UK Carp & Coarse Fishing

Quick Overnighter

Posted on July 9, 2019 by richardhandel

Quick mid week Overnighter and change of lake, as I need to get back on here.

Richard

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With my family away for the weekend and a job canceled, I was out for three nights. I originally planned on arriving about 7pm, but as luck would have it, I arrived just after 9 am! With 2 of the swims already taken, I headed for the 3 spots where I felt was our best option were. Ian was joining me again for a social, I messaged him with where I had picked and he was happy. It was going to be a hot one and probably pretty hard going with only takes at night.

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We were all both sorted and back in the same swim as the week before. This time, we had swapped sides and found four perfect spots. These were baited with 12mm Smokey and Catalyst, hemp and tiger’s and a mixture of pop ups wafters and bottom baits.

The first take happened just before midnight to my right hand rod, which unfortunately dropped off after a few minutes. This was pretty frustrating, but that’s fishing for you.

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What a night! 2 lost fish, one of them to a hook pull in the weed and the next under the overhanging trees to my right – this could well have been a Tench. After all that, I slept until just before 7am. This wasn’t really my plan, I was planning on rebaiting about 6am if I hadn’t caught anything. However, with 10 minutes of getting the rods back out, the right-hand rod ripped off and the fight was on to get the carp out of the weed bed it had just dived into. Once out, it promptly headed for the next one, but eventually, it was in open water and in front of me (and under control). I could breathe a sigh of relief after the night’s activities. I happily played the carp out and gently slipped it into the Nsr.

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29lb 9oz Common

I flicked the rod back out and got the kettle on for the first brew of the day. It was forecast to be another hot one, but there was a good deal of wind around again today which will be nice in the midday sun.

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The day passed with no action – to be honest, it wasn’t a surprise as the temperature hit 27 degrees. As the evening drew ever closer, it was time to re-bait the rods in the hope of a late evening take.

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As the second night got ever closer and the sun disappeared behind the trees, the lake started to wake up with lots of carp, bream, etc. This was a real boost to the coming night. Ian started to get a few lines and surely it was only a matter of time; as I sit writing this as 0750 watching the odd fish top, I am still thinking the same thing. With the heat of the day just around the corner, I’m starting to feel very optimistic about that thought and the joy of another day sitting under the trees avoiding the sun.

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It’s just after 3pm now and boy o boy it’s hot. I had chucked a couple of zigs out at just after 10 am in the hope of picking up a carp. With no success on that front, I changed one over to a PPS and flicked it by some pads (you just never know). The wind changed and was blowing from the South with a good blow on the water. I didn’t have any proper floater kit with me, being fair skinned and it being 28 degrees, I was staying put under the trees.

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Just before 5 pm, I gave up on the other zig rod and changed it back to my spot. I topped the swim up with a couple of small spomb fulls of bait and would move the other rod off the pads just before 9pm, fingers crossed for a carp tonight.

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As luck would have it, the weather front which was due overnight, arrived early evening. The temperature dropped and the wind changed to the west, which was blowing into this bank. Let’s hope the change in weather brings the carp on the feed.

After a hard few days in the heat, my second take finally arrived just before 3 am Sunday morning and with not much of a to do, a low twenty mirror was in the net.

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20lb Mirror

With the rod back on the spot, it was time to get some sleep.

Morning arrived and the wind was from the west with plenty of cloud cover and the chance to do another night. I just had to give it a go, after the hard few days we just had and with the first-night success. Clearly, the heat put them completely off for the next 36hrs. After the change in weather conditions, which may have helped in landing me that 20 lber, I just had to put that bit of extra effort in. In all honesty, I was pretty close to going home, but a fish in the early hours of this morning and seeing signs for the first time this morning changed my mind and my mind was made up.

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The day was a mixture of cloudy and sunny weather and a really good blow on the lake from the South. I had baited up with 5 small spombs again just before noon and also made the decision to move the right-hand rod to the left spot. The silt weed was getting a lot more a prolific and not so easy to find a clear spot. We had heard carp top through the night but further out into open water, it was worth moving the left-hand rod more in to open water. After about 30 minutes, I was happy with a nice clear spot and I had looked closely at the Lakebook and was looking for the 9ft area.

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Which I found and then managed to find a clear area. Not wishing to over bait, I spomded out 5 small loads, but I was certainly wishing to get some attention into that area. We shall have to see when tonight arrives. Once Ian packed up, I moved my pod into the center of the swim and we headed off for a walk around half the lake. It felt good to stretch the legs, as I had not really done much over the past few days.

As the last night drew in, the carp woke up a lot more than before. I was so confident, I stayed up until gone 11pm and drifted off to sleep sometime after that. Sometime in the hours of darkness, I had a few bleeps and heard fish out there. I struggled to get back off to sleep in the anticipation of one of my rods going off, but it simply never happened. This was a shock, I reeled in and checked my hooks baits – all was well. Maybe one had a bit too much silkweed, but I don’t think so. The carp just must have been preoccupied with natural food, or just in the mood for jumping.

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A great 4 nights were had, with a good laugh and a few glasses of wine, maybe a bit too hot at times.

Until next time

Richard

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Family Weekend Away

Posted on July 7, 2019 by richardhandel

Fabulous time at the seaside, this weekend.

Richard

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Carp Safety & Photographing Fish

Posted on July 3, 2019 by richardhandel

I would like to cover Carp safety when weighing and photographing fish.

Firstly, always have your unhooking mat out ready (this means undone and laid out on the floor). I have seen so many times, people catching a fish, leaving the fish in the net – unsecured, turn around and only then start getting their unhooking mat out. I have seen fish power off into the lake, in the net, in this situation. I always put a bank stick in the ground just in case I have to do this, as some waters have sack bans. In fact, I have a large weigh sling which has mesh at either end that I use as a weigh sling/sack when sorting out the photo equipment (if have been unable to sort this out before).

Secondly, it’s not all about you, the fish must come first. If it’s not feasible to take a photo, put the fish back. You have landed the fish, which is what counts and weighed it. There is no need to take a photo at the risk of the fish’s life. (why the perfect capture shot)

Step (1) once the fish is in the net, I transport it to the unhooking mat, unhook the fish, move it into the weigh sling & weigh the fish. —

All ready for the fish

Step (2) I then place the fish back in the lake safety secured in the sack, some sacks come with a float attached, just in case something goes wrong.
Step (3) get all the photo equipment out (I have the tripod out and camera attached ready to go under the brolly. —

I use a compact Panasonic lumix DT70

This has a function of time laps shots, I set at 1 every 10 seconds until it’s done 100. I set the tripod up in front of the mat all ready and press start. Then there is no worries about holding a remote, it’s all done in your own time and the safety of the carp.

Step (4) get all set up and ready to go before you take the fish out off the sack. If using a remote I hold it in my right hand and then pick up the fish as you can see in these photo. –

I always break the process down into two parts if no one is around to help.

Things to remember
Be prepared have all you kit ready and out e.g.
Unhooking mat
Scales
Weigh sling
Bucket full of lake water to put over the fish
Tripod & camera
Remember to check your camera setting before you get the fish out of the water.

Carp care kit.

Now, hands up how many people own one but never use it.
Please think of the Carp. I am sure we all would like them to look nice for as many years as possible and grow to be that big famous 40 lb+ Carp that everyone is after.

I would like to recall a story that happened which may bring some meaning to this blog.

It was one Winters night and I was doing a night with a friend of mine. We had had a couple of fish between us, at around 3 am my friend landed a 29+ fish. He weighed it and unbeknown to me, placed the fish in a sack and put in three foot of water in the margins, just so he could get some photos in the day light. There was a freezing easterly wind blowing. I landed a fish around 4 am and saw that he had his head torch on, so I pop over for a quick word before I put the rods back out again. Which is when he said that he had the 29 in the sack, along the dam wall. At which point I went for a quick walk only to find that the waters edge had started to freeze in the wind. My friend had followed me down and after a very heated discussion, which turned in to an argument (he had caught bigger fish before) and finally after I nearly put the fish back myself, he saw my point and he put the fish back.
This fish died within the week, most probably due to its ordeal in the sack that night (very sad).
In all my fishing days, I have only had the need to use a sack a few times and I normally end up sitting up all night checking the fish.
I hope this recollection makes you think next time, fish safety comes first.

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Richard

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Trip 37 Carp Fishing- 2019

Posted on June 30, 2019 by richardhandel

Well, it looks like I’m turning into a weekend angler. Work is taking up too much time, I can’t really complain. Both lakes are open together until the end of September and there are a great many choices now. Ian is arriving on Thursday most week’s when we do a social, it gives us a great chance to have a look round both lakes before we pick a swim. I still only get down on a Friday afternoon, this time it was around 1630. My youngest daughter was up for another night on the bank.

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The Airfield Lake is not performing that well and the carp in Meadow have not spawned yet, it was definitely worth a go. Only 3 other anglers were fishing, so we headed for The Gap swim again. I very nearly fished the swim next door called The Stumps, but Ian had already had a 30+ and the carp were clearly in front of this swim. I baited up with 10 spombs split over two rods all in the same area. I fished a Ronnie rig on each with a Catalyst wafter on one and a pop up on the other with a small bag was filled with 12mm Smokey and Catalyst with Betafin / Catalyst pellet all soaked in Catalyst Food dip. We will see how the first night pans out.

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Another quiet night on the lake for me. Ian managed a nice twenty just after 10 pm but since then the rods have been silent. There were no fish crashing that I heard last night and with the change in the weather, I feel they will be looking at spawning soon and maybe I’m not quite in the right spot. So I plan to get the Deeper out later and see if I can find something more favourable. The fish are clearly in the weed and that’s what I need to find. I did eventually find a suitable spot and baited up with a few small spombs. As the day progressed, it got hotter, which I will not complain about, but it was nice when the sun falls behind the trees.

Just after 8 pm, Ian landed his third carp of the trip, a nice 29lb 6oz Common.

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Nice one Ian

Once the sun had disappeared behind the clouds, the fish started to show more and my confidence was back up. There was a point in the day where I very nearly moved, but before I had any time to think about it too much, it was already occupied. Let’s hope tonight brings me better fortune.

Surprising we had no action at all -with fish showing as night fell, it was a complete surprise and not even a 6am belter for Ian (like the previous mornings) and with a nice overcast morning, you would’ve thought it would have kicked off.

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Oh well time to head home, its been a great weekend and always nice seeing Ian catch a few; 20, 33, 29. He was well happy and all on Sf Catalyst boilies as well, they certainly love that bait, in the right spot of course.