I will never forget watching that race, along with the Death of Roland Ratzenberger the day before.

It was a very sad weekend on F1 History.

This view and swim is just one of my favourite places to be. Hopefully, the next few nights will bring me that unknown monster we all seek.

Airfield Lake

Tower Swim

3 nights

It’s been a painful 10 days, but most importantly, the tooth is out! I’m 90% recovered and back on solid foods – which is nice. I do love soup and yoghurt; however, it does get boring. Finally, I’ve stopped taking painkillers, which is extremely nice to be off them.

With the wife and kids off to the mother-in-law’s this weekend, I had the opportunity to get out for a few nights or go with them. The weather over that way wasn’t as nice as here, so after some thought, it felt like the better option was to go down the lake. She would get more time with her mum instead of me dragging them out and about like yesterday, which actually turned out to be a gorgeous day. Sometimes when the weatherman gets it wrong, it’s actually nice weather instead of rain, which we have well and truly suffered with. Unfortunately, it’s not gone away; it just avoided the south yesterday.

The weather is a bit all over the place for the next few days and heading through the week. I’m hoping to get another trip in, but the weather could scupper my plans. Just have to see how it pans out. I was hoping the water levels would have dropped, but it’s pretty much where it was the other week, and with more rain due this week, it’s not going to drop anytime soon.

I arrived at about 10:30 and bumped into a fellow member just loading his van, a morning angler, packing up, and another member who’s been on since Thursday but has had 2 carp, plus the guy in the car park had one as well. Not fishing great, but carp coming out.

After a trip around the top lake, which with the strong winds due overnight, tomorrow was my favourable option, I checked my favourite swim, which is still underwater, the island where I was on my last trip, but the Tower swim was telling me something. I’d not seen a carp, and nor have I yet, and it’s 16:29 now. Slightly worrying, but from tonight I will be on the back of the wind and not in the heart of it. Not sure if that’s good or bad; we will have to see.

I’ve opted to fish quite close to this bank, as it’s pretty coloured up, plus it has good access to the car park if I need to move swim, etc. I baited up one spot with hemp only and the other with boilies only, just interested to see how well each baiting situation performed. I would be fishing various Spotted Fin pop-ups as well, trying to get a feel for what the carp are looking for.

I had a couple of bleeps late evening and in the night on the right-hand rod, but that was it until… I woke up to alarm bells in my head this morning and turned out to be a screaming run on that very rod. It had been too long since catching a carp. It felt like a typical Airfield Lake common, shaking its head, but as it rolled into the net, it was this beauty – 28lb 6oz.

That will certainly do me, and it’s nice to start my Mockbegger season with a nice lump.

With the rod back on the spot, it’s time for my first brew of the day and to soak up the atmosphere.

After some thought this morning about the lack of liners on my left-hand rod, drifting the Deeper over my swim as I didn’t want to disturb the swim until later in the afternoon. I made the choice of moving to a similar range along the drop-off from the plateau into the gully between the margin shelf. Oddly, I found the best spot at the same number of wraps as the other rod.

I then baited 3 spombs over each and one between them, and hopefully, there’s a good chance of a take or two.

A Tench made an appearance in the early evening on my right-hand rod, which was nice, but not needed. They are also getting bigger along with the carp, which is very good to see, as once this lake was pretty barren and void of anything except for carp, as in its past, it was a fish farm many years ago.

The second night was carp-free, plus not many showing overnight compared to the previous night, and the following throughout the day, with me only spotting a couple of fish. Something had switched them off; the pressure was getting lower and due to drop to 998 mb over the next 24 hours, along with a mostly overcast day and a very warm night coming up. The conditions were perfect. Someone just needed to tell the carp. There were three day anglers on over the day, and no one spotted a carp. I decided to stay a third night as it felt like my best option, instead of coming back at the end of the week when the pressure would be going up and then down, which could be the issue on here at the moment, along with the sudden influx of angler pressure.

As the afternoon was due to rain mostly, in actual fact, all afternoon and night in the end, I reeled in at 11:30, spombed out a small amount of bait, and headed out for a good look about in the midday sunshine, which was extremely pleasant but not very fruitful on the carp spotted front. I’m starting to wonder if spending April on the club lake next year would be my best option, after staying on Meadow until it closes rather than coming on here straight away.

I got back to my swim just in time to flick the rods back out before the rain arrived. I had a drop-back around 15:00 hrs, which I believe was a Tench, that was quickly flicked back out, and I settled into a very stormy afternoon and night, hoping that at some point I’d get a take. The carp were a lot more active, and some sounded very close by. I was on edge, thinking I would get a take any minute, but here I am at 07:45 on my second cup of coffee still hoping that’s the case.

Plus, it’s still raining, which should stop by 09:00 hrs as opposed to 21:00 hrs last night when it was originally supposed to stop. It’s absolutely rubbish forecasting these days. I probably do better myself by just guessing, it would be cheaper.

The closer 09:00 hrs gets, the closer to packing up time. I’ve enjoyed my 3 nights and had a stocking carp, which I’m not going to complain about one bit. It’s simply hard going on here at the moment, and hopefully, in 2 weeks when I’m back, things will have changed. Certainly, now Meadow has closed, the number of people fishing will have risen, which in turn means the volume of bait and fishing disturbance around the lake will have gone up, which can only be a good thing to get them moving about.

Until next time,

Richard

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Carp Fishing: A Passionate Angler’s Journey

If you are looking for some inspiration and tips on carp fishing, you might want to check out My website RichardHandel.com, I also have the following social media sites, a YouTube channel, a website, and a podcast. I’m a passionate angler who has been fishing for carp and other species for over 40 years. I share my fishing adventures and stories from various waters in the Avon Valley, from rivers to lakes, covering carp, pike, chub, and barbel fishing. I also review and recommend fishing tackle and equipment from brands like Asso Fishing Lines, Deeper, Scruff’s Carp Leads, Evolution Carp Tackle, and Spotted Fin.

My YouTube channel has over 1.2K videos, where I document my fishing trips and show how I set up rigs, baits, and strategies. I also demonstrate how to use different fishing gadgets and tools, such as the Deeper Sonar, the Aqua M3 Compact, and the Baiting Pole. I cover various fishing scenarios, from syndicate fishing fun to river fishing in flood. I have also caught some impressive fish, such as a 30lb+ mirror carp, a 20lb+ pike, and a 6lb+ chub.

RichardHandel.com is my website and is a rich source of information and advice on carp fishing. I write detailed blogs about my fishing sessions, where I describe the conditions, the challenges, and the results. It also gives helpful tips and tricks on how to improve your fishing skills and catch more fish. I also have a section on fishing recipes, where I share my favorite dishes to cook on the bank or at home. I also have a gallery of his best catches and a shop where you can buy my fishing products and merchandise.

My podcast is a new addition to my fishing media platforms. I launched it in 2021 and have already released several episodes. I talk about my fishing experiences and stories, as well as my opinions and insights on various fishing topics. I also answer questions from listeners and give them feedback and suggestions.

I’m certainly a carp fishing enthusiast who loves to share my passion and knowledge with others. I am always eager to learn new things and try new methods. I am also friendly and approachable and I welcome comments and questions from viewers. If you want to learn more about carp fishing, or just enjoy some fishing tales and stories, you should definitely follow me on my YouTube channel, website, and podcast. You won’t regret it! 🎣

Until next time

Richard

 

My daughter came home from college yesterday with a very sad story about one of her old school friends, it made me realise how quickly things can change.

 

Donation protected

 

Time is Very short and Precious for Evelina-only 17!, who has been diagnosed with advanced stage duct bile cancer in addition to her autoimmune disease. Evelina’s is the ONLY case diagnosed with this type of death-sentence cancer at the age of 17 years only.

We celebrated Christmas all together with Evelina glowing with health and good spirits only to find out two days after her 17th birthday (3rd of February,2024) that she has advanced stage bile duct cancer with the prospect of extending her life to up to 13 months maximum with chemotherapy.

Needless to say, we are in contact with all leading centres -Germany, Israel, France, Italy, USA, China, Russia specialising in this type of cancer, and we have not been successful so far because of the age of the patient and the stage of cancer. Our quest is not completed and we have a journey ahead of us to find a clinical trial rallying for a young girl’s fight to live longer.

Currently Evelina is undergoing chemotherapy as the doctors at Southampton General Hospital were very clear that without chemo, she would leave us within two to three months as this disease is very rare and extremely aggressive.

We are organising fundraising for this wonderful family and a truly brilliant girl, who is determined to keep fighting for her life, fulfil her dreams and be able to participate in clinical trials anywhere in the world, if they come along at short notice.

Time is extremely precious and is not in our favour. Your donations will go towards fulfilling Evelina’s last wishes whilst she has not deteriorated to the point of no return and to fund possible trials that may come along.

As a very tight-knit community, we have been supporting them financially from day one to allow her father, Achilleas, who is the only bread winner, to work less than 7 days a week and to be able to at least hold his daughter’s hand at chemo sessions.

We do not lose hope that there might be a trial she would be eligible for, and we need to be financially prepared for this-we will send regular updates if this miracle knocks on our door.

We will be very transparent and share all the precious moments which will be fulfilled with your support.

What we can afford to give is clearly not enough to accomplish the list she has hastily put together as the reality is starting to sink in for a 17-year-old girl preparing for this harsh journey in her life.

 

Thus, here is the bucket list your generous donations will go towards to:

 

1. Formula 1 races

2. Travel to Maldives, Lake Como, Amalfi Coast and Monaco

3. Cruise around Greek Islands

4. Go to music festival-Coachella festival in the States, condition permitting or Glastonbury Festival in June, 2024

5. Possible clinical trials

 

There is another bucket list which no money can buy:

 

6. Spend next Christmas with her family.

7. Stop constant nausea and tiredness.

8. Continue her education in Peter Symonds College Winchester.

9.Be Healthy and Able to Enjoy Life

 

Thank you very much for joining hands with us!