There is an assumption that carp approach a bait always come in a line, opposite the lead. It’s classic positioning in any rig diagram and it’s utter twaddle! If you have, for example, a six inch hooklink lying perfectly straight as the manuals say, a fish sucking from opposite the lead has almost no movement of the bait...
One September afternoon Andy and I were in our usual position, namely bellies to the ground and noses poking out the marginal greenery. On this occasion Andy’s small bottom bait was so close to us that, if he had held my feet, I could have picked his rig up by hand. Sitting over the top of the bait was a mirror carp, well over forty pounds and utterly exquisite...
At first, I thought it was indeed a barbel, but after a heavy thumping battle in the flow, I saw the brassy flanks of a big chub surface. A couple more nervous minutes followed, before I managed to slide it over the drawstring into the net. Straight away I could see it was probably a '6'; a target I had been chasing for years.
From the first time I saw pictures of the Big Lin I knew that it was the one I would really like to catch. Little did I know that it would start a five-year quest for me to finally hold it up in front of the camera. I’d been fishing the Roach Pit for a couple of years, slowly building up a picture of the lake...
The next morning came and went, and nothing happened. The whole lake looked dead, as an easterly wind had picked up. I decided to sit it out in my current swim and was rewarded on the third morning of my session with an 8lb 14oz female. Then on the last morning, I managed a 6lb 6oz female tough going was the word, but I went home happy.
My real love in angling is Tench fishing, and it’s mainly on the big pits where all my serious tench fishing is done. I’ve been doing this since the mid-1970s, so I think it’s fair to say I’m addicted to big pit fishing, but most of the ideas and methods in this article will work on any water, of any size.
From the carp's perspective there is just so much going for areas of the lake that are full of vegetation. Freshwater shrimps, several species of water snail, mussels and other natural food abound in the green stuff. In addition, the fish are afforded both safety and security and weed emits oxygen.
I had also started pike fishing in the November, and this started off with a bang, with the capture of a scraper 20 already and then only a couple of weeks later a dream fish came into my net. At 47” long and so close to my target weight she weighed in at 29lb 3oz!
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I started trout fishing when I was 5 years old, under the watchful eyes of my father and brother. They taught me everything they knew about fish care and nature. It was at the age of 16 when my passion for big carp angling from large rivers and lakes fully took hold. Ever since [...]
After a pretty lacklustre winter, this March has already proven to be one of those magical once in a decade wonderful Marches, where the weather, water temperature and daylength come together to kick start an early flurry of carp feeding and happy carpers...
It came in like dog on a lead with steady pressure, then as I gained line the fish came up towards a shallower bar and suddenly the beast awoke and stripped 50yds of line off me, charging along the far margin and then powering out into the open water...
My name is Marc, I have been fishing since the age of 3. I started fishing trout with my father who was a big fan! He taught me respect for nature and to always practice catch and release. At approximately 10 years old, I started carp fishing and have been gripped by it ever [...]
I was being treated like a VIP, rather than a slightly portly and mildly eccentric carp fishing tackle employee, I had choice of which lake. Go in the drawer on The Commons Lake that looked good for a bite, or man it up and fish ‘Mirrors’ with a chance of a monster; and with the big harvest moon due on Saturday night if ever the big one was coming out, this had to be a good window...
In de eindeloze zoektocht naar steeds nieuwe visgronden kwam ik geheel toevallig op een stukje kanaal dat zelden wordt bevist. Het is in feite een oud haventje alwaar men enkel op het eerste kleine stukje kan vissen, het haventje zelf is omheind en men kan/mag er niet vissen. Het bestand ongekend. Nu alvorens dit stuk [...]
Only two hours after re-casting, which was entirely spent questioning if I had made the right decision, my middle rod was away. After a short ‘ploddy’ fight I was holding up another banging 42lb chestnut mirror in the mid-afternoon autumn sunshine. As I was playing it, I noticed two more subtle rolls up to my right...
I had to work so hard to try and keep up with the young’uns (who never seem to even miss a fish fart) that by the time I had clocked the carp’s whereabouts, and went to move on the fish, the younger, keener and super talented nippers would already have had one of them in the net.
It’s impossible to try and encapsulate in words, just what a special time I enjoyed during my three years, on what I truly believe will one day, rightfully be considered one of the greatest UK history carp waters ever. Since moving onto pastures new from 1st June 2019, it’s been like going through an ugly and bitter separation from a loved one...
I didn’t have to wait much time at all before the first rod was away, and after a strange start to the fight it was soon apparent it was another good one. I soon had a nice common in the net, 30lb 12oz, that will do! Starting the year where I left off last year.
Much to our amazement it was 39lb 14oz! Wow, an early Christmas present. My friend did me some great shots and we returned the fish. I sat drinking a tea thinking “this is awesome”. The only issue was once I had written about this epic adventure it was going to be even more like Piccadilly Circus. The rest of the night past with zero action, but I did not care, a December 39lb’er, and a new lake record…
