Technological Advancement, An 'Orwellian' Future & Carp Fishing

"all thoughts are chipped, tracked, removed from our minds, harvested countless times inside of the machine" An Extract From An Earth Synthetic By Paul Warren 2018 ©
 
We're living in an age where 'tech' has been embedded into every aspect of our existence, to such a degree that many just can't seem to function without it. Everywhere I turn people are fixated on some kind of device. There's part of me that feels like this was the plan all along, if you can get the worlds population addicted to technology then it can, very easily, be implemented in a way to dictate and control everything we do - we're pretty close to that being the case already. Don't get me wrong, I'm well aware that it has improved so many things within many industries to levels we could only of dreamt of, but I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about the 'tech' that's marketed towards us - the masses. I feel that it's mainly designed for convenience. It's providing us all with an 'instant' fix, we have the world at our finger tips. If you want music you simply press a button and it's downloaded within seconds. If you want 'take-out' you press a button and your doorbell rings 45 minutes later with your order. Virtually anything you could possibly want is just one click away, very little effort and thought has to go into anything when you've relocated your existence into a virtual reality.

The idea of a 'virtual reality' might sound rather far fetched, but think about it. Most people spend more time on both social media and the internet than they do here in the real world. Creating profiles and 'virtual personas' seems to be of top priority nowadays. Some of us are spending more time creating a reality that doesn't bare any resemblance to our real lives, than actually living in the here and now. Pictures and images are edited, selfies are doctored and filtered, the mundane is presented in such a way that it's made to look like some life changing achievement. Likes, retweets and shares seem to have overtaken the want for basic human interaction and conversation. If you're not careful these types of platforms can create such acute 'self-focus' that you can become totally obsessed with self image. I think some forget that looks will eventually fade and what you're left with then is your 'character' and your 'mind'. 

Developing your mind and your character is a huge part of being human, if you've spent your whole life totally and utterly preoccupied with the way you look, what are you going to do when you just don't think you look good anymore?. Current trends would suggest you then pump your face full of BOTOX, it appears that this has become the new idea of perfect looking. Sorry, but I just don't see it, I feel it's just a distorted, visual representation of the 'said persons' frame of mind. The lines on your face show a map of your life, the imperfections can be unique perfections when looked upon by those that have the ability to see what's below the surface. Part of growing and understanding life is to be able to deal with self change and deterioration. The life you are living now can't be cropped, rehearsed, rewound or buffered, it's what you do in the here and now that counts. As time passes and the years fade, the internet will be littered with thousands upon thousands of digital ghosts, including me and this blog. Will any of it really mean anything to anyone living in the real world, I don't think it will. However, who knows what the 'real world' will look like in the next 100 years.

So this leads me to the question - has this form of technology actually improved our lives?. Like everything, I think it depends on the way that you use it and what you're personally wanting to get out of it. For me all my social platforms are really just an extension of my blog with a little bit of music and drumming thrown in. I feel privileged because a lot of people have connected to me through my angling and my writing, we all share a common interest. I'm very conscious of how much time I spend on it all and if I feel like it's starting to dictate any part of my day, I switch it off. The long and short is, if it's used to stay in touch with friends, family or connect with people that you meet along the way who share a mutual interest, then it can be very beneficial and a pretty pleasant experience. It can also be a life saver for those with disabilities or conditions that don't allow them to get out of the house and socialize. If however you're using it to become some kind of internet celebrity that needs constant validation, who adds thousands upon thousands of people that you don't know, who many, you probably wouldn't get on with in real life, then I think it can be very damaging. I don't believe you can use this type of 'tech' to try and fill a void within your real life.

Moving on to the development of 'artificial intelligence', there's part of me that actually thinks both the internet and social media were initially designed to aid the development of this. This might sound like some kind of conspiracy theory, but lets take a closer look. The internet is being used by literally everyone all over the planet all the time, it never switches off. Every thought and action is being logged and recorded, reactions, emotions, habits, languages, it's all data that can be converted and used. How do we know that it isn't being used and harvested to create 'A.I'. There's no better place to go to collect every single element of the human psyche than the internet. You only have to look around you to see technology is getting closer and closer to us all of the time. We started off with huge computers, eventually they went from taking up a whole room to sitting on a desk top. Phones went from cumbersome great things that could just about make calls, to slim, sleek little devices that can pretty much do what most computers do and more. They contain our lives, our location, our habits, our secrets, the list goes on and on.

It's at this point that technology takes another step closer, possibly its biggest step yet. We now have 'wearables', small gadgets that we can attach to ourselves. These are sold to us in a very clever way, they're designed to help us stay fit and healthy, recording how far we walk or run, telling us how many steps we've taken and how many calories we've burnt, I have no doubt they can also pinpoint your movements and exact location as well. I'm interested to know exactly how safe it actually is to be wearing such devices over a long period. No proper research has been done to test what the effects are to the human body in regards to wireless frequencies and any possible radiation they might emit. So whilst many are using these 'wearables' to stay healthy, they could be damaging themselves in other ways. So whilst we're all distracted with our smart watches, phones and VR headsets, A.I technology takes a step closer still. It's now in our homes, the main example being the 'Amazon Echo'. 

Lets take a closer look at this item, "it's capable of voice interaction, music playback, making to-do lists, setting alarms, streaming podcasts, playing audio books, and providing weather, traffic and other real-time information. It can also control several smart devices acting as a home automation hub". It's pretty unreal when you think about it, but to me this is just a softening up tool to get us use to both communicating and living with A.I. On one level this is all obviously very helpful but on another, we're not only now communicating with A.I we're also handing certain responsibilities and tasks over to it, all in the comfort of our own home. So whilst we sit on our sofas in the warm where we can shop, download, project a false reality, stream movies, keep an eye on what everyone else is doing and thinking etc ... A.I and machines are starting to take our jobs. 
 
One example is self service check outs in supermarkets, when I first saw them I though they were pretty useful. I ditched the long cues and sorted my own shopping out. In my local supermarket there are about 15 self service points, in reality that's 15 people that don't have a job anymore. The same can be said for banks, gone are the days of getting in line and waiting for an age to be able to pay a cheque in. Now you simply feed them into a machine, it reads the amount, deposits it and you're good to go, you can do this without even having to look or talk to another person. These are only two examples but other jobs taken over by 'tech' also include switchboard operators, lift operations, film projectionists, bridge and toll collectors, train sales assistants and factory workers, to name but a few. The list goes on and on and I have no doubt that there's more to follow, especially when you take 'driverless' technology and put it in the equation. So where does it all go from here? 

My Vision Of The Future - brace yourselves

I have a pretty grim vision of the future where technology is concerned, I think it will eventually be combined with human consciousness. This is what the whole 'Transhumanist' viewpoint involves. "Transhumanism is the belief or theory that the human race can evolve beyond its current physical and mental limitations, especially by means of science and technology". Google & Facebook are two of the main 'players' in the Transhumanist movement. This makes complete sense considering the position they both hold in communication technology. In my mind I have no doubt whatsoever that the next phase will be implanting some form of 'tech' inside of us. This is when I think things are going to get dangerous, I believe it will come in the form of a microchip and it will be sold to us in such a way that it will be almost impossible to refuse. This has already been used on dogs, the next logical step is humans. Only the chip that we'll have will house many more capabilities. I think the initial implant will go in either the hand or the wrist. It will eventually get to the point where everyone will be forced to have one and it will be impossible to exist in the modern age without it.

I believe it will contain all of our information, very similar to our mobile phones. There will be no need for passports or similar 'red tape', you'll simply get scanned as you check in for your flight, transactions will be made by running your hand or wrist over a scanner. This is already the case with both phones and bank cards, forget your PIN number, one swipe and you're done. It's as if you're not actually spending any money, nothing physical changes hands. This is when I think currency will stop being a material item completely. With the introduction of a virtual currency then it will be so much easier to keep track and control of peoples finances. Surveillance will move forward in leaps and bounds, gone are the days of trying to identify criminals by their appearance. Cameras will use the same technology as number plate recognition. Instead of your number plate being recorded, your chip number will be detected and run against a central database that contains all of your details.

Eventually a similar implant will be designed, only this one will have the capabilities to work in unison with our brains. This will enable humans to advance and learn at alarming rates, if you want to master something new then it simply gets downloaded. Practice, study and hard work will be a thing of the past, at a touch of a button you can fly a plane, become a doctor, the sky will literally be the limit. I sense that things will eventually take a very dark turn with half man, half machine type entities. This may sound like something of 'science fiction' but at some stage it's going to become 'science fact', everything is leaning towards this becoming a very real possibility. I think that only the wealthy will be able to afford this technology at first which will increase the divide between rich and poor, even more so than it is today. I know that this is sounding all far fetched and you'll probably thinking I've lost my mind. But this is genuinely the way that I see things going at some point in the years to come. If I'll be alive to see it all implemented, well, that's another story. So let us now move away from my grim 'Orwellian' vision of the future and move on to the lighter subject of fishing 'tech'.

Technology and carp fishing can be a very divisive subject and I feel it's something that isn't going to be resolved anytime soon. I've decided to finally express how I feel about it and I've chosen to keep my mind well and truly open. I've been one of the many anglers to start shouting about the death of our sport through gadgetry and 'tech'. But is it really as bad as all that, I'm starting to think that it isn't. I don't really class myself as a 'purest' when it comes to my fishing, I don't really know what that means. However I feel that there are a series of elements in everything we do that have to be learnt, understood and mastered. I don't believe in short cuts and I certainly don't believe in using technology to 'bypass' or 'replace' any part of the learning process. But I see no real issue with combining or using it to enhance something that has already been learnt and understood.

My Predecessor 'Apparently'

 

Take drumming for instance, was I at all bothered when the drum machine turned up and I had people joking to me that I'd be out of a job in no time. The answer to that was 'NO' drum machines have their place in certain styles of music, especially electronic. I knew that when it came to bands that actually played their instruments they wanted and required the human element within the rhythm. I also never had anything against sample pads or triggers. When these two elements are mixed in with acoustic drums you can create all kinds of crazy layers and FX. Triggers and sample pads used to enhance standard drums made things interesting. However if you use them to cover up an inability or a bad technique then you are kidding yourself. That's not the way to go and that's exactly how I see technology within carp fishing, it's to enhance, not replace.

A Fine Invention

Lets look at bite alarms, when they first came onto the market many considered them cheating. When I first started fishing I actually couldn't afford any, there I was with two cheap bank sticks and a bright orange 45p bobbin attached to my line. I'd be sitting there float fishing with one rod and ledgering with the other. All of a sudden there was an almighty 'TH-WACK', the bobbin would slam against the blank and all hell broke loose. I have very clear memories of what it was like fishing without them. When I eventually got my first set it felt like a luxury. Now I could happily sit by my rods, let my mind wander and go for the occasional 'call of nature' without worrying that a fish might take my bait undetected and proceed to find its way into the closest snag or weed bed.

I personally think that using bite alarms are a sign of responsible angling, if you're fishing long sessions and nights there's just no way that you can sit inches from your rod watching it every second and waiting for something to happen. Bite alarms not only tell you what's going on, they can also tell you what might happen at any moment. A few liners and bleeps could signal that a take is imminent, this is especially important if you're snag fishing. You can hover over the rod with your striking arm at the ready to ensure, that if a take occurs, you're on it as fast as possible. So in regards to cheating, do bite alarms actually catch the fish for you, do they locate where they are and cast your rod out. Clearly not, they simply alert you when you get a take, and from a 'fish safety' point of view, I think that's very important. 'Just remember to turn them off when setting your bobbins'.

Cheating Or Not?

So moving onto an item that seems to inflame many debate, 'Bait Boats'. I don't have any experience in using them, the only contact I've had a fair few times is when someone sails one straight through my swim and then proceeds to drop their rig and bait over my rods. That highlights the main issue for me, the problem isn't the bait boat itself, it's who's operating it and the attitude they have towards everyone else they share the water with. So can using a bait boat be regarded as cheating? I feel there's many answers to this question. If you haven't developed a casting technique and you're using a boat to compensate for the fact that you can't cast, then I don't agree with them. That highlights my earlier point about using technology to bypass learning. However I understand that there are many scenarios where they can be a great help. Firstly if you have a disability that hinders you from being able to cast then they're a invaluable tool and I agree 100% in their application.

There's A Time & A Place

If you're fishing a big pit or the equivalent of an inland ocean, here or somewhere abroad, where the carp stay out the range of the longest cast. Then it makes complete sense to use either a boat or a bait boat to get your rigs out to where the fish are holding. That's not cheating it's just common sense, what's the point in fishing a venue where there's just no chance of getting your baits to where the fish are, that's just a waste of time. However I don't see the point in using one on your standard sized club water or day ticket. What's the point if you can cast comfortably to any spot on the lake? that to me is just pure laziness. Add that in with intruding into other anglers water, and/or placing your bait on spots where it would be, almost impossible to land a fish from. Then I can see exactly why they rub people up the wrong way. There's a time and a place for bait boats and if they're being used responsibly and in the right circumstances, then I have no real issue with them at all.

So now I'd like to move on to a relatively new product known as the 'FishSpy'. To be honest when this first came out on the market I paid absolutely no attention to it whatsoever. The minute I heard that a camera was involved I pretty much switched off. Part of the attraction of angling for me is not knowing what's going on under the surface. Its always been this magical unseen world that continues to fuel my imagination. I'm not interested in a product that allows me to peek into it. As you sit looking out over the water, you can only really dream of what might be happening below the surface and I believe it should stay that way. However, when I started to research this particular piece I was pretty impressed with what it claimed to do. I haven't used one so I'm going on what I've read and watched.

A Marker With A Difference

 

Fundamentally what we have here is a marker float with a camera, you use it in the exact same way as a standard marker float but it allows you to take a look at the spot you're thinking of fishing. When you really think about it, that's a pretty amazing invention and credit goes to the guys & girls that came up with it. Can this be classed as cheating? again, it all depends who's using it and what they're wanting to achieve. If you're going to be casting this about like a madman hoping that you might be able to find some fish, then I think you're dreaming. The float weights 96 grams, add a 3 - 4 oz lead to that and you're casting one hell of a weight. No fish in their right mind would hang around for long if that comes and lands on their head. However if you're going to use it in the exact same way you would a marker float, with the added extra of being able to take a quick look at what you're fishing over. Then I think it could be a pretty decent edition to your approach. This isn't replacing a skill, it's simply aiding it and, at the same time, it isn't giving to much of the 'secret world' away.

      

Fish-Spy Footage

     

From a curiosity point of view I'd find it pretty interesting to be able to view the spot I'd chosen before casting my rig out. For the first time you're actually getting a visual representation of what you're feeling through the rod blank. This to me could be a real eye opener. The only possible problem I can see arising is if someone wants to try and film fish feeding over their spot or taking their bait. If you're going to leave it out submerged under the water for hours, then I think that's irresponsible. Just say you do manage to film a fish getting caught and it decides to bolt. There's a very high chance it could end up getting tangled in the marker braid, taking the lead and fishspy with it, this could cause all sorts of problems. To conclude, if you understand how to marker a swim with a lead and float and you use the fishspy to have a quick check of your chosen spots. Then it could end up being a very interesting piece of technology.

Love It Or Hate It

So let me move onto the final item and one that has caused all kinds of arguments since its inception. The 'Deeper Pro Plus', when this first came out there was no real middle ground. People either loved the idea or hated it, I totally understand why there was so much negativity. A lot depended on the way many looked at it and how they were planning to use it, for some, it was catering towards the 'instant' generation. As mentioned before, we're living in an instant world. Technology has made us pretty dam lazy, tomorrow just ain't good enough - we want it now with the least effort. So when you take the Deepers fish finder facility into account, it's really not hard to imagine why some are looking upon it as the devil. If we take a moment to move away from the cheating or not cheating debate. Lets look at exactly what it does.

To Sonar Or Not To Sonar

Here we have a castable sonar device that you can connect with wirelessly through an app on your mobile phone. It maps what's below the surface in great detail providing a visual representation of the lake bed. Not only this but it shows you weed, hard spots, soft spots, water temperature and depths, and of course, it has a fish finding facility - however you don't have to have this switched on. When a fish swims under the device it notifies you of the depth it's swimming at from the surface of the water downwards. There's an option to show the fish as raw data or as a symbol, the raw data image can give you an idea of the size of fish. When you remove actual fishing from the equation and just look upon this as a new piece of technology, I personally can't help but be impressed.

But like all the items mentioned in this post, it all depends how you're going to use it and what you're attitude is in regards to those you share the water with. If you're going to turn up to a lake, taking absolutely no notice of those around you and start casting this left, right and center until a fish pops up. Then I think it's not only irresponsible and selfish but it's also pointless, firstly, fish move, and secondly you are learning nothing. You are relying solely on the device, you're ditching watercraft, and in the end I think using it would become a thing of habit. There's a danger that it would end up dictating every session, you'll be spending more time faffing around with it than actually fishing. I personally don't believe the Deeper was designed as a fish detector. In my mind it's an 'overview' item, what I mean by this is, when combined with all the other elements within carp fishing, it's providing you with, just that little bit more information that you couldn't acquire before.

Deeper Display

For example, you can combine the Deeper into your marker work to gain far more useful information. We all know how disruptive casting a float and lead can be. Not only that but 'traditional' marker techniques can only provide you with a limited amount of knowledge. We're acting on a lot of hunches and assumptions. Arriving at a lake and casting the Deeper out a couple of times is not only less intrusive but it's going to provide you with far more insight. Once you've had a few casts and you've spotted some features of interest. You can then get your marker rod out, locate them, get the rod lengths, horizon markers etc, make a note and then you know exactly what you're aiming for on future sessions. If you proceeded to do this in all your favorite swims, it really wouldn't take long to build up a very accurate picture. Once this work has initially been done you wouldn't actually have to use it on 'said-water' again. Applying the Deeper in this way isn't replacing, cheating or bypassing any element of angling, it's simply enhancing it. 

Another scenario, take 'Zigs', if you turn up to a water on a lovely warm day where the carp are in the upper layers or clearly on the surface. Casting a marker float out to get the depth is going to kill the situation before you've even started. A few covert casts with the Deeper would give you the exact depth so you can then target the fish effectively from the get go. In my mind this isn't cheating either, it's just being far more efficient than before, especially if you're a short session angler and you just don't have a great deal of time. So, is the Deeper Pro Plus really cheating? if you're buying this with the mindset to use it just as a fish finder and compensate for your inability to use a marker float or locate carp. I'd say 'yes', you're clearly getting it for completely the wrong reasons. Also if you're buying it in the hope it will shortcut the capture to all the big named fish in your waters, which in turn would get you in all the mags - making you the next amazing ego driven carping celebrity, then I think you're kidding yourself.

Never Bypass The Fundamentals

Without taking the time to learn the fundamentals, you'll only go so far before you've got to go back to the drawing board - there are no short cuts to the learning process. If you're looking to get a Deeper to enhance your understanding of the waters you fish and you use it in edition with all the other disciplines and techniques you've learnt. Then I really don't consider it an issue, it's just enhancing and allowing a greater understanding, and to be honest that can only be a good thing. With all technology it's about using it responsibly and in the right situation, if you want to stick to a traditionalist route then there's nothing stopping you from doing that. If you want to get some of the latest tech to aid you in your quest, then there's nothing wrong with that either. At the end of the day it's all down to personal preference. I'll leave you with one last thought, 'SAT-NAVS' are an amazing invention, they make getting about so much easier but you really should learn how to use an 'A to Z.

   

Blunts Mere ' Adjustable Zig Obsession' Part 2

Carrying on from PART 1 this blog is going to be an account of my zig session up on Blunts Mere, it was the ideal venue to put my rig and my thoughts into practise. As I mentioned in my previous blog, I chose to go on a day when we had strong gale force winds and scattered showers. 

To give myself the best chance I needed to get out on the water when I knew the conditions were right. Those days you wake up with a session in mind and open your curtains to rain, wind and dreariness, it's all way too easy to give yourself a reason not to go and get out there, it's in these conditions that the fishing can be at its best.

Blunts is located in a valley but the lake itself is very high up, you've got to be prepared to take nature on the chin. On arrival at the water it was very clear that I was going to be beaten senseless but I knew if I could get into some zig caught carp, the fight was going to be worth it. 

Apart from the odd pleasure angler the lake was very quiet, I opted to fish one of the open water swims that gave me access to the main body of the lake. My plan was to draw the fish in using a sloppy spod mix, for this to work I needed an open water swim with no channels or detour routes for the carp to use to bypass my spot. 

A Gap In Clouds Gave Me Time To Sort Myself Out

First things first, I pinned my cradle and unhooking matt down with pegs, in the past I've learnt the hard way, it doesn't take much of a gust to make my monster cradle take off like a kite, I have, not so fond memories of chasing it over the odd farmers field or two on more than one occasion. 

Once camp was erected I rigged both my rods up with my adjustable zig - "explained in part one" - measured out 10 wraps with my yard sticks, put a PVA nugget over each hook and then cast both rods out. I've found the best way to cast any zig is to have a fairly long drop and apply a nice through motion to the cast. 

I then feather it down until I feel the "donk", doing this keeps everything streamline, the nugget on the hook will create a natural drag to the hook bait, thus keeping it nice and straight on its descent. The second I feel the "donk", I release the line from the clip, place the rod on the buzzers and very slowly start to release it, I don't let the line out too fast otherwise the bait could be dragged back through the water and snag behind the mainline. 

You'll know that the rig is functioning correctly because the line that's passing through your fingers will be tightening as the float works its way up to the surface. Once the nugget and float are visible, you then adjust to your desired depth. Because I have a 4ft hook link, winding down 4 1/2 foot will put my bait 1/2ft under the surface.

I wanted to be fishing both my baits at the exact same distance, my thinking behind this was, I planned to use the wind to my advantage, it was blowing from my left across to my right, my sloppy mix would be applied a few rod lengths to the left of both my baits. The direction of the current would then feed my slop through the layers of the water passing through where my baits were.

10 Wraps On The Yard Sticks

I decided to fish two different baits on both rods, my left rod would have the avid zig lite in yellow and black, topped off with a fake maggot. My right rod would have a brown cut down Bio Cp2 Amino pop up, also topped off with a fake maggot. Putting all my eggs in one basket and fishing the same bait on both rods wasn't really the way to go, I was interested to see if one bait got taken more than the other.

View From The Swim

Because the left rod was the closest to the slop entering the water, I fished my hook bait just 1/2ft under the surface. I visualised that by the time the loose feed gets near to where my right hand bait was, it would of started to fall deeper through the layers. I chose to fish the right hand hook bait 3ft under the surface, In my mind I now had every angle covered and it was just a case of keeping the feed going in, I wrapped my pocket rocket around my yard sticks at 10.5 wraps and then got my sloppy mix made up.

Both Hook Baits

I kept my slop really simple, using Starmers 'Halibut Marine' method blend, it's very potent with lots of bits and pieces in it, it's a lovely washed out grey colour that would marry with the waters dull tones perfectly. I didn't want anything too blatant, the last thing I wanted to do was spook the fish before they'd even had a chance to feed. I kept the consistency relatively thin and wet, I didn't want it sinking too fast.

Halibut Marine Method Mix

The Perfect Cloud

Everything was set and ready to go, I loaded my pocket rocket and started to apply my slop making sure each cast kissed the clip, I wanted to try to keep disturbance to a minimum. After a few minutes I'd found my rhythm and I intended to keep it up until I got my first bite. A short time passed before my right rod gave a single bleep, the rod tip was gently quivering. 

I lifted into it 'first fish on' and what a dam fine feeling it was. Blunts fish scrap really hard and after a modest battle I slipped my first zig caught carp of the session into the net. It was an immaculate common, a perfect reward for the painful thought process I'd gone through to try and make this style of fishing work for me.

A Common Caught 3ft Under The Surface

Once returned I wrapped the rod ten times around the sticks and got it back out to the same spot, the depth was set and I proceeded to feed the swim again. Just like before, I was going to keep feeding until the next fish came along. To be honest it really didn't take too long for the same rod to go off again, it gave one bleep and the rod tip fidgeted slightly. I gently lifted into it and the tip arched round, this felt like a slightly better one, kiting all over the place, I held on tight, soon enough there was another common being teased over my net mesh.

Another From 3ft Under The Surface

The orange colouring of its scales illuminated in the scattered sun, a few photos were taken and away she went. I repeated the process again, this time feeding the swim for a few minutes before casting my bait back out. I could see the slop in the water, morphing and expanding along with the wind, the approach was working like a treat. The hook bait was cast out, this time I set it at 4ft under the water, the other rod, I set a foot deeper, maybe it was up to high in the layers, hence why I hadn't had a bite on it yet. 

Once again I found my rhythm with the spod, it was becoming strangely therapeutic and with each cast that was gently feathered, hitting the clip perfectly, a real sense of satisfaction was washing over me. I've made my views pretty clear in the past about spodding being overused, I have nothing against it whatsoever, for me the situation has to lend itself to it. I was starting to get a sense that spodding over zigs might not work on waters that see a lot of spod action, it could have the reverse effect. I will put this theory into practise on future zig sessions.

The Gardner Pocket Rocket, Perfect For Crosswinds

  

By this point I knew that the swim was now engulfed in a fog of stinky Halibut Marine method mix, I was thinking that it was almost impossible for a passing carp to ignore it. The feed kept going in, time went by and both rods remained static, I stopped feeding and relied on the bait that was already in the water to continue working for me. 

I sat down and had a rest, sparked up a coffee and soaked up the somewhat bleak atmosphere that the lake was holding. The clouds were broken and scattered, the wind became tame, come late afternoon it was fairly calm. Due to the change in the conditions I decided to minimise the feed, I didn't have much wind to obscure the rocket hitting the water so I cut down to a couple of spods every thirty minutes or so. 

As I sat looking at my rod tips I could feel I was in the process of falling into one of my many "angling trances" but I was suddenly pulled back to reality when my left hand rod arched around, the tip was juddering violently. Leaning into the fish, it propelled sharply to my right, desperate for it not to wipe out my other rod, side strain of the highest order was applied. She turned, and to my relief bolted away from the other rods position. 

The fight was immense, once in the net I paused to admire yet another zig caught common, this fish was reminiscent of a torpedo in shape and another fine specimen. It was my first bite off of my left hand bait, it goes to show that repositioning it at a slightly deeper depth was the right thing to do.

First Bite On The Avid Zig Lite

Once released I got the rod back out with no time to waste, the afternoon was starting to tick by now, I carried on feeding the swim, half expecting to get another quick bite. Nothing materialised and it got to the point where I was starting to feel pretty weathered from all the casting in and out. The therapeutic sense I had for spodding a few hours ago had turned into 'teadium', I was nearing the bottom of the bucket so I thought I'd get the remaining slop into the swim and then knock it on the head.

For the remaining hour or so I finally had the chance to take a proper seat, the spod rod was now packed away, I sat gazing out over the water. I could still see signs of my mix colouring up a large area around both my hook baits. My attention shifted to my right hand rod tip, it was bowing slightly, then almost straight away the left rod tip was doing the same. I instantly thought that a carp had taken one bait and ploughed through the other rod. I had visions of extreme tangles in my mind, I lifted into the right rod to be met with a solid weight, the left rod was still going.

Double Take

As I started playing the first fish it became apparent that both rods had fish on, luckily I was using my 8.5ft margin creepers so holding both rods at the same time wasn't too much of a problem. The difficultly came when I tried reeling both in together, it was nothing short of chaos. 

I was juggling both rods around, desperately trying to keep the fish away from each other, not an easy task, with both being attached to zigs it was one hell of a challenge. God knows how I did it but I managed to land the first fish without too much of an issue. The second fish was giving me a proper fight, it felt heavy, tugging and diving all over the place. Eventually she tired and it was comfortably in the net. 

What a crazy way to end the session, I carefully unhooked them both, got a few trophy shots and returned them safely home. A double take produced two fine looking commons and I felt so bloody happy that I'd finally had the chance to eradicate my zig obsession, it was getting slightly out of hand.

First Of A Double Take

A Perfect Common To Close The Session

There's nothing quite like packing up when everything has gone according to plan. Zig fishing is something that I will be focusing on more in the future, I know there's still a lot I need to get my head around and I'm fully aware that it's not a "one size fits all" style of fishing. I genuinely don't think that all waters will respond, especially in regards to spodding over the top, on pressured waters I feel this could hinder me.

If you've stuck with me on these two zig fishing blogs, I'd like to thank you, there's been a lot of theory and descriptions, I wanted to explain it in a way that made it clear to understand and hopefully it's made sense to you. If you still doubt zig fishing as an approach, trust me, it works, but you've got to be prepared to commit, persevere and put the time in, if you do, the rewards will come, finally, if you choose to use the rig I've shown, and you catch, please do let me know. 

Blunts Mere 'Adjustable Zig Obsession' Part 1

In this first post I'm going to explain to you how I go about setting up my adjustable zigs and share my thoughts about the approach as a whole. The second part of this blog will be accounting for my zig session on Blunts Mere and the fish I managed to catch. A lot of this blog is theory based so please bare with me, I'm going to explain everything as clearly as possible. I know that a lot of people can't quite get their head around zig fishing, I was one of those people until I made the decision that I was going to really dedicate proper time to it.

As you all know by now, there are no secrets with me, if I find an approach that works then I'm more than happy to share it, if you then adopt it into your own fishing and catch, that makes it all worthwhile. I purposely haven't read or watched anything about zigs because I wanted to draw my own conclusions. As explained in my previous blog, I've come to a point in my angling where I had to commit to this specific style to feel that I'm moving forward, as an angler I want to learn as much as I can about everything that's involved in catching carp. 

Like everything in life that we choose to focus on and indulge in on a regular basis, it's very easy to become stagnant, single minded, and reluctant to step out of our comfort zone. Despite what some people might think, I feel we only really learn from our mistakes, and we only master something by perseverance and a healthy perspective. I find the common problem that can occur is when we don't learn from our 'shortfalls', and proceed to continue down the wrong path, blissfully unaware that we are making the same errors. This can be so painfully true in regards to carp angling and even more so in drumming. 

As a drummer I wanted/needed to be moving forward all the time, I refused to stand still and when I felt that I was stuck in a rut I made dam sure that I was aware, I'd then proceed to make changes, and in doing so, push ahead, the whole process might of led me to 'boarder line insanity' but it was a path I was destine to walk.

It's basically the same situation with my fishing, once you've found a spot that works, find another, once you feel you've made good headway on a water, move on to another ..... it's continuous, doing this widens your experience and over time your "angling mind" expands, when this happens I find you're in a position where you can read the waters in front of you in a far more analytical way. 

Years ago I use to get so negative when I didn't catch and the frustration that I felt would cloud my whole viewpoint. Instead of stepping back and asking myself "why I wasn't catching" and "what I could do to change things" I'd pack up and leave the water in a negative fog, and 9 times out of 10, I'd go back to the lake on my next trip and proceed to fish it in the exact same way again, I wasn't moving forward, I was simply standing still.

Nowadays I take at least three positive things away from each session, blanking or catching, for example, "my casting was accurate", "my solid bags were well tied" and "my baiting was spot on". Once these points had been acknowledged then I would start to think what I could do next time to successfully land a fish or improve my chance of getting more bites. 

I started looking upon my time on the bank as a continuous long term journey rather than a series of single sessions. It took a long time for me to master this train of thought but once I did, my perspective expanded and it goes without saying that my catch rate improved as well.

Zig Caught Common A Few Winters Ago

Cutting out all the above and putting it in the most simplistic way possible - "To expand, learn and improve on anything in our lives, we must be willing to put the time in, acknowledge our mistakes and learn from them." And now this brings me on to adjustable zig fishing, it's been a long and frustrating journey but it all seems to have fallen into place, and all the points I have made so far had to be put into practice to make 'the zig' work for me. 

And so we begin..

There is no doubt that zig fishing can be an effective form of catching carp, it's logic that if a fish can detect a single hook-bait obscured within a lunar landscape on the bottom of the water, they sure as hell can hone in on a static single bait fished in the middle to upper layers. 

Does zig fishing work on every venue? this is debate-able, I'm leaning towards "No", I don't believe it does. Just like bottom bait fishing, all waters are different in regards to what the carp are willing to take, there are so many variables, some feed over big beds, some don't, some take singles, others, light spreads of boilie, some respond to spodding whilst others switch off as soon as spods start exploding everywhere. So taking these points into consideration, it's common sense that some lakes wont produce when 'zig fished', the carp might well eye them up but not feel comfortable sucking them in, obviously this could change over time. 

I wanted to give myself the best shot of catching so I decided on a water that I felt gave me the best chance. Blunts Mere is a productive venue that holds a lot of carp, I decided that this would be the perfect place to give a focused adjustable zig session a go. I'd been obsessing about zigs for so long and it was consuming any mental space I had in my mind for anything else, I needed to beat the curiosity out of me at the first given chance. 

The day that I chose to go we had winds of 50mph and bouts of very heavy rain. I thought that this would be the perfect conditions, all the natural food would be spinning and twirling through the layers and the crazy chop on the surface would shield the disturbance from my spod hitting the surface. I was planning to get so much slop into the water that it would be impossible for the carp to ignore. I wanted to use the strong winds to my advantage. - 'more on this in part 2'

In the image below you will see a black leaf holding in the upper layers of the water, this was when zigs really started to make sense to me, it held without moving for well over 45 minutes. I started to think that the lake was probably littered with different objects of all varying shapes and sizes delicately holding and fluttering about. 

The Eureka Moment

First things first was how to set up an adjustable rig that was going to function properly. During my 'obsessing' I had been bouncing lots of ideas around in my mind regarding rig components and how I wanted to use them. I started thinking about how you setup a marker float, took the blueprint of it and adjusted it accordingly. 

The first thing that I really thought about was the lead, in my mind this was now going to become an anchor, I wanted something that would hold the bottom allowing me to adjust the depth of the zig without it being periodically dragged along the bottom. If I was to be able to focus on moving my bait up and down, carefully searching out the depths, the whole setup had to be foolproof.

 Carpy Chris 2.5oz Slug Is My Lead Of Choice

You will see in the image above that I've made the lead "safe", what I mean by this is, I've eliminated all the parts that could create tangles. I've slid a silicone sleeve over the swivel and attached a 'running ring' in place of the swivel eye, the line will now be able to move freely through the running ring with less chance of getting clogged up. Because of the leads shape, it will plug nicely into lakes with softer bottoms - a perfect anchor.

Now on to the next piece of the puzzle, for the 'adjustable' element to work correctly every time, I needed an anti-tangle setup that would not only cast well, but upon landing, able me to adjust the depth of my bait accordingly. To do this I opted to use buffer beads and a large wooden bead which I call "The Spacer". 

Buffer Beads And Spacer

On the cast not only do the buffer beads and spacer cushion the lead against the float, they also stop the float itself from getting clogged up in the silt and any debris on the bottom that the lead might land in, as we know, if the float doesn't have the ability to rise up, the rig is rendered useless. 

Depending on what type of bottom I'm casting in to, I will adjust the number of beads to suit. For instance over gravel I will use between two and three beads, over silt and muck I will use anything up to five. Doing this ensures that the rig will operate properly upon landing, on the cast both the beads and spacer create a boom that naturally kick the float and hook link away.  

3 Bead Lead And Spacer Arrangement 

'Standard Clear Lake Bed'

4 Bead Lead And Spacer Arrangement 

'Silty Lake Bed'

On the second image above you'll notice that I've compressed some tungsten putty on to the spacer, this is to ensure that it sinks and slides down the line staying clear of the float. All I want suspended up in the water is the float and my hook bait, I don't want anything out of the ordinary to spook the carp. 

For my zig float I use a large 'Fox Predator Float' and simply turn it upside down, this specific float has a silicone sleeve that your hook-link swivel can slide into. it's super buoyant and easy to spot on the surface of the water, if your vision is poor you can always add a fleck of colour to it with float paint. I know that there are floats on the market that are solely specified for zig fishing but any predator float will do the job equally well.

Large Fox Predator Float 'Upside Down' 

Once all the above rig components are on the line then you are ready to attach your hook-link. I favour a link between 2ft to 4ft, anything longer than that can make casting tricky. I find 4ft perfect because it's not too long and it means that the float is exactly 4ft under the hook-bait, this keeps it away from any feeding fish and minimises the chances of a passing carp coming into contact with it. The below image shows the rig setup below the float, you'll notice that the four beads and spacer are naturally kicking away from the lead.

Rig Setup Below The Float

Now we move on to the hook-link section, I've gone through a fair few different lines that are designed for zig fishing, to be honest I haven't been very impressed with any of them, they seem prone to twisting and kinking easily. The material that I find the best to use is 'Rig Marole Specialist Mono' in 10IB and 12IB breaking strains. It stays nice and straight, doesn't kink or twist and has great knot strength, it's a very workable material and very hard to spot when in the water. 

In regards to hook pattern, both the Nash Fang X and Twister hooks in size 8 are perfect. Because of the Twisters angled eye it creates a nice natural curve without having to use any silicone tubing. The Fang X is an aggressive hook pattern which is well suited on a rig such as this. For camouflage and covert purposes I wouldn't use any hook bigger than a size 8.

Vital Components

I set the hook bait up exactly the same as I do on my pop up rigs with the only difference being that my bait is touching the hook, I want the carp to be nailed the minute it mouths the bait, also with the bait being pinned close to the hook I feel it helps in disguising it. If you use a long hair you've got to think that the hook will be more visible floating up in the water.

Now on to the hook bait, it can be a minefield when deciding what one to use, not only are there so many now on the market, you've got to consider what a carp is most lightly going to have a go at. In darker water I feel that your oranges and yellows really come into play, we've got to think that the carps vision is slightly obscured. 

In clearer water dull colours like brown and black will stand out very well without being overbearing. On the day of my session I decided to go with a mixture of yellow, black and dull white, this made perfect sense to me because the water wasn't really clouded up, in fact it was clearer than usual. 

Don't Be Afraid To Experiment With Your Bait

In the image below you'll see how I set my hook bait up, the hair is very short and locked in place with a tiny piece of silicone tubing. The hook in this picture is a fang twister, you'll notice that the hook is sitting at a nice aggressive angle. The hook bait is an 'Avid Zig Lite' topped off with a buoyant imitation maggot. The maggot sitting on top of a fleck of yellow and black might just nail a curious carp, anything that mimics a natural bait is a sure fire winner in my book.

Simple But Effective

The rig is pretty much finished now, one last touch I like to add to ensure against tangles is sliding a 'anti-tangle' sleeve over the swivel of the hook-link. This is to make sure that the link is kicked away both on the cast and upon entering the water. Anything that maximises the anti-tangle properties of the rig is a must, you want to feel at ease knowing that the presentation is functioning correctly after every cast. 

You usually know if a tangle has occured because the float won't rise to the surface, I can say that after countless casts I think I've suffered from tangles about three times. This was due more to my casting style rather than a fault in the rig setup. I will explain more about how I cast this rig in part 2.

Anti-Tangle Sleeve Over A Size 8 Swivel

Once your hook link is tied and ready you simply attach it to the mainline 'that's running through the centre' of your float and slide your swivel into the silicone sleeve, you're now ready for the cast. Because the swivel slides into the float I feel that this enhances the "self-hooking effect", not only that but if you get a crack off the swivel will release from the float safely. To ensure this is the case, I rub a little Vaseline onto the hook link swivel so it releases without too much effort.

Slide Hook Link Swivel Into The Floats Sleeve

Finished Rig

To conclude this post, I've been around the houses with different rig combinations, looked at all the gadgets on the market including some of the 'zig kits' available and I can confirm that I'm 100% confident in using the rig I've explained. 

The key to a good adjustable zig rig is making it nice and streamline without any cumbersome booms or connectors, none of it has to be complicated. Simplicity is the key and whatever components you use, make sure that each one is relevant and has a role to play.

If you follow the blueprint of a marker float setup you really can't go far wrong. I hope what I've explained makes sense to you, I've been as thorough as possible. Part two of this blog will show the effectiveness of this approach, it turned out being a great session with lots of action and I look forward to sharing it with you. 

CLICK HERE FOR PART TWO