EFOR R E FFISRHINYGREADE ER EV
OVER £1,900 WORTH OF PRIZES FROM AVID, CYGNET & NAVITAS
ide ns ls i tai De
craftyc
arper.c o
No.218 October 2015
October 2015 | Issue 218 | £4.25 PLUS FEATURES FROM
Ed Betteridge
RECO BRE RD The AKE stor y be R fish hind in t
Simon Crow Jake Wildbore Julian Cundiff Dave Lane
Get Crafty... GET CATCHING!
h BYC AC h e bigge istor st y
The science behind why fish love spending time in the green stuff
SPREAD YOUR WINGS
Fed up of fishing busy lakes? Give the river a try
RIG MECHANICS
On sale 23rd September–20th October 2015
WEED EXPLAINED
Why keeping it simple can be the best solution
craftycarper.co
COST-EFFECTIVE CARPING: ARE BOILIES AT £3 A KILO REALLY ANY GOOD? 001_Cover_CC218.indd 1
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Crafty Carper /// Issue 218 /// October 2015 /// www.craftycarper.co
7
Editorial James Turner
On the cover: Ben Hunt with the Big Common from Oxlease, taken during the 2015 BYCAC final.
Editor James looks at what’s
in store for you in this issue of Crafty Carper, as well as giving
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48
look at weed, the types commonly
through the capture of a BYCAC record, at 47lb+, and past
found in lakes, and how you can still
champion and now event marshal Brad Greening looks at
catch from the weediest of venues.
what the competition is all about, and what it has to offer.
Weed Explained David Smith
Fishery manager David takes a close
Crafty Carper Under-21s *BYCAC Special*
his thoughts for the month,
Dan Price describes how he won the 2015 British
and what he’s been up to.
Young Carpers’ Angling Championship, Ben Hunt talks us
9
The Knowledge Dave Lane
This month, Dave has been more of a social butterfly, with the MNDA
EGEFODRER R FFISHINY REA ER EV
charity event at Linear Fisheries.
M AVID, CYGNET & NAVITAS OVER £1,900 WORTH OF PRIZES FRO
He was kept busy, helping others to catch and have a good time angling.
e sid s in tail De
14
Avid Carp Competition We’ve got just short of £800
worth of the new Avid Carp Megabite
No.218 October 2015
Bedchairs to give away to our readers craftyca rper.co
this month, and all you have to do is answer a simple question.
25
It’s A Family Affair Ed Betteridge
When you can combine your favourite
| October 2015 | Issue 218 £4.25
hobby with some quality family
PLUS M FEATURES FRO
time, you’ve surely hit the jackpot. This is what Ed does, and his kids
RECOR BRE D AKE The story R b ehin fish d
Ed Betteridge Simon Crow Jake Wildbore Julian Cundiff Dave Lane
love spending time on the bank.
31
Don’t Follow The Crowd Jake Anderson
With many waters up and down the
in BY t CAC he bigge histo st ry
country packed to the rafters with
Get Crafty... GET CATCHING !
optimistic anglers on a weekend, we see how Jake Anderson opts to be a little different to reap the rewards.
37
Crafty Catch Column Sponsored by Sticky Baits
This is the place to get your catch pictures published, so send them in to us, and you’re in with the chance of a great prize from those top guys at Sticky Baits.
October 2015
The science behind why fish love spending time in the green stuff
Fed up of fishing busy lakes? Give the river a try
Why keeping it simple can be the best solution
craftycarper.co
IES AT £3 A KILO REALLY ANY COST-EFFECTIVE CARPING: ARE BOIL
61
– Baitology
This month we take a
17
Rivers Jake Wildbore
Jake leaves the busy day ticket
cuisine on the shelves of a tackle shop near you, as well as the Editor’s Choice of the month, and a crafty tip from Joe Turnbull. Cygnet Competition With the recent release of
GOOD?
the new Cygnet incorporating Muddy
08/09/2015 14:58
Unlocking The
Here you’ll find the latest
and greatest products of carpy
66
001_Cover_CC218.indd 1
Carp Food Special
57
Carp Food
RIG MECHANICS
On sale 23rd September–20th
D WEED EXPLAINE
WINGS SPREAD YOUR
81
A Simple Rig For All Occasions Harry Hales
Young Harry is a cracking angler,
Waters bite indicators, we managed to get hold of 15 sets to offer as prizes for our readers, and they aren’t half tarty!
69
Clear-water Carping Marv Wait
look at the latest boilie
lakes behind him as he heads
and has caught numerous big
to be made available here
off to fish the running water,
fish by keeping his rigs as
water can be challenging at the best
in the UK, with quality
and looks at what it takes
simple as possible. He’s got
of times, but Marv loves nothing more
and affordability being
to get amongst some truly
one for whichever type of
than going up against the fish in this
the main attributes.
stunning nomadic river carp.
lakebed he encounters.
type of environment. Fine-tune your
Pitting your wits against carp in clear
end tackle with his help on page 69.
4
Crafty Carper
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Contents /// October 2015
111
74
The Question Is This month’s carping
conundrums are answered by our panel
104
In Focus – JRC If you’re in the market
for a quality bivvy which is both
119
Real Overnighters Julian Cundiff
Our man Jules fits his angling around
of experts. If you get your question
light in weight and very practical,
a very busy work and home life, and
answered, you’ll receive a cracking
then the Stealth X-Lite from JRC
here looks at how you can make
prize delivered straight to your door.
is well worth a closer look.
the most of fishing short overnight
86
Subscribe If you want to get your
favourite carp-fishing magazine
105
sessions in between work. In Focus – SONIK With the new
SKS range from SONIK taking
125
Carp Angling My Way Claudia Darga
Well-known German angler Claudia
through your letter box every month,
2015 by storm, we look at
then this is the place to go. The
their carp safety equipment,
wants to help more ladies take
offer for every subscription this
which is both very good quality
up the pastime of carp angling.
month is some Berkley Whiplash.
and priced conservatively.
She hasn’t looked back since she
Simon Crow
This month, Simon looks at the subject
107
being comfortable on the bank
New Direction
and enjoying your surroundings.
It may be another set of alarms, but
of target selection. You may want the
these are a little different because
biggest or prettiest in the lake, but it’s
the receiver also has a Bluetooth
not always as easy as that. It takes
function to link to a smartphone.
preparation, dedication, and hard work.
Find out more on page 107.
94
The TicketMaster We’ve got four day ticket
fisheries from across the country in
started carping, and it’s all about
In Focus –
109
130
Mega Deals If you’re up for a
bargain then you’ll definitely want to head over to page 130 to check out our Mega Deals for
Navitas
some of the best offers from the
Competition
country’s leading retailers.
With winter just around the corner,
the pages of TicketMaster this month,
we’ve got together with the guys
and free fishing offers for every reader
at Navitas to offer five lucky
to take advantage of. Get on it!
readers the chance to own the
COMPETITION
88
From The Crow’s Nest
awesome NVTS All-Season Suit.
99
Carpers’ Kit We take a look at some of the
best products on the market, and give you the low-down on what’s hot and
111
Fishing The Gravel Rob Burgess
Rob tackled the tricky Kingsmead 1,
what’s not. Plus, the Crafty Team give
and reveals how he succeeded by
you their essential items this month.
targeting gravelly areas rather than
103
In Focus – ECU On page 103 you’ll find
a review of the latest offering from Edwards Custom upgrades. They have now created their own bite alarms
the usual silty and weedy spots which are often fished on the lake.
116
Inbox Keep up to date
with the latest news, and you can
and receivers, hand-built in England,
also get in touch to see what’s
and it’s tarty tackle at its finest.
happening on the carpy grapevine.
Crafty Carper 004-005_Contents_CC218.indd 2
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WEED EXPLAINED D
a
v
i
d
S
m
i
t
h
David is a fishery manager who studied under the watchful eye of Simon Scott and Viv Shears at Sparsholt. Since leaving, he’s put his hard work to good use, working for Mainstream Fisheries, as well as currently running his own syndicate waters. He knows a fair bit about lakes, their inhabitants, and how they tick.
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Weed Explained David Smith
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MaKinG BYCaC HiSTOrY ANGLER PROFILE.
Ben Hunt Age 16
Hometown
Brigg UK personal best
This month, in our BYCAC special in the Under-21s section of Crafty, we’ve got a young man who recently caught the biggest fish in the history of the British Young Carpers’ Angling Championships.
47lb 15oz
Under-21s
1
52
I
2
t was that time again, BYCAC 2015, and after a pretty hairy qualifier,
off the mark in the 2015 BYCAC final. The fish was netted and weighed,
going through with just one fish, I
and while it was on the mat just about
managed to book myself a place in the
to be held up for pictures, my other rod
final. I came seventh out of the draw
sprung into life. I had a feeling that it
and chose Peg 16; it was a swim that
was a better fish just after its first run;
controlled a lot of water, which was
funnily enough, I had accidently left my
useful if the fish headed into the water
line clips on, and if I didn’t start gaining
to my right. It had no angling pressure
some line straight away, I would never
because it couldn’t be fished by any
have known what I was attached to.
other anglers. After an eventless day
I cranked down on the fish, praying
on the Friday and still nothing through
that my Zig link and Size 8 Mixa hook
the night, I was starting to doubt a
would stay strong until I got some
few things. First of all, I changed my
line back. After the nerve-racking first
spot where I was fishing, as I could
run, a fairly calm fight followed until
see the fish obviously weren’t in the
it was down in my left-hand margin.
area to my right. I tied up fresh Zigs,
I could see it was a common, and I
cut to the length I thought would
turned round to my mates, Josh and
be the one. I could see that the fish
Austin, and one of the marshals, and
were in the upper layers of water,
said, “It looks a mid-20.” But the look
so I opted for an 11ft and a 10½ft
on their faces as they also got their
Zig fished in 12ft of water, one with
first glance of it was a bit different to
black foam and a yellow aligner, and
mine. I didn’t think much of it though,
the other with black foam and a red
even though they did have a better
aligner. Simon Scott walked around
viewpoint from up on the bank behind
on Saturday morning and asked me
me. The fish then went on a second
how it was going. I replied, “No, it’s
run, this time down the right-hand
not the one, it’s not going too well.”
margin, and stripped another 20 yards
Well, didn’t that turn out to be totally
or so from the spool. It was battling
wrong. I was putting out four Spombs
its hardest to stay away from the net.
of sloppy CC Moore Sweet Nut Cloud
Finally, after gaining the last few yards
along with maggots every 25 minutes,
of line, it was then that I realised it was
and at 10.00 a.m. I received my first
a serious unit of a fish, just by looking
take, a 13lb 10oz mirror. This got me
at the size of its head! I had the fish at
1: Using solid bags didn’t seem to be working for me at the start. 2: A switch over to Zigs was my next option. 3: The Big Common in all her glory. 4: What a moment! 5: The moment of truth – 47lb 15oz. 6: I couldn’t believe it!
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08/09/2015 11:40
BYCAC 2015 Special – Crafty Carper Under-21s Making BYCAC History
3
4
the net cord, but my first and second
net. I was completely speechless.
attempts at landing it didn’t go to plan.
Everywhere I turned I had people
I just couldn’t get the net under the
congratulating me on my capture.
gut of the fish, despite wading out
We hoisted it onto the mats, and
to my knees in the water, because of
up on the scales the needle swung
a shallow weedy margin. It was third
around to a massive 47lb 15oz. Not
time lucky, and I managed to get the
only was this my first UK 40, but
net under the massive common. Get in!
also a new PB, smashing my old one
It was no easy task trying to land an
by over 13lb. I had got my hands
upper-40 on an 11ft Zig, but as
on the prize everyone wants
soon as it was in the net,
when fishing Oxlease
I dropped my rod and
– the Big Common!
firmly took hold of
I lifted her
the landing net
up for all the
arms. I peered
cameras, but
over to look into
I really didn’t
the net, to find
know where to
that my prize
look because
lying there was
there were
one big cheese of a common carp, and the width of it was like nothing I had ever seen before. Straight away I had a feeling that
so many lenses 5
pointing at me. After a few minutes for everyone to capture the moment, I got a soaking for my
it could have been the Oxlease Big
capture. I laid her back down and
Common, due to the distinctive marks
headed for the water, got some
on either side of it. Austin was on the
more shots in there, gave her a little
walkie-talkie to the other marshals,
kiss goodbye, and then released her
informing them that the Big Common
to make somebody else’s dreams
was resting in my net. Before I knew
come true. This was soon followed
it, my swim was absolute chaos. Every
by a massive shout and a cheer
marshal was in there, and then all the
from me! What a moment it was.
Sky cameras! It still hadn’t sunk in
Not only had I caught the fish of
that I had the lake’s biggest fish in my
a lifetime, I had also made BYCAC history by landing the biggest
6
fish ever in the competition! I was still on cloud nine for the last 24hrs, and with a four-fish capture at the close, I finished in sixth place, with an overall weight of just over 94lb. I loved every minute of it, and cannot wait for next year. A massive thank you to everyone who made it possible, and also well done to Dan on winning the event, and all the other competitors for making it such an enjoyable time. What an absolute cheese of a common, and it’s a moment I will not forget for a long time. Bring on next year! CC
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Fishing The Gravel Rob Burgess
Gravel pits are traditionally clear weedy lakes. The way I approach
them should they be feeding there. Especially at this time of year, the
be clean; they can still have a small
pull the tip ever so slowly. I see a
amount of silkweed on top of them.
lot of people pulling the lead across
these sorts of lakes often depends
water is cooling down, and on warm,
The best way to locate these spots is
the bottom really fast, but the
on the time of year. Now we are
sunny days, the fish love spending
with a bare lead on some braided main
trouble with this is that it lifts the
moving into autumn, the fish have
time on top of the shallower bars and
line. I tend to have a few casts around
lead off the bottom and you don’t
most likely been caught on these
plateaus. The biggest edge in fishing is
with it until I feel what I’m looking for.
get a true indication as to what
features already, and become very
location and ensuring that you are on
If you land on gravel, you will get a
is on the lakebed. The best way
cautious when feeding on them.
the fish. Even if they are tricky to catch,
heavy thud on the rod tip. If it lands in
to do it is to drag the lead across
Regardless of the fact that the fish
as long as you can get on them, that’s
weed, you won’t feel much at all, and it
the bottom really slowly. If it pulls
are wary of them, these spots will
the main thing. On gravel pits there will
lands with a much softer drop. I don’t
across the bottom easily, you know
still be visited regularly. The main
most likely be plenty of weed about,
use a marker float, as I can feel roughly
it is a very clean bottom. If it’s small,
thing is to put something down
and quite often the only remotely
for how long the lead is falling through
sharp taps then it will be very fine
which will tempt them to feed,
clean areas are gravel. This doesn’t
the water and just how deep it is.
gravel. If it doesn’t tap as much and
and use a rig that won’t spook
always necessarily mean that they will
I favour an in-line lead setup when fishing on really clean spots.
The key to finding clear spots is to
still feels clean, but the tip takes
Solid bags allow me to use a short hooklink, and protect the hook from burring on the gravel.
Once the spot is located, wrap the line around some marker sticks to get all the rods clipped up to it.
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Fishing The Gravel
Rob Burgess
By leading around with just a bare lead on some braid, you will be able to locate any gravel areas.
Most gravel pits are full of weed, and it’s worth trying to find a clear spot close to the larger beds.
Blending the leader and hooklink to the lakebed can really help in clear water, and so can putty for pinning everything down.
a little while to recover, you may
area. This ensures the bait won’t all fall
the rest of the freebies. With this mix
hooklinks hard to deal with, and
have a light covering of weed there.
down in one hole. Some will still land
I can use a single 12 or 16mm bottom
the very nature of the way they
Once I have found the piece of
on my rigs, but I want the main bulk
bait, a wafter tipped with corn, or
feed on such spots lends itself to
of the bait in the middle of the spot.
a wafter on its own, none of which
them. The fish don’t move too far
With regards to the bait itself, I use
will stand out as being dangerous.
between each bait, so often sit
fan of fishing in the centre of the
a mixture of different things. I usually
If the spot is very clean gravel, I
spot, much preferring to go towards
opt for a mix of hemp, some bloodworm
prefer an in-line lead arrangement. The
something that they can feel as
the edge of it. From my past
pellets, sweetcorn, and 12mm and
nice clean bottom lends itself to this
soon as they pick up the rig. A
experience, whether it’s the front,
16mm Vor-Tex boilies. I also like to
lead arrangement, which I believe to be
longer hooklink has a chance of
back or side, I think it is a lot easier
break up a few boilies, just to make
the most effective lead arrangement
sitting in the carp’s mouth for a
to get a bite from these spots. In
sure there are lots of different shapes,
in regards to hooking fish. I can also
while before it feels the lead. I want
this case, I like to bait as accurately
sizes and smells in the swim. I don’t
get away with using a very short
to use the lead arrangement to my
as I can. I almost want to put all my
like using something whereby the fish
hooklink tucked inside a solid bag.
advantage, and hook them as
bait in the middle of the gravelly
can easily pick out the hookbait from
I’ve found that fish seem to find short
soon as they pick up the rig.
gravel, I then look at where to fish on that particular spot. I’m not a
quite tight to the bottom. I want
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COMING SOON A BOOK ABOUT CARP FISHING BY ALI HAMIDI
THE CARPERS’ HIGH
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