Carpworld October 2014

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£500 WORTH OF NGT Gear

Kevin Nash on new rig development

Mitch Smith talks preparation and strategy

ISSUE 289 October 2014

carpworldmagazine.com

ISSUE 289 / OCtober 2014 / MONTHLY £4.50

Small-water

Monsters Steve Briggs reveals how some intimate

B R I T A I N ’ S BIGGEST C A R P - A N G L I N G M A G A Z I N E

venues can hold huge surprises

Lee Roberts

Kingsmead Record Broken

c ar pwor ld maga z in e. co m

THE

E MAGAZIN

Issue 132 October

DarrElL Peck

Tackles the Road Lake

Dave Moore

Banks this Beauty

LER IDE ANG WORLDW FOR THE

2014

ADVENTURES UNDER THE SUN

voir s hold French reser P 1 6 8 The huge kewitz, so for Julian Jur a fascination adventure his thir s t for it’s no wonder and again retur n again makes him

THIS MONTH: WILD HUNGARIAN LAKES AND NEW ADVENTURES FOR FRENCH BEAUTIES RIZO NEW HO

NS

SMALL-

WAT E R

MONST

ERS

HUNGA

TERS I L D WA RIAN W

Hafner goes P187 Johannes carp in the big in search of Hungarian wilderness

001-Cover_CW289.indd 1 ck P175 Tony Davies-Patri again in is on the road new search of pastures

PLUS

out Briggs finds P181 Steve venues can that even small monsters real be home to

p ca ptures . all the boxes. wor ld’s big-car Africa ticks up on all the a new adventure?

WORLD – Catch – Looking for AROUND THE OF AFRICA P 1 6 1 ECHOES 18/09/2014 15:30 CARP AND WILDLIFE P172 THE WILD

dd 1

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CONTENTS

The Carpworld Contents / Issue 289 /

October 2014

70

Think Tank According to many anglers, this is the best time of year to catch carp feeding up for the winter. Do carp become easier to catch at this time of the year, and if so, what are the best tactics?

Our panel reveal their thoughts.

38

85 O N T HE C OV E R : Steve Briggs has been having a great run of success in France, and here’s one of his latest captures. For more details check out the feature on Page 181.

REGULARS

Bait World featuring Joe Turnbull With a special look at DNA Baits, a chat with Mark Lycett from Custom Bait Services, and a whole load of baiting tips and goodies from Joe, it’s another packed Bait World this month.

FEATURES

6

16

8

24

Editors’ Comments It’s been another busy month for Broady and Banksy, and they let you know what they’ve been up to on Page 6.

Gazette All the news and views from around the carping scene, plus a report on the BCAC finals held recently at Wraysbury.

45

Rig World featuring Mike Kavanagh In the second and final part of his Rig World Special, Mike continues his chat with Kevin Nash, with the aim of getting inside the mind of one of carpangling’s leading lights.

A New Challenge Mick Price Mick joins us for a two-part feature about his adventures on a Cambridgeshire syndicate water which, in his own words, “I didn’t have a clue what I was in for.”

Golden Days At Kingsmead Lee Roberts Yet another new name for Carpworld; Lee tells how a change of ownership and the arrival of his Gold Card to fish the Horton complex resulted in the capture of Kingsmead’s biggest-ever fish.

31

Caravan Club Carping – Part 3 Dave Moore Dave had spotted his target fish, and with tactics clear in his mind, he set out to entice the fish into taking his bait. Did he succeed? Find out in the final part of Dave’s feature.

45

38

101

54

126

63

136

77

145

Right Place, Wrong Time Adam Clewer Being a lounge lizard won’t catch you carp, but even when you do venture out you’ve still got to be in the right spot to catch ’em. Obvious really, but as Adam says, it’s a lot easier to say than to put into practice.

Carping Allegedly Bill Cottam Quite what goes on in this man’s mind worries us sometimes, but the arrival of Bill’s comedic musings on life and carping in general are always eagerly awaited by an appreciative audience.

The F Word Paul Forward Our regular diarist has been out and about on Burghfield, Paddlesworth and Dinton Pastures, and even though it was tiring putting in the miles, it was well worth the effort.

Pecky’s Progress Darrell Peck Pecky’s been on his holidays this month – to Gigantica.

It was a boys away-type of trip, so did he enter into the holiday spirit or did he actually manage a bit of fishing?

Historic Carp Waters Chris Ball The Yateley complex on the Surrey/Hampshire border holds a very special place in carp-fishing history. Chris takes a close-up look at this most historic of carp venues.

Pastures New Neil Haynes After waiting years for a Dinton Pastures ticket, Neil finally got to fish his dream water. Read about his ongoing adventure which has seen him land some of this famous venue’s most sought-after residents.

Winter – Preparation and Strategies Mitch Smith Mitch takes us on an in-depth technical tour of everything you need to know to succeed in winter, from choosing a venue to baiting strategies, and his thoughts on rigs.

Contingency Plans Ed Betteridge Have you formulated a plan for your chosen water? Is it working?

What do you do if it doesn’t? It’s all well and good getting a ticket to fish a particular water, but that’s only the beginning; you need to plan for all contingencies.

4 C ar p wor l d O c to ber 20 14

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22/09/2014 13:52

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150

109

Tackle World Eight pages packed with goodies to keep all the tackle tarts drooling. This month we feature new alarms from JRC, rods from 30Plus, Starbaits and Rod Hutchinson, a new barrow from Trakker, a new brolly from Aqua Products, and gear from Gardner, NGT, Cygnet, Fox and Taska.

That’s not all though, so turn to page 109 for the full picture.

IN INTERNATIONAL CARPER Don’t forget to check out your

94

Ask The Experts Our expert panel answer readers’ questions on air-drying boilies, fishing confidently in weed, and tackling carp on short sessions.

There’s a £250 voucher to be won if your question is the featured winner.

MAGAZINE

FOR THE WORLDWIDE ANGLER

Issue 132 October 2014

International Carper mag-

ADVENTURES UNDER THE SUN

within-a-mag on Page 159.

P 1 6 8 The huge French reser voir s hold a fascination for Julian Jur kewitz, so it’s no wonder his thir s t for adventure makes him retur n again and again

It’s packed with all the news of the big-carp captures from around the world in our regular Echoes feature, a visit by Steve NEW HORIZONS

RS S M A L L - WAT E R M O N S T E

TERS H U N G A R I A N W I L D WA

P175 Tony Davies-Patrick is on the road again in search of pastures new

P181 Steve Briggs finds out that even small venues can be home to real monsters

P187 Johannes Hafner goes in search of big carp in the Hungarian wilderness

Briggs to Serreire, during which he caught yet another 70+ carp, an adventure on a wild

UP FOR GRABS

THE

and mystical lake in Hungary

PLUS

P 1 6 1 ECHOES AROUND THE WORLD – Ca tch up on all the wor ld’s big-car p ca ptures .

P172 THE WILD CARP AND WILDLIFE OF AFRICA – Looking for a new adventure? Afr ica ticks all the boxes .

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18/09/2014 15:30

by Johannes Hafner, and a trip to the huge French reservoirs

by Julian Jurkewitz, where he tackles the unknown. We also welcome back our old friend Tony Davies-Patrick, who starts out on a new series aptly titled New Horizons.

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Carp Lakes

TACKLE WORLD

Don’t forget the amazing subs offer on page 122

Priory

Still Carping On Tim Paisley Putting everything into perspective is Tim’s angle this month, as he reports on how the carpers of tomorrow fared in the BYCAC at Linear. This was followed by time spent supporting the MNDA event, a trip of mixed fortunes to Gigantica, and everything from photography to nationalism – a real mixed bag!

exclusive lake hire £900 per week

133

22/09/2014 13:52

FEATURE

A NEW CHALLENGE M i c k

P r i ce

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A N e w Ch a llenge Mick P r ice

Carpworld welcomes Mick on-board for a two-part feature about his adventures on a Cambridgeshire syndicate water which, in his own words, ‘I didn’t have a clue what I was in for.’

T

he mobile phone alarm sounded at 1.30 a.m., but to be honest it went off in my pocket because I was already in the car and heading southbound on the A1. I was excited for the new season ahead like a big daft kid at Christmas.

It had been 3 months since my last session due to the arrival of my second gorgeous little girl Ava, so to say I was keen was an understatement. I was making the 169-mile trip for the first session on my new Cambridgeshire syndicate, and I couldn’t get there quick enough. All the usual things were going through my carpy mind as I made the 2½hour journey. Which swim should I fish? How should I approach the water? How many are on, and what takeaway should I get? On a serious note though, I didn’t have a clue what I was in for on that first session, and, in fact, the whole season.

The water was dug in the mid-’80s and stocked with carp in the early-’90s, so the carp are roughly 22 to 25 years old. The venue itself is absolutely stunning; at around 7 acres and with an average depth of about 17ft it was going to be up close and intimate-style fishing this season. The lake has a decent-sized island in the middle, which is extremely overgrown with lots of holes and overhangs to get into with an awkward cast. With Norfolk reeds and pads all around the margins and lots of weedy areas, it truly is a beautiful little gem I had stumbled on, thanks to a good mate of mine (cheers Mick). The carp in this lake are a bit special, with around 30 fish over 30lb and four to five 40s at the right time of year, so there was certainly plenty to go at, as well as a fair head of 20s. The fish themselves all have character – big, old, dark creatures of the deep, both mirrors and commons. It was perfect, and just what I wanted to keep me driven and see the year through.

After a long drive down, I finally arrived at the lake for 4.00 a.m. (I must be mad). There were a few cars in the car park, but as this was a Sunday I knew that most lads, if not all, would be going, so off I went with the usual bucket in hand to check out the lake and see if any carp were showing in any one particular area. The island is known to do quite a few fish, so I was hoping to see a few carpy signs on my route to tell me where they were. After a couple of laps I had seen a few fish show around the island but not in any one particular spot; they were pretty much spread round the whole island. I was keen to get in one of the island swims, trickle some bait in and see what happened for the first 24 hours. I chose a swim with the island in front of me and a good view of the lake; there had been Octo ber 2014 C a r pwor l d 17

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FEATURE

Right Place Wrong Time A D A M

C L E W E R

You won’t catch fish sitting at home, but you’ve still got to be in the right spot to catch ’em when you do go out. Obvious really, but it’s a lot easier to say than to put into practice.

T

he trouble with the carp I am currently thought that have challenged my angling the most. fishing for is that they keep moving Just when I was getting comfortable, contented around. I know they are meant to almost, in understanding my quarry, the carp do that; I just wish they would either let me have unkindly averted my cunning, throwing my know their plan or at least stick to the supposed previously reliable discernment into question. routes/patterns which I have predicted (maybe I’ve detailed my fishing time in previous features that should read ‘concocted’) in my head. It’s so I won’t labour the details again; in brief I fish fair to say that of late, the carp have tested my once a week from approximately 7.00 p.m. until watercraft skills to new limits. Perhaps I should lunchtime the following day. These nights are be grateful for that; I really have learned valuable nearly always fished midweek (a bonus I know), lessons along the way. However, at times my and have, up until late, proved consistent, with supposed insights have frequently fallen short, very pleasing fish-to-rod hours ratios. Humbly, I with the ability to see into the future being am fairly confident in my ability to read the water; necessary should I wish to stay on the fish. experienced anglers will know this is the most Over the last 2 years my local syndicate water important skill any angler can possess. Busy lakes has fished fairly reliably, with consistent patterns and occupied swims don’t help in finding a suitable emerging and remaining swim to fish, but putting the for the majority of the year. presence of other anglers Humbly, I am fairly Obviously some swims will aside, locating the carp is the confident in my ability most important element in always yield more success to read the water; than others, and this will, of successful carp fishing. Here, course, fluctuate slightly from experienced anglers will however, lies the challenge; year to year. Nevertheless, the carp I have been targeting know this is the most recent months have been have been especially sneaky, important skill any quite different – at times if not unequivocally angler can possess incalculable – and from underhanded at times. conversations I have had with A few weeks ago I arrived other anglers, my experiences have corresponded at my chosen lake to fish. I had the night and the with theirs. As an angler with a full-time job, the following morning in which to tempt a fish or phrase ‘you should have been here last week’ is two to make my acquaintance. The lake was busy not uncommon. Unfortunately, that’s the fate we (it always is), but offered half a dozen swims to ‘normal’ anglers have to endure. This is only made wet a line. I walked the lake, making a point to worse nowadays with social media immediately considerately greet any anglers who were already notifying all members who aren’t fishing that fishing. I looked for some fish, and tried to connect somebody is having a good time. I say that with no with the mood of the lake. A tension lies between jealously of tone; I have no problem celebrating forcibly quizzing other anglers and cold standthe achievements of others. I do abhor long-stay offishness. The era of hushed tones and whispered anglers constantly swim rotating amongst friends, secrets are no longer common practice on the but regrettably that is increasingly part of the majority of our fisheries. I would, however, never modern scene. Anyway, back to my own fishing. ask direct questions, but a courteous greeting not Watching on from the comfort or discomfort of a only makes you friends for when a cameraman may social media newsfeed will not make you a better be required, but can also aid in making decisions angler – spending time observing the water will. regarding where to fish. I am often baffled that It’s the moments of observation and reflection of some people never greet their fellow anglers,

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R ig h t P la c e , Wro n g T im e A d a m C lewer

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Feeding Up for Winter – Fact or Fiction?

Pick up any magazine, read any Internet forum, or ask any anglers on the bank, and they’ll all give you pretty much the same sort of answer to a question on autumnal carping. It goes along the lines that the carp start to feed up for the winter and will be more catchable than in the height of summer. But is this true? Can we just use the same baits/tactics as we would at any other time, or do we have to ring the changes? We can understand that in winter and because they’re cold-blooded, carp slow down and only feed when necessary. This is also due to the lack of natural food available.

In the summer, just like us, the carp tend to slow down because of the heat, lower oxygen levels in the water, and simply because they can just open their mouths and swim around eating because there’s an abundance of food. In

THIS MONTH’S QUESTION :

spring and autumn it’s a bit more

Au t umn is wel l a n d t r u l y s e t in by now, and acc o rdin g t o m a ny, t hi s is t he be s t t im e of ye a r t o ca t c h ca r p f eed ing u p for t he wi n t e r. W h a t ’s you r op i nion on t his ? D o c ar p be c o me e a s i er t o ca t c h a t t his t im e of t he ye a r, a n d i f s o, w h i ch b ait ing/t ackle t ac t ic s d o yo u e m p l oy on t h e r u n-u p t o w int e r ?

difficult. In spring, it’s generally thought that the carp need to put weight back on after the lean winter months; and in autumn they eat up so they can bulk up on weight for the winter. It’s noticeable that this autumn feeding spell has become less obvious over the last few years, and Darren touches on this very subject. According to him, this is nothing to do with nature, it’s simply because anglers

T H I S M O N T H ’ S T H I N K T A N K PA N E L A R E :

stay on the bank through winter and so the bait keeps going in.

DA R R E N B E L T O N

IAN CHILLCOTT

MIKE MADELEY

In view of this, the fish don’t have

Whilst Darren is driving

Ian’s one of our favourite

Mike Madeley is a

to gorge themselves to build up

his train around the

Think Tank panellists,

consultant for Vardis Tackle,

for the winter months. Quite how

country, we’ve no doubt

because as well as being

Infusion Baits, and team

they know this though, he doesn’t

he looks enviously

highly experienced, he’s

member with Enterprise

say, but it’s a good thought. Mike

at waters as he goes

also not afraid to speak

Baits, and he has 20

goes for the traditional way of

along! It must be a good job for

his mind. He can be relied upon to

years of carp-fishing experience. He

thinking about carp feeding up

spotting waters because Darren’s

think out of the box, and his opinions

spends a lot of time on the Bluebell

for winter, whereas Ian tends to

track record is second to none,

are based on experience gained

complex, where his personal best

work on the principle of the natural

and with numerous 40s under

from a fishing a wealth of different

common was 41lb 2oz. One of his

larder, water temperatures, and

his belt, he’s one to watch. He’s

venues. Ian’s thoughts on autumn

favourite captures was Swanny from

more bait going in. In fact, he

been angling since he was 7

angling will surprise some people,

Elsons. Mike is a regular attendee at

says he uses more bait in winter

years old and lives in Kent.

but it’s just what we expected.

the charity event Carpin4heroes.

than at any other time of the year – now that’s certainly different.

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My advice is a little bit of bait in as many spots as possible.

Autumn and winter are my favourite times of the year.

The leaves have dropped and winter is setting in – but this cracker still fed well.

Darren Belton says:

and I enjoyed the best winter action I have

I am a little bit biased about this, as autumn is

ever experienced. As a consequence of this,

my favourite time of year. You can’t beat being

come the spring there were a huge number

out in a strong southerly, with big black clouds

of fish gracing the bank at their highest-ever

rolling around you, be it on the bank or walking

weights, and on the water I fished, even

the dog. I hate the heat of summer and the long

after spawning, they were still at bigger

hours of daylight, and as soon as the clocks go

weights than they were the previous spring.

back I love it. With regards to the autumn feed-

Which brings me to the third factor: spawning.

up, well it certainly used to happen, but I’m

If they have spawned hard, or possibly more

not convinced it is really prevalent any more.

than once, then they may well drop a large

Personally, I haven’t witnessed it for a number

percentage of body weight. In years gone by,

of years. What I have witnessed is anglers,

they would have spent the summer steadily

including me, sitting around the pond waiting

gaining weight through to the autumn,

for it to happen, and the action slowly petering

and then gone for one last binge to see

out to nothing! I believe there are a number of

them through the winter. I think this is now

factors for this recent non-event, the main one

somewhat negated by the first two factors.

being that they simply don’t have to feed-up for

Regardless of this, it is still my favourite time to

the winter any more. Throughout the spring and

be on the bank, and my personal approach is

summer they have been receiving kilos of high-

to try to prepare the lake for a winter campaign.

quality bait, much better than in years gone by,

The banks always become less busy, and I

and the need to build up the fat reserves for a

like to take advantage of this. I bait lightly, but

harsh winter is possibly not relevant any more.

all over the lake, every swim if possible (not

This brings me to the second factor: winter.

if other anglers are present), with just 30 or

This last year it simply didn’t happen. Yes,

so baits in likely-looking areas in every swim.

it was wet, but you could count the number

I also like to do this quite often. Yes, it takes

of frosts we had on one hand. The lake I

some effort, but it’s well worth it, and you can

chose to fish through the supposedly colder

generally keep them searching for it right into

months stayed active right the way through,

winter, even when it does get really cold.

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19/09/2014 15:16

FEATURE

PASTURES NEW After waiting years for a ticket, Neil finally got to fish his dream water, Dinton Pastures, an ongoing adventure which has seen him land some of this famous venue’s most sought-after residents.

D

inton Pastures is known by many for producing some of the largest and finestlooking carp in the country, and I have spent 6 years chasing them. One such fish which fits these criteria is a fish known as the Twin, a mirror I was lucky enough to catch at over 50lb during my second year on there. Although the buzz was unreal, and the Twin was clearly one of the main reasons why I joined, there were other fish I dearly wanted to catch too. A fish known as Apple Slice was just perfect to me, and was without doubt one which I most dearly wanted.

It is a proper carp – long, dark and uniquely scaled – like no other big fish I have seen before. Another large mirror known as Bernie’s Linear was a specimen which just blew me away every time I glanced at a picture, let alone saw it on the bank.

It took over 8 years to obtain a ticket, and when I got one, all I could think about was catching some of these incredible carp. The lake is around 25 acres in size with a stock of around 200 carp. This may sound a lot and, in fact, it is, but these fish almost seem reared to be intelligent.

You would think that people would be regularly catching 30-40 carp a year with such a stock. The reality is that if you hit double figures you have done well. It can get really weedy, almost top to bottom Canadian in most areas in fact, and this makes the fishing somewhat tricky at times.

It’s a park lake, so you have to put up with all the dogs, screaming kids and loud youths at times, but it’s what makes it such a special place to me. The lake is mature, rich in bankside vegetation, and just a joy to be around.

The lake also used to abide by the old close season rules, which is another thing I really like. It allows you to walk around and see the fish in their normal environment without fear of being caught. Now it closes for a month for spawning, which still gives the fish plenty of time to rest and get on with their yearly ritual in peace. During the close season, I was often able to introduce bait. I pay for my boilies and it can be expensive, but to see the reaction that I did made me feel good inside, knowing that the fish were eating a highly nutritional meal without a care in the world. At times I had all the big fish in the lake troughing on a small marginal spot. I was even able to film and take pictures of them digging out the clay bottom in search of every last morsel of bait. It was amazing to watch, and although it was the close season, the fish reacted like this to nothing else I gave them. I was feeding The Krill boilies in both 12mm and 16mm, as well as plenty of chopped baits. This was to be my plan of attack for the season ahead, and I wanted the fish to feel safe when coming across such a pile of food.

Unfortunately, the spot got so big and obvious that people became well aware of it, and it was a waste of time continuing to bait it. I

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P a s t u re s New Neil Ha y nes

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aDveNtUreS J U l i a N

J U r K e w i t Z

UNDer the SUN The huge French reservoirs hold a fascination for Julian and Isabell, and it’s no wonder. With beautiful surroundings and massive carp to fish for, it’s little surprise their continuing thirst for adventure makes them return again and again.

T

he south of France is my second home – its huge barrier lakes and long meandering rivers, all incorporated into a beautiful landscape, delicious food, refined wines and nice people, is heaven on earth to me. Of course, you can’t forget the beautiful, large carp, and a most agreeable climate with a lot of sun. I could spend all my holidays there.

In the August edition I told of some of my adventures on the large French waters, and to carry on from where I left off, in July 2012, my girlfriend Isabell and I, together with our two French bulldogs Hermann and Paula, travelled to the south of France for yet another big-water adventure.

I could write a whole book about fishing in the south of France, but that’s not the remit for this feature, so I’ll have to curtail my enthusiasm and just recount how we go about tackling everything from the travel to the fishing on such an adventure.

Firstly, we have to choose the water.

We like to experience something new and not just go to the timehonoured waters such as Cassien, or other big well-known waters. A map offers a great insight into waters, and we choose a main venue then 1 6 8 C a r p wor l d O c tober 20 14

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A dv e n t u re s u n de r t h e S u n Julia n Jur kew itz

search for several alternatives to our main holiday destination, so if local circumstances prevent us from fishing at our chosen venue, we have alternatives planned. It’s necessary to obtain as much information as possible, so we ask around, with friends giving us advice where possible. Our chosen venue was off the beaten track and information wasn’t forthcoming.

Bingo! That’s what we really like – our pioneering spirit had been awakened!

When we plan a 2-week visit to an unknown lake, we have to be prepared for everything. We take as much bait as we can fit in the car, which is usually around 150kg of boilies, at least 25kg of hemp, 50kg of wheat and 25kg of tiger nuts. We may add 25-50kg of pellets to this to get our chosen spots active as soon as possible. Ready-cooked particles would take up far too much space and weight in the car, so we prepare all our particles on the bank. I prepare my hemp and wheat by putting several kilos in a big plastic box, covering with water, and placing it in the sun. After a few days the hempseed has swelled and sprouted, the wheat has softened, and the mix starts to ferment. Alongside this I like to fish Snowman-style, so I take a selection of hardened/shrink-wrapped 20mm hookbaits (in case of crayfish), and top them off with a variety of popups and dips from the Imperial Baits range, such as the 16mm V-pops, which I soak in Carptrack Fish Dip. I also pop in some Fish Amino Gel, which just finishes off the hookbait so it stands out.

It’s not only bait that has to be prepared; to fish unknown waters you have to be well prepared for all eventualities tackle-wise. For instance, I load all my reels with 800m of 0.17mm braided main line. I then add

168-171_AdventuresSumerSun_CW289.indd 2

a strong Imperial Baits Shock-it mono shockleader, followed by something like a Korda Safe Zone or leadcore leader in a colour to suit the lakebed or weed. I like to use camouflaged leads, and for this trip, I chose leads with a mossy-type of coating so that I could fish in amongst the sunken grassland. For the actual business end, I like to use strong abrasion-resistant hooklengths of between 15-40cm and wide gape hooks of Size 4 or 6.

Why so much bait? For quite a few of you, the amounts I take may seem unimaginable, but my experience has shown that the big fish I’m after need something to get their teeth into!

We’re talking about summer here, of course, but even in spring and autumn I don’t think such quantities are out of place. Of course, it’s perfectly possible to have success with considerably less bait, but I’m much happier with lots of bait to hand, and here’s why.

The huge waters in the south of France are not only home to big carp.

I have seen and hooked gigantic bream from massive shoals, and there are also huge roach to contend with. At night we’ve had monster catfish of 1.2 to 1.5m in length, and then there are the huge pike, perch, black bass and zander which feed on the shoals of smaller coarse fish. All these fish are plentiful because of the huge natural food supply in the lakes. We can’t compare these huge populations to our home-grown German waters, and because catch-and-release is the norm

With high water levels, I could fish areas that were normally open to the air – and full of food for the carp.

above left

above right The first night on a new water is always exciting; with the rods out I was ready for action.

19kg – and what a way to finish off our holiday.

below

This beauty weighed in at 26kg, and came shortly after the 24kg fish which came in the feeding spell.

far left

in France, the fish populations continue to grow. It’s almost impossible to target just carp, so we take enough feed to entice the coarse fish, which also makes our hot spots more attractive to carp.

Back to the holiday, and after a long drive of over 1,000km, we finally arrived at our venue and our new adventure in paradise began. It was early summer so the spring rainfall meant the 600ha (1,482 acres) lake was full to the brim, and the beautiful mountainous landscape that surrounds the lake was lush and green, with areas of grassland and woodland underwater. This enabled us to fish areas that are rarely fished, and there was the added bonus that we were alone – awesome! I’d studied the lake on Google Earth and put myself in the carp’s shoes, so to speak. I always try to think like a fish and imagine favourite places and areas, along with the paths carp may take to visit them. Big flat bays with grasslands and woodlands, which are underwater, offer food supplies for carp, and these were our starting point. I like to start off by fishing in the entrance/exit points to such areas, and so we set up with four rods and a lot of bait spread around in depths up to 13m. As both of us can fish, we

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