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WA R R E N F E N N O N C O T T O N FA R M MARK McKENNA ‘ H O W S AVAY G O T UNDER MY SKIN’ THE HISTORY O F C AT C H 2 2 F R A N K WA R W I C K ’ S BAIT THOUGHTS

BRITAIN’S BIGGEST CARP-ANGLING MAGAZINE

SIMON CROW ON EURO AQUA

FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS Ri ch Wi l by revea ls how he tra nsfor med a mud d y fa r m po nd i nt o one of the b es t fisher ies in Norfolk MAGAZINE

ANGLER ORLDWIDE FOR THE W

c ar pwor ld maga z in e. co m

ISSUE 124 February 2014

BUNDY’S PIT

MONSTER CARP

Jim Wilson concludes the account of his season o n t h i s t r i c k y, u l t r a - d e e p venue of the moment

T h e m a k i n g o f T i m P a i s l e y, Steve Briggs and Thomas Duncan-Dunlop’s latest book on the wor ld’s larges t car p

carpworldmagazine.com

THE

DERS  ALSO INSIDE CARP NEWS AND FEATURES FROM AROUND THE GLOBE THE MIGHTY SHOUL 94lb s t resid ent at y Lake s’ large s’ ca pture of Abbe Wor ld P145 Max Cotti es Arou nd the repor ts in Echo PLUS more catch

THE FRENCH EXPERIENCE 001_Cover_CW281.indd 1 THE ORIENT

REDMIRE

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ER’S WORLD

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Contents

The Carpworld Contents / Issue 281 /

February 2014

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Bait World Featuring Joe Turnbull This month Nash’s bait guru, Gary Bayes, is Joe’s Bait Baron guest and there are reviews, interviews and a look at Cultured Carp Baits to whet your appetite.

O n t he cov e r Rich Wilby with just one of the beautiful fish that live in Spitfire Pool – to read about its home turn to page 91.

Ask The Experts Matt Eaton, Darren Belton and Rob Greening answer questions from readers on air-drying boilies, the importance of watercraft and how to get the best from liquid additives.

REGULARS

FEATURES

Savay… The Meaning Of Life! – Part 1 Mark McKenna Savay is a water that really gets under your skin and this month Mark looks at the background to the time he spent on this most famous of waters.

Seeing The Year Through Jim Wilson Bundy’s Pit is certainly a difficult water to fish, after all it’s very, very deep. It’s a steep learning curve for Jim’s but his perseverance eventually pays dividends.

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65

88

Catch 22 – The Creation Of A Fishery Tom Ashworth-Jones Catch 22 is a prolific fishery in Norfolk that’s been on the carping scene for just over 20 years and this is the story of sheer guts and hard work that made the water it is today.

Carpworld International Championship With a prize pot of over £13,000 and a first prize of £10,000, here’s why you should venture to Fishabil to fish in the inaugural Carpworld International Championship.

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Editors’ Comments Broady has been to Rainbow recently, so find out what he got up to. And Nigel? Well, he’s come across a carp angler who caused him concern for the future of carp fishing!

Gazette All the news and views from around the angling scene to keep you informed and up to date with what’s going on.

53

Rig World Mike Kavanagh This month Mike brings you the second, and final, instalment of his interview with Korda’s Danny Fairbrass who reveals more of the secrets of his success, both in business and on the bank.

101

Think Tank Is camouflaging your end tackle really worth the trouble? The answers from Dave Chilton, Ray Pulford, Mark Pitchers and Nick Burrage, may well surprise you!

101

The Quest For Cotton’s Commons – Part 2 Warren Fenn Pro-boxer Warren continues his hunt for some remarkable commons that live in the shadow of office blocks on Cotton Farm.

The Thinker Frank Warwick Frank’s back with another feature that reveals the thoughts from a carper’s wandering mind. This month he looks at everything from carping myths to a very novel alternative Zig Rig system.

From Despair To Disbelief, A Tale Of Two Churches – Part 2 Julian Cundiff Jules continues his tale of the time he spent on Nash’s Church Pool during which he caught a PB, got a drowning from his mates and reveals the tactics he used to tempt the fish.

Dawn Raids On The Rota Daren Welton Monk’s Pit is one of the best-known venues in the Cambridgeshire area and this busy water is home to some fantastic fish, as Daren and his pals found out several years ago.

F Word Paul Forward Things are looking good for our regular diarist in 2014 and the Christmas and New Year period has been very kind to Mr F, even though the conditions were sometimes appalling.

Historic Carp Waters Chris Ball A water owned by an old lady of 95, with a hatred of anglers, is hardly the best advert for a water, but Goffs Park was fished by the influential Bernard Venables and this is the story.

The Pool Rich Wilby Spitfire Pool in Norfolk holds one of the biggest and most impressivelooking commons in the country and this is the history of what was, 30 years ago, a little farm pond.

Bivvy Tramps Blog Kes Waterman More of Kes’ ‘off the wall’ humour as he takes us on a trip to the Bivvy Tramps Blog where you can read about carping from a completely different angle!

Diary Of A Carpaholic Simon Crow Simon’s party was amongst the vanguard of English anglers who recently visited Euro Aqua, the home of the world record carp, and this is their story.

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

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Still Carping On Tim Paisley Tim’s been working on a new book, entitled Monster Carp, and, as the name suggests, it will list the capture of many of the world’s largest carp.

So, if monster carp float your boat, this will be the book for you!

109

tACKLeWorLD

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Tackle World Headtorches from LED Lenser come under the spotlight this month, along with Nash’s latest bedchair/sleeping bag combo, ACE throwing sticks, and a great aid to weighing fish from Cygnet. That’s not all though and gear from Fox, Vardis, Taska, Ashima, Trakker, and many more, features in our five-page tackle guide.

PAGe

97 In InternAtIonAL CArPer

CheCK oUt oUr sUBs oF F er on PAGe 97

THE

MAGAZINE

FOR THE WORLDWIDE ANGLER

We’ve another bumper crop of

UP For GrABs

132

Ask The Experts You can win £250-worth of bait or tackle vouchers if your question is chosen in our Ask The Experts feature.

152

Retreat Lake Competition Fancy a break from the rigours of everyday life? Enter our competition and a week at Retreat Lakes could be on the cards for you. There’s also a special offer for every reader.

features to attract the overseas

ISSUE 124 February 2014

carper this month and we welcome Tony Davies-Patrick back after an enforced break, and it’s a story that’ll set your eyes watering!

There’s also Nick Burrage on his visit to Le Queroy, aka the French Redmire, plus part two of Andy

THE MIGHTY SHOULDERS P145 Max Cottis’ ca pture of Abbey Lakes’ larges t resident at 94lb PLUS more catch repor ts in Echoes Around the Wor ld THE ORIENT EXPERIENCE

THE FRENCH REDMIRE

GLOBETROTTER’S WORLD

P1 5 8 Seasoned big-water angler Andy Chambers shares the highs and lows of his latest session

P164 Nick Burrage fishes a gem of a water where days-only angling produces carp to over 50lb

P170 Tony Davies-Patrick is back with a tale of an incredible journey across Europe

Chambers’ life on the Orient. To finish off there’s our regular look at the big-carp captures from

ALSO INSIDE: 152 WIN A RETREAT LAKE BREAK WOR TH £895 • 156 FISHERY FOCUS: CASTLE LAKES 143_ICCover_CW281.indd 1

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around the world and a peek at Castle Lakes, a cracker of a holiday venue. There’s also a holiday to be won and a special offer for every reader on page 152.

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FEATURE

G N I E SE R A E Y E TH UGH O R H T Jim Wilson

P it in u n d y ’s th s o f B p e ons. d m e m r ly c o h in g th s la fi u r c a ti r e e y , pa p t u p. e n t fi s h w ly c re s p e n d th ic lo if s to n h d g s e a fi id of it s m J im d e c e ta ll y ome of g , b u t th rc h o f s in a il e a s s e in th ’t a ll p la It w a s n

20 words 20 words 20 words 20 words 20 words 20 words 20 words 20 words 20 words 20 words 20 words ollowing on from my Spring 20 w o r d s I had 2 0decided w o rtodsee s the 20 words Obsession,

F

year through on Bundy’s. I’d made this decision for a few reasons really; firstly, I was really enjoying my time on the deep pit and my fishing, which, let’s be honest, is how it really should be. Secondly, the pit had been really kind to me throughout the spring and summer, and, finally, despite having a couple of other tickets, nowhere was inspiring me into a change of venue.

Despite a quite successful spring and summer on the pit backed up by a couple of fairly productive autumns, there were still a few members of the A-team that I would love to meet.

Those included fish such as the Black Mirror, the Beast, and two of the really big commons, the Carpworld Cover Fish and the Black Common.

Now, with Bundy’s I don’t believe you can target individual fish because you don’t see them feeding often enough due to the depths, and, in fairness, most of the carp I’ve just mentioned have areas from where they seem to get caught more than they do others, but none of them are mugs. At the time of writing, the Beast hasn’t been out since spring 2012 and the Black Common has remained uncaught since June 2011.

That’s some going really when you consider it’s not a massive pit and it sees some fairly constant pressure throughout the year.

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S e e in g T h e Ye a r T h rough Jim Wils o n

There is one particular swim which has reasons, which I touched on last time. The been responsible for three of the Black Pallet has a lot of water into which only Common’s last five captures, and that you can fish, meaning the water is yours, swim, known as the Wader, gives access to and it also has access to two sets of snags, a particularly carpy-looking set of snags, with one being what I consider to be the which, when Bundy’s had a traditional main snags on the lake, with the known close season, seemed to be the focus of A-teamers regularly sitting amongst everyone’s close season baiting, the twisted mass of submerged and consequently, the branches. Also, from the “...a Wader was a very other side it gives access few of them productive swim to the Wader snags, star ted to show early season. giving a different line fair ly regular However, one angle and maybe patterns of behaviour thing I noticed an advantage on in ter ms of where they this year, was the presentation. would tur n up w hen that without the Well, by middifferent weather regular bait going August it was all fronts blew in, some of w hich proved to into the Wader going quite well. I be a real eyesnags, the fish weren’t fished hard during the opener” as happy to sit up in, spring, by that I mean and hang around, these moving swims whenever I same snags, and, as such, the Wader felt it the right thing to do, and made wasn’t as productive. Don’t get me wrong, the early starts to get to the lake for first it still produced fish, and some stunners, light, even during the height of summer, including the last capture of the Black which involved a ridiculously early start Mirror and Common, but I didn’t think to allow for the near-two-hour drive. it was the one, and that’s why, whenever The lake has a 48-hour rule and I felt fish were that end and side of the pit, if that by getting there before first light I possible I would put myself was maximising my chances of getting in the Pallet, for on feeding fish and making the most of a couple of the time available. Once the spawning was out of the way, the fish settled into a more marked routine and it was easier to track the progress of certain fish around the pit, and a few of them started to show fairly regular patterns of behaviour in terms of where they would turn up when different weather fronts blew in, some of which proved to be a real eye-opener.

By late summer I’d really settled into a routine, and had been baiting a few spots particularly heavily, a couple of those being in the Pallet Swim, covering areas giving access to both sets of snags, and the spots were becoming noticeably firmer when I was dragging a lead across them. A couple of areas were becoming firm favourites for me as the year progressed; the Pallet spots were becoming almost banker spots if the fish were about, and I had another area in front of a swim known as the Double, which I’d kept quiet and had kept the bait going in, and when the fish were down that end of the pit the spots in front of the Double were areas on which I would focus.

Well, as I’ve said, it was all going to plan, then Nicola and I decided to move house, and the end of August saw my There she is, the last trip to the deep pit for a while, and Carpworld Cover Fish on the mat. as a result I cleared it with the fishery owner to do a four-nighter.

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BAITWORLD

L

IEW uL rV NB TE Tur N I E JO By

T H I S M O N T H : g ar y B ayes of N as h B ait s

gary Bayes and the guys at Nash HQ have, without doubt, created some of the most innovative baits and additions to baits over the years, being the first company to commercially release the Zig Bugs for carp fishing. Soluballs, riser Pellets and rock salt in its various guises are just a small example of what they’ve released over the years, not to mention many of the boilie mixes that have gone on to catch so many big fish. I caught up with bait chief gary to delve a little deeper into such a bait brain.

JT: The Scopex Squid has been

I’m a firm believer that the base mix should attract

catching fish for a long time. How

carp bites, so I made the Airball Pop-Up Mix using

did you come by that mix?

ingredients that carp like to eat. Why only have

gB: A lot of research went into the base mix to

the liquid attractors or the base mix doing the

create the best nutrition possible, using ingredients

work when you can have the best of both worlds?

I’d tested singularly on the Essex Manor. I had first hit on it from my own knowledge and research

What is the range of Instant Action

and then I sent it to an animal nutritionist who

baits you’ve got planned for this year?

has programmes on feed for all animal species.

New for 2014, we have a range of Instant

I gave him the information I’d factored in on the

Action baits, boilies, two types of pellet,

other available food for the carp for which we

Method mixes, pop-ups and liquid boosters,

fish, such as naturals and more basic boilies,

seen the same with boilies that don’t eventually

all in four new flavours, these being Coconut

checking a batch of freshly-boiled baits for consistency and quality.

and we punched it into his computer. It was

Crème, Tandoori Spice, Tangerine Dream, and

BELOW During

after bad prebaiting in the end, but it can’t be

very satisfying that I had it so close first time

Crab and Krill. This range has taken over from

and only had to adjust the fibre content.

the old Fish Frenzy range and is all new and

Flavour-wise we tested the Squid extract

exciting. The flavour recipes have caught a lot

ABOVE Gary

testing for the rock salt products, Gary found that big perch responded well, whilst other species didn’t.

pop up. I know small fish, the naturals, and different moulds and bacteria should clear up good for a lake if potentially harmful ammonia, moulds, and bacteria are given an unnatural base on which to thrive; we wouldn’t knowingly

at various levels to get that right, and

of carp in testing, including several 40s plus

want to fish to a food waste tip would we? It’s

also several liquid attractor recipes, but

lots of roach and other species when targeted.

got be much better that uneaten bait gases up

the 3:5:1 ratio of Scopex, Red Liver Oil

The boilie base mix is also new, as are the

and floats to the edge well before it might go

and sweetener I’d been using in a yellow

Method mixes. The range is targeted at busier

completely rotten and repulse the fish we are after.

birdfood was the one we settled on in the

waters where you’re after a quick bite, but

end – basically, the best mix in fieldtesting.

they’ve been proven on some big fish as well.

Could you tell us how to get the

Some of your baits are designed to

It’s a long story, but the short one is that I’ve

best from your Squid powder?

float away if not eaten. Could you

always been convinced that colour does

By underdoing it rather than tipping in loads is the

explain the theory behind this?

make a difference. I’ve proved it hundreds

foremost way of thinking about it. Some attractors

Environment-friendly, really. I don’t like the

of times in my fishing and if you’re under

What made you make Monster Squid Purple?

have almost limitless high-usage parameters, such as the Strawberry, Chocolate and Red Liver Oil Palatants, but the Squid is a very potent attractor and less is more, as they say. your Pop-up Mix is a little bit special, could you tell us

thought of rotting, uneaten bait in a swim.

Ideally, it all gets eaten by the fish we are after, but not always. I’ve

“Why only have the liquid attractors or the base mix doing the work when you can have the best of both worlds?”

what makes it so?

seen bad prebaiting spoil

any illusion that it doesn’t, then ask a lure angler who is fishing for pike. One universal lure would be better than a big boxful.

However, in all fishing there are ‘safe’ colours,

areas of a lake several

such as red maggot for perch, red and white lures

times; stinking areas

for pike, and the good old Robin Red in fishmeal

filled in with maggot,

boilies for carp. There is obviously more than

groundbaits, pellet and particles that become no fish zones. I’ve even

one safe colour for every species and it depends on a lot of things really, but for carp it’s natural browns with red or similar purple tinges. The purple is a good but

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in that totally virgin fish find them irresistible and

Can you explain how to get the

will readily eat them the first time they see them.

best from the rock salt you supply?

Squid with the Robin Red in it is an awesome

beauty was caught whilst testing the Monster Squid Purple.

Believe me, there aren’t very many bait products

Little and often is my preferred method, adding

bait and food, but when we dropped the Robin

ABOVE RIGHT Gary

that can claim this. Nearly all the bait we use is

a bit to spod mixes, swim feeders and PVA

certainly good to go on boilie-fed fish, but if you

bags. I like to keep the area to which I’m fishing

ever go somewhere where the carp have not seen

tight and use about 100-200g per 12 hours,

anglers’ baits, you need to look to use baits that

although I have used more, and less, with

are proven on such venues or you will struggle.

good results. Certainly, for my short sessions

different ‘safe’ colour. Carp rely a lot on taste to find, and make up their mind to eat, food. Monster

Red and added the black to make the Monster Squid Black, attraction was taken away. The black dye also ‘holds on’ to some of the flavours, so the bait had a subtle change that reduced suspicion in carp caught previously on Monster

TOP RIGHT This

says his little corner where he does his bait experiments needs a little tidying!

BELOW Red

Liver Oil isn’t so good in the winter and I reduce it from 5ml to 3ml in my Scopex Squid All Season recipe; however, Strawberry Oil is an awesome winter attractant.

I’m sure it catches me more fish when fished For anyone wanting to create their

little and often. I have never used it for carp

own winter bait from the range,

in the winter, but did well for big perch a few

what would you recommend?

winters ago, using ground salt in my groundbait

Either Amber Attractor or the All Season Squid base

plus dissolved salt as the liquid content for my

mixes, mixed or singularly, with a blend of water

groundbait, using open-end feeders. I have just

and oil soluble attractors, mostly fruity or creamy,

put some in my van today and will be using it for

Could you tell us more about

but also some savoury types are good in the

the first time in the winter for carp, so hopefully…

the Sense Appeal stimulants?

winter, such as Liquid Liver and Shellfish Sense

There are three products, Carpmino, Amino Liver

Appeal. Absolute bankers are Chocolate Malt,

Are there any new exciting

Concentrate, and Shellfish Sense Appeal. The first

Scopex No 1, Strawberry and White Chocolate Oil

plans for Nash Bait in 2014?

two are terrific fish-catchers and, as I touched

Palatants and, of course, a little extra sweetener.

I intend to fish a lot more this year, which

Squid, resulting in more bites. With the purple, the bait underwent another physical change in that there was still no Robin Red, but the flavours were released differently again, resulting in more bites. And that’s the short version.

on earlier, attractants with limitless high-end inclusion. Both can be added to a boilie recipe

is exciting for both me and the company, because being stuck mostly in the

as high as you want to go, and can be used to

office isn’t good for bait development,

great effect undiluted as a bait soak or as a base

so that’s a good, exciting plan. We

to create a bait soak. Shellfish Sense Appeal

are always developing lots of new

has a highly concentrated extract which limits

products, base mixes, attraction, etc.,

inclusion rates in a bait or bait soak. All three of

and lots of other promising products;

these products are part of a very limited list of

some will be mid-season launches, so

ingredients and additives unique in the bait world,

I’m sure it’s going to be a good year.

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COLUMNIST

Monster!

T

homas Duncan-Dunlop catches monster carp, and rubs shoulders with a lot of other anglers who do so, too. When he suggested a book about big-carp captures to me the idea captured my imagination immediately.

I think what Tom had in mind was a bit of a jolly-up by his circle of friends in terms of their remarkable results at Rainbow, which wasn’t really how my mind was working. The pursuit of monster carp is a worldwide one and any book about big carp needed to reflect that, because it needed to have global appeal. Tom agreed, so that was what the Monster Carp book would be, a book about monster carp on a global scale.

Right, the starting point was the big-fish list. The one in my 2002 book Carp! listed just 35 x 70lb+ captures.

We all know the big-carp scene has changed dramatically since 2002, although initially we didn’t realise just how dramatic the change had

been. Where to start? Briggsy kept a global big-carp list, and an update had appeared in International Carper from time to time, so his list would be our starting point. That was when we encountered our first snag: he stopped keeping a record about five years back!

Fortunately, I’m a bit of a hoarder when it comes to carp books and carp magazines, so our starting point then became Steve’s out-of-date list, plus five years’ copies of Carp-Talk and Carpworld’s International Carper section, plus the original International Carpers.

Tom came up from Surrey and took away five years of Carp-Talk, and went on the Carp-Talk mailing list to keep up-to-date.

With a great deal of help from Solar’s Rebecca Fleet, Tom painstakingly went through the back issues of Carp-Talk to update the list, which was a lengthy process when you work and fish as hard as Tom does! I then had the task of going through 10 years of International Carpers to pick up any captures that

ABOVE Tom working on the five years of Carp-Talks to update Briggsy’s last list.

The origins of a Monster Carp book; the list from my 2002 book, Carp!

BELOW

hadn’t appeared in Carp-Talk.

In the meantime, Briggsy was dragged into the equation because he is unrivalled when it comes to overseas contacts.

Between us, Steve, Tom and I lined up the overseas contributions, and Steve got an update on the captures from a couple of countries from which we don’t get regular reports. Slowly, the book came together, and grew in terms of scope and ambition to the finished product of over 300 pages and nearly 100,000 words. This astonishingly detailed and heavily researched book contains details of almost 700 x 70lb+ carp captures, including almost 200 x 80lb+ carp.

Illustrating some of the chapters in the book would have been impossible if Angling Publications and Carp Fishing News didn’t keep a library of scans from the publications we have drawn on for most of the captures. We have no contact details for the majority of the names on the lists and the only way we could show pictures in support of some of the most significant captures was from those libraries. Our thanks to the Carp-Talk team for their co-operation in making some of the scans available to

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S t ill Ca r p in g On T im Pa is ley

us. There are profiles of the contributors at the back of the book, and their help is acknowledged elsewhere, but going beyond the input of the co-authors and contributors, it is impossible not to emphasise the debt of gratitude we owe to Simon Crow and Alijn Danau for their efforts way beyond the call of duty.

The Foreword is by our friend Julian Cundiff, which may seem an odd choice because Jules currently doesn’t do global carping. But that is exactly why he has been chosen. We wanted it made clear that such is the appeal of the book that you don’t have to fish overseas, or for monster carp, to enjoy the book. This is an inspirational book which is both a historical record and an insight into how some of the top men in the game achieve their remarkable results. The end result is a credit to all those who have made it possible, most importantly, you guys, and girls, who catch monster carp, and submit your pictures.

We jumped on the use of the word ‘monster’ from Martin Lawrence’s use of it in his two intriguing Bivvy Tramps books, but the title raises the question, ‘What is a monster carp on a global

ABOVE Steve networking Europe and setting the end results to make much of the book possible.

11 years. The list in Carp! contained all the 70lb+ fish we were able to track down at that time, and no one has come forward since to point out any glaring omissions. From it you will see that in 2002 there had been just two 80lb+ carp landed on rod and line, only one being from a stillwater, Christian Baldemann’s 82lb 3oz mirror from Lake Raduta. In the pages that follow in this book there are almost 200 x 80lb+ captures listed!

The Carp! list contains just 35 rod and line 70lb+ captures. Monster Carp lists 700 such captures, and even then we know the list is far from complete. We have tracked down as many 70lb+ carp as possible, but we can only work with reported fish, and we are well aware that not everyone publicises their big-carp successes. Apologies to those concerned for captures we have missed, and if there are any glaring omissions from the “This is an list. We have done inspirational our level best to book which is track down all both a historical the significant record and an insight big carp that into how some of have been the top men in the reported, working game achieve largely from the their remarkable sources quoted, results” and even websites, but we welcome news of any important captures we have missed.

While the main list and many of the sublists are based on captures in excess of 70lb – largely because of limitation on space – it didn’t seem right to have a book compiled by three English anglers with no chapter about the UK in it! So we prevailed upon Chris Ball to write a chapter and compile a list covering the UK captures in excess of 60lb, and we are delighted with the end result of Chris’ record-keeping and labours. In the same vein, some of the countries included are scale?’ When we decided to compile a only just starting to produce big fish on book of this type we had to decide on what we have defined as the global scale. a lower weight limit as a cut-off point.

They are included in the book because We considered a lower level of 30 kilos, if history repeats itself, as it surely will, which is approximately 66lb, but it they are on the verge of producing quickly became apparent that while 66lb, numbers of 70lb+ fish, and it is only or even 60lb, was a sensible lower limit a matter of time before they can claim for some countries – including the UK their first 80lb carp – as Croatia almost – for others it was too low. Eventually did while Kris Kuri was in the process of we settled on a ‘global’ qualifying weight compiling his chapter. The carp waters of 70lb, which is useful historically, but of Holland, Luxembourg, Spain, Italy, probably already outdated! When we and Poland are on the verge of producing agreed a weight of 70lb we didn’t realise numbers of big fish, and we feel sure just how quickly times have changed that the second edition of this book will in the big-fish stakes over the last 10 or reflect that upsurge in weights F ebru ary 2014 C a r pwor l d 137

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The Retreat Lake Does a week’s fishing on your own private lake for you and a friend, complete with accommodation, sound like heaven on earth? Well, read on, because you could be going – for free!

W

ith carping holidays in France becoming more and more popular each year, choosing the correct venue is very important.

Most of us want to get away from all the fuss and bother of work and life and spend some time just chilling out in the countryside,

fishing for our beloved carp.

This is where The Retreat Lake can be worth checking out.

Hidden away in the French countryside, barely six kilometres from the river town of ChateauGontier in Mayenne, with a travelling time of only 1.5 hours from the nearest port, the lake is

surrounded by graceful willows arching down to kiss the water, and with an exquisite gîte with two bedrooms, a lounge, kitchen and bathroom only yards away overlooking the pool, it only takes one look at the photographs of the lake to realise that this is one beautiful venue. If the lovely gîte isn’t quite what you are looking for, farmhouse accommodation is available, with or without angling.

The 2.5-acre lake offers angling for up to four guests.

Depths range from 1-5ft,

and the lake features a firm bottom with silt patches. It is stocked with commons and mirrors to 40lb, and is free of crayfish and poisson chat, although there are a number of catfish. There’s also a good head of general coarse fish should you fancy a change, but no bream. The lovely willows overhanging the water provide shelter for the fish and are an excellent feature to fish to. There is also an island, which is a natural haunt for the fish, and easy access all around the lake, which

SPECIAL OFFER FOR ALL READERS Everyone can benefit from this special offer for a week’s holiday at Retreat Lake. Simply quote CW281 when booking and you’ll receive a discount of £100 off the normal price. That makes a week’s fishing for up to four people with exclusive use of the lake for only £795!

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C o m petitio n

TWO WAYS TO WIN: ANSWER THIS QUESTION: What type of trees surround the lake at The Retreat Lake?

A Ash

B Oak

C Willow

NOW EITHER:

0:00 AM

1

ENTER VIA MOBILE PHONE

Simply text CW2, then a space followed by your answer to the question above (either A, B or C) to 87070. For example, your answer could be CW2 A.

Messages cost £1.50 per message plus standard network charge.

Over-18s only with bill payer’s permission. Text details may appear on phone bill. Service provider Digital Select Ltd. Helpline: 0844 448 0165.

Competition closes midnight 06/03/2014.

WHAT YO CAN WI U N You cou

exclusive ld win one wee k’s use o gîte for tw f the lake and o people (Food an . d bait no t incl on is flanked by lush grass banks and there are lots of likely-looking spots, should you wish to get in some stalking practice.

Car parking is adjacent to the lake, and the gîte is only 30yds away, so getting to and from the facilities or swims with your gear is easy. Landing nets, unhooking mats and weigh slings are provided free of charge, which gives you more space in your car! Bait can be purchased on arrival, and it can also be pre-ordered when making a booking. You can bring your own bait, but particles are not permitted except those purchased on site. Bait boats are also permitted, and can also be hired.

The surrounding countryside is beautiful, and the nearby town offers excellent facilities, including a variety of supermarkets and shops, restaurants, bars, a swimming pool, boat trips along the river and a weekly market.

The owners of The Retreat

site.) The

uded – bu t can be holiday pu must be taken in rchased 2014.

PRIZE VA

LUE:

£895

Lake, Craig and Caroline Neary, live on site to personally welcome you and help you make the most of your stay. They are always on hand to provide you with information about the fishing, what to do, and where to go, should you wish to leave the lake.

A week on The Retreat Lake costs from £895, including accommodation and fishing, and this is an excellent price by anyone’s standards. But you could be sitting in the beautiful surroundings with a bottle of wine, watching the plethora of wildlife for the price of a text or stamp, so check out The Retreat Lake website and get your entry for our competition off today! IC

OR:

2

ENTER VIA POST

Complete the form below, pop it in an envelope and post it to us at the following address: Retreat Lake Competition, CW281, Angling Publications Ltd., Regent House, 101 Broadfield Road, Sheffield S8 0XH You may photocopy this page to avoid spoiling the magazine.

Winners will be notified in writing. No cash alternative.

Competition closes midnight 06/03/2014.

For further details of The Retreat Lake head over to the website: www.theretreatlake.com

RETREAT LAKE COMPETITION ENTRY FORM Carpworld Issue 281, February 2014 Your answer (please tick one) A



B



C



Name Postal address

Postcode Telephone no Mobile Email If you do not wish to receive further information from The Retreat Lake or other angling-related companies, please tick here.



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T O N Y

D A V I E S - P A T R I C K

Catch a Falling Star F a n s o f To n y ’ s f e a t u r e s w i l l b e p l e a s e d t o s e e t h a t a f t e r a n e n f o r c e d b r e a k , h e ’ s b a c k i n I n t e r n a t i o n a l C a r p e r. T h e l a s t y e a r h a s b e e n a r o l l e r c o a s t e r o f a r i d e f o r To n y a n d h e r e ’ s h i s i n c r e d i b l e s t o r y, o n e o f f e a r, h o p e a n d l o v e …

I

t was an ice-cold night during the final month of 2013. I was fishing solo and had 25 acres of beautiful lake to myself. A full moon bobbed on the surface and cat ice formed in the margins. I zipped up the collar on the duck-down jacket and looked up at the stars that spread like a carpet of diamonds above my head.

A shooting star flashed for moments, leaving a brief trail in the dark night, so I lifted my hand as if to grab it in my fist and made a wish. The warm air exhaled from my lungs and instantly transformed into clouds of vapour as it collided with the freezing air. Diamonds shone bright in the pollution-free atmosphere and a galaxy spread across my vision... so close as if I could touch each star.

When I wished upon a star it had not been in the hope of catching a monster fish. I’d had my fair share during a lifetime of adventures searching for them around this planet. Even there at the beautiful High Mill Lake in France, I’d been lucky enough to land some of the largest fish during my first short overnight sessions. The wishes were more towards Ayleen, my soul partner in hopes and dreams. So much had happened in recent months that my mind was in constant turmoil and sleep was often absent on many a dark night... and it eluded me yet again on that night alone at High Mill. To understand the story more, I need to take you back in time...

Ayleen was in the kitchen holding a small bottle of salad dressing. A sudden dagger blow to the chest forced her to throw the bottle forward and oil splattered across the wall and over the floor. I heard that first scream so ran to Ayleen’s aid, only to find her on her knees cleaning up a pool of spilt dressing. I leaned down to help in cleaning up the mess, when suddenly she screamed again in agony. Without a second thought I

helped her to her feet and guided her to the settee in the front room. At first I thought it was maybe severe menstrual pains, but when Ayleen held a fist tightly clamped to her own chest I knew instinctively what it was... a heart attack!

Strange as it may seem now, but only a few days previously we’d been reading about the power of cayenne pepper in helping open up the blood vessels and arteries during a heart attack and sometimes it was even used by paramedics as first aid at the scene.

So we’d added it to the shopping list.

Without a second thought, I rushed back into the kitchen and grabbed the cayenne pot and poured a heaped tablespoon of powder into a half glass of water. A sudden louder scream came from the front room and I fought to steady my shaking hands as I poured yet another spoon of cayenne powder into the glass, stirred it madly and then rushed back to Ayleen’s side. Her eyes scanned the ceiling in fear and her hands tightly clutched her chest as each agonising dagger blow seemed to wrench a beating heart from her body.

“Here, take this... swallow it all down in one go.”

“What is it?”

“Cayenne pepper... drink it all babe... just drink it down!”

Ayleen looked back at me in alarm but she understood and tried to force the vile concoction down her throat.

She choked a few times, but eventually managed to empty the glass, and then without a second thought I guided her to the passenger seat of my car and started up the engine. I didn’t want to chance waiting for an ambulance to arrive, so was going to drive directly to the hospital to save precious time. But it suddenly dawned on me that I’d never been to the main hospital so wasn’t sure of the fastest route... and dreaded the thought

of getting lost in the city. Just at that moment my neighbour walked out of his house so I rushed to ask him where the emergency section of the hospital was and desperately shouted, “Ayleen is having a heart attack!”

Without a second thought he jumped into his car yelling, “Follow me Tony!”

I ran back to Ayleen still sitting in my own car. Wheels span on the driveway as both cars sped along the country lane and down the main highway towards town. My fingers were white as they gripped the steering wheel too tightly and each moment I looked over to Ayleen her face was screwed up in excruciating pain.

“Hold on my babe... hold on my

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Ca t c h a F a llin g S t a r To ny Da vies -Pa tr ick

babe... we’ll soon be there,” I whispered, as my own mind tried to imagine what she was going through.

It was a short but nightmare journey and despite almost hitting another car, we eventually screeched to a halt next to ambulances parked outside the emergency doors. I helped Ayleen out of the car and with my arm wrapped around her waist we hobbled to the reception.

Within five minutes Ayleen was sitting in a room with pressure bandages on her arms and wires leading from her chest to a diagnostic machine. The electronic reading immediately told the nurse that Ayleen was indeed having a heart attack.

“I’m going to give you something to ease the pain my darling...” whispered the nurse, and as the morphine entered Ayleen’s bloodstream the wrinkles in her forehead disappeared and the agony left her eyes... as the heart attack seemed to subside.

Another few minutes passed, then Ayleen was helped onto a bed-trolley and whisked towards the nearest lift with an entourage of nurses in tow. With no

A galaxy of stars on a December night at High Mill Lake.

BELOW

is the operating theatre and there is room inside the small space, I was forced a surgery in progress. Please wait in to take a separate lift to the next level. one of the seats down the corridor.”

Whilst lying on the bed inside the I was ushered to an area at safe lift, Ayleen suddenly went into another distance from the closed doors, but full-blown heart attack and instead of couldn’t sit down. All of a sudden a taking her to the intended spare hospital bomb seemed to go off outside the bed, they pushed her at full speed window, then another. It was Bonfire directly into the operating theatre.

Night, and people were celebrating the By now I’d reached the same level historic act of burning an effigy of Guy in my lift, and as the doors opened Fawkes at the stake. But celebration I suddenly realised that in this huge was far from my mind, because inside hospital I didn’t have a clue where the a nearby room my true love was cardiac intensive care ward was located. desperately fighting for her own life.

One of the long words amongst a group Suddenly another noise screamed of signs had the word ‘cardio’ written down the corridors as a bell started on it, so I ran like a lunatic in the direction it pointed. As I raced down yet to ring and a red light began flashing wildly outside the operating theatre. another corridor I passed a nurse who Unbeknown to me, while the surgeon recognised me from the lower level. began operating on Ayleen her heart “Your wife is in here, sir,” she shouted. stopped beating. The doctors and So I almost burst through nurses were at that precise the double doors but was time administrating held back by two electric shock male nurses.

“As the doors treatment through “Sorry, but opened I suddenly two defibrillator you can’t go in realised that in this huge pads pressed there sir, that hospital I didn’t have a clue tightly to her chest. where the cardiac intensive The wailing siren and flashing care ward was located” red light was a signal for anyone in the hospital able to help to go to the scene. During the next hour I counted over 30 nurses and doctors rushing in and out of those double doors.

The chaos in the corridor shook me to the core, and while a female nurse tried to prevent me from running back down the corridor to Ayleen’s aid, I cried out to her.

“Fight my babe, FIGHT! I’m with you my darling... fight... fight for your life my babe!”

I learned that during the next hour Ayleen flat-lined on four separate occasions while on the operating table, yet somehow was brought back to life each time by the zap of 3,000 volts.

Eventually all seemed to go calm and as the siren fell silent and the red light outside the operating theatre extinguished, I feared the worse.

My whole body began shaking and I fought to hold back the anguish building up inside like a tidal wave.

A lone man wearing a white coat exited the operating room and walked slowly down the corridor until he stood directly in front of me. I tried to swallow hard through a knotted F ebru ary 2014 C a r pwor l d 171

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22/01/2014 16:38

MONSTER CARP TIM PAISLEY • STEVE BRIGGS • THOMAS DUNCAN-DUNLOP

WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM ALIJN DANAU • DANIEL CALLEJA • SANDRO DI CESARE • KRIS KURI • PRZEMEK MROCZEK • CHRIS BALL • ANDY CHAMBERS • SIMON CROW • ARJEN UITBEIJERSE • JON HALDANE • BILL COTTAM • LUKE MOFFATT • STEVE BROAD • ERIC SMITH • MARTIN LOCKE

THE BO OK OF 201 4

320 PAGES

£30 £2.95 UK P&P

featuring 70lb+ captures from around the world

PRE-ORDER ONLINE AT WWW.THECARPSTORE.COM MonsterCarp_AD_CW281.indd 1

27/01/2014 13:37