It is an exciting time to me, when the days begin to lengthen and the promise of spring is on it’s way. I’ve always found March to be a good month for captures, even the last couple of years, after the savage winters that we had. However this year was different, as this winter hadn’t [...]
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After finishing off another brilliant but busy week at FLE I headed up the A34 towards Banbury where my parents live. The area holds some very special memories for me - not only is it the place I grew up but it’s where I started my obsession with angling, and more specifically carp fishing! As [...]
Charity Carping Success! It has been an early start to our competition season this year with our first match being the Charity-Carping pairs match qualifier. The match took place over the last weekend in February and was held at the Willows Lakes complex on the notorious Match Lake. We arrived at the venue on the [...]
Hi to you all. I’ve had a few blank sessions recently on the lake I fish at; still it’s nice just to be able to go. I had also planned a trip with some work mate’s to fish Blue Pool for a couple of nights in late February. With most of the winter being rather [...]
After my capture of Kiss Scale I was once again away on other waters for a while making videos and writing articles, so upon my arrival at the Match Lake some weeks later I was shocked to discover the lake was literally sewn up with weed. At this point I thought it was time for a [...]
I have done very little fishing this month, mostly due to being on work experience for a few weeks, but also my continued lack of interest in fishing on the whole! However towards the end of the month I went on an overnight session on Broadlands practicing for the BCAC with my partner for the [...]
On my next 48 hours session down the Match Lake, when I arrived I decided on a swim called The Beach as I saw a few fish grouped up in between the two islands in front of the swim. At this stage the weed was starting to really take a hold. I stuck to my [...]
On return the following weekend I managed to get back into the bay again, as I thought this would be a good starting point as I had observed that there were a few fish drifting around in the upper layers close by. I placed the rods on the same spots with the same tactics, only [...]
With a slow start last year due to dreadful winter conditions, I didn’t manage to get the carp rods out of hibernation until late February, and when I did I fished at a local club water just 10 minutes down the road. My visits were mainly afternoon sessions when the weather was a little milder [...]
The weather at the start and middle of January has been exceptionally mild and when we look back to this time last year it couldn’t have been anymore different. This month has again seen me targeting different species and I started by trying to bag a few carp from a local water fishing short evening [...]
I started off this month having a quick day session, practicing on the venue that I am doing the UK Carp Cup on later this year, the Long Lake at Coking Farm in Dorset. The lake is about 4 acres in size, rammed with carp averaging around 7lb with a few doubles, going up to [...]
Several years ago I was sat up a tree watching carp feeding on the Cell boilies that I was flicking into the lake one at a time. It was very relaxing just sat there swaying backwards and forwards in the branches in the light breeze on a warm sunny spring day. I watched as these [...]
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Now it is winter and the waters we visit are getting colder and colder, the carp are also less likely to be feeding or paying a visit to our unhooking mats. After enjoying the Christmas festivities with the family, I returned to the waterside for a short 48 hour session, hoping to catch a last [...]
To me, productive fishing trips are all about making the right decisions when you arrive at your chosen venue. You maybe lucky enough to find some fish in an area that is uninhabited by other anglers, you may have a bait that those carp will find irresistible but how much thought has gone into your [...]
It seems as though all our prayers had been answered as by the start of December there had hardly been a frost, and the weather had remained unseasonably mild. Due to work and family commitments it was hard to get the rods out for a couple of weeks, but with the conditions remaining so good [...]
What a month December has been and compared with last year the weather couldn’t have been anymore different. The mild weather and lack of frosts has meant the fish have stayed active and feeding. Luckily I have managed a bit of time on the bank this month, but not as much as I would have [...]
After last months bog my time on the bank has slowed down as my job gets busy this time of year. Sometimes I have to work long hours and do standby on a rota; this is 24 hours on an emergency call out. If I am out until the early hours of the following morning [...]
I was busy doing a training course for my job all week up at Thatcham and every day saw me passing Horton on the lovely M25, so that was me sorted for an overnighter for Friday, especially as the moon phase was bang on for big carp! Friday came and the car was loaded - [...]