Carp Catchers Blog

I managed another Session the other week. I didn’t spot any fish this time as it was extremely foggy, however I had a fair idea of where the fish would be this time of year so I set up in a swim known as the christmas tree. The fog hung around till about 9.30 at which time I proceeded to position my traps. As I put my second rod out a fish rolled over my spot which did wonders for my confidence. After about twenty minutes the indicator on the first rod I’d put out began to slowly tighten up to the butt, I struck but there was nothing on, it must have been a line bite. Still at least it meant that there must be fish in the area so I repositioned the rod and set about getting my camp organised.  This was an ideal time to play with my latest acquisition Ventures Razorback Bivvy . A few blogs ago I mentioned that I’d demonstrated them to customers and was so impressed I bought one for myself. On the bank I was just as impressed with the ease with which they are put up and taken down. Anyway back to the fishing itself, as night approached the temperatures started to drop and the fog rolled back in. The night was one of the coldest this year at about -4c, the fog was dense and freezing so the likelyhood of a Carp was extremely unlikely.

Next morning conditions were no better, with visibilty due to the fog very poor and the forecast was for it to stay that way for the rest of the day. I made a cup of the tea and debated whether to pack up now or to wait and see if the sun could burn its way through the fog. At that moment the indicator on the rod which the Carp had rolled over the day previously, pulled up slowly to the butt and again I struck. There was definately a Carp on the end this time and playing it in dense fog was really primaeval and exciting. The fish fought really well and rolled in the net first time. Quickly parting the net I looked at my prize, it had a massive head and shoulders “this is a biggie” I thought. I thought it was a possible upper Thirty but the scales said different 28lb 4oz. I wasn’t dissappointed though as any Carp in those conditions and at this time of year is more than welcome.

The fish was well hooked in the center of the bottom lip on my new maggot rig. I used a PVA mesh parcel of red maggots with 3 maggots on a size 10 Solar Longshank Wide Gape Hook. The Hooklink was Rig Maroles Hydrolink with a 3 inch supple section. The photos were self takes and I think they came out quite well (see below)

Till next time happy fishes

John

In the last blog I suggested that now would be a good time to change your Mainline in preparation for your first session of the year, but which one should choose? There are a number of factors to take into consideration, due to the cooler temperatures of winter the presence of weed should be minimal so out and out tugging line probably won’t be needed. The cooler temperatures will also kill off most of the micro organisms and algae, this results in the water�becoming gin clear. Another consequence is the metabolism of the Carp and silver fish population slows down so they do not root about in the silt as much as they do in the summer, this further contributes to the water being crystal clear. We therefore need a line that is not easily visible to the Carp.��Fluorocarbon Mainline fits this bill admirably as it has the same Light Refractive Index as water. What this means�is that light passes through the fluorocarbon line at the same rate as it does through water, making it virtually invisible.�Fluorocarbon has further advantages for Carp Fishing, it has much less stretch than mono mainlines making it much better for bite registration. This�can be of particular benefit at this time�of year as the Carp havn’t fully woken up yet and bites can be very timid so bite registration is of paramont importance if we want to catch these crafty critters. Fluorocarbon is also much heavier than nylon line so it’s really good for�those of you who like to fish slack lines, but bear in mind my comments regarding timid bites.�Another advantage is that Fluorocarbon is impervious to water�making knot strength more reliable, it also�does not deteriorate due to the effects of�sunlight so it can last longer than Mono Mainline�

Happy Fishes,

John

With the recent spring like�sunshine and mild weather many of you who prefer not to fish during the cold weather will be dusting off your�Carp Rods� and thinking of your first carp fishing session of the year. Now is the time to thoroughly check all of your tackle. Check that your reels are still whisper smooth if not give them a thorough clean and a little oil. Check that you have all the terminal tackle that you need and tie up a few fresh rigs ready for the off. Give your rucksack and carryalls a good sorting out so that you are not carrying a lot of unwanted tackle and rubbish around with you. One of the most Crucial things you should do is change your Mainline, if its been on the reel for 3 months or more definitely�change it�(unless its braided mainline). You do not want lose the fish of a lifetime or any fish for that matter for the sake of a few Pounds.�The majority of Carp�Fishing�Mainlines cost less than the price of most day tickets so don’t fall at the first hurdle.

This is the 23lb Mirror I had the other week with the 30 pounder. Look at the size  of its tail no wonder it fought so well. I was mistaken about the hook I used to catch this one, it was actually one of the Solar Stronghold Longshank Hooks    in size 10. As I said last time I was really pleased with the way the mechanics of my maggot rig worked as I have been working on it for two years now. The hooklink I used was Rigmaroles Hydro-Link Silt in 25lb maybe I’ll show you how to tie it soon?

Anyway happy fishes

John

I managed to get out Carp Fishing�on the last full moon(Jan 22) after weeks�being stuck in the shop. When I got to the lake there was a light south westerly blowing and as I stood talking to a couple of other anglers a couple of fish showed at the opposite end of the lake in the deeper water. Fish showing in January? almost unheard of on this lake. Loading my gear on the carp porter I got myself up there as quick as possible, excitement and anticipation building all the way, quite a bit of sweat as well as its a long haul from the car park. Sitting in the swim, which is called “no carp corner” a few more fish showed, that will do for me I thought and feverishly set up my Century NG �rods and got them out to the areas the fish had head and shouldered. No carp corner has been very good to me in the past, so I was really confident, two more fish turned over on my spots and plumes of bubbles came up, so they were obviously feeding hard�on the bottom in 24ft of water! I hovered over the rods expecting them to go any minute, then I hovered some more, then some more, whats going on?�I just couldn’t figure out why I hadn’t had a take, maybe they’re only slipping up after dark I reasoned, so as dusk approached the excitement and anticipation started to build again.

Morning broke(I fixed it again) and nothing not a peep from my alarms all night. What to do? I decided as the baits were in a feeding area I’d leave them undisturbed untill packing up time. I whiled away the rest of the day phoning Angela at the shop moaning about my lack of action, it was during one of these phone calls that I noticed the tip on my left hand rod pull round and the next minute the spool on my Shimano Big Bait Runner LC �was a blur “I’ve got a bite” I shouted down the phone as�I threw it on the bed and picked up the rod. The fish gave a good account of itself and went in the net first time, it was hooked bang in the centre of mouth an inch and half back and the hook was buried to the bend, so the rig and bait were working perfectly, deep joy. On the scales it went 30lb 8oz more deep joy a winter thirty, Rob the spod did some great photo’s as you can see.

I decided to pack up�as I’m not a greedy angler and was quite happy with my catch. What’s that noise? turning round my middle rod was bending round and the alarm was screeching like a banshee, picking up the rod I bent into another fish. This one fought a little more scrappily but again went in the net first time, not as big as the other one I thought and the scales confirmed it 23lb exactly bingo! Now the hookhold on this one was exactly the same as the�first fish, this was patricularly pleasing as this�fish was caught on maggots�and I’ve been tieing up loads of maggot rigs trying to get the mechanics the same as my boilie rigs,�bingo again maybe I’ve succeeded. The successfull maggot rig was tied using Rig Marole’s Hydrolink and Gardner Longshank Incizors.

Happy Fishes,

John