WIN!
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The latest glow-inthe-dark hookbaits
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ISSUE 290 / NOVEMBER 2014 / MONTHLY £4.50 carpworldmagazine.com
ISSUE 290 NOVEMBER 2014
king
new in the 0 What’s £ 6RT0 world of rigs WO H OF
Deep-water
CONUNDRUM Ed Betteridge reveals the art of tackling venues which are deeper than average
BRITAIN’S BIGGEST CARP-ANGLING MAGAZINE
PLUS F R A N K WA R W I C K EXAMINES HOW CARP FISHING HAS CHANGED OVER THE YEARS DARRELL PECK S TA R T S A M O N S T E R 2 1 - D AY S E S S I O N IN THE BALANCE: THE PROS AND CONS OF PLASTIC HOOKBAITS RK LEISURE’S NEWL O O K W R AY S B U R Y IN THE SPOTLIGHT
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THIS MONTH: THE BEST BIG-FISH CAPTURES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
THE
MAGAZINE
Issue 133 November 2014
TEILLATTS ON TOP FORM
P 1 4 5 This awesome French venue produces a mega-haul
WORLD CARP CLASSIC
P158 The results from the world’s biggest carp match
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FOR THE WORLDWI DE ANGLER
PLUS
VILLEDON EXPERIENC E
P163 Steve Briggs on France’s new super-water
STORM CHASER
P169 Tony battles the elements in order to catch
P 1 4 5 ECHOES AROUND THE WORLD – CATCH UP ON ALL THE WORLD’S BIG-CARP CAPTURES P154 FISHERY FOCUS – WE TAKE AN IN-DEPTH LOOK AT LA BOTTE ON THE GONCOURT COMPLEX IN EASTERN FRANCE
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CONTENTS
The Carpworld Contents / Issue 290 /
November 2014
116
Carpworld Digital Content
A Change is as
Think Tank With winter just around the corner, which tactics will you be using to keep up your catch rates, and how do you maintain your confidence on the long winter nights? Our guest panel reveal all on page 116.
Good as a Rest
FEATURES
REGULARS
The Thinker – Changes In Time Frank Warwick To celebrate the publication of his new book, Frank looks at how things have changed in carp angling over the years. It’s hard to imagine, but everything he says is true!
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ON TH E C OV E R : Ed Betteridge returns a carp from Bundy’s Pit – at 65ft it’s not for the faint-hearted. Read more on page 57.
Editors’ Comments Our editorial team of Broady and Banksy have been out and about again this month. It’s not all good news but there’s been a few fish caught.
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Gazette All the news and views from around the world of angling, to keep you up to speed with what’s going on.
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Rig World featuring Mike Kavanagh This month Mike looks at new products from Fox and Korda, along with a review of mono lines which will also make good hooklinks. To finish off there’s a reader’s question about rigs which reset themselves.
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Bait World featuring Joe Turnbull This month’s look at bait includes a chat with Adam Penning, a look at new baits from CC Moore, Custom Bait Services, Starbaits and more, and finishes with a look at cold-water attractants and glow-in-the-dark baits.
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A New Challenge – Part 2 Mick Price Mick continues to make the long journey south to the Cambridgeshire syndicate water, but the miles seem to fly by as his catch rates shoot through the roof.
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Still Carping On Tim Paisley It’s a two-for-one bonus this month, as Tim’s feature looks at two very different subjects. In Lest We Forget, Tim looks back in time, and in The Long and Winding Road, he looks at carp-angling books and how popular they are.
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In the Balance: The Pros & Cons of Plastic Baits Jason Trought Jason looks into the success of the humble plastic baits. They are certainly convenient, but why do they work, and are they really safe?
Nick Helleur
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A CHANGE IS AS GOOD AS A REST’ BY NICK HELLEUR TAKEN FROM THE NOVEMBER 2008 ISSUE
After the initial baiting I rested the swim for the day and the takes came shortly after casting. Here is the first carp of the trip, a nice 30. Happy with the fi rst good fish of the trip to the new bait after a long hard fight in deep water.
Nick takes a break from fishing difficult low-stock waters and looks forward to fieldtesting a new bait on a French venue where the fish prove to be more than co-operative!
have loved it, I am sure, an overgrown garden as it was more akin to than a commercial carp water, with lush green grass and big woode picnic tables in some n of the swims. We parked up the van into our fishing clothe and after changing s we headed off to the lodge in the distanc e to booked up there were find Jim. With the lake eight or nine lads fishing and they would be packing up and leaving the lake by 9.00 a.m. the After saying our hellos following morning. to Jim and his wife supping a couple of very welcome cold and beers in the lodge out of the sultry heat, we unload all the bait into the ed big freezers inside the lodge and then went for a wander to familia ourselves with the rise swims and stretch our legs after the drive down. It turned out that the group who were hadn’t done particu fishing larly well that week, which
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As I say, a change is as good as a rest!
It turned out that the group who were fishing had done particularly n’t well that wee k, which I mus admit surprised t me, as the fish wer several areas, jumping and bub e very evident in bling like mad
I must admit surpris ed me, as the fish were very evident in several areas, like mad. To be truthfu jumping and bubbling l, I couldn’t wait to started, but that’s get the thing with this style of fishing where you book a week on this type of lake, sometimes you hit it right and someti things don’t go to mes plan. We spent a lovely social evening in the lodge, chatting over a bottle of cold rosé and watchi out across the lake ng as fish after fish showe and bubbled. We d had all decided to start off
on a large point that covered the area where seemed the bulk of it the fish were held up in bays at the top end of the lake. We reason two that by catching a ed few it would soon push the fish out and spread them evenly where we would around the lake more then follow and spread ourselves out more. This would ensure that we kept the fish on the move throughout week and we hoped the that by doing this it would hopefully keep the action more consist ent. Around midday Kev and I went up to
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Tackling The Slopes Ed Betteridge Bundy’s Pit has steep slopes and 65ft depths which have to be overcome. How do you tackle such extremes in carp angling? Ed guides us through the tactics which have led to personal success.
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Wraysbury Reborn Phil Kille The very mention of the name Wraysbury conjures up images of iconic fish with surroundings to match. In recent times the water has undergone an extensive rejuvenation, and Phil proves that the work done has been very successful.
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Diary Of A Carpaholic Simon Crow Crowy’s been on the road this month, and he banked a 70 from Hungary. Back in Blighty, he targeted a 20 from up north – and bagged that one too!
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The F Word Paul Forward Our roving reporter has had his best month of the year so far, and it’s been down to a mixture of luck, good weather and experience.
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Pecky’s Progress Darrell Peck How would you like to fish a 21-day session in Belgium? It’s a new world for Pecky, and here’s the first instalment of his two-part adventure. TACKLE WORLD
87
Tackle World Wychwood’s new £700 luxury bivvy comes under scrutiny, along with Trakker’s Tempest, JRC’s new Bloxx Bivvy, and Aqua’s M3 Compact. There are new rods from Fox and SONIK, plus winter clothing from 30Plus and Fox, along with a whole host of other bits and bobs – enough to gladden the heart of every tackle tart!
Carpworld Digital Content Continued
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The V ille don
Bell ll With a rfect Ba e P a t e you g ingenious; simple and work is both a How they to use as would like what you meat, you select be luncheon whether that and press hookbait, form of fruit, or even some e a halfPeperami, handl the Give could into the item. the that a bell the cutter back out of didn’t know s, cutter you the bet sound We pull as it a perfectly turn and then t ball. As weird be left with create a perfec new Bell Ball and you will the Hair. about the chosen bait, to mount on lly talking for making we’re actua which is ideal eight tool other form formed ball, is a lightw meat or any s are Cutter, which has using aits. The cutter with. It’s Never before work ative hookb to r altern ess steel, your own ait been easie which grade stainl of soft hookb hookbaits, 316 foodball that e from ledge chees made t for in the know angler who also perfec sleep easy while, ideal for any so you can up after a absolutely be rusting we think is tely won’t nd. they defini here in Engla made right and they are
utter.com Bellballca £15.99 each £11.99 to rrp: from
The cutters BelOW variety of come in a from different sizes,up to 10mm right 24mm.
was his birth day that wee perfect resu k. It was the lt for him and enou the guys a gh to give boost, well except for Treasure Dav maybe, who was still com e down off the high of ing his recent Euro Aqu trip to a and had yet to rece However ive a blee , we knew p. a fish wou desired effec ld have t, if and whe the n he got one. It was the middle of the afternoo when, out of the blue n , one of my literally tore rods off ! I’d mov rod to whe ed my mid re I’d seen dle the fish show the day befo ing re and it had only this done the one felt a job, bit different the rod hoo . Wit ped over, the line was h ticking off steadily the sign of stop spool and it showed ping. Rob little and I look each othe ed at r, knowing that this was we’d wait ed for, and what our heart up to anot rates her level! Marcus pull went in his boat ed up at that mom ent, and seein what was going on, g he didn’t to grab the hesitate net and get ready. The had other ideas thou fish gh, and plod up the mid ded off dle of the lake, doin or less wha g more t it wanted. My knees trembling, were but slowly I start the line back towards me. ed to inch said ; we all Not muc knew this h was one need in the net ed to go but there was no way going to rush I was things. Even of shoulder s broke surf tually, a big set ace. a determin ed push with Marcus made it first time the net and . At got and the chee last I could breathe agai r went up. No question n this one was over 50, and that scales at 57lb it , which was tipped the for me. A good enou 50 was mor gh e than I coul for on the first d hope it was – fresh trip, and what a crac ker out of the without a showroom blemish anyw here. Job done!
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UP FOR GRABS
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Ask The Experts Our panel of experts answer questions from readers on canal carping, freezing boilies, and baiting up for short sessions. There’s a £250 voucher to be won if your question is the featured winner.
131
SONIK Competition SONIK’s new Gravity X rods feature groundbreaking materials called NANOALLOY® technology. If you want to bag a set for yourself, turn to page 131.
IN INTERNATIONAL CARPER There’s another feature-packed edition of our International Carper magazine for you this month, with Steve Briggs visiting an upand-coming French water called Villedon, a report on the recent World Carp Classic from Ross Honey, and a despondent Tony Davies-Patrick gives up a job he had begun to despise to get back on the road in search of pastures new. There’s also a look at an
PICK UP YOUR COPY OF CARPWORLD FROM ALL MAJOR STOCKISTS
overseas holiday venue, and our usual rundown of all the big-fish captures from around the world.
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FEATURE
A NEW CHALLENGE M i c k
P r i ce
Mick continues to make the long jour ney south to his C a m b r i d g e s h i r e s y n d i c a t e w a t e r, b u t t h e m i l e s s e e m t o fl y by a s h i s c a t c h r a t e s s h o o t t h ro u g h t h e ro o f.
PART TWO
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A N e w Ch a llenge Mick P r ice
Summer into Autumn
As I made the monstrous journey back down the A1, the car outside temperature gauge was reading 22 degrees, not that hot you may think, but this was at 2.00 a.m. and the start of the weather I had to get used to, as all predications pointed towards a very hot summer yet again. As I mentioned in the last article, floater fishing just isn’t my thing, not that I don’t enjoy it, I just haven’t really been on a big-fish syndicate where the carp are up for it. I tend to only try here and there, and not really give the whole thing a good go, which I know has cost me fish over the years. With the heatwave set in at least for the next month or so, and the way the fish had been behaving on the last few trips, the floater gear was certainly going to be playing a massive part in my tactics for the next few trips. After many conversations with the old members over a sneaky bankside beer, the carp in the Folly had definitely been caught off the top for the last few seasons, but not many at all. There were just a handful, in fact,
At first I thought he was winding me up, but then out came the photos and video footage of the fish feeding on the surface. I was totally gobsmacked. They were like piranha, totally smashing the loose feed which Lee had been Spombing out over the course of a couple of hours. As I sat having a brew with him, the fish were already starting to hit the surface, and after a few Spombs of mixer out towards the island, the carp were straight First Floater Session back on the feed, and Lee was straight As I drove through the gates at 4.00 a.m., back into the fish. I couldn’t get the gear it was clear the day ahead was going to out of the car quick enough; I was in total be a scorcher, with massive high pressure, gin-clear skies, and a sunrise like something shock. Like I said, the lake didn’t really from the Lion King. I set off round the lake have good floater fishing form, but Lee in search of anything carpy to find only one soon put that right. I decided to drop in a few swims down from Lee, in a peg know angler on the lake, one of my best mates, as the Bog Swim. I quickly grabbed the Lee Birch, who is one of the best floater anglers I have ever had the pleasure to fish floater rod, mixer, DNA hemp oil and pop-ups from the fishing vehicle, along with. Lee was down there doing his first with some factor 50+ for my albino-like session and had arrived the night before. skin, and literally ran to the swim like a “Now buddy, any good?” I asked him. big, stupid, excited child. I put out four “Yes mate, I had five yesterday teatime Spombs of hemp oil-coated up to mid-30,” he said, “all off the top.” which I knew of, but saying that, the fish which did fall to this method were the bigger fish in the lake. These included a couple of belting 40s, a massive fish for off the top, and with a floater PB of 29lb, I set myself a cheeky little target of bagging one of the ancient-looking 30s the lake holds. Little did I know though, what the next few trips would bring.
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FEATURE
S
eeing Bundy’s Pit in its summer colours for the first time, with deep-green leaves adorning the usually (for me) naked branches, and watching big dark shapes cruising around just under the surface, was a strange yet very welcome sight. I have done a number of nights on its banks, but all the time I have spent there previously has been on the winter ticket, with my first trip dating back over 7 years previous. I had been offered a belated summer ticket, so I hadn’t witnessed the slow change of the seasons as the pit greened, and the sudden contrast between the bleakness of February and the lush summer growth of June made the water almost unrecognisable in its different guise. And with this change in season came a drastic change in tactics required to lure a carp (or two) to feed. I assume most Carpworld readers have heard of Bundy’s from Darrell Peck’s recent writings on his winter campaign, and I have chipped in with the odd piece too, and one overlying word which is normally associated with Bundy’s is ‘deep’. I would hazard a guess that the average depth of the middle of the pit is around 55ft! I have also been told that a certain area in one of the bays goes down to 65ft, and I certainly wouldn’t disagree with that finding because I counted my Zig up to 63ft on a winter session. When I explain the lake’s depths to anyone, they tend to look a little surprised that carp would thrive in such an environment, but they certainly do. Yet what shocks anglers the most is the size of the pit; 7 acres doesn’t leave a lot of space for the lake to reach these deep levels, which presents huge and fairly unique problems. The winter fishing on the
pit creates its own angling issues with fishing into the depths, such as where does the lead land in 55ft of water compared to where it hits the surface, and how much shorter do I need to clip the spod up to ensure I get bait over the rig? And then there is the whole issue of where, in 55ft, to present my little piece of black foam whilst Zigging. However, in the warmer months, when
BELOW A great sign, fish over your bait. The trouble is that on here it’s still 35ft away vertically.
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Ta c klin g t h e S lo pes Ed Better id g e
RIGHT Accuracy
is the key.
BOTTOM As the
weather changed I started fishing further down the slopes.
“The biggest
turns out that his the fish spend a issues by far deep area was 6ft lot more time are the shelves on and my shallows up the shelf in Bundy’s; they can were 12ft deep! more reasonable be so severe that it’s This really depths, the impossible to hold a brings home how angling tactics lead still on some different Bundy’s change, and of the gradients” is from most of along with the lakes out there. this comes new The biggest issues challenges and by far are the shelves on obstacles to overcome. Bundy’s; they can be so severe that Whilst on my last session, I had a it’s impossible to hold a lead still on phone conversation with a mate about some of the gradients. On a number of fishing depths, and he mentioned that occasions I have flicked a lead out, felt he had just dropped into a swim which it touch down on the deck, and then controls the deepest section of his felt a bump, bump, bump as it rolls lake now that the weather is starting down the shelf. This is most likely to to change. I agreed that I wouldn’t be happen straight after the cast but it can fishing the shallows after my current happen later too, as I found out when session ended, but when we started baiting to a marker. After popping the talking about the actual depth, it marker float up on the exact spot which I wanted to fish, I walked up the bank to get a little closer to make baiting easier. I managed to get a few handfuls of bait around the marker float before it slowly slipped away like a bite on a pike bung! The lead had obviously slipped down the shelf, taking the float with it. I don’t know what caused the lead to move at that point and not directly after touchdown, but I am very wary of liners and the knowledge that if a liner can move the bobbin, it can certainly move a precariously placed lead on a shelf. I am never happy with a rig which has moved anywhere on the lakebed, because it is so easy for the hookpoint to burr or pick up a piece of debris, or for the rig to tangle. So, I have found myself doing extensive marker work to map every inch of the spot, in an attempt to work out what is down there and try to position my rig on a shallower gradient in the hope that my lead will hold its position. I have found that accuracy is the key to success on slopes, and close enough isn’t good enough. Quite often No vem ber 2014 C a r pwor l d 59
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FEATURE
WRAYSBURY
PHIL KILLE
After the recent changes on the famous Wraysbury, Phil reveals how things are progressing, and how a couple of the venue’s most sought-after residents are getting on. King Fungus
On the Sunday morning at the sailing lake, the new line was being wound onto the old trusty reels; they had both been thoroughly tested in the last 3 weeks, with seven of the originals landed and three other powerful fish lost in thick weed. I knew I would get another chance or two because the conditions were constant, and I was still getting plenty of bait into the area to feed ’em up. My camera and torch batteries were
stocked up, and I was prepared until the following Tuesday. The setup was sweet and everything had been done with tough battles in mind, the percentages game, knots, hooks and links – everything was prepped for the night ahead. During the process of setting up, a big fish crashed out to the left of the swim, which I clocked for my rig placement. The new line felt great as the baits went out to the spots, and a couple of kilos of 20mm and 16mm offerings finished the job.
Around dusk, during a nice little chat with the Tuesday bailiff, the angler on the other bank enjoyed a nice moment; the cheers and flash photography confirmed he’d had a good fish. On leaving me, Alistair said that he thought King Fungus would make an appearance late October. Well, it was the last day of September, and I said that I was expecting him. I was left alone to watch and listen to the water, and felt encouraged by the other anglers’ success, and after dinner I was ready for anything. A feature of the last three sessions had been the liners, and true to form, the rods all started to come to life. The left-hand one went first, where the big fish lumped, and then the right-hand rod twice, with
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Wr a y s bu r y Rebor n P hil K ille
REBORN fish on the move looking for the McNuts. Then, at 10.30 p.m. the middle rod was off out of the clip; it was tip over and a fast take. I was on it, with hand over spool and a good thump, as 65-70yds is a long way for most of my fishing. The fish hit the surface with a big kick and nearly flat-rodded me. Releasing my hand and playing with the clutch soon had the fish coming my way, but on its own terms, as it dived off the plateau into the thicker weedbeds. Now the line had to do its main job of pulling the whole lot in, whilst all the time taking the stress of the fish’s kicks and shakes, which, when the rod is under full compression, is usually when they shed the hook. After playing
out the fish and clearing away the weed, another pristine Redmire common was lying in the bottom of my net. ‘It’s almost as though they’re following me,’ I started to think, before carrying out a few selftakes and then weighing it in at 34lb. The rod was sent out again, with a new rig and four pockets of bait. I was still totally focused and fishing full on; sleep was not on the menu. At midnight the middle rod signalled a pickup then a slow take, and when I hit it, it came towards me, banging the tip fiercely. It was a good tench and I wanted to land it, so I took my time bringing it in. Lifting it from the net I set about weighing it, the scales registering 9lb 8oz.
I cast out again. The left-hand rod was the next to go, and a good take was followed by a short tussle, and before long a 22lb mirror was mine. The right-hand rod then did a 15lb mirror, followed by a smaller fish which was dropped. A good rebait was done before I had the chance to enjoy a cup of tea and a smoke. At around 8.30 a.m. the middle rod was away with a steady take. A good strike saw the fish hit the surface, and a fight similar to the last take, with the fish diving into deep weedbeds, tested my rod and line and placed great strain on my arms and legs. Soon I could see another common amongst the weed, and after a bit of fun and games, with No vem ber 2014 C a r pwor l d 77
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Check out the video online by scanning the QR code below
http://bit.do/villedon
At the start of the week we wanted wind and rain – and we certainly got it! We really copped a proper storm that afternoon, and it was about as carpy as it could get. The only problem was that the wind had turned and was now blowing up the lake away from us. It wasn’t going to help us but it would do the other guys a favour, that’s for sure. Marcus broke his duck with a lovely 47lb mirror, and Dave Treasure made up for lost time with two runs in quick succession, both big mirrors of 46lb and 52lb, which meant we’d all had fish over 45lb in a few days. It was going exactly how we’d been told it would. The fish were following the wind and the action was coming in short bursts. It’s easy to get disheartened when others are catching and your indicators won’t budge, but over the course of a week it seems that everything has a way of evening out, and everyone had smiles on their faces.
Thankfully the pills had worked, and Rob started to feel a lot better, so much so that he got the bacon and sausages out and cooked us breakfast! One of the joys of having a cabin with a fridge and cooker, I suppose – not to mention a roof over our heads when the weather was at its worst. Dinners came via the Villedon kitchen, which saved a lot of time and effort, and besides being delivered hot to the swim, I’ve got to say the quality was something else. Meals at the lake are delivered by speedboat, and seeing it whizzing up the lake every evening took me back to the days at Lake Raduta when food came to us in a similar way – although the food certainly wasn’t similar! Many of us still have nightmares of the Raduta days, with the guy we nicknamed ‘Stoneface’ handing over cold slop in plastic bowls – but at Villedon it was hot food and a friendly greeting to go with it.
We chose to bait heavily from the boat once a day, and then keep the disturbance to a minimum.
ABOVE
RIGHT We went in with mainly a boilie approach, and it seemed to be the right choice.
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T h e V ille do n E x p e r ie nce S teve Br ig g s
We expected our action to slow down – although I later wished I hadn’t! a little, so we cut down the baiting a I think it will be the first of many trips little, which I think helped us. There for all of us to Villedon. Not only was I were obviously still fish around because impressed with everything, but also the I banked a stunning 43lb mirror the size of the lake makes the fishing very next day, and then Rob and I also had interesting. As I said earlier, there are another brace to photograph when we literally stacks of stunning big carp in had matching 36lb mirrors. Of all the the lake. OK, there will be times when swims on the lake, it was the dam wall those fish are in other areas, but when swim to our left which was proving to be they move in they come in numbers, the most consistent. Two young Dutch and being in the right place at the right guys, Erik and Wilco, were sharing four time on there could be very special. One rods between them and catching really statistic summed up what is happening well. We had been told that the dam there. In 2011, Villedon produced its wall would produce more but generally first fish over 25kg; in 2014 there have smaller fish, which was proving to be been over 140 recorded captures of 25kg true because they only had one over fish – they are growing fast! There are 45lb, although they caught a string different booking agents for Villedon, of very nice mirrors but any English and commons. It was anglers interested almost like a different need to contact “I think it will be the lake down there, and Paul Armfield or first of many trips for certainly it seemed like Carmen, whose advert all of us to Villedon” a different group of appears elsewhere in fish entirely to what we the mag. The email were fishing for. But address is: info@ although the action wasn’t hectic, I think armfieldangling.com and the website just about everyone caught fish over is: www.armfieldangling.com 20kg, which is some going for any lake. The Limoges area continues to grow Towards the end of the week it in stature and throw up surprises, and was, in fact, Dave Treasure who just when I thought I was getting to finished strongly, having six takes, know it well down there, along came with his smallest fish being 46lb, and a lake of over 100 acres, which I had his best another stunning 50 at 54lb. somehow missed previously! Carp grow Unfortunately, the wind petered out, very fast these days, and waters can go and although we did see the odd from quite normal to very special in just fish show in front of us, the last 36 a few years. Luckily, in the past I’ve been hours remained fishless for Rob and able to get on some of the great waters me. It gave us the opportunity to get when they are just becoming known, together in the restaurant for one final or just coming into their prime. I’ve celebration on the Friday evening. no doubt that Villedon is just starting The food and wine were something to come into its prime and is heading else, and the final parting cognacs all for great things, and I’m just pleased to somehow seemed to end up in front be a part of it all – the next trip can’t of me, which I felt obliged to drink come around quickly enough! CW
SAMPLE VILLEDON FOR YOURSELF – FOR FREE! How do you fancy a trip to Villedon? We’ve teamed up with Armfield Angling, who run the UK bookings, and there’s a trip on offer to a lucky winner. All you have to do is visit www.armfieldangling. com and sign up for their monthly newsletter, which is full of special offers and catch reports on their venues. As soon as they receive the 100th subscriber, a winner will be drawn by Paul Armfield for a single swim at Villedon. The trip can be taken during 2015 or 2016, subject to availability. The prize is swim only and does not include travel, tackle hire or bait contributions. The winner will be notified by email or telephone, and also announced in Carpworld magazine.
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2015 The Carp Show! 7th & 8th March, Five Lakes Resort, Essex
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