Carpworld March 2013

S P RI NG I NTO AC TIO N DAVE LA N E ON T H E I M P OR TA N C E OF L EA RN I N G F RO M S E A S O N S PA S T

ISSUE 270 / MARCH 2013 / MONTHLY £4.50

ISSUE 270 MARCH 2013

BIG NAMES

IAIN MACMILLAN JULIAN CUNDIFF PAUL FORWARD BRIAN SKOYLES IAN CHILLCOTT MARK HOLMES

BRITAIN’S BIGGEST CARP-ANGLING MAGAZINE

SIMON CROW BILL COTTAM

BOXING CLEVER Professional fighter Wa r r e n Fe n n r eve a l s w hy car p fishing is like being in the ring

anglingpublications.co.uk/carpworld

THE SUPPLE MEN

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ISSUE 113 March

2013

ALL ABOA RD!

P176 All you need to know abo ut boa t-fish ing for car p from Dutc h expe CATCH REP r t Ed Skill z ORTS SALAGOU S OLITUDE GLOBETROT TER

CARP ANGLING AROUND THE WORLD ED SKILLZ’ ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO BOAT FISHING / ECHOES AROUND THE WORLD TONY DAVIES-PATRICK / HOW TO TACKLE THE BEAUTIFUL SALAGOU

P165 Our mo n t h l y ro u n d up of the car p c a p t u re s t h at m a t t e r f ro m a ro u n d t h e g l o be

P172 Alexan der Kobler e x p l o re s t h e P 1 8 4 To n y D a special tacti vies-Patrick cs to tackle this goes to Holla beautiful lak nd with a e ALSO INSID very unexpe E THIS ISSUE c t e d re s u l t : 182 MARN E VA L L E Y C A RPING • 19 164_ICCover_CW2 4 SPOTLIGHT 70.indd 1 ON MURPHY ’S LAKE 15/02/2013 14:56

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Contents March 2013 / Issue 270

SPRING INTO ACTION DAVE LANE ON THE IMPOR TANCE

ISSUE 270 MARCH

ISSUE 270 / MARCH

2013 / MONTHLY

£4.50

BIG NAME S

IAIN MACMILLAN

2013 BRITAIN’S BIGGEST

JULIAN CUNDIFF PAUL FORWARD BRIAN SKOYLES IAN CHILLCOTT MARK HOLMES SIMON CROW BILL COTTAM

BOXING CLEVER Professiona l fighter Wa r r e n Fe n n reveals why carp fi shing is lik e being in th e ring

CARP-ANGLING MAGAZINE

anglingpubl

ARMO U P DAT E D www.anglingpub

ON THE COVER Warren Fenn takes time out from his hectic life as a pro boxer. Check out his feature on page 157.

OF LEARNING FROM SEASONS PAST

THE SU PPL

EMENT

ications.co.

FOR T HE INT ER

N AT I O

uk/carpwor

NAL A NGLE

ven Trakker have gi g their best-sellin for bivvy a revamp 2013. Find out what’s new on p114

ISSUE 113

lications.co.uk

ALL A BOA

CARP ANG LIN

G AROUND ED SKILLZ’ ESSENTIAL THE WORLD GUIDE TONY DAVIES-PATRICK TO BOAT FISHING / ECHOES AROUND THE WORLD / HOW TO TACKLE THE BEAUTIFUL SALAGOU

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March 2013

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P165 Our monthly up of the roundcarp captures matter from around P172 Alexander that the globe explores Kobler to tackle the special tactics INSIDE P184 Tony this beautiful THIS I SSUE: goes to Davies-Patrick 182 M lake ARNE Holland VA L L E 1 very unexpected with Y CAR a PING result • 194 SPOTL IGHT O N MUR PHY’S LAKE

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REGULARS

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Editor’s Comment Steve Broad New kid on the block Steve Broad introduces himself to you all, and reveals a little bit about himself.

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Gazette We bring you all the news from the carp-fishing scene to keep you up to date with what’s going on.

40

Rig World Mike Kavanagh Another goodie-packed feature from our man Mike, taking a look at products from Solar, Taska, and Gamakatsu.

We also get a great first look at Fox’s new Zig Aligna.

93

Ask The Experts This month John Kneebone and Matt Eaton answer questions from our readers on whether braided main lines damage your rods, and the importance of bait flavouring, and how to be different.

127

Open Access Waters Simon Crow This month crazy old Crowy travels 266 miles for a day-session on Longleat, in Wiltshire with his old mate Rob Hughes.

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Top 20 Carp Captures Simon Crow Snow, ice, and even floods haven’t stopped the nation’s carpers. Simon reveals his top 20 favourite captures from the last month.

Bait World Joe Turnbull This month Joe discusses the thorny subject of bait quality, has a quick chat with Neil Spooner, and interviews Tony Smitherman of Premier Baits.

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Historic Carp Waters Chris Ball In the 1960s, if you were tuned into what is known these days as the carp grapevine, you would have come across a water near Sevenoaks, known simply as Spicers.

Carping Allegedly Bill Cottam Bill brings us another mixed bag of goodies this month, all bound together by a huge amount of Rotherham’s finest wisdom, wit, and wisecracks. We’re sure Bill must be a scriptwriter for Michael McIntyre.

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Knowledge Is Power Ian Chillcott Chilly talks tactics, and points us in the right direction when it comes to planning a new campaign.

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Now I Didn’t See That Coming Adam Clewer You can prepare, but you can’t plan! Adam arrived at a lake that had changed beyond all recognition, and he had to adapt quickly.

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The Golden Tickets!

James Vincent For those of you out there who are struggling to get on to good waters, James’ situation may seem like heaven. But deciding where and when to fish, and then paying for it, can be a nightmarish, and costly, exercise.

FEATURES

81 4

Think Tank Martin Locke, Ellis Brazier, Martin Pick and Ben Dowers are our guest panellists this month and take a look at how much the shape of hooks and bait play a part in their angling.

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In Like a Lion, out Like a Lamb Dave Lane What can you expect, and what tactics should you be using as the first rays of weak sunshine herald the arrival of spring? Dave’s all for fishing, but it’s got to be the right time and the right place.

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Six Of The Best Iain Macmillan When you’ve caught as many fish as Iain, picking six of the best is not an easy job. He gave us three to look at last month, and here are the final three for us to drool over.

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F Word Paul Forward With the weather doing its best to keep Paul off the bank, he sets himself the target of a carp in the snow, and experiences some truly awesome January action.

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Contents

12 FOR THE PRICE OF 10

SUBSCRIBE TO CARPWORLD SEE PAGE 125 FOR MORE INFO

35

T H E S U P P L E M E N T F O R T H E I N T E R N AT I O N A L A N G L E R

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Winter Carping Julian Cundiff and Brian Skoyles When the going gets tough, the tough get going! So say Julian and Brian as they continue their series on cold-water carping.

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Relevant Retro Mark Holmes We often hear the expression ‘old school’. But what does it mean, and, more importantly, how relevant is it to today’s carp fishing? Mark thinks that far too often lessons from the past are forgotten.

TACKLE AND BAIT

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How Do They Do That?

Nigel Banks Nanotechnology is the buzzword in rod manufacture.

Carpworld’s Nigel Banks visited Hardy & Greys’ Alnwick headquarters to see how they are harnessing this new technology in their new rod range, the Aircurve.

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Tackle Talk Three pages of all that’s good and great in the tackle shop at the moment. There’s a little bit of something to suit everyone’s taste and needs.

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Away From The Ring Warren Fenn Pro boxer and keen bigcarp angler Warren Fenn tells us how he managed to bank some lovely carp from a syndicate pool, whilst making a career in the ring.

Tackle Talk Special 1 We take an in-depth look at JRC’s new solarpowered Radar alarms.

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Tackle Talk Special 2 Want to be mobile when you’re fishing? Then Aqua’s new offering, the Atom, could be right up your street.

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Tackle Talk Special 3 Trakker’s iconic bivvy, the Armo, has been reengineered, so the Carpworld team put it under the spotlight for a closer inspection, and they liked what they found!

UP FOR GRABS

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Fox Competition What is the ultimate brolly on the market? A firm contender could be the awesome new Supa Brolly System from Fox, and what’s more, we’ve got three to be won!

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Cygnet Competition Are you looking for the ultimate rod support system? Then Cygnet’s Grand Sniper Extreme Pod could be for you, and you’ve got the chance to win one too!

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Carp In Focus Here’s your chance to get your pictures printed in Carpworld as we look at some of the best photographs we’ve seen over the past month, with great prizes from top clothing brand Navitas for those featured.

ISSUE 113 March 2013

ALL ABOARD! P 1 7 6 E ve r y t h i n g yo u n e e d t o k n ow a b o u t b o a t fi s h i n g fo r c a r p f ro m D u t c h e x p e r t E d S k i l l z

CATCH REPOR TS

SALAGOU SOLITUDE

GLOBETROTTER

P 1 6 5 O u r m o n t h l y ro u n d u p o f t h e c a r p c a p t u re s t h a t m a t t e r f ro m a ro u n d t h e g l o b e

P172 Alexander Kobler e x p l o re s t h e s p e c i a l t a c t i c s to tackle this beautiful lake

P 1 8 4 To n y D a v i e s - P a t r i c k goes to Holland with a v e r y u n e x p e c t e d re s u l t

A L S O I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E : 1 8 2 M A R N E VA L L E Y C A R P I N G • 1 9 4 S P O T L I G H T O N M U R P H Y ’ S L A K E 164_ICCover_CW270.indd 1

15/02/2013 10:00

In International Carper There’s another action-packed International Carper for you this month, with some wonderful photographs! Firstly, there are our catch reports from around the world in Echoes. You’ll be amazed at how many carp are still being caught – even in the snow! Secondly, we bring you a cracking feature by Alexander Kobler on fishing the French lake Salagou. Next, Ed Skillz shows us how fishing from a boat can open up new horizons for carp anglers.

Finally, our good friend Tony DaviesPatrick takes a trip to Holland for a fishing adventure. To top it all off we’ve got two cracking holiday venues for you to look at, Murphy’s Lake and Marne Valley Carping.

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Gazette

Taska Sponsor Welsh Carp Championships 2013 will see the start of a brand new carping tournament and Taska will sponsor the whole event, incorporating both adult and junior competitions.

Boasting a host of sponsors, including tackle specialists SONIK, the new competition is being organised by Richard Cox from Garry Evans Tackle Centres, and the Birch Syndicate owner Martin Cronin.

Set to begin at the end of May, the 48-hour angling pairs tournament will take place over five of South Wales’ most prolific venues: The Birch Syndicate, Lamby Lake, Hendre Lake, White Springs, and Fendrod Lake.

Each lake will hold an eliminator round, with the final being held on the Birch Syndicate on 21st June. Taska have been announced as sponsors of the event and the junior event, which will run from the end of August.

The 9-hour eliminator matches will

all be held on Hendre Lake from 24th August, and will lead to a 24-hour final on 14th September. A recent announcement from Taska stated that they are ‘proud to announce their sponsorship of the Welsh Carp Championships’, and indicated: ‘Taska MD Steve Tasker is said to be delighted to be involved with the Championships at such an early stage, and believes that together we can build the event to be as big as possible.’

Tickets went on sale in early December, and early indications show that the event will be a sell-out. Entry cost is just £70 per pair and tickets are available through Richard Cox at Garry Evans Fishing Tackle, Cardiff. The prize for the overall winner is £1,000, and prizes for runners-up include a trip to John Lilley’s lake in France, a Birch Syndicate ticket worth £350, and a three-day cabin trip to White Springs.

Tea Kettle Fisheries To Open May 2013 David Mennie, owner of the beautiful Greenacres Lake to the north of Peterborough, is set to open a brand new syndicate lake in May of this year. One of three waters under the name Tea Kettle Fisheries, Whittlemere is a beautiful 20-acre water to the east of Peterborough, which is stocked with 450+ carp to around the 20lb+ mark, many of which have never been caught. The fish are 6-7 years old, and were stocked by a local farmer with the intention of breeding and harvesting carp. A friend of David Mennie, the farmer decided to sell the waters, and experienced angler and fishery owner David saw an opportunity to open a young and up-and-coming fishery. Whittlemere will open as a syndicate, and with a membership fee of £350, the venue already has plenty of applications prior to its spring opening.

Tea Kettle has two other lakes, which

are currently under development and will be opened over the course of the next few years. David told us that the 11-acre second lake will be opened next year and will be available for exclusive bookings, along with a 20-acre reservoir to be opened in the future once it has been fully developed.

The venue, as with David’s Greenacres Lake, will be run under Premium Carp Fishing Ltd., a group formed in 2006 by experienced fishery managers Gary Spencer and Mike Hawes.

The group, in association with Fenland Fisheries Ltd., also runs Abbey Lakes in Cambridgeshire, Vermuyden Lake, and Le Queroy in southwest France, ensuring that Tea Kettle Fisheries has a first-class team behind it, which should ensure a fantastic place to fish.

Anyone interested in joining the new syndicate should contact Gary Spencer at spencer.gary@btconnect.com

Blue Bucket Appeal Backed by angling stars such as Keith Arthur, John Wilson, Bob Nudd, and TV personality and angling enthusiast, Chris Tarrant, Les Webber’s Angling Projects provides a fantastic angling outlet for youngsters up and down the country.

The award-winning organisation will be present at this year’s Carpin’ On, with a Blue Bucket Appeal to help raise money for Angling Projects, which provides facilities, educational courses, and fishing equipment to help children at risk from drugs and crime. Scheme founder Les Webber’s Blue Bucket Appeal will be at the Five Lakes show, and he is asking attending anglers to donate just £1 into the blue buckets, which will be placed around the displays. The money raised will help Les to continue to provide facilities and equipment free of charge to the youngsters from all walks of life.

The Carpin’ On 2013 show will take place on 2nd-3rd March, and will feature some of the biggest names and manufacturers the industry has to offer. Head over towww.carpinon. co.uk to book your tickets for the UK’s number one carp-fishing exhibition.

An Amendment In the February edition we printed an advert for Eric’s Angling, which unfortunately contained an error.

The Shimano Aero Technium Mgs XTB reel was marked with a price of £549.99, when in fact it is not available at this price. The correct price for this item should have been £649.99, and it is available at this price now from Eric’s Angling www.ericsangling.co.uk Tel: 01430 444063.

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18/02/2013 17:40

Gazette

Coming This Spring...

We take a look at the very latest gear from some of the leading manufacturers and recommend that you shoot off to your local tackle shop for a closer inspection...

Fox Zig Alignas Fox’s nifty little invention takes the aligner sleeve to the next level by incorporating a small bait band, and comes complete with a loading tool to slide in a piece of foam.

The components will be available to buy

Trakker Levelite Bed

Nash Purple Monster Squid

The bulky locking cams are gone, as

Nash has said that in testing, their new bait

Trakker do away with the bedchair concept and

has performed so well that even they were

bring us a comfortable, completely level, and extremely

surprised by the results. The famous Monster

light bed. It folds down nice and

Squid flavour will soon be available

tight, and weighs only 9.6kg.

in Purple, and will be available in

separately, or as part of a kit.

freezer baits, pop-ups, and dips.

Solar Titanium Indicators

Korda Finger Stalls Korda have recently released a

Solar say that these are the most

few new items for the spring, and

‘versatile indicators ever made’.

amongst them are the new Korda

Set to be released this spring,

Finger Stalls. They are made from

Solar say that these indicators

hard-wearing material to give

will allow you to adapt your bite

protection when long-range casting

indication to any situation.

and doing marker work.

WIN ON E N E X T MONTH!

Fish Rod Hutchinson’s Woldview

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the stock. There is one 40lb mirror in the lake, with around eight 30s (five mirrors and three commons), with the majority of the fish being around the 20lb mark. Plus, there is a restocking planned for later in the year.

The syndicate has 25 members, who fish from 1st April to 31st March for a £460 fee. There is a Portaloo on site, a syndicate hut, and parking behind the majority of the swims. The lake is reed-fringed and is fed by underground springs, giving the lake really excellent water quality.

Interested anglers should contact Darius directly on 07766 144962.

COMPETITION WINNERS from January’s issue (CW268)

Rod Hutchinson’s Woldview syndicate is a beautiful, remote spring-fed water which lies within the Lincolnshire Wolds. Rod has kept an expert eye on the venue for over 30 years, and has turned the 12-acre water into a fantastic place to fish.

Many anglers would covet a place on such a water, but according to Darius Osbourne, who runs the syndicate, there are a few vacancies on offer for Carpworld readers. Some of the Woldview fish have a long history; some were stocked after the desilting of a pool in the grounds of a hotel called Stapleton, and found their way into Woldview after Rod purchased

Diem Competition The ten winners each receive a Diem EQ+ Jacket worth £59.99.

Paul Southern, Bolton, Lancs.

Aaron Green, Swaf am, Norfolk.

Sean Joyce, Hitchen, Herts.

J. Jensen, Berkhamsted, Herts.

Gordon Harrison, Newton-le-Willows, Lancs.

Mark Roulstone, Weston-super-Mare, Somerset.

Gary Chapman, Rotherhithe, London.

Matthew Lee, Billericay, Essex.

Mr. R. Jennings, Milton Keynes, Bucks.

Tom O’ Dwyer, Peckham, London.

Taska Competition The three winners each receive an Etna Pod, three Sensalite Bite Indicators and three Stainless Butt Rests worth a total £357.74.

Chris Rush, Snetterton, Norfolk.

Simon Hanson, Yateley, Hants.

Anthony Brown, Manchester.

The Cranium-Crushing Crossword Competition The three winners each receive a Carpworld Hoody and Hat.

E.J. Orchard, Poole, Dorset.

David Kinsell, Bedfont, Middlesex.

Doug Ironside, Eastbourne, East Sussex.

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M I K E

K AVA N A G H ’ S

T

THIS MONTH IN RIGWORLD:

aska, Fox, Gamakatsu and Solar Tackle are providing the goods, and providing food for thought in his Rig Talk is N-Brice Stainless owner Neville Brice, who gives us an insight into the terminal tackle he favours and a couple of the rigs he uses, and why. But first I want to start with my trip down to Fox HQ to meet up with media manager Lewis Porter, who was keen to get my take on a new line-aligner for Zig Rig fishing, which Fox are very excited about. With spring just around the corner, carp on a lot of waters will be seizing the opportunity to sample a fresh supply of natural food as well as getting a taste for the special dishes we will have prepared earlier to fire up their sluggish metabolism. But until they are properly on the feed, rigs will play more than a part in their downfall, none more so than Zig Rigs. With very little natural cover for bottom bait rigs and main lines at the present time, now is still one of the best times to present a bait in the upper layers, so that’s why I’m starting with my meeting with Lewis where he unveiled the new Fox Zig Aligna.

BELOW A new season ahead of us and a few more good-looking carp like this will be very welcome thank you!

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18/02/2013 17:23

Rig World Mike Kavanagh

Fox Zig Aligna

Using the Fox Zig Aligna

MK: S o Lewi s , yo u m en t i oned o n t he p ho n e t ha t F ox had g o t s o m et hi n g a bi t s p eci al fo r Zi g R i g fi s hi n g – yo u ’ve g o t my f u l l a t t en t i on!

That’s right. Well, just to give you a little bit of background first, Mark Pitchers and I have been doing a lot of fieldtesting with Zig Rigs.

We started last year fishing Zigs with the Fox pre-curved line-aligners that we normally use for bottom baits, but we were trimming them down just to increase the gape of our hooks, because with an inturned eye the line was kicking in too much.

We started doing that because we wanted more takes to be converted into carp landed. For some reason, when anglers use a Zig Rig they seem effectively got is a softer version of our to almost accept that some of the existing line-aligner with a moulded takes will be aborted, or soon after loop on its back in three different hooking one it falls off. We wanted colours that accepts a trimmed length to try to improve the hooked-toof foam stick. The kit contains three landed ratio, so that’s how our trials matching colours of foam so you can with line-aligners came about. Then have all yellow, all red and all black, or Rob Hughes dived at Horseshoe you can mix and Lake and he match. By the photographed “ We d i d n ’ t wa n t t o way, the foam an emerging m i m i c s o m e t h i n g t h a t sticks and Aligna nymph coming l i v e s o u t o f t h e w a t e r are available up off the on the surface, we separately. The kit bottom. The also comes with a shape of the wanted to replicate loading tool that nymph had this something a carp makes positioning fat head and comes into contact the foam very tail section that with subsurface” easy. One of the looked like the problems fishing line-aligner foam with a traditional Knotless Knot we’d been using, which encouraged Hair Rig, particularly if you use a hook us further. So we discussed this with an inturned eye, is the foam is at Fox and I sent off some of our never presented properly, it tends to sit line-aligners to a fly-tyer and asked at an unnatural, awkward angle. Plus, him to tie some flies onto them. It when you’re playing a fish, the inturned didn’t work, because tying the fly eye is rubbing on the hooklink which compressed and narrowed the bore will be thinner than usual and as I inside the line-aligner. We could found out to my detriment on Bundy’s see the value in persisting with the last year whilst using a 16ft Zig Rig, idea, mulled it over at a product that rubbing motion can weaken the meeting, and eventually came up hooklink and on a powerful surge cause with the finished item, which comes it to snap. With the Zig Aligna you can very close to the nymph in shape tie a Palomar or a Grinner straight to and size. As I said, with the photos the hook, which completely removes of the nymph we had from Rob we that risk. The foam hookbait is always have created its fat head, thin tail going to be sitting perfectly horizontal shape. We didn’t want to mimic with the hook in the right position to something that lives out of the grab hold on a take. Apart from those water on the surface, we wanted to replicate something a carp comes into advantages you’ve also got the speed at which you can change the colour of contact with subsurface, and we feel the hookbait, plus, if your hook needs confident we have achieved that. changing after catching a fish you can We’ve called it the Zig Aligna, slip the Aligna sleeve off the shank onto which comes in a kit. What you’ve

L P:

1 First tie on your chosen hook and position the Zig Aligna on the shank, like so.

2 Next, feed the foam stick into the front of the special loading tool supplied with the kit.

3 Pull the loading tool through the soft band at the top of the Zig Aligna to position the foam.

4 Once gripped by the band, cut the foam to size.

5 The finished job makes the Zig Aligna an eye-catching carp-catching product.

the hooklink, quickly tie on a new hook and slip the Aligna back on, which is something you can’t do with a permanently-tied fly. You can also keep a selection of foam-mounted Aligna stored in a pot of flavour, which will soak into the foam and the Aligna crevices and leak off, further adding to its visual attraction.

You’re going to have to give it try Mike, I think you’ll be impressed.

I am impre ssed! Tha nk s for taking the time to give us t he heads up Lewis . When will t he Z ig Aligna kit b e in t he s hops ?

It should be available by the time this magazine is in the shops.

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(1)

Big-Carp Captures

THE TOP 20 UK WHACKERS TO GRACE THE BANK IN THE PAST MONTH, AS CHOSEN BY CARP-TALK’S SIMON CROW

It may be the middle of winter but it hasn’t stopped the hardened carpers getting out, and despite the mixed weather, it’s been worthwhile because there have been some cracking fish on the bank.

A

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nyone doubting Darrell Peck (1) being classed as the number one carper in the UK at the moment should be eating humble pie, because his latest catch will surely change their opinion. Not only did he go and catch a 40+ January common, he went one better when he landed the biggest mirror in his southern syndicate water, which weighed in at a terrific 57lb. Here’s what the Korda angling tutor revealed: “I’m over the moon with this catch – I’d only gone down to get a bite, but to get six, including Single Scale, surpassed all my expectations, especially in January!

I knew the big winds were on the way, so I turned up at the lake for a three-night session. It was dark when I got there, so my first job was to find out if anyone else was on the lake but, much to my surprise, it was empty. I

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chose to head for an area that had served me well in the past and set about putting my usual plan into action – bait-boating out some loose feed and casting singles over the top of it.

I initially went in with sweetcorn, but in retrospect that was a bit of a mistake – a big mistake, in fact, because I got breamed-out on the first night. I soon did away with that idea and decided to stick with just boilies and peanuts as loose feed,

(2)

putting out a few kilos of each in the hope of getting rid of the bream and drawing in the carp.

The lake is about 400yds wide and the fish tend to group up in the middle at this time of year.

I was casting at about 175yds, and felt that with the undertow working in my favour, the Mainline Hybrid freebies and peanuts should be enough to draw them away from their comfort zone. At around midday the next day I was finally proved right, because my hookbait was picked up by what turned out to be the lake’s first-ever 40lb+ common.

That fish alone

would have been a good result for January, but more was to come.

That night I topped up the swim with a few more kilos of boilies and peanuts and was rewarded the next morning with another fish of 33lb, which had snaffled my 12mm pop-up. I like to make my own hookbaits, using a mix of peach, pineapple and tangerine flavours, but I keep them nice and small to ensure I get extra distance on the cast. I present them on Hinged Stiff Rigs with a lead clip, which I prefer over a Helicopter setup because it means I can drop the lead.

That afternoon, probably around midday again, I slipped my net under a 26-pounder, and then went on to take fish number four for the session at one o’clock the following morning, a mirror of 38lb – things were going well!

It was on the final morning,

14/02/2013 14:27

In association with Carp-Talk magazine.

Carp-Talk is the UK’s only weekly news magazine dedicated to all things carpy.

Big-Carp Captures compiled by Simon Crow

(3)

(4)

“James was on his traditional end-of-year session shortly after Christmas when he hit into eight fish, including three 40s and two 30”  Crowy on James Ellis’ catch

(5) however, when I got what I had craved. A slow, up-and-down, bream-like take signalled on one of my rods, which I lifted into before being met with solid resistance.

It was a bit of a stalemate at first, as the fish just held in the water before kicking into life and taking a good 25yds of line. After that I was able to start making headway and began dragging in what was clearly a huge fish from a distance of about 200yds. It took about 20 minutes before I could get the fish close in, when it finally began pulling back and attempted to bury itself in the bottom, causing clouds of silt to plume up off the lakebed. After catching a few glimpses of it, I suspected it was a fish called The Lord, but then I saw the scale on its side – it was clearly Single Scale. As the fish finally slipped over the net cord, I was absolutely elated. After

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making a phone call or two, Gaz Fareham and a few others came down to help with the photos and take a look for themselves.

With the fish back in the water and calm restored to my peg, I had one final take from my second 26-pounder of the trip, capping off an amazing January session nicely. To get Single Scale was just brilliant, but I’ve still got one more fish I’m keen to catch, a carp called The Sean English Fish, so that will be my target for the rest of the season.”

Only one other 50+ was reported to the newsdesk during the last month, although it was caught a while ago, and that came from the famous Strawberry Fields in Kent. Known as Two-Tone, it weighed in at 50lb exactly to Jason Humphreys (2), who chalked up his first UK 50 in the process. The 39-year-old from

Loughton, Essex, also chipped in with three others to 24½lb.

The next-biggest fish reported was a cracking 48½lb mirror to Martin Forder (3) from Bournemouth, Dorset, who notched up his first UK 40 during a four-night stint on a local syndicate water. The 41-year-old carpenter, who also banked a 7½lb tench and an 11lb 2oz bream, used Mainline Cell frozen ready-mades.

Up at the Top Lake at Acton Burnell, Dean Fierro (4) of Cannock, Staffordshire, bagged four fish: a 20, two 30s and the biggest fish in the lake, The Pretty Common, at 47lb 10oz. He told Carp-Talk: “Because I’ve got a little one at home I have to maximise my time the best I can, but to bag four fish in one session is unheard of on Acton, and to do it in January is absolutely crazy – I couldn’t

believe what was happening.”

Dean used Nash Triggalink bungee rigs to offer Hartford Mix bottom baits and yellow Pineapple pop-ups in Snowman presentations.

Perhaps the most talked about catch of the month was the hat-trick of 40s landed from Fryerning Fisheries by James Ellis (5). James was on his traditional end-of-year session shortly after Christmas when he hit into eight fish, including three 40s and two 30s, eclipsing anything he had achieved before in 60-odd nights on the venue. Commenting on his best fish of the catch, he revealed: “The fish hugged the lakebed throughout the scrap, which must have totalled almost 40 minutes, before I finally got my net under it. Because I hadn’t seen it until it was in the net, I hadn’t realised which fish it was, but it soon

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Nanotechnology is the buzzword in the technical world of rod manufacture, and Carpworld’s Nigel Banks made the journey to visit the Hardy & Greys’ Alnwick headquarters to find out how the company is harnessing the technology for their new range of rods, the Aircurve.

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felt. It’s quite amazing really, and if this is what carbon nanotechnology can do, I’m glad to be on the development team. It’s been quite an eye-opener!”

What is Nanotechnology?

LEFT Out on the bank, and Ed put the Aircurves through some serious longrange casting to iron out the rod’s performance.

INSET Rods

can have a variety of different cloths in their build. Here, one of the Alnwick craftsmen is rolling just a small piece of a rod. Different cloths and weaves will be used to create the action of a rod.

A quick recce on Wikipedia produces a baffling description of the emergent technology behind carbon nanotubes, but the idea of the visit was to quiz the people in the know so they could explain it in plain English, so we can all understand what it’s all about and whether it’s actually worth shelling out our hard-earned to purchase rods harnessing this technology. There are very few people in the UK qualified to comment on nanotubes and how they can be used in rod building, but an offshoot of Hardy & Greys is Hardy Advanced Composites. This company researches and develops carbon products for the armed forces, space and aircraft industries, and, believe it or not, these industries do not use untested technology, so it’s important that what they use is tried and tested – and fishing rods can do that!

That’s according to Chris Bond, director of engineering, who said: “We work with some of the best carbon composite companies in the world. Believe it or not, sporting goods tend to be the breeding ground for carbon technology; in aerospace and the armed forces, lives depend on the technology, so they won’t use untried and untested technology.

It’s down to companies like us to move the technology forward.

Back in 2000 we started developing tubing using carbon nanotechnology for the armed forces, but back then a gram of material cost several thousand pounds, so it was put on hold.

However, inflation and improvements in production made the technology cheaper so, a few years ago, it was resurrected. We did some industrial work and armed forces work and some companies went into CNT (carbon nanotechnology) in a big way, including us. 3M came along to us and asked if we fancied testing a material which used silica nanospheres instead of CNT, and we took it on board and starting changing the doping levels, etc. until we got the mix right.

Because we now know how CNT and other nanotechnologies work, we can use it in the angling industry.

We have to work out the forces the rod has to endure, the actions we require, etc., then blend in the mix of carbons utilising the CNT or silica nanospheres to get the action we want. We started off developing fly rods, which have a completely different set of requirements to carp rods, but the lessons we learnt we’ve applied to carp rods.

The benefit of using CNT in rods is an increase in modulus (stiffness) and tensile strength, or how much you can bend it before it breaks.

Because of the way the matrix bonds together with the nanoparticles and to the carbon fibres, the rods will bend and flex much more than straightforward carbons. We are already developing materials with other nanoparticles and these will be even stronger and more flexible than the ones we are using today, so the development is still ongoing. When we were given the original CNT materials to test we were not told which materials contained the technology – we had to find out for ourselves. In tests it became obvious and the excitement was such that we just had to develop it into fishing rods. We’ve

How Do They Do That? Nigel Banks

T

o most people, the town of Alnwick, deep in the heart of Northumberland, is a quaint market town next to the A1 and home to a castle that featured in several of the Harry Potter films. What many don’t realise is that it’s also home to Hardy & Greys, a company with a history as long as your arm, particularly in fly-fishing circles, with a pedigree so good that there is even a Hardy museum at their headquarters on the outskirts of the town, which is a major visitor attraction. Such is the history behind the company that the H&G headquarters and museum is signposted off the nearby A1!

So it was with considerable excitement that I ventured forth from a cold, wet Stockport, across the dreaded M62, up the M1 and onto the frighteningly busy A1 to visit the company HQ to chat to the team behind the new Greys Aircurve rods. The reason for the excitement was that the rods are among the first to harness nanotechnology in their construction. I’d heard quite a lot about this emergent technology over the past year or so and I do know that several companies claim to use it in their rod construction already, but actually seeing it in action and getting to grips with the theory behind it was intriguing me.

Following a period of time as their chief consultant, Ed Betteridge is now the marketing manager for the company. Ed is a regular contributor to Carpworld and he and a small team of consultants, including the likes of Dave Moore, Mark Holmes and Matt Eaton, played a considerable part in the commissioning of the Aircurve rods, which helped the new product development team design the rods and the development of various carbon technologies for use in carp rods. Ed has tested several of the Aircurve range and told me: “I’ve not been in this job long, literally a few days, but I’ve been quite heavily involved in the development of many of the Greys’ carp rods, including the Aircurve. I’ve been very impressed by the rods; how much of this is down to the nanotechnology I don’t really understand, but when you meet Chris (Bond) you’ll get a better understanding. All I know is that I found the rods capable of casting a lot more smoothly and accurately than rods I’ve tried in the past, and when I’ve caught fish on them I’ve been amazed by their playing action and how supple they

RIGHT Ed Betteridge is now on the marketing team. His expertise will be tested to the extreme as the rods are developed further.

FAR RIGHT Ed

set up one of the Aircurve rods for a destruction test.

Protective eyewear has to be worn because when the rod finally breaks, splinters of carbon fly everywhere!

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B Y E D S K I L L Z This month we welcome Ed Skillz, to show us his unique style of carp fishing. Fishing from boats is a rare tactic in UK carp angling, but is a much more popular way of chasing our quarry on the Continent. Ed tells us how to stay safe and fish effectively whilst on the water.

B

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oat fishing for carp remains a neglected part of the carp-fishing scene; just like float-fishing for carp, it is often a forgotten method. Of course, not everyone has a boat but, compared to static fishing from the bank, boat fishing has a lot of benefits. When you are on a boat you can be much more flexible, and able to reach spots which are often inaccessible from the bank. In addition, you are able to easily adapt to new situations and you can quickly move if the fish have taken refuge elsewhere.

You don’t have to spend time packing up camp and breaking down all your gear because everything is already on the boat.

Furthermore, you can give areas a far more comprehensive investigation by virtue of being directly above the spots from a boat.

When I am on the water the boat gives me more security and it’s easier to make sure that I am fishing the spots I should be fishing. For

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example, I regularly see fish swimming when I am on my boat, which is almost impossible from the bank. Another benefit is that location is easier when you are on a boat.

Besides the practical benefits of boat fishing, it gives me an incredible feeling to be on my own little island pretending to be some kind of Robinson Crusoe. This means I can enjoy the sunsets and sunrises, all the wonderful nature around me, and aquatic life, all from a unique angle.

19/02/2013 11:51

The Skillz of Boat Fishing Ed Skillz

B OA T- F I S H I N G T E C H N I Q U E S

It must be said that boat fishing requires some adjustments in your technique.

Space is limited and it takes some getting used to. That’s why I make use of a dinghy most of the time. It is wise to use a rod pod, which is attached to the boat, because you don’t want to wake up in the morning wondering where your rods and rod pod are. When I started boat fishing, boat pods didn’t exist, so I had to fashion my own from a rod pod meant for use on the bank, but luckily, there are several boat pods available nowadays. Of course, adapting a normal rod pod is still a good alternative to the usually quite expensive boat pod.

Normally, the place to hang your swingers is between the bite alarm and your reel. However, when you are boat

ABOVE Specially adapted boat pods are expensive but worth it when boat fishing.

or the waves, which will become irritating. boat to the bank, but remain on the open

far enough into the lakebed, otherwise

ABOVE RIGHT Long storm sticks will help the boat remain stable in open water.

water, it is important that you can maintain

they won’t keep the boat in place.

Storm sticks with screw threads like these are easy to drive into the ground and are very stable.

BELOW

When you are not going to moor your

the position of your boat. I prefer to use

auger it is easier to turn the shaft into the ground. Make sure you insert the sticks

For longer sessions on the boat,

extended storm sticks instead of an anchor.

in the interests of hygiene, a portable

Your boat remains stable when you use

toilet is preferable even if there isn’t

three storm sticks – two storm sticks on

a specific rule in this regard.

each side of the boat and one at the tip of

Nowadays there are 10ft carp rods,

the boat. You will have to adjust the sticks,

which are regarded as being much

swingers just in front of the bite alarm, i.e.

depending on the length of your boat and

better for boat fishing. It’s claimed that

the other way around. This will prevent

the depth of the water. Nevertheless, a length

they make playing fish easier from

fishing it is advisable to hang your

frequent false alarms, which would

of at least 4 metres is advised. Try to

mean your bite alarm bleeping with

pick a stick with an auger (screw

every movement of the boat, wind,

thread) on the end because with an

your dinghy, although personally, I am just as used to using my 12ft rods when I am boat fishing.

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19/02/2013 11:52

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