just underarm your free offerings

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exactly where you wanted them. The closer you got to the bank through the gaps in the trees, the more fish you caught, it was as simple as that. This often took several casts, which tended to spook the fish, so with the aid of assistant, Liz, I started deliberately casting onto the far bank, before going round to lower the rig in exactly where I wanted it. By the second time I went, I’d even developed a hooking-and-lowering tool to make things almost foolproof.

One area of concern, though, was how

I was really lucky to have been given a sketch map of Homersfield One of my first Homersfield fish

Les’s home in 100-hour Corner BOTTOM Les had some nice fish, despite the tough conditions.

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much debris there was in the margins in the form of decaying leaves etc. It was the first time I started modifying my baits for a specific angling situation.

I was using a very light milk protein base mix at the time, flavoured with bun spice. I rolled the baits as normal, then pressed each one into a sort of Smartie shape. I had bags of little flying saucers that smelt like mini-hot cross buns. In the water, they just slowly fluttered down, and the fish loved them. They were a pain to produce, but they were worth all the effort.

I never really cracked the surface fishing at Waveney, but in those early years, C Lake proved the exception. If I persevered with the Go-Cat or Munchies, then I could get a reasonable response.

This gave me an option to rest the far margin in the afternoons whilst I fished on the surface. I loved those early sessions on C Lake. In a luxury caravan, we enjoyed perfect family time. There were four of us by this time, Martyn completing the set, and we enjoyed some great fishing. With Liz’s agreement, I made a rolling booking on the Point Swim caravan (Van 19 at the time), and it became our holiday destination for several years to come.

THE BAIT SCENE AND THE HOME FREEZER

The range of carp baits was expanding rapidly. The ground trout pellets, cat

food and dog food pastes were becoming old hat, however, as boilies and particles took their place. My early boilies were, at best, basic flavoured semolina balls.

With quality flavours, they caught quite well. I particularly liked Hutchie’s Cinnamon, and Geoff Kemp’s sweet fruit and dairy flavours. Making your own baits was a pain, but that was to change as readymades appeared on the scene.

I loved Crafty Catcher Peanut Pro, and Richworth Tutti Frutti. I dabbled with Salmon Supreme, as I’d been told that they were awesome, but I got only half the message about their use. I bought some bags, but soon after opening they started to slime up, so I binned them. It was some years later that I was told that when they started to sweat and ferment was the time that they were at their best!

Some anglers were taking bait design to new levels. High nutritional value baits (HNV), amino acids and enzymes were topics of conversation between

‘serious’ carpers. I read everything I could on the subjects, but understood very little. What with a full-time job, two evening classes and a young family, I didn’t really have the time, and some might say the intellect, to really get to grips with it all. I did the next best thing, therefore, and latched on to a couple of people who did.

Around this time, I was a joint organiser alongside Clive Gibbins, of the Humberside Region of the Carp Society.

As a result, we had become friends with several anglers who were heavily involved in its creation and development.

Two of these were to have a huge influence on the direction my carp fishing would take. Tim Paisley and Bill Cottam were based in the Sheffield area. I would go to Sheffield and socialise with them, and I also started fishing a bit with Bill.

Their knowledge and enthusiasm for creating quality baits was infectious. I would go to Bill’s, and we’d pick up fish

“LISTENING TO THESE GUYS, I REALISED THAT ONCE AGAIN I NEEDED TO UP MY GAME, AND MOVE ON FROM THE CHEAP-AND-CHEERFUL FLAVOURED SEMOLINA BALLS, TO SOMETHING MORE BENEFICIAL TO THE CARP.”

and chips before heading to Tim’s.

Listening to these guys, I realised that once again I needed to up my game, and move on from the cheap-and-cheerful flavoured semolina balls, to something more beneficial to the carp, and which would also hopefully benefit my catch rate. Although I was developing a reasonable understanding of the design of

HNV baits, I turned to Tim and his writings for practical advice, and along with a few others, I started using a recipe based on his thinking at the time. Although there was some tweaking over time, the basic recipe for my copied dry mix was: 6oz Casein 2oz Lactalbumin 2oz Bengers 2oz Egg Albumen 2oz Soya Isolate ¾oz Vit-Min Supplement 1oz Davina Bengers, according to the description of contents on the box, was a wheat flour extract containing the digestive ferments of pancreatic juice, an aid to digesting milk proteins. Davina was a body-building supplement—perhaps we used it to improve their pecs! Ingredients like Bengers and Davina were sourced from the local health food shops, and as a regular customer, I’m surprised they never questioned why they didn’t seem to be making any dif-

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ference to my measly physique!

As a few of us were trying variations of the above, Bill and Tim were taking things a stage further, and were looking to make some of their bait ideas available commercially. Their version I was using was to become the basis for HiNu-Val, one of the first products for a new company called Nutrabaits. At the time, I didn’t know what a massive influence this was to have on my carp fishing.

The use of home-rolled boilies came with issues: cost, time, storage and use.

The cost I could cope with, as I’d signed up to do two nights’ further education

We had a chat with Norman, and stood looking out over the lake.

It looked stunning

teaching each week. Time was a real issue, though. Two nights a week were for boilie making. One of those was a group session with angling friends Clive Gibbins and Pete Fidling. We took turns in hosting rolling nights and just divided up what we made. It’s amazing how many boilies three people can turn out with a sort of mini-production line. There were no rolling tables etc. at that time, and we all became quite proficient at handrolling four perfectly round boilies at a time, between the palms of our hands.

There was a lot of debate at the time regarding how fresh bait needed to be.

Having gone to all the trouble of making the damn things, I wasn’t prepared to take any chances on not using them properly, so I worked on 24hrs maximum from frozen. This caused problems for a full weekend session, and I had to invest in lots of food flasks to increase my storage capacity. I got through several flasks, until the stainless versions came along, as the frozen boilies caused the glass to shatter if I wasn’t extremely careful. In the winter months, I could just about find the time to make the quantities I would need for the summer, but I had to sort the bulk storage, and the biggest issue in that I’d need a lot in Norfolk, rather than East Yorkshire.

By this time, my parents were living in Gorleston on the outskirts of Great Yarmouth, and they had the space in an outside shed for a chest freezer. It was time to invest in two of these, then, one for my shed in East Yorkshire, and one at my parents’ house in Gorleston.

Through the winter, I would make boilies until my freezer was full. I’d then drive to Gorleston to transfer the baits, and could then fill mine. The plan was, that by the end of the close season, I’d have have two chest freezers both full of bait. It seems such a shame these days that you can get it ready rolled, as it used to be so much fun spending two nights a week, messing up the cooker and filling the house with slightly weird smelling steam… “Open the windows, the wallpapers peeling again!”

GETTING TO KNOW YOU: HOMERSFIELD AND THE SUMMER FLOODS

My place on the Homersfield syndicate had been confirmed, and the time for my first session had arrived. It was July 1986, and one of the local lads had done me a big favour by giving me a copy of a Homersfield map. In the days before Google Maps, Deepers and drones, this was a great help. Looking at it closely now, it’s not perfectly in proportion, but to me at the time, with the lake’s 35-acres of water and islands, it was a huge confidence-booster, for which I was extremely grateful.

I had a walk round and ended up fishing into the shallow bay from a swim on the end of Treasure Island. There were loads of fish in the bay, but it was seriously weedy. I was on another steep learning curve, and over the next 5 days, I had 24 runs, but lost 8 fish in the weed. This left me with 11 doubles and 5 singles. My attempts at stopping fish reaching the weed, or having to extract them from it, needed some work.

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Trip two was in August ’87, and this my first session fishing the main body of water, from 100-hour Corner on Lupin Island. Personally, I renamed this ‘Earwig Island’. The insects were a pain, and they got into everything. For the first 24hrs, the weather wasn’t kind to me.

Gale-force winds and heavy rain made casting to the corner of the island tricky, but a concrete bunker to the left of the swim was also a productive area, and

The Hole: not the most social of swims on Homersfield, but I had some great fishing in there

a shorter cast. The weather improved, and the next week produced 22 doubles and 3 singles. Homersfield was becoming my dream water, but weeks later, I was still finding earwigs in my gear!

At that time, you were allowed, on a very limited basis, to have a guest fish with you, and for my October ’87 school half-term trip, I had a three-day session with good friend, Les Roberts. On arrival, I introduced Les to Norman, and as we stood chatting outside the house, the lake looked stunning. The weather wasn’t kind to us, high pressure producing temperature extremes with warm days and very cold nights. We fished on Lupin Island, Les in 100-hour Corner and me in the channel. The fishing was

A fish from Lupin (Earwig) Island

tough, but we both caught some nice doubles during our time there.

My first year on Homersfield was over, and I’d loved it. It was going to be a long winter before my next visit, but I knew at that point, that Homersfield was going to provide many memories in the future.

My long wait was over come July ’87, and I was fishing in the Hole at the end of Church Bank. The Hole wasn’t the most social swim on the complex, and it was a tight one to fish—hence the name.

I did, though, have a brilliant week, landing 22 doubles and 3 singles.

Family time in Great Yarmouth, with paddles on the beach, rides on the snails, and loads of ice cream, were followed

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by a week in Van 19 on C Lake before I returned to Homersfield in late August.

My dream of an idyllic holiday session before returning to school, however, appeared to be a forlorn hope. Torrential rain across the country prior to my trip, had made the national news, and as I travelled along the A143 from Bungay, I was concerned to see the flooded fields either side of the road. I even stopped to take the odd photograph. It certainly wasn’t what I had hoped for. For a brief moment or two, I wasn’t sure even, that I would get through to the lake.

I needn’t have worried, though, and a short while later, I was parked in Homersfield’s car park.

My angling log says it all: ‘Horrible weather, roads flooded after heaviest rain on record. Wind: moderate southwesterly, but changed to gale northerly by nightfall, still raining heavily (come back Hurricane Charlie!). Thought I’d blown it with swim selection when the wind changed direction, but the fish knew different. Singing in the rain!’

The fishing was superb. I moved to the opposite corner of the same island midweek, and the fish just kept on coming. I ended with 31 doubles and a single. For a carp angler based in East Yorkshire used to the odd double over a weekend, this really was dream fishing. I was like a kid in a sweet shop, or a carper in a carpy paradise.

In those first few years, the car park’s Bay Swim was to become one of my favourites, I guess because I was in my comfort zone. For me, 35-acres of water remained a bit of a daunting prospect.

The water was much bigger than my usual small and intimate East Yorkshire gravel pits, so this small corner bay was like I had a little mini-lake all of my own.

It was a great area to surface-fish too.

For another year, my Homersfield sessions were over. The fish were thriving. Twenties had started to feature in catches—although I’d not had one to this point—and the atmosphere was superb. Would I be re-joining next year?

My Homersfield adventure was only just beginning. You bet I would!

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IF I LEAVE HERE TOMORROW: THE CONCLUSION IN AN OPEN, HONEST AND HEART-WRENCHING END TO HIS SERIES, IAN CHILLCOTT RECOUNTS CAPTURES WHICH MEANT MORE THAN MOST, THANKS THOSE WHO’VE HELPED HIM BOTH ON AND OFF THE BANK IN RECENT YEARS, AND BRIEFLY RECALLS A FISHING LIFE LESS ORDINARY…

Lefy: My first cast at the Obelisk Right: Pochard Lake in all her glory

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BY IAN CHILLCOTT PHOTOGRAPHY IAN CHILLCOTT, BRADLEY WALKER AND FRIENDS

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T

FOR ME, ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF LIFE IS KNOWING WHAT TO EXPECT, and preparing for what’s to come and coping with the problems this may create.

To this end, all I wanted was information about the second tumour. It was a little sketchy to begin with; after all, they had to find answers themselves, to a very difficult question. From the get-go, it was obvious an operation would be the last resort, or as it happened, not possible at all.

Lindie and I tried desperately to come to terms with what we were being told, and even contact with the original surgeon, Mr. Stapleton, didn’t lift the mist surrounding my condition. Eventually, though, a decision was made. I would have to undergo radical radiotherapy (RRT); it was the only way they could take on the tumour, if only to halt its growth, and battle the problems which were starting to appear physically.

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the pain attacks had become regular, and were so far beyond any pain I had ever felt in my life.

They brought me to my knees and took a while to get over at times. They were terrifying experiences, only serving to make Lindie more worried than ever before. There was one thing in my favour, though, in that I was a very unique and novel case in the brain-surgery world, and its many connected departments. It seemed as if I had a Petri dish in every laboratory, being studied under microscopes in much detail, all of which made me feel a little better about life. At least I was being monitored, and I knew they would react to any change in my precarious position. There has forever been one place where I can sort out my mind when I have felt the need, and that’s on the bank. With my rods cast out and baited as I want them, I can always sit back and contemplate any situation. Taking in the sunsets and sunrises whilst the wildlife goes blissfully about its business, has eased my furrowed brow for as long as I can remember, and I knew just the place I needed to be. Once the dust had settled after the devastating news, all I could think of was being back in the Cotswolds.

However, neither I, nor anyone else for that matter, could ever have foretold what the immediate future would bring…

It was March 18, 2020 when I

drove along the M4, Cotswoldsbound once more. It really was the sanctuary I needed, and after having a good chat with my friend, and landowner, Steve Hobden, I gazed across Pochard Lake. She looked stunning as usual, and the carp didn’t take long to give the game away. I got round to them as fast as I could, and in no time had all three rods fishing in holes in the weed. The three Stiff Link pop-ups were kept company by around three kilos of 10 and 15mm Hybrid boilies and a light scattering of the corresponding Response pellets. I was a couple of fish to the good by the time evening arrived, but my smile soon vanished from my face when Lindie rang to tell me the consequences of the world-changing coronavirus.

The much-talked about lockdown was imminent, and early the next day I was told we would all be restricted to staying in our homes, with everything closed down. It was hard to take in, for me, but I have no idea how it must have been for so many people in far more fragile and delicate situations than Lindie and I were. The drive home was a rather surreal affair. At points along the M4 I could see no one in front, or in my rear view mirror—I fully expected to see tumbleweed rolling down the road. When I arrived home, the situation seemed to get a whole lot worse, especially when I was informed that my seven-week radical radiotherapy treatment

would begin the following Monday. That said, I was amazed when my mobile chirped into life a few hours later. It was the head of the RRT department at the Royal Marsden Hospital.

During the call, I slowly became aware of how special, interesting and strange, my condition was. To that end, a car would be sent for me every day, arriving at our house around nine in the morning. I was to get in the back seat, with my face mask on, and would be driven to and from the Marsden on my own. There would be no one else involved, and the care they showed me took my breath away!

I was told what to expect, but was still quite nervous when Terry, my first driver, dropped me off.

He would wait outside until I had finished the treatment, as all the drivers did, until I reappeared.

I quickly orientated myself, and found an inordinately long corridor to wander down to the treatment room area. It was this corridor, and the long walk which ensued, that made me realise just how ill I had become. I constantly wished Lindie could be there with me, sweeping me along with all her strength, love and courage. The people I met there will

Top: The Coronavirus news soon took the smile off my face Bottom: One of the heroic drivers: Lee

stay in my memories forever, as will the way I was treated and the way they all carried themselves— amazing NHS people, doing the most amazing job! There was one thing on the drive home, however, which made me realise just how bad things were for everyone else out there.

I got on so well with all four of the drivers during this sevenweek period, but of course, there were often quiet moments as we made the hour-long journey

home. It was on the first return journey that I spotted Ewell Angling in Epsom. It had closed its doors and boarded up the front of the shop at the start of lockdown, and I gazed at it as we slowed in the traffic. It became a focal point on all my journeys, and I could only pray we both got over the problems we so obviously faced. It was a small tackle shop, but these have always been the ones I’ve loved and have wanted to use. Although I didn’t know them at all, I prayed they would survive this awful crisis.

I waited with—if you’ll excuse the pun—‘baited’ breath to see if we would both come out of this mess successfully and together…

It is possible to assume that the next seven weeks would have become a monotonous sequence of events, but nothing could be further from the truth. The number of interesting people I met enthralled me, as did the treatment I received. The first thing to do was make a mask, one which I would wear during my treatment, and getting it fitted was a bit of an adventure in itself!

As I lay on a suitably equipped table, a large piece of plastic which resembled carbon fibre, was held over my face. Then, from above, heat was applied, melting it over my face as it took on the general features of this old, battle-scarred soldier. Massive

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popper attachments were fitted to three extensions, and a hole was made for my mouth. It actually looked quite grotesque, and on my first visit, it was so strange when they bolted my head to the table. There were a couple of crosses marked on it, and after the coordinates had been put into the computer, the massive machinery moved around my head for about twenty minutes. I never felt a thing, and was sure it was all going to be a breeze. However, the incredibly high rate of treatment I was receiving soon brought me tumbling down to earth, and I landed with a bang!

As the days rolled on, I became more and more unwell. It literally felt as if my brain was about to run out of my ears. Again, it was the hospital staff who came to my rescue, not only because I had told them of my symptoms, but because of the pictures of my brain they took every Friday. As the problems increased, so did the number of people, and departments involved, and very often, I would spend hours wandering around speaking to people.

Amongst others, these departments included those dealing with neurology, blood, thyroid and pituitary glands, and pain. Of course, it made Lindie and I worry about the severity of my situation, but it also gave me solace that so many wanted the best for me, and as the days pass, I cannot help but remember the thoughts which ran through my head as it was nailed to a table. Fishing obviously gave me some things to ponder, but it also gave me time to think of those who had helped Lindie and me— and still do, to this day!

C carp angling is an amazing pastime, not only because of the carp I catch, but just as importantly, because of the people I

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Top Left: The mask in operation Top Right: I felt so bad at times, I wasn’t sure which one to get into Bottom Left: Ewell Angling survived, and I could only pray that I would do the same Bottom RIght: Lindie and I would never be able to thank the radiotherapy team enough

meet along the way. Two of those individuals live only a short distance from me. Rob Pearson, and Dave Tortolano, along with his wife, Jackie, and their family, did all our shopping and many of the little things in life we couldn’t take care of. This is something I will never be able to thank them enough for! I wasn’t able to drive at this point, as the results of the treatment were so unstable.

Indeed, at the end of the treatment, I was told not to drive for a week, but left it a month before I got behind the wheel again—I’ve never been too bothered about myself, but I certainly wasn’t going to endanger anyone else.

We were all uncertain about the fishing situation, and as I couldn’t do nights, I wasn’t too bothered. That said, as soon as there was a beacon of light on the horizon, I got my gear into the back garden and sorted it all out. When I could get the rods

out again, I wanted to be ready!

I had no idea where I would be fishing, but that wasn’t really the point; just the fact that I could sometime soon, was enough.

As the treatment came to an end, the neurologists wanted to be sure the RRT had had the right effect, so there were MRI scans to be done. The initial thoughts were that the treatment had stopped the tumour from growing, and although I had no idea of the truth at the time, I made the journey home feeling tentatively that we had won the battle. Those hopes were raised even further when I travelled past Ewell Angling.

The boarded windows had been cleared, and I could see customers visiting the shop! I was overjoyed to think that maybe both of us had come out of this mess.

My situation was to be covered at home by single point of access nurses (SPAs), who would

take all the bodily fluids which were needed to fill the vials—I often wondered if my arm actually contained as much blood as they were taking!

Ali Buckman, owner of Crowthorne Angling, came to my rescue once more. I needed to stay close to home, so to that end he got me a ticket for Hartley Wintney Angling Society (HWAS), whose waters are situated on the other side of the River Blackwater from the fa-

mous Car Park and North Lakes.

I’d never heard of them, but my, were they going to have a part to play in my continued recovery!

Firstly, though, I needed to get Lindie out and about, and spend some time with her doing the things we like to do. Only once we had got back into some kind of rhythm in our lives, could I turn my attention to angling, and just to warm me up a little, we both went to a Lucy’s Bowl Raising Funds for Guide Dogs event, held at Wraysbury. It was heart-warming to receive so much encouragement from all those attending, and was just the lift I needed.

Ali had got us permission to fish the Obelisk Lake, part of Windsor Great Park. To be honest, it really didn’t matter where I ended up, but this place was rather splendid. There was one problem, though… I had no idea what to eat anymore. My taste had completely disappeared, but Ali believed some massive top cut steaks covered in a garlic and pepper sauce would do the business, and believe me, they did just that, much as the double-figure common I landed in the middle of the night did too!

Once again, it’s so hard to describe the emotion of catching a carp, no matter its size, when you have been doubting that you will ever hold a fishing rod again.

It was a truly special moment, one that I will never forget, and

Ali’s new HWAS ticket was just about to provide the same.

We planned a couple of nights there the following week, and I was pleasantly surprised as the gates were opened. The place looked so fantastic, it was hard to decide where to fish. Eventually we selected Middle Lake, and for one reason only: it was a tiny two-acre pond, surrounded by trees with a massive array of pads at one end. Unbelievably, the vast majority of the fishing was done from one bank, where the ‘model boat enthusiasts’ would tow their hookbaits the full 25yds to the opposite margin. For the life of me, I couldn’t see the need to do so, and to that end, much to some people’s chagrin, we decided to fish under our rod tips on the far bank.

First of all, we could present and bait our spots with so much more accuracy and efficiency, and secondly, we were actually angling! Ali got the ball rolling, bracing a couple of very old mirrors. They looked fantastic, although it wasn’t until the following week that I landed a 19lb mirror for myself. I loved it there, and as always, September had started to get my fires burning again. One thing which never entered my mind when I thought of fishing there, was having a target in mind. The biggest in Middle Lake we were angling on was called the Slate Grey, and at around 33 to 34lb, she seemed the ideal fish to set my sights on. As it happens, I didn’t have too long to wait.

Later that month, one spectacular event appeared on my calendar, one I had been looking forward to for years. It was a trip to the Cotswolds with my greatest friends from my army days, Mark Denton from 1 Para, and 3 Para mortarman, Mark Browne. We have known each other for decades, and to end up at a water owned by an ex-1 Para comrade was the stuff of dreams for me. The last time we had all been on a water together, was way back in the late ’80s and early ’90s, on an Aldershot army lake at Chalk Farm. Just to be JUNE 2021

of a car sent by the hospital, and for me to attend an appointment with several of the departments which were tak-

in their company was enough for me, something I once again thought I may never do. However, the fishing decided to make it that little bit more special than I could ever have imagined. It was a time which obliterated my dark thoughts, and I drove home glowing with pride.

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Left Page

Top: Rob Pearson—I’m so glad we could mention him in despatches Bottom: Dave and all his family have helped so much right Page

there was always going to be something which would drag me back down into the mire, and it came a few days later. I had once again got into the back seat however,

JUNE 2021

Top Left: Ali Buckman leads the way at Hartley Wintney’s lakes Bottom Left: The following week, I had my first taste of the action Top RIght: I really couldn’t believe what was in the net

ing care of me, the last of which dealt the final blow.

I sat and waited for the lady to finish her discussion in the

adjoining room. I knew they were talking about me, but I had no idea what about. She came in and sat opposite me looking rather nervously at her folder on the desk. Eventually, she looked me in the eye and said that the tumour had not stopped growing. Evidently, it was growing in spurts, and this was what was causing all the pain. Because of those spurts, it looked at first as if the RRT had worked, but it hadn’t made any difference at all. I made the silent journey home, not sure what to say, but definitely in need of the biggest cuddle with Lindie.

Again, we had little to say to each other, but the one overriding fact was, that we were still unsure just how this was going to pan out.

Still limited, of course, by the COVID -19 pandemic, Lindie and I tried to entertain ourselves enough to forget the tumour for a few rare moments. As hard as things had been for both of us, she was sure some angling may do me a little good. The first thing was to try and catch my target from HWAS, and unbelievably, that very fish slid over my landing net cord the following week. She spun the wheel of fortune round to 32lb 2oz, and although not the biggest carp I

Top: The Slate Grey at 32lb 2oz Bottom: It was wonderful to spend time with my friends in the Cotswolds

will ever catch, she reminded me of the thrill of the chase, and the mystery which carp fishing can still produce. When all things were considered, a 32lb mirror still lit all of my fires!

It was getting late in the year, and the only thing I could think of was getting back to Pochard Lake in the Cotswolds. It had been the most amazing escape from the trauma my and Lindie’s lives had been through of late, and all I could think of was catching a couple more of the stunning originals which live

in its magical, weedy depths.

Christmas wasn’t far away either, so at least I had a few things to occupy my mind.

I hadn’t changed a single thing about my fishing at Pochard, and the constant application of Hybrid in 10 and 15mm had been working better than I ever could have expected. Many had been a little surprised that I hadn’t landed a thirty-pounder from there, but it was never really about the weight of what I was angling for; it was how far off the radar these fish were and what they looked like which mattered to me, as it does in most of my fishing.

As long as there were a few gnarly old carp to chase around, then I was going to be happy, and it was with one of those characters on my mind, that I set up on a cold and damp winter morning.

Again, the Stiff Link pop-ups came to rest in the smallest of weedy holes I could find, and were baited with copious amounts of my Hybrid concoction. As luck would have it, it was as if the carp had read my mind. The liners started around seven in the evening on both days I was there, and by nine I had caught two or three carp. Amazingly, you could almost set your watch by the time the next action occurred. At seven in the morning the liners not only lifted my bobbins every now and again, they also lifted my spirits.

The last fish of the session— number seven—made me burst

JUNE 2021

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Top: Mark Browne and a Pochard original we named Elli Middle: I had landed one of the carp I really wanted Bottom: The winter was going well in the Cotswolds

with excitement as it rolled into the outstretched net! It was one of the fish I wanted, and her ancient dark flanks highlighted the two massive golden scales on her flank. As I slipped her back, I could never have realised that I would never feel quite the same again.

Things were about to change the way I lived my life, forever.

T was with a kind of happy I’ve-bagged-a-coupleof-winter-crackers smile creasThe drive home

JUNE 2021

ing my face, and this broadened as the door of our bungalow opened and Lindie’s smiling face greeted me. As I sorted my things out and jumped into the bath she had drawn, we chatted about the things we needed to do. I told her how happy I was to be doing them with her, and couldn’t wait to get started the following day.

We drove around buying a few presents for the approaching Christmas, but on the way home, the clutch in my Astra van, Daisy, ground us to a halt. Thankfully, my not so little mate, Brandon, was on hand to give Lindie a lift home whilst I waited for the recovery vehicle to arrive.

While I waited, I sorted out the first aid Daisy would need, and thought no more of it… that was

until I got home. The kitchen had been flooded whilst we were out, so of course, as Lindie and I do, we had a brew and discussed tactics. I put the television on next, only to find that the Sky box had spun off its mortal coil.

Over another brew, Lindie commented that we didn’t have to worry anymore, as bad things always come in threes. Well, here’s letting you know… what a load of old b******s that is!

I was in the garden clearing some leaves, when my phone rang. It had a ‘No Caller ID’, and as expected, it was someone from the Marsden. As it happens, it was one of their leading names in neurology, and she needed to tell me something, something which had been discussed by them all, in detail. There was no way, at this moment in time, the growing tumour could be operated on. The radical radiotherapy had had no effect, and unfortunately, she had to tell me they were not sure if I had months, or a few years, to live.

If I thought I’d had bits of news and information which had stopped me in my tracks before, this was like banging into a brick wall. The leaves in my hand fell to the ground as the call ended, much the same as my infernal

“AND THEN THERE WAS LINDIE, OF COURSE. IN 1994 I MARRIED THE WOMAN OF MY DREAMS.”

will to carry on regardless did.

To tell my wife was probably the most moving event of my life, but in telling Lindie, it was her strength which came to the surface. If anyone thought I was giving this life up, they had never factored in how much I loved it, and how much I want to share every moment with her.

They would have to wait a very long time before I even started to give up on my incredible life.

Later on that day, I sat back in the garden again, watching the birds go about their business. There can be little doubt, I have been a very lucky man.

As a child, I jumped out of my bedroom window hanging onto all four corners of a sheet or curtain, trying desperately to be one of the paratroopers I had read so much about. Much to my parents’ chagrin, school was a very rare place for me to be.

Fishing, to me at least, was a far better way of wasting my time.

Drowning worms in very private lakes and rivers, and selling the trout I poached, was my first attempt at earning money from the pastime I love so much.

At the age of 60, I can now look back on what I’ve achieved.

I had 22 years of drawing my parachute pay, wearing my wings and my ‘maroon machine’ with pride. At the end of my career in 2000, I became a professional carp angler, and I can never imagine anyone living their dreams as much as I

have. Even in the army, I fished my way around the world for species such as marlin and sailfish, to Arctic char from frozen fjords above the Arctic Circle.

There were other things to think of too, and these were the people who had made me so, the people who go into the shops and buy the things I talk about, and follow the stories I tell.

‘Thank you’ is again, such a small word for all of those who raised me from this horrible news via the interweb, and Facebook and Instagram certainly gave me the will to carry on. You

will never truly understand the part you have all played in my recovery so far.

And then there was Lindie, of course. In 1994 I married the woman of my dreams. She had survived more cancer-related operations than anyone could ever imagine, and she had lived through it all when suddenly, life dealt me a devastating blow.

Her love, strength and courage had seen me through it all so far, and I could only hope that I could keep on keeping on, into the future. I held my tumourridden head in my hands, and whilst wiping the tears from my eyes, all I could think was, If I leave here tomorrow, would you still remember me?

Top: Her golden scales glistened in the morning sunshine Bottom: If I leave here tomorrow, would you still remember me?

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IAN CHILLCOTT

JAN 2018

Chris Brown Products

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32” tench, 36” carp stalker, 42” & 50” carp net

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DWARF RODS

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FROM INTIMATE FARM PONDS WATERS TO LARGE INLAND SEAS, THE DWARF RODS CAN COPE WITH EVERYTHING

Fun Fact The first time we revealed the Scope concept to you, our beloved readership, was way back in issue 105 (December 2012). So can we expect something very special for its 10th anniversary, Nash Tackle?

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N A S H TA C K L E . C O . U K

Short and Sweet

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Nash’s Dwarf range offers more than you might expect MOST CARP ANGLERS are familiar with the

relatively new demand for shorter rods with retractable butt sections but the distinction between Nash’s Scope and Dwarf ranges might be slightly vague for the uninitiated. Scopes came first and remain the flagship, while the Dwarf rods offer a more wallet-friendly introduction to the concept—and they’ve recently been updated…

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with test curves as low as 1lb, making them ideal for use of well-stocked commercials or for bringing kids into the sport. The 1lb model also has a lovely cork handle for a traditional feel.

1. New looks

The Dwarf range was given a comprehensive makeover last year and these rods really do look far more expensive than their price tag suggests. Every model has a 1K carbon-effect finish with integrated line clips, tapered butt caps and sectionalignment markers.

You also get reverse-mounted Minima guides and anti-frap tip rings for tanglefree casting.

3. Power when needed

Away from the lightweight 6ft models, the Dwarf range can deliver power on demand.

Cork-handle models have test curves of up to 3.25lb, while the shrink-rubberhandle options go up to 3.5lb. If you want to go really beefy there are abbreviatedhandle rods with test curves of up to 4.5lb, which

2. A rod for

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everyone The Dwarf range is now so extensive there’s something for all tastes. The diminutive 6ft models are available

are great for spod work or even winter deadbaiting.

4. Take your pick

With cork, shrink-rubber and abbreviated handles in more lengths and test curves than ever before, the Dwarf range now more closely mirrors its more expensive Scope stablemate in terms of choice.

And if you can’t decide which model is best for you, there’s a handy ‘Rod Quiz’ on Nash’s website.

Just click the link on any rod page.

5. Luggage to match

In typical Nash fashion, there are plenty of accessories for your Dwarf rods, including a very popular rod holdall that can house all you need for a full session. The Dwarf Three Rod Carry System is available for 9ft or 10ft Dwarf rods and, as the name suggests, can carry three of them made up with reels attached.

There are plenty of other pockets in which to store tackle, a net and buzzers too!

1. THE DIMINUTIVE 6FT MODELS ARE AVAILABLE WITH TEST CURVES AS LOW AS 1LB 2. ULTRA COMPACT 3. DWARF SHRINK RODS: £49.99 TO £84.99 4. DWARF CORK RODS: £59.99 TO £84.99 5. DWARF ABBREVIATED: £69.99 TO £74.99 6. DWARF LANDING NET: £69.99 7. DWARF 10FT 3 ROD SKIN: £49.99 TO £54.99

The range in a table…

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MODEL

LENGTH

TEST CURVE

Dwarf Shrink Dwarf Shrink Dwarf Shrink Dwarf Shrink Dwarf Shrink Dwarf Shrink Dwarf Shrink Dwarf Shrink Dwarf Cork Dwarf Cork Dwarf Cork Dwarf Cork Dwarf Cork Dwarf Cork Dwarf Cork Dwarf Cork Dwarf Cork Dwarf Abbreviated Dwarf Abbreviated

6ft 6ft 9ft 9ft 9ft 10ft 10ft 10ft 6ft 6ft 6ft 9ft 9ft 9ft 10ft 10ft 10ft 9ft 10ft

2lb 3lb 3lb 3.25lb 3.5lb 3lb 3.25lb 3.5lb 1lb 2lb 3lb 2.75lb 3lb 3.25lb 2.75lb 3lb 3.25lb 4.5lb 4.5lb

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S T E A LT H C O M P A C T 2 G

HARDWARE

One Bivvy To Do It All

HEAD TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL— CARPOLOGYTV— TO WATCH THE ACCOMPANYING VIDEO REVIEW.

JRC’s Stealth Compact 2G might have a small footprint but the feature list is anything but!

1. Quick to erect

Based around a classic pramhood design, the Stealth Compact 2G can be quickly put up thanks to its two-rib layout. A peak can be added with an additional pole (included) or the fabric can be rolled back against the main frame of the bivvy, meaning it can be erected seriously quickly if you need to set-up shelter in a hurry.

2. Breathable

This is one of JRC’s higherend shelters and therefore benefits from being made with the brand’s Hydratex material.

This breathable fabric, which looks absolutely spot-on and feels very durable, is fully waterproofed with taped seams and a 10,000mm hydrostatic-head rating. Being breathable it will help reduce condensation in colder conditions

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and keep the inside of the bivvy much less stuffy and stagnant in warmer weather.

3. Spacious

Thanks to its steepsided and flatbacked design, this bivvy is a lot more spacious internally than you might initially expect.

It also occupies a relatively small footprint, meaning you can squeeze it into some swims other bivvies may struggle to get in.

Labelled as a oneman shelter, the Stealth Compact 2G comes in at 2.7m wide, 1.95m deep and 1.35m tall.

4. Doors for days

If there’s one thing you can guarantee with JRC bivvy design it’s plenty of options when it comes to doors. The whole front panel of this shelter can be removed for increased visibility and air flow, or you can opt for clear PVC, mozzi mesh

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CM

JRC-FISHING.CO.UK

H: 135CM

or solid panels at the front. Two-way dual zips on the door section allow for a letterboxstyle opening for fish spotting in the most gruelling of weather.

6061 aluminium poles to keep bulk to a minimum.

Thankfully, it all stuffs into a proper carry bag and comes complete with a durable PVC groundsheet and pegs. £314.99

5. Lightweight

Despite all the features previously mentioned—and neat little touches like integrated internal pockets— this bivvy is surprisingly lightweight. That’s all thanks to the two-rib design and the use of

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CM

Overwrap

If you want extra warmth, a bit more porch space or increased protection from droplets of condensation, then the matching Stealth Compact 2G Overwrap is a savvy purchase. Made from the same great Hydratex material as the main bivvy, it’s equally as waterproof and breathable as the shelter itself. The increased space beneath the peak of the main bivvy is also very useful for storing bait, boots or even a guest chair. £199.99

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E N D TA C K L E

HARDWARE

S H A R P TA C K L E . C O . U K

Tricks With The Kit HEAD TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL— CARPOLOGYTV— TO WATCH OUR ACCOMPANYING VIDEO REVIEW ON THE QUIVER FOLDALL.

1. Aquaskin: don’t steam it straight. Leave a subtle curve in it so the bait can move in any direction the carp sucks from.

2. Short lengths of leadcore make ideal PVA bag stems; perfect for a quick rechuck.

3. On a D-Rig, wrap putty around the rear of the ‘D’ to help drop the bend of the hook in to the bottom of the carp’s mouth.

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1. Aquasilk

This two-tone woven braid is ideal for use in solid PVA bag rigs or combi presentations thanks to its inherent suppleness.

It’s available in either Brown or Green colouration on 20m spools.

It has a tough 25lb breaking strain and an eye-catching £6 price tag.

4. Aquaskin 5

2. Leadcore

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Sharp Shooters Premium rig bits without wallethemorrhaging price tags

have amassed a dedicated following online thanks to their no-nonsense approach. In their own words they want to “provide customers with the best-quality products we can find at the cheapest-possible prices”, and that’s exactly what we’ve got on offer with this selection right here. For those that don’t want to overpay, you might just find an essential item at much less than you usually pay.

SHARP TACKLE

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Sharp Tackle offer a variety of pre-tied leadcore leaders fitted with quick-change swivels at one end. They also offer that same easy-to-splice leadcore on 10m bulk spools, in either Green or Brown, for just £6.50!

3. Tungsten Putty

This TPX putty range is available in three different colours to suit whatever lakebed you’re fishing over.

The weighted putty is malleable and sticky, allowing it to mould nicely around swivels, hooklinks or main line. At £6 a pot it’s great value, too.

Sharp Tackle took their time in sourcing just the right coated braid and eventually settled on this stuff. It costs just a tenner for a 20m spool and comes in Brown or Green, with the former being slightly more supple.

5. Rig-ID

This super-stiff monofilament is an absolute bargain at just £4 for a 20m spool and is suited to creating Chod Rigs or Hinged Stiff presentations thanks to its wiry rigidity. It has a breaking strain of 20lb.

S/S21 COLLECTION

HARDWARE

KUMUCLOTHING.CO.UK

Dressed To Impress Get on the Kumu catwalk…

KUMU’S JOURNEY STARTED with that eye-catching ‘Death Rig’ Skull T-shirt which

lit up social media, involved a name change (from On The Beaten Track) and now continues apace with some of the finest carp garments you’ve ever seen.

If it’s attention to detail you seek, you’ve come to the right place.

HEAD TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL— CARPOLOGYTV— TO WATCH OUR WIDE RANGE OF VIDEO REVIEWS.

1. Maelstrom Hoodie 2021

This is a proper hoodie designed with thought, not just any old green or brown off-the-shelf design with a naff logo.

The subtle Kumu branding on the front makes way for a much more expansive ‘swirling fish’ back piece, while the orange-tipped draw cords provide a flash of colour. Made from 70 percent cotton and 30 percent poly fabric for comfort and fit. Available in sizes S to 4XL. £44.99

2. Cocoon Sweatshorts

Kumu’s Cocoon Joggers were so good they lopped off some fabric below the knee and now offer them in shorts form.

Of course, it’s not quite that simple!

The fabric has been lightened slightly for those warmer months, but the elasticated waist and zipped pockets provide the comfort and security familiar to long-time Kumu devotees. Available in Khaki or Black from sizes S to 2XL. £29.99

Fun Fact All 288 of the original Death Rig mugs sold in under 30 minutes!

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CAMO RECOVERY SLING

HARDWARE

A V I D C A R P. C O M

1. Fish safety

Recovery Position Give your prize a breather in these new all-conquering retainers from Avid

Any retainer sling on the market should be designed with fish safety as a priority, and this one’s no different.

It’s got a tapered cut to keep the fish upright for the best recovery and the highflow mesh material allows for a constant exchange of water over the fish’s gills.

2. Versatility

One of the key features of this product is its ability to change from a retainer to a lightweight weighing sling. Simply remove the four buoyancy floats and you’ve got a proper sling that will make accurate weighing easier and comply with fishery rules where retainers are banned.

HEAD TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL— CARPOLOGYTV— TO WATCH OUR WIDE RANGE OF VIDEO REVIEWS.

3. Less bulk

Although this is a fish-friendly retaining system, Avid have been careful not to make it any bulkier than necessary, meaning you don’t have to lug extra heavy kit around with you. The Camo Recovery Sling also dries quickly so it won’t retain excess water.

4. Solid tether

The retainer itself may be camo, but the fluorescent yellow tether cord is anything but subtle, allowing you to keep an eye on your prize at all times. It connects to a solid brass thread for screwing into a bankstick and comes with a sight ball.

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5. Bagged up

The wafting aroma of a stinky sling may well be a sign of a successful session, but the novelty can wear off after a long car journey back from the lake. Thankfully, these slings—which are available in Standard (£54.99) and XL (£64.99) sizes—come with fully waterproof bags in which to stuff them after a fish-filled trip.

FISH SMARTER

NOT

HARDER!

SMART LIQUID - INTELLIGENT ATTRACTION Much more than a liquid food source attractor, Smart Liquid is ‘Intelligent.’

Water is the catalyst to Smart Liquid infiltrating its underwater environment; throughout the bottom substrate horizontally then climbing vertically, impregnating the water column with advanced amino’s, palatants and highly stimulatory trace elements!

Simply coat boilies, pellets, particles, floaters and hookbaits with Smart Liquid, or add to groundbait at the mixing stage. Add as required.

Due to Smart Liquids unique formulation, it’s impossible to overload.

Available in four variants: CELL™, FISH, FRUIT & CREAM WWW.MAINLINE-BAITS.COM

S K- T E K C A R P C A R E

HARDWARE

Super Care

1. SK-Tek Floating Weigh Sling

Not content with supplying the angling world with some of the best bivvies, bedchairs and Face Mask Snoods (the stylish way to stroll around Tesco), Sonik have now added to their carp care range with this stunning dual-purpose weigh sling/ short-term carp retainer.

Thanks to its lightweight design, sculpted shape and webbing support, Sonik’s offering gives the carp maximum support when it comes to weighing. They’ve also stitched the weighing

Eye-pleasing and super functional to us, and the safest and most fish-friendly to the carp, Sonik have two new additions to its Carp Care collection this month CARP OF THE WORLD, bounce (okay, sort of

flap) with joy. As part of their 2021 collection, Sonik have a new line-up of carp care products, all designed to be more functional to you and even more softer and delicate to the carp whilst they’re bankside. Here are all the deets…

straps to the very far corners of the sling, resulting in better balance when it comes to taking a weigh reading.

Onto the retainer side of things and they’ve equipped this with full-length buoyancy floats and full mesh sides and base for optimum water flow and quick drainage, along with a single span tension bar (situated centrally) for quick launch and removal from water. In a nutshell: water flow and drainage is F1 pitstop fast.

There is a 5m removable retention cord with bankstick attachment, four night-sight reflective patches and a large

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2. SK-Tek Unhooking Cradle

Fabric super-brand, Sonik, a favourite with everyone from the guy who fishes the commercials right through to seasoned chap who’s out there doing it week-in, week-out, 12 months of the year (think: Frank Warwick and Jimmy Hibbard), have now focused their attention to unhooking mats— and the result is something which isn’t just lightweight and compact when in transport, but is up there with one of the most fish-friendly CARPology has ever reviewed.

While some of CARPology’s readership will prefer a more traditional flat-

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based, unwalled mat (in that case, look no further than their SK-Tek Beanie Mat), the Cradle, thanks to its highsided stiff outer walls means it’s perfect for those who like the added security that the carp, no matter how much it plays up, can’t go anywhere and ultimately cause itself any damage.

Lining these rigid sides is a fish-friendly, easy-clean, heavy-duty PVC material, and supporting the carp from beneath is an extra thick padded foam base that screams out total protection.

A top flap easily Velcros in place should you have a really

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lively visitor, and unlike other high-walled mats which get bogged down with trapped water, Sonik have ensured this doesn’t happen by including a mesh base and side vents for quick draining and drying.

On top of all these carp/ you-friendly features, the other real beaut about this mat is how compact it is when packed away. Pull the Velcro straps apart to turn this 96cm x 52cm x 22cm sized mat (capable of handling carp to 60lb) into something that folds in on itself and into a carry bag for easy transportation (think: 98cm long by 25cm deep. £64.99

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SONIKSPORTS.COM

No.10 zip with zip-lock clip— and that in a nutshell means that any carp housed within simply cannot escape!

Available in two sizes: ‘Standard’—110(L) x 50(H)

x 35(D)cm and ‘Large’ —130(L) x 65(H) x 40(D)cm for the real big brutes, and both come supplied with their own carry bags. £44.99 AND £54.99

VIDEO TUTORIAL

How to get the perfect self-take So you’ve uploaded the obligatory ‘One in the slammer’ shot to your iG feed (we’re being sarcastic!) but now you need that money shot and there’s no one within a mile of you. Thankfully today’s cameras all feature some sort of remote or timer facility, and if they don’t, then a bulb release system can be used. You can even get self-photography apps, such as ‘Whistle’, for your smartphone, and in his April vlog, CARPology’s Luke Venus brings you a detailed rundown on how to use said app, along with how to frame the shot and everything else you need to know to nail a self-take. Watch it now by heading to our YouTube channel, CARPologyTV.

HEAD TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL— CARPOLOGYTV— TO WATCH THE ACCOMPANYING VIDEO REVIEW.

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TRENCH LUGGAGE

HARDWARE

SHIMANO-EU.COM

Classic Functionality

2. Shimano Trench Deluxe Food Bag

If a decent food bag is on your ‘out-of-lockdowncelebration’ list, ask for this: a thermal central compartment to house all your food, along with a builtin dining table and a couple of cutlery sets to complete your alfresco dining experience. Just as with the Camera Bag, this has been designed to fit neatly and securely onto all barrows, and that same watertight

Searching for a more carpier food bag to replace that bright orange one you purchased from TK Max? Shimano has a better offering, along with an equally fancy camera bag…

1. Shimano Trench Deluxe Camera Bag

Unless you own a set of Aero Technium Mags, the chances are your camera will be the most expensive item of kit you take angling. Shimano realised this and have designed and sewn a dual-purpose camera bag. 1. The fitted watertight storm flap means you can haul all your expensive glass and mirrorless camera bodies around without worrying about those cloudy skies, whilst internally there are 12

elasticated loops for safely securing lenses, flashes and other removable accessories.

And for the star of the bag— your actual camera—Shimano have packed this section out with extreme levels of padding.

And 2. It’s been designed to fit perfectly on all barrows. Oh, are you a vlogger or fish alone?

You’ll be pleased to know there are compression straps on the side for carrying your tripod.

storm flap lid doubles nicely as that makeshift dining table we referenced. At the far end of the bag you’ll discover a third (large) pocket to stowaway your cookware kit, which has helpfully been finished in a wipe-clean material to ensure that hygiene is never neglected. If we were handing out awards for the most perfect food bag, this would take top spot. £119.99

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£79.99

440(L)MM

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HEAD TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL— CARPOLOGYTV— TO WATCH OUR WIDE RANGE OF VIDEO REVIEWS.

260(H)MM DINE IN STYLE FOR TWO

275(W)MM

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2 AND 3 ROD CARBON BUZZER BARS

HARDWARE

ULTRA LIGHT, ULTRA SLICK—AND THEY CAN BE USED AS GOALPOSTS OR WITH JUST A SINGLE STICK

Carbon Positive More stylish bankware from those techsavvy masterminds at New Direction

and CARPology is on a Zoom call with the guys from New Direction. Behind them is their showroom—a giantsized trophy cabinet if you like, showcasing all their tech-rich products. There’s definitely a hint of ‘we’vegot-something-very-special-to-show-you’ in the air, and—predictably—we’re not disappointed. But unlike previous calls where they’ve held up fancy bait boats and head torches with a billion functions to the camera before couriering them across to us, this time it’s bankware: clever butt rests, quick add/remove indicators and some super light carbon bars and sticks…

WEDNESDAY 24TH MARCH

HEAD TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL— CARPOLOGYTV— TO WATCH THE ACCOMPANYING VIDEO REVIEW.

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N E W D I R E C T I O N TA C K L E . C O . U K

THE BIG QUESTIONS

Ah, more carboneffect buzzer bars, right?

Not so fast! These are genuinely made from carbon fibre, with tough aluminium collars and threads. The carbon horizontal bars are excellently finished and each buzzer bar is as light as you would expect it to be when made from those two materials.

That’s impressive.

Are there just two-rod bars available?

You can pick either two-rod or threerod versions. The smaller bars come in at 5.5-inches for the rear and 6-inches at the front for a subtle splay of your rods, while the three-rod versions

are 11.5-inches and 12.5-inches respectively.

I like the look of the carbon, but not sure it’ll match my humdrum banksticks.

ND have you covered here, too.

Their matching adjustable banksticks are just the ticket and extend from 9-inches to 16-inches, giving you the perfect set of sleek carbon bankware.

Okay, so I’m used to the way New Direction operates—I have a feeling that’s not everything…

You’re getting good at this! Of course it’s not all that’s on offer. In fact, if you buy a pair of the two-rod

carbon buzzer bars and a pair of the adjustable sticks on Amazon— where all of ND’s range is available with ultra-fast delivery—then you get a bespoke carry bag chucked in for just £58, or just £59 for the three-rod option.

I knew it! What’s the bag like?

It’s certainly not just a cheap after thought. It’s made from hard-wearing material and is surprisingly compact. It’s got flaps on the front and back to accommodate your buzzer bars, while your upright sticks slot into four loops. Inside, there are zipped and padded pockets for accessories like bobbins.

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Got anything else for me on this theme?

ND have a number of options for rear rests including the P8 Magnetic Butt Rests. Simply loop the elasticated strap over the butt of your rod and you’ve now given it a very strong magnet that snaps into place with the corresponding magnet on the screw-in rest. If you want your buzzers to have that same ability to be removed, added and aligned in seconds then you can buy the P11 Quick Release Adaptor which will work on any brand. It replaces the traditional screw thread with a twist-lock mechanism that’s super sturdy but can be removed or attached with a quick turn of the wrist.

2 1. THE CLEVER P11 QUICK RELEASE ADAPTORS WHICH WILL WORK ON ANY BRAND 2. P8 MAGNETIC BUTT RESTS ARE BRILLIANT! 3. THE SUPPLIED BAG CERTAINLY ISN’T A CHEAP AFTER THOUGHT

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NEW ADDITIONS

HARDWARE

THINKINGANGLERS.COM

HEAD TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL— CARPOLOGYTV— TO WATCH OUR ACCOMPANYING VIDEO REVIEW ON THE QUIVER FOLDALL.

Detailed Thinking Now your Noodle Rig will be exactly the same as Scott Lloyd’s…

are one of those brands full of ideas. If you’ve ever been on the bank looking at rig choice and thought, ‘I wonder if there’s a product for…’, then chances are that TA have got you covered, and here are three new little bits from their latest release.

THINKING ANGLERS

1. Medium and Large Noodle Kickers

If you’ve not seen Scott Lloyd’s Noodle Rig in recent years then you’ve been living under a rock. It’s a great presentation, but finessing shrink

tubing into the perfect bend, just how Scott likes it, can be tricky—so step forward these readyformed Kickers.

They’re ideal for getting this clever rig tied perfectly every time. £3.99

2. Curved Kickers

While the Noodle Kickers kink out at the end of a largely straight section, these kickers are far more curvaceous.

That sweeping bend creates aggressive hooking

mechanics but, because these are made from soft rubber, there are no dangers associated with the old-fashioned bent-hook rigs of years gone by.

They are available in packs of 10. £3.99

3. Camfleck Cloth Tape

Thinking Anglers’ Camfleck pattern is one of the finest camos around and adorns a number of luggage items from the company. But if you want to indulge in a bit of DIY camo covering then this sticky and durable tape, made from 100 percent cotton, is ideal for layering over water containers, storm poles and even rod butts. Available in 50mm x 10m spools. £7.99

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Scott Lloyd’s Noodle Rig Trick 1. The Hair is always trapped with a small rig ring (blowback style) that’s positioned to sit at the end of the hook shank, just where it starts to curve into the bend.

2. Position rig putty or a Tungsten Dropper onto the hooklink, close to the end of the Noodle Kicker.

3. These new Noodle Kickers have been designed to work best with the TA Curved Point hook pattern.

CRYOGEN CHOD-HAMMER

HARDWARE

ESP-CARPGEAR.COM

Fun Fact When ESP launched in ‘99, Terry had caught a dozen 40s (including two 50s and a British record)— not bad considering he caught his first 40—the legendary Bazil—just four years before in 1995!

Hammer Time ESP have created a new favourite for Terry Hearn

since ESP—then a completely new offshoot of the Drennan empire—launched carp fishing’s first dedicated Stiff-Rig hook pattern.

The brand, and carp fishing in general, has come a long way since the iconic Stiff Riggers debuted in 1999, but it looks like this new hook design could create a similar impact. ¶ The Cryogen Chod-Hammer is a modern blend of ESP’s hugely successful Trig-Hammer pattern and the tried and tested principles of the Stiff Rigger. The former provides the ultra-sharp point profile and bend shape, creating a strong design engineered to catch hold in the fish’s mouth as effectively as possible.

Where this new pattern lends itself perfectly to Chod and Hinged-Stiff presentations is in its much larger IT’S BEEN 22 YEARS

eye (capable of accepting 25lb Bristle Filament three times over) which is bent outwards. It’s quite a subtle outward bend, but it’s been calculated to allow the hook to sit just right with Drig-style pop-up presentations. ¶ The other crucial factor at work here lies in the hook’s Cryogen nametag. This refers to the twin tempering process ESP have formulated to provide the hook with a needle-sharp point that remains durable. The tempering pro-

cedure also gives these hooks a certain degree of ‘spring’, allowing them just enough flexibility to avoid opening up or snapping altogether during a fight. ¶ The wire gauge is the same as on the earlier Cryogen Stiff Rigger hooks and the sizes are also similar, meaning fans of those forerunner hooks can upgrade without having too much trouble matching hook sizes to pop-up diameters. Available in 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 in barbed or barbless. £4.65

ESP’s Rich Hook Heritage Raptor hooks: what the carp world of 1999 was waiting for!

These were proper dedicated carp hook patterns designed to ESP’s spec, with ultra fine needle sharp points, and included the cult classics G-4, T-6 and original Stiff Rigger.

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GUARD PRO’S NET DIP

HARDWARE

G U A R D - P R O . C O . U K /A Q U A G U A R D

Deeply Dippy If you care about disease prevention, this new solution is a winner

Biggest killers of carp

aquatic diseases can wipe out fish stocks very quickly, and one of the biggest causes of transfer from venue-to-venue is anglers bringing wet nets from one water to another. Drying your kit completely is one way to avoid this potentially deadly transmission, but that’s not always possible, so dipping your nets, slings and mats in a liquid like Guard Pro’s Net Dip is a simple way to eliminate risk. ¶ Sold in concentrated form in 1l containers, this odourless liquid has a slight blue tinge and is the same formulation used by fisheries in their large dip tanks.

Unlike other liquids, this solution goes on working once dry to keep treated areas contamination free between cleaning cycles. It’s also completely nontoxic and works quickly - killing a huge range of micro-organisms and pathogens in 15 seconds. ¶ It won’t corrode metal or degrade cloth, rubber or plastic, so you’re safe to fully submerge your slings and nets without any worry.

Soluble in all water, Guard Pro Net Dip also works on alreadydirty surfaces, so if your mat or net contains traces of fish blood or faeces it will still provide protection. ¶ It kills off koi herpes virus (KHV), coronavirus, Weil’s Disease, E.Coli, MRSA, legionella and many, many more potentially harmful diseases and virus that could threaten the health of yourself and the fish you are targeting.

TYPE OF DISEASE

AS MOST ANGLERS KNOW,

SPRING VIREMIA OF CARP (SVC) 4%

CARP EDEMA VIRUS (CEV) 4%

P E R C E N T A G E S H A R E O F K I L L- R A T E

Other products in the range 1. Fish Care Gel, £8.99 2. 1lt Ready To Use Net Dip For Anglers, £5.00 3. Single Wipes, 10p 4. Hand Rub, £3.50 5. 5lt Concentrate (fishery owners), £40.00

£5.00 IAN CHILLCOTT IS A BIG FAN OF THE GUARD PRO PRODUCTS

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KOI HERPES VIRUS (KHV) 92%

TA C T I C A L L U G G A G E

HARDWARE

Tactically Astute Wychwood just keep on delivering (and—remarkable— at fabulous price point, too

of sourcing and selecting materials at Wychwood, take a bow. Time after time in recent years the company just seem to get it spot on. The HD ripstop material used on shelters like the MHR MK2 Brolly is up there with the best around, and now they’ve dropped a load of Tactical HD luggage with some of the toughest (and best looking) fabric you’ll ever see.

WHOEVER IS IN CHARGE

1. Tactical HD Bedchair Bag

HEAD TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL— CARPOLOGYTV— TO WATCH OUR ACCOMPANYING VIDEO REVIEW ON THE QUIVER FOLDALL.

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Decked out in Wychwood’s military-inspired camouflage and treated to that super-tough material—it’s 1200D, twice as thick as many rival angling ranges— this bedchair bag is built to take plenty of abuse. It has multiple handles for easy loading into your vehicle and can be fitted with an optional shoulder strap (sold separately).

Crucially, the main opening is fitted with double zips and it opens fully for faff-free use.

It’s designed for use with most bedchairs and sleep systems on the market and the adjustable straps mean you can create a snug fit with just about any bed. £39.99

W Y C H W O O D C A R P. C O . U K

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2. Tactical HD Cool Bag

The Cool Bag is the ideal product to look at when discussing Wychwood’s 1200D material. ‘D’ stands for denier and is a measure of thickness, and there aren’t many luggage ranges in angling with this type of thickness.

It has an almost square weave to it and instantly feels like it’ll last forever.

This cool bag has a large capacity (it measures 30cm cubed), comfy carry handles and double zips for easy opening. It’s foillined for insulation, too. £22.99 3. Tactical Bits and Bobs Bag

This is as simple as luggage products get, but it’s pretty damn useful nonetheless.

Designed as a hard-wearing opentopped carrier bag, it’s ideal for stuffing in all those awkward items that don’t fit anywhere else—or for filling with food at the supermarket on the way to your session. At 40cm long, 40cm wide and 20cm deep it’s also big enough to carry a pair of waders to and from your swim before hanging them out to dry properly. £19.99

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4. Tactical HD Bankware Roll

This neat little roll-up sleeve has plenty of pockets, straps and loops in which to keep your banksticks, buzzer bars, bobbins and spare batteries. It feels really solid and protective and is pre-creased to fold up and unfurl perfectly every time. There are eight bankstick slides, internal mesh pockets and plenty of other slimline storage space. The addition of a hanging hook, for use in your bivvy once empty, would’ve made it even better. £14.99 1 5 7

STICKY BAIT/OLOGY SUB DEAL!

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BEFORE WE SIGN OFF FOR THE MONTH…

C A R P O L O G Y // J U N E 2 0 2 1 // I S S U E 2 1 1

H O L D T H E B A C K PA G E

THE CARPOLOGY QUIZ!

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Which angler coined the term ‘chod’ which Terry Hearn named his revolutionary rig after?

A . Lewis Read B . Jamie Smith C . Rob Maylin D . Jeff Pink

Which of the following was not a member of the ‘James’ gang?

A . Bob James B . Ritchie MacDonald C . Peter Springate D . Chris Yates

Which Kent legend invented the line-aligner?

A . Bob Morris B . Dickie Caldwell C . Mark Summers D . Jim Gibbinson

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Black Magic was a hugely successful bait developed by which duo?

A . Len Bunn/Dick Weale B . Clive Diedrich/Malcolm Winkworth C . Bill Cottam/Tim Paisley D . Rod Hutchinson/Gary Bayes

Which of the following, as head of Leisure Sport Angling, oversaw the controversial removal of the Longfield carp?

A . Ian Welch B . Jack Ashford C . Mick Barnes D . John Stent

Who was the second man to catch a Redmire 40, after Richard Walker?

A . Pete Thomas B . Eddie Price C . Chris Yates D . Jack Hilton

02 Who caught the first ever forty-pound carp from Yateley Car Park Lake in 1979?

A . Ritchie MacDonald B . Terry Lampard C . Robin Dix D . Kenny Hodder

03 The famous Parrot from Horton Church Lake originally came from which lake?

A . Longfield B . Rayners Pond C . Moor Lane D . Colnebrook West

06 Which duo helped inspire Terry Hearn’s Hinged Stiff Rig? A . Nige Sharp/Jamie Smith B . Andy Kidd/Alan Welch C . Micky Gray/Phil Jackson D . Rob Maylin/Jeff Pink

07 Which famous angler invented the 360º Rig? A . Max Cottis B . Dave Lane C . Martin Clarke D . Ian Chillcott

10 Which bait company launched a range of boilies in association with Rob Maylin in the 1990s?

A . Richworth B . Nashbait C . Rod Hutchinson D . Catchum

12 Maestro Baits was launched by which legendary angler?

A . Kevin Maddocks B . Peter Springate C . Bob Baker D . Albert Romp

13 Catchum Baits was once run

by Kevin Nash and which other carp legend?

A . Rob Maylin B . Gary Bayes C . Rod Hutchinson D . John Baker Right, see you next month… (that’s from the 24th June)

ANSWERS: 1: C. 2: D. 3: C. 4: D. 5: B. 6: B. 7: B. 8: D. 9: B. 10: B. 11: A. 12: A. 13: C.

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Small but perfectly formed.

The Gizmo alarms from Sonik offer top performance in a miniature package.

Available as 2, 3 or 4 + 1 sets, each with a free bivvy lamp.

From only £199.99 RRP