Carpaholixx Magazine Issue 6 by Carpaholixx Magazine

ISSUE 6 CONTENTS

Editorial Products

Videos Features

Learning Zone Notes from the Bivvy

02. Editorial 03. It’s Not Rocket Science (Unless You Want It To Be!) - Some Painless Bait Theory - By Keith Sykes

Keith Sykes looks at why it is so important to keep learning about fish behaviour when it comes to choosing the best carp baits. It’s not all down to what we see in the tackle shops.

09. Work Like Clockwork - Joe Stephens

Want to catch large, elusive, carp? Joe tells you how he does it.

13. a quick bite - Lee Jackson’s Garlic munga master class. 14 Location, Location, Location. Finding Em! By Mark Mann

Location, location, location Mark Mann looks locating carp and the need to choose your fishing spots carefully. It’s down to preparation, thinking hard and good observation. Don’t just pitch up at the venue and thrash the water expecting to be lucky he advises.

18. Pimp My Bait - Joe Turnbull Shows You How To Make Cork Ball Pop-Up’s With A Twist

Carpworld’s Joe Turnbull continues his down to earth guide to bait design. Here he looks at creating cork ball pop ups with a twist – something that we can do easily for ourselves and what can be better than catching a monster carp on a bait you’ve made yourself.

23. Carp Biology - Lifting The Lid. Part 5 - Fish Farming By Leon Fisher

CARP BIOLOGY – LIFTING THE LID PART 5 Carp farming explained by Leon Fisher, Sparsholt College warm water aquaculture lecturer, continues his theme of breeding healthy carp. In this article, he looks at the fine detail of carp husbandry – the art of helping the embryo grow into a bouncing baby!

25. Zig Rig Tip and Tactics. Jamie smith delves into the interesting world of zigging... 27. Points Of View - Carp Bait; Science Fact Or

Fiction By Glynn Gomersall. It must the most debaited, argued and talked about subject in todays Carp fishing scene. Glynn sticks in his 5 penneth worth...

31. NEWS; Lucy’s Bowl Press Release 33. journey man part 4

Dave Magalhaes concludes his carp fishing journey to date.

We’ve got a bit of a bait thing going on this month, so here goes...Bait is among the most debated topics in carp fishing. There are many reasons for this, and I make no apologies for stating the obvious. We are about mid-way through the boilie season and no doubt, you’ll have your favourites, whether you make them or buy them. The boilie is one of the greatest innovations in carp angling. Such baits regularly turn in huge fish and are the de facto standard for serious carping. They prove themselves repeatedly, and it is difficult to think bait without thinking it’s got to be boilies. Controversy does arise over what goes into them, but who really gives a damn, so long as they work? Whether it is processed food or natural, if the ingredients work, they work and that is the long and the short of it. Try this the next time you are mulling over whether you should be using processed or natural ingredients or a mix of both. Pick up your boilies and look at them – and look at them hard and long. Do they look natural to you? If they do, get down to your local Specsavers, cos’ your eyes need checking.

CARPAHOLIXX Magazine Editorial Office: 3D Angling Ltd, Unit 1E Littlehampton M arina, Littlehampt on, West Sussex BN17 5DS E: sean@3d-angl ing.com W: www.carpaho lixx.com Editor and publis her: Sean Tidy Designer: Sean T idy Illustrator: Mark Smith Carpaholixx.com – sean@3d-angli welcomes articles with photograp before submittinng.com – with a short synopsis hs. Please email the editor font, double line g it to us. Text to be supplied of your article or article idea preferred. Note: spacing. Photographs must be hias an electronic file – 10 pt writing that the it is a condition of acceptance th gh-resolution files – jpg files article or articles at are exclusive to Caauthors are able to state in rpaholixx. © 2013 Carpaholi xx.com ISSN: No part of this pu consent and writt blication may be reproduced in en permission of any form withou t the prior the publisher. Carpaholixx acce pt s no lia bility for any ac this publication. tion article. Subscribe Carpaholixx does not endorsearising from the contents of rs opinions express are ad vis ed to check man for products and ed in any ufactu services advertise d / promoted in rers and suppliers claims this publication.

No, you must keep in perspective that arguments over what are high nutritional value or low nutritional value ingredients don’t occur in the carp’s own world. They haven’t the ability to think “I must eat this or that today.” If something proves particularly attractive to them, then it is more likely to be due to a physiological need or a triggered response to what they have eaten before. Yes, that’s the truth for all you carp whisperers out there. If they ate it before and liked it, they may well eat it again – bugger the calories or essential minerals. I think that anglers are the ones that are hooked by bait and more so than the fish. Someone somewhere will develop a secret recipe that proves to be a killer and we all want it. But, in practice bait effectiveness is extremely variable. Why does a strawberry boilie work well on one water, a black squid boilie seem to be the most effective bait on another, while the fruit flavours draw a blank? Also, the amount of feed we chuck into the water conditions the fish to expect to find certain bits of food bobbing about in it. Throw in enough of this and that and it becomes the natural food for that particular environment, even if it all originated in

a factory somewhere. That, my dear friends, is why some baits appear to be good pullers. It’s also worth mentioning that certain climatic conditions will have different effects on feeding habits, but that’s another story. Finally, I really recommend that you check out Joe Turnbull’s articles in this and the previous issue. He brings a refreshing insight into bait making.

Editor: Sean Tidy

Miller’s thumbs were the easiest, as long as he gently lifted the stone under which they would hide. Loaches on the other hand were a chance catch by hand. Using a net, the catch rate increased two fold; mini barbel of the stream he called them. Minnow on the other hand - even with a net - seemed so proficient at outsmarting him, they were like tuna, fast and spirited, there one second, gone the next.

IT’S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE - KEITH SYKES

It was the summer, and school holidays had just begun, but this made no matter for the young lad as he stood in the cool waters of his local stream. Days would drift into weeks as he drifted into a world of his own, a world that would never leave him even fifty odd or more years down the road. Even though he was just a youngster he had already learnt the names of the fish he would stealthily try to either catch by hand or net, depending upon the species he encountered.

He also began to see a pattern emerge. He recognised the miller’s thumbs (or snotty gogs), would rarely stray from the same area or even the same submerged stone, and while minnow shoals could move many yards from where they were first encountered. He also learnt all his stream captures needed their own special habitat in which to survive. They soon perished in a jam jar, and not too much longer in a gold fish bowl, perish the thought, and now all he did was submerge his days into catching, watching and noting movements of the fish.

common denominators that appear within the bait we use. Unfortunately there are some items we use that are so repetitive that we have to accept that for the time being we have to add them until other alternatives become available, if they ever do! However one thing It was all a strange life to his younger brother and that is very noticeable on pressured waters today is father who had no interest in this watery world, and that the carp are becoming more difficult to capture as yet they were quietly jealous that he could sneak off, each year goes by. OK they have to feed, but they are away from the trappings of society, and it didn’t cost adaptive at the way they feed and also what they choose to feed on. In these pressured, low stock waters, the a penny! carp can pick and choose and THEY DON’T HAVE As the years passed by, the learning progress grew TO EAT OUR BAITS! and grew. He studied the quarry even more intensely, both on the bank and in a laboratory, and even to this They may be eating the bait when the angler isn’t there very day, the boy in him still exists, for only this way or when the bait becomes acceptable to eat. The latter is the mind kept open and fresh to what goes on. Carp is often an aspect of angling I think we all overlook unlike humans need to adapt to the situation they find at times, and I know I have touched upon this in the themselves in, and which they regularly encounter, a past. I realise I am putting my neck on the block, but I change that we as anglers may not even be aware of am sure there are baits which are perfectly acceptable to the fish as a generalisation and they will be more due to our often-blinkered attitude and approach. comfortable eating it after it has been in the water for a period of time. When the artificial becomes natural Repetitive bait ingredients hamper capture So what is changing under our very noses? I suspect I don’t think this is necessarily down to attractor talking to anglers who are very adaptive and in tune evels or synthetic levels being too high or with their angling that it is very small things, but unacceptable as we would consider the phenomenon, which make a very big difference to our angling but rather that the bait becomes more of a natural experience. You don’t need to understand rocket science to appreciate that carp now recognise the

food source, if that makes sense. I have witnessed first hand where you are having fish responding to bait that has been overloaded with attractors, and which will only eat the food after a period of time, which we assume to be when the attractor level has become acceptable. Is this why leached out baits can be successful, are we fooling the carp into thinking the baits have been in the lake for longer than they have in reality? I certainly feel they may offer a little edge or a big edge for that matter, when fishing short sessions, providing of course you soak the bait in the lake water on which you are fishing, which goes without saying, but how long should they be oaked for? Of course, the water we remove from the lake will alter as well! There also might be a case of this ‘naturalising effect’ after the bait has been in the water for a period of time, as an association with danger, over and above attractor leak off. How often have we witnessed shows on the bait once the rigs have been reeled in, this cannot be pure coincidence? That begs the question are there occasions when the fish only eat the bait after the lines have been reeled in, a speculative remark I know, but a serious one nevertheless? We all tend to use two or three rods in our angling repertoire; possibly there are occasions when we reduce our chances dramatically, and would fair much better with just one rod. What is becoming noticeable is that carp baits of long standing are proving not to be as effective as they once were, and you can only assume that the common denominator aspect is becoming more acute on these hard waters.

strong, and they have their own unique smell and taste and there is no question that these colouring agents can significantly alter the nature of the attractor. I am quietly concluding that some of the attractor/colour combinations actually become unattractive to the carp. This argument is based on results from friends, using the same base premix and attractor combination but with different colouring agents. Furthermore, when we moved from synthetic colours to natural colours, we also noticed that catch rates increased over the synthetic. This cannot be coincidental, even to the point of the black pigment we use. Black is black (a difficult colour to produce actually), but I wouldn’t use a synthetic black colour now, favouring the natural black pigment. Lou and one rod, the best option on the day as it happened. If you are using a synthetic colouring agent, either drop it, or change to an alternative natural colorant, you will I am sure be pleasantly surprised. I remember Richworth mentioning dyes years ago. This company bases its dyes on sweet-based carriers, this might be another factor to consider, and certainly, it can’t do any harm. I also know that plenty of people advocate using totally different colour hook bait over their main baited area, i.e. white bait over a mass of brown bait. Is this a visual aspect, or is there something else going on? Is it curiosity, or a non identical association with the food mass, it could well be that the different coloured bait is in effect more attractive?!

Specialty baits Colour attraction There are quite a few well-known anglers who I supply During the past twelve months or so another issue has with special ingredients to that originate from the old become very apparent, that certain colours seem to school bait days. >>>> They use them very effectively blow very quickly, and before you jump on the wagon in conjunction with their feed baits but they don’t use and say well danger and colour association could be them on the hook. more influential than flavour levels, remember that most carp will still eat sweetcorn, which is bright Alas, some of these special products are no longer yellow! commercially viable to market, which probably creates a bit of a strong edge, but the irony is that these bits are I suspect the majority of anglers buy ready made baits used in the hook baits, and not the feed bait. You will and so will be only aware of what the finished baits notice this can be an extremely devastating method if looks like, its smell and taste (if indeed they taste it hasn’t been used where you are angling, but don’t be it), what they are unlikely to be aware of is what the tempted to fish the feed bait on the hook, as it will ruin various individual components of the mix will smell the overall effect of what you are attempting to achieve. and taste like. One guy this season has rinsed every water he has Some of the dyes and or pigments used today are very fished using this method, which is very encouraging as he has been using attractor package hook baits. This technique really can throw the spanner in the works

IT’S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE - KEITH SYKES

FOX POOL. IT’S STEAMING OUT THERE BUT DO THEY LIKE THE FOOD ON OFFER? 06

BETAIN. A NATURAL ATTRACTER AND PART OF THE CARP’S DIET.

for crafty carp, and isn’t just limited to fishing with boilies. We use it effectively with particles, such as tigers, and it is brilliant for the hooker when floater fishing, and when I say they will make a bee line to the hooker this is no joke or coincidence, the hook bait is different, not in colour, but in its added attraction! Selecting the best attractors. Making the attractor package doesn’t mean just elevated attractor levels. It means using the right attractors, and this might not necessarily mean common synthetic flavours either (I never use a single synthetic attractor, instead I blend them, and round them off with taste modifiers and essential oils), which by the very virtue of their common use mean that their common denominator trait is the carrier they are based on. Carp will detect this base quite readily, and even changing the base will mean increases in bite activity, but this isn’t quite as easy as it sounds, unless you are aware of the flavour make up or base constituents. >>>> There are of course numerous alternatives, and the natural ones are among the very best, however simple they may appear to be. Alas, we are even seeing some of these now being hammered. When I started writing about L030 years ago it wasn’t readily available, and most people found it messy to use. One lake we used to fish now seems to be a water where the carp are finicky about L030 baits.

IT’S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE - KEITH SYKES

The other business end still a good place to look.

talin, marmite, Nashbait’s sweetcorn extract and Solar’s liquid belachan. The other business end - still a good place to look. What happens in the water? Finally, and touching on where I started off, have you ever considered what is going on with your bait after it has been lovingly fired into your local pond? I don’t necessarily mean is the attraction right, is the colour right, but rather what it is doing, and also most importantly at what point does it become really attractive to the fish. If you think this happens straight away, then I think we are quite often miles away from the naturalisation effect. I love the fact that we should ‘work the water column’, in other words get the message ‘food is here’ up to the level to where they might be sitting or swimming, well they don’t just spend their time swimming along the bottom looking for food do they?! >>>> You can make these carriers for oils and water-soluble attractors, alternatively if you want some proven and well-tried products have a look at some of the Nash products, which I would simply dunk my hooker in, as that is the one I want them to eat at the earliest possible moment!

On a closing note, someone said recently old school carp angling has died and the only way forward is the strong commercialism. This commercialism leads anglers to being just that, commercial and not being aware of what they are missing, or what is going on So, as I said awareness and keeping outside of the big under their very noses; I’m glad I still keep looking box (the common denominator field) can improve under the stones in my local stream, I just never know bite activity. A simple little extra is top dressing as I what I might find! call it, there are loads of additives you can use, but here are a few of my favourites: betaine, CCMoore’s KEITH SYKES

LIKE CLOCKWORK - JOE STEPHENS

Targeting big fish requires lots of time and dedication, of that there is no doubt, but without the correct preparation things can, and sometimes do, go horribly wrong. Joe likes to stack all of the odds in his favour and by this we mean getting everything sorted and ready for action. Here’s how...

1. RE-SPOOL... One of the first things that I do before

the onslaught of any campaign is to re-spool my reels. This year I am using 12lb Kontour, it’s reliable, clear and sinks very well, three important attributes that I look for in a main line.

2. RE-STOCK... I also replenish my stash of spares,

which are kept safely in back of my van. I have a bucket which contains sugar, tea bags, long-life food, marker floats, spods, pop ups and a few riggy bits like hooks and hooklink material. I also make sure that I have plenty of extra water and a spare pair of clothes. These items are essential and when you spend a few days on the bank each week it’s easy to run out of gear. Basically, I want to make sure I am maximising my time on the bank by staying organised, not taking it for granted and missing opportunities. You never know when your chance might arrive and if you miss it because you’re down the shop buying extra food then there’s no one to blame but yourself, I’d rather just avoid that scenario all together.

CHEST-WADERS... Always keep a pair of chest waders handy. Wearing chest waders allows you to place your hookbaits, bait up and land fish in shallow areas of a lake (note: not all fisheries allow wading, so please check first - you don’t want to get banned do you!?)

3. 6.

DO YOUR HOMEWORK... I like to target large, elusive, rarely caught carp. This sets me a good challenge, but is very demanding and needs 100% effort in order to succeed. I carefully pick my waters and once I have chosen one I will begin my research into the fish I am going to target. There are all sorts of things to look at, such as past captures, favourite swims, certain weather conditions or even moon phases, which can all play their part in how some fish behave. By investigating like an MI6 agent I am able to collate lots of information and look for any patterns that there might be.

9. 10

5. QUALITY BAIT... Experience has taught me that

big carp love boilies, this might sound obvious but more often than not the big’un will get caught from an area that has seen a decent amount of bait introduced on a regular basis. For this reason alone my first line of attack is to use boilies. I use a quality bait and apply it steadily all year (unless of course I feel that boilies aren’t the way to go). Applying a bait regularly will boost the carps confidence and hopefully lead to more bites. In the past I have seen carp become so preoccupied on a particular bait that using an alternative food source would have been pointless.

or not) and for this reason timing and location are key to successful pre-baiting.

RIGS... Rig wise, I keep my approach very similar from venue to venue and the old saying ‘if it isn’t broken, then don’t try and fix it’ springs to mind. I use the ever faithful hinged stiff-link for pretty much everything I do, simply because it rarely lets me down. If on occasion I decide that I should be using a bottom bait then I will use a size 6 Kurv, six to eight inches of N-Trap and a standard knotless knot presentation, incorporating a balanced bottom bait. Both of these LEAD AROUND... I will always try my best to will be fished on a helicopter system incorporating fish effectively so initially I will spend a lot of time leadcore, providing the venue rules allow it’s use. leading around (this is time well spent). Once I have pinpointed the areas which I feel will give me the best If I am not allowed to use a leader of any description chance I will get the marker rod out and carefully map then I will retain the helicopter system but I will set it up directly on the mainline instead. One thing the lakebed. I will point out is that I always check my rigs in the edge before they are cast out, they must be perfectly THE BANK-STICK TRICK... If I find anything balanced. My rigs are reliable and proven, which takes that I have a good feeling about then I will use the a lot of weight off your shoulders, you don’t want to be bankstick trick in order to record the exact location. worrying about how well your rigs work. I know my It might not be anything much, maybe a slight rise in baits will be presented properly, which leaves me to the contour of the lakebed or a firmer spot in amongst concentrate on finding the fish. softer silt, but it’s all worth logging for future reference. Spreading bait over a wide area will keep the fish The bankstick trick is easy to do, simply put a pole in moving and your rigs working so try to avoid the ground and then lay your rod down with the butt bunching your baits. I also introduce various sizes touching the pole. You then put another storm pole in of bait into the area because this gives me hookbait the ground next to the rod tip, this will give you two options throughout the year. Personally I prefer to use poles, set a rod length apart from one another. Once 14 and 18mm baits but this isn’t crucial for success. this is complete, I tuck my lead around the bottom of one of the poles and then wrap the line around them SLACK LINES... Whether I am fishing in the both, going from pole to pole until I hit the clip. As I am wrapping the line I am counting how many times edge or out in the pond I try to use super slack lines I have done so and it is the number of wraps that I whenever possible. You get great line lay with slack will then record in my phone for future reference. This lines and the indication on a slack line is much better enables me to turn up and cast straight out onto my too. Every morning when I get up I will go over to the spots without having to get the marker rod out each rods and pull a few extra yards of line off in order to slacken them. I also gently flick the sediment off of time. the lines by lifting the line up through the water. It is very important that you are careful when doing this BAIT UP... Once I have located these areas I will because you don’t want to dislodge the lead and pull make sure that I keep my bait going onto them as your carefully positioned hooklink into some chod. often as I can. Whether it’s as much as five kilos or just a hundred or so baits, it all counts. As I said earlier WEATHER... The weather is a major factor when big fish will re-visit areas that have seen a lot of bait so planning a session so I keep a constant eye on it via the consistency is important. The only problem with this type of fishing is that other anglers are possibly going BBC Weather and Met Office (Met-Check) websites to drop in on top of your bait (whether they know it which are both very reliable and accurate sources of information. Whilst at the venue I will continue to monitor the weather using my smart-phone and If I see that there is a weather front coming in and it’s

10.

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looking right for one of my baited areas then I will move onto them accordingly. This gives me time to get the hookbaits in the water before the fish arrive.

12.KEEP

WATCHING THE WATER...Once I’m happy that I am angling in the swim that offers the best chance of catching my target fish, I will put the kettle on and watch the water until my eyes are ready to fall out of my head. I keep my gear down to a minimum and put everything away that’s not in use, just in case I need to move quickly. The only things I leave out are my tea kit, tackle box and binoculars. The binoculars I use are the best I have ever come across. They are slightly on the large side but they are self-focusing and wherever you look the image is crisp.

13.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST... Whilst I am on the bank I will try to eat as healthily as I can, I might not have a body from Bay Watch but I try to eat well. Things like pasta are good for you and although fry up’s are mega, after a while they aren’t going to do you any favours.

12.

LIKE CLOCKWORK - JOE STEPHENS

Effort = Reward With long session fishing you still need to put in a lot of effort, things like getting up just before first light and keeping mobile will serve you well. It’s easy to fall into the trap of being lazy because you have time at your disposal but by doing so you are only wasting time. Getting up at 9am and then watching the water is fine but by then you have missed the best time in which to see them. I much prefer to get up early, stay awake until around 10am and then jump back in the bag for a couple of hours kip. This enables me to make the most of the good times and sleep during periods of inactivity. There is nothing better than sitting by the water’s edge whilst having that butterfly feeling in your stomach because deep down you know everything you have prepared for is all about to come together. Words simply can’t describe the feeling you get when your target fish is in the net, due in no small way to the hard work you have put in. JOE STEVENS

VIDEOS a quick bite

Lee Jacksonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Garlic munga master class.

Mark looks at the need to choose your fishing spots carefully. It’s down to preparation, thinking hard and good observation. Don’t just pitch up at the venue and thrash the water to foam expecting to be lucky he advises.

One thing is for sure, had I not put the effort in to find the fish, chances are I would be reeling in feeling disappointed and asking myself where did it all go wrong. You have to ask yourself: are you going fishing to camp or to catch carp? I know what I go for!

It still amazes me how many rock up to a lake full of anticipation, get the manor up, rods out, and brew on without really giving any thought to the location of their quarry. Last month, I turned up to a lake in the early hours in total darkness. I wandered around the lake at least three times before I saw the resurrection of another carper from a bivvie. I went over for a chat and learnt that the lad had been bivvied up for the past 48 hours and had not seen anything of note and neither had the angler who bivvied up before him.

Where to start

is the milkman on his rounds. But, to turning up before dawn is a huge advantage.

With today’s technology you can gain a great advantage before you even step onto the water. Apps such as WeatherPro and just recently Sun Seeker (thanks Mr Sharp), give me a good idea of

what the forthcoming weather is likely to be. Having information available about air pressure, wind direction or where the sun will rise and set will give you a great starting point and help you to guesstimate Undeterred I wandered around the lake a few more where the carp may be. This gives me a good solid times and, just as the sun opened the dawn curtain, I starting point when I turn up in the early hours. spotted a few carp no more than a few feet from the bank. Carefully, I lowered a hookbait into the margin Carping or Camping - What’s it to be? and within 15 minutes I was into my first carp! My luck didn’t end there; Later that day I had a perfect I won’t lie, after a hard weeks graft at work it’s really 32lb common carp sitting in the bottom of my net - difficult to drag yourself out of bed before the birds perfect! have woken and the only person you’re likely to meet

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION - MARK MANN

YOU CAN TAKE A LOT OF THE GUESS WORK OUT OF YOUR FISHING WITH A BIT OF FINGER-TIP TECHNOLOGY.

Taking full advantage of your hearing at this time of morning can pay dividends, where your sight is impaired, your hearing will take over. As crazy as it sounds, if you listen out with your mouth open you will be surprised how much your hearing is amplified (are you sure about that Mr mann! - ed).

all round coverage. This is better than carrying several different shades to suit the mood of the weather on that particular day. Being able to study your quarry without their knowledge is also a great edge and more often than not this will allow you to pick out your target fish and observe how they feed. I have found that the bigger Carp often give themselves away in the early hours kippers do like a routine and through observation and over a period of time it’s possible to determine you will slowly learn their habits that can aid you in whether the carp are on the move or are laying up in engineering their downfall. one area. This is where your prior knowledge of the weather and the lake come into play, slowly piecing Observation the jigsaw puzzle together until there can only be one place the carp will be. Of course there are times I’ve lost count of the times I’ve watched people walk when the carp won’t play ball and they refuse to show past feeding carp in their rush to get to the “going themselves. In this scenario I try to use all my previous swim” without even realising the fish are right in front knowledge and start narrowing down where the carp of them. By all means if the lake you fish permits, go will NOT be until there only a few areas of the lake left dump your bucket or gear in the swim, but from there where they could be hiding. on slow things down a little - take your time to wander around a bit. You would be surprised how often the There are no two ways about it, being able to get up carp can be right under your feet while you gaze out to a high view point is a huge advantage. It will allow waiting for a carp to jump. The signs can be ever so you to look deep down into the depths and also give subtle, a few leafs upturned from the bottom to little you a good view of the majority of the lake where pin pricks and it’s only when you let time stand still you can keep an eye out for any shows. A pair of Polaroid’s is a must in these cases. I’ve had loads over the years but have found that amber lenses give good

for a few moments that you start to see what’s really happening around you. When I see pin pricks I can work out their next move.

bottom, midwater or on the top? As a general rule, if the pressure is low then I’ll be thinking about bottom baits. If the pressure high, then zigs or floaters will be on my mind.

By following the direction of the bubbles, I can drop a rig a few yards from where I guess the carp will Under high pressure conditions, fly hatches can really continue feeding. This avoids spooking them and turn the carp on and a zig placed amongst them will when they get there, the trap is already set.. often rattle off. The new Zig Bugs from Nash have literally smashed waters apart and it’s probably one Sometimes it’s just a matter of looking into an area that of the most talked about but underused methods in looks like pea soup where the surrounding area looks angling today! untouched and clean to recognise a sure sign of, what were or still are, feeding carp and in this situation a When it comes to fishing on the lake bed, where I take can come hard and fast. don’t really know what I’m fishing over, a chod rig is my first choice. The one guarantee about a chod rig Another point worth mentioning is selecting the is that if you fish it properly you can present it over rig set up. If I have seen carp blatantly bosh out, I almost anything, sound in the knowledge that the rig consider a few factors. 1) are they on the move? 2) are is actually fishing. Obviously if you have done your they feeding? 3) if they are feeding, are they on the homework and know the topography of the lake then you can adjust your rigs to suit what you are fishing over; and, in doing so giving yourselves the greatest possible advantage.

UNTILL NEXT TIME - MARK MANN

Carpworld’s Joe Turnbull continues his down to earth guide to bait design. Here he looks at creating cork ball pop ups – something that we can do easily for ourselves and what can be better than catching a monster on a bait you’ve made yourself. Double the smugness in your photo!! This month we’re going to be looking at creating your own cork ball pop ups, so first let’s look at a few of the things that you’ll need to get going. If last month’s article prompted you to go and purchase a few bits and pieces, namely a rolling table and gun and so on, then great. If not, then it’s still not too much of a problem as you can quite easily do these by hand because you won’t be having to supply kilo after kilo. Any kind of base mix is possible to form round a cork ball and to keep things simple for the time being we’re going to concentrate on creating the paste to enable you to have perfectly finished round baits. When it comes to pastes, I’ve always found it best to keep things simple. However, there are a couple of things to remember. The first is that the more bits (seeds and larger particles) you have in the base mixes; the more difficult it can be to end up with a smooth even finish. The idea being is that this will help the paste stick evenly around the cork and once dried will tighten up around the surface making it almost impossible for it to break away, even after some time submersed under water. The other thing to think about is creating baits that are harder than usual and all that’s needed is to include certain ingredients that enable this to happen, as the harder and denser the finished baits, the longer they last under water. One ingredient that can be added to the mix, at a rate of around 10 gm to every 200 gm, is egg albumen. This can be purchased from many major bait outlets including CC Moore. The other is whey protein powder this on its own can create excellent pastes but perhaps we’ll leave that for another time. Either way both of these can be added in small quantities to create super hard and tough casings. However, we’ll do it without adding anything and simply use your chosen base mix.

To flavour, or not to flavour OK, so we’ve had a look at some of the mix basics, let’s have a look at some ideas behind flavours. Bait has always been a hot topic for anglers, especially within carp fishing as some make the subject just as important as their angling, whereas others don’t appear to see it as important at all. I don’t think flavours are always necessary and they are often added to shop bought boilies to trick anglers rather than carp. After all, it’s quite normal to open a boilie and give it a good sniff. We all do it, including me, but on the contrary, there’s plenty of evidence to show that a flavoured boilie will sometimes out fish unflavoured boilies depending on the base mix. For example, fishmeal and many other raw base mix ingredients are highly attractive food sources that can be fished with incredible effectiveness without any additives. fruity type flavours appear to work well. It’s a mistake to think a fish base mix needs a fish flavour, for example squid or crab and again the opposite for bird food or milk protein mixes, i.e. pineapple or plum. This is simply not the case, as many flavours will have good effect when used upon either base. Sweetening the mix Most concoctions can be good but there are certain things that really go well together. The choice of sweeteners too can have a detrimental effect on single hook baits and I’ve had good success by simply soaking hook baits in these. Thaumatin-B has been mentioned many times and if used as a sweetener within or outside a bait it can add a lovely sweet edge to baits, especially milk protein mixes. Being an uber sweet and ultra-potent liquid you should always use it with caution, as overdoing it is really easy. The liquid is about 2000 times sweeter than sugar, so it’s no wonder that it can be easily overdone. This liquid sweetener is a 100 per cent natural product that comes from the African katemfe fruit. That’s just one simple ingredient and there are many more. Over the next few months we can look at some that combined with one another will set you off enabling you to create your own top hookers. In The Mix For these cork balls, I’m going to be using some of the New Grange base mix from Mainline, but, instead of grabbing all the bits that you may think have to go with it, I’m going to use a few other products.

PIMP MY BAIT - -JOE TURNBUL

We’re

! ! l w o B r e g g i going to need a b

d the test The Nash liquids are affordable and have stoo e monster of time. In addition, they have caught som e classics so fish along the way and have become all tim e hookers I like to include a few here and there. For thes t flavour I’m going to be using Nash Chocolate Mal . Added to and White chocolate suspense oil palatant amount of that little lot I’m going to include a small itive that Nutrabaits’ N-Butyric acid; this is one add rever I can. has such an effect on carp I include it whe rent kind of The N-butyric gives the chocolate a diffe ess of the angle, which almost deepens the creamin smells like chocolate flavour, although on its own me over the stinky feet! It’s been proven to work for favourites years and was I believe one of Terry Hearn’s utyric. at one point although I’m not sure about N-b We’re going to need a bigger bowl! l, the bigger Ok so start by taking a large mixing bow for mixing, the better, as you’ll have plenty of room e that you without throwing it all over the place. Not money! only need one egg, which saves on mess and the bottles Always stick to the measurement limits on It can be of ingredients as they are there for a reason. ly, less is tempting to put a little bit more in but real use a plain more. If you don’t have a pipette, you can poonful is teaspoon for measuring out liquids (a teas roughly 5ml). add 3ml of First crack your egg into the bowl; to this ense oil. Chocolate flavour followed by 4ml of the susp ic Acid and After which I’m using 3 drops of N-butyr rdo it. You adding it carefully making sure I don’t ove follow this should now have all the liquids together so take the by giving the whole lot a good mix up. Now e aren’t too base mix of your choice making sure ther that easily many lumps or bits in it. You can correct re all the by pushing it through a sieve, this will ensu them in e seeds etc. are removed, however I like to leav ker to that but more so if I’m trying to match the hoo to tell the of the bottom bait I’m feeding. Are fish able in it and difference between a hook bait with a seed feel better. one that hasn’t? I doubt it but it makes me t by adding Once you have all the liquids together star mix to the the dry mix a bit at a time. Next add the ing more egg little by little, mixing with a fork, add ome almost and more until you find the mix has bec ther with crumbly like. This is now ready to bring toge ed. your hands until a round ball of paste is form

PIMP MY BAIT - -JOE TURNBUL

Keep mixing until you have a good cr umbly texture. You’ll end up with a nice ball of no n-sticky paste like this. The next step is the most find difficult, but with a little practice, it gets ea sier and easier. Afte r filling up the gun with your past e, squeeze out the sa usage at the size that you require. If you want to make 18mm corkers then use the approp riate size of nozzle in relation to the size of the cork ball. Generally I us e a cork ball that is going to have a 3mm skin around it, so if you want an 18mm finished bait you need to us e a 15mm cork ball. When choosing your cork balls, sim ply add 3mm to the cork ball to give you the size yo u want. So squeeze out your sausage over the ta ble, as normal but don’t bother ro lling the baits out, just cut them into separate piec es and place them in a plastic bag to one side. Next, ta ke your cork ball an d one piece of paste from the bag and form it around the cork until it’s all covered. Con tinue to do that to as many of the corks that you need , making sure that you place them back into the bag. This keeps them m oist, making it easy for you to roll them out. Once you have al l the baits covered, place them on the rolling table an d roll them out as you would with usual bottom baits . You should now have perfectly spherical hook ba its, that after boili ng for no longer than 45 seconds pe r 10 baits, will be spot on. Leave them to dry on a w indow ledge with th e window ajar. The longer you leav e the baits before us ing them, the harder they will be . That’s it for this m onth, check out ne xt month where we’ll continue to lo ok at pimping your baits by creating wafters and critica lly balanced corker s. JOE TURNBUL

carp biology lifting the lid part 5 - CARP FARMING leon fisher

I am sitting at my desk writing this article as a lovely carp day unfolds outside. Olympic fever has us in its grip and Britain is basking in the success of our greatest ever performance on the track in one day. As luck would have it we have finally been blessed with some half-decent weather for the biggest of occasions; however, unless you have been living on the moon or in sunnier climbs, you cannot have failed to notice the awful weather we have been experiencing for much of the so-called summer.

CARP BIOLOGY - LIFTING THE LID - LEON FISHER

Leon Fisher, Sparsholt College warm water aquaculture lecturer, continues his theme of breeding healthy carp. In this article, he looks at the fine detail of carp husbandry – the art of helping the embryo grow into a bouncing baby!

This brings us onto the subject of this month’s article - growing our tiny eggs into whopping great kippers (well some of them, that is). The weather, of course, plays a huge part in how successful each year’s crop of carp is. Our now fertilized eggs are growing fast and beginning to form into tiny carp. As time moves on the eggs will swell and then the cell division within the egg will begin to occur. After a period of 24 hours and using a microscope, you can see the first signs of a carp forming inside the egg. This is the “gastrula stage”.

Figure 1 - Gastrula stage, 24hrs after fertilization.

very fine powder and feed this to the fry. However, you should be careful, as hard-boiled eggs are extremely high in protein. Too much of this will cause massive problems with water quality, which is the last In another 24 hours, the eggs will have “eyed” up thing you want when the fish are at this delicate stage. and the newly formed fish is clearly visible inside the Therefore, we need to find an alternate food source. egg. Our fish are now only a short time away from Artemia or the brine shrimp, often sold in pet shops hatching out. When 72 hours has elapsed, you should in cans and called sea monkeys, are a good choice. have many freshly hatched carp When farming fish, Artemia are found in salt lakes across the globe and a however, you are looking to turn everything to your huge part of the world’s supply comes from the Great favour to maximise the survival of your crop of baby Salt Lake in Utah. Artemia play an important role in carp, as each little fish will one day grow to become modern aquaculture, particularly when feeding young a bigger and far more valuable creature. It is possible emergent fish with tiny mouths too small to manage with lots of good practice and a little experience to pellets. In addition, the natural response of newly achieve survival rates as high as 99 per cent if not a hatched fish is to strike at and feed on mobile objects in the water. This is what fish farmers are seeking to tiny bit higher! achieve by using artemia. Once our carp have hatched, they will develop quickly. Three days post hatch (at temperatures between 20 Furthermore, it is vital at this stage to ensure the and 24oC) they will swim up take a gulp of air from fish is receiving the correct nutrition. If they are not the surface, which inflates their swim bladders and then you can end up with skeletal deformities and other such issues that make your newly hatched fry now they can swim around freely. worthless. Artemia are an ideal food source; they are the right size, they are motile, and they can be Artemia, the wonder food Once the fish are able to swim around they are capable enriched by feeding them certain fatty acids, so that of eating as their digestive system has developed when our baby carp eat them they receive the correct enough to allow this to happen. Many farmers begin levels of nutrition. this process by grinding up a hardboiled egg into a

Once all the fish are feeding, they can be transferred to tanks for on-growing. Often large glass aquarium tanks are used, but they can be grown in large bins, which can make transferring them to the pond easier. Feeding the fish at this stage is an intensive process, they are very demanding and many farmers feed at 4 to 6 hour intervals throughout the day to ensure maximum growth. This gives them a good head start over the next two weeks, after which they are ready for transferring to the on-growing ponds, and you are likely to get more fish when you come to harvest them.

Pond preparation

Thorough preparation of the ponds is absolutely vital for the survival of your precious little fish. Before putting those fish out several processes need to be completed. First, it is important that all ponds be drained completely of water; this is something that must be considered when designing a farm as this ensures that all life that was in that pond is killed off. The ponds are left to dry for as long as possible, dry frosty conditions are best for killing unwanted bugs. Lime is then added to finish this process. This is a bit of a pig of a job, as the lime has to be applied by hand, and being extremely caustic, protective equipment must be worn or very nasty burns may result. Once the liming is complete, it is then left to work. The next piece of the operation is timed carefully. Usually around late springtime, manure is used to fertilise the ponds; this is added to the dry pond at around 200kg per hectare. After applying the fertiliser, the pond is flooded. After three to four weeks, there should be a good algae culture and rotifers present for the fry to feed on. However, if the fry are introduced to the pond too early they will not survive, as there will not be enough food for them. Also, if you are too late the food sources may have grown too big to eat, and could even predate upon the fry. This is why timing is crucial. Next month I will continue to look at the production process, but as for now, I am off to get married!

Figure 2 - Eyed carp eggs.

Figure 3 - Artemia or brine shrimp

Figure 4: Eye damage caused by lime.

VIDEOS CARP FISHING VIDEO - ZIG RIG TIP AND TACTICS

Carp Fishing Video - Zig Rig Tip and Tactics. Jamie smith delves into the interesting world of zigging...

Being involved in the bait business I get to hear all manner of theories and secrets and there are a lot of carp anglers who think that a wonder bait will solve all of their problems. Perhaps I’m being old fashioned but I fail to see how an anglers bait choice could be based on tank tests like you see in some magazines. As anyone who keeps fish will tell you; fish kept in a tank will show a positive feeding response to a wide variety of food.

CARP BAIT - GLYNN COMERSALL

Bait. It must be the most debated, argued and talked about subject in today’s carp fishing scene. Which really, when you think about it, is a little surprising because despite what some people believe, and would have you believe, it is not the most important aspect of carp fishing, far from it. It doesn’t matter how good a bait is, there is a lot more to get right first, even on waters that have a lot of carp in them. Sound obvious?

The fish in my tank get all excited just by me walking past the tank, and will feed, with gusto, on anything edible that I put in and they’re not even carp! The only bait I would be interested in would be the one they the capture of Frimley’s ‘Daisey’ at a then pit record of completely ignored, because that’s the one I won’t be 27lb 2oz (In case you’re wondering that was in 1991, using. But then again, would the magazines actually and she was the biggest carp in the lake!). print those results? These days it’s very hard to come up with something The nutritional value of bait is another well discussed that is really different. The same basic ingredients are used by all bait companies after all. But I like to think topic (especially the bait I make still has an edge. Being a relatively when putting a bait together for a new customer). small business I can spare the time to hand roll, boil Having rolled bait commercially for fifteen years or so, and dry the baits carefully and generally take a lot of and making my own bait for a few years before that, I care over what I’m doing. have seen quite a few changes in bait preference. There was a time when it seemed almost everybody would ‘get-on’ the latest Richworth bait like ‘tutti’s’, salmon supreme, choc malt or condensed milk. I don’t think anyone was really thinking about the nutritional value of the bait, but they still caught plenty of fish.

I also get asked to do a lot of Old-School stuff like liquidizing fish or liver to add to the mix. I really do use the same baits that I sell and with no added extras either! I do not have an inner circle of friends or so called field testers using baits that are, at best, similar to what’s available to the carper on the street. Not being slow on the uptake I certainly had a go with Now I have always been a fan of bait having a ‘viable most of them. But I have always preferred the do-it- nutritional content’. It has always seemed a sensible yourself approach, and it is a hell of a buzz catching and common sense kind of thing to do. But how much a good fish on something homemade. The notion of the nutritional aspect of the bait plays in getting the that I could make and use a bait that was different to fish to pick up, and then eat the bait is something that’s anything else, and I’d be the only one using it seemed highly debatable. like a real edge to me. And it still does. That edge was confirmed to me at that time which culminated with Basically, the original concept was to introduce a food source to the carp that would supply it with all it’s

nutritional requirements. And, after feeding on this food/bait, the carp would come to recognise this and actively prefer this food source, realising it provided the maximum gain for far less effort as compared to feeding on the more naturally occurring food. Okay, I can perhaps see that working, if I’m the only one using boilies, and I’m the only one on the lake, and also taking a huge leap of faith re the carps intelligence!

perhaps? Brewers yeast or liver powder? Only time will tell!

I’m not trying to be vague or misleading, but I am merely outlining the thinking behind the bait which is still very much a work in progress. Perhaps the bait could have value as an aid to the digestion of all the other food/bait. Maybe the carp would recognise this and actively include it as part of daily diet. Wouldn’t Trouble is, on today’s busy carp waters, how on earth that be a crazy notion? A kinda pick me up tonic in can the carp tell all those boilies apart? And there are bait form. a lot of very good boilies going in these days, that’s not including particles and pellets of course. A major I know the reasoning has been laid out in pretty basic part of the concept of boilie fishing has changed in terms but hopefully the point is made. And there are my mind, and trying to put a bait together where the other major changes going on in the bait world which nutritional content of the bait is a real edge seems a have also contributed to the rethink. The availability, pretty pointless thing to try to achieve. cost and quality of fishmeals has been an ever growing problem. And now the basic handling and storage Also, just as an aside for a second, with so much of them and other animal feedstuffs is coming ‘food-value’ being introduced into waters these days under scrutiny. do we need to be using such baits any more? I’m not suggesting that all bait be ‘crap’ or simply lures. Bait The amount of bait being used these days is born out still has to be food, if only to support the high stocking by the size and number of very big fish swimming in levels of carp in most waters today. They would soon our lakes, which seems like a good thing, but is it me, suffer if they had to rely on natural food stuffs. these carp seem to have a shorter life span than the fish of the past. But now the emphasis seems to be the taste/smell of the bait. Not only in the initial attraction (ie the carp There seems to be a lot of very portly carp about, picking up the bait) but also the taste as it is being have/are we creating freak, obese creatures in many of eaten. And it’s this that gives a bait it’s edge and why our fisheries. I certainly feel it’s why the “old school” the fish will pick it up in the first place (obviously, get autumn feed up seems to have disappeared. this right and the carp will show a preference!). So much for theory! If only I had some carp in a tank It’s been interesting talking to the gang at to test it on... Lol!! Oh well, I’ll have to continue doing CARPAHOLIXX because of their similar viewpoints. things the old fashioned way. And it’s how the line of thinking has continued when putting together my latest bait that’s currently being Now, where are my rods! tested. A bait that smells and tastes good, but with Glynn Gomersall much lower protein content. And although the bait has a very crumbly texture to help it break down quicker, I haven’t had to add any gluten or egg albumin etc… to stick it all together. Good quality ingredients will still be used: natural additives, fresh eggs etc… and even though the wheel has perhaps not been reinvented it will be interesting to see how the low levels of the fish and meat meals in the bait perform over a period if time. Who knows, the bait may end up as a kind of tricked up 50/50 mix, with low levels of pre-digested fish powder instead of meal or something high in vitamins and minerals

Lucy’s Bowl

NEWS - Lucy’s Bowl Some of you will know Lucy our faithful carp dog passed away on the 12th February of last year after suffering a very aggressive form of cancer. She had become a very good friend to many anglers up and down the country and appeared regularly in CARPology magazines. I think it was Nige Sharp and Norfolk Bob who suggested we should have a bash to celebrate her life, and with that someone added why not make it into a charity bash, which is what we did, the first being held in 2011.

consecutive positions. The guys travelled from as far away as Norfolk and Devon, to deepest Kent to attend the event and this included Pete ‘The Painter’ Bond, John Elmer, Nige Sharp, Dave Ellyatt, Bidders, Dave Benton Chris and Ryan Boyda, Ed Biscoe, Dean Lloyd, Steve Much, Norfolk Bob, and Dave Sykes.

They still managed to have a superb BBQ and raffle evening, in between fishing and dodging the storms! The lads did a sterling job raising as we speak some £2,200.00 odd pounds, with more money still to come Lucy was a Labrador x retriever and we felt we wanted in, what an achievement from such a small group of to remember her and help people, so all the proceeds of anglers. This would not have been achievable with the bash went to ‘Guide Dogs for the Blind’, the theme out them and the generosity and sponsorship of the being the dog helping man, a life that we so often following people and companies who we are greatly take for granted. Did you know it costs £48,500.00 indebted to; for the full time cost of a guide dog from inception to retirement?! Adrian Davey and Watermark Fisheries, Roley, Steve Broadhurst (D&J.Sports), Dave Ellyatt ESP, Kevin This year the annual event took place at Little Nash and Gary Bayes Nash Tackle and Bait, Lewis Horseshoe Lake in the Cotswold Water Park, a lake Read Gardner Tackle, Barry Jackson Solar Tackle, owned by Watermark Fisheries who kindly closed the Malcolm Tuckwell Carp Society, Tony Kingdon water for us for three days. The weather was, to say the Furzbury Lakes, Alan Parberry Mistral Baits, Ian least turbulent with plenty of heavy showers, but none CCMoore’s, Chris Angell Shimano UK, John Elmer the less twelve anglers turned up to fish for Lucy’s Scattered Baits, Dean and Jim JAG Products, Nige Bowl, a crystal cut bowl which has her caricature hand Sharp, Sean Tidy Carpaholixx, Bob Baker Richworth, etched into it by our good friend Roley. Graeme Dymag Tackle, Gary Peet The Tackle Box Kent, Chub, JRC, Wall Space Cirencester, Chris at This year the bowl was won by Paul Bidmead, aka Michael Hart and Son the butchers of Cirencester and Bidders, and was presented by last year’s winner Pete Lin Sykes. Bond; with the Ryan and Chris Boyda runners up in

Nigel Sharps TALES OF A JOURNEYMAN memorable - DAVE capture MAGALHAES Part 4 - Tenacity and Patience The renowned margin king, Dave Magalhaes, continues his exclusive Carpaholixx carp-fishing journal. In this final instalment, Dave recounts more tales of catching big carp from a range of venues, including Bushy Park, Swan Valley, Richmond Park, Sandhurst, Frogmore, Fox Pool and Colne Valley.

about to buy my first place with her. I’d managed a couple of trips over to Swan Valley through the autumn and had made a few trips over to Black Park in February, and although I caught a few fish, four or five night’s activity in eight months is hardly anything to report on. I was only going through the motions as I had other things on my mind.

Following a mild autumn and a temperate start to the winter, it was inevitable that at some point the temperatures would plummet. Needless to say, as I sit here tapping away on the keyboard, everywhere is frozen solid! On the plus side, it’s given me a chance to sort my gear out and make plans for the year ahead and I’m genuinely looking forward to it warming up again.

I tried to get the last week or so in on Richmond Park, but what with trying to sort a mortgage, etc., I couldn’t really concentrate or give it the proper attention that it required. A few days before the end of the March, Nigel Sharp slipped the net under the Royal, so again I left it for about a month while I worked on the flat. By mid-April, I’d finished decorating and then all I could think about was fishing.

At the end of Part 2 of “Journeyman”, I left you just as I called it a day on Bushy Park. I’d thoroughly enjoyed my time fishing the water. It had taught me a lot about carp and in particular how fussy they could be when feeding in certain areas. It would be nice to say that I moved on to pastures new and caught loads of fish, but life isn’t that simple for me! Not long after, I split up with my girlfriend and I was working two jobs, as well as running my own business. If I wasn’t working, I was partying and so I took another long break from fishing.

Over the following few weeks, I squeezed in as much time as possible on Swan Valley. I continually baited an area quite heavily in the hope that the carp would wake up and get their heads down. They did and were holding up in the area I was baiting, but I failed to get a bite. Unbeknown to me, another angler had the same idea and between the two of us, a lot of bait was going in. Although we were catching many, a few other anglers were and that wound me up. They were using maggots and it seemed, wherever they put them, they caught fish. area frequently when I’d

However, by March, I was back with the Mrs and I had a new job working in a tackle shop and was just

walked around. Having checked the weather before leaving, I knew the wind would pick up and push down that way. As soon as I walked into the swim, it was evident that fish were in the area. As I scurried up the tallest tree to my right, an awesome sight greeted me. All the big fish and more were there below me. With the light fading fast, I got my right-hand rod as a close as I possible to them, carefully taking my time to make sure it was right. The left-hand rod was simply cast into open water, with a scattering of boilies spread around it. I stayed up late that night drinking tea after tea, eventually climbing into bed confident of a bite. I awoke a few hours later just before sunrise. I was a little disappointed that nothing had happened and put the kettle on for the first brew of the day. As I sat clutching my cup and looking out at the lake, a fish stuck its head out of the water in front of me. A few minutes passed before it appeared again, this time followed by a huge set of bubbles hitting the surface. Over the next few hours, I chased the fish around the Back Bay, but just couldn’t get one to pick up a hookbait. As the day passed, the other anglers were catching some of the better fish I had seen the previous evening and I became disheartened. While I sat with a couple of friends, a big fish launched itself out of the water and before anybody could say anything, another one came crashing out. As quickly as possible, I grabbed my rods and ran back around to my swim. The rods were all ready to go, so I quickly climbed the tree again for a quick look. Below me were the fish that had been swimming around together that day minus the big mirror and a couple of smaller ones. I managed to cast a rig back to the same spot as I’d fished the evening before. My left hand rod I positioned under the willow tree to the left on a clip. As I walked over to check the clip, my right-hand rod one-toned. I ran over to it, picked it up and lifted into a powerful fish that held its ground before it kited from right to left on a tight line. Eventually it swam into the left hand corner of the swim and just stopped. It felt as though it was weeded, as it just didn’t want to move. Slowly I pulled it towards me when it rolled twenty yards out. It was the chunky common carp I had seen swimming with

the others. Not wanting to risk anything, I stripped off and made my way out to it. A couple of times it powered off when it seemed ready for the net. Eventually it appeared in front of me, beaten, and on its side, so I rushed forward and lifted the net around the big common, which weighed 42.09lb. As I slipped the fish back into the water, I made my mind up that my time on Swan was over. As much as I liked it, the lake was too busy and I’d already decided that should I catch the common or the Nokia, I’d call it a day. Fortunately, I’d unknowingly caught the Nokia on my first visit the previous year, and so with the common now returned to the water it was time for pastures new. Frimley Here We Come

Nigel Sharps TALES OF A JOURNEYMAN memorable - DAVE capture MAGALHAES

The following week I was bound for Frimley Pit. I’d had a couple of walks around it before when visiting friends and I couldn’t wait to give it a go myself. The lake is a stunning venue, with an incredible stock of big fish. On my first morning, I witnessed one of the best hit of carp I would see in a long time. I sat with Steve Mogford having a brew and talking carpy stuff, while we watched the fish swimming over the shallow water on the bar. Knowing Steve was fishing at the base of the bar in seven to eight feet of water, I urged him to place a rig on the bar where the fish were. He was reluctant to move his rigs and so when I finished my brew, I went to sort out my kit over in the swim next to him. He popped over a little while later and asked for some maggots so he could re-do his rods. I smiled and gave him the bucket. It was certainly a good move on his part, as over the next hour and half he had 10 or 11 takes, landing commons to over 37lb and a fully scaled mirror to just over 30lb! When I moved into the swim behind him, I had visions of catching every fish in the lake. Over the next 24 hours, I caught one carp, which weighed just over 16lb - not quite the haul I had in mind. I moved in the afternoon as the fish were showing

regularly further down the lake, and during the following 24 hours I managed another four or five carp weighing up to 25lb, but I lost three, including one that I’m pretty certain was Gums, the lakes big mirror. It had actually gone through my other lines, and I couldn’t get it close enough to net it and it just sat there on its side beaten. When I managed to sort out the mess, it dropped off. To make matters worse, Charlie, the lake’s second biggest common, was caught from the swim I had left. Over the following few weeks, I squeezed in as much time as possible on Swan Valley. I continually baited an area quite heavily in the hope that the carp would wake up and get their heads down. They did and were holding up in the area I was baiting, but I failed to get a bite. Unbeknown to me, another angler had the same idea and between the two of us, a lot of bait was going in. Although we were catching many, a few other anglers were and that wound me up. They were using maggots and it seemed, wherever they put them, they caught fish. After all the baiting, I was reluctant to switch over, but in the end gave in. I’d managed to catch one fish from the baited area and one off the top, whereas some of the other guys were catching up to six carp in a day. Enough was enough and I decided that I’d bring some maggots on my next trip.

Nigel Sharps TALES OF A JOURNEYMAN memorable - DAVE capture MAGALHAES By now, the warmer weather had arrived and the lake was busy. Typically, trying to get a swim, let alone one of the more productive ones, was proving difficult. The following Saturday, as I left work, I rang my friend Nathan to ask which swims were available. The lake was busy with nearly 20 anglers fishing, but unbelievably the beach swim in the Back Bay was free. I’d seen the bigger fish in this Not letting my disappoint bother me too much, I returned a week or so later for another 48-hour session. At the time, the fish seemed to be holding position down at the far end of the lake where the big bar appears out the water. I arrived early in the morning and sat with my friend Ben watching the water, before grabbing my gear and moving into a swim down to his right. Through speaking to friends and a few others that had fished the lake, I had an idea of how I wanted to fish it. I wanted to fish for bites, no targets; just get as many bites as possible in certain areas. Although I was a little unprepared for the trip, I was very lucky and managed to catch 15 carp. The catch included 11 twenty-plus pounders to 29.14lb and four over thirty pounds to 37.06lb. Among the fish were Shoulders and Gregory Pec. Unfortunately, I lost a few as well, but it was awesome fishing with most of them coming in two to three feet of water on top of the bar. After that trip, I couldn’t wait to return. I’d booked

a week off work and I wasn’t allowed back down the lake for 48 hours, which was very frustrating. While I was away, I made sure to keep in touch with friends who were there, so that they could fill me in on what the fish were up to. Eventually, I was back on the bank side. I only had a day and night as I had to shoot off the following afternoon. Again, I arrived very early so that I could watch the water as the sun came up. As I sat in the Double Boards swim, I could just make out somebody playing a fish in Deep Point, so I walked around to see if they needed a hand. It turned out to be a friend, Mick. He’d foul hooked a 30lb common, and was able to unhook while it was in the water. I stayed with him for a while and, over a few cups of tea, we chatted about what had been happening. There seemed to be a few fish in the area, so once he’d packed away I moved in behind him. Over the next few hours, I did not see much going on in front of me and I began to get itchy feet. As luck would have it, a youngster fishing next door in Daisy Bay wandered over to say that he was leaving and that he’d seen a few fish in his swim. Shortly after he left, I went for a look. Just as he’d said, fish were drifting in and out of the bay. Grabbing the rods, I moved

around in double quick time and over the next few hours, I caught two carp, with one loss. While I played one of the carp, I noticed a big common swimming slowly out of the bay, obviously scared by the hooked carp that was charging around. I was pretty certain I’d seen the distinctive dip in its back, the most obvious feature on the lake’s big common, as it swam past. I was a little disappointed at the time as I must have been close and I didn’t feel I’d get chance for a while. The fish were all caught in shallow water tight to the far bank margins from spots that weren’t usually fished. After the third fish, the bay went dead, so I moved the rods back to Deep Point. Although I kept an eye on the bay, I didn’t see another fish there all day. That evening my friend Dan called in on me and if it were not for his intervention, I wouldn’t have caught my next fish. I was about to cast my marker rod to check out the depths in the bay when he stopped me. He pointed to the bubbles rising from where I’d caught the other fish. I soon had two rigs out on the spots I’d fished earlier that day. Soon the rod was away and I put a pretty 21lb common in the net. The night passed quietly except for a very hard fighting 32.06lb common. Although I needed to pack up, I dragged my stay out for as long as possible. I managed to catch two more fish over the next couple of hours to just over 24lb. As I was packing up there was a few bleeps from the rod remaining in the water. I could see a family of coots diving on the bait and they had been at it for a little while. I figured I’d finally hooked one. Lifting the rod, the line whipped up tight and began moving out of the bay; it was a fish. It didn’t fight particularly hard and when I got it close in, I was certain it was the same fish I’d seen the day before because I was sure it had the recognisable dip in its back. My net wasn’t set-up, so shouted to the bloke in the next swim to give me a hand. Luckily, it was all plain sailing and he got it in first time. I was thought it was the biggun, but it wasn’t until we put it on the mat that I was certain. Charlie’s Mate was mine and on the scales, it went 44.14lb and was a new lake record. A couple of weeks later, I went back for one more day session, and managed four more commons to 27lb and the lake’s big fully scaled at 34lb. Over the next few months, I was to get a bit of a shock to the system that put me off going fishing for

a little while. The Angler’s Mail runs a yearly Carp Cup competition, and somehow I’d won it, which was brilliant, but I was a bit overwhelmed by the attention that followed. As nice as it was, I was just a normal bloke that went fishing in my spare time and struggled to get my head around it all. Eventually, around September time, after another three-month break, I decided to have another go for The Royal. By now, I’d fished for it on and off for a few years, so had a good idea what I wanted to do. You tend to get small windows of opportunity on the water where the fish seem to work an area for a while, and, if you can find that area, you’ve a good chance of catching a few. After a few early morning walks, I knew where I wanted to be. Over the next few weeks, I caught nine fish and lost two including the biggun again. I was gutted and couldn’t believe my luck. Most people tend to catch it within three or four fish, with the odd person maybe catching a few more. I was now up to nearly 40 and I called it a day and put the rods away until the winter. In December, I fished my first night on Sandhurst on a social with some friends. At first light, I had a 27lb mirror and as I slipped it back into the water, I decided that this would be the perfect place to fish until the spring. A few weeks later, I returned and on my second morning, I had a take and was soon looking down on a chunky mirror that turned out to be the Friendly Linear. It pulled the scales around to 40.10lb! I had a couple more that trip, including one of the lake’s big commons, Bubble-Tail, weighing in at 37.12lb! For the rest of the winter and the early part of the spring, I fished overnighters. The beauty of

Nigel Sharps TALES OF A JOURNEYMAN memorable - DAVE capture MAGALHAES Sandhurst is that has so many fish, which means you don’t have to take the fishing too seriously. You could just drop in every now and then when you wanted to get a bend in the rod. That suited me as I wasn’t too bothered about my fishing and being a day-ticket meant that I could have plenty of socials with my friends, which allowed me to really enjoy my fishing, resulting with fish up to 40.03lb (Scaley).

This went on and on until I cast out and caught the Patch shortly after, at just over 37lb. What made it more special was that a couple of days earlier as I sat with Martin and we’d watched Patch drifting in and out of the snags. I commented on how good it would be to catch him and see how big he was. I know it is said a lot, but it is uncanny how often you can literally talk a fish onto the hook!

FOX POOL When June arrived, I found myself walking the banks of Fox Pool. Having read a fair bit about it in the past, and my best mate Martin had fished it too, I decided to have a go. It really was a lovely little lake with crystal clear water. It was one of those tricky lakes, but if you worked at your fishing then you could catch a few fish. On my first venture with my rods, I caught a common known as Patch. This was within twenty minutes of casting out. It was an interesting capture as I kept throwing out six to or eight boilies at time and within minutes there would be many fizzing bubbles for a short time and then it would stop.

I did a few more nights, but found the day sessions to be more productive. The floater fishing was excellent; the only trouble was I kept losing fish, which was hugely frustrating. Over the space of a couple of weeks, I lost five or six fish for various reasons and very quickly fell out of love with the place! I remember going round to the Road Lake in a huff and sitting with Nige. Over a few brews, he’d convinced me to go back over and have another go. “Imagine having that Baz off the top, that’d be the way to have it,” he said. Heeding his words, I headed back over to my swim and settled for the night. The following afternoon I lost a fish off the top, then not long after tying another rig and recasting, I hooked and landed Baz at 36.04lb. Although not a massive carp by today’s standards, it was definitely one of my happiest captures because I was so relieved to have caught it with the way things were going. Although I packed up straight away and vowed never to return, I couldn’t resist an afternoon’s floater fishing the following week and managed to winkle out a 35.02lb common off the top again. After that, I had a trip over to Sandhurst just to get a bit of fishing in between work and was lucky enough to catch Niges at a spawned-out weight of just under 35lb. Again, that was a fish that we’d talked onto the hook. As we were setting up, I kept saying to Luke that it was prime time to catch old Niges and that I was in one of its favourite areas. It’s funny, because it wasn’t until we got the pictures up on the laptop that I recognised it. It was so down on the big weight it had done in the winter that I thought it was just another 30lb mirror. I spent the next few weeks baiting Richmond Park after I spotted a couple of fish. Eventually I got over and hit it off with seven fish weighing up to 31.04lb, with one loss. I kept plugging away over the next couple of weeks, catching another four and losing two including the biggun again. How unlucky can you be with a fish? I sulked for the following months, with only a couple of nights on Sandhurst to my name, until around March when I got a ticket for Frogmore. For the first few visits, it was reasonably quiet, and then as soon as it got warm it started to see a fair bit of pressure

from other anglers, which made my overnighters hard work. It’s only a small lake and sometimes there were eight or nine others fishing it, with me typically turning up last. Having said that, there were certainly chances to catch some of the other fish, but I was only there for the leather, and if it wasn’t about, I saw no reason to fish for the others. In early June, as I sat frustrated on Frogmore, my friend Ben said he was over on the Road Lake, so I went and joined him on my next overnighter. We spent the next few weeks fishing socially and generally just plotted up next to each other. We managed to catch a few between us as well, with my best being the Pretty One at a little over 31lb. Then I went on holiday, and I learnt that while I was away all the better fish had been caught. I’d been offered a ticket for a lake in the Colne Valley, so spent the rest of the year on there. It was enjoyable fishing, especially on the surface. The following 18 months or so was hard work and very frustrating, with very little fishing for me. At the beginning of the

Road Lake’s ‘Pretty - One’ at just over 31lb

Nigel Sharps TALES OF A JOURNEYMAN memorable - DAVE capture MAGALHAES

spring, I broke my hand, which stopped me fishing for the first half of the year and I spent the summer doing a little bit on the Colne Valley pit, as it was quiet. Then as I started making plans for the following year I strained my back really badly, which again wrote off the first half of the following year! Although I was still suffering from a bad back, when June arrived and I had the opportunity to fish back on the Road Lake, there was no way I was going to miss it. It was a little tricky to get going at first, as I normally had a Monday off, with either a Sunday or Tuesday depending on the week. Every Monday I’d have to reel in to go to the osteopath for treatment. As frustrating as it was, I didn’t really have much choice, as my back was so bad. Out of all the fish in the lake, Clover was the one I dearly wanted to catch and as luck would have it, I caught it from the top at a little over 42lb. It took a little while to work out what the fish were doing, but once I worked out their routines, I caught them fairly regularly including catching Clover again two more times. I eventually caught the Dink at 38.09lb and called it a day.

The fish seemed to be regularly working the margins and feeding heavily close in. Even though they seemed to show and fizz heavily out in the lake, nothing seemed to be caught out there, so I just stuck to the margins and floaters. What was even more interesting was the total disregard for boilies by the larger fish. They loved the particle and pellets, but just didn’t want to touch a boilie. It really was enjoyable fishing. In between concentrating on the Road Lake, I had the odd trip to the Colne Valley pit catching a fish including the one I wanted the most, a lovely common of 39lb, again off the surface. It’s probably fair to say that after such a frustrating year and a half, the last six months have probably been my best, and as much as I’d like to go more in depth and talk about a more recent result, it feels right to leave it there after the capture of the awesome Dink. I hope you’ve enjoyed the series and I haven’t bored you too much. Until next time, be lucky! DAVE MAG

Nigel Sharps TALES OF A JOURNEYMAN memorable - DAVE capture MAGALHAES