Carping In The Winter 'Still Life'

I still have a few sessions to write up before my late autumn blogs start to appear but with the first signs of winter slowly showing I would like to share with you my thoughts and feelings about how I approach my angling once the cold weather has set in. I know that come the first frost a lot of people hang their carp rods up and they're eventually dusted off again once spring has arrived. My carp rods are never hung up, I will continue to fish all through the year, the only thing that stops me is thick ice, having said that, there's been a few occasions where I have cracked the ice to be able to fish and managed to have a few.

I believe that carp do continue to feed how ever cold it gets, maybe not every fish in the lake but a few will still be on the look out for a bit of grub. I also believe the time that they feed for is condensed right down, it could be for half hour, or maybe just ten minutes. That is why location is so important, I want my bait to be where the fish are so if they do switch on I am giving myself the best chance of landing one.

"I am a very firm believer that in life you have to be able to deal with failure before you're able to deal with success. Learning to live with little money gives you the foresight on how to handle money when/if it's in abundance. One other example that I am very familiar with is on the drums, you have to be able to play everything slow before you can play it fast correctly"

Now move all the examples in the above paragraph over to your angling.

To understand fully how carp feed in the summer you must have a solid experience of how they tend to feed in the winter. To keep those 'productive sessions' during the summer months in perspective, you've got to be able to deal with the empty sessions that barely even produce a liner, when you feel that every fish in all the waters have been magically transported to a secret world where we 'the angler' has no access to, and the idea of you bite alarm sounding is almost a lost memory. 

Sitting in a swim surrounded by the beauty of a world in bloom is so much more appreciated when you've seen it bleak with leafless trees and the so many tired worn out greys. It's as if the life that once inhabited the banks has flat-lined, with not so much as a faint pulse as evidence of it ever being alive. I call this time 'the dead season' and for me it's so very important to experience it in its beauty. It can be hard and soul destroying at times but it's all part of the angling process.

Still Life

I have mentioned it in the past a few times but angling to me isn't just about catching fish, it's the connections that we make, not only with ourselves but with all that surrounds us whilst we spend our hours by the water. I yearn for clarity, after spending years dulling reality with excessive alcohol I now find myself trying to make up for all the time that I'd lost being in the haze of a hang over. 

Come the end of Autumn when the weather is teetering on the edge of the first heavy frost, being by your rods, sitting in silence can produce a strange panoramic sensation. It's the prime opportunity to become part of everything around you, the colours seem richer, the detailing more dense, it's as if we are caught in a 'still life' photograph that only us, 'the angler' has the pleasure of witnessing. Maybe if we are lucky a lovely carp, now draped in its winter colours might just include itself within our picture, but how do we go about catching them when everything around us is in hibernation?

Scaling Down The Tackle

As we know, the colder the waters get, the carp become less active, their metabolism slows down meaning they don't feel the need to feed as much. It's taken me many fruitless winters to fine tune how I approach catching them when they're not up for feeding a great deal. Firstly, the less active the fish become, the more active I have to be, I scale all my gear down to the bare essentials so I can move and stay as mobile as possible. I have major OCD when it comes to my angling and I'll be the first to admit that I love setting my swim up like a home from home, everything tidy, lined up and organised. 

Staying Mobile

My winter fishing is the complete opposite, everything stays on the barrow and I simply set up what is needed. The carp cradle changes to a large padded unhooking mat, the big rods are now traded in for my stalkers, 8.5ft, paired up with my mini bait runners. My buzzers are simply two alarms, two bobbins with no back rest, just a single bank stick to prop them up. My tea making kit, food bag and any other luxury is left at home, anything to make the load lighter. My bait will be a few freezer bags of boilies and some pellet, the amount of bait I use decreases greatly.

The Dead Season 

My baiting strategy is simply fishing for a bite at a time. I want to create as much attraction as possible with no real solid food items for the carp to pick up. I favour pellets with a quick breakdown time, over the top I might fish cut down boilies or reduce the boilie size with a single or double 10mil on the hair.

I'll also introduce ground baits mixed in with the pellet, in theory both the pellets and the ground bait will dissolve and rest upon the bottom of the lake, be it silt, clay or gravel, I believe enough attraction will then be in the water to send signals to the carp, because the only solid food item in the swim is my hook bait, I feel I am doing the best I can to up the odds of getting a bite. I don't believe the 'big hit' approach works very well when temperatures drop, maybe if you are on the water for 24 to 48 hours but I don't night fish, I need to find ways of getting results in limited time. 

Less Is More

For me, moving between spots is vital, dropping a few handfuls of bait along marginal areas and then moving and rotating between them during the session can really pay off. Depending on how much fish activity I am getting, be it liners or little jolts on the tip etc, I will fish on each spot for 45 minutes to an hour. 

During this time, if I see evidence of carp anywhere else on the lake, I will move on to them. Adopting this approach means that you are pretty much on the go all the time and you have to be prepared to stay active. But there's nothing quite like landing a fish knowing full well that you've done everything you could to make it happen. Again, winter sessions aren't about comfort, they're about trying to get amongst the carp.

Winter Skin

Moving around also has its psychological benefits, I remember so many sessions in the past where I've stayed static, perched behind lifeless rods, it always got to a point in the day when you knew that nothing was going to occur, it was a draining experience and I always felt like I could be doing so much more to get a bite. 

With each move comes a huge level of refuelled enthusiasm, if you keep the feed sparsely going in on all your chosen spots then there's a good chance that the odd fish might of moved on to at least one of them whilst you were fishing else where. It's that infinite feeling of 'anything could happen', winter fishing is the prime opportunity to think outside the box. It takes me a few sessions to really get in to the rhythm of staying mobile but it doesn't take long for things to slot in to place, it's all about your mind set.

Target More Than One Swim

In regards to bait, I predominately stick with milk protein base mixes, all fruity type flavors seem to do very well. I still do use some fishmeal based baits but nowhere near as much as I do during the warmer months. Despite popular belief fishmeal baits can work very well in cold conditions and I've had the results in the past to prove this. To give my hook baits that added boost I will preserve them in glug too the point where they expand and soften right up, I steer clear of any oils because they have a tendency to congeal and not perform in the same way that they do when the waters are warm.

Fruity Blends

Regarding rigs, I don't change anything, common belief is that you need to go down a hook size and possibly switch to running rigs. I think the 'running rig' theory tends to come into play because "as the carp are moving slower" they might eject off of a 'semi-fixed' setup. I don't find any need to change, if it works in the summer, it will work in the winter. 

The only aspect I pay a lot of attention to is 'rig concealment', some waters do tend to clear up during prolonged cold periods so I want my end tackle to be as unassuming as possible. Due to the fact now that most of my fishing is under the rod tip, my lead size will go down to 1.5oz. This means if I am lowering a rig on to spots that fish might have moved in to, I want to keep disturbance to a minimum. When I use lighter leads I will fish a tight clutch on the take, doing this should help to drive the hook home.

Subtle Rig Presentations

Along with all the points above I can't stress enough how important observation is. I keep my eyes on the water all the time, I like to position myself where I can see the majority of the lake that I am fishing. Even in freezing conditions the carp can be rather clumsy at giving themselves away, the odd show is worth clocking, but if fish are continuing to show more than once in the same area its worth acting upon and investigating it.

Finally ... use winter to your advantage, get to know your chosen waters better, maybe dedicate a few hours to some marker float work, map spots that you've always liked the look of, suss out the typography of the lake, everything that you learn can be used as ammunition come the following season. Make notes on certain areas of interest, mark the distances to interesting spots that you might find, there's so many things that can be done by the water if you don't actually feel like fishing it.

I think I've pretty much covered the main aspects of my cold water tactics. As we know, we all fish for different reasons, some of us are far more intense than others as to how we go about catching a fish. Be it summer, autumn and winter, we all have our favoured preferences, either way, enjoy it, I know I can sound pretty intense about my angling with the way I write it all up but the remaining constant through it all is the ability to enjoy your time on the bank, what ever the weather and what ever the season. 

Still in two minds about hitting the bank this winter? 

Wrap up warm, get out there, and see what happens, and most of all ...... Enjoy It

Boreham Mere 'A Tsunami Of Thought'

I first laid eyes on Boreham mere when I participated in an out of season work party, to me, it's a proper history water and many sought after carp have resided within its depths over the decades. The lake itself feels like it's locked in time, the minute you shut the gate behind you and walk down the path, the mere presents itself through the trees, it's a magical sight and you really get the feeling that there's some special carp just waiting to be tamed. It's no means easy by any stretch of the imagination but I have no doubt the rewards are abundant if you put the time in, as we know anything worth having isn't easy to obtain.

When I approach waters that are known to be ball breakers I find that I have to think about them in a completely different way. There are a number of venues that I fish that are very tricky, it's all to do with your mind set. You can't step on to a hard venue with the same expectations as you do when tackling a more productive water.

I have walked the lake a few times and I'm yet to see a single carp, there are a lot of places for them to hide. There's a mass of overhanging trees, reeds and a good majority of the water is taken up with beds of pads. Among the main features are two islands, there is a lot to go at and some real obvious looking spots, I plan to avoid all of them, I have a feeling that all these areas see a lot of pressure, I wanted to explore the nooks and crannies. As usual my head starting spinning with possibilities so I really had to pace myself with my thinking. 

Boreham Beauty

It became clear that a lot of people cast as close to the pads as possible, a good few fish come from doing this. There have also been reports of anglers casting over the pads and dragging the carp through them. I personally think this is disgusting behaviour, I won't fish spots if I know that I won't be able to land the fish safely. The "fish at any cost" approach is unfortunately something that now plagues modern carp angling. I have said in previous posts that fish care starts from the fight, heaving and yanking them around can do untold damage and create even more stress to an already stressful situation.  

I have a theory that a lot of the bigger, more elusive fish are solitary creatures, on Boreham I want to be fishing for a bite at a time. I don't think the "big hit" method is going to work, the mouthful approach has been doing me well over the past few months. As we know, too much of one thing has the reverse effect, this goes for everything from drinking alcohol and coffee to eating sweets and fatty foods. It's all fine in moderation but too much of one thing can have adverse effects. 

I believe this also carries through to baiting strategies, all the waters see so much bait, kilos upon kilos are being put in all the time. We know that this can work on some waters very well but I believe it can also kill a lake outright. I believe pressured waters fish differently to those that don't see so much angling pressure, I find that the 'by the book' approach can fall short. I have come to understand that there are so many variables in carp fishing and you have to adjust all the time to cater for the situation that stands before you.

Closing The Day On The Mere

I think there is this set belief that the carp will simply hoover up everything that they come across. I personally don't believe this is the case, I think bait can be sitting on the lake bed for days at a time, maybe the odd fish will pass by and take a few mouthfuls, and the scamps might eventually move in and have a feast but I don't think the carp 'always' has the bottomless stomach that we think it does, again I believe angling pressure changes the way the fish feed.

How do we know when and when not to pile the bait in?

The above question is very simple for me, it's a process of trial and error, dedicating sessions to different baiting patterns and making notes on what's the most effective on each specific water. There are at least three waters that I know I can get away with piling it in, the rest requires thought and careful application. Boreham instantly communicated to me that careful application was the way forward. 

My first two sessions were spent targeting the shallows, this is the end with the majority of the pads. Within these sessions I chose to try a few different baiting approaches, on one rod I had a tight spread, the other a large spread covering a good five or so meters around the hook bait. As expect, neither rods produced a fish, with two blanks under my belt I decided to follow my original plan, which was to fish singles.

When I arrived at the water for my third session the lake had an optimistic feel about it, there was a light drizzle and a gentle warm breeze, it felt right. My swim of choice was on the opposite end to the shallows, it was called 'Bottles', I liked the look of this specific swim because it gave you a lot of options. As previously stated, I wanted to avoid all the obvious features so I decided to target the channels in between both the pads and the island that was directly in front of me.

Bottles

Before getting my baits out I wanted to suss out what I was fishing over, I've heard there are a lot of under water features all over the place. I wanted to do this quick with the least amount of disturbance so I removed my marker float and opted to have a quick chuck about with just a lead. The bottom was predominately soft, my left hand spot felt silty, as I checked the lead I could see a good few bloodworm within the soft stuff, that was a very good sign. The right hand spot again felt soft, I decided to put a bottom bait on the bloodworm patch and a pop up on the right hand rod.

Subtle Feature Finding

My chosen baits were Honey Nectar and Banana Cream, I have a huge amount of confidence fishing these two flavors as singles. As usual my rigs were nothing complicated, my bottom bait had a nice long hair and the pop up was balanced well. To me rigs are such a grey area within angling, I find when I over complicate things, problems can easily occur. 

The more simple you make it the less there is to go wrong, I find people can get really hung up on the specifics, I still believe that if the fish are feeding and you are right on top of them, two side hooked grains of corn on a float will pretty much catch anything that swims. I have four different rigs that cover all fishing conditions, I have used them for the past 20 years with good effect, apart from the hook link materials, I can't see myself changing anything ....  "if it ain't broke", it doesn't need to be fixed.

Basic Bottom Bait

 Basic Pop Up Rig

Once the rigs were sorted and the lines clipped up, I sat back to have an extra strong coffee before casting out. The wind was in my face and I had a real gut feeling the fish could well be following it. Once the caffeine buzz kicked in I got both baits out with clean, feathered casts, popped the back leads on, set my bobbins and sat back in anticipation. Was it going to be third time lucky?

View From The Swim

To what I can only describe as utter shock, things happened quickly, the left hand rod was away, at first I thought it was probably a bream. The idea of hooking a Boreham chunk so quickly was almost impossible to process. I lent into the fish and the rod arced round, this was no bream and as the clutch started ticking it was clear that there was something pretty tasty on the other end. Cushioning the lunges, I was making good headway and the fish started cruising my way, once under the rod tip it really woke up, I was dying to get a glimpse of the monster that saw it fit to take my single offering, but it stayed down in the water. Just as it was starting to tire and come to the surface ...... ping!! the hook came out, I couldn't believe it, I can't remember the last time I lost a fish to a hook pull. 

I was gutted, I started thinking that fishing a bottom bait might not be the answer. It only takes a small bit of debris masking the hook to effect how efficiently it nails the carp. I proceeded to rig the rod up with a pop up, whilst doing this the right rod gave a few bleeps and shot into life. I scrambled for it, I couldn't believe I had another chance of landing another Boreham carp. This fish was roaring around and I held on for dear life, slowing edging her towards me. It surfaced a little way out and I caught a glimpse of a long common, my pulse was racing and I was determined to get this one in the net. Before I knew it, it was ready to give up the ghost, once in the net the relief was overwhelming. Scales sunk to 24IB exactly, what a bloody result and what a fish it was.

24IB Of Boreham Gold

I felt myself very fortunate that I had another shot at landing a fish and to be honest it took the sting out of losing the previous one. I don't think it was coincidence that the pop up nailed her, it was a solid hook hold, I think in certain spots the hook of a bottom bait can be compromised by debris. In the future I will only fish a bottom bait rig when I know I'm fishing over the hard stuff. My theory about fishing singles might just be right and if I focus hard enough I might be able to slowly pick the fish off. However tempted I might be in future sessions to load the swims up with bait, I must abstain and stick to my original plan. 

One More Coffee And Then Home

The rest of the day remained silent, I think I'd timed it just right, the fish were obviously moving through the area, getting two takes tells me that they probably move around in groups, this is something I shall bare in mind for the future. Next time I might try fishing both rods closer together, time will tell and I am sure my perspective will change a good few times before I feel settled with the place. Either way it was a positive start to a journey that is going to be very testing. I look forward to sharing it with you.

Wick Mere 'Karmic Rewards'

My last session on Wick was a while ago now, I was eager to get back but I knew that if I couldn't get the toilet swim or the back swim by the woods, I'd be wasting my time, during the day at least, Wick is pretty much a two swim lake. My thoughts had become very obsessive about the place and having a little time away from it felt like the sensible thing to do. I am not sure what it is specifically about Wick that took hold of me, I can't recall any other water that has caught my imagination so much. I know the challenge is something that appeals greatly but the rumours of long dark commons was something I just couldn't let go of. On this specific day I had originally set out to do a session on Boreham Mere but when I arrived at the water it was full of anglers and I didn't see much point in squeezing on. I thought I'd shoot down to Wick on the off chance that one of my favoured swims might be available, if not I'd shoot over to Braxted.

As I pulled up to the front gate I was met with an empty car park, my heart started racing, today might be the day I finally got to fish the water the way that I wanted to, if the theory of EFFORT=REWARD is correct and karma is kind to me, then I am due for one hell of a payout. As I drove down the long and bumpy track I could see that the toilet swim was free .. result!! I wasted no time and got all my gear out, dropped the van back up in the car park and legged it back down to get sorted. The time was 12:30 am and I was planning to leave at 6:00 pm, I didn't have a huge amount of time but I felt confident that I could get a result.

The weather was perfect, it was sunny, overcast and the wind was violent, almost gale force. I love conditions like these, it's so exhilarating being on the bank, it blows all your cobwebs away and you feel well and truly alive. The wind was blowing directly into my face so it was a good job that I wasn't going for a long chuck. This specific swim controls a lot of water, out in front of you are a few scattered weed beds and some gravely areas. To the right you have the mouth of the bay that I was planning to target.

To hit my spot my plan was to wade out and set my rods up in the water, doing this would give me the angle that I needed to get up in to the small bay by the woods, this zone of the lake is pretty much untouched and I knew that the fish held up there, I'd seen so much evidence of it on previous sessions. Fishing from the bank didn't allow you to get anywhere near where I was planning to put my baits. The whole of the woodland bank has been shut off, it's been like this for along time now and I knew the carp were fully aware of this.

Positioning

I waded out up to chest level, my rods were set up on storm poles so they were nice and high. The cast was a little tricky but perfectly doable. It's a strange sensation wading out to fish, you feel so connected, like being plugged directly in to 'the source' of nature, completely immersed in your environment, it can really change your perspective on things. Being by the water is one thing but actually being in it is a different experience all together.

High On The Sticks

My chosen bait for this session was Honey Nectar, its caught for me so well this season, I was planning to really pile it in, if the fish were milling about the bay area I wanted to keep them there and get them competing for food, the more competitive they get, the higher chance you have of them tripping up on the hook bait. In regards to rigs, as usual I was going to keep it simple, I was going to fish a slow sinking pop up, I decided to fish leaders on both rods to protect my line from the weed and the swan mussels. From past experience I know that the carp are expert escape artists and I don't want to be losing any of the fish that I hook.

Honey Nectar Pop Ups

Starmer have been working on a new 'Ultra Buoyant' pop up that I've been helping to development. I've been putting them through their paces with positive results, close attention has been paid to making sure they look identical to the matching bottom bait of the same flavor. They've managed to get it spot on and side by side you'd be pressed to tell them apart.

Bottom Bait vs Pop Up

I've been experimenting with a presentation where I make the bait hover slightly off the bottom. It's been working very well for me over thin weed and debris. It's a bit of a fiddle to set it up but it's an approach that I am becoming very confident in using. It consists of hollowing out the pop up and replacing it with zig foam, this makes the bait 'super' buoyant, thus making manipulating it a lot easier. As well as performing minor surgery  on a boilie it also requires just the right amount of tungsten putty to counter balance both the hook and bait. When carp are actively feeding on your spot I have no doubt that the disturbance causes your loose feed to rise and fall in the water. The ultimate goal with this presentation is to make the hook bait act as natural as possible, rising and falling with the rest of the free offerings.

Hollow Out The Pop Up

Gently Ease The Foam Into The Hole Made

Before casting anything out I decided to load the swim up with at least two kilo of bait, I spread it all over my chosen zone. I left it a good half hour before casting anything out. I gave myself one feathered cast on each rod to keep the disturbance to a minimum. I had a gut feeling that the action was going to be pretty instant so my weigh sling, scales, tripod and carp care products were all set up prior to casting out.

View From The Swim

Baits were placed and I stood solid by my rods, the wind was really beating on me and the water was almost pushing up over my chest waders. Within five minutes my right rod shot off, I was on it straight away and proceeded to try and tame what felt like a wild beast on the end of my line. I could see I was in to a long dark common, she fought hard until the end and was pretty dam reluctant to get in the net. Scrambling back to dry land I could see it was a pretty good fish, once in the sling, scales fell to 18IB, what a beauty she was.

A Dark Wick Beast

After I slipped her back I put another 100 or so baits back in the zone and got the rod cleanly out, no fuss, first cast. I stood in anticipation, I really felt like I was doing everything right. Twenty minutes or so later the same rod was off again, this felt like a better fish, taking line slowly, it felt solid as it lunged around, I was using my lighter rods for this session, the blank was pretty much bent double. Slowly she started to tire, I caught a glimpse of another dark common, it looked like a good twenty for sure, easing the net out and teasing her over I knew I'd caught a beauty, scales fell to 24IB 5oz, she was an incredible creature.

24IB Pure Beauty

This fish blew my mind, it was perfect in every way and it was a real pleasure to watch her slowly swim off, it's these poignant angling moments that people that don't fish will never understand. For me the release is as much of a buzz as a capture, as they swim away and fade slowly into the depths you can only wonder where they might be heading.

"Try To Bare With Me On The Paragraphs Below, I Will Try To Explain The Best I Can"

After a moment of quiet reflection I got a fresh bait rigged up and cast it right back on the spot. Again, I topped the swim up with more bait, I wanted to keep it going in. What happened next was a moment of pure madness, thirty minutes passed, my left rod was off again shortly followed by the right, it was a double take and I didn't know what the hell to do, I grabbed my left rod letting the right one run, at one point I was trying to frantically play both fish at the same time, it was actually working in some goofy way. 

The left rod felt like it had the better fish on it, I placed the right rod on the rests having tightened the clutch up, this approach seemed to work. It bought me enough time to land the first fish which was placed in the cradle, I filled it right up with water so the carp was comfortable. I grabbed the right rod and netted the fish, it looked about 13IB, I slipped her straight back and went to take care of the other carp bathing in my cradle. Obviously having time to rest, it was full of energy, a minor fish slapping occurred, I got soaked and hit in the face by its tail, it was worth it though, scales sunk to 20IB.

Another Dark Common

I slipped her back, with both rods now out the water, I was eager to get them both back as fast as possible. Before the cast I changed hook-links so the hooks themselves were nice and fresh. One thing I'd noticed, with each fish landed, there was a lot of weed on both the rig and leader. It confirmed that my ultra balanced bait presentation was working a treat. In the image below you will notice that the tungsten putty is sitting a couple of millimetres off the bottom, readying the hook to catch hold easily. 

Hovering Bait Presentation

Things slowed up for a while, I landed a small single figured common that I returned straight away, the mouth was in a sorry state. I don't like seeing this, it's completely avoidable, I have a strong belief that if you have to use your Klinic, then you've done it wrong. Of course damage can occur, sometimes it's unavoidable but the mouth damage I have come across in the past is unforgivable really. We have to respect our fish, look after them, play them and handle them with care. That's the first rule of angling for me.

The afternoon evaporated, I had about an hour left, during 'last knockings' my left rod was away, I was on it like a shot, the rod bent double and it felt like I was connected to another special fish, the fight was immense, the fish weeded me up a few times but with gentle, steady pressure I managed to get her out. It wasn't long before I had another bar of black gold in my net, scales fell to 24IB. I was buzzing, the sort of commons I was obsessing about do exist and I have been lucky enough to have a few of them grace my net. After a few photos I slipped her back and watched her slowly glide into the murky abyss.

A Perfect Fish To Close The Day

What a session it had been, it exceeded all expectation and has, without a doubt quenched my thirst for the venue. I knew what I had to do to get a result and I believe Karma had rewarded me for the long run of blanks that I'd gone through. I don't mind blanking, it's part of the process, as long as I am learning along the way. Constant observation is the key, without it I wouldn't of been able to gauge what I'd have to do to get a result. Observation is hard to master, to me it's an important element included in your overall watercraft. I am done on Wick for awhile now, next stop Boreham Mere.

Goodnight

Braxted Reservoir 'Singing From The Fields'

As I sit typing this blog it's very clear that summer has well and truly left us. Out the window a miserable amount of cloud fills the sky and the rain is launching a brave assault on my windows. I know this is great fishing weather and as usual I will be braving the banks through both Autumn and Winter, it's my favourite time to be out there. Today though, I thought I'd escape for a while and recall a successful session I had on the Braxted reservoir a month or so ago.

There were two things that very much stuck in my mind about this session, not only did I bank a 28IB 5oz common but the weather was incredible. It was one of those days where there were very few clouds in the sky, it was almost as if they ceased to exist. There were a thousand shades of blue and the breeze was constant and warm. Sprawling behind me was an ocean of corn fields and with each gust of wind came a strange, ghostly serenade as the stems shifted back and forth with military timing, I was in the heart of nature and I was loving it. On days like this it's so easy to experience pure clarity and being on the bank is both an honor and a privilege. It goes to show that angling intertwines so much more than just going and catching fish, if you focus too much on the numbers you'll miss all that is around you.

The Corn Fields Sang Behind Me

Having targeted the dam wall on my previous sessions, I decided that I'd like to explore more of the water. When I arrived, there was a tempting swim available that gave me a few good looking spots on the other end of the dam to where I'd previously fished. I must admit that this was tempting but I abstained the urge to fish it and made my way up towards the centre of the water.

I started to think that if I was a big carp I might feel inclined to stray away from the crowds and lurk quietly under a tree or in an unassuming spot. With this in mind I decided to fish a swim half way up the left bank, free from any marginal features. I wasn't going to fish very far out, I wanted to see if I could pick a couple off as they made their way along the margin. After having a lead around it was shallow close in and then gently sloped down, I wanted to target the water at about 4ft.

View From The Moon

I was going to stick to the bait I'd used in previous sessions, the coconut fish combined with the halibut & coconut seemed to work very well. This time around I wanted to work with a black and white combination, I wanted a presentation that had the feel of what the old humbug sweets looked like. I am growing weary of tipping my baits with yellow, I think it's being done to death nowadays and I am sure some of the bigger, wiser carp are starting to suss this out. 

Coconut Fish And Halibut & Coconut Combined

I was fishing two bottom baits both on semi-fixed rigs, my lead was 2.75oz, I was using a combi rig which consisted of Kryston 'SYNX' and Nash 'Trigger-Link'. I feel the Trigga-Link is a painfully under used item, for those that don't know, once it comes in contact with water it turns elasticated with a spring like quality. I believe this makes it harder for the carp to use the lead to drop the hook, every lunge and head shake is cushioned due to the elasticity of the 'Trigga-Link', I have had great success with this rig.

Trigga-Link/SYNX Combi

On my left rod I had Coconut Fish, I didn't top this off with anything, on my right rod, the Coconut & Halibut was topped off with white corn, this gave a great black & white combination and I felt it was a mix of colors that the carp just wouldn't be able to resist. 

I decided I was going to bait up heavily in a triangular shape, fishing one bait in the centre of the free offerings and the other bait a good half rods length off from the main concentration of bait. I was interested to see which bait pulled the better fish, I still believe on pressured waters the big fish opt for the 'mouthful' approach and I don't believe they just hoover up everything they come across. I think it's far more complicated than that, I am wanting to create a presentation that has a very 'nonuniform' feel about it.

Triangular Baiting Pattern

I got both my rods out by mid morning, baited up nice and tidy and sat back in anticipation to see if my 'hunch' about the margins was going to pay off. Periodically I would add a few baits to the swim, I feel that the carp move around a lot and at some point should come across my zone. A few coffees later and a little doze, the rods remained static, instead of re-baiting and recasting I decided to sit it out. I know the bait works and I knew my presentation was spot on. 

It was about 2:30pm when I got my first pick up, the left hand rod was alive and that awesomely addictive sound of my bite alarm had me scrabbling for the rod. As I lent into the fish it was kiting like crazy and I held on for dear life trying to cushion the onslaught. Finally tiring I caught a glimpse of a long, lean common, I was buzzing, eager to look at my prize, she was a beauty, I weighted her fast, 15IB on the noise, a few quick pictures were in order and then I slipped her back.

15IB Common On The Coconut Fish

I was very pleased, the fish came off of the rod that was fished deep within the bed of bait. I put about 50 boilies into the zone, recast and sat back to soak up my little victory. It shows that the carp do patrol close in, I was hoping that when the sun starts to evaporate I might be able to pick another few off. The hours went by and as the sun started to set it felt like the magic hour was approaching. Fish started showing all over the place and I could hear distant bite alarms sounding from a few of the other anglers around the lake.

My next take came off my right rod, this was the bait fished off the main spot, instantly this felt like a better carp and it took me a fair few minutes to tame. I netted another stunning looking common, scales sunk to 20IB, she fell to the 'black & white combination'.

20IB Common Caught On The White On Black Combo

It might have been sheer chance that the better fish of the two came from the bait on the outside of the zone, but once again it started me thinking that the bigger fish could be ghosting around the perimeters of large baited areas. Fishing on the edge of the main spot could just be the key to tripping up the larger residents of the waters.

What happened next was crazy, I changed the hook-link over so I had a new sharp hook on and then I flicked the bait out in to the same area. Within seconds of it landing my rod was pretty much pulled out of my hands. It took me totally by surprise, I lent back into whatever had picked it up and a very unsuspecting fight resumed. The carp had taken the bait on the drop, I can only assume when I cast it out, it landed right next to it's mouth.

I could feel that this was a big fish, my rod was bent double and it was slow, steady and powerful, I maintained the best control that I could, as it surfaced I could see I was into something a little bit special, the minutes passed and I was shaking, I really wanted to get this fish in. As I lowered the net into the water, 'the end' couldn't come quick enough. Finally a big long common stared up at me from the mesh, scales sunk to 28IB 5oz, what a bloody result and once again it came off the bait that wasn't put with the main offerings.

28IB 5oz Common, Very Pleased

What a session it had turned out to be, it started off slowly but really came together, the baiting approach seemed to do the trick and it's got me thinking hard about a few things. I came to realize a long time ago that if you stop thinking about your angling, you soon stop learning. 

Even when I blank I can recall a series of aspects that I've learnt, there is no such thing as a wasted or pointless session, but I guess it's the way you want to look at it. Angling is not a sprint, it's a very long marathon and just when you think that you are 'match fit', something nearly always occurs that humbles you. 

I packed up feeling like another piece of the puzzle just might be moulding itself into place. The sun set in the cloudless sky, the breeze became still and as I took the long and painful walk back to my car I once again felt very lucky to have discovered such a magical pass time.