CW277 sample

DAVE LANE: ANGLING IN AUTUMN • MARK PITCHERS: 30 x 30s IN A YEAR

ISSUE 277 OCTOBER 2013

ISSUE 277 / OCTOBER 2013 / MONTHLY £4.50

WIN FOX

MAN ON FIREI

!

’S REM NEW ALA OTE RMS & N CYB ASH ER S HOT THR OW STIC ING KS

My Yea r So Fa r

carpworldmagazine.com

BRITAIN’S BIGGEST CARP-ANGLING MAGAZINE

Martin Pick details a carpfilled season that has seen numerous 40s banked and his PB smashed!

THE

MAGAZINE

FOR THE WO RLDWIDE AN GLER

D E E P - WAT E R C O N Q U E S T S Jim Wilson reveals the tactics that have helped him succeed at over 40ft down on the ultra-tricky Bundy’s Pit

c ar pwor ld maga z in e. co m

I N T E R N AT I O N A L CA R P E R I N S I D E 















ISSUE 120 October 2013



STEVE BRIGGS: 25 YEARS OF FISHING CASSIEN

S A L AG O U 7 0 !

What makes a man keep returning to the same water for a quarter of a century? Briggsy explains why he can’t get enough

P189 Math is Kor n tackl es up to targe t the inhab itants huge , wild Frenc of this h wate r, and gets more than he barga ined for!

CATCH REPOR T S

25 YEARS ON C ASSIEN

LAC DU CHARL OU

+ GIANTS OF SALAGOU + ECHOES AROUND THE WORLD P167 Our monthly roundup of big-car p capture s from around the world

PLUS

P178 Steve Briggs shares his P186 We take an experie nces after in-depth look a quarterat this excelle nt water century on the legenda in the ry lake Champa gne region of France ALSO INSIDE: P176 OVERSE AS FISHERY FOCUS: CARP FRANCE • P193 OVERSE AS DIRECTO RY 2

PAU L F O R WA R D • T I M PA I S L E Y • A S H M E A D D I A R I E S • R I G W O R L D • B A I T WO R L D

01_Cover_CW277.indd 1

165_ICCover_CW277.indd

20/09/2013 11:41

20/09/2013 13:55

CONTENTS

The Carpworld Contents / Issue 277 /

October 2013

38

Rig World Featuring Mike Kavanagh With a chat with Ian Russell, plus an in-depth look at rig components from Nash, Gardner, Fox and G-Force, there’s something to appeal to everyone.

71

Think Tank

O N T HE C OV ER Martin Pick with just one of the magnificent fish he’s caught this year.

Follow his adventures on page 14.

REGULARS

7

Editors’ Comment

What have Steve and Nigel been up to over the past month? Well, Steve’s had something of a result at Gigantica and Nigel’s been up to his neck in filth and weed.

No rest for the wicked, eh?

10

Gazette

All the news from around the carp world to keep you up to date with what’s going on.

Our guests this month are Jerry Hammond, Mark Pitchers, Andy Richardson, Dave Cunningham and Kris Garrett and they give us their opinions on the question, ‘Do carp feed up for winter?’

81

Amazing Autumn Dave Lane Autumn is Dave’s favourite time of year, yet for most of the non-anglers in the world it’s a time of shortening days, and battening down for winter.

Dave looks at what makes it so special for anglers.

88

The Tale Of 30 x 30s Mark Pitchers Mark has set himself the amazing target of catching 30 x 30s in a year. Now, for most of us, catching a 30lb fish is still a major achievement, so how does Mark plan to achieve this target? Here’s part one of how he set about it.

61

96

31

103

45

Ask The Experts

Dave Levy, Adam Clewer and Scott Callison answer questions from readers on what baits to use all year round, registering bites on slack lines, and how to tackle very deep water.

Bait World Joe Turnbull Joe has a quick chat with Jerry Hammond about his baiting tactics and has an in-depth conversation with Marukyu’s Nick Marlow. There’s also our regular look at what’s good and great in the world of bait.

FEATURES

Historical Carp Waters Chris Ball As well as being famous for car manufacturing, Dagenham is home to Boyer’s Pit, a water which, in the late-1940s, appeared to be head and shoulders above all others because it was home to numerous 20lb carp.

14

52

21

61

What A Wonderful Year – And It’s Not Over Yet! Martin Pick Martin’s year so far has been something very special – and there’s surely more to come!

We follow his adventures from the start of the season to the early autumn.

122

The Seasons They Are A-Changin’ Ray Pullford The experience Ray has of fishing all over the world has taught him that autumn can be the time to start changing your tactics if you want to carry on catching fish into winter.

A Spring Obsession Jim Wilson Jim Wilson reveals the spectacular season he’s had so far this year on the deep and often daunting Bundy’s Pit, which nestles on the edge of the Fens in Cambridgeshire.

Diary Of A Carpaholic Simon Crow Simon keeps us up to date with his busy life and it’s been one of tackling Woldview, with a wonderful result, plus a week out to oversee operations at the BYCAC event at Linear Fisheries.

Ashmead Diaries Mark Walsingham Being close to nature is an important part of life for any angler, and Mark recounts two encounters, which show that the study of nature is part of every angler’s life.

4 C ar p wor l d O c to ber 20 13

004-005_Contents_CW277.indd 1

20/09/2013 17:08

Bait with Credibility

F: facebook.com/CarpworldMagazine / T: @CarpworldMag

CHECK OUT OUR SUBS OF F ER ON PAG E 69 WHERE YO U CAN GET A CRACKING DEA L ON A GARDNER CHOD KIT.

116

F Word Paul Forward It’s been a month of mixed blessings for Mr F, with weedgrowth causing problems at Dinton, which necessitated a move. So, it was off to pastures new in an attempt to keep the carp coming.

122

Autumnal Adventures Ed Betteridge Ed tells us about past autumnal adventures, and then brings us up to date with his autumn carping this year. Is autumn the best time to catch carp?

Do they really build up their reserves for winter?

129

Still Carping On Tim Paisley Tim’s been a very busy man over the past month and it’s been a time of giving back a little to help others, so join him as he fishes at Yateley and Linear Fisheries, all in the name of charity.

159

One, Two, Three Or More Andy Chambers How often do you recast your rods? Once, twice, three times a day or more! Andy looks at leaving baits out for long periods in an effort to tempt the bigger fish.

TACKLE WORLD

139

Tackle World

Page after page of some of the best gear on the market, with a look at goodies from Nash, Fox, Cygnet, Wychwood, Gardner and lots, lots more.

Not only that, but there’s the chance to win some of the featured products!

THE

MAGAZINE

FOR

THE

WORLDWIDE

ANGLER

ISSUE 120 October 2013

SALAGOU 70!

P189 Mathis Kor n tackles up to target the inhabitants of this huge, wild French water, and gets more than he bargained for!

CATCH REPOR TS

25 YEARS ON CASSIEN

LAC DU CHARLOU

P 1 6 7 O u r m o n t h l y ro u n d u p o f b i g - c a r p c a p t u re s f ro m a ro u n d t h e w o r l d

P178 Steve Briggs shares his experiences after a quartercentury on the legendary lake

P186 We take an in-depth look at this excellent water in the Champagne region of France

UP FOR GRABS

113

Carp In Focus

We’ve come to the end of our photography competition and here we reveal the overall winner from the many entries we’ve had over the last 12 months.

142

Nash Competition

We report on the amazing Nash Cyber Shot throwing stick and give 10 readers the opportunity to win one for themselves.

ALSO INSIDE: P176 OVERSEAS FISHERY FOCUS: CARP FRANCE • P193 OVERSEAS DIRECTORY 165_ICCover_CW277.indd 2

20/09/2013 11:41

IN INTERNATIONAL CARPER Our International Carper mag-withina-mag is packed with all the news of the big-fish captures from around the world in Echoes Around The World, plus two cracking holiday venues for you to check out. There’s also part one of a three-part series by Steve Briggs on fishing Cassien. What this man doesn’t know about the lake after fishing it for 25 years or more isn’t worth knowing! There’s also a look at French lake Salagou and how Mathis

... AND IT’S NOT BECAUSE WE ADVERTISE!

Korn came to catch the lake record.

148

Fox Competition

The new Fox Micron alarms come under our watchful gaze and you can win some by entering this superb £820 competition.

Octo ber 2013 Car pwo r ld 5

004-005_Contents_CW277.indd 2

THERE IS GOOD REASON WHY THE EDITORIAL TEAM AT CRAFTY CARPER AND CARPWORLD RAVE ABOUT OUR BAITS...

www.marukyu.co.uk www.facebook/marukyu.uk 20/09/2013 17:09

FEATURE

1 4 Ca r p wor l d O c tober 2 01 3

014-018_Picky_CW277.indd 1

19/09/2013 11:33

M A R T I N

P I C K

What a Wonderful Year (and it’s not over yet!)

B

It would appear that ever ything is hunky-dor y in the Martin Pick camp and the golden touch follows him wherever he fishes. His year so far has been something very special – and there’s surely more to come!

limey, where do I start? Let’s begin in April on my very first session. The margins were covered in a thin layer of cat ice and it was chilly and frosty, in fact, on the way down, there was still snow on the roads. It was freaky weather, a little behind the season really. Bizarrely, the Hole in the Bush, a very popular swim at any time of year, was free.

Knowing that it had produced a few good fish the week before, I dropped straight in, because it was clear that they were spending time in there.

Just on dark, I saw one show past the area I was fishing. I’d found a couple of nice spots closer in, but this was way beyond them. It wasn’t a big fish, a common of around 20lb, I would guess, but it was

LEFT Looking back on captures past.

Martin is amazed at how well the year has gone so far.

ABOVE Observation has been key to Martin’s success.

What a way to start! Martin upped his PB with this cracking fish at 45lb 10oz.

BELOW

enough to change my mind on the close spots. I’d decided to put some bait out to the ones I could see milling around at around 100yds. To prevent me cutting off the other lines, I decided to place two of my rods on this mark and scattered some bait, which was DT Coldwater Mix, over the top.

I woke up to a flying take the next morning, which resulted in a new PB, weighing 45lb 10oz. An amazing result! My previous PB, which was Petals from Christchurch, had stood for years, so to finally beat it was incredible. Just as I placed the fish in the retention sling for a short time until the sun rose for pictures, the other rod, on the 100yd spot, ripped into life and I braced my PB with a 34lb

mirror. What a way to start!

Another fish was popped into a sling and the rods were quickly cast back out. At this time of year, feeding periods can be short so I had to get a bait back on the mark. To my amazement, another take followed and resulted in a 27-pounder. Things were rocking and I couldn’t believe that I’d dropped on them on my first session. The sun was just rising as I slipped the net under the third and I decided to wake up my mate Shaun to do the pictures. I don’t like leaving them for long.

One thing that was apparent was the lack of weed compared to the year previously, where you were always fishing over some sort of silkweed or Canadian. This suited me fine because I like to fish clear spots between heavy weed rather than in it. It does my head in thinking that my rigs might not be presented perfectly.

Octo ber 2013 C a r pwor l d 15

014-018_Picky_CW277.indd 2

19/09/2013 11:33

FEATURE

M A R K

P I T C H E R S

P A R T 1

For most of us, catching a 30lb fish is still a major achievement. So how about catching over 30 of them in one year! This is the target Mar k set for himself, and here’s how he went about it.

O

ver the years I’ve been fortunate enough to land numerous 30lb+ carp, along with the occasional 40 and even a couple of UK 50-pounders thrown in for good measure, but in terms of actual numbers of big fish, 2011 undoubtedly ranks as my bestever year, because I managed to bank no fewer than 31 carp weighing in excess of 30lb.

Due to being based in the northeast, which is something of an arid wasteland as far as big carp are concerned, it must be said that at the start of the year I hadn’t even contemplated setting myself the seemingly ludicrous target of catching thirty 30-pounders. However, all that changed when a remark made by former Crafty Carper editor, Jerry Bridger, ignited my competitive flame and set my quest ablaze!

So, in this two-part feature I’d like to share my journey with you and highlight the key sessions and turning points that enabled me to achieve my goal.

Januar y

Having endured one of the coldest winters on record, it wasn’t until the middle part of the month that temperatures had risen to the positive side of zero. Although the ice had now receded on most venues, the prolonged

period of near-arctic conditions had left a great number of fisheries out of sorts.

At the time I had a monthly series in Crafty Carper called The Traveller, and with the deadline rapidly approaching I decided to head over to the slightly warmer climes of the Isle of Wight, to Rookley Fishery, to hopefully catch a few cold-water carp for the camera.

Although the session didn’t get off to the best possible start when I missed my ferry, once I did finally arrive at the fishery prospects looked very encouraging indeed. To my surprise there were a number of fish clearly fizzing up at the deeper end of the lake and occasionally some even head and shouldered, as if to further give away their whereabouts. With most of the fizzing being around the first couple of pegs, I decided on a swim known as The Corner, which, despite its name,

ABOVE The fish which gave rise to my challenge – a frosty 31lb 10oz mirror from Rookley Fishery on the Isle of Wight.

RIGHT I really couldn’t afford to stumble at the first hurdle, and thankfully I didn’t. A fine February fish of 32lb 11oz caught live for a feature.

actually allowed me to cover quite a large area of water, including the spots where I had seen fish feeding.

Each rod was baited with a single 10mm Mainline Pineapple Juice pop-up, which was presented on a Size 9 Fox Arma Point SSSP hook.

The rig was a small Combi-Rig setup constructed from 12lb Fox Illusion fluorocarbon and Fox Reflex braid.

Although the first night passed by uneventfully, the deadlock was broken the following morning with a fine mirror of 21lb. Throughout the day, regular recasting with small PVA sticks of crumbed Cell brought me four more fish, which weighed 23lb 2oz, two at 23lb 12oz, and a nice chunky fish which tipped the scales at 28lb 11oz.

Due to the clear skies and high air pressure, the temperatures really plummeted that night and

8 8 Ca r p wor l d O c tober 2 01 3

088-092_30x30s_CW277.indd 1

23/09/2013 10:05

T h e Ta le o f 3 0 x 3 0s Ma r k P itcher s

Februar y

it came as no surprise when I awoke at dawn to a heavy frost.

As I sat by the rods, taking in the ambience of that crisp winter morning, one of the bobbins gently tightened up and the first fish of the day was hooked. After a prolonged and dogged scrap beneath the rod tip she eventually emerged on the surface and was ready to be netted. With the fish lying on the surface I reached for the landing net, but it was stuck fast and wouldn’t budge!

After trying to unravel the mesh, and following a brief moment of confusion, it turned out it was actually frozen to the peg! Thankfully, I managed to free it in time and I slipped the net under a superb mirror, and a good one at that. Fishery manager Tim came round to assist in the weighing and we were not at all surprised when the scales flew past 30lb and settled on a weight of 31lb 10oz.

Having declared my objective, I really couldn’t afford to stumble at the first hurdle.

My mission was now set in stone, and with my next Traveller feature to compile, I really had to think long and hard about venues that had the potential to throw up a 30lb carp for the cameras. Catching a February day ticket 30 was never “Having going to be an easy task, but declared my in order for me to achieve objective, I my objective there was one really couldn’t venue I felt would give me a afford to stumble good chance of success, and at the first that was Sandhurst Lake. hurdle” During the first 24 hours of my stay I adopted a maggot approach, but after having no success and witnessing the resident coots diving down and resurfacing with bait in their beaks, it was clear that there was a good quantity of uneaten bait in the swim from the previous angler. With the carp clearly not feeding with any degree of conviction I felt a change of tactics was in order and promptly made the transition over to Zig Rigs. Just a few hours later a 25lb 3oz common fell to my suspended foam hookbait and I was confident there would be more chances to come.

To my surprise, it was the following morning before I received the next bit of action when, following a run, I hooked into what felt a rather sizeable fish. In the crystalclear water I was able to see one very angry carp twisting and turning some 30yds into the lake, and having seen the size of it, this certainly made for a nerve-wracking fight!

Following some pretty tense moments as the fish made a bid for freedom along the snaggy margin, I finally slid the net under A frosty January 30, I was absolutely my second carp of the session – and it looked delighted! It was then that Jerry came a good ’un. Once on the bank the digital out with the sentence that was like a red scales recorded a weight of 32lb 11oz – job rag to a bull: “I bet it’s a while before done! I was absolutely thrilled and I must you catch another 30 for the cameras, admit to feeling a little bit smug that I’d just mate.” That was it! From that moment caught another 30lb fish live for the cameras.

I had to prove Jerry wrong. Being the The action didn’t stop there. Although tenacious and stubborn character that the next bite I received resulted I am, not only did I want to catch in a hookpull just moments into another 30-pounder for the cameras, the fight, I did go on to land one but I wanted to catch as many 30s as more fish of 25lb 13oz, which possible that year, thirty 30s in fact! rounded off a very enjoyable I went on to land a further four fish session indeed. that session, including a crackinglooking mirror of 27lb 3 0 s Ta l l y : 2 15oz, and by the end of my 60-hour stint my tally stood at 10 carp, which certainly ranks as one of my best-ever winter catches in over 20 years of carp angling.

3 0 s Ta l l y : 1

Octo ber 2013 C a r pwor l d 89

088-092_30x30s_CW277.indd 2

23/09/2013 10:05

COLUMNIST

P A U L

F O R W A R D

It’s been a month of mixed blessings for Mr F, with weed growth causing problems at Dinton, which necessitated a move.

So, it was off to pastures new in an attempt to keep the carp coming.

D

uring this last month we’ve seen the drastic change in the weather all we carp fishermen have been waiting for, and not before time either! Those scorching hot days where temperatures reached over 30° aren’t really much cop, in my book anyway, for any sort of angling activity. In such conditions the only chance we seem to have of a bite is either very early in the morning, or late evening, the rest of the day being a complete waste of time, especially so on the more difficult waters. During this period I’ve fished three different waters, namely Dinton, where I’ve fished a couple of nights, Paddlesworth in Kent, where I managed just two overnighters, and, more recently, the North Met, where I did a couple of nights midweek with my old mate Laney.

“Both Apple Slice and Paw Print came out in August at top weights of 43lb and 41lb, well up on last year” I know as well as anyone that no two years are ever the same, but I still wasn’t expecting the weed at Dinton to have grown to such epic jungle-like proportions as it has this year. Last year, the weed was such that it was easily fishable; spots could be found without too much bother and fish were easy enough to land without the need of a boat. Whilst the middle section of the lake is the same as last year and is still relatively weed-free, both shallow end sections are pretty much unfishable, the dense weed being right up to the surface and 10ft deep in almost its entirety. Of course, the bulk of the fish are almost permanently residing in the safety of this jungle of weed, where both presentation and landing of fish are proving tricky, to say the least. However, a few good fish have been out and at good weights.

Both Apple Slice and Paw Print came out in August at top weights of 43lb and 41lb, well up on last year. On the whole though, during this last month fishing has been slow, and only two or three fish per week have been landed by the syndicate. As far as I can see, the main problem is that the weed, which is mainly of the Canadian and milfoil variety, shoots up so damn quickly.

During the months of June and July it didn’t look like it was going to be a 1 1 6 C a r p wor l d O c tober 20 13

116-119_FWord_CW277.indd 1

19/09/2013 15:06

T h e F Word Pa ul Fo rwa rd

problem at all, then all of a sudden the warm weather arrived and it quadrupled its growth rate and Simon Bartlam, who is a very experienced fishery manager, hasn’t had a chance to do anything about it. Perhaps something similar to the dye that they use at Linear Fisheries may go some way to resolving the problem?

I must confess though, that I am no expert in these matters and Simon, no doubt, has a plan to try to prevent this becoming an annual occurrence.

Even though I felt I was up against it with the weed, I did eventually manage to get a couple of decent drops and thought that I fished reasonably well up at the top end of the lake. There

ABOVE Sunset at Dinton. You can’t see it, but the place is choked with weed.

Baiting up regularly with a few 15mm baits was my chosen ploy – and it worked!

BELOW

anything moved at all, even I wouldn’t be able to miss it! Sure enough, one poked its head out 30yds off the Road Bank before I’d finished my cuppa, then as I continued to watch, another one leapt clean out in the same vicinity. ‘That’ll do nicely,’ I thought to myself and propelled myself in that general direction.

The lake was quiet, angler-wise, and I already knew that most of the swims were vacant. The swim where the most fish were showing was, as luck would have it, a favourite of mine and one from where I’d had a 30lb mirror on my last visit, plus, most importantly, I know the spots like the back of my hand. All three rods were on pop-ups and these were sent sailing out 40yds beyond the curtain of eel grass, spaced about 10ft apart and into about 18ft of water, all of them landing with a satisfying ‘donk’.

As more carp continued to show, I was were a few fish about as well, so no beginning to wonder exactly what was excuses really. As ever, I enjoyed my going on because there were obviously fishing at Dinton because it is such a more than a few carp out in front of me challenge, and the stunning carp that and so far I hadn’t had so much as a liner. reside there are, without doubt, some The scaffolders, Steve and Tom, turned of the finest in the land… I’ll no doubt up and, seeing the fish, wisely plotted up be back for another go next month further along the same bank. I knew that once the weed starts to die back.

I needed to make it happen, but how?

Although at Paddlesworth there is Taking stock of the situation, I quickly more weed than I have ever known, it came to the conclusion that everything still doesn’t amount to much in this I was doing was pretty much spot on, deep clay pit, where normally you would struggle to find enough of the green stuff all that was wrong was the fact that the fish weren’t going down on the bait, to make a small side salad. The weed so obviously all I had to do was try to that has manifested itself this year is of encourage them to do so. Little and often the sort that I call eel grass. I’ve no idea I started catapulting of its proper name, “Sure enough, boilies over all three but it grows long and one poked its hookbaits; every couple grass-like and is to be head out 30yds of minutes I fired two or found in most areas off the Road three pouches of 15mm of less than about Bank before baits then sat back down 17ft depth – which, I ’d f i n i s h e d as the seagulls started to incidentally, isn’t that my cuppa” swarm. This obviously much of the lake, just did the trick because the middle rod the margins really. The fish have, as is usual for this time of year, been extremely went into meltdown before I’d picked up the catty for the fourth time. The mobile; anyone fishing off the barrow fish, a cracking half-linear, fought really and ready to move instantly to keep well and spun the scales round to just on the fish has reaped the rewards. over 28lb, a pretty good start, and even Such was very much the case when I more satisfying was the fact that my arrived late afternoon for an overnighter. ploy had worked a treat. More of the Loading just the bare essentials onto same brought another mirror of around the barrow, I set off up the woody East 19lb an hour later. Then, as the light was Bank of the lake. The fish, though, were fading, so the fish stopped showing. proving elusive. After I’d looked in all Surprisingly the night brought no their favourite haunts, and drawn a further action to either of us, so maybe surprising blank, I opted to do the only the fish moved off as the light and breeze thing one can do in these situations, which is put on a brew and watch! Sitting faded. Still, two fish on an overnighter is a nice bit of angling and I drove to work on a spot three-quarters up the lake gave well happy with my little session. me an ideal vantage point from where, if Octo ber 20 13 C a r pwor l d 117

116-119_FWord_CW277.indd 2

19/09/2013 15:07

C

A

S

S

I

E

N

THROUGH THE YEARS

PART 1

S T E V E

B R I G G S

Steve Br iggs has been fishing Cassien for over 25 year s , and in that time, he has witnessed m a ny c h a n g e s i n t h e l a ke ’s fo r t u n e s . I n this , the fir s t par t of a three-par t ser ies , S t eve l o o k s b a ck t o h i s fi r s t v i s i t s t o t h e l a ke and the ca pture of his fir s t 60lb car p.

W

hen I look back over the years – as I often do, there are certain periods in time very much dominated by certain waters, waters which were ‘the ones’ to be on at the time, or at least the ones which most of us wished we could be on! If there is one water linked to a particular period in my life, then it would have to be Lake Cassien in the mid-1980s. Cassien is world famous these days – perhaps the most well-known lake on the planet, but I wonder how many people fishing it today really know just what an impact it had on the carpfishing world back in those early days?

It wasn’t just the discovery of a new lake, it was far more than that. In fact, really, it was the start of a carp-fishing revolution, almost every bit as big and

important as the discovery of the Hair Rig and fishmeal baits, and for me, it was the start of a whole new chapter in my life. Before then, people just didn’t travel abroad for their fishing, well, hardly at all anyway, and certainly not to France because of the language barrier and lack of knowledge about any of the waters.

The first I knew about Cassien was when I received my copy of the Carp Catcher magazine in 1984, and on the front cover was a picture of Paul Regent with a 35lb mirror. That was a big fish back then, but there were claims that the lake held several over 50lb, which, at the time, I found hard to believe. Of course people soon started making their way down to the lake to find out for themselves and they did, indeed, start catching some of those fish which I’d had my doubts about. Rod Hutchinson

TOP Cassien was like no other carp lake I’d ever seen before!

ABOVE Pulling up outside Chez Pierre’s for the first time in September 1986.

caught several personal bests there, including three big mirrors over 50lb.

Rod’s early writings on the place were certainly an inspiration, as were the stories of big fish coming from other people, but if there was one moment which stood out from the rest it was when I saw the picture of Kevin Ellis with his massive 76lb mirror. That was the moment when I really felt, for the first time, that I had to get myself out there and see what it was all about. It went very much against what most were saying at the time in my local Darenth Valley. Many thought that these French monsters were nothing more than freaks of nature and had little to do

1 7 8 C a r p wor l d O c tober 20 13

178-184_Cassien_CW277.indd 1

19/09/2013 15:26

Ca s s ie n T h ro u g h t h e Years S teve Br ig g s

ABOVE Returning my first Cassien carp – I had expected to struggle so I was surprised to get three takes on my first evening.

with ‘real’ carp fishing, but I saw it as a big adventure with the possibility of big carp at the end of it and I wanted some of that!

Of course, at the time, my situation was very different to how it is today, I had a full-time job in a sheet metal work factory, which wasn’t much fun but it paid the bills. So I only had two weeks summer holiday to use and another very important factor was that I had only just started driving. I had passed my test some six months earlier and had myself a trusty Mk3 Cortina (yellow, of course).

Luckily, my girlfriend of the time fancied the idea of a trip to the south of France and so plans were set in motion. These days of course we know everything about travelling to France, but back then I didn’t know anyone who had been before and everything literally had to be planned from scratch. It was a long way, for sure, being down in the southeast corner of France, and this would be my first-ever trip abroad, so you can imagine that there was a fair bit of excitement mixed with feelings of trepidation. I’d never fished anywhere for more than a few days before, so I had little idea of

bait quantities needed. I did know that peanuts had worked as well as boilies so I purchased a 25kg sack of the nuts as well as half a sack of tigers, which I had lying around and I bought about 10 small bags of Richworth Honey Yucatans, which I’d been catching a few on at home. I didn’t have much money, so the peanuts were a welcome addition to bulk-out what I had.

It was an eventful journey down, to say the least, and one which took around three days to complete, but as we finally approached the lake and drove around those winding roads at the top of the North Arm I was met with a sight that blew me away and was about to change my life forever. My first sight of Cassien just made my jaw drop – not the size of the place, surprisingly, but because of the sheer beauty of it! I was prepared for it looking big, but on that warm September afternoon in 1986, the water looked blue and inviting and the deserted sandy beaches all the way round looked like paradise. This was like no carp lake I’d ever seen before and I couldn’t wait to get started.

Being as stubborn and as awkward as I am, I wanted to start in the North Arm. That might not seem so unusual these days, but back then, there was very much a feeling that the North Arm was too deep for the carp and they simply wouldn’t go there and feed. It might seem ridiculous now, but it was all new to us then and one huge learning curve.

I had no echo sounder or anything like that and I soon found that marker floats were of no use whatsoever. I had to use a bit of common sense and look at the surrounding land. I guessed that where the land shelved steeply into the lake it was far more likely to be very deep out in front and if it shelved gently it was more likely to be shallower and more fishable. After looking around for some time, the spot I chose seemed to meet all the criteria – a lovely beach slowly shelving into the lake with nice weedbeds out in front and it was well away from any kind of life too, which was also important as we were intending to stay on the lake, if possible, and that wasn’t allowed at the time. Our little deserted hideaway is now known simply as The Third Point and gets fished relentlessly, but back then it was virtually untouched by any carp anglers.

The feelings I had that first evening were like none I’d ever had before. The expanse of water in front of me was vast, and for all I knew there might not be a carp within half a mile, but the atmosphere was incredible; with the sun going down, the crickets were starting to chirp and the warm breeze blowing in felt so tropical.

Although I only had a small inflatable with me it didn’t even occur to me to do anything by boat so I did no more than to catapult some boilies as far as I could and simply cast to where they landed.

Of course, the other thing was that I only had the gear I had been using for fishing back in the UK, which

The expanse of water in front of me was vast, and for all I knew there might not be a carp within half a mile, but the atmosphere was incredible

Octo ber 20 13 C a r pwor l d 179

178-184_Cassien_CW277.indd 2

19/09/2013 15:26

ANGLING P U B L I C A T I O N S

IT’S BACK THE CARP STRIKES BACK

BY ROD HUTCHINSON Rod Hutchinson’s classic early-’80s book The Carp Strikes Back is acclaimed by carp anglers as the best carp book ever. It tells the story of a season in the life of a carp angler and his friends, but this isn’t about just any season. Much of the book is based on Rod’s fishing of the famous Savay water in the very early years of the syndicate.

Savay in the early-’80s was the place to be and the syndicate consisted of numerous high-profile anglers whose names still resonate through the literature of carp fishing to this day. The fact that Rod fished what was affectionately known as the Looney Rota gives some insight into the atmosphere of the book! The methods, baits and techniques used during this season and the reasons behind them are all discussed freely and in depth.

The book is now out of print so if you aren’t fortunate enough to own a copy this your chance to find out why it’s been so highly acclaimed by carp anglers for the 30 years since it was first published. This is Rod the great storyteller and innovator at his inimitable best.

LOAD DOWN FROM EBOOK .UK ON.CO AMAZ

By popular demand The Carp Strikes Back is now available through the Amazon Kindle Store in ebook format.

FREE KINDLE APP READ KINDLE BOOKS ON APPLE, PC, ANDROID OR SMARTPHONE MOBILE & DESKTOP DEVICES.

ad template.indd 1 CarpStrikesBack_eBook_CW276.indd 1

20/09/2013 22/08/2013 10:30 15:05