Gardner Tackle’s articles. Written by our team of highly experienced carp and specialist anglers.
At 62 acres with 75 swims, lots of room and carp to go for the carp in Horseshoe are very catchable and I caught plenty, but they keep you on your toes. Keeping eyes on the water for signs can lead to numerous sightings in short spells and then being mobile, it can be very productive...
The year got off to a great start with a 2lb 13oz roach from Linch Hill, after which I decided to try my luck at Linear. I had been intending to have a go for the roach on Brasenose for a while and with the complex re-opening after extensive flooding...
The first week of March was when I saw my first fish, as late one night I heard one crash out in the darkness, and the following morning another showed in a snaggy corner. That same week the level had dropped so much, it was possible to walk round the entire lake. It was all building nicely, and then the lockdown came! It was frustrating, but in the scheme of what was happening in the world, far less important...
I enjoy my winter fishing as much, if not more so, than summer. If minimal angler pressure, freedom to move, stunning sunsets and a challenge do it for you just get out there and do it. Experience has taught me a lot over the years and, whilst there are no hard and fast rules, here are a few tips that might give anyone approaching their first winter carp fishing a head start.
Now, on some waters, casting at fish sometimes works and on others it doesn't and after a few hours of not receiving any action I started to think that maybe casting at them wasn't such a great idea!
I continued to press on with my Winter campaign and as we all know we were getting some awesome record-breaking mild weather during late February and into early March. This weather had my head in a bit of a spin because, although I don't believe for one minute that the Frimley fish had stopped moving all winter, they were really starting to show...
After a few successful seasons on the front lake and with my amazing journey across Germany behind me, now felt like the perfect time to go after the remaining 27 known carp from the original stock that were left swimming in the back lake...
I have been fishing Rockford on and off for the last 2 years with only 1 capture, and one loss to a cut off. This year I decided to give it my full focus and hopefully capture another one of the gems of the lake. I started early, with a few trips in January and February, mainly to explore different areas of the lake and start to work a few things out...
I've gone from fishing what is probably one of the busiest club waters in the country, to now being part of an exclusive fifty-man syndicate. I still remember that moment my phone buzzed, and I looked down to see an email entitled 'Roach Pit ticket offer'. I could not wait to get started!
As anglers, our number one priority should be to protect the quarry that we fish for. I often hear people saying that braid is dangerous in the wrong hands, but personally I disagree with this statement. Whichever way you look at it we are aiming to put a baited hook into a fish’s mouth...
Towards late afternoon we headed back to the carp zone, and this time we found some fish feeding; one being a dark mid-20 common. With the fish moving off Wiggy lowered his rig onto the spot and we sat back waiting to see if we could catch one of these black carp swimming around in the deep clear water...
At just after midnight the alarm sounded and I saw the bobbin rise slightly before dropping to the end of the chain – a good reason to use long chains when targeting bream as the vast majority of bites are drop backs...
In early 2016, I found myself itching to get back down the ultra-low-key venue known as Wellington Country Park, to try and get amongst the phenomenal stock of carp whilst they were at their optimal weights. However, with all good things in life, they come at a price...
On the angling front, it had been a very slow winter by previous standards, and I really couldn’t work out why? Conditions had been perfect; wet and warm, and you would have thought the carp would have been climbing up the bank. But for whatever reason they most certainly were not...
We were soon off the mark with a few stunning scaly fish banked. The details of each capture were documented, and a few subtle tweaks made. As we were starting to build up the picture, bite times started to emerge and certain approaches outshone others...
For me, listening and watching the water very closely during those first couple of hours of dawn breaking can be the most critical in the day. Maybe you didn’t catch last night, but are there any tale tell signs that something could still happen over in your area?
It was at this point that I peered down into the net and saw I had the ultimate prize laying beaten, and a rush of sheer elation swept over me. This was the fish I had joined the lake for, and she was finally mine and looking incredible!
I needed to come up with a plan to help remedy my issue with the abundant bites off the Tench and Bream I was catching. Now I do not dislike Tench or big Bream per say, but they are not the intended species, so this train of thought took me right back to the drawing board regarding approach, rigs and bait...
Being known for fishing primarily short overnight sessions in between work an instant attraction to Brooklands was that anglers can drive and park behind most of the swims on the lake, and in addition to me it also attracts lots of other anglers thanks to good access and a great stock of carp...
Luckily enough, the carp hadn’t managed to get too far down in the bay near to the snags, so after continuously pumping the carp soon came into view, as it was lying on its side wallowing yards from the boat, gulping for air...
