With the weather not that perfect but Christmas is just around the corner, I take every opportunity that I can, to go fishing (you have to be in it to win it).
I have settled on this very warm and calm bay, which has plenty of snaggy area’s for the Carp to lay low on. I just need to tempt them out, get them to have a snack and bag myself a Carp.
It going to be hard one, but you never know, I had a quick chat with a couple of syndicate members who were just off home – they had had enough. There has been no Carp out all week and I was the only person left out here and feeling quite confident as normal. I baited the far margins with 2mm catalyst pellets mixed up with corn and go2 groundbait, a good bit of Catalyst food dip and liquid salmon. Both rod’s have pop ups on, with a scattering of chopped boilies and a small bag filled with the same.
I woke to a very frosty morning and not a single bleep in the night. I had a good walk around before I departed and scattered a bit of bait in some likely spots for my trip in the week.
I would like to give a brief snap shot of my life and introduce myself;
My name is Richard Handel and was born in 1965 in Suffolk. I have worked as a UK Operation & Intermodule Manager for a shipping company. I live in Hampshire now and am married with 2 young children, both girls so I am a bit outnumbered even the cat is a girl!
I have been fishing since I was about 7 years old. I started on small local rivers in Suffolk, then moved onto gravel pits and then carp fishing. My personal best is a 39.08 mirror, over recent years I have started river fishing again, on the Hampshire Avon, this is a nice break from the carp lakes.
My life has turned a big corner this year, the company I was working for relocated their Operation centre to Estonia. I was offered a job at the head office in London. This would have meant a 5 day commute and working in Stratford. As a family, we did not fancy this, as I would hardly spend any time with the children (and the Mrs). So after 22.5 years, I was given a nice redundancy package and with my wife is working full time. I became the house husband.
This has meant a complete turn around in my fishing, as I can pick and choose when I go. I have found a splendid new syndicate to fish this year, which includes 5 lakes and some 8 miles of river with only 150 members. It's an amazing change to the way I am able to fish.
I am now trying to start my own tackle business and make a bit of a name for myself in the world of fishing, as I have retired from real work.
Richard
UK Carp & Coarse Fishing 