Carpworld July 2016 by Angling Publications

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I S S U E 3 1 0 J U LY 2 0 1 6

WHAT’S NEW

SPOD AND MARKER RODS UP FOR GRABS

ISSUE 310 / JULY 2016 / MONTHLY £4.75

WE LOOK AT T ALL THE LATES T A H T TA C K L E ! YOU MUST SEE

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BRITAIN’S BIGGEST CARP-ANGLING MAGAZINE

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THIS ISSUE BEAT THE WEED ED BETTERIDGE REVEALS WHY FISHING IN THE GREEN STUFF HELPS YOU CATCH MORE

CHASING DREAMS THE FIVE-YEAR QUEST BY ANDY MUIR FOR THE ROACH PITS’ BIG LIN

BIG INTERVIEW CARP HUNTER ALAN TA Y L O R TA L K S A B O U T H I S HILARIOUS ADVENTURES

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P149 ALL THE VERY LATEST NEWS AND STORIES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

P157 Ben austin continues his exciting european adventure

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T H R E E PA I R S O F

SPOD AND MARKER RODS UP FOR GRABS

I S S U E 3 1 0 J U LY 2 0 1 6

WHAT’S NEW

ISSUE 310 / JULY 2016 / MONTHLY £4.75

WE LOOK AT T ALL THE LATES TA C K L E T H A T ! YOU MUST SEE

global giants

BRITAIN’S BIGGEST CARP-ANGLING MAGAZINE

from around the world - page 149

THIS ISSUE BEAT THE WEED ED BETTERIDGE REVEALS WHY FISHING IN THE GREEN STUFF HELPS YOU CATCH MORE

CHASING DREAMS THE FIVE-YEAR QUEST BY ANDY MUIR FOR THE ROACH PITS’ BIG LIN

BIG INTERVIEW CARP HUNTER ALAN TA Y L O R TA L K S A B O U T H I S HILARIOUS ADVENTURES

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P170 THE WELL-TRAVELLED STEVE BRIGGS DISCOVERS A NEW WATER

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P149 ALL THE VERY LATEST NEWS AND STORIES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

P157 Ben austin continues his exciting european adventure

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ON THE COVER: BEN HERVEY-MURRAY WITH HIS NEW PB OF 48lb 10oz.

Editor’s Comment A cancellation on Birch Grove saw Steve undertake a spur-of-the-moment session on this popular Shropshire venue.

Pecky’s Progress Darrell Peck It’s been a hectic month for Darrell. Not only has he got married –congratulations from all here at Angling Publications to him and Natalie – he’s also managed to go fishing, try out a new rig, and plan a boatfishing session in Holland.

Chasing Dreams Andrew Muir From the first time he saw pictures of the Big Lin, Andy Muir knew it was the one he really wanted to catch. Little did he know that it would start a 5-year quest before he finally held it up in front of the camera.

Cambridgeshire Classics Ben Redley Sometimes, it’s not all about being in pursuit of the largest; it’s about hunting for the oldest, the rarest and the hardest targets which inhabit our waters. That’s the kind of fishing that makes Ben Redley tick, and here’s his tale.

Bait World featuring Joe Turnbull

Featured this month are L.A. Baits, Nash, Stinky Stuff, 4

British Aqua Feeds, DNA, Enterprise, and much more.

This Green and Pleasant Land Ed Betteridge Many people fear it, but weed can be the angler’s friend. Ed Betteridge discusses how his attitude towards it has changed, and how his thoughts on presentation have altered, from simply finding a clear spot, to actually fishing over the top of the underwater jungle.

The F Word Paul Forward This month, our man talks weddings, floater fishing with a twist on Paddlesworth, goes on holiday, and manages to sneak a fish out of Ham Lane.

Think Tank At the moment, it’s very in vogue to not carry a marker rod. Do you think this is a wise approach, or are you an angler who relies on this piece of equipment? This is the question for our panel.

The Big Interview Part one of Tim Paisley’s in-depth interview with big-fish angler Alan Taylor.

Ask The Experts Our panel of experts answer readers’ questions, and if yours is chosen as the question of the month, you’ll win £250 worth of Mainline bait.

Diary of a Carpaholic Simon Crow After 3 years of waiting, Crowy got his ticket for one of the north’s most exclusive syndicate waters.

Greys Competition This superb prize from Greys is absolutely perfect for three lucky readers, who will each win an awesome pair of rods from our prize fund, with the maximum value of £959.94.

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Confidence Is The Key Rob Nunn Rob takes a look at the mindset needed to achieve good results in your fishing, and reveals how a change of bait has resulted in a very impressive shift in fortunes.

Rig World Mike Kavanagh This month there’s Rig Marole Rig Tube, Korda QC Swivels and Hook Beads, Atomic Tackle Figure 8 Clips, the Last Meter Range from Prologic, and much, much more.

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The Green Jumper Brigade Cliff Davis Thousands of English anglers travel abroad every year to sample the delights of fishing, but Cliff Davis thinks it’s fair to say that the3 choice of bait generally, 3 70 70 and its application through the week, is one of the main causes of disappointment on a holiday. A FRENCH FISHING HOLIDAY FOR TWO

ISSUE 304 / JANUARY 2016 / MONTHLY £4.75

IMPROVE YOUR

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Dave Levy reveals his winning winter tactics

M AT T E AT O N

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INTERNATIONAL CARPER

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Issue 147 January 2016

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P136 The Nash lads continue their awesome European adventure

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P143 Dave Moore’s amazing haul from the Hungarian super-water, Euro Aqua

UNDER THE BRIDGE

P157 Inner-city madness – Raf Swinnen tackles the River Maas

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T H E O N LY R E A D F O R T H E D E D I CA T E D CA R P A N G L E R

ISSUE 308 / MAY 2016 / MONTHLY £4.75

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THIS ISSUE

DARRELL PECK HAS A GREAT SIXFISH CATCH FROM NORTHEY PARK

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DAN CHART ON HIS TIME ON THE HISTORIC LONGFIELD

ED BETTERIDGE REVEALS HOW TO START A NEW

ED BETTERIDGE REVEALS HOW TO START A NEW CAMPAIGN

NEWS AND CAMPAIGN CAPTURES FROM AROUND THE GLOBE

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EDITOR Steve Broad E: steve@anglingpublications.co.uk T: 0114 258 0812 Ext. 214

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IN INTERNATIONAL ADVERTISING SALES MANAGER CARPER Richard Newman I n o u r d e d i c at e d E: richard@anglingpublications.co.uk T: 0114 258 0812 Ext. 215 section for the w o r l d w i d e a n g l e r s, PUBLISHER Tim Paisley there are all the l at e s t c a p t u r e s f r o m ADVERTISING DIRECTOR a r o u n d t h e w o r l d, Philippa Dean differentWe’ve put together a fantastic Zig package in in different colours to choose for hookbaits, i n c l u d i n g T h a i l a n d a n d conjunction with the guys at Avid, which is everything sized hooks to suit your angling situations, and a Zig Box E: pip@anglingpublications.co.uk you Gneed tyingExt. up the T: 0114finished 258 0812 202Zigs, e rtomcatch a n y.fish Sfeeding t e vinetheBupper r i g glayers. s They to ensure that once you’ve can be caught from here at all times of the year, so Zig you can keep them safely stored – plus much more. g oisetruly s ta tactic o H that u nyou g aneed ry,toamaster, n d and here fishing is the ideal bundle to get you going – you even get a hat WHAT’S INCLUDED INMARKETING THE PACKAGE: B e n A u s t i n ta c k l e s DIRECTOR to keep the sun out of your eyes. We strongly advise • 12 issues of Carpworld Jemima £57 Musson giving Zigs a go during the warmer months. They can t h e B e l g i a n c a n a l s. • Avid Black Baseball Cap £6.99 be a deadly tactic when fished as over-depth Zigs, and a E: jemima@anglingpublications.co.uk

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Historic Carp Waters Chris Ball This month, Chris takes a final look at the Darenth complex, a place which really did influence the carp scene in a huge way.

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Still Carping On Tim Paisley The Carp Society saga rumbles on, and here, Tim keeps you up to date, and has time for a session with a

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E D ITORIAL

EDITOR’S COMMENT ST EVE BROAD

mate rang me, and we were trying to arrange a catch-up, but I think neither of us was particularly motivated to actually go fishing thanks to the incessant rain threatening to sink our small island! That was until I heard a chance conversation at work. Pip was on the phone taking a cancellation on Birch, an almost unheard of occurrence. As you know, I’d fished it a couple of times in the spring, and was keen to get back and see it in all its summer glory. I knew Bally would be up for the trip because I’d already bored him to death about the place. With the trip secured, I gave Bally the directions and arranged to meet him there on the Friday evening. Well, that was the idea, but a long day at work, and an even longer drive down, eventually saw me coasting down the hill into the car park at just after 10.00 p.m. So, instead of rushing around, I had a couple of beers with Bally, and a good catch-up about his recent adventures. I was knackered, and dragged the bed out of the van and crashed under the stars. Thankfully, the rain had abated for the moment. In what seemed like the blink of an eye, Bally was giving me a kick to photograph his first-ever Birch Grove carp, an absolutely cracking 20lb+ linear. Pictures done, I wandered back to get my own stuff sorted, and took in the beauty of Birch, which was verdant; with the pads creeping out from the margins, the place really did look stunning.

The birds were singing as I walked my gear the short distance to the Compound Swim, and I had the chance to study what lay before me. There were already several fish on the top, and a few giving very subtle signs as they sneaked into the old cattle drink to my right. I baited the far-margin lilies and cast two rods over there, and they landed a few feet short of the pads. The third rod was fished down to the right in an attempt to fool one of the cattle drink carp which kept sneaking in and out of the area. The day ticked by and very little happened for either of us, although the carp which had been frequenting the margin were very conspicuous in their absence. With a couple of hours to go, it was time to make a decision about that rod. I was watching Bally top up his spots, when out of the corner of my eye I saw a very big carp ghost into the cattle drink. Mmm; I decided to leave it in place and see what happened. The far-bank rods were seeing a bit of activity in the area, although the cattle drink now looked dead. The precedent had been set, and the following morning, Bally once again woke me. This time he had a cracking 32lb common ready for the camera. Pics done, I was about to return to the swim when he was away again, with a decent double. He was on top form. With the rain clouds gathering on the horizon, Bally had a stunning morning, landing another double and losing one at the net as well. The often dour Birch had given him a great welcome,

whereas I was left scratching my head, with not so much as a bleep to my name. Bally left that afternoon, and I decided to stay on, simply because there would be little gained from driving home that afternoon. I might as well get up early and head to work, and obviously sneak a fish out. As soon as Bally disappeared the heavens opened, and I thought I should have sneaked off, as things were looking pretty grim. I donned waterproofs and sorted out all three rods, firing them over to the far bank, before zipping the front on the bivvy, such was the scale of the rain. The afternoon dragged on, and I was sorely regretting my decision to stay, and if I’m honest, conditions looked really poor. The next thing I knew was that I was standing on the stage in my socks, in the dark, with rain hammering down, and something pulling on the other end of my line. After a brief scrap, I slipped the net under a double, quickly unhooking and returning it with little drama. Wet and soggy, I returned to the shelter, just in time to hear the alarm clock going off. It was time to pack up and head north to work. Tell me again why I do this! Until next time, be lucky, Broady. CW

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F EATURE

DARRELL PECK

PECKY’S

It’s been a hectic month for Darrell. Not only has he got married – congratulations from all here at Angling Publications to him and Natalie – he’s also managed to go fishing, try out a new rig, and plan a boat-fishing session in Holland.

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F EA T UR E

efore I started writing this series of diaries, I used to think I was continually catching big carp, and that having enough material would be easy. Well, unfortunately, that’s certainly not the case again this month, as a combination of events have conspired to leave me with very little in the way of big-carp captures to discuss. Firstly, as I mentioned last month, Kitch had died, and although Northey Park is much bigger than just the one carp, I’d be lying if I said I would continue to fish there. One day I’d love to catch a UK 50lb+ common, and to do that I need to target waters where they swim. As luck would have it, just a couple of days ago I was invited for a walk around such a lake, and I am pleased to say I have been offered a ticket where this might be possible at some point. It’s a similar situation to Northey, being a smallish syndicate water with a very large cherry swimming in its depths. Arguably, this fish isn’t quite as friendly as Kitch and the stock density is twice as high, which should certainly make things tricky, but the end goal is equally as lovely. I won’t say too much about it now because I have yet to cast a line, and to be fair, I can’t see me getting over there before the winter. Anyway, that’s one for the future, and it’s sure to be covered in my future diaries. The other ticket that I have is

Bayeswater, and I managed a couple of single nights there without any joy. At the time the lake was fully in the grip of spring, and the lake was absolutely Sergio Ramos with anglers hoping to make the Tiger Fish’s acquaintance. Bayeswater is a smallish triangular-shaped lake, with three swims on each bank, and often only two anglers can be on the fish at any time. I managed to get close enough on the first trip, but on the second trip I was well and truly camping. It’s since been closed for spawning, leaving me with absolutely nowhere to fish.

ABOVE A 30lb Northey mirror, my last fish from the venue.

Natalie and I had a truly fantastic day. Thank you to everyone.

BELOW

The other thing that’s kept me busy is that Natalie and I got married at the end of May. We were lucky with the weather; our perfect sunny day was sandwiched between days of savage rain either side. It made the day what it was because the do was all outside, apart from the marquee. A lot of the gang from Korda, as well as fellow contributors Mr F and Micky Kavanagh, were in attendance, and we were married on a pontoon that fittingly went out into a small lake. Yes, there were carp swimming about, and no, I didn’t fish

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for them, much to the disappointment of many of the onlookers. All in all, it was a great day. Natalie looked amazing – cue the cheesy ‘best catch of my life’ line! Apparently, that’s the end of my fishing career, but all I can say to that is watch this space! This brings me nicely to my upcoming plans before I get on to the actual carp which I have caught this month; I have managed a few, although only little ones. If you read this feature regularly, you might remember that at the start of the year I worked at the Zwolle carp show for Korda, and one of the highlights for me was meeting Arjan Verkoelen from Vortex Boats. After fishing at Orient last year, I came to the conclusion that fishing on these huge public waters is very restrictive, and if you truly want to adventure on these types of venues, then fishing from a boat opens up a whole new world

of possibilities. The long tows, the tench trauma, the batteries, and the mud were what made the story what it was last time. They were also the bane of what was possibly some of the most demoralising moments of my entire life. I want to do more in the public domain by fishing these types of waters, but I don’t think I fancy sitting in the mud for another 5 weeks, whilst hauling tench from hundreds of metres, walking miles with 26kg leisure batteries on my shoulder, and then getting my van torched for good measure.

different to how I normally fish, and I am sure it will be a real eyeopener to what is possible. Also, I’ll be driving through Belgium on my return to the UK, so I may just stop off for a few nights, and again I’ll cover that in next month’s article. With the deadline for this feature on the horizon, I realised I needed to get out and at least try to put something in the net. Local to where I live in Chelmsford is a day ticket venue called Blasford Hill, which I often visit in the winter when I want a few bites. In recent times the venue

I was first drawn to the Vortex stand at the Zwolle show by a large 4m inflatable boat with a built-in pram hood bivvy and rod pod attached to its transom. As soon as I saw it, I knew it was exactly the sort of thing I wanted for my future Euro trips. I got chatting to Arjan about what I may and may not need for this type of fishing, and he has invited me to go boat-fishing with him in Holland, with a view to showing me the ropes before I make a purchase. That trip will feature heavily in next month’s diary. I’ll be meeting Arjan in roughly a week’s time, and we will fish on one of his big local waters which is interconnected to a large canal system. I am really looking forward to this, as it’s completely

has changed hands, and a guy I went to school with, Neville Rice, has bought it. One of his first fishery management decisions that he made was to take out many of the silver fish, and this really seems to have helped the carp push on. Back in the day, you were lucky to catch a 20-pounder, but now it’s happening all the time, with a smattering of 30s creeping through. Most of you who have read my stuff will know that I don’t really mess about with rigs. I generally stick to presentations which are often described as basic but have served me well over the years. I mentioned last month that I had been to Germany, filming with Mr Fairbrass, and as is always the way, he was using his latest super-duper, jinglyjangly rigs. I normally don’t pay too much attention because he is constantly tinkering, and that scares the hell out of me. I am the sort of guy who thinks that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, and often feel that the stakes are too high to be experimenting. For me, the single most important thing when thinking about rigs is the hook-to-landed ratio. Unless you are landing more than me, I am probably not interested, and I am

No more Orient mud.

TOP LEFT

RIGHT Arjan with a big-water, boat-caught mirror.

My very first carp on the new rig.

BELOW

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F EA T UR E even less interested if it takes an age and a degree of engineering to construct. I wouldn’t say that Dan’s hooked-to-landed ratio was noticeably any better or worse than mine while we were away, but it was certainly around equal. What really turned my head though, was just how easy it was to construct, and also change, in the event of the hook burring. Dan is a serious rig technician, and places great emphasis on that part of his fishing, so anything

he uses is always very aggressive, and this time I was certainly interested. However, even after seeing him hauling first-hand, I was still reluctant to try it somewhere where I could potentially lose a really big fish, so Blasford was the perfect place to give it a run-out. I don’t know what he calls it, but I have heard it mentioned in the office as the 720 Rig. Very basically, there is a short stiff-boom section with

The second wasn’t hooked perfectly, but wasn’t coming off. ABOVE

LEFT My first fish from the second trip.

a quick-change Size 11 ring swivel at the hookend. Then it’s just a case of clipping on a new hook as and when. So, off I went down to Blasford with my new-found firepower to see if it was something I could actually get my head round. It was hot when I arrived, and it was obvious that most of the fish were high in the water, as grey shapes could be seen everywhere from the moment I closed the gate. I wandered left up the bank a bit, towards a bay with a small dot island, and I could see there were a fair few stacked in there. The margins of this dot island would give me the depth of water where the carp would be most likely to encounter a bait, and the barrow was duly dropped. A couple of simple underarm casts saw two little yellow Essential Cell pop-ups sitting above my Size 4 Kurvs, with 10 boilies thrown around each of them. I’d just got the net

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together when I was away. The fish bowwaved everywhere in panic as the hooked carp ploughed through the swim like a maniac, and when he popped up, it was hard to imagine how such a small carp could pull so hard. In the net he went, and on inspection, the hookhold was central, roughly an inch deep, and pretty much textbook. It was a nice fish to start with, a common with slightly odd scaling. By the time I was ready to recast, it was quite apparent that most of the fish had disappeared. I could have almost

walked across the bay like Jesus before, and now I could only see one small group of about five left. Out went the rigs once more, and it was about half an hour before I was away again, this time a little mirror. The hookhold wasn’t textbook on this occasion, but a deep scissor one that certainly wasn’t going to fall off in a month of Sundays. The second fish finished the bay completely, and it appeared deserted for the next hour, so a quick wind-in and a trot about was called for if I wanted more

ABOVE I moved on the strength of a single show under the trees.

Boom – a Blasford 20.

BELOW

action. At the opposite end of the lake was another island, where the two lakes had been joined together by digging out either side of a thin causeway. There was a bit of weed to surface in this area, and I am pretty sure that’s why some carp were stacked up there. It took only a few minutes to collect my tackle from the other end, but just as I was preparing to cast, a massive clap of thunder followed by a long rumble had me looking at the distended grey clouds filling the horizon. It was about to piss down; you could smell it, and with my Tempest in the van, I decided to bail and avoid a soaking. I returned for a quick morning trip a couple of days later, but with the cool morning air, and no grey shapes to give away their location, it started a lot slower than I’d hoped. The first hour produced a tench, so I moved on the strength of a single show under some trees on the far bank. Another hour passed without action in that area, and it wasn’t until the sun’s strength could be felt that I started to see them bobbing up. This time they were round another island in the middle of the lake. Out went the 720s and Essential Cells, and the inevitable didn’t take long. The first was another small double common, but the second was a nice super-clean scraper-20, and both absolutely nailed. Until next time, be lucky, Pecky. CW Carpworld j u ly 2 01 6 13

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CAMBRIDGESHIRE

CLASSICS Sometimes, it’s not all about being in pursuit of the largest; it’s about hunting for the oldest, the rarest and the hardest targets which inhabit our waters. That’s the kind of fishing that makes Ben Redley tick, and here’s his tale.

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the back of their fin, is a challenge that his year, I have had the keeps driving me on to give it my all. opportunity to fish for There always seems to be a spark that some very old, very special ignites a campaign, or motivates you to Cambridgeshire fish which were stocked seek out a particular ticket. It could be back in 1977, and believe me when I a photo you have seen of a particular say they are some of the scaliest old fish or a tale you have been told, but warriors which are still swimming around whatever it is, it should be personal to today. They’re a breed of carp oozing you. I don’t think of carp fishing as a with history, which have been held by sport, but as a personal pursuit of man some great anglers before me, and with against fish. I try to ignore whatever my ticket coming up at the start of this else is happening around me, and year, they captured my thoughts and the concentrate on thinking like a carp and season couldn’t start quick enough. immersing myself in the moment. At this particular set of pits, there After talking aren’t any to a good personal best friend about fish to be caught “For me, chasing old gnarly the lakes and for me, and their stunning nothing that warriors in mature, rich would rock the surroundings is an addiction, stock, I knew this place would angling world, and I thrive on the history be my cup of well, size-wise tea, and when I anyway, but and tales of each fish’s saw the pics of just knowing capture and previous battles” the carp, from they’re older low-doubles than me, and up to their with their applecurrent size and age, I was hooked, and slice sovereign scales plated all over their mottled bodies of purples, reds and black, knew the ones I wanted in my album. There’s a special buzz when you land they are a dying breed of very special your target, and even when it happens fish. I feel truly privileged to have the to one of your friends; it’s a rush that chance to angle for them in their glorious completes my carp fishing. There’s surroundings. For me, chasing old gnarly something about picking out an individual warriors in mature, rich surroundings is fish, or set of fish, and dedicating your an addiction, and I thrive on the history time to catching them. When you get it and tales of each fish’s capture and right and they’re lying in the folds of your previous battles. Pitting my wits against net, it’s something else. Those wonderful carp which have seen every trick in the moments shared with good people is book, and know their environment like

RIGHT A storm is coming!

Banksy still in her winter colours.

BELOW

priceless, and from my first walk around any potential new water, I usually get a feeling of what the vibe is like, and whether it has what I’m looking for. This year, I really have found a slice of heaven, with a top bunch of lads to share some bank time with, and a water that holds some ancient relics from a time gone by. The waters I tend to fish are lightly stocked, which means I can choose my approach, and even, to some extent, choose which carp I’m fishing for. Obviously, if it’s a heavily stocked water with one lump in there and lots of smaller fish, the chances of being able to specifically target the bigger fish can be very hard. However, in low-stocked pits, you can identify each fish by their habits, behaviours and routines, get in tune with their world, and adapt your approach to suit the feeding style and actions of individual fish. 26 Carpworld Ju ly 20 1 6

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BOTTOM LEFT

Bright blue and flat calm, but I still found ’em. Another of my target fish, The Grey.

BELOW

darkness. On every trip I managed to find at least a few fish after scouring the water and watching for signs of life. I spotted a couple of my target fish, which favoured a particular area of the lake, drifting in and out of some heavy bankside foliage, so I spent hours in the trees and bushes, looking into the snags. I was able to watch them at close quarters, and build a plan in my mind of how to approach the lake, and present a bait safely and effectively where they felt comfortable. Sometimes this was easier said than done, as the pads, overhanging willow trees, snaggy roots and sheer depth presented me with challenges that I needed to overcome. I cleared out some bigger snags and found some angles to lay my line where it wouldn’t be obstructed, or have the chance to drag me into danger. I settled on an area to where I could get a rod, and started baiting it with chopped boilies and smaller food items, and it wasn’t long before I could see that it was being visited. The rods were positioned, with my money on the middle rod that was being fished into their daytime haunt on the far bank. I was confident that one of the characters I’d been spying on would slip up, and after a sleepless night of shows and rocking water in the moonlight, finally, at first light the bobbin twitched up an inch. I crouched by the rod, looking at the line as it entered the water, and a slight flick and another bleep gave away the presence of a hooked fish. As I reached for the rod the alarm screamed, and I was well and truly into a proper one. The

battle was great in the morning half-light, but I just wanted her to be safely in the net. I needn’t have worried though, as I was soon watching her slide over the cord, and I knew it was one I desperately wanted. The fish was one known as Banksy. She was still in her late-winter colours, and was stunning. She was duly cared for and photographed, before swimming powerfully back into her home. Everyone’s fishing is different, but everybody should be able to set themselves individual goals and targets to keep motivated, with a personal quest for your chosen quarry. I try to set myself some achievable and some hard individual targets each time I join a water, and I feel that this keeps me driven; it can drag you through the blanks, the hookpulls and long winter nights that we all inevitably have to endure along our journey. By achievable, I mean catching one off the top, or stalking one out, with the more difficult targets being wanting to catch a particular fish or numbers of fish. I pick each water I fish on an individual basis, and look at what I want to achieve from each session. I join some waters and think I will be there forever, but after my targets are met, I feel the need to move on to pastures new, and try other lakes with different challenges and different rewards. By varying my chosen waters each year, from intimate tree-lined estate lakes to windswept inland seas, I feel I can keep adding to my armoury, and never feel stale or that I am going through the motions. I am constantly learning and improving with each new challenge.

At the start of the spring, I set myself the target of maximising my chances by moving on to showing fish as regularly as possible, and to try to winkle out some of the A-team in two of the pits before they spawned. These carp had a habit of bashing themselves up rather badly during spawning, and I was keen to catch them in their prime condition, and then let them rest after the exertion of all that monkey business! Knowing there are just a few very wise old carp got my blood pumping, and I worked hard to find fish day and night, introducing bait where the fish frequented the most. I studied the photos from previous captures, picked out my hit list, and started hunting for glimpses of them where I could. I made an extra effort to set the alarm for first light, and stayed up well into the night, sitting at the water’s edge, listening for shows and disturbances in the Carpworld J u ly 2 01 6 27

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LEFT Back she goes.

I added some Evolution liquid to my hookbaits.

RIGHT

BELOW

A carefully prepared spot was the downfall of The Potato.

I grew up in the Nene Valley, so carp fishing was a part of growing up. With the benefit of youth, big pits, limited commitments and long summer days, I fished around the valley, picking my way through what seemed like a neverending world of carp. But as the years ticked by, and the older special ones slowly declined in numbers, I really had to look at what I wanted to get out of my carping before it was too late. I have my own business as a bladesmith and take real pride in my work and family, so my time is limited to a couple of nights a week if possible. I work equally as hard at my fishing as I do with everything in life. If that means moving on to a show

at 2.00 a.m. in the rain, or staying up all night looking for signs of carp, I will. Location is my primary thought when I’m looking at a plan for my trip. I need to have all the other aspects of my fishing covered and off my mind, so I can fully concentrate on finding the feeding areas and working out their habits. Bait and rigs can be confusing when things aren’t happening for you, but if you take them out of the equation, you’re left with less to do to catch them. The only rig adjustments I make is to alter the length, but I keep most of the main components the same, with only minor adjustments to suit the bottom I’m fishing over.

As for bait, I rolled my own bait for many years, and really drilled it down to what works. I also bred-on carp in my spare time, which meant I could do a lot of tank testing and behavioural studying. I did as much research as possible, reading papers on aminos, esters, lipids, etc., and I gained all sorts of valuable information. After all my reading and testing, I came to the conclusion that freshness, quality and nutrition topped any kind of synthetic stimulant or attractor. When I finally hung up the bait gun late last year, I became a team member at DNA, and I was confident from the start. The guys at DNA believe in transparency in their bait, and are happy to tell you exactly what is in it, and why. They also share a common goal to provide the carp with fresh nutrition with no gimmicks, which they come back for time and time again. Even though bait is a personal thing, I have no hesitation in saying that DNA’s complete range has been developed and designed around catching more carp, and it really does work. After thinking about the time of year, and the way the carp I was targeting fed and behaved, I wanted to vary a few things with my bait. I knew the SLK was developed using a lot of ingredients that carp crave pre-spawning, so I chose to fish these in mixed sizes and shapes to make my hookbait harder to identify among the free offerings. After all, the carp know their environment well, and seeing as every rig under the sun has been used on these pits, I didn’t want to make it easy for them to pick out my hook and reject it. As well as the SLK, I added The Switch to the mix; after seeing the other fieldtesters’ results, and doing rather well on it through the winter myself, it would have been silly not to give it a bash. As soon as you open a bag of The Switch, there’s a waft of deep yeasty goodness released. In fact, the first time I used it, the dog went mad for the

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stuff, and I knew it would be a great bait to put alongside the darker-coloured SLK that I had already been feeding. After my initial success with my light baiting approach, and with the bottom of the lakes varying from pit to pit, from silt to thick weed, I wanted to fish as effectively as possible, and move on to fish as much as I could without worrying about presentation or what I was fishing over. The initial change was to lengthen my rigs and use very slowsinking hookbaits, so I could lay the rig onto deep silt or silkweed without the worry of it all being a mess, or buried in debris on the lakebed. A simple reverse combi-rig gave me the versatility I was looking for, as it can be accurately and quickly cast to shows with a light lead. However, after narrowing down where I was baiting and feeling the bottom changing, where there was once a layer of silkweed and just a dull thud resonating up the line, there was a delightful crack on the rod tip, showing how firm the spot had become. I decided to move over to a semi-stiff D-Rig-style bottom bait rig, knowing that it would be less visible on the clear bottom, and would give me maximum movement in the rig. I use a rig ring or micro swivel on all my rigs, and believe that letting the carp eject the bait, and having separation between it and the hook, really improves

BOTTOM The gorgeous Floppy Tail came inches from the bank.

my hookholds, and limits the carp’s ability to suck and blow the bait and shift the hook before I get any indication. As the sweet spot got cleaner, I shortened the length of the rigs to around 4ins, knowing that the carp in this lake are renowned for spitting out rigs with minimal indication on the alarms., I wanted to try to snag them before they had the chance to right themselves and work out what was happening. This worked out well and landed me some early-season bites, with The Potato being a highlight, and another one I really wanted. I found that by keeping the bait going in every trip, and monitoring the feel of the bottom, I was always sure of a spot to drop on to when I hadn’t seen anything else to go on. Other opportunities presented themselves while I was perched up trees and staring into snags, and I soon worked out a few ambush points where I could squeeze a rod and net into. After getting a group of carp going on a small gravel spot with chops of SLK liberally dosed in Hydro Wheat, I managed to stalk one of the A-team, Floppy Tail, just inches from the bank in crystal-clear water. I watched its white flaring snout engulf the bait, before she righted herself and tore off into the deep water, testing the slim diameter line and test curve of my

stalking rod. She plodded around under the rod tip, shaking her head, and used spirited powerful runs to try to beat the pressure of the Size 6 buried in her bottom lip, but eventually I slipped the net under her. It was heart-racing stuff! I even managed to snag her a second time a week later, this time from my clear spot onto which I had been continuing to trickle bait. Once again, it boosted my confidence in my choice of rigs, location and bait. Several more fish followed, each one as perfect as the last, and with their own little character. I believe that keeping my mind open and changing my tactics, and adapting to the given situation on the day, has brought me extra bites, when sitting behind motionless indicators would have probably not produced. After my success so far, and with other fish with my name on swimming around in there, the fire still burns bright, and the hunt is still most definitely on! POSTSCRIPT You may have noticed that I haven’t put any weights in here, and this is because I don’t know any of them! I tend not to weigh fish unless it is likely to break my PB, but these pits contain no fish to top that, so I just fished for the photos and memories. Scales are just another thing to carry when I am moving swims! CW

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F EATURE

ED BETTERIDGE

THIS

GREEN AND PLEASANT LAND Many people fear it, but weed can be the anglerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s friend. Ed Betteridge discusses how his attitude towards it has changed, and how his thoughts on presentation have altered, from simply finding a clear spot, to actually fishing over the top of the underwater jungle.

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s we trundle on towards summer, and the greenery of the British Isles starts to flourish and take over in this green and pleasant land, so does the weed in a lot of UK waters. I don’t need to tell most readers that weed is loved by carp; it creates shelter, oxygenates the water, and provides a habitat for many waterborne insects, invertebrates and molluscs on which the carp dine. If only certain areas of the lake are weedy, then it’s a pretty good bet that the carp will be in this zone for a good bulk of their time in the summer months. For many years, my standard approach to weedy lakes has been to lead around and find a clear spot on which to present a bait. This can sometimes be an arduous affair of smashing the water to foam with a marker rod until I get a thump down, and at least a couple of feet of pullback before the rod locks up as the lead is drawn into more weed. I have caught a very good number of fish from doing this, and without doubt, it can be the best method of catching from a number of different waters which I have had the pleasure of fishing. However, on certain occasions,

A mid-30 landed after a fraught fight in kelp weed.

TOP LEFT

A very thickset fish from a weedy water.

TOP RIGHT

RIGHT Canadian can grow very thick.

I also think that I’ve missed a trick by not fishing up in the weed, where the carp feel safer and are used to feeding by picking off snails, shrimps, mussels and insects from all levels of the green strands. In this day and age, where we give the carp credit for sussing out our rigs and knowing we are angling for them, a rig presented in weed is pretty much disguised and difficult for the carp to suss out. Finding the perfect presentation is something I have been wrestling with for a while, and I have put a fair bit of thought into the best way to go about it. Before I delve into my ideas of presenting bait in the weed, it’s fair to say that weed isn’t just weed. It’s far too easy to group it all together, but the different types merit different approaches. I’ll confess that horticulture isn’t my strongest subject, and I don’t know the full or even proper names for each type of weed, but I do have a basic understanding of the attributes of the types of weed in the lakes that I fish. I won’t go into too much detail about lilies, except to say that they can be a great holding area for the carp, especially on sunny days, or if they feel they need sanctuary. The way I fish to pads depends on the type of pads, and the key to this is the thickness or strength of the stems, and whether they have a thick root system known as rhizomes. It’s not always easy to tell from just looking at the surface of pads, but from my experience, the broader the leaves and the denser the concentration of pads in one area, the greater the chance that they have thick stems and rhizomes which grow clear of the bottom. In this situation, I treat these pads as snags, and only fish up to them with the rods locked up. However, if they are smaller

pads, and split more evenly over the surface of the lake, then I would be more inclined to think they don’t pose too much of a snag hazard, and I would be happy to fish in them, to a degree. What I know as pot beds are the same. These are arrowhead-shaped floating leaves, which again have thin stems. I would be happy to fish in the edge of these, as the bottom beneath tends to be sparsely populated with the stems, so can be a good area to present a bait. A good heavy-duty line (especially braid) can scythe through the stems if a fish is hooked, although I would be reluctant to fish too deeply because a build-up of them around the line can cause issues. When most people think of weed, it tends to be the stuff out in the

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pond, and often unseen. I have a bit of experience of fishing most types, and I’m always curious to see which kind I bring back around the lead; the type indicates the length and density of the weed, depending on the time of year. Often, the best way to determine the length is to bring back a whole strand, but I must admit that unless I retrieve a strand with a white root on one end, and evidence of an unbroken tip on the other, then I’m dubious as to whether I have the entire length. I suppose there is another way in this day and age, and that is to cast a float with a camera into the weed, and record the footage as it is pulled down a foot at a time. That said, it takes a brave angler to cast £250 worth of FishSpy into an unknown depth of weed, so I tend to go on experience. The type of weed I like fishing in is onion weed. I’m not aware of the Latin or proper name, but if you bring back onion weed around the lead, you will know about it. It stinks of onions (unsurprisingly!). I walked past a mate’s swim the other day, when he had just been leading around, and I could smell it from 10 yards away! It tends to hold a whole host of naturals

BOTTOM LEFT

A long stringy weed, similar to eel grass. A Burghfield mid-30 landed from a heavily weeded area.

BELOW

BOTTOM RIGHT

Shallow weedy water can be a big attraction.

in its throngs, but the best thing is that it doesn’t grow too high, I have only found it growing up to a foot, which means it is fairly uniform and great for presenting a bait in, or on. If there is no other weed around, then a Choddy can be a devastating method, with a little pop-up fished over the top. The free offerings tend to lie on and in the weed at different levels, which makes for a great feeding situation. However, if there is high weed around, I tend to avoid the Choddy, as it can lead to terrible presentation if the lead lands behind the bank of high weed, with the hookbait a few feet proud of the bottom. It really depends on how you fish the Choddy, which I’ll come to later. So, when fishing in onion weed, or other low-lying weed, I like to fish a long rig with a semi-supple material and a pop-up. If the weed is mainly 9ins high, I use a 12-14ins Hinge Rig with a soft coated braid rig for the boom section. This does really well in low-lying weed; most of the rig and line is hidden in the weed, with just the pop-up and a couple of inches of rig showing. It will also be well presented on clear areas, maybe a little longer

than ideal, but still effective. This makes it perfect for the patchy spots, or for casting at showing fish. Another interesting factor with onion weed, and some other forms of low weed, is that I still get a definite drop through it. What I mean by this is that the lead cracks down and gives the donk sensation, as when fishing on a clear spot. I’m sure a lot of anglers get fooled by this and believe they are fishing a nice clear area, when in actual fact, the 6ins rig is pulled into the weed and covered. That doesn’t render it unless, just less effective. With the long Hinge Rig and casting at showing fish, the only thing I need is for the lead to crack down onto the deck, which means it isn’t held up in high weed, and therefore must be in the clear or in low weed. Either way, I’m fishing effectively in the area where the fish are located. High-growing weed is a different story, and is much harder to fish effectively. There are many different types of high-growing weed, with Canadian pondweed being the most common. Canadian varies quite a lot during the year; in the spring, young Canadian can be a little sparse, and a pop-up fished in among it can quite

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LEFT The only fish I had on a Choddy, from a water which contained high and low weed. MIDDLE A high-growing leafed weed. BOTTOM Not a pond weed, but a lucky weed!

easily fall down through the stems and be less effective. However, at the back end of the summer, it can be very thick and lie crossways in the swim, with enough density to hold a light lead on top of it. A Choddy presented over the top with a few freebies can be a great presentation. Other types of thick weed include milfoil, eel grass, kelp, and many other types. I try to avoid the kelp, which is a very thick-stemmed weed that can cause snagging issues and is difficult to break, even with a braided line. Eel grass is a tricky one, and I find it difficult to present a bait in because of its stringy nature. Most free offerings fall through it, and a bait presented at the base of the weed is often a better approach. I’m not a big fan of smashing a solid PVA bag through weed when bigfish angling, because so much can go wrong over a length of time, but sometimes it is the best approach. For most other high-weed types, I’m happy to fish into them with a long-running Choddy, as long as I can ditch the lead. The Heli Safe System from Korda has helped me out no end with this, and has saved me from messing around with rolled-up bits of dissolving foam and self-made droppers. Basically, what I’m trying to do with a Choddy is drop the lead vertically through the weed, and get a touchdown of some description on the lakebed. It doesn’t have to crack down, I just need to know it’s made it down, because if it doesn’t, it means the hook may have got caught up in the weed, preventing the lead from descending.

Dropping a lead vertically isn’t as easy as it sounds, especially at range, and basically entails the following. Cast the rig out and either feather it down or allow it to hit the clip. Once the lead hits the water, bring the rod tip back to take all momentum out of the lead, and then drop the rod tip to allow the lead to sink vertically. Chod fishing in high weed takes some time to get your head round. I have had many talks with others about this, mostly with Matt Eaton, who is probably the best Chod angler (if there is such a thing) I have met. In recent weeks, I have spent a fair bit of time thinking about presenting a baited rig over the varying depths of weed and clear spots in a swim. If I have the time and luxury of being able to lead about and find the perfect spot to present a bait, then I will, but a lot of time, I find myself moving on to showing fish, where one cast can be too many. I have done really well on Chods over the long rig, but now the high weed is getting higher, and my presentation is being compromised. A lot of anglers believe a Chod is just a Chod, but a Leadcore Chod is a different rig to a Naked Chod. Some think this is in terms of hooking qualities, but to me it is how they fish. I have always used Naked Chods over Leadcore Chods if I can get away with it. I first started fishing Naked Chods on fluorocarbon on Stoneacre, about 8 or 9 years ago. Back then, the thinking was that the hooking qualities were very poor due to the lack of weight in the line, but I must admit that this didn’t bother me too much. Twenty-five years ago, I did a lot of fishing using

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free-lining or a ¼oz running lead, to say that there is no easy answer to and some of the takes were explosive. this, and the mixture of low and high When surface fishing, I would often weed makes it very difficult to create a put the rod down while I fetched cast-anywhere rig. However, through something, only for it to rip off my continual persistence with messing without any lead around with rigs, resistance, so I saw I have found a a Naked Chod as perfect method to no difference. ensure I can get a “Dropping a lead Anyway, I’m a rig presented on vertically isn’t as fan of the minimal showing fish, no easy as it sounds, and more supple matter what the especially at range” presentation of weed type, with a Naked Chod, just two casts. but a lot of how The first cast is it fishes can rely with a marker rod on the weight of the hook section. and bare lead, and the drop, pull-back I have always balanced this with a and what comes back with it makes bit of putty to sink slowly under its my mind up to what I’m fishing over. own volition, but the problem with If it’s clear, a normal length rig goes this is that when it lands behind a high obstacle, the line gets caught up in the highest part, but the hook section, being slightly heavier, can slide down the smooth fluorocarbon. This is great if I’m fishing just behind a high weedbed and into low weed, because the slightly weighted hook section abseils down the line and sits nicely just above the lead. However, fishing in high yet sparsely populated weed means it can disappear into the high weed, which is far from ideal and can often result in a blank. On the other hand, the Leadcore Chods work where the hook section is buoyant and weighted down by the leadcore, so the Leadcore Chod always wants to sit next to the top bead. The problem with leadcore is the weight; it can pull the line done through soft or sparse high weed, which again makes the bait harder to find. I’m afraid

Landing a fish from shallow weedy water.

BELOW

BOTTOM LEFT

Most weed contains plenty of natural food. BOTTOM RIGHT

The Immaculate Common from a weedy area in Little Irchester Big Lake.

out; if it’s low weed, my long Hinge Soft Rig is cast to the clip; if I don’t get a touchdown and bring back high weed, a Naked Chod with an unweighted hook section goes out. This ensures that the hook section is next to the top bead, fishing as high in the weed as possible, and the lack of weight in the line won’t pull it too far down. So, the pop-up will be towards the top of the high weed and presented well for the fish to find. All the above might seem like a lot of hassle, when there is probably a clear spot 10-20 yards away, but sometimes fish aren’t drawn to a clear spot, no matter which bait is presented, and it’s either get right on them or blank. I know what I would rather do! CW

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PAIRS OF GREYS’ RKER RODS.......... Greys have designed a range of rods to suit every spodding requirement, which means you can get the perfect setup to meet your own specialised needs. Each model is decked out in an identical manner, and is a no-nonsense arrangement built to stand the rigours of spodding. Each rod has an Anti Frap tip ring, G-Lite™ ultralite guides, and a Fuji NPS 20 reel seat with locking collar. All the rods are finished with a raw carbon anti-scratch sanded finish, and eye-catching black anodised butt cap and collars.

< GT DISTANCE Next is the 12ft 6ins GT Distance, with an RRP of £139.99, and the clue is in the name. This model has slightly more backbone, and will chuck a Spomb or spod to the horizon. It is a more specialised bit of kit, so needs mastering, but it does the job perfectly. Finally, there is the GT Extreme Spod and Marker, or the X.S.M., which is 13ft and retails for £159.99. This really is a monster, and has been specifically designed to cast huge distances with a spod or marker float. In the right hands, this tool is absolutely awe-inspiring. This particular model is decked out with depth markers of 6ins, 12ins, 18ins, and 24ins to help when used as a marker.

Carpworld j u ly 2 01 6

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NEXT MONTH

WIN! A SUPERB SPANISH FISHING H O L I D AY F O R TWO

PLUS

Tim Paisley Alan Taylor Paul Forward Darrell Peck Ben Austin Steve Briggs And many more

Rig Special Kris Ollington on the presentations that banked him five 50â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in just one year

ON SALE: FRIDAY 5TH AUGUST 2016 178_NextMonth_CW310.indd 1

20/06/2016 18:00