There is a bad trend within the fishing world of dumping leads.  I feel this is a bad trend due to the safety of the fish.  Now, I have been fishing for over thirty years and I understand that some fish have died because of being tethered.  However, are we using this as an excuse to dump 100’s of leads all over the place? We moan and complain when we see rubbish in our swims, but we are very happy to dump leads in the name of fish safety. Or is it because the hooked to landed ratio has improved?
There is also an issue with Spomb’s laying around on lake beds as they don’t float, I have put small poly balls on the end of my one, and so it will float.  It is a simple and cheap answer.

I also have a big issue with fake baits.  When your hook link breaks, there is a bait sitting around for as long as it takes for a carp to pick this up, gets hooked and possibly tethered up.  At least if this happens with a traditional bait, it would break down in the water.  Now here’s the rub, I have had the need to start using them over the past six months.  This is due to general pests who interfere with carp fishing and your bait presentation.  The only safe way I feel that I can combat this is by changing the hook link after every fish.

As anglers, we need to take more responsibility for all this rubbish lying around on and off the bank.

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Carp etiquette

Over the years that I have been carp fishing I have seen some funny phases. When I first started, it was very secretive, but other angers would have the decency to talk to you and be very polite and ask you to leave the swim before they baited up or cast out again. Even to the point of casting in the wrong area until you had gone. Back in those days (what a line!) no one would set up anywhere near you and if so, they would have the decency to ask if they could do this.

Then came the stage, that anglers would not talk to each other. They would just hide in their bivvies’ or just point blank ignore you. This then moved on to the set up anywhere and cast anywhere brigade.

Anglers have started to reserve swims, which I can see the point of this. As 30 years ago, there were very few anglers and you could spend all day looking around with not even the hint of another angler.

Nowadays, you pull in most lake car parks and you can be followed in by 2 more cars. Getting back to the point, I have seen buckets put in swims for 2/3 hours, which is NOT acceptable in this day and age. Having found the person who owned the bucket and made inquires re the bucket, I was told his mate was down later and wanted to fish near him (was he scared of the dark!?), he arrived 4 hours later. I have even seen a row of buckets & a chair once (is it beating the Germans to the sunloungers syndrome?).
I have also been told by a person who set up next to me on a empty lake that he fished this swim every Thursday night (even if the fish are topping round the corner?). After a bit of a heated chat, he thought that it was a good idea to move swim and even up the odds a bit.

I have also found that is very hard to even get a swim on some of the circuit waters, nowadays due to the volume of anglers. Which is why I have stuck with small syndicates & club waters for the Winter, when most stay at home only coming out on sunny days.

What I do on lakes that have a secure car park, is to have a walk around with my bucket and place in the most likely swim, based on past trips in the weeks before. I then carry on with my wheelbarrow until I find a better one then go back and collect the bucket. This process only takes about and hour or less. Now, if you have the luxury that you have the place to yourself the ‘worlds your oyster’.

I know I have got a bit demoralised with carp anglers due to the above. And moved back onto the rivers where its a pleasure to fish and other anglers are very courtious to each other (and helpfull).

This page is all about thinking of other anglers before you set up. Most lakes I fish anglers leave one swim apart and do not fish opposite to each other. This is just an unwritten rule and it works well. On the syndicate that I am a member of on the river Avon, people will not fish within a 3/4 of a mile.

its so peaceful

My point in this page is to think of other angler and also yourself and enjoy the peace and tranquillity of Fishing

That’s all for know

Richard

UK Carp Fishing Tips

If you are planning on fishing over the winter months, choose your venue to suit your needs, once you’ve started your campaign, you will only make it a lot harder on yourself by moving waters.

The key factor in successfully catching carp over the winter months is definitely motivation, without that, you will find the long winter nights and cold weather hard going. It’s extremely hard work setting up in the dark and cold – consider this when picking your venue, along with how many nights you plan on doing each week. A single night and then head off to work in the morning, I’ve spent many winters doing two or three single nights each week. Believe me, you certainly need the motivation to set up and pack up in the dark, don’t forget you could be blanking a lot. If you choose to do a couple of nights in a row, you still may need to set up in the dark on the first night, and carrying extra kit for winter can make this a lot harder. A tip I’ve learned is only to take the basic kit you need to your swim on the first night and then collect the rest the following morning. If this isn’t an option just take less kit, it’s amazing how much you don’t really need.

 

Pick your venue with the above in mind, a long walk to set up in the dark came to be very hard going and you will be doing this all winter long. Oddly, a walk back in the dark was less of an issue for me, as long as I’d set up in the daylight. A trick I discovered, once you were all sorted, had a bite to eat and the last drink of the day, pack it all away. It simplifies the job in the dark/the following morning and is less of a bind.

 

The ideal solution is to find a venue with parking around the lake or even the luxury of parking behind your swim. The car park swim is always a favorite and over the winter months, especially on weeknights, is generally empty, fishing out of your car is a real bonus over the winter. Being organized helps. Getting into the same routine every time you set up and pack away, it’ll become second nature to you. One winter, I would do a ninety-mile round trip for a single night, set up, and pack away in the dark. My reward was a spectacular mirror at the end of February.

 

Setting up in the dark is easy, you’re not really in a rush, it’s already dark. If you’ve done your homework or even been fishing the venue all summer long. You know the swims and the layout of the water. You may, if you’re lucky, know where the carp are and get a head start on other people. If you’re new to the water, pick a swim which gives you the opportunity to watch large areas of water. Don’t forget to lean out in the early hours, I often will have a brew at 1 am and just listen for carp. They love sticking their heads out in the long dark hours of winter. If you’re in the swim with a good vista you can find them and then go catch them the next time. Winter fishing can be very wet cold and damp, with lots of mud, higher water levels and can be extremely hard going when you push your barrow up and down long muddy tracks in the dark.

 

Baiting up and casting out is simple, make note of all the horizon makers before winter sets in and look out for the shadows on the water. The beauty of winter is all those crystal clear sky’s, with a little bit of light pollution in the mix, it can be amazing how easy it is to pick out the spots. As long as your casting skills are good, you will build up your confidence so that you can arrive in the dark hours, cast out, bait up with great success and you will catch carp. Comfort is the key. I’ve written about this plenty of times before, if you’re not enjoying your winter fishing, you will not last. I spent many a year under an umbrella doing single nights and after a fair few years, I realized that a full-on bivvy was so much more comfortable. Forget about the hardcore anglers, just use a bivvy. It completely changed everything and with the simplicity of modern bivvy, it’s a lot easier than it was ten or more years ago. Take a hot water bottle if you get cold in your sleeping bag, the modern ones should do you well. Forget the days when I would get two sleeping bags and put one inside the other. Use a bivvy heater for the hours you are sitting in your bivvy, you can’t be laying there in the bag for hours. Just make sure you don’t fall asleep with it on and definitely make sure you have some ventilation. If you really want comfort, then use a piece of carpet or a thick picnic rug. I also place my rod bag and bivvy bag around the inside of the bivvy, this reduces the drafts and keeps you a lot warmer. An overwrap is a must for me these days – must be an age thing, but it keeps me going these winter months. Using a letterbox door opening is perfect, it keeps you warm, but lets the gas fumes out, if you have your heater on. You can also use your stove, if you need to keep the amount of kit down to a minimum. You also can’t be stuck in your bivvy 24/7, you need good footwear and warm clothing. Remember base layers are the key, more thin layers work better than one or two, as it traps the air in and keeps you a lot warmer. I sleep in a very thin pair of soft trousers and in the day stick a fleece pair over the top in the extremely cold winter days. My feet get terribly cold these days, I blame pike fishing in the winter when I was a kid in wellies. I’ve found that if I’m stuck in the bivvy, you need something thing between you and the floor and an old unhooking mat is perfect for this.

 

Once I would read for hours, now I watch Netflix, Disney, or Amazon Prime for hours on end. This oddly does help me stay up more and listen out for those carp in the middle of the night. It goes without saying eat well, drink hot drinking and there’s plenty of good warm clothing on the market these days, unlike the ’80s and ’90s, it was hard going then.

 

My knowledge of winter fishing has been gained over the past 40 year’s of fishing and some years have been harder than others. Simply because of the amount of effort needed to get to the lake; from walking up and down a mile-long track in the dark three night’s a week, to simply fishing out of the boot of my car. You have to do what’s right for you and not others. As I said at the begining, motivation is the starting point and it all builds from there. You will still have to work hard at finding the carp and using the correct bait application. Simply put, if you’re not enjoying it, you certainly will not be fishing at your best and no doubt not catch to your full potential. Winter is one of the best times in the year to fish, fewer anglers on the bank for me makes it just perfect

 

Hope this helps you catch some good lumps and inspire you to get out on the bank.

Until next time

Richard

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