Gardner Tackle’s articles. Written by our team of highly experienced carp and specialist anglers.
Spring is the time of the year I, like most carp anglers, look forward to the most. Not only is the longer days and lighter evenings so much more pleasant than the long winter ones, but also big fishing rewards are there be had, when the fish are often at their easiest to catch.
I managed to get 3 Chod’s out for the night but I had to be off the lake mega early for work the following morning. Kenny's swim gives you a great view looking up the lake, after a quiet night, as I was packing up the next morning, I saw a few fish showing over to my right, this was duly noted for the next visit.
If ever a rig was purpose made for a season, the Hinge Stiff rig, for me, was made for autumn. That’s not to say I don’t use it at other times of year, but from around September onwards, as the weed beds begin to die back and the leaves are starting to fall from the trees, this rig for me becomes my number one choice.
The T-Rig is a hugely successful rig when targeting species such as Tench, Crucians and Carp. Here is a step by step on how to tie this fantastic rig. What you'll need with the finished rig. Step 1. Take a length of Trickster Heavy braid and tie a double overhand [...]
It’s not only a summer tactic it can be effective throughout the seasons, if it’s in your armoury you’re already a few steps ahead of many other anglers, personally I never leave home without a bucket of floaters now.
I was really looking forward to getting back on some of my favourite waters, chasing Tench on big pits or mega hard pits. There were three main waters I had in mind, the largest one going up to 120 acres. All three of them have their own problems, i.e restricted areas, restricted fishing times...
Welly is generally very shallow with average depths of only 4-5ft. It does drop deeper in some specific areas, but the majority is consistent in depth. This is what can make it productive in the winter if you do the classic things like stay mobile and keep eyes and ears always open.
I tend to stay up late and wake up extra early as this gives me the extra hours of listening and watching time that could nail down the location and leads to that end goal of a capture.
I have always enjoyed the challenge of fishing weedy waters, but it can be tricky to master them sometimes, although when you do, it can be a confidence to be taken forward to many places afterwards.
The Hampshire Avon has always been a magical river and I think it’s fair to say, that when it comes to barbel fishing, this river is commonly thought of as one of the most iconic waterways in the country.
Since targeting big fish became a large part of my life in the early 1980s, I have been on one long journey and have been fortunate to have landed plenty of personal bests and each one has been special.
Along with many other anglers I always look forward to the summer months, especially the traditional start of season, and when 16th June arrives rudd are normally uppermost in my thoughts. In the south of England the large gravel and sand pits produce some of the finest specimen rudd fishing the country has to offer...
Crucians have traditionally been known as a tentative feeder, and sensitive float fishing tactics at dawn and dusk have been the accepted textbook way to target this species. I think that it would be fair to say that as specimen fishing has moved forward a little since then and tackle, techniques and rigs have become more refined.
I had landed ten of the fourteen caught between us, with Adrian catching the largest at 7lb 9oz. Only one other tench was caught between about 20 other anglers on the lake. It wasn’t a bad way to kick off a fishing diary that I keep to this day!
It was really difficult to establish any portfolio of exactly what carp were present. The biggest known mirror in the lake was named ‘Megan’ apparently. I was told that one spun the scales to just over 30lb.
Spring is the time of the year I, like most carp anglers, look forward to the most. Not only are the longer days and lighter evenings so much more pleasant than the long winter ones, but also the rewards are there be had and when the fish are often at their easiest to catch.
Pressured carp can be very adept at ejecting rigs and swapping over to a stiff boom has made the difference when fish have been getting away with it. I’m sure the rigid boom makes for the most effective and difficult to deal with...
During the last 7-8 seasons I’ve fell in love with a brilliant method, trotting for chub. Each winter my dad and I head down to the banks of the Dorset stour in search of its specimen chub. This river is by far my favourite for the species and I really couldn’t think of a better place to target a huge chub.
I embarked on a campaign for the biggest carp in my locality – a very big carp indeed. Some had caught it quickly, however, I knew one or two extremely tidy anglers that had been fishing for this beast for several years...
I first came across ‘The Local Lin’ when Sticky Baits posted a picture of it on their social media and I remember thinking, what a carp it was! A unique fish, jet black with a tiny mouth and a very small tail and I knew it had gone over the 40lb mark!
