T H E O N LY R E A D F O R T H E D E D I C AT E D A N G L E R
ISSUE 308 MAY 2016
ISSUE 308 / MAY 2016 / MONTHLY £4.75
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PLAN
BAGS THIS
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BRITAIN’S BIGGEST CARP-ANGLING MAGAZINE
THIS ISSUE DA RRE LL PEC K HAS A GRE AT SIXFISH CAT CH FRO M NOR THE Y PAR K F O R
T H E
c ar pwor ld maga z in e. co m
W O R L D W I D E
A N G L E R
PARK
LIFE
STEVE BRIGGS’ GERMAN ADVENTURE | P173 JONCHERY JOY
NEWS AND CAPTURES FROM AROUND THE GLOBE
P152 Tom Morrison reveals how UK-style fishing worked in France
FISHERY FOCUS
P168 An in-depth look at the two-lake Les Lacs du Verger complex
ECHOES AROUND THE WORLD
DA N CH AR T ON HIS TIM E ON THE HIS TOR IC LON GFI ELD ED BET TER IDG E REV EAL S HOW TO STA RT A NEW CAM PAI GN
P145 All the latest news and captures from around the globe
L O O K I N G F O R A CA R P I N G H O L I DAY ? C H E C K O U T O U R H O L I D AY D I R E C T O RY P170
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Contents
The Carpworld Contents / Issue 308 / May 2016
31
T H E O N LY R E A D F O R T H E D E D I C AT E D A N G L E R
ISSUE 308 MAY 2016
ISSUE 308 / MAY 2016 / MONTHLY £4.75
BEN AUSTIN
BIVVIES
TO BE
WON
MAN WITH A
PLAN
BAGS THIS
70 FA N TA S T I C
carpworldmagazine.com
BRITAIN’S BIGGEST CARP-ANGLING MAGAZINE
THIS ISSUE DARRELL PECK HAS A GREAT SIXFISH CATCH FROM NORTHEY PARK F O R
T H E
ca r pwo r l dma ga z i n e .co m
W O R L D W I D E
A N G L E R
PARK
LIFE
STEVE BRIGGS’ GERMAN ADVENTURE | P173 JONCHERY JOY
NEWS AND CAPTURES FROM AROUND THE GLOBE
P152 Tom Morrison reveals how UK-style fishing worked in France
FISHERY FOCUS
P168 An in-depth look at the two-lake Les Lacs du Verger complex
ECHOES AROUND THE WORLD
DAN CHART ON HIS TIME ON THE HISTORIC LONGFIELD ED BETTERIDGE REVEALS HOW TO START A NEW CAMPAIGN
P145 All the latest news and captures from around the globe
L O O K I N G F O R A CA R P I N G H O L I DAY ? C H E C K O U T O U R H O L I D AY D I R E C T O RY P170
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ON THE COVER:
Ben Austin with a magnificent 75lb 9oz mirror from Etang 5 in Northern France. Read more on page 162.
9
Editor’s Comments It’s been a month of firsts for editor Steve, including a short visit to Lake Chira in Gran Canaria, a trip to the famous Birch Grove in Shropshire, and 48 hours on Poachers Pool on the Holme Fen Fishery in aid of the PAG.
12
Gazette All the news and views from around the carpangling scene to keep you up to date with what’s going on, including the latest updates from Carp Team England.
17
The Long Road – Part One Dan Chart In the first half of Dan’s feature on the historic Longfield complex, he takes us back to the beginning over 11 years ago. He wonders how two lakes totalling no more than 15 acres have deserved so much of his attention over the years.
24
Pecky’s Progress Darrell Peck It’s been a busy month for Darrell, with a holiday and a charity event, but he’s still managed more bites from Northey. Here he tells us about his latest sessions.
New Campaigns Ed Betteridge Over the past few years, Ed has found himself starting a new campaign on a new water pretty much each season. Here, he explains how important it is to do your homework.
39
House of Commons Les Bowers In the final part of his fascinating miniseries about his year on Frimley, Les recounts the awesome capture of a huge common, and reveals exactly why he’s going to carry on his campaign.
45
Bait World featuring Joe Turnbull This month, Joe takes a look at The Bait Room, which specialises in hookbaits, and has a Quick-Fire Quibble with Dutch angler Nick van Rossum. There are also Bait Specials from Crafty Catcher, Dynamite, Kent Particles and C&G Baits.
61
The F Word Paul Forward It’s been a very frustrating start to the spring for Mr F, and there can be many reasons for a run of blank sessions. This month, he looks a bit deeper for possible solutions to these problems.
67
Think Tank This is a great time of year to catch carp because they get more active as the temperatures rise, but do you use a bed of bait, a single hookbait, or maybe even a Zig? This is the question put to our panel.
73
Zigs with Zing James Blake Natural attractors are just the things to give a Zig hookbait that little extra something. Here, James Blake discusses how he goes about giving his foam more pulling power.
100
79
Historic Carp Waters Chris Ball
We have much to thank the sand and gravel companies of this country for the legacy they have left. One such place became a Mecca for carp anglers, and is known simply as Darenth. Chris enlightens us about how it all began.
89
Tackle World We take a look at
the latest gear available from Shimano, Fox, RidgeMonkey, Nash, Phat Fish, Chub, Bank Bug, Cygnet, and more.
100
The Vanishing Lake
Harry Haskell A tale of mystery for those of you who enjoy some light reading. This is a chapter by
105
On The Circuit Mark Wozencroft
Last year, Mark’s fishing took him to various day ticket and circuit waters, which can be tricky at the best of times. You’re not only competing against the carp, but also the rest of the crowd who fish these types of waters. This is how he managed to succeed.
112
JRC Comp There are three
bivvies from JRC up for grabs this month – an Extreme TX Brolly System worth £279.99, an Extreme TX Bivvy also worth £279.99, and a Stealth Bloxx Compact worth £259.99 – total value £819.97.
116
Ask The Experts Our experts answer
readers’ questions about PVA,
Harry, which is written for
being successful during short
a book soon to be published
sessions, and whether sticking to
by Carpworld regular Keith
one high-quality boilie really is
Jenkins.
the best option.
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F: facebook.com/CarpworldMagazine / T: @CarpworldMag
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Rig World featuring Mike Kavanagh This month, Mike takes a look at the redesigned Nash Lead Clips, Gardner Tackle’s Trick-Link, and E-S-P’s eagerly awaited Cryogen hooks, plus part one of his Rig Talk with successful Essex carp angler, Kev Page.
131
Still Carping On Tim Paisley Tim talks to Dave Ivey, a name which won’t be familiar to many, but as with all collectors of carp memorabilia and books, Dave’s home and workshop are absolute treasure troves, and some of the items in his prize collection deserve to be given a wider audience.
F O R
T H E
W O R L D W I D E
A N G L E R
TICKLE THEIR TASTE BUDS!
BANOFFEE
Washed out yellow and white corn
PARK
LIFE
STEVE BRIGGS’ GERMAN ADVENTURE | P173 JONCHERY JOY
FISHERY FOCUS
ECHOES AROUND THE WORLD
P152 Tom Morrison reveals how UK-style fishing worked in France
P168 An in-depth look at the two-lake Les Lacs du Verger complex
P145 All the latest news and captures from around the globe
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IN INTERNATIONAL CARPER In our dedicated section for the worldwide anglers, there is a great round-up of global captures from far and wide, including a 101 lb mirror carp! International regular Steve Briggs took a trip to a German park lake, and Ben Austin continues his travels with a great session on Etang 5 in northern France. Our very own Tom Morrison spent a week at Jonchery, and we take a look at Orchard and Willow on the Lac Du Verger complex, which is just a short drive from Calais.
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105
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FEATURE
A small, intimate pond covered with floating Canadian pondweed, above almost gin-clear tap water.
In the first half of Dan’s feature on the historic Longfield complex, he takes us back to the very beginning.
I
t actually frightens the life out of me when I consider the association I have had with a compact little complex named Longfield. I was reminded that it has been over 11 years since I first opened the gates of what I consider to be a fantastic place to while away precious hours. In that time, I’ve somehow managed to get married and become a devoted dad to a couple of wonderful children, so I wonder
how two lakes totalling no more than 15 acres have deserved so much of my attention over the years. The only way I can answer that is because the overall Longfield package is perfect for what I do, thanks to the fish, the beauty of the lakes, and the priceless camaraderie of the anglers who fish there. The complex consists of the Road Lake and Fox Pool, and these famous fisheries were once at the beating heart of Colne Valley carping. A ton of stuff
has been written about both lakes over the years, and, of course, like many of the great venues across the UK, they have suffered their highs and lows. Fox Pool was steeped in history as the then premier big-fish water during the 1990s. Rob Maylin wrote a book on the place, but after the fish were removed to Horton, following a decision made by CEMEX Angling, it was the Road Lake that became the obsession for most anglers over the past decade or so. May 2016 C a r pwor l d 17
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there, and didn’t really want to know how tough or easy the lake was. I just wanted to treat it as something special, which I could take my time in enjoying to the full. Amazingly, just before it was time to retire for the night and put a bend in the bungees on my bedchair, the right-hand rod’s bobbin jiggled, pulled up and rested, trembling against the warbling alarm before the clutch started to pay out line. With no shoes on and mayhem behind me,
CEMEX Angling took back the rights to fish on the Road Lake after the Rimini syndicate had the special water for a number of years. The Rimini syndicate stocked the Road Lake with fish from Broadwater and Wellington Country Park, with a number of those being from the Dinkelsbuehl strain. The current head bailiff of the Road Lake was part of that syndicate, and his passion for the venue is stronger now than it ever was. I’m pleased to say that the present owner of Longfield fully appreciates the heritage of the place, and shares the desire of those who care so much about it. The future looks set to rival, and possibly exceed, the past, and that’s really saying something. I moved to the Road Lake after a difficult and testing couple of years on Horton. I caught a couple, but there was no way I could compete against anglers who could put in a solid week of night shifts, and move swims as soon as they spotted the fish as they moved up and down the lake in shoals. It was only when I had a week off and dropped into one of the going swims that I realised it was just about being in the right place at the right time, and I caught a few during that session. The Road Lake offered fishing to the part-time anglers, with a rule of 48 hours on and 48 off brought in, which was perfect for me while I continued to juggle home and work life with getting out on the bank. Back then, when I visited the Road Lake for the first time, I remember looking at what appeared to be a small intimate pond, covered with floating Canadian pondweed above almost gin-clear tap water. Flies, mayflies and midges were everywhere, dancing in the air and bouncing off a mirror-like, magical, glistening water as the sun beat down hard on the surface. It was a Saturday afternoon, and in addition to
the real flying insects, I also remember the butterflies I had in my stomach the moment I had time to look around and realised I was fishing this fantastic lake. I was full of excitement, mixed with a little apprehension through lacking any knowledge of the lake whatsoever. I eventually opted for a swim called the Bar, purely based on the fact that there were no other anglers near me, although there were only a couple on at that time. After finding a couple of likely-looking clear areas with the marker rod, no more than 20 yards in front of the feature that gave the swim its name, I baited with a handful of fishmeal boilies to each spot. I fished with bottom baits to each, and started to think about what I would do if the alarm was to signal a take. I didn’t really know what was in
The complex consists of the Road Lake and Fox Pool, and these famous fisheries were once at the beating heart of Colne Valley carping.
ABOVE lEFT
Above The other end of Road Lake.
Looking down Road Lake from Grassy Knoll.
Below
after I’d kicked everything over in sheer panic, I lifted the rod that was connected to what felt like a carp. However, before I could possibly moan about the size of the one which got away, the hook flew back at me. My first close encounter with a Road Lake carp was brief, and to the point. I didn’t think it was a big fish, but it did make me wonder if the lake was a lot easier than I’d thought it might be. How wrong could one carper be! As the season unfolded, I realised I’d have to adapt and learn, listen to the regulars, and then use the right gear, and the right bait, in exactly the right way. That first
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T h e Lo n g Road Da n C ha r t
night taught me that if something seems too good to be true – it probably is. Over the years, the Road Lake has seen the best in terms of who’s who in the angling world, including Terry Hearn, Nigel Sharp, Jim Shelley, Fireman Dan, Frogger, Beadle, Ben Hamilton, Sean Leverett and Dave Mag, to name but a few. Every one of them has a different story to tell, and has nothing but fond memories of their experiences. No one came and turned it over from the onset, and with there probably being seven A-team fish back then which everyone was after, it was always going to take a while to get them all, because most of them didn’t visit the bank more than a couple of times a season. The hardest thing to get my head around was that everything I’d learned the previous year, in terms of rigs and baits, seemed to count for nothing once the new season opened. It was almost as if the fish had organised a meeting and said, “We got clumped a few times on those fishmeals, guys, so ignore that this year, please. Oh, and no bottom bait rigs, yeah?” A couple of years into my campaign, whilst taking my time, fishing maybe one
Starting to get things right, with the now much sought-after Missing Starburst
top LEFT
top RIGHT
Socialising was not an option. I knew it was going to happen!
Bottom left
Jason with the king of the pond, the one they all wanted at 40+.
Bottom right
The Number One – loved by many, but not by me.
night or sometimes two, I started to get it after I lost a few good fish through the some things right and caught a few, namely weed on the pea mussels. The hooklink the Missing Starburst and the strangely parted like cotton and the risk was just named Not The Brown. Both were above too much, so I had to try to figure out 33lb, caught using methods adopted from what else would work, although it felt a couple of other successful anglers. They like another season’s edge had gone. So, were clearly on a winning lacking in confidence, I was back again formula with their bait, the following year, with a new and I could see a approach, yet again competing trend appearing for the A-team against those “Flies, mayflies where everyone scarily talented top anglers. and midges were using this bait As with most venues, everywhere, dancing in was catching a there was always one fish the air and bouncing off few. But the one everyone really wanted. a mirror-like, magical, thing that really Of course, I wanted all glistening water” worked for me at of them, but realistically the time was a rig you set yourself a target of which consisted of a one or two in particular. Mine 6ins 30lb Amnesia stiffwas always Clover, a huge-framed, type hooklink tied straight to a magnificent-looking specimen with a big Size 6 Gardner Mugga hook, with the Hair head and an amazing overslung ‘curtain’ being an extension of the same material. mouth. Most people were infatuated by the This rig looked hideous! The hook almost Dink, which was the king of the pond, and turned back on itself, and I wondered how nearly always the heaviest of them all. It was the Mugga actually acted as the claw as predominantly caught from the Number such, but it worked unbelievably well and One Swim, a swim I hated, as it demanded really nailed a number of the A-team. hook-and-hold tactics because of the I persisted with this rig, but had to ditch snags, but it was without doubt May 2016 C a r pwor l d 19
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the most prolific swim. She was quite a characteristic fish, but not a looker. The Dink quite often broke the 40lb mark, as did Clover, whereas the others, namely Orange Spot, Scattered Lin, Big Lin, and Three Scales, averaged mid- to high-30s, but they were all unique in their looks. As is necessary on all fisheries, securing the long-term future of the venue required the introduction of new fish to complement the existing stock. So it was that CEMEX Angling introduced a small number of fish of the Sutton strain, ranging from low- to mid-doubles,
over a few years during the mid-2000s. The fish did well, and with them being hand-selected from the fishery’s farm at Horton, they were to be a significant part of the future of the complex. Little did we know exactly what they would become, but that is for later. Leading up to the season of 2008, I had my fair share of the fish, including some of the A-team, in the form of Orange Spot more than once, at over 36lb, The Pug at 33lb, The Fully Scaled, Little Dink, Fergie, Bare Patch, and a number of the newer fish. However, I was also losing my fair share of what felt like good fish, through hookpulls this time, and quite frankly, I was disappointed with myself for failing to learn and not rectifying the problem. With only about five of the A-team fish left to catch, I really couldn’t afford to be losing anything, and coming into the colder months, I decided to knuckle down and really get my fishing head on. You see, it was very easy to get wrapped up in the social scene back then, and quite often the fishing was an afterthought because the craic was so good! A number of beers were shared
right The future is in good hands with Rob, the head bailiff, here with the striking Big Lin.
The magnificent Orange Spot at 36lb. He was very friendly with me!
Below
Bottom right
More winter success in 2008.
around a never-ending barbecue, and solid friendships were formed for years to come. Every angler was happy for the next one to have a result, and there was no bitterness, even though we knew each capture put our own chances back for quite some time. Over the winter I visited the pond at least twice a week, every time watching the fish show at exactly 15.30 in an area in front of Chestnuts. I baited small silt pockets in a couple of swims with an excellent winter boilie from Essential Baits, namely Winterised Squid and Black Pepper. The big baiting approach was unheard of back then on the Road, with successful anglers only
using seven boilies per rod. Yes, seven, and to be honest, I didn’t put much more than 20-30 baits out in total on each visit. The rig I was using was unique, too. I continued to present my bait hard on the bottom, because for some reason, pop-ups just weren’t nailing them. It consisted of an 8ins hooklink known as Camfusion from Sufix, with the tail stripped back to allow for movement and continuation of the Hair, to which two 12mm boilies were fixed. The hook still consisted of a Gardner Mugga, only this time scaled down to a Size 8. On the hook, I positioned a hard yellow Enterprise maggot grub, just as you would with a Mag-aligner. Whether it was just coincidence or pure luck, it was the yellow that did the business, because I did try other colours. I seemed to be doing well, sneaking a few fish out of a swim called the Reeds, and while they were only
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T h e Lo n g Road Da n C ha r t
the smaller, newer fish, they were most welcome. As we got into March, with time running out on the current season, the rest of the syndicate started to filter back onto the lake. My chance to bank what was now an infatuation was getting slimmer, so I needed to work an area away from where most of the attention was being applied. A swim called the Grassy Knoll gave me the opportunity, and as 3 weeks of a similar small baiting programme was being applied to a couple of close-in silt spots, it was clear to see it was working because I could feel the area hardening up with each visit. I refrained from fishing it though, deciding to completely finish what I was doing in the Reeds. As March drew to a close, on one cold Saturday afternoon, I found myself extremely confident, sitting in the Grassy Knoll, with a moderate breeze blowing in my face. So much so that I couldn’t even socialise with my dear late friend, Micky. My confidence was confirmed when the left-hand rod’s line tightened
up, and after a spirited battle, the now large group of friends who had gathered around my swim put me out of my misery by confirming Clover was in the net! We all partied well into the early hours of the Sunday morning. That was the Road Lake for you; everyone sharing in someone else’s celebration. Other fish trickled out; the wonderful 3 Scales made an appearance at high-30, and my cousin Jason banked his first 40 in the form of The Dink, from an area not too far away from the Grassy. All in all, it was another brilliant season for so many good anglers. Nigel Sharp returned to take care of some unfinished business at that time as well, and started doing what he does best, which is working an area to its potential in front of a swim called Dogleg. Probably one of the best sights I’ve seen of Nige in the last week of that season was him out of breath and almost dying, while legging it round to my swim to help me with a fish called Split Pec. What a good man. After Nigel caught all his target fish,
Things were going well during the winter in Reeds. This one (The Pretty One) went on to be one of the new jewels.
TOP left
ABOVE Right It was very easy to get wrapped up in the social scene on the Road Lake.
On the hook, I positioned a hard yellow Enterprise maggot grub, just as you would with a Mag-Aligner.
inset
The Grassy Knoll, away from the crowds, and the small baiting programme was working.
Bottom left
Bottom right
Everyone always shared in someone else’s celebration.
things on the Road Lake changed somewhat, and it became a far cry from the place I remembered on that sunny Saturday afternoon some 5 years previously. The weed was almost non-existent, the water clarity was all but gone, but the fish, well, they were just huge. The majority of the stock was either nudging or over 30lb, which was crazy when you consider there were almost 40 fish in a small, highly-pressured circuit water. The fish were being heavily fed by the influx of anglers, and the carp just destroyed the weed the moment it started to grow. Anglers were casting all over each other, due to the lack of weeddefined areas. It got too much for me, and despite watching a fish I dearly wanted, called 3 Scales, pick up my hookbait, only for it to fall off, the prospect of another water very close to the Longfield complex became more appealing, and I decided that the Road Lake would offer a welcome return in a few years’ time. CW
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COLUMNIST
T h e F Word Pa ul Fo rwa rd
THE F WORD
The Diary of a Compulsive Carp Angler
Blanks, Lucky Rods, Zigs, and New Waters In many ways, this last month of early spring, and by this I mean from mid-March to mid-April, has been very frustrating, and at times, it seemed like I genuinely couldn’t even buy a bite. I suppose everyone, including me, had expected the fishing to kick off big style, or at least improve, but instead it has gone the other way and definitely been a whole lot trickier. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had a terrific winter, in fact one of the best ever for sheer numbers of fish, and perhaps I’m guilty of being a tad greedy here, but once the clocks went forward, I didn’t expect to be accumulating quite so many blanks.
O
bviously, there can be many reasons for a run of blank sessions, but when it is plain to see that everyone is struggling for a bite, then we have to look a bit deeper for possible reasons and, more importantly, solutions. My first trip back on the deep Kent venue actually went swimmingly well. I moved swims a couple of times in a few hours, and eventually settled in a swim called The Brambles, which offers a great view of almost the entire 35 acres, and it’s right on the shelf of the deep water. Even though the wind was a moderate northerly and temperatures were still in single figures, I didn’t expect to find the fish to be feeding in the really deep water
(over 20ft), or even actually using it. This left me with very little on which to actually concentrate my efforts, apart from the top southerly end where shallower water could be found, or the marginal shelf. The only other option was Zig fishing over the deep water. This swim offers the deep water (30ft) to the right, but then gently shelves up to 12ft straight out in front, at which point the lake narrows up considerably. I therefore had plenty of options, possibly a few too many, but the venue was quiet angler-wise, plus I had a couple of nights to suss it out. To start with, I put one down to the right in 12ft of water, on a pop-up over a pouchful of chops, and the other two were also put on the
shelf, but in depths of 14ft and then 18ft of water. Finding the depth at which the fish are comfortable is always the key to success on any venue, especially the deeper ones, and especially so at this time of year, so I reasoned that by staggering my baits, I was hedging my bets. I baited sparingly over both of these with the Spomb, with a mixture of hemp, corn and chops. I settled down for my first night, and felt confident that at least one of the rods would rip off at some point during the wee hours. Unfortunately though, my much-needed beauty sleep was only interrupted by a couple of the many resident bream, but as dawn broke, I could see that Ross the bailiff and his
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COLUMNIST
mate, who were opposite, had at least a couple of fish waiting for the camera. I’d also heard a few show during the night, so after weighing up the situation over a cuppa or two, I realised that I wasn’t far away at all, and what was required was a bit of patience. After freshening things up with new hookbaits and a few more freebies, I didn’t actually have to wait that long for my first carp, which came to the middle rod. It was a cracking-looking mirror, with a line of big golden scales towards the tail, massive-sized fins, and weighing 32lb. Obviously I was chuffed, as anyone would be with such a magnificent fish, but more than that, I’d been given a vital clue. The carp had come from the 18ft spot, which meant they were favouring deeper water than I’d originally thought. Without further ado, one of the other rods was smartly moved to be fished in exactly the same depth. Again, I didn’t have to wait very long, maybe an hour or so, before the right-hand rod, which I’d just moved, ripped off with yet another chunky mirror, this one weighing a fraction over 28lb. Another couple of hours passed, during which time I fed a couple of Spombs over each hookbait, before the same rod was away again. This one looked like the identical twin of the last, both fish being sparsely-scaled, deep-bodied chunks with chestnut brown shoulders and creamcoloured bellies, typical of the venue. The afternoon feeding spell seemed to be over, or the fish had moved on, as I didn’t have any more action until well into darkness, when a low-20 mirror fell to the same rod. I unhooked it in the net and then slipped it back. The rest of the night passed uneventfully, apart from the almost compulsory enquiry from a couple of
My new water, the 35- acre Scout Lake.
below
Bottom Cracking 32-pounder from The Brambles.
“The carp had come from the 18ft spot, which meant they were favouring deeper water than I’d originally thought”
snotty bream. An early, but thankfully dry pack-up was an added bonus to what had been a fabulous session. I felt pleased with myself for having thought about tactics and being patient, which, to be honest, isn’t one of my strong points, and I had eventually worked out how to get a few bites. I must just mention that in late December, I’d been fortunate enough to have acquired a new set of 2¾lb TC MSX carp rods from those nice chaps at Avid. I immediately gave my knackered 12-yearold Free Spirits to my old mate Carl Reynolds at Specialised Angling, to have them re-eyed. Constant abuse by yours truly had taken its toll on my old sticks, which meant that at least half a dozen of the eyes had been replaced at some point, 6 2 Ca r p wor l d May 2 01 6
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ABOVE One of a brace of 28-pounders.
Spring Spomb mix ready to go.
Right
and a couple of the silicone liners, which I’d amateurishly superglued back in, were constantly falling out. Now I’m not really a superstitious sort of bloke, but I’m not a big fan of changing any of my tackle either. I much prefer to use what I know and trust, and very much belong to the ‘if it ain’t broke’ philosophy. Changing over to the new MSXs was something I’d had serious nightmares about, but as it turned out, I needn’t have worried because a low-30 found its way into the net after no more than an hour of using them. Since that very moment, they have become both my lucky and favourite rods, and no wonder, with over 80 carp, including 10 over 30lb, coming my way during that 4-month period. So,
when Carl rang last month to say my old rods were ready, the same feeling (except in reverse) swept over me. In my logical mind I know it cannot possibly make the slightest bit of difference, but I suppose it’s a luck thing, much like a lucky jumper, hat, socks, pants, etc. Or is it just a coincidence that upon swapping back to the Free Spirits, my luck seemed to desert me, and I really have struggled for a bite. Read on. I’ve also joined a new syndicate on Medway Valley Fisheries, but as yet have only walked around the 35-acre venue. It is visually actually stunning, with low stock and quite possibly a few surprises swimming around in there. At the same time, I’ve started fishing another new venue called the Scout Lake, where a parasite caused a massive fish-kill over 10 years ago, wiping out the entire stock. Since then, everyone assumed there were no carp, or even life, left in there, so it really hasn’t been fished at all – until last year, when a handful of carp were seen, and even the odd one was caught. Before the tragedy, it held fish up to high-40s, most of which, if not all the known ones, were sadly buried. But, who knows, there could still be a surprise or two left in there, and I’m quite excited about finding out. So far I’ve made three visits, all overnighters, and had two takes on my first night. Unfortunately they were both from tiny infant commons of around 3-5lb – not exactly fun or fair, or what I’m really after. For the other two visits I stopped using particles and upped the hookbait to 20mm, and blanked, which I actually prefer to having the juvenile carplets getting me out of my warm bed. Back on Paddlesworth, where I seemingly couldn’t put a foot wrong, the blanks started to rack up too, causing me to wonder even more about the wisdom of changing the lucky rods. True, the venue wasn’t fishing well; a carp match in late March was fished Friday to Sunday by 18 anglers, and produced just TWO FISH between all taking part. The odd random fish was still getting caught here and there, but sadly, not by me, and it definitely wasn’t for the lack of trying. A week later, after pulling in all sorts of favours for a 2-nighter and moving swims at least four times, the end result was exactly the same – blanko! Two more overnighters produced the same result. I was getting on the fish, too, fishing Zigs which are normally mustard, on at least one of my three rods, but all to no avail. The carp weren’t showing at all during daylight hours, but come 10 o’clock in the evening, the odd one would start crashing
out, with the activity peaking at around midnight. By this point I was (apart from the juvenile carp) heading for my sixth blank on the trot, and seriously thinking of swapping back to the MSXs, but then, after assessing the logic of my train of thought, I managed to resist the temptation. I arrived late afternoon and was surprised to spot a few fish off the road bank almost straight away. A light southerly was trickling in there, so without needing any more in the way of encouragement, I was in there like a flash. I popped up a marker fairly close in 13ft of water, and flicked a pop-up rig out there, followed by a catapult full of chops, and set about tying up a couple of Zigs. Unbelievably, no more than a minute later, with the marker still on the spot, the alarm burst into life on the bait I’d just cast. After realising it was, in fact, a carp which was responsible, my first worry was that it might tangle with the marker float. All went swimmingly well, though, and a chunky low-20 mirror rolled into the net minutes later. That was more like it. I was confident that more would follow, and two rods went back on the same line. Although the odd fish showed throughout the evening, by 10.00-ish I feared they’d gone, and that’s the way it turned out. Still, I’d broken my run of blanks, and that alone was very good news. My last trip to the same venue was a midweek outing, and as expected, I found it very quiet. From what I could make out, nothing much had been caught since my last visit. The early-April sun had a real power that I hadn’t felt for some time, and by lunchtime it was clear that the carp were enjoying it too. Small shoals of 10-20 fish were lazing around within inches of the surface, on the end of the warm southerly breeze. In total, I suppose I could see about 60-70 carp in the general area, clearly visible in the gin-clear water; working out what to do was the next step. They were basically sunbathing over 26-28ft of water, so it was obvious I would be Zigging May 2016 C a r pwor l d 63
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head. Desperate to try something different, with at least two rods, and I would try to I changed the colour from pink to black fish right in the margins with the third. on both, and cast them back in virtually My preferred method is to fish the Zigs on the same spots. With the arrival of first fixed links, which I know can be awkward light came the realisation that I for playing fish, especially so on the long really hadn’t a clue how ones. However, I don’t ever get I was going to tangles with them, whereas trick one of these when I’m fishing the Zig “Unbelievably, carp. Matt dropped floats, I’m never really no more than a in on his way to work, confident that they’re minute later, with the and he’d hardly even not tangled. Anyhow, marker still on the spot, heard a carp in the by late afternoon the the alarm burst into middle section, but breeze had picked up life on the bait I’d just as those words left another notch, making just cast” his lips, the bobbin on my it look even more carpy. left-hand rod tightened up I had my two fixed Zigs and the alarm made a single beep. out, one at 14ft and the other at The rod had our full attention now, and as 16ft, which is on the limit for landing we stared at the tip, it began to bend round fish on your own, if not a fraction over, and the line picked up. At last I had an plus one in the corner right in the edge, enquiry! Right from the off it felt heavy, so and once again, I felt pretty confident. I took it easy. It was lucky that Matt was on Throughout the evening, carp were hand with the net, with what was clearly clearly showing in front, and inevitably,
TOP A stunning common for Lee. left A fish taken from up the shelf. Bottom ‘Unit’ on the Zig.
a decent fish getting closer. The 4oz lead, which was only very lightly pushed on, hadn’t dropped and was swinging around, making things doubly awkward on the 16ft hooklink. I needn’t have worried though, as Matt netted the fish expertly at the first time of asking, exclaiming, “UNIT,” as he did so. He wasn’t wrong either. I could see straight away it was clearly over 30lb, and it made my Size 10 look proper tiny; there was no way it could have fallen out because it was buried firmly in the corner of its mouth. Up on the scales it hovered just over 35lb, which is one of the largest I’ve taken on the Zigs, and one heck of a reward for perseverance. It did, however, leave me wondering if it was due to the change of colour. The truth is, as with so many things in carp fishing, that we’ll never really know. Tight lines, and enjoy yourself until next month. Mr F. CW
three other anglers had turned up and gone in to my right. This wasn’t ideal, but because it’s the only bank where you can park behind the swim, it’s always going to happen. Matt arrived after 6 o’clock and agreed that it did look the dog’s dangly bits, but it was too busy for his liking, so he went further up, in the quieter middle section. After homemade kebabs and a couple of beers, I eventually retired, with fish still showing well into darkness. I was fully expecting to be woken by a screamer. At around 3.00 a.m. I couldn’t take it any longer. The fish were crashing out in front of me, so much so that I couldn’t help but worry that the Zigs were tangled. I reasoned I would have caught one, but annoyingly, the Zigs were perfect, which I must admit had me scratching my 6 4 Ca r p wor l d May 2 01 6
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and one of the reasons he took me to the lake was because I had done a lot of that type of fishing in the past and I would be able to handle the conditions. I could see that it wouldn’t be easy, but there was no reason to worry about anything – it was just a matter of doing everything right. Luckily, I had everything with me that I needed. Fishing hit-and-hold to snags is quite a specialised way of fishing, which takes a bit of practise to get right. If you want to stop the fish in their tracks, then braided main line is the only real option because mono just has too much stretch
ABOVE First action! The first fish from a new water is always special. ABOVE RIGHT Pull everything tight and the rig is ready... just add boilies.
We crept round to the back of the snags, and sure enough, the fish were there.
BELOW
and build up momentum then you have lost the game, but if you can stop the fish where it picks up the bait, you are in control. I mostly only use cheap sea line for that purpose; the breaking strain is more than enough to cope with any fish, but the thickness of the mono also helps when the line is running around snags. Thin braid will easily cut into underwater objects, especially old water-laden wood, whereas the mono tends to slide around those objects far easier, keeping you in contact. in it. At the same time, braid on its own Of course, the basis for this type of can be too severe when trying to hold fishing is all about strength, and that goes on to a powerful fish, so for that reason I for the end tackle too. It’s no good trying often use a thick nylon leader of around to think of finesse if the rig you are using 20kg, which performs a few tasks, but isn’t going to land the fish you hook. firstly, it acts as a sort of shock absorber When I make the rigs that I use, the main for the braid. It’s surprising how even a thing to consider is whether or not it 10m length of 20kg mono has quite a bit will land the fish. In my experience, it is of stretch under pressure, although it’s not enough to give the fish any advantage. very surprising just what fish will pick up without hesitation, especially The important thing is not when they feel they are to give the fish a head in a fairly safe area. start. If it can get Big, strong hooks its head around “If you want to and strong stop the fish in their hooklengths are definitely tracks, then braided the way to go. main line is the only real In extreme option because mono circumstances, just has too much I actually stretch in it“ use leader material for my hooklengths, and the Cling-On 40lb leader is very strong, but at the same time still supple and soft. Hooks are generally at least Size 4, but normally Size 2, and a pattern I know I can trust. The way I construct the rig is to splice a very small loop in the end of the leader material, which allows me to pull the loop through the eye of the hook and then over the point to form a type of D-Rig. With a rig ring on the ‘D’ section, I then tie the Hair using a soft Hair braid. This still allows the May 20 16 C a r pwor l d 175
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