Carpworld September 2017

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ISSUE 324 SEPTEMBER 2017

FINE-TUNE

IN THIS ISSUE tim paisley

YOUR

ian chillcott darrell peck mike willmott

RIGS

BRITAIN’S BIGGEST CARP-ANGLING MAGAZINE

B I L LM ’ s A ly C O T Ta l l e g e d ping it

CLAUDIA DARGA

Biscu e d i s Bank

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tony gib

MYLES GIBSON

NICK HELLEUR

P20

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carpworldmagazine.com

Fresh P e Why us rspectives approac ing a differen t hw your su ill increase ccess.

p 27 carpworldmagazine.com

Continues his rich vein of form on the Dinton Pastures complex.

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Experiences his most enjoyable start to the season, ever.

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C O N T E NTS

ISSUE 324 | S E PTE MB E R 2 0 1 7

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EDIT O R ’S C O M MENTS

FROM THE BI VVY

TALKING HEADS

BLACK AND WHITE

Steve has continued his run of success at home, and is off to Rainbow Lake in France, but not everything went smoothly with his preparations.

We take a look at what’s happening, including the untimely demise of some of the UK’s biggest carp. steve@anglingpublications.co.uk

After some devastating news Chilly reflects on his life as an angler, the highs and lows, and expresses his thanks to everyone.

Our intrepid hero Myles continues his rich vein of form on the Dinton Complex, fishing several of the lakes.

STEV E BR OAD

C A RPW ORL D

I A N CH I L L CO T T

M Y L E S G I BS ON

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FR ESH P ER SP ECTIVE

UNDER THE R A DA R

A S K T H E E XP E RT S

PECKY’S PROGRESS

By keeping an open mind and avoiding the dreaded carp-fishing rut, Tony reckons you’ll catch and enjoy your fishing more.

Jonny takes on a large, wild pit which has its own peculiar problems to overcome, but holds some lovely old carp that make it worthwhile.

Our guest experts answer your questions on how good are shelf-life boilies, beating bait bans, and targeting individual fish.

Darrell once more crosses the Channel and heads off to the Belgian canals to try to track down a monster, only to find things tricky.

TONY GIBSON

J ON N Y FL E TC H E R

CA R P WO R L D

DAR R E L L PE C K

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T HINK TAN K

CARPING ALLE GE D LY

P U RE C P L OVE L I N E S S

LETTER TO A SMALL ISLAND

In the build-up to autumn we ask our panel which are their favourite particles and how do they fish them?

Bill talks oat groats thirty years on, has a quick trip to France while on business, and takes an allimportant look at bankside snacks.

A return to Yateley’s historic Car Park Lake results in three fish in three overnight sessions including a new PB.

With the topic of bait and its application covered, Simon takes a look at rigs and reveals some important facts anglers may have forgotten.

C AR PWOR LD

B IL L C OTTAM

DAN CH A R T

SI M O N M AN S BRI DGE

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BAITWORLD

THE F WORD

We take a look at Shilham Pupae Grubs, Taylors Lead Lounge Hookbaits, Dynamite Baits, Crafty Catcher and Bait-Tech Camo Pellet Buckets.

With lots of work to get done time has been precious for Mr. F. but with a lot of effort he’s managed to squeeze a few trips in and caught.

J OE TU RN B U L L & C A RPW ORL D

PAUL F O R WAR D

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STOP AND SMELL THE ROSES

3X3 Claudia reveals how she uses three different tactics with the idea that she can fine-tune her approach to get the best results possible.

N IC K H E L L E U R

CL A UD I A DA R GA

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ADDICTED

PERFECTION GUARANTEED

Jules talks about his drive to go fishing, and why chasing monsters isn’t necessarily the be-all and endall of this pastime he loves.

Iain explains why finally getting to grips with boat fishing has opened up a whole new world to him.

J U L IA N C U N DIFF

I AI N M ACM I L L AN

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RIVER ADVENTURE

RIGWORLD

To many, fishing in France is going to a commercial holiday venue, but to some, like Sam, the call of the wild rivers is what he craves.

Mike looks at Katran Fishing, the new Line Aligners from Angling Iron, and the new Zig Kit from Korda, plus much more.

S A M ROB B

M I K E K AVA N AG H & CAR P WO R L D

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ASCENSION TO HEAVEN - PT1

TACKLEWORLD

Want to try something different?

Ellis did and ended up on an island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

Here’s the start of his epic adventure.

We take a look at the latest gear from Cadac, JRC, Banana Rods, Nash, Fox, Military 1st, Berkley, Chub, Kodex and more.

E L L IS B RA ZIE R

CA R P WO R L D

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ECHOES

STILL CARPING ON

All the latest catch reports from around the globe – don’t forget to send yours in via our website : carpworldmagazine.com

Tim talks about an event at Horseshoe Lake, recent difficult news, and looks forward to the autumn and winter.

S TE VE B RIGGS

T I M PA I SL E Y Carpworld s eptember 20 17

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E C N A N I F

cover s t o ry

With many plans foiled this year, Nick sat back and enjoyed his time on the bank which resulted in one of the most enjoyable springs ever.

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FEATURE

BILL COTTAM

CARPING ALLEGEDLY This month Bill talks oat groats thirty years on, has a quick trip to France while on business, and takes an all-important look at bankside snacks and the importance of a biscuit in a carp angler’s armoury.

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F EA T UR E

ABOVE: A Mangrove fish caught over groats.

RIGHT: Adding a bit of evaporated or condensed milk undoubtedly adds to the attraction qualities.

BELOW: French blend and Big Fish Mix, Fishabil-style.

I

nspired by the boys from the north west, my first real experience with oat groats came way back in the mid’80s on the Mangrove Swamp, and very effective they proved to be. In those dark and distant days we used to mix them with a small percentage of tiger nuts, but a number of years further down the road, I found that mixing them with flaked maize and/or parti-blend proved to be even more effective; particularly when a sizable bucketful was enhanced with a tin of condensed or evaporated milk and a decent dollop of Multimino Liquid Food.

The joy of the groats, flaked maize and parti-blend combo is threefold; firstly carp love it, secondly the three products are as cheap as chips, and thirdly preparation on the bank is simplicity itself. No boiling or cooking is required and it is simply a case of generously covering the whole lot in lake water, adding the extra bits and pieces and then getting into a routine so as to ensure you work anything between 24 and 48 hours in front of yourself.

The finished concoction creates a wonderful-smelling, milky and cloudy feed that everything which swims appears to home in on and rapidly become pre-occupied on. Mix that lot with a reasonable percentage of boilies and you have a big bed of carpy nose bag that certainly takes some beating.

A few pals and I spent quite a bit of time on Fishabil in the early-’90s and – what had by then become known as the French blend, coupled with Big Fish Mix boilies – undoubtedly played a huge part in the success we were able to achieve. The approach was perfect for Fishabil at that time; the big numbers of fish that were particularly prone to moving on a whim were regularly stopped in their tracks by our beds of seeds and boilies and we succeeded in holding them in front of us for prolonged periods of time, which obviously enabled us to catch more than our share. Although the French blend approach remained my ‘go to’ method when tactics of that nature were called for, the next couple of decades only rarely saw me go down that particular route; I still had total faith in the tactic, but the type of waters I was fishing at the time appeared to respond better to a boilieonly approach.

In the spring of this year however, I found myself on a notoriously-tough and challenging humungous French public water that I had wanted to fish for as long as I can remember. The water held big numbers of fish, including some of epic proportions, but on a water of such a size, getting on the fish and then holding them in front of you was undoubtedly going to be the biggest problem. I thought my aim was realistic from my first trip to such a venue… to catch a carp. I was hopeful that Trigga boilies, along with a decent quantity of the old faithful oat groats and flaked maize combo, might help me with my quest.

I had a meeting in France on the Thursday prior to the start of the session and made my way over to the lake in the evening to have a poke around and a bite to eat. It was hot, incredibly still, and crawling with boat traffic and French folk enjoying the weather. I devoured a quick steak and

chips and peered out over what was going to be home for the week; I was as excited as I can recall being for many-a-year!

My compadres for the week – Mike Wordingham and Richard Hughes – along with his son and his son’s friend – duly arrived the following morning and after paying our dues, we made our way to the swims. It was clear from the off that – as is so often the case on waters of this nature – just going about the tasks of positioning baits and retrieving them was going to be a chore in itself. We had thick mud, dense weed and rushes extending about 20m out in front of us and the depth of water ensured that wading out to anything like the water’s edge was an impossibility… even Peter Crouch would have found it hard going!

My first job – to ensure I had some seed ready to go as soon as possible – was to get some French blend in soak and, with that in mind, I had brought along a plastic dust bin. I emptied in a full 20kg sack of groats, half a sack of flaked maize and topped it up with lake water, a 500ml bottle of Cream Cajouser Liquid Booster and three tins of condensed milk. I then gave the mixture a good stir, put the dustbin lid on and left the whole lot to cook in the furnace-like heat of the French sunshine whilst I set up house and got everything sorted. It was getting on for dusk by the time I returned to the particle bin and what greeted me, absolutely blew me away… I had forgotten just how nice it was!

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FEATURE

3X3 CLAUDIA DARGA

Claudia reveals how she begins a session and tries different tactics with the idea that she can fine-tune her approach to get the best results possible.

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F EA T UR E

T

here has been a lot written about tackle and all sorts of fishing tactics. Of course, the tackle is important to get big fish out of the water, but for me there are three main parts in carp fishing that decide between success and failure. These three main things are the key to success, and all the fishing leads back to three main parts, which can again be combined in three ways for each part. This is my 3x3 for catching carp.

Especially in the early days of a season, I try different tactics to get some fish.

At my venues, I am allowed to fish three different rods, which gives me a lot of chance to try totally different tactics and be as diverse as possible. A lot of my fishing buddies always use the same rig, the same bait and the same tactic, no matter where they fish, how the weather is, or what time of the year it is. They mostly fish the same set tactic on each of their rods. To avoid this mono type of fishing, I play with three different components: Rig length, hookbait and feeding tactic.

ABOVE: Boilie over boilies.

RIGHT: My starting point when it comes to rigs.

These three components make my fishing a success. The tackle is very important to me as well, but these components really catch the fish, so the focus should definitely be on them. Each component as such can be very diverse, so there is a lot of room for change and to stand out from the crowd. Once I have found the best of each component, I try to combine them to get the perfect mix.

1. Rigs: In terms of my rigs, I mainly rely on one which I will probably never change. This is the so-called German Rig. It is very effective in any situation and nails any fish. I have caught all my big fish on it, and have further tuned it till I got my perfect rig. I have tried a lot of others, but lost some fish or didn’t even nail them.

Once you trust a rig, don’t change it.

However, I do change the length of the rig. Even if I am fishing the same rig, I still adjust the length of the hooklink.

This means that if I am fishing with three rods, I can choose three different rig lengths then decide which one is best for my current session. There is always one that brings the most fish! I mostly try rig lengths of 8cm, 15cm and 30cm; it’s not about changing the rig itself, but changing the length of it.

My experience has shown that early in the year, very short rigs work best.

Once the fish get more active from June to October, the longer rigs are better, so I change them. If I am out for a longer session at one venue I can test the length, and once I have caught one or more fish

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FEATURE

ELLIS BRAZIER

ASCENSION TO

HEAVEN PART 1

Thought of trying something a little bit different? Ellis did and ended up on an island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Here’s the first part of his epic adventure.

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F EA T UR E

ABOVE: Long Beach; you can see the turtle holes in the foreground.

RIGHT: The blow holes were spectacular.

INSET: A speck of volcanic rock in the South Atlantic.

BELOW: A small black jack caught from the shore.

I

and 1,400 miles from Brazil, so it’s roughly about halfway across the South Atlantic.

Its 34 square miles of land supports a very modest 800 people, and the only way to gain access to this speck of volcanic rock in one huge ocean is to fly from the British air base at Brize Norton on a military flight. Logistically, this island is not the easiest place to get to for a civilian – and why would a civilian want to get there?

It’s fish, my piscatorial friends, FISH – and lots of them! Our army and the American army are based on this rather convenient island staging-post to the South Atlantic, and they obviously like to keep the place private. So private, in fact, that they have a monitored 200mile excursion zone around the island, which prohibits any commercial fishing

t probably seems strange to read this piece in a carp magazine, because the story I am about to tell has no talk of carp whatsoever. What I’m writing about is far removed from our beloved green land and its mixture of wonderful freshwater lakes, meres, pits, canals, rivers and ponds. The total opposite is certainly more appropriate.

Indeed, which sort of land harbours place names such as The Devil’s Ash Pit, Mars Bay, Comfortless Cove, Dead Man’s Cove, and The Devil’s Cauldron? Certainly not a place where carp swim. So, which land am I talking about?

The land is the island of Ascension, a British colonial island made up of native St Helenians and both our armed forces and the American’s. Its location is in the equatorial waters of the South Atlantic, approximately 1,000 miles from Africa vessels, or any other vessels for that matter, from entering. Therefore, the only fishing that takes place is by local rod and line fishermen, who feed the inhabitants of the island.

This creates a situation almost unparalleled on this grossly overpopulated planet, where the sea still resembles what it should be like before we overfished it.

From the shore out, the clear waters of Ascension are literally black with fish (the local trigger fish are jet-black), and there are thousands upon thousands of bait fish, so I think you can guess what comes for dinner.

I am a carp angler at heart, but as anyone who knows me will testify, I am happy to target every sort of fish which swims.

I just simply love fishing – carp, coarse, game and sea – the lot. Sea fish especially excite me for their sheer aggressiveness and power. If you live in the sea, you are

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Chris Elden managed to tempt After finally getting permission, Lee Birch banked a new 50 We test the brand-new Darren ‘S’-Lite Belton lands two Hot monster Our man once again crosses on the heels of banking Why a good HNV fishmeal can Iain Macmillan headed after of returning toWhy Bluebell Ian Hirst discovers some the challange of flowing water rod from Free Spirit , and carptake weighing a 56lb 14oz andfrom the Churchthe Channel and headsthe offawesome-looking five 40s Lake, make very tricky carp look easy while off to Austria Spain’s hidden waters.Lakes’ King fisher and nomadic carp is hard to beat. look at the latest Mitchell on another adventure Long Common 58lbreel 12 oz just hours apart Dave Levy lands a new 50 attractor baits are left untouched

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