UK Carp & Coarse Fishing

I had a couple of jobs on Monday when I got back from fishing and the weather was looking more settled.  So, I thought a day on the bank was in order.  However, so did quite a few other anglers, for a few minutes I was thinking going home was the better option.  But after a walk about and considering the conditions were so much better than my last trip, it had to be worth a few hour’s on the bank.  I’ve found that when there are this many people on the lake, I’ve struggled – it will be an interesting experiment.  I’m really hoping that as they where here at the crack of dawn this morning, they may well head home after lunch (if it’s hard going) and I will get the opportunity to move.  Also the pressure will start easing and increase my chances of catching.

I ended up in my favourite margin swim, simply because it was the least pressured part of the lake.  Club lakes do make me laugh, there’s a guy on the opposite bank, about 4 swims to my left, casting along the bank and was really fishing opposite me.  The funny part was as he watched me setting up, he reeled in and recast to make the point of where he was fishing.  This would’ve no doubt spooked any carp feeding on his spot and unlike him, I generally never cast across on club water, as you just know what’s going to happen.  On the odd occasion I have done this, you just have to respect that if anyone set up, you simply have to move that rod – oddly, after an hour he did.  There was plenty of drizzling rain about and I’m glad I carry my umbrella regardless of the weather forecast.

Just after 11.15 am, the right hand rod ripped away and headed under the overhanging tree.  I simply picked up the rod, put the tip under the water, slowly coaxed the carp back out, around the lily pads in front of the swim and played out a very pretty common.

That will do to start the day off and with any luck, I will catch a couple more.

The rod was back on the spot and I sorted out a brew.

I was hoping someone would be going home this afternoon, but it’s looking very much like they are all here for the day.  The sunshine has come out and all has been quiet for some hours.  Now, this isn’t great news all round.  I’m thinking on a lake change or shall I just knock it on the head for the day?

It’s coming up to 3 pm, I need to make a choice and that’s never that simple.

A couple of anglers have gone and another two are packing up.  I’d had a liner just after 3 pm and as I’m fishing just off the front of the swim, I dare not go near the rods for sometime, otherwise I may risk spooking a carp.  Shame, as it would be nice to move a rod about, this time I’d even got the Zig kit finally sorted and planned to get one rod out on it, I really need to get to grips with this method of fishing.

It was time for a move at 4 pm and after a quick pack away, I headed around the lake.  It wasn’t the best time to move as there where no real signs of carp, but I just had to do something to try and get another bite.  The island was my first port of call, as some snags had been recently removed and we all know how inquisitive carp are.  I will give it 45 minutes to an hour and if no action, move on again, as I think I’m the only one fishing now.

I stayed as long as possible and didn’t fancy moving again.  There was the odd fish out there and I hadn’t see anything looking down the lake.

Until next time

Richard

This time I would like to cover carp safety on the bank when unhooking and using a sling + photography.

The most important part of this is the fish comes first at all costs.  You have caught it and well done.  There is no need to put the fish’s life in danger just because you need a photograph.

1. Be prepared, as all good Scouts say, this is so true with fishing.  Part of the process of setting up my rod’s, bivvy etc, I always set up my unhooking mat, water bucket, weighing pole and have my scales in the bivvy door.

I also have my tripod at the ready.

There should NEVER be a need to leave the fish unattended on the mat.

If you’re not ready just put the carp in a sling and safely put it in deep water.  NEVER in shallow or hot water (like this summer has been), there will be a lack of oxygen.  Always have the sling cord at the ready attached to a peg or spare bank stick, all set to clip on.

These are all very simple things and should be organized immediately after, if not before you cast out.

In this day and age, self-take photography amazingly simple and there is no need for that 2am call to your best mate!

Just practice with setting up your camera stuff and doing self-takes with no fish.

Even if I do have a friend about, I generally still set up and do a self-take, that’s the way I have been doing things for over 30 years.

Night shot

Day Shot

Hopes this helps

Richard

Carp Fishing Tackle on Ebay

As part of my beginner’s guide to carp fishing, I will stick to the simple answers regarding leads.

Casting leads or distances leads –

These are the pointed ones, which look like bullets and used to be known as Zipp leads.  They are perfected for casting great distances due to the shape and also make less noise when entering the water.  Regarding lead size and the heavier the lead, the further you can cast – this is true to a point but you need to match up the correct lead to your rod and your ability to cast.  You may well find that you can cast further out with a light lead than with a heavier one.  You have to remember, if you’re fishing silt the lead will go in very well, however, because of the shape can easily be pulled out.

Flat leads –

These are perfect for slopes, where you don’t want your bait to roll down e.g margin shelf, sides of island and gravel bars.  They are very effective as bolt rigs, they sit flat on the lake bed. They will make more noise going into the water.  Anglers like to use these in PVA bags but I prefer the Zipp style, as it makes the job much easier due to the shape.  You can easily push them into the bag.  These are best fished on gravel or perfect for clear water as their profile is very slimline.

Pear leads –

Very good for casting but not up to the standard of the distance leads, as it’s all about aerodynamics.  The shape of the lead has most of the weight at one end, this helps the carp prick itself a lot quicker than distance leads and these leads do plug themselves in the silty bottomed lakes.  These leads can be used in most carp fishing situations and is a very universal lead if you had to pick one.

There are plenty more choices however, I don’t wish to over complicate things.

Hope this helps

Richard

After having a chat with a friend the other day, I realized that it would be good to give a guide on how I take my phones and videos with my mobile phone.

I started using a mobile phone for my photographs of carp many years ago as I was having to walk a long way with my kit and needed to really cut things down a lot.  I looked at my camera bag with all the kit in it and decided it was time for it to go.  I’d been using an SLR since the early ’90s which had a film in it.  I then switched over to a DSLR back in 2000 but that bag was heavy and took up a lot of space.

So, I started to play around with my mobile phone, but still using my tripod with a phone adapter attached and this worked extremely well.  In the beginning, I had to download an app that would take multiple shots at timed intervals.  Now modern phones come with built voice control or you can download a whistle app, if you don’t fancy saying Cheese, shot, etc out loud.  You can even get a Bluetooth button that you can press, similar to the old-style DSLR remotes and the whole package is very cheap.  Approximately 90% (if not more anglers) have a mobile phone, megapixels are extremely high and if you are only using them on social media, where the Megapixels are reduced when you upload photos, there’s no real need to have a DSLR anymore.

Below is my guide to how I do all my photos and videos.

1. I use a camera tripod that extends to about 2ft 6in.  I find this is the perfect height for me to take a photo when taking photos of fish.  If you’re taller, there may be a need to have a tripod that extends to 3ft 6in.

2. I set up my tripod about 3ft away from my unhooking mat and make sure that a single leg is pointing directly at the middle of the unhooking mat.  This is to centralize the camera and then lower the angle of the camera to see if both ends of the unhooking mat are perfectly aligned.

3. Until you get the distance and angle correct of your camera, it’s best to test and practice as much as possible.

4. I always check my photos every time before I put the fish back into the water.  It’s never a  good thing to find out the photos are rubbish after the fish is back in the water.  This is something I’ve always done since I got my first DSLR.  I remember those days when you had a film in your camera and would take months to use all the photos up on the roll, then take it down Boots, Jessops, etc, get the photos back and 75% could easily be rubbish.  I’m glad those days are gone.

5. I do exactly the same when doing my videos for my blogs and edit out all the bits I don’t need.

Big tip

I often just video the whole process and when I hold the fish still, I compose myself for a few moments.  You can then simply scroll through the video and then do a screenshot of your fish.  This can save time and if you don’t fancy talking or whistling out loud, it’s all personal taste.

My other big tip is to face the camera towards you and not in selfie mode.  Once you have mastered it, there’s no way of going back.

I use this setup whenever I catch a carp, even when there is someone else around to take the photographs, it just takes the worry away from getting it wrong.

You can reduce your phone kit even down every more by using a single bank stick and an adapter that you screw into the bank stick.  You attach your phone adapter to the other end.

I hope this has helped you, to simplify your photography and reduce the amount of bags you need to take.

Until next time

Richard

This is an odd topic.  Over the many years, I have spent fishing, I have asked myself this many times when sitting up in the same swim each week.  I am 100% confident the fish are close by or will pass through my swim in the time I will be there.  So, why bother with all this walking around looking for them.  The conclusion I have come to (for myself), it depends on the circumstances of your fishing, I feel.  How dedicated are you to catching fish on that particular day?  This can be affected by the stresses of life or are you just looking for a break from it all.

I have found over the years, this can certainly play a key factor in some of my fishing trips.  I think it’s a very good thing and it can help your fishing for future trips.  You just need to make sure this doesn’t become the normal route.  The car park swim is the best example of this on most lakes.  Oddly enough in the past ten years, these have become the best swim on the lake.  Probably because they have been ignored in the previous twenty!  On one particular lake, I avoided this swim for some time, until one day I had no option.  I had seen fish, it just felt right and that swim went on to produce some stunning fish for me.

Even when my fishing is going very well, I still find that I fish the same swim, my favourite margin spots.  If you read all my blogs, it has not done me very well this year so far.  I sat there the other day and started to think about this and then thought I should do a blog – Why I was in the swim again?

I personally feel that out of all the little margin spots on this lake (and along the day bank), this swim gives me the best chances of banking a big lump.  So far over the past couple of years, my biggest is a 34 lber.  The swim offers the perfect opportunity as I am hidden behind the bushes.

I drop my bait the other side of the Beech leaves and sit back.  There is also plenty of room to play the fish once you have them under control and under your rod tips.  All the other swims are very tiny or very open with you sitting in full view of passing fish.  I did move around before on my quick one-rod trip.  It became clear to me that the fish were moving freely up and down this bank and they would pass this swim every time.  It’s more or less in the middle of this bank and the other thing I was worried about was the disturbance of catching a fish.  However, I realised one day that a carp 20 or 30 yards down the bank would never know and I soon found myself catching two fish, within my four-hour fishing window, until this year when all have to list so far is one.

I still see the fish moving along this bank, so why change spot?  This is the big question I am facing currently and the answer this time was move on.  This is a lesson learnt for the future.

Hope This Helps

Richard