Catch Reports
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!
I was really impressed with the Noir, it was a lovely black colour and had a fluorocarbon weave in it which meant it sank superbly, but with zero stretch I knew it would help me ensure I was fishing spots with maximum accuracy, as well as a feel beyond what you can achieve with any mono.
Generally, in winters gone by I’ve either continued on my chosen venue for my target or started a new winter campaign elsewhere. With travel restricted, I was limited in my options, and the routine post-Christmas socials were postponed.
I couldn’t have chosen a more perfect week and I ended up having 9 fish that week with 5 of them being over 35lb, topped off with one of the most wanted fish on the complex known as The Upfront Common.
To be successful when fishing in the middle of winter it is essential to keep a close eye on the weather and make your plans accordingly. Dai Gribble gives us 10 top tips for catching on waters during the colder months, either on rivers or on stillwaters.
In common with my warm weather fishing I usually take a fairly freestyle approach to finding fish during the cold months. The main reason is that, if there’s one thing I’ve concluded, they are where they are and I’ve found it vital to keep an open mind with regard to the carps’ whereabouts and feeding areas.
After participating in the annual Gardner Tackle social in Autumn 2020 at Burghfield Blue Pool, I really liked what this quirky pool had to offer. An intimate 4 acre lake tucked in amongst some of the best carp lakes the Thames Valley has to offer.
I like adapting to the green stuff in my angling, I always have. Adapting presentation, thinking about rig length and materials. Adapting lead weight, for the perfect drop and to aid more stealth getting rods into position.
The start of a new challenge is always exciting and after hearing about a special big scaley mirror and then seeing some photos, it was one that I was desperate to have in my album. The venue in question was a large 60 plus acre boating lake with a relatively low stock of carp.
It was now close in, but staying deep, and it was a further 5 minutes of arm ache before I got a look at it. I saw the cluster of scales near the tail, and the distinctive round body shape, confirming what I already knew, it was the unmistakable SP. It wasn’t finished yet though, despite me praying for it to just give up, and twice having it over my outstretched net...
With Covid impacting angling being so open and closed this last year, plus restrictions in place impacting visitors on the bank when open. My family haven’t been able to nip in to say hi to Dad this last year. But at random points in the past, they have dropped by and shared my love for carp angling.
I could still see some frothy bubbles on the surface, with that, a good fish showed but it was a bit far out in this swim and I knew that I could get a much better line angle in the point swim. It was a zone that I had never seen anyone fish from the point but more important the line angle would be perfect...
Het begint allemaal op een namiddag tijdens een opendeurdag in een shop waar ik Gardner Tackle sta te vertegenwoordigen. Vroeg in het voorjaar van 2017 dat ik enkele foto’s te zien kreeg van het desbetreffende water (ik vermeld het de locatie niet uit respect voor zij die er vissen) maar ik noem het ‘de diepe zand put’ of ‘the deep sand pit’.
Eventually, though, my thoughts were that I needed to be back at the park lake. This was to be my 3rd season on White Swan and I was determined to fish it my way, as I wasn’t really happy with how the past seasons have gone...
After Monday 23rd March when the government finally said we could go fishing I was out the door in a flash! I was doing one or two nights a week at Milton, unlike some places, Milton did not exactly fish its head off. In all truth I was scratching around each trip trying to get a bite with plenty of blank trips...
The backend of the season was a bit of a disaster on my local rivers as they were in flood like most other river’s around the country. I did fish a bit on the rivers, but it was no fun, and it was extremely dangerous walking the flooded riverbanks after dark in chest waders. I ended up spending the majority of my time Pike fishing the local gravel pits...
The start of the new season on the island lake was a bit strange… Coming after the lockdown, and the fact the biggest fish in the lake had come out at 60 lbs plus meant the lake was rammed. The first few weeks became a lottery and I just slotted in between anglers in vacant swims that weren’t really on fish...
I had been trying to catch a 6lb+ chub, coming close on so many occasions. I think I have now had over 10 chub between 5lb 14oz and 5lb 15oz, but I could never get one with that extra magic ounce I needed. On this particular evening though, I finally cracked it, not once, but twice! Firstly, with an absolutely pristine chub of 6lb 4oz...
