ISSUE 300 SEPTEMBER 2015
BRITAIN’S BIGGEST CARP-ANGLING MAGAZINE
c ar pwor ld maga z in e. co m
20/08/2015 14:19
001-CoverFinal_CW300.indd 1
+ 5 1 0 2 8 8 9 1
CONTENTS
The Carpworld Contents / Issue 300 / September 2015
33
Personal Achievements Darren Belton Not only has Darren recently banked his 30th 40lb+ carp, but it was a 50 as well. Its capture was a milestone in his angling career, and he’s justifiably proud of the achievement.
39 6
Editor’s Comments Our editor can’t let this very special edition of Carpworld pass without comment, so here are Steve’s thoughts on what the magazine has meant to him over the last 27 years.
10
Gazette All the news and views from around the world of carping, to keep you up to date with what’s going on.
16
The Rod Hutchinson Tapes Revisited Tim Paisley Tim looks back at some of the most memorable series of interviews he taped with Rod Hutchinson during the 1990s.
27
Doing Things My Way Kris Spencer Doing his own thing is the way Kris likes to go about his angling. By choosing quiet unfished areas and baiting up regularly, his tactics have started to pay off.
Rig World featuring Mike Kavanagh Mike has been writing Rig World since 1998, and here he looks back at some of the products which have stood out from the crowd over the years. It’s been a hard task because so many have impressed him.
45
Agony And Ecstasy Lee Wagner This month Lee reveals the ups and downs of a recent session on the Island Lake, one of the fantastic waters on the iconic Horton Complex, which is now under the control of RK Leisure.
50
Historic Carp Waters Chris Ball In the final part of his miniseries on Frensham Little Pond, Chris reveals how rumours about the water and its inhabitants were starting to cause waves on the carping grapevine.
56
300 Not Out In a special feature to celebrate Carpworld’s 300th edition, we asked a few of our contributors what writing for the magazine has meant to them, and what their favourite features have been over the years.
63
An Interview With Daren Norman Steve Broad Known as ‘Tin Pot’ to his friends, Daren has been chasing history fish from the likes of Savay and Wraysbury for many years. He keeps himself to himself, but here we find out a bit more about the secretive Kent-based big-fish hunter.
69
Bait World featuring Joe Turnbull Joe looks at Nash’s new range of hookbaits, CC Moore’s Response Liquids, and the new Candy Floss boilies from Solar. There’s also a chat with Fox consultant Lee Morris, and special features on baits from Crafty Catcher, DNA, and two new companies, Baitology and Northern Baits.
102
Mainline Baits Competition Mainline’s Hybrid is one of the most popular baits around, and for very good reason. Here’s your chance to get your hands on some in this superb competition.
TOTAL PRIZE VALUE: £3,000+
78
Diary Of A Carpaholic Simon Crow After returning from a trip to Rainbow Lake, Simon sets off to fish a syndicate water in North Yorkshire where, in their own way, the fish are just as noteworthy as the famous Rainbow fish.
85
Priceless Memories From A Life By The Side Of Water Shaun Harrison Shaun’s feature about Bill Walkeden celebrates one of the sport’s true pioneers. He explains his connection to Bill, and a truly amazing day that the pair shared together.
70
91
Cygnet Competition Cygnet are celebrating the launch of their new range of bite indicators by offering two lucky readers the chance to win some of their fantastic bankware.
95
Think Tank Dave Moore, Nick Burrage and Jon McAllister take part in a Think Tank special, and look back over the years at how advancements in tackle, bait and tactics have improved our angling experience.
108
Ask The Experts Adam Clewer, Dave Lane and Ian Chillcot answer readers’ questions on surface fishing, rehydrating air-dried baits, and margin fishing.
4 C ar p wor l d Se p te mber 2 01 5
004-005_Contents_CW300.indd 1
24/08/2015 15:54
F: facebook.com/CarpworldMagazine / T: @CarpworldMag
114
146
121
151
130
164
The F Word Paul Forward Our man on the bank has been struggling to catch this month, so a trip to Linear Fisheries to take part in a charity fish-in was a very welcome change.
138
Pecky’s Progress Darrell Peck Darrell’s been fishing abroad a lot of late, and although he’s had plenty of action, he tries to reconcile his own personal angling with catching carp for the cameras.
56
A Cast For Kev Brian Skoyles Here’s the story of the first encounter Brian had with a very special venue which is set to get the carp world talking. It’s a water he discovered following a tip-off from his sadly missed friend, Kev Green. Ashmead Diaries Mark Walsingham Mark takes a trip back in time as he looks at how Carpworld’s 27 years of publication have shaped carp fishing, and he also sets out to prove he’s not just a grumpy old man!
IN INTERNATIONAL CARPER As well as our usual look at all the big-carp captures in Echoes Around The World, we take a trip to Graviers, near Dijon, where Arjen Uitbeijerse has caught one of the most famous carp in the world – the mighty Scar. There’s also the second part of a feature entitled Unadulterated Adrenaline from Ed Skillz, who has been fishing the rivers of Europe for big carp. Another fan of fishing rivers is Tony Davies-Patrick, who concludes his adventures on the River Lot before setting off for pastures new. There’s also a look at two fantastic holiday venues; Mirror Pool, which has carp to over 70lb, and Marne Valley Carping, which is offering anglers the chance to fish a new unfished venue.
DON’T FORGET
Domaine de la Ribière Competition If you’re thinking about taking a carp-angling holiday to France next year, you should take a minute or two to enter our fantastic competition for a week at Ribière, as you may be going for free! Tackle World Six pages of all that’s good and great in the world of tackle, including Sonik’s cracking new Gravity X rods, Chub’s Vizor Lite bivvy, and Fox barrows and luggage, plus a look at the exciting Banana Rods company and gear from Cygnet, Wychwood, Shimano, and lots, lots more. Still Carping On Tim Paisley Tim looks back on 27 years of Carpworld’s history and the people who have made the magazine, and the sport, into what it is today. It’s been a long, and sometimes hard road, but it’s a road he’d travel again any day.
INSIDE
NEW
UNFISHED
VENUE
OPENS
FOR
THE
FIRST
TIME
Issue 143 September 2015
THE LATEST CATCHES FROM
AROUND
THE WORLD P175
THE MIGHTY SCAR
UNADULTERATED ADRENALINE
WILD WATERS
P191 Arjen Uitbeijerse banks this famous fish ounces short of 90lb
P184 In the second part of his series, Ed Skillz continues his river adventures
P201 Our man Tony Davies-Patrick tackles waters off the beaten track
173_InterCover_CW300.indd 1
21/08/2015 09:21
PICK UP YOUR COPY OF CARPWORLD FROM ALL MAJOR STOCKISTS
OUR AMAZING BERKLEY SUBSCRIPTION ON PAGE 160-161 Septem ber 2015 Car pwo r ld 5
004-005_Contents_CW300.indd 2
24/08/2015 15:55
FEATURE
TAPES T
H
E
R
O
D
R
E
H
V
I
U
S
T
I
C
T
E
H
I
N
S
O
N
D
Extracts from the series of interviews between Rod Hutchinson and Tim Paisley during the 1990s.
R
od has been a large part of the Carpworld back catalogue, but writing-wise, he is currently sidelined by his sight problems. We couldn’t not have him in here, so we are revisiting the series of taped interviews which appeared in Carpworld in the 1990s. Selecting a few extracts from the thousands of words Rod and I put on tape has proved both enjoyable, and, selectionwise, near impossible. What follows is from a handful of taped extracts out of a total of well over 20. When I revisit some of this material, I’m always amazed at the depth of Rod’s thinking and knowledge.
Some of what follows on bait and flavour development is from a period in the ’70s when I was being captured by carp, and thought carp baits were bread flake and luncheon meat. Some of the following shows how seriously uninformed I was! The one problem with working on tape with Rod (on serious subjects, it has to be said) is that his great sense of humour doesn’t always come across. The material for his books, Rod Hutchinson’s Carp Book, The Carp Strikes Back, Carp Now and Then (which includes Rod Hutchinson’s Carp Book), Carp Along the Way, Volumes One and Two, and Carp Inspirations, was all laboriously written in longhand by Rod, and includes some laugh-out-loud Hutchinson humour. His eyesight problems are limiting his reading and writing abilities at the moment, but revisiting this material from 20 years back has been such an eye-opener that we may use a couple more extracts if it fits in with editor Broady’s plans. To me, this is very special material, and some of what follows has already got me rethinking my baiting approach. We should add that some of the product references in the extracts which follow go back 20 years or so, and may not reflect the current Hutchinson range or availability. Tim P.
CARPWORLD 69, JUNE 1996 Not getting the best from hemp is a problem many anglers encounter, and I’m sure that in the main this is from putting too much hemp in the swim. Hemp is probably the finest natural attractor known to carp anglers. Carp can certainly detect individual grains. It does not, as many believe, need to be laid in a carpet to attract carp. It works much better when scattered about; in that way it keeps carp in an area, mulling it over, looking for it. When they are moving about in this way it is easier to pick
RIGHT Some of the original Rod Hutchinson articles.
them up on hookbaits. Over a tight carpet of hemp it is difficult to get them to feed on anything but the hemp itself. It might not sound a lot, but I am convinced that just a pint of prepared hemp scattered over an area the size of a tennis court is sufficient to get carp moving and feeding in the manner we desire. That amount will usually keep carp in the area for at least 12 hours, sometimes considerably longer; it all depends on the conditions. Hemp is one of the few seeds which will continue working well into late autumn when the colder temperatures set in.
1 6 Ca r p wor l d Se p tember 20 15
016-023_RobHutichson_CW300.indd 1
24/08/2015 12:29
T h e R o d H u t c h in s o n Ta p e s R e v is ited T im Pa is ley
CARPWORLD 70, JULY 1996 The title of Fred Wilton’s famous article was ‘In Search of the Ultimate Bait’, and I think it all started because classical carp baits were too slow. The old potato might catch you a fish now and then but you spent an awful lot of biteless hours. We wanted more than that, so we set about trying to produce baits that were better. Let’s go back to the Lido in ’69/’70. A typical paste bait was made up of Paxo Golden Breadcrumbs, crushed Weetabix, and one of the various Nesquik drink powders: strawberry, raspberry and chocolate were the three better ones. They were the attractors, and I’m sure they worked. We caught an awful lot of fish on them. Although I’m not a massive fan of the classical HNV baits, I am a big believer that milk in its many forms is an attractor, and those Nesquik drink powders were basically dried milk, sugar and flavour. Because they were drink powders, everything in there was water-soluble. We were using coarse baits which are now regarded as loose-textured, high-leakage baits. These were very instant baits. The birdfood baits came about through various influences. There was a grapevine, even in ’70/’71. You got to hear about what was going on in Kent, although it was all very secretive. The word was out about this magical Fred Wilton’s Red Protein bait, which was really based on a pigeon tonic. Living in Grimsby, I would pop up to Haith’s, find something that was bright red, and read the packet. The one I found was bright red and had got every vitamin and mineral in the world in it – Robin Red. There were three ingredients in that first birdfood bait, which didn’t use Robin Red Concentrate; it used Robin Red Ready Mix. The first bait I came up with was one of the best baits I’ve used in my life, to this day. It was one-third wheatgerm, one-third calcium caseinate, and one-third Robin Red Ready Mix. That bait didn’t need any flavour. If I wanted to fish at longer range, the wheatgerm was replaced by ground Weetabix. A bit later, in the mid-’70s, I changed it a little bit to another
Septem ber 2 015 C a r pwor l d 17
016-023_RobHutichson_CW300.indd 2
24/08/2015 12:29
FEATURE
300 NOT OUT Over the last 27 years and 300 issues, Carpworld has had thousands of contributors, many well known for not only their fi shing skill but also their writing ability. Here, some of those people reveal exactly what it is that has made and kept us the original and still the best carp magazine on the market.
5 6 Ca r p wor l d Se p tember 20 15
056-061_Quotes_CW300.indd 1
21/08/2015 14:58
300 N ot Out
ALI HAMIDI
CW, and look back with fondness at the happy childhood memories of growing up reading the For me, Carpworld will always be a
mag in the ’90s. Tim’s Leader, Jules’ Carp Clinic,
very special institution. It was where
Hughes and Crow’s Day Ticket travel, Tony Davies-
my very first article was printed in
Patrick’s Globetrotter – all landmark features which
the angling media over 15 years
I feel delivered variety, substance and excitement
ago, and it’s fair to say that without
to my monthly read. They must have been good
the encouragement and support of the editorial team over the years, I may not have pushed my career into the angling industry and Korda. As a reader, I have always loved flicking through
SIMON CROW
because I remember them vividly now. Three-hundred issues, in the world of digital media, computer games and technology! It’s nice to see that the old dog CW is still rocking.
the whole spectrum of the sport, which is what I like. I’m so very proud to have been the editor for 2 years, and
Carpworld has been a massive part of
to have contributed to it for over 20 years. My all-time
my life. From the first issue I ever bought,
favourite features were Tim Paisley’s editorials, specifically
right the way through to today, it inspires
those about his session fishing on the Mangrove and
and entertains me. It is the only monthly
Birch Grove. I also enjoyed The Rod Hutchinson Tapes,
carp magazine I read, and it covers
and Tales From An Essex Monastery by Kevin Nash.
Septem ber 2 015 C a r pwor l d 57
056-061_Quotes_CW300.indd 2
21/08/2015 14:58
COMPETITION
Hybrid One lucky winner is set to receive 300kg of one of the finest baits ever made – Mainline’s Hybrid. This superb competition has a prize value of over £3,000!
T
here can’t be an angler out there who
competition. Hybrid is, as the name suggests,
hasn’t heard about how successful
a fusion of two of the most famous baits of all
Mainline Baits’ products have been over
time – Cell and Activ-8. By combining the qualities
the years. For instance, Cell is an all-time classic,
of these two remarkable baits, Hybrid gives
and it’s quite possibly the most popular bait of all
anglers the best of both worlds; the bait isn’t an
time. Mainline’s baits have been winners right from
out-and-out fishmeal, high protein, or birdfood
the very first days of the company, way back in the
bait, it’s a combination of all three. The mixture
distant past, and the older anglers reading this will
of meals, proteins and vitamins make the bait
be able to confirm that from the early days
suitable for use all year round, and if
of the Grange, right through to the
there’s one bait
release of Activ-8, Assasin-8, the Impulse range, Fusion, New Grange and Hybrid, the baits have been pretty much staple fodder for carp throughout the world. Our own Tim Paisley is a long-time user of
“Since then he’s won the world title again, on the St. Lawrence this time, by continuing to place his faith in the Mainline products”
Mainline’s baits, and he
The second 70 from his Teillatts session, and Tim’s PB at 75lb 12oz. This is another fish caught on Hybrid.
even won the World Cup on baits manufactured by Mainline way back in 2000. Since then he’s won the world title again, on the St. Lawrence this time, by continuing to place his faith in the Mainline products. One of his favourites is the Hybrid, which was his bait of choice on a trip to Les Teillatts in 2007 when he caught his PB of 75lb 14oz, along with another 70+ and two 60s. Now we’ve set the scene, if we really needed to, of how good the baits produced by Mainline are, we’ll tell you about the prize in this fantastic
TOTAL PRIZE 1 0 2 C a r p wor l d Se p tember 2 01 5
102-103_MainlineComp_CW300.indd 1
20/08/2015 11:48
A WINNING COMBINATION!
that could be termed as universal, it’s Hybrid.
Another gorgeous fish; the Scaly One at 57lb 4oz, one of four fish caught on Hybrid on a very wet Friday.
AbOVE
The bait isn’t an all-out attractor bait, that’s not the job of Hybrid, it’s purely and simply an excellent source of food for carp so they will keep coming back for more, time and time again. Of course, there are all the
AbOVE rIGHT 72lb of pure fighting carp for Tim Paisley, one of several 60s and 70s he caught on Hybrid during a visit to Les Teillatts.
complementary products available to match the boilies, such as paste, pop-ups, and pellets. Our competition winner will receive 300kg of Hybrid, which is surely enough to keep even the most ardent carper going for some considerable
WHAT yOU CAN WIN
time! Of course, we don’t expect the winner to take delivery of the lot in one go, so he/she will
One reader will win 300kg of Mainline Hybrid bait.
be able to liaise with Mainline regarding delivery. If you would like to win this incredible prize, valued at over £3,000, all you have
TOTAL PRIZE VALUE: £3,000+
to do is answer the question below, and you never know, you could soon be signing for enough bait to keep you going all year.
TWO WAyS TO WIN. FIrST, ANSWEr THIS rATHEr EASy QUESTION:
Q
Which two baits is the Hybrid based on?
A Cell and Activ-8 B Activ-8 and Fusion C Fusion and New Grange
1
ENTEr VIA MObILE PHONE
Simply text CW1 then a space, followed by your answer to the question (either A B or C), to 87070. For example, your answer could be CW1 A Messages cost £1.50 per message plus standard network charge. Under-18s only with bill payer’s permission. Text details may appear on phone bill. Service provider Digital Select Ltd. Helpline: 0844 448 0165.
2
ENTEr ONLINE
Head over to www.carpworldmagazine.com to enter via our website.
Start date: 28/08/2015 End date: 30/09/2015
The competition is open to UK and European entrants only. The winners will be selected at random and will be notified within 28 days of the closing date. No cash alternative available.
VALUE: £3,000+ Septem ber 20 15 C a r pwor l d 103
102-103_MainlineComp_CW300.indd 2
20/08/2015 11:48
FEATURE
1 3 8 C a r p wor l d Se p tember 2 01 5
138-142_Pecky_CW300.indd 1
21/08/2015 14:32
D A R R E L L
P E C K
PECKY’S PROGRESS T
his month’s diary will have a different theme to normal, as Korda’s monstrous filming schedule is in full flow and my own fishing has been put on hold for the last 7 weeks. Light is starting to appear at the end of the tunnel though, and my quota is almost complete. As of 21st August, my calendar is completely empty until the middle of October. For the last several weeks that’s been literally all I have thought about, and I’ve been steadily acquiring a few bits and pieces for what happens next. The plan is to load the van early September, and disappear for maybe as much as 6 weeks, to fulfill a lifelong ambition to tackle one of the massive public lakes in France. I’ll get to that in a bit.
My swim on the Austrian lake recce trip.
MAIN IMAGE
I want to start by explaining how I have very little, catch-wise, to write about. Each month I am obligated to produce two monthly articles, one of which is this diary. Secondly, I have to produce a monthly technical video filmed by Korda’s Elliot Gray, and a video diary filmed by me. Easy – that’s just a few days a month which leaves loads of time to go fishing and catch a few. However, when Korda call on me for filming projects, I have to make myself available, and I can’t write about them in detail because it would spoil the impact they have. Over the last 7 weeks, bad timing has meant that I’ve spend 40 days abroad; 17 of these were away on holiday, but when combined with 23 days’ filming in
Austria and Holland, it simply hasn’t left me any personal fishing time. I am not complaining in the slightest, I know I am in a privileged position. I just wanted to get an excuse in as to why I’ve not caught loads of carp I can write about. To be honest, I am not a mad-keen summer angler. The fish are generally bashed up from spawning, and I actually dislike fishing in really hot weather. It makes me feel lethargic and unmotivated, which makes it harder for me to maintain any sort of serious drive. Some of this year’s filming has been totally different to what I am used to, and if any of you have been unfortunate enough to see my early appearances on Thinking Tackle, you’ll remember
Septem ber 20 15 C a r pwor l d 139
138-142_Pecky_CW300.indd 2
21/08/2015 14:32
E
D
S
K
I
L
L
Z
UNADULTERATED
ADRENALINE P
A
R
T
T
W
O
By staying inside, fantasizing, and dreaming of beautiful carp and rough adventures, you won’t catch any. And because of that fact, for years my motto has been to just fish 12 months a year! I don’t want to dream away; I would rather be out there doing it, waiting for a screaming take and the fight with a river monster. I just have to be out there living the dream.
Rough Fishery The first thing you have to change when you start fishing on a river is your thinking. All knowledge you have gathered through the years for private waters is unnecessary. All your rig theories can be thrown overboard, and it’s back to basics. Keep it simple! The more hodgepodges you use, the bigger the chance you might not catch a thing. I’ve found that for me personally, a Snowman presentation with quite a long
rig is best. Regarding the soil structure of the river, which is full of basalt and other rocks, a longer rig increases the chances of the hook setting, since you never know how the rig will land on this rocky soil. Another main point that deserves attention is the main line and the leader. Carp which live in rivers and canals are durable; all they do is swim for tens of kilometres against the stream and against the strong suction of freighters. A weak run is an absolute
rarity. Once you have your first run on the river, you truly understand where the term ‘screeching skid’ came from. Keeping in mind that the soil is extremely rocky and that there might be several mussel beds, it is of great importance that the main line and leader are resistant for this rubbing against the rocks and mussels. At least 40m nylon leader of 70-80lb is necessary. For my main line, I prefer braided line because it gives me more control on the drill.
1 8 4 C a r p wor l d Se p tember 2 01 5
184-189_EdSkillz-P2_CW300.indd 1
21/08/2015 16:13
U n a du lt e r a t e d A drenaline Ed S k illz
My nylon leader and my rod provide the stretch I want and need. The roughness of the river demands a frequent change of products. Even a fish of 10kg makes you feel like you are about to catch the fish of a lifetime. This is the ultimate adrenaline rush! Thinking about that, this might be one of the main reasons for my addiction to carp fishing on the river. You never know what you are about to land until it lands in your net. Monster Drill I remember a session when I was woken up by a screaming take. Instantly awake, I jumped off the bedchair, grabbed my rod, and immediately realised that
ABOVE Braid, and heavy mono leaders are essential when river fishing.
this was the take of a monster. My line was being ripped of the spool like it was nothing, despite the fact that I had almost got the slip tightened. The only thing I could do was stand there holding the rod up. In the dark, I tried to orientate to the position of the fish, but it was nearly impossible to discover its position. I had placed this rod in the centre of the river. I tried to turn the fish in my direction, but it didn’t help. The reel was burning; this had to be a monster. I started to walk in the direction of the fish, afraid that the line on the spool might run out at any moment. Then, all of a sudden, the run stopped. Had the fish turned or had I lost her? Oh no! I reeled in until I felt tension again, and it felt like I was stuck on something. Really stuck! Oh man, I couldn’t believe it. Why now, when I had left my dinghy at home. Totally broken, I lowered the rod and stared over the water. The adrenaline flow had stopped immediately and turned into an unpleasant feeling, but I didn’t have much time to think it over. As suddenly as it stopped, my rod was been pulled
from the other side of the line again and my reel started ticking. The fish must have been resting on the bottom of the river, but realising it didn’t help. As resolute as I was to catch this fish, I decided to keep putting pressure on the line until it turned, but it didn’t give up, and its power forced me to walk along while it took off. Out of the blue my line tension dropped and I had to reel in fast to get the tension back again. The fish turned and was swimming downstream. Without any knowledge of time, it felt like I was fighting it for hours. Finally, swirling water about 3m away told me I had almost won the fight. Not much later I could see what was causing the swirl. An enormous tail was waving at me, splashing the surface before it tried to dive again. I assured myself that it wasn’t a carp, it was a giant catfish. I opened the slip of my reel again, threw away my rod, and ran to the van to get my catfish glove. Luckily for me, I always have one with me. The last part of slowing down the fish went much better than the start, and the giant surfaced again, with my rig lined Septem ber 20 15 C a r pwor l d 185
184-189_EdSkillz-P2_CW300.indd 2
21/08/2015 16:13
A N G L I N G
P U B L I C A T I O N S
P R O U D L Y
P R E S E N T
CArp A n
E v E n i n g
O f
SO U Th
F R I D A Y t h e
c h i l t e r n
1 3 T h
h o t e l ,
N O v E m B E R
w a l l e r
a v e n u e ,
l u t o n ,
2 0 1 5 l u 4
9 r u
dA r r Ell
PE C k
P LU S
We are pleased to announce the dates of our annual Evening of Carp “Luton”. The evening will again take place at the Chiltern Hotel in Luton on 13th November 2015. We are delighted to announce that the principal speaker on the night is Darrell Peck, with another high-profile speaker still to be confirmed.
This meeting will see the launch of Dave Levy’s new book, Fallen Kings and Ali Hamidi’s New book The Carpers High. There will be a high-value raffle for the Predation Action Group, and the usual bar facilities. Full details will appear on social media and the angling press, so save the date and don’t miss this opportunity to enjoy one of the carp scene’s most popular evenings.
S u p p o rt i n g t h e
Doors open at approx. 6.30pm, and entry costs just £10 on the door. t h e c h i l t e r n h o t e l i s s i t u a t e d o n t h e o u t s k i r t s o f l u t o n to w n c e n t r e w i t h i n c l o s e p ro x i m i t y to london luton airport
and easy access of the M1 (5 mins off junction 11).
For further enquiries email: pip@anglingpublications.co.uk
Untitled-2 1
24/08/2015 15:52