Fox Stalker Pod Plus Review

Before I start this review I'd like to point out that I am in no way associated with Fox International, there seems to be a lack of reviews about certain tackle items and I hope this will help you out if you are considering a new rod pod. I had been on the look out for a new pod for quite sometime before I stumbled upon the 'Fox Stalker Plus'. Some of the lakes that I fish just don't have suitable banks or swims for my carbon sticks, my Matrix patriot pod is a majestic bit of kit but can be a pain in certain situations. There are days when I just want something that is simply setup, and away you go.

My love for 'the rod pod' goes way back to the early 90's, I have fond memories of my 'Fox Compact', it was the first pod I owned. Then came the 'Fox Euro', they lasted me for years, and for their time, both were pretty much cutting edge bits of kit. The downfall to both their designs was the locking mechanism, everything was solid when straight takes occurred but if you were fishing tight to either the right or the left, then the front support would collapse in whichever direction the fish bolted. Both have now been retired to the loft after providing me with years of trusted service, collapsing or not. 

The Stalker Pod In Action

There came a point in time when it appeared that the humble pod fell out of fashion, along came carbon and stainless steel sticks, crossbars, stage stands etc. Rod support took on a new image, it all became very 'BLING'. For me, it's about getting the right tackle for the job, be it in or out of vogue, every tackle item I own serves its purpose, I was never one to purchase something because "it was the latest or trendiest buzz item".

So this brings me on to the 'Fox Stalker Plus Pod', so far I'm really impressed with what Fox have pulled out the bag with this one. It retails for around £84.99 but I'm sure that if you shop about you'll be able to pick it up cheaper, either way, you get a hell of a lot for the money. It comes in a handy little carry bag that has tidy velcro and elastic straps, these house all the vital parts. Once the carry case is opened you are presented with a very organised storage system, it reminds me of the footage I've seen when a sniper rifle is being constructed, but instead of targeting people we are targeting the carp.

Handy Carry Case

The Main Shaft

The Other Components

The first thing that struck me was how robust everything looked, especially taking in to account how light it all felt. Assembly is very straight forward and it all fits together in super quick time. It has a nice jet black finish - gone are the days of Fox using a layer of paint on their pods that seemed to start to flake off straight away. One of the main selling points for me is the fact that it contains a set of both two and three buzz bar setups. After extensive research, there aren't a great deal of pods on the market that give you these two options.

All Four Legs Are On Heavy Duty Threads

Once the legs are up they screw down nice and tight, you have an option to change the height and the angle of each leg separately. The first setting is very low profile and streamline, the second setting is far more traditional allowing the legs to spread out to a wider angle, this helps with the overall stability and I believe this leg positioning would really come in to play when you are using three rods. Again, the locking system design floors of the Fox pods from years gone by have well and truly been rectified. 

Main Shaft

Leg Setting One

Leg Setting Two

The buzz bars themselves slot into two 'heavy duty' locking joints that are positioned on the front and the back of the main shaft, this mimics a 'goal post' setup. Because of this design, there's no chance of the pod tipping, when everything is locked down in place it's rock solid. Because of the plastic locking mechanism, it takes away the worry of over tightening small diameter threads. Some might argue that the plastic parts of the pod are a weak point and slightly cheap looking, but, I'd rather have this than lots of fiddly screws that could possibly get 'cross threaded' or lost. The plastic itself is very hard wearing and I don't see it posing any real problems over the long term.

Heavy Duty Plastic Locking Mechanism

Once the buzz bars are screwed on to their legs you simply slot them into the locks and you're done. Once again the buzzers can be set at different heights depending on your angling situation. Which ever way you choose to set them up, the overall adjustments you can make on the pod as a whole gives you a huge amount of versatility. This was another one of the main selling points for me, I wanted something that could adapt, be it a super steep bank, rock etc, I wanted rod support that I knew was 'good to go' where ever I took it.

Goal-Post Style Buzz Bar Legs

Lock The Legs In

Low-Profile Complete Setup 2x Rods

All four legs have sharp pointed tips, for extra stability, you can push them tightly in to the ground by simply extending the legs to your desired lenght. Once I'd done this I gave the pod a good shake and there was no real movement, it all felt pretty spot on too me. I'd like to add that back rests don't come supplied so it's your choice what you want to use. I've gone for a slightly 'retro' look using some old Fox back rests that I've had for years, the alarms in the picture are my old Micron SX's, the swingers are from the new black label series. 

Looking at it whilst waiting for a bite makes me feel rather nostalgic, thinking back to my early days of carp fishing. Don't get me wrong, I love my carbon and stainless setups a lot but I really like the ease that the 'stalker' provides and, as mentioned before, on swims that are awkward for standard sticks, it really does the job brilliantly.

Maximum Height 3x Rods

The above image gives you an idea of how high up the pod can go, this is with the legs fully extended. It passed the 'wobble test' with flying colours, the middle shaft is also extended to its maximum limit. There are many angles and variations that you can mess about with. The image below shows another example which would be perfect if you want your rods tips low in windy conditions, the main shaft is as short as it can go.

Tips Down

Tips To The Skies

There really isn't a great deal more that I can say, it's a great bit of kit and a fair price, taking into account everything that you get. The only minor negative point I have is the fact that it will scratch, it's just the nature of the finish and being black, marks will show, but we are talking about rod support here, not a Ferrari. There aren't any other negative points, it's simple, light, versatile and destine to be a fine work horse. If you're a self-confessed 'tackle tart', this might not be the choice for you. But if you're the kind of angler that wants good, practical gear without the "BLING" price tag, then the 'Fox Stalker Pod' might just be the bit of kit you're looking for.

Rating : 10/10

Burrows 'A Ghost In Winter, Released'

So we've finally arrived, the journey has been winter long, painful at times but diamonds were unearthed, glimmering bright in their winter colours. Some days were dull, others, pure electricity, bright and vivid. But now I'm finally starting to feel the warmth of the sun, the trees and shrubs around me are starting to reach for the skies and every so often the smell of a faint 'spring promise' brushes past my cheeks and nose. It appears the clamp of winter has finally started to loosen its grip, and, almost perfectly married to all these moments comes the closing to this series of blogs. 

'A Ghost In Winter, Released' is going to document my final two sessions before the spring. It's now time for the ghost to retreat, there is no place for such a lifeless entity when the world both below and above the water starts to live once more. Even though I love the isolation that winter angling can provide, I find the general feeling of the season, when off the bank, pretty hard to deal with. Thankfully this winter I worked a lot, and slotting my angling in between seemed to keep the gloom at bay.

The first session of this blog was at the tale-end of winter, it was a bright day with almost gale force winds, it was still very cold. The second session was a fair while later when we had a freakishly warm day, the temperature was up in the high teens. It created the impression that the spring had come early, it was almost like a false start, the sun was beating down and I was sitting on the bank in a t-shirt with my trousers rolled up. 

I found that these conditions began to change my thoughts about my angling, I started to think ahead to summer, I considered  adopting more of a 'summer approach' in regards to my baiting application. But I abstained from falling into that trap of prematurely piling it in, deciding to stick firmly to the approach I'd been applying over the previous months. The conditions were a real "Red Herring", and in the past I've read them wrong and blown the session before I'd even begun. 'Trigger Happy Hands On The Baiting Front', we've all done it. 

On my first session I arrived at the water for about 9:30am, surprisingly there were a fair few anglers up the top of the lake, they were all targeting the calmer water behind the wind. I decided to stay away from the pressure, opting to fish 'the spit' swim again. Due to the fierce chop on the water I felt pretty dam confident that fishing in the deeper depths with both my rods was the way to go. Both baits were going to be fished practically side by side. Fishing tight to the back leads would stop any dangers of severe tangling, if I was lucky enough to get a pick up.

In my mind I was trying to visualise what effect the wind might be having on the world below the surface. I started to see images of chaos, debris and bits flying all over the place, the undertow pushing and pulling backwards and forwards, very similar conditions to what I was having to deal with on dry land. I started to think, "If I was a carp seeking shelter from the storm" where would I hide? I would go deep, maybe try and find a trench or channel that would provide me with some kind of relief. After stitching these thoughts together, I had no doubt in my mind that I was fishing in the right place, and despite the conditions, I felt an overwhelming sense of assurance. 

View From The Swim

As you can see in the image above, I was fishing literally a few feet out from the rod tips, nowadays with so much focus on distance casting, the nearside margins are very much ignored. All these years later I'm still surprised just how close in carp can be caught, not just in the summer but through the winter as well. Fishing at the bottom of marginal drop offs has continually caught me carp from all different types of waters, it's going to be an approach that I will continue to focus on this coming season. 

My bait of choice for this session was 'Strawberry Mivvi', it's made up of a 60/40 sweet birdseed base mix and has a habit of producing a bite when things get tough. All the boilies, including my hook baits, had been soaking in water since the previous evening. This washed them out perfectly, I wanted all the baits to look like they'd been on the bottom of the lake for quite some time. Over the top I was going to scatter a few heaped handfuls of multi-mix pellets, these would break down after an hour of being in the water, hopefully leaving a light dusting of attraction.

Strawberry Mivvi Over A Scattering Of Pellet

My rig was a simple knotless knot bottom bait fished 'blow-back' style, it's super easy to tie and as simple as you can get. It's the exact same bottom bait rig that I've been using through this blog series, "for those of you that haven't read the earlier parts of this series, you will find details and images of the components used to make the rig". As we know, there are a good few variants in the way a simple bottom bait rig can be fished, the main point for me to make the presentation as effective as possible is the hair length. Over recent years I've experiment with this specific element and I've had the best hook holds when I use a longer than average hair.

So, both rigs were ready to go out, with one tidy underarm cast the rigs found themselves landing perfectly on the spots. Both back leads were gently slid down the lines and I tightened everything up, I wanted any slight occurrence to register. Once done, the brolly was up and the kettle was on, I knew that I was going to have to really wait this one out, deep down though, I still felt like I was in with a good chance. 

View From The Spit

The hours passed, I drank coffee, listened to the wind whistle and wrote poetry "which will be included in some of my future blogs". I practised being as quiet as possible, slowing my breath down and imagining myself both locked and contained within the environment around me. Winter by the water is a different world to any other time of the year, you simply can't imagine the warmth of summer, the prospect seemed like a world away. I tried to imagine the warmth from the sun on my face and started to recall some of the most amazing days I've had on the banks of Burrows with no shoes and socks on, paddling in the margins. These are memories I hope to renew once the summer comes round again, it's in these moments that I feel truly grounded and connected. 

When The Words Come, They Have To Be Written

It was late afternoon when I was alerted to my right hand rod, it gave off a single bleep. From where I was sitting I couldn't see anything out the ordinary, so I continued my day dreaming. Just for a second I thought I could see my right hand rod tip knocking, I tried to focus my eyes, I could see a small movement. I got up and as I approached the rod, the tip was very clearly bending, I scrambled and gently lifted into it. I could feel that I was connected to something, at first I thought it was a bream, there was no fight. 

I applied a little more pressure, still no fight, then all of a sudden a big common surfaced and on doing so, rocketed off, I was in a state of shock, I really wasn't expecting it at all, it looked like a really good fish and playing it on my small rods was a pretty nerve racking experience. The relief that came over me when I eventually netted her was immense, it was looking like I was going to finish the winter on a 20+ fish, it was so poetic, it appeared that the biggest diamond was waiting until last to reveal itself. Scales fell to 24IB 6oz, a truly magnificent creature and I felt honoured to be her witness.

24IB 6oz A Winter Diamond

After getting a few shots, I admired her one last time and then sent her on her way. It was the perfect way to bring winter to a close, looking back I feel that I'd really pulled out all the stops to try and make things happen for me. Focusing on one lake helped a great deal, it abled me to be a lot more systematic in my approach and ideas. As I've stated throughout this series, I didn't want to fish the water in an obvious way, I really wanted to try new things, focus on different spots and try to catch some of the better fish, I think as a whole it was a successful journey and I'm in full stride as spring approaches.

Final Session On Burrows 

Since my last session I'd been working flat out and a good few weeks had passed me by in a blink of an eye. Winter was gone and the world felt like a much better place. I started to think that the best way to bring this series to a close was to account for a session at a point when the lake was slowly resurrecting itself from its winter sleep. All my posts up to now have been somewhat cold and bleak in their presentation, however, this next session is going to be different.

The Ghost Has Gone

The depression that I was carrying way back at the beginning of this journey has momentarily evaporated, I have feelings of hope for the future and a great excitement for the new angling year ahead of me. The ghost I was in the winter has now departed, my heartbeat is revitalised and my thoughts are flowering like the newborn buds that surround me.

On the morning of the session I left the house at 6am, as I opened the front door I was met with a dry heat, the temperatures were going to reach the low 20s. I instantly had visions of sessions past, long hot days, warm evenings, and the smell of fish-meal boilies on my hands, it's so strange what your angling memory can recall by just a simple feeling. I was so excited, no more hunching under a brolly and cupping my hands around a hot mug of tea, today was going to be the start of the warmer weather. 

On arrival I took a slow walk around the water, I could see evidence of feeding fish almost straight away. There were marginal spots that were clouded up and carp where briefly showing all over the lake, it really was a different world compared to my last visit. Still opting to use my stalking rods I decided that I was going to margin fish underneath my rods tips and rotate between three different spots. It worked in winter so I was pretty convinced that it would work to good effect now.

A Very Different World 

My chosen bait for this session was the classic Bio Cp2 Amino, it  is a mixture of summer fruits with a lovely hint of fish-meal, because the water was warmer, it was the perfect choice. I wasn't going to go crazy on the baiting front but I was going to apply a fair amount more than what I had been using. When using fish-meals I find that they work very well over medium to large spreads and from the evidence I'd seen, the carp were certainly on the feed, I wanted to maximise on this.

Bio Cp2 Amino

I applied three handfuls of bait to three separate marginal areas that I liked the look of, all were very close in and would allow me to pretty much lower my hook-baits down in the water. This was going to be proper 'stealth' fishing, throughout the day I would continue to top each spot up with another handful, hoping to hold any fish that might of moved into the areas. 

Once again, this was going to be fished on my standard bottom bait rig, the lake bed is clean so this rig provides a presentation that's perfect, as usual, all rig components were constructed so the rigs 'concealment' matched the bottom I was fishing over. This was very important because all my spots were fairly shallow and the water was still clear, with the sun shining down it pretty much illuminated the bottom.

Simple Blow-Back

The first spot that I targeted was a margin where, on my walk around, I had seen that the bottom had been kicked up, the water was still very murky and as I sat very quietly, low to the water, I could make out a few fish still milling around. I carefully lowered my rigs in position and eased the rod tips in between some overhanging bushes, I stayed off the skyline and crept into a position that would allow me to grab the rod the second it went. 

As soon as the bobbins were set I was getting wild liners, there was no doubt that fish were literally a feet or so away from me. Within a few minutes the left rod was off, it was real "hit & hold" stuff, I kept the pressure on due to the snags that were in close proximity. I soon had the fish in the net, it was a small mirror and a very welcome visitor indeed. The size was irrelevant, the process of catching it was the key here, 'proper margin fishing, you just can't beat it'.

A Monster In Its Own Right

So the first spot had produced a bite already, it was now on to my second swim, once again I'd picked a marginal area, this time it was slightly deeper, between 5/6ft. I knew fish visited the spot because I'd caught from it before, I decided that I was going to sit it out until I got a bite, however long it took. During this time I would be priming spot three, which was the next swim up to my left. Before lowering my rigs in, I introduced five heaped handfuls of bait, spreading it evenly all around the area. This time I was fishing slack lines, I wanted to get indications as to when carp had moved into the swim. Again, because there were snags around me, I needed to be on the rods the second I got the bite.

View From The Second Swim

The heat was really starting to kick in now and the sun was shining directly onto the margin that I was targeting. I took my shoes off, stretched my toes and laid on my back, obscured by grass and bushes, I stared up at the sky, the clouds where moving so fast and as I laid there, I started to think about what it would be like if we could feel the world as it rotated, would we get dizzy? I pictured the human race slipping and sliding all over the place, desperately trying to maintain a balance. Could you imagine if the world was really flat? we'd have no oceans because they would've washed away, and we'd be able to walk up to the edge of the earth and look down into infinity. What would happen if we jumped off the edge? I'm guessing we'd just descend forever more.

Rod Spots

A few hours past, I was trickling small amounts of bait in every hour or so, this process continued for a good five hours, during this time it was surprising how much the weather had cooled down, hopefully this might help to get the fish searching. Convinced something was eventually going to come from it, I sat tight watching for any kind of indication to tell me that fish were in the proximity. 

Approaching the sixth hour, I got the sign that I was looking for, the left hand alarm gave out a series of bleeps, I sunk down slowly next to my rods and watched both the line and the rod tip. The line was gently fidgeting, pulling forward gracefully and then falling back. Along with this, the right hand rod started to do the same thing. It was pretty clear that a group of fish had moved in and were mopping up my bait.

My pulse started to beat so hard, my head was pounding and I could feel the nervous excitement starting to erupt through my body. Any second now I was sure I'd be in the grips of a 'close quarters' fight, and sure enough ... the left hand rod was away, and as it went I counted at least 6 vortexes, I was on it quick, side strain stopped the carp from diving into the snags, once she was in the open water I managed to calm myself down, my legs were shaking though, catching carp from under your nose is a magical experience. Once in the net, I was looking at a lovely plump mirror, scales fell to 16IB.

From Right Under My Nose 

Once I'd got a few photos, I sent her home, now it was on to my third spot. Once again, I'd be introducing bait continually throughout the day and I had a feeling if I was going to get a bite then it would come quickly. I shift my gear over, got everything in place, re-baited the rigs and, using an under arm cast, gently feathered both baits into position. I opted for back leads and I fished really tight to them, reason being that there was a set of reeds to my left and I really didn't want the fish bolting for them, I had to be on the rod quickly, if I was to fish slack lines, the few seconds prior to indication could cost me a fish.

View From The Third Swim

I settled in anticipation, perched low to the ground semi expecting some action quick, within 10 minutes the right hand rod screamed into life, with the tip bending right around, I lent into a very heavy lump. It was desperately trying to get in the reeds and snags down to the left, I kept the side strain on and finally turned the fish towards me. It was frantic, fast and very exhilarating, all the pieces of the days puzzle fitted so perfectly together, and compared to the previous sessions, today had been a wild ride. I eventually netted a lovely looking common, scales slid to 19IB.

A Quick Common

What a way to end the session and what a perfect way to end this blog series. Looking back through it all, it really has been one hell of a journey, not just finding the time to get out there on the bank but also recalling it and presenting it in a way that was honest, I really want people that read this to feel like they were there on the bank with me. 

I find to keep consistent with your catch rate throughout the year, you have to be prepared to move out of your comfort zone and stand firmly by your decisions. Any new ideas that you have regarding your angling and your approaches, stick with them, see them through and take all the positives away from each session, blanking or catching. No time is ever wasted on the bank, it's all experience gained, experience is something that can't be given to you, you've got to get out there and graft for it.     

Every lake you fish has a story to tell and it's the anglers choice if they choose to skim through the chapters or really take time to read the sentences, understand the nuances and fully immerse themselves in the tale that's being told. The story is forever changing, it's a book with no real end, just a series of new beginnings. For me, like a lot of the lakes I fish, Burrows is a special story, so much of it has been read, but there are plenty more chapters yet to be written, and I've got a feeling they're going to be the best yet. 

Burrows 'A Ghost In Winter' Part 5

So my escapades continue and my obsession is compounding with every day that goes by, work has been hectic but it seems however busy I am I just can't shake the desire to be out on the bank. I work in music so I spend a lot of my time flying around the country, the one thing that makes the hours pass is my continued analysis about my angling and thoughts about the waters and the possible tackle items I may want to purchase in the future. Add both bait and blogging into all the above and my mind is just full of fish. The symptoms of bank side withdrawals really seem to kick in when I pass any stretch of water that rests so temptingly along side the motorways. I look at them with wonder, visualising where I'd fish, picturing secret monsters elusively avoiding capture.

So after a few weeks that felt more like a millennia, I was able to get myself back on the banks of Burrows and I was more than fired up to get the carbon contorting and hopefully unearth one or two more diamonds. Since my last visit things had changed a lot, I was now having to get my winter layers on, the cold was penetrating right down to the bone, winter was clamping down on everything in a pretty big way. Defiant, I had to keep on going, there was no turning back, from the very start of this winter stint, I'd made up my mind that I had to see it right through to the bitter end. As long as the coffee was flowing and I kept busy on the bank, I felt I could ride it all out with minimal discomfort.

This was the session that I was going to be putting my new approach into practise, my tackle was stripped right back, 12ft rods were now 8.5ft, rod support was now a single tripod and the carp care kit was a protective chub cradle and unhooking mat. It wasn't about the luxuries anymore. Today I wanted to stay as active on the bank as possible, introducing minimal bait on up to four different spots and slowly rotate between them. I'd been thinking hard about this method and I couldn't get any real rest until an ample amount of time was dedicated to it. If all goes well I decided that it would be an approach that I would incorporate into my general fishing throughout the year. 

Towards the end of last season I was starting to sense a 'predictability' in my approach to some of the waters that I'd been fishing. During these periods I feel that I am simply going through the motions rather than really thinking about the task at hand. Incorporating a mobile approach into the armoury was something that I felt I needed to keep me on my toes. I believe that different waters all respond to different things and I always like to dedicate a solid amount of time trying to find out exactly what these things are. 

Rotating Spots 'A Summer Shot To Warm This Blog Up'

That's why I've never got on with the idea of turning up to every venue, spodding out kilos of bait, casting to it and proceeding to sit there for 72 hours waiting for the fish to eventually find it - "this doesn't feel like fishing to me". Only doing day sessions I need to maximise my time and really focus on the finer points, baiting approaches and location being the two most important aspects. "A single bait in the right place pays far more dividends than 10 kilo in the wrong place".

So, with all the above fresh in my mind it was now time to put my thoughts into practise. Just like my last session, I arrived at the lake for noon, it was a cold overcast day with the odd break in the clouds, this allowed the sun to momentarily appear, giving a slight rest bite to the bitter air. I'd decided to target the far side margin opposite the muddy double swim. This time though, I was going to be fishing literally a few yards out from the rod tips. Because I was using minimal bait it was going to be so much easier if all I had to do was throw it by hand a few yards in front of me. Also I'd be lowering the bait in, not casting it, the whole point was to fish without any kind of disturbance. Priming more than one spot and very carefully lowering it in made total and utter sense to me.  

Scaled Down Tackle For Staying Mobile

The swim I'd chosen was one of my favourites, it very rarely gets fished, it's obscured by trees and overhanging branches. There's a long row of steps gently descending down, once at the bottom you have the whole bowl end to explore. Today the lake was empty, if there had been people over the other side in the muddy double, I would've fished elsewhere. My plan was to fish the margins either side of me, it shelves down deep close in and I had a gut feeling that a few carp might be ghosting around.

One thing that I always take in to consideration when fishing close in under the trees is debris on the bottom. It's common sense that through the years leaves and branches would've fallen into the water and slowly broken down. I was planning to fish just on the edge of the debris with a small scattering of bait. One of my rigs of choice for tackling moderately littered lake beds is the 'Withy Pool' rig, it's an effective presentation that I've caught plenty of fish on. I fish it on both a semi-fixed lead setup, or rotary style. With chods and stiff hinged rigs taking precedent now days the humble 'Withy' seems to have sunken into obscurity. 

View From The Steps

My bait of choice today was the ever faithful Tutti Frutti, you just can't go wrong with this flavour, over the top I was going to apply a handful of mixed pellet and some broken up Caribbean boilies. The free offerings amounted to about two handfuls, this was more than enough to attract a passing carp, I really didn't want to over do it. Before casting out, this baiting mixture was added to four more marginal spots, the plan was to fish for an hour and then move, I was going to repeat this process, rotating between each spot, hoping I could steal a bite or two.

Regarding my rig, its construction is very simple, I was using Rig Marole 'Skinful' with the coating stripped back just under the silicone that creates the 'Withy' curve. This ables more free movement, and on a feathered cast naturally pushes the hook-bait away from the lead. On the coated part of the braid, I rub in some tungsten putty, this is to ensure that the hook-link would be nicely pinned down to the bottom. I created the curve by steaming heat shrink tubing around a narrow glass, doing the curve yourself allows you the option on how aggressive you want it. On the hook is a small 'stopper', not only does this give a 'blow back' effect, by changing its position, changes the angle of the hook in relation to the bait, again, I make the angle as aggressive as possible. 

Thread The Bait On To The Micro Swivel

Finished Presentation

I always critically balance my pop up rigs, the main reason for this is because I want to slow down the descent of the boilie and, secondly counter act the weight of the hook, the rig needs to comfortably come to rest upon any debris that might be on the spot. Finally I use a micro swivel to attached the bait, this allows the hook to spin 360 degrees making it a very sensitive presentation.    

When I cast out I always put a PVA nugget around the hook and compress it, this will delay the descent of the bait allowing the lead to settle, once the PVA nugget has dissolved, the bait will gently flutter down, combine this with the 'critically balanced' element and you can sit confident knowing that you're fishing effectively, when tackling, light weed, leaves etc, your presentation can really play on your mind, especially if no bites are materialising. 

All these small little touches add up to make a reliable 'bigger picture'. I've been accused in the past of thinking about rig mechanics way too much, but I believe you have to really focus on this aspect of your angling, it's the last few inches that can make or break your sessions. As I've said many times before, nothing has to be complicated, just reliable, functional and suitable for the situation that rests in front of you.

On With The Session

Taking everything above into consideration, I lowered both my rods on to my first two spots, applied my freebies and perched myself on the steps, the kettle was soon boiling, the simple joy of cupping my hands around a nice warm mug of coffee was looking to be a fine moment. The day was dull but beautifully vivid, I was surrounded by pastel colours, the water mirrored its surroundings, I just sat in silence with my attention firmly focused towards my rod tips. 

There was an excitement running through me, I was eager to see if my new roaming approach was going to bring rewards. I'd set an alarm on my phone for an hours time, then I would move to spot two. I would continue this process until it was time to leave. I really didn't have to wait very long for a bite, thirty minutes in and my left rod ripped away, I was somewhat surprised and as I grabbed it I was hit by a huge sense of achievement, all the little pieces of the puzzle that I had been stitching together in my mind instantly came to fruition. 

The fish was fighting hard and really put my little margin creepers through their paces. The rod handled the fish beautifully and before I knew it I was eyeing up an incredible looking mirror carp, without a doubt the best looking fish I'd ever caught from Burrows, the water never ceases to amaze me, it can have a habit of throwing up some real surprises. 

That's the great thing about having a good few years of a lake behind you, it takes you on a journey and with each fish caught, your picture expands, gains colour and you see it in its 'many forms'. That's why I think that solely targeting big carp can leave you with a hollow impression of a water.

Through the years I've met so many people that "only want to catch the big fish", and then move on. This outlook seems a shame too me, you never really get any insight into any of the lakes that you choose to fish. I think 'fishing for numbers' can leave you with a very simple 'blue print' of a lake, and you can miss out on acquainting yourself with some of the more unique character fish that could be hidden in the shadows.

Beauty In Its Wildest Form 

After the capture I upped sticks and moved to my second baited spot, it was pretty clear that there were a few fish down my end of the lake. On Burrows, if carp are present, you can pretty much guarantee a bite within the first 45 minutes of casting out. Making my way down to the second swim, I made sure that I was as silent as possible, if a few fish were milling around, I didn't want to spook them. This approach was all about stealth, trying to steal a bite from right underneath your nose.

View From The Second Swim

As you can see in the image above, I wasn't fishing very far out at all. There's a steep slope that shelves down to around 9ft, just as it starts to slope up you hit rock and gravel, landing on this transmits a solid "DONK" through the blank of the rod. If you can get your bait on the bottom of the shelf, you're definitely upping your chances of a pick up, and as I felt for the drop, I could feel that I'd landed on the hard stuff. Due to the bottom that I was now fishing over, I changed both rigs to bottom baits, still opting for the ever faithful Tutti-Futti.

I was hoping that a few fish had already moved in and cleaned my sparse free offerings up, with this in mind, I put a light scattering of pellet over both baits, gently set the rods and took a rather uncomfortable seat in the undergrowth. Again, twenty or so minutes in and my right hand rod tore away, scrambling down the bank to grab it, I very nearly ended up falling face first into the water. The fight was frantic and I really had to hold on hard to stop the fish from getting in the sunken snags either side of me. A few minutes of lunacy passed before I ended up netting my second fish, it came in the shape of a perfect looking common carp, scales sunk to a smattering under 17IB.

A Short Range Common

The approach was working well and as I moved to my third spot I felt pretty dam confident I could steal another bite. I repeated the process, shifted my gear and very quietly positioned my rods, applied a handful of pellet, and again, hunched awkwardly down in the undergrowth. Time was gaining some momentum now and as the day evaporated into mid-afternoon, I sparked the kettle up. 

It was starting to get colder, the wind was picking up and things felt desolate. I sat it out for just over an hour with no luck, so I got my things together and proceeded to my fourth and final spot. The plan was to stay until after dark, being one that's always on the search for isolation, the prospect of the sun setting, leaving me shrouded in darkness was a vision that I just couldn't pass up.   

View From The Fourth Swim

Again, the process was repeated, baits were placed and a small amount of pellet was added. Had any carp moved in during the day? my mind was racing, without a doubt, fishing in this way keeps your excitement/expectation levels sky high. You really get a sense that "anything could happen" and the fact you're staying mobile really makes you feel like you're working the water, instead of just sitting and waiting, hoping that a fish might come your way. 

The sun started to set, the sky looked electric, both light and dark blues engulfed the world overhead, the remainder of the sun lit the horizon up like gold. It's a these times I really get a sense of just how microscopic we as humans are, within ourselves, our worlds and in our minds, it's as if we are infinite, but on the surface of the earth, we are simple pin pricks in existence, microdots. Firmly anchored to the planet, I sat in darkness hoping that one more fish might just be on the cards.

A bleep from my right hand rod pulled me back from my trance, another small bleep upped my heart rate, there was a tiny light from one of my bite alarms now showing me the way, shortly followed by a screaming frequency... Fish On ! leaning into it, I could feel it was heavy, it plodded and pulled, I guided it gradually towards me, cushioning the lunges as it went. As I got her in close I switched my head-torch on, giving my eyes a few seconds to adjust, a big common suddenly came into focus. As she slid onto her side in front of me, the landing net mesh engulfed her thick frame. Scales fell to 23IB.

A Common After Dark

What a result, this session had been one hell of a journey, I started at the bottom of the bowl end of the lake and finished at the bottle neck. The approached worked better than what I thought it would, on top of this, it really felt like I'd earned every fish, and I know that if I'd stayed static on a spot all day, I wouldn't have had this result. As I stated in the first part of this blog series, "the less active the fish become, the more active you have to be". 

As I packed up and made my way to the car I once again felt really optimistic about my future sessions, I started to think of all the different waters that I could try this approach on. Little did I know it, but it would be a long time before I could get back down Burrows again. Through the coming weeks my work was to accelerate and I simply didn't have anytime to fish. 

The next part of 'A Ghost In Winter' will be the final chapter, I've really enjoyed recalling all my sessions, and looking back I had a pretty dam productive winter. Fishing all year is extremely important to me, I always find that I learn so much and your perspective continually shifts and grows. Everything you've learnt can then be applied when the warmer months take over. An anglers journey never ends, it's constant and, for me, that's my main motivation, never to stop, to keep going, there is no such thing as 'The End', it's just a continuous set of new beginnings. 

FINAL CHAPTER WILL FOLLOW SHORTLY