UK Carp & Coarse Fishing

The weather has been all over the place this week — rain, sunshine, strong winds, and even overnight frosts — which made choosing the right three days a tricky decision. Trying to line up favourable conditions at this time of year is never straightforward. Thankfully, I’ve got a very understanding family, and I was able to get down to the lake on Sunday morning, arriving perfectly in a break between the showers.

Looking at the forecast, I felt Sunday afternoon into the evening gave me a real chance. Light rain often encourages carp to feed, although an overnight frost may slow things down at some point. Monday was set to be bright but cold, followed by a drizzly Tuesday and then sunshine again on Wednesday, when I planned to pack up. The only real concern was the strong easterly winds forecast for Monday night. Ideally, I wanted a swim on the east bank or the north-east corner — I had a particular one in mind based on carp I’d spotted during my last session.

When I arrived, there was just one other angler on a day session, two swims away from where I fancied. After a quick chat, I noticed one of his rods was angled toward the water in front of my chosen swim. I told him to carry on exactly as he was, and that I’d position my rods slightly left and focus on the margins until he packed up. Fair’s fair — watercraft works both ways.

He went on to catch a few carp from that area, which only strengthened my confidence that I’d chosen wisely. I’d fished this swim once before, but only for a single night. This time I wanted to give it a proper go — either catch from it consistently or get it out of my system.

For the afternoon, I simply flicked three small PVA bags out and committed to watching the water carefully before deciding on a longer-term plan.

At 16:35 hrs, after a heavy liner an hour earlier on the right-hand margin rod, it suddenly burst into life. What followed was an absolutely stunning mirror that fought brilliantly in the pouring rain.

29lb 6oz Mirror

I could hardly believe it. I had just finished topping up my other two spots with a mixture of Nutrabaits solubles , Boilie Bites & Jurassic particles hemp and buckwheat. and was sitting down to tie fresh mesh bags for the open-water rods when it went off. Perfect timing.

By just after 17:00 hrs, all three rods were sorted. It was finally time to dry off and get some food inside me — lunch had long passed, and it was nearer tea time than midday.

At some point, I must have drifted off, disturbed briefly by overexcited pigeons that clearly thought spring had arrived. The next thing I knew, at 06:06 hrs, the buzzer burst into life again. The right-hand margin rod was away, and after a tense fight — with the line catching briefly in a bramble — I had to quickly scoop the net under the fish before anything worse happened.

25lb 6oz Common

A proper result from the margins again.

After sitting down with a much-needed coffee, still half asleep, I flicked a fresh bag back onto the spot. By 07:30 hrs, I’d refreshed the other two rods onto the baited open-water areas. I’m determined to crack those spots — the only way to build confidence in them is to keep trying.

At 20:38 hr’s, the left-hand rod signalled my first proper bite from the open-water area.

Not a monster, but very welcome.

12 lb (est.)

The rod was quickly repositioned. Light drizzle set in overnight, and at some point, I had another take on that same rod, only for it to result in a hook pull halfway across the pond. Frustrating, but at least it confirmed fish were visiting the spot.

By 08:30 hrs the next morning, I wasn’t in any rush to get up. I lay in the bivvy listening to the steady drizzle on the fabric. It was forecast to stay grey and around 7 degrees all day. I’d only seen one carp show along the right-hand margin — otherwise, very little sign. My plan was to flick singles with tiny mesh bags around every hour or so on two rods, keeping mobile and reactive. The middle rod, I felt, might need relocating for the final night if nothing developed.

At 18:00 hrs, I moved that middle rod back onto the productive open-water area where I’d had the two takes. I also positioned a bait down the left-hand margin alongside the right-hand rod. The open-water spot had only produced from one precise area, whereas the margins were clearly giving me the better stamp of fish.

Much to my amazement, I didn’t get a bite that final night. Sometimes you feel like you’ve got the measure of them, and then they remind you who’s really in charge. For the first time this session, I’d actually heard them showing in the darkness and felt confident something would happen — but it didn’t.

It was lovely to wake up to sunshine on the final morning. At least it dried the gear before the inevitable pack-down.

I’d like to say I was confident of a last-minute bite before heading home. If not, I’ll take comfort in the fact that I’ve had more morning bites this winter than I’ve had in ages.

By 10:00 hrs, it was time for the least enjoyable part of any trip — packing away and heading back to the car.

Four bites. Three landed.
29lb 6oz Mirror.
25lb 6oz Common.

I’m very happy with that result.

I’m not sure if I’ll make it out next week — a few family commitments are lined up — but you know me.

Until next time,
Richard

Get 10% off Deeper with Code – RICHARD10

 

 

This is controlled attraction — tight, efficient, and deliberate.

You have Castaway PVA in a double system format, paired with neatly tied mesh bags, ready to go. No excess. No mess. Just compact parcels of food positioned exactly where you want them.
The beauty of this approach lies in precision. Each mesh bag contains a small, high-leakage mix of crushed boilies, pellets, and particles — compressed tightly so it punches through the surface cleanly and settles close to the hookbait. Once on the deck, the PVA melts away and leaves a concentrated mound of attraction around the rig.

That’s critical in modern carp fishing.
Instead of spreading bait over a wide area, you’re creating a defined feeding hotspot. Carp don’t drift over this; they drop onto it and feed with intent. The small fragments encourage grubbing behaviour, heads down, tails up — exactly the scenario where a well-presented hookbait blends in and gets taken confidently.

The double system PVA offers flexibility:
Smaller mesh bags for single hookbait traps
Slightly larger loads when you want a bit more feed without overdoing it
Fast-dissolving, clean breakdown with no residue
For short sessions — especially the kind where you’re moving between swims — this is a lethal tactic. It allows you to cast to showing fish without introducing heavy baiting. Ideal for tight margins, hard-to-reach spots, or clean gravel seams where accuracy is more important than volume.
It’s efficient fishing.

Every cast carries its own attraction package.
No reliance on pre-baiting.
Just a compact, high-signal presentation that works immediately upon contact with the lakebed.

Hope this helps

Richard

Get 10% off Deeper with Code – RICHARD10