On the whole, my angling has always been epitomised by a slow Darwinian like progression of understanding – from rigs and baits to a very basic conceptual understanding of what (sometimes) works and why. The fact of the matter is that there have few leaps in that slow development but one that stands [...]
Long hook lengths. For as long as I can remember this has been one of my favourite means of catching carp. Now I'm not talking about zig fishing, I'm talking about actual long hook lengths for bottom bait rigs and pop up presentations. Rigs that are simply much longer than what is considered [...]
After knuckling down and getting a load of revision done, as my college course was coming to an end, I decided it was finally time to get back on the bank. I hadn’t really had the sticks out for a decent session for a while, so I decided to hedge my bets and get [...]
I had been on one trip to the big pit, my new adventure for this year, and as well as proving a considerable new challenge, it was a massive learning experience too. Fishing using a boat is indeed a new skill, and whilst it has fantastic advantages, it was also proving to be tricky [...]
With the weather looking really good last night, I decided at short notice to have a work night visit to the historic CWA Roach Pit. When I arrived I had a quick walk round and found a few fish milling about in the Swimming Pool snags, so I set up in the nearest spot. [...]
During the summer of 2015 a new syndicate was being planned in the carp mecca of Yateley. Alan Cooper (CWA Fisheries) had purchased a lake known as Little Moulsham during the CEMX sale of fisheries in 2014/2015. Word was some vast improvements had been made to the venue, so it was certainly seemed wise [...]
We finally reached the end of April and with that came the much anticipated ‘FLE Tour 2016’. We were once again heading out to the fantastic Carp Connections Fishing Resort Du Der in the Champaign region of France. This year we had both JRC and Berkley lake exclusively hired for our trip, meaning there [...]
I had made a start on my new water with my first session over there kicking off a massive learning experience, and it’s one that will almost certainly be a long term campaign to fully understand. After all 60 acres is a fair bit of water, but being split by 3 islands makes it [...]
Once the winter came, I enjoyed a few sessions on a local lake fishing with an old friend, Adam. It was great to have some social trips, as the rest of the year I never do it, my fishing is normally always done totally on my own. We had some success too! With my [...]
I arrived at my syndicate lake for a 48 hour session in the hope of catching a couple of nice fish. After we had had a long walk and a really good look around I really liked the look of a swim called ‘Side of the Gate. It's in an area of the lake [...]
I have spent my last few trips out fishing at day ticket water called ‘Hollybush Lakes’ in Aldershot on the Surrey/Hampshire border. The lake is around 10 acres in size and home to some truly stunning old carp that have been resident for many years. The lake is also reasonably quiet in comparison to [...]
Having spent the first night of my 48 hour session on RK Leisure’s 'Kingsmead 1' sat off the back of the bitterly cold wind I decided to make a move as I hadn’t seen anything to indicate fish were in the area. Having packed everything down I spent the next hour surveying Horton church [...]
It's not very often I get to spend more than one night at the lake, however, due to being on half term at college, I decided to use this time to my full advantage. The first few nights down the lake were spent staring at huge carp crashing a million miles away, knowing they [...]
Lake serene is a stunning 16 acre gravel pit set in the heart of the Champaign region of France. It holds a large stock of big carp, mirrors to over 65lb and commons to over 85lb. It's not considered a run's water but if you time your session right and you fish effectively then [...]
After being unable to get out on the bank for a few weeks it really was time for a trip out, and with a week's break from college coming up it was a great time to do just that. The only concern I had was the weather, which was certainly against me as minus [...]
If you’re a river predator angler, then the last few months have been pretty awful! With nothing but dirty brown floodwater filling our running waters for what has seemed like an eternity, with opportunities to do some pike fishing having been limited to say the very least. We have floods every year but I [...]
Solid PVA bags can be a devastating method to use in carp fishing. They can be used anywhere but they are especially good in weedy lakes as the weight of the bag will flatten any weed it lands on and as the bag melts it leaves a small pile of bait with the hook bait sat enticingly in the middle of it.
Unsurprisingly, the week after my capture of Scruffy Bob I found myself back in the same swim. I arrived at the lake at dusk and after a very quick walk around I again observed some fizzing in a sheltered area of the lake called Turtle Corner. However, lady luck wasn't on my side that [...]
Due to being back at college and working weekends, I can only fish one night a week, this night being on a Wednesday. After three weeks of not being able to fish, due to my rods being sent off for repair, I decided that I couldn't take much more and ended up borrowing my [...]
Well it seems another year has come and gone in the flash of an eye, so I thought I would take a little time out to reflect on my years angling and share some of my memories. When I sat down to write a few notes and trawl through my Facebook timeline I didn't [...]
