IAN CHILLCOTT
AARON COPP
FATHOM IT OUT
THE KENT PIT – PART TWO
THE ORIGINAL AND STILL THE BEST
inside
TOUR DE FORCE FOUR DIFFERENT COUNTRIES IN FOUR WEEKS WE CATCH UP WITH DARRELL IN GERMANY ON THE LAST LEG OF HIS JOURNEY
WIN ING THINK RS E L G N A E TA C K L LE D N U B
SEP – 2019 Issue
348 £4.99
T H I N K TA N K
D AV E L A N E
MYLES GIBSON
SCOTT KARABOWICZ AND OTHERS GIVE THEIR
D AV E R E F L E C T S U P O N H I S T I M E A T
M Y L E S S T A R T S H I S N E W C A M PA I G N O N A T R U LY
THOUGHTS ON THE RISE AND USE OF MODERN
C O N N I N G B R O O K I N K E N T, A S H E S E T O F F I N
SPECIAL L AKE, FULL OF SNAGS AND HOME TO
T E C H N O L O G Y A M O N G S T C A R P A N G L E R S T O D AY
PURSUIT OF TWO-TONE
S O M E L A R G E A N D R A R E LY C A U G H T C A R P
ALSO: TIM PAISLEY CHRIS BALL
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JIM WILSON
ROB GREENING
OLI DAVIES LOZ EAST
JOE TURNBULL PAUL FORWARD
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pecky’s Darrell Peck
Progress
Darrell has really been racking up the miles of late, this month alone he has managed to wet a line in four different countries. His main focus was a filming mission in northern Germany tackling an idyllic stretch of running water with an unknown stock CARPWORLD
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Aaron Copp
Kent Pit INTO THE SUMMER Aaron brings us up to speed on his time fishing on the Kent Pit as the first signs of summer started to unfold across the garden of England
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fter a stellar start to my campaign on the Kent Pit, and with it still being only half way through the spring, I arrived for a two night trip at the end of April with everything crossed that The Dugout swim would be free. It had been the scene of the capture of my first Kent Pit 40 the previous week. Though that wasn’t the sole reason for my keenness to get back in there, it was rather that the weather forecast was. For just like the previous week, a light easterly wind was predicted for the next couple of days. So far during my time spent on the venue, the bulk of the carp had been held up in the central area of the pit, which crucially, could be reached from The Dugout swim. So my hunch was that with the weather conditions remaining the same, so would the carp’s location. After driving around the lake at what felt like a snail’s pace, as I adhered to the 5mph speed limit, I finally arrived at The Dugout and was stoked to find it free. As we moved deeper into spring, the lake had been getting increasingly busy. However, plenty of the anglers were only doing overnighters, and that, combined with the presence of a maximum stay of 48hr rule, meant that swims were regularly coming free. In fact, judging by the fresh bank stick holes at the front of the swim, The Dugout had only recently been vacated. It was just gone midday, with nicely overcast skies, as I stood watching for any signs of carp. My first impression was that it felt prime for a bite, and that I needed to get my rods out in order to capitalise on the conditions. Suddenly there was a cast from one of the swims off to my left. I was in the right hand Dugout (it’s a double swim), so there was no way I would be interfering with anyone in the swims further off to my left, but out of courtesy, I took a stroll down the bank to let the chap know that I had just moved in there. It turned out to be an angler I had first met whilst fishing at Sutton over a decade ago. He had got down a few hours earlier, and positively, had seen a couple of shows in the open water in front of our swims. After a quick catch up, I hastily headed back to get my rods out. With only a light overhead wind to contend with, in short order I had three rigs positioned out to the zone I had caught the 40 from. My bait presentation stayed exactly the same, with reverse combi pop-ups, and with the favourable conditions, I spodded broken Cell baits pretty accurately over the traps. The rods remained quiet that afternoon, but I did see a couple of shows. Both were at very long range, though encouragingly they were technically in front of me. With a minimum line diameter rule and a ban on leaders in place, which thus restricts casting, coupled with the fact that the middle is some 180 yards out from some swims, the central area of the lake is in effect an out of bounds/safe area for the carp. As a result,
there are almost always a number of carp holding up out there. It was now early evening and I figured that bite time had long since passed, so I decided to introduce a bit more bait over the area. I was just reeling in my first cast with the spod, when out of the blue, the left hand rod screamed off. The take was so soon after that cast, it would suggest the carp was already feeding on the spot, as opposed to being attracted by the bait being introduced, though in any event, it was to no avail, as about a minute into the fight, I suffered a hook pull. I consoled myself with the fact that at least the loss showed I was definitely on fish. I hoped that I might get another chance that night, though in reality I knew my next real opportunity would be the following morning. So far this spring, the nights on the pits had proved very unproductive, with by far the bulk of the bites coming in the morning through to the early afternoon and I was therefore not that surprised to have another peaceful night’s sleep at the Kent Pit. Just after first light I dragged myself from the bag, and quickly got the kettle on. I had only been watching the water for five minutes when a sizeable carp head and shouldered at range. In the dead calm, early morning conditions it was perfect spotting weather and I saw a number of shows over the course of the next hour. Going with the trend, the vast majority of shows were much further out than where I had my rigs positioned, though promisingly I had observed one carp head and shoulder very close to my right hand rod. With this level of activity, coupled with my recent success, I felt a take was imminent, and just after 7am that came to fruition. The bobbin on my left hand rod pulled up tight against the rod blank and just as I rose from my low chair to investigate, the line was out of the clip and the Neville alarm was now singing a tune! The first part of the fight was pretty straightforward, though just like the ‘fully’ I had caught the previous week, as I brought her closer to the bank she found a weedbed. By the day, the Canadian Pondweed beds were growing ever larger and it was clear that landing fish in the summer was going to be anything but straightforward from here on in. I kept steady pressure on the carp and thankfully, after a few minutes she was on the move again, and shortly after that into the net. At 19lb 9oz she is the smallest of the three fully scaled mirrors that inhabit the Kent Pit. The Little Fully was my only bite that day, though having topped up the swim with broken baits just before dusk, I was confident of more action the following morning. I awoke to a classic dawn, the lake’s surface resembled that of a millpond, and being so still, it was practically impossible to miss a show. I didn’t have to wait long when a chestnut-coloured mirror, with a very large frame, propelled itself out of the water up to the root of its tail. It had jumped off to my right, and I speculated it must have been some 150-plus
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This one was more than welcome following the loss the previous day - The Little Fully at 19lb 9oz
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Spring in the garden of England
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Myles Gibson
Carp Diary Myles starts his new campaign on a truly special lake, full of snags and home to some large and rarely caught carp...
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Fathom it out In this month’s feature, why is it, Chilly ponders, that when he arrives at a venue there is always a gaggle of anglers huddled around the shallows during the warmest part of the year? Particularly when his own findings dictate that the fish will be happy to feed in the deepest areas...
Ian Chillcott CARPWORLD
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T
here are many things I find fascinating about carp fishing, and most of this fascination surrounds the environment that carp live in. Probably one of the biggest questions I ask myself is what depth to fish? It can appear to be an easy puzzle to solve if you listen to what some say and depending on what time of the year you are thinking about. However, it was never meant to be simple, was it? Other subjects amaze me as well, of course, especially why anglers think a rig is the only thing that catches a carp? Then there’s also the decision that when armed with the best bait in the world, all you do is chuck it in the pond and reel ‘em in! Neither of which are true, and neither of which will catch more carp if you don’t put them in the right place to begin with. I guess it is why I have no wish to mangle what is left of my brain trying to design new ‘wonder rigs’ that will never have a bearing on the result. Simple is best (and that is the last time we talk about rigs... ever) and putting it in the right place will always catch a carp, if, of course, you have them feeding, or it is placed in an area that they want to feed on naturally. Now, before we move onto the meat of the matter, I reckon there is one last thing to mull over. Over the years I have been intrigued by carp angling writers who have constantly, and somewhat confusingly, written about how to do things. They have successes doing something a certain way, and the next article will tell the reader if they don’t do it that way they will never catch a carp again. The reader will be looking out for little nuggets which they can take to the water they are fishing, or on their next visit to a dayticket water, but when they take Einstein’s theory of ‘carpytivity’ to the water it doesn’t work. Why? Simply because every venue we fish is slightly, or very, different, to any other water they will visit. There is also the population of the lake, which if heavily stocked will very often be left out of the text. Why make their captures look easy? Why not tell the truth about the angling situation, and why not tell the reader there are an infinite number of possibilities that could change the way in which you will fish on any water you come across? Again, these questions are things which make carp fishing so exciting for me. Discovering the finer details of a particular lake are what makes all my captures that much more of an achievement, and certainly so much more exciting. This voyage of discovery must be more satisfying than that, surely? ‘Wanging out a banger’ over a bed of ‘munga’ at 50 yards range and hoping for a bite, is just about as soul destroying as it gets! No, I prefer to have a more detailed picture of the capture, and as I have always said; hope is no plan at all. As I alluded to at the start, for me, the depth at which I am fishing is often the greatest leveller with regards to catching carp. It is regularly
said that carp are looking for levels in which to be comfortable, sometimes referred to as thermoclines. The problem, for the self-proclaimed experts, is they do not exist in small waters and most that are less that 30ft in depth. This doesn’t mean that there aren’t areas that may be a fraction of a degree warmer in shallower lakes. There are, it just says it’s not as scientifically proven as some would suggest! All I can say is that cold water sinks, just as cold air does, and is enhanced, the colder the weather becomes – which is as scientifically gifted as I will ever be! The one thing that surprises me is that people will nearly always fish shallow water in the summer, areas where the water will be at its hottest. For me, a carp appears to want to eat more and for longer periods at this time of year in slightly deeper water. Maybe this has something to do with the temperature of the environment that he or she is in (my attempt at being gender PC), and maybe they feel a little more comfortable? It’s just one of the many things I do that seem to go against the grain, and is something I have found out for myself. Examples are always a good way to explain what I mean here, and it’s not to say I’m good (I’m far from that), it’s just that I am prepared to explore the world in which the carp has to live, and survive...
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Hope is no plan at all!
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The fascinating world that carp live in
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This month finds Tim in a slightly wistful mood, as he marks the passing of another carp angling stalwart. Also the PAG unearth some disturbing figures and he bears witness to one of the largest common carp ever to swim in the UK
Tim Paisley CARPWORLD
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Next Month
In the October issue
John Pritchard – Stick to your guns A couple of years ago, following his time spent on the Manton syndicate, John took the opportunity to join another Lincolnshire venue, the four-lake Girton complex which now contains fish to around 60lb. Steve Briggs – Hejlov, Czech Republic Steve and Joan undertake a 14-hour road trip to wet a line at another new venue (for them) in the Czech Republic. During their stay, Steve records another milestone, becoming the first man to catch a 50lb+ fish from 14 different countries.
Dan Cleary – Somewhere in Surrey Having finished his stint on the busy Horton complex, Dan looked for somewhere with the peace and solitude he had experienced during his former days as a head bailiff on Wraysbury 2 in the early 2000s. In the autumn of 2015 he found what he was looking for and three years later, he got his reward! On sale: Friday 20th September 2019 | Subscribe now to have next month’s issue delivered to your door! www.gifts4anglers.co.uk
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