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THE ROAD TRIP | ALAN BLAIR

ALAN BLAIR goes in search of the stunning carp of Newcastle, Leeds and Bradford and discovers that it’s definitely not so grim up north after all.

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With nothing to show for my efforts in the morning, I tried to tempt the cruising carp with a breadflake on the float.

must admit that I am really enjoying shooting this Road Trip feature.

It gives me a chance to indulge in one of my favourite things – catching carp from unique bodies of water all over the UK! With the aim being to eventually end at the Northern Angling Show for the weekend, we decided to get on the road and travel north of our final destination.

With a huge 300-mile drive ahead of us we set off. Our first venue was to be the awesome Leazes Park in Newcastle. Sitting in the shadow of St James’ Park football stadium, it has to be one of the most northern places that I have tried to catch a carp from.

We arrived just before dark and the first thing to do was walk round the cobble-sided lake and try to spot fish. The bailiff, Mark Milnes, showed us some of the awesome carp that reside in the lake to just over 30lb. The park is two to three acres with solid concrete lining the banks. Hordes of students use this as a bypass route from the main city to their accommodation on the other side of the park.

The main places I was attracted to were the duck-feeding area and some reeds that have been created by the fishery management team, which provide the carp with shelter when With the banks concreted around the park, the RDS became invaluable for getting a good night’s sleep.

ALAN BLAIR AGE: 32 UK PB: 55lb 4oz OCCUPATION: Operations director SPONSORS: Nash Tackle & Bait INSTAGRAM: @urbanbanx FACEBOOK: Urban Banx with Alan Blair

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We arrived in the stunning Leazes Park in Newcastle and the first thing to do was find a few carp.

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THE ROAD TRIP | ALAN BLAIR

the park is busy but also gives them an area where natural food can proliferate.

By the time we’d walked round the lake a couple of times and settled on an area, night-time was nearly upon us, but with the lights surrounding the lake it didn’t hinder our angling. It’s one of the positive aspects of fishing on a park lake.

Simplicity is key and my faithful Citruz boilies and matching pop-ups were my go-to bait on one rod. I chose to fish one rod close to the island in the middle of the lake. My second was focused in open water and my last rod was positioned off the duck-feeding area. I felt I had all bases covered. The duck-feeding area was baited lightly with mixed particles, boilies and tiger nuts to get the fish really grubbing around.

The lack of grass made setting up a brolly a little tricky, so I grabbed the RDS bivvy and clipped it to the bedchair and set up safe in the knowledge that I was going to be sheltered and dry for the night.

ALAN BLAIR | THE ROAD TRIP

What a carp!

Fly my pretties.

As the sun got up, “black shapes were visible so I began to chase them.

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The morning light broke with little to show in the way of bites. I was up straightaway on the search.

The wind had changed and was blowing from left to right into the most exposed bank on the lake. It was clear to see that the fish had obviously moved on it as well.

We packed up and went on a mission with three rods, an unhooking mat and a net to try

The reason I use the Ronnie rig; no hype just great hook-holds.

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Showing the fascinated locals a Leazes Park resident.

and search them out. As the sun got up, black shapes were visible so I began to chase them with a float arrangement and slow-sinking bread surrounding the hook. I pursued the fish for a few hours to no avail.

Nevertheless, following them did teach me the best way to get a bite. I watched multiple fish ghost to within inches of the windward A scaly banger; who said it’s grim up north?

bank. They must have been eating all the bits of bread that drifted into the margin. I decided to bait lightly with a scattering of Key Cray flake and fish a hook bait just six feet out on the marginal shelf.

As Max Hendry and I got rig shots done, the margin rod burst into life. Following an absolutely mental scrap on the 6ft Sawn Off I managed to land an absolute gem of a carp. I tended to it observed by a crowd of fascinated onlookers.

It’s one of the reasons I love fishing park lakes. You can really engage with members of the public and ultimately show them that fishing is a really awesome pastime.

After finishing off the rig shots among the pigeons and dog walkers, we soon got on our toes to the next venue.

Bradford was the intended destination so we filled our stomachs with a lovely Subway and got on the road.

First we dropped into a free fishing lake in Bradford. We surprised the young locals with our presence and the next generation of anglers soon exposed the limited information they had on the lake

A hard-earned carp.

before we went in search of a few carp.

A small back bay was the area of interest. We peered over an old brick wall to see approximately 30 carp. There was only one thing to do – leg it back to the car for Riser Pellets and a rod.

When I returned, I put my polarised glasses on, rigged up a rod and crept around in the bushes to get the best angle to target them.

The wind got up and clouds formed overhead. Despite the abundance of fish they began to disappear and venture out of the secluded bay.

Their departure prompted ours and we got on the phone to a local angler, Mikey Barnes, for advice on a few spots for a night’s fishing.

He met us in Sainsbury’s carp park and we followed him to the Bradford Canal, a branch of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. What a spot it was too. Off the main canal there was a marina. With some inspirational carpy photos from Mikey’s Instagram feed to get the carpy juices flowing, we were buzzing to get fishing in there. With no signage to suggest no fishing, we set up and got the rods out among TOTAL CAR P 085

THE ROAD TRIP | ALAN BLAIR

the boats. You don’t often get permission to fish inside a marina but the locals seemed perfectly friendly and didn’t object. We got the rods onto several likely looking spots.

This wasn’t your average marina.

The weed growth was extensive and the only place that we could get a decent hard donk on the lake bed was tight to the boats, probably due to the lack of light getting to the lake bed in these areas.

With the traps set I was confident of a bite. I decided to call it a night at around 10pm because the couple of days’ fishing had been hugely tiring and I wanted to be revitalised for the weekend at the show.

With rain forecast we set up the brollies in the front garden of a row of terraced houses that surround the marina. It was a surreal place to spend the night. Despite the occasional bream bite during the night the carp were quiet.

One-bite tactics.

My go-to bait when fishing park lakes.

It was time to leave and fish our final spot before making our way to the Northern Angling Show.

Tarnfield Dam was the location, a 20-acre park lake in Bradford.

At one end a sailing club stood proud while the other was a nice out-of-bounds area. This had the added advantage of sitting on the end of a lovely southwesterly. After two minutes of watching I saw multiple carp jump clear of the water. That was all the motivation I needed and I was legging it back to the van once again. I wanted to get a bite first, so I opted to start with a small parcel of bait; 10mm Coconut Cremes fished with tiny PVA bags plopped out to the spot were all I needed. I simply got the throwing stick out and sprayed 086 TOTAL CAR P

Setting up in a local Bradford marina. We fished while the residents watched TV in their front rooms.

A lovely carp. I will be back to catch his brothers and sisters.

boilies into the area. I sat making rigs on the park bench waiting for a bite. It didn’t take long and the rod tip arched round on the locked-up clutch. I jumped straight on it and, after a little persuasion, I was soon looking at my first Tarnfield Dam carp, a lovely mirror. The next one followed shortly after.

Before I knew it, we were back in the car and setting off for Manchester. These short hits of angling really spur me on; I want to maximise my limited time on such waters and with no target fish to go for, any carp means that I have been successful and that’s a buzz you simply can’t beat.

The Northern Angling Show was a big success, with the Nash stand super-busy with anglers

Mikey Barnes had been a massive help with his knowledge of the local spots.

Big up mate.

checking out our latest tackle and bait. I performed a slide show and rig demo on the day for the ticket holders and really enjoyed answering questions about my fishing.

With the show done, Max and I got on the long road back to Essex.

As I finish writing this piece my mind is already awash with venues to target for next month’s instalment.