Carp Catchers Blog

We have the Nash S3 Professional Bivvy and the Nash Frostbite Sub-Zero Sleeping Bags in stock now. These three items are just a part of Nash Tackles extensive new 2010 range. The Nash S3 Professional Bivvy  is lightweight and has three modular options. It has a radical new aerodynamic profile which maximises stability, increases headroom and porch protection. For more information or to purchase please click on the above link.

The Nash Frostbite Sub-Zero Sleeping Bag  is a high performance lightweight sleeping bag designed for the mobile angler. It is manufactured from a waterproof, breathable peachskin material with a thermal fleece lining for quick warm up and increased heat retention. For the larger carp angler we also have the Nash Frostbite Sub-Zero Wide Boy Sleeping Bag  which is made of the same specification materials. For more information or to purchase please click on the above links.

                  Nash S3 Professional Bivvy

          Nash Frostbite Sub-Zero Sleeping Bag

 Nash Frostbite Sub-Zero Wide Boy Sleeping Bag

Best Fishes,

John

At last! a catch report. Sean and Lea went carp fishing over the Christmas holidays on the Bluebell Lakes complex and were the only two there. Sean unfortunately didn’t have a sniff, but Lea had two jack pike and the very welcome mirror carp shown below. Lea’s mirror weighed 20lb on the nose and was caught on glugged Dynamite Baits Red Fish Pop Ups . Well done to both Sean and Lea on managing to actually getting out in the arctic conditions. Special congratulations to Lea though for getting the one we all want, a carp in the snow!!

Best Fishes,

John

The Solar Quick Change PVA Bag System is ideal for anglers who use PVA bags for the majority of their angling. The system will ensure you don’t lose the bag on the cast while improving casting distance and accuracy. The system is designed to be anti tangle and works with any inline lead.

For the purpose of this demonstration I used a Korda Flat Pear Inline Lead, Solar Contour Super Supple Rig Tubing and Korda Size 8 Ring Swivels  was used between the helicopter beads for the rig to be attached to.

Step 1.

Thread your mainline through your desired length of the Solar rig tubing.

Step 2.

Now thread 1 of the beads provided with the Solar PVA System onto the rig tubing followed by the Korda Ring Swivel followed by another bead. If you’re using mainline straight through there is silicone tubing provided for the beads to the grip. If you’re using leadcore then please ensure all beads can be pulled free of the leader to ensure the lead will be lost in the event of your line breaking. Tie or loop your hooklink to the ring swivel.

Step 3.

Now thread on one of the sleeves provided and push the tubing securely inside.

Step 4.

Then gently push the insert out of your choosen inline……

…..and thread it onto your mainline.

Step 5.

Tie a Figure Of Eight Loop Knot  in the end of your mainline and attach the Solar quick change PVA bag clip like so.

Step 6.

Now pull the lead over the clip followed by the sleeve and rig tubing. The finished setup should look like this.

All you have to do to attach a PVA bag is to pull the clip out of the bottom of the lead and hook a PVA bag on before pulling the clip back inside the lead. Then just thread the hook through the mesh of the bag and your ready to cast out.

This set up is particularly well suited to adding freebies with the Mag Aligner Rig and really comes into it’s own during the winter months.

Give it a go.

Tight lines

Dave

For those of you who dare to brave the banks during the colder months it is worth baring in mind that equipment can freeze up, especially those items left outside your bivvy/shelter. The one item of tackle which you don’t want to fail you during the long dark nights is your bite alarms. With most bite alarms operating by a magnet roller it is possible for these to freeze which would mean a disaster should you get a run during the night and your alarm fails to signal a pick-up. A small bottle of Glycerol (Basically an anti-freeze) is all that is needed to prevent such items freezing up. Simply apply a thin layer around the roller during sessions where temperatures could well freeze them up. It can easily be wiped off when it is no longer needed and it will save missing a run which at this time of year is very likely to have been hard earned.

It can also be used for your rod rings to prevent your lines freezing to them. You should be able to get Glycerol from Boots or your local chemist

Tight Lines

Dave

Its getting to that time of year again when maggots are becoming more widely used due to them being such an effective winter bait. Have a go at tying this rig and see how you get on.

The components used in this demonstration were the Korda IQ2 Xtra Soft Fluorocarbon , Korda Wide Gape  hook size 8 and  Korda Micro Rig Swivel.

Step 1.

After cutting your required length of fluorocarbon tie on a Korda Wide Gape using a knotless knot making sure to whip round the shank twice on the way back down to the eye. 

Step 2.

Now thread a micro rig swivel onto the tag end above the hook.

Step 3.

Then pass the tag end through the back of the eye to the front and trim the tag end down to about 3-4mm. This will have created a D shape on the back of the shank for the swivel to move on.

Step 4.

Holding the hooklength out of the way slowly blob the tag end with a lighter to secure it in place. Make sure not to burn the hooklink as this will damage the fluorocarbon and increase the chance of it breaking. Also take care not to burn yourself.

Step 5.

To finish the rig tie a figure of eight knot in the other end setting the desired length of rig you require and trim the tag end.

The finished rig should look like this.

This rig works best with a large bunch of maggots and a couple of imitation pop-up maggots to help counter the weight of the hook. This rig isn’t strictly a maggot rig and can be used with other baits as well. 

The knots used in this demonstration can be found in previous blogs by using the search bar on the top right hand side of the page.

Give it a go.

Tight Lines

Dave

Another single hookbait which could be utilised well in the winter is artificial baits, preferably the flavoured or high-viz variety as they need some attraction to them. The Enterprise Artificial Boilies 10mm , the Niteglow Eternal Boilies and the Solar Everlasting Hookbaits are all top artificial baits that will work well as single hookbaits. Don’t discount artificial sweetcorn as a single winter bait either the ever popular Enterprise range or the new Cotswold Bait Creations Soft Floating Corn. Imitation baits are resistant to nuisance fish, won’t lose bouyancy, go soft or lose attraction.

Give them a go.

Dave

In this Carp Catchers Blog we have one for the future. Customer Rob O’Brien sent in this photo of this gorgeous scaly mirror carp not a monster but who cares. Also notice how Rob has chosen a suitable background for his catch photo which really enhances the whole thing. Rig details are sketchy but a Korda Choddy  hook and a Korda IQ Hooklink  were involved.

Best Fishes,

John

In the previous Carp Catchers Blog we talked about dips and glugs but we didn’t make clear what the difference between them is. This Blog will correct that.

Boilie Dips

Boilie dips are normally quite viscose and clear. They have a powerful flavour dissolved in a neutral carrier. Your hookbaits can be left to soak in them indefinitely and this will have an added effect/benefit of hardening them. Boilie Dips can be used with bottom baits, but they are ideally suited to pop ups. A couple of good examples are the  Richworth Impact Boilie Dips and Mainline Hookbait Enhancement System.

Glugs

Glugs are normally quite thick and based on a liquid food source. Very often they will have the same liquid attractors and nutrients as the boilies they represent. Hookbaits can be left in them indefinitely and though both bottom and pop ups can be glugged longer soaking is more suited to bottom baits. The reason for this that glugs or food dips as they are sometimes known are quite heavy and soak right into the hookbaits and this can affect the buoyancy of pop ups. Glugging into a food dip before casting is the more usual way to get an extra boost is the more usual way to use glugs with pop ups. A couple of good examples would be Nash Baits Top Rod Food Dips and Fresh Fish Mussel And Oyster Liquid .

Best Fishes,

John

Glugging or dipping single hookbaits can improve their pulling power and increase the chances of a run when no free offerings are available. Most pop-ups have a matching dip/liquid to go with them which can be used to soak hookbaits in for increased attraction. Although that doesn’t mean to say that hookbaits have to be soaked in matching dips, you could always try something different and mix hookbaits with different liquids. Try dipping or glugging your singles and see how your results improve. Two of the more popular dips are the Richworth Impact Boilie Dips  and the Mainline Hookbait Enhancement System

Glugging or dipping baits can be messy business, there are items out there such as the Sixth Sense Stainless Steel Dipping Tool which makes the job far less messy.

Tight lines

Dave

Single hookbaits are a good approach all year round although they come into their own during the winter when bites definately slow. Single hookbaits are many anglers favourite approach during the colder months because of their effectiveness at picking off fish in their winter mode which otherwise probably would not have been caught if a bed of bait was used.

There are a wide range of baits out there which work particularly well as single hookbaits. I prefer to use glugged pop-ups for singles but most high attraction baits are suitable. Some anglers prefer high viz baits where others prefer high attraction food baits. My favourites are white pop-ups such as the Baitcraft Snowball, yellow pineapple pop-ups such as Mainline Hi-Visual Pineapple Juice and food bait pop-ups such as Dynamite Baits The Source. This gives me a good enough range to try.

My tips would be to make note of any fish you see show during the winter months this year and in previous years if you know the water well and use these areas as starting points each session. Bear in mind on some waters the fish could well be at range so use simple pop-up rigs that are less likely to tangle and don’t over complicate things too much. And remember if you see fish show it might be worth a cast at them as fish are less likely to move much during the winter so the closer you can get a bait to the fish the better chance of a run.

Tight Lines

Dave