UK Carp & Coarse Fishing

Effort equals reward should be a common statement or factor within your fishing and your chances of catching.  But, I believe that it’s more than that.  As it relates to the amount of effort which you put in, to get the rewards you are looking for.  Not anyone else and is very much related to my article about not comparing your self to others, that’s just pointless and can effect your fishing.

It can take a lot of effort for people to go fishing and the simple reward for them is that they got there, enjoyed themselves and maybe caught a fish or two.  This is all about the process of getting out and onto the bank side.  Others will not understand this at all, simply because the effort equals reward is completely different.

You may feel that catching is your reward, but you mustn’t fail into the trap of being obsessed with this either, as this pathway can lead you into the pit of doom.  Which is certainly hard to get out of and can result in selling your tackle.

Personally, I look at it in may ways, depending on my current situation.  If for instance I had had a hard week at work, it will take me a lot of effort to get me down the lake.  However, years of doing this, tell me that it’s definitely worth it, in the end.  I don’t focus to hard on catching when I arrive, as you need to unwind and then concentrate on catching.  You will find that you do everything perfectly without any thought and you will no doubt catch.

It’s all about evaluating what you want out of fishing each.  I like to fish by myself, without disturbance from others and I often avoid popular areas to keep myself away.  Its just the way I like to fish.  If you’re lucky enough to find a like minded person, this can make a great team.  Over the years, I’ve seen anglers turning up with their mate and he will always get the better swim/side of the swim, or even turn up first just to bag it. I find this hard to comprehend, you should be fishing as a team against the carp and share out equally the choices.  I’m very lucky in this instance and it makes a very successful partnership.

Sometimes you just want to be social and have a laugh, this also fits into the reward side of fishing.  You need a bit of fun after a week at work or just a break from the treadmill.

The important part is that you need to be happy and that you are putting in the required effort to gain the rewards from fishing each time you go – depending on your circumstances.  It’s not important that it isn’t the same goal each time, as long as you are happy.  If you just turn up on a Friday night set up next to your mate, chuck the rods out, have a laugh and a chat and go home Saturday morning, this is just the same as turning up looking, trying to spot carp and set up in the right spot, with the right rigs and bag a new Pb. You’re just focusing on yourself and the rewards that benefit you (and not others).  Fish for you and not others, this will help you enjoy fishing for many years to come and not get lost on the why.  I’ve done this once and nearly did a second time.

Hope this helps and enjoy your fishing.

Until next time

Richard

After a fabulous week camping in Wales with the family – we had not seen for just under a year. It was great to catch up with him and also some fabulous friends on the camp site.

The prospects of the carp spawning very soon are very high, my campaign needs to get going again. After the recent setback with the volume of anglers fishing, I really need to get back out on the Roach Pit. I’d decided the best plan of attack, was to arrive after 3. 30 pm and hopefully the weekend anglers will have packed up and gone home. This is just a temporary option as when things start to get back to normal, my wife won’t be working from home and a big rethink will be needed.

When I arrived, it was pretty quiet and after a walkabout, I settled for peg 5. I’d been out in the boat looking for a spot, but the lake was not crystal clear yet and pretty much impossible to see the bottom. A couple of anglers were on either end of the lake, so somewhere in the middle felt the best option. Also, as I had been away and lost touch with the water (as you do), I was still looking at fishing different areas, this area just felt perfect.

After finding a clear-ish area with my Deeper and checking out the lake bed with the marker rod, I decided that with the lack of time available, to find 3 spots and bait up with the boat or face a very noisy spombing session in this narrow part of the lake. I decided that I would stagger 3 rods over different wraps would cover this area nicely and if necessary I could find another spot to put a rod on tomorrow afternoon.

I baited up with 3 kilos of chopped Classic Corn Boilies and a bag of Nutty particle mix, spread over this area (which is not much more than the size of a bivvy). I fished 3 bags with Classic Corn wafter and a 12mm PPS pop up. I then set about sorting the mess out and getting the overwrap on – I still like to fish with one as it actually keeps the bivvy cooler.

With any luck, one of these 3 will rattle off tonight with a carp.

The next 24 hour’s passed by with no action; other than 3 bleeps about an hour ago. I was hoping would materialize into something,  I’d made the decision that I would leave the baits as they were, I have great confidence they will be perfectly fine and the positioning was spot on, so there was no real point in any unnecessary disturbance to the area. There was sufficient bait out there and this tactic may just catch me a carp.

The baby geese had been feeding on the grass bank behind me all day and keeping me amused when they were jumping up and down the steps.

With a lovely bright summer’s morning, I was up early and hoping for a first light bite. The carp were crashing out nearby, but I couldn’t 100% locate them. I felt I was definitely in the right area, this part of the lake is the narrowest part. I was hopeful that my baited area would attract them in and trick them into some feeding.

With only a few hours before pack up time and the heat of the day picking up quickly as the was a lack of cloud cover, I didn’t think there’s any reason to stick around for any extra time today. I’m hopeful of another trip before they start to spawn and the lake is closed for a couple of weeks.

We shall see where I end up next trip!

Until next time

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