UK Carp & Coarse Fishing

Trip No 44 Carp Fishing (2014)

Posted on November 15, 2014 by richardhandel

I am out for a quick overnighter on my lovely peaceful lake. Autumn is starting to get her colours.

I am nicely tucked up in a small swim. I have dropped both rod’s close in by the lilly pads, which are nicely dying back and opening up the lake a little more.

I have put a good helping of bait Tech boilies out and sat back with the kettle on and we will see what happens tonight.
WOW, the nights are drawing in and the clock’s will change soon. Then we will be in full winter mode.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhllUk_cJDY&list=UU-KRiiCtOmgKS70tkKPwmUA

Dispite hearing one fish roll very close by. My trip ended in a blank and I had to pack up in the dark.

Till next time
Richard

Posted in Brollys, carp, Carp fishing, CENTURY RODS, Defiant MPS, Fishing, Fox Tackle, JRC Tackle, Korda Tackle, lake fishing, Nash Tackle, Pop Ups, SHIMANO, SHIMANO TACKLE, SHIMANO ULTEGRA, Solor Tackle, Steve Neville buzzers, ULTRGRA 14000 REELS | Leave a comment

Trip No43 Carp Fishing (2014)

Posted on November 10, 2014 by richardhandel

Day 1 and Night 1

This is it my view for the next 3 nights. The lake is an amazing place to fish. A big thank to my friend for the invite here.

All rod’s are being fished with pop ups and 360 rigs to combat the silk weed and very finicky fish that we are after.
Rod’s 1 & 2 are both fished into a bay area which has pads and rushes. It also has a nice gravel bar running through the middle of it.

Rod 3 is straight out on to the other end of the bar which comes out of the corner.

And the fourth rod is up the right hand margin, fished on the drop off. I have spodded out a good helping of Bait-Tech boilies as normal.

I was amazed to wake in the morning without having a single fish. The weather conditions had been perfect (through the day and into the evening), with strong S/W winds blowing and plenty of rain.

Day/Night 2

The lake was flat calm this morning, with a clear blue sky. This was probably going to be a hot one, which is not very good for this lake. However, after checking the weather forecast, there should be some cloud cover moving across this afternoon.

The morning past with no action, as promised by the weather man, the cloud arrived and the wind picked up again and down came the rain. With these conditions things were looking good, I had redone all the rod’s by mid morning. I really needed to get the rod’s spot on the clear patches and with a little more leading around and some small adjustment, they were all perfect.

At around 8pm, rod 2 screamed into life, these fish really do fly off and after a quick battle, a lovely looking low double figured Common was safely in the net. This was the only action overnight.

Day/Night 3

The lake was flat calm again when I woke up. So on went the kettle and I spent the next few hour’s scanning the lake for carpy signs. I did spot a few fish topping and bubbling around near my spots. This gave me a bit of hope for the day ahead.

At around 10am the sun came out and full of heat. And not far behind, the fish appeared on the top! Obviously getting the last of the warm sun before Winter appears. They appeared from part of the lake which is unfishable, due to the bankside vegetation. However they driffed a lot closer and I was able to climb a tree to get a good look. There was 1 group of around 12 fish in a nice shallow area the other side of a big set of lilly pads. Unfortunately, the rain was back by 2pm, the wind had picked up and my fish spotting time was over for now.

Time to sit back with a brew and do some reading.

After the rain had cleared, it was a lovely evening and the odd carp topped. It was looking very hopeful for the last night. I had a funny take at around midnight which turned into nothing. I also heard some fish top in the night. This gave me more confidence, however by morning time I had had no action. It was soon going to be packing up time and back to the real world again. I was just going to have to hope that the early morning feeding fish came my way.

No joy in the end, other than the small common.
Till next time
Richard

Posted in Bag Fishing, big pits, Brollys, carp, Carp fishing, CENTURY RODS, Defiant MPS, Food, Fox Tackle, HEMP, infusion baits, JRC Tackle, Korda Tackle, lake fishing, Pop Ups, SHIMANO, SHIMANO TACKLE, SHIMANO ULTEGRA, Solor Tackle, SP RODS, spods, spomd, Steve Neville buzzers, Thermos, trakker pioneer, trakker tackle, ULTRGRA 14000 REELS | Leave a comment

Trip No 42 Carp Fishing (2014)

Posted on October 30, 2014 by richardhandel

It’s been over 8 months since I have fished this lake. This is due to most of my time being spent on the new water. Which is now closed for the winter.

My friend suggested doing a socal night as we have not fished for a long time together as well. We had heard this lake was very quiet at the moment, it may be worth a go.

I arrived around 3pm to find the lake completely empty, so I parked the barrow in a swim I like the look of and had a slow walk round. I was just going back through the first gate when I spotted my mate coming up the track. After a quick chat and I told him that it looked pretty dead, apart from when I was on the far bank I had seen a few fish in the middle of the lake, bubbling up. We both walked round slowly and he also agreed that was the best looking area.

I settled for the double swim and he was down a couple more from me.
I placed my first rod by some lily pads at the bottom of the margin shelf, where I had seen some fizzing earlier on my walk round and put a good helping of boilies over the top for good measure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2N0Jrwesd7w&list=UU-KRiiCtOmgKS70tkKPwmUA

The other rod was cast just off the edge of the pads, towards the middle of the lake, where the fish had clearly been moving up and down.

The weather had broken and the sky had cleared, so the temperature was going to drop and as the sun started to go down there where a few fish showing in this area.

We were feeling confident that we had picked the right area.
Unfortunately for me, I lost a small fish around midnight when the hook pulled at the net. Joy. I check and the hook was still super sharp as I always sharpen them straight out of the packet.
At around 4am, my mate popped his head around the brolly and asked if I would take a photo of a nice long common (23-12).

Can’t wait for the fish to put on more weight, it will be Stunning.
I awoken to a very misty morning and still with no carp to my name.

However, I did have a few hour’s before I needed to be home.
At around 10am, my right hand rod bust in to life and I was attached to a small common of around the 14lb mark. This fish slipped into the net and I was releaved after the lost one in the night.

I recast and got the kettle on and sat and watched the wildlife, there was a pair of sparrow hawk’s hunting around the trees on the far bank, which was great to watch. I had a kingfisher on my rod’s earlier, I will manage to get a photo one day I hope. There are a pair of green woodpecker’s knocking around on the trees, this place is quite amazing to sit and watch the world go by, who needs Wi-Fi and TV?

Till next time

Richard

Posted in Bag Fishing, Brollys, carp, Carp fishing, CENTURY RODS, Defiant MPS, Fishing, Fishing Video's, Food, Fox Tackle, Gulp Baits, HEMP, infusion baits, JRC Tackle, Korda Tackle, lake fishing, matt Hayes, Nash Tackle, Paul Selman, SHIMANO, SHIMANO TACKLE, SHIMANO ULTEGRA, Simon Crow, Solor Tackle, SP RODS, spods, spomd, Steve Neville buzzers, Thermos | Leave a comment

Trip No41 River Fishing (2014)

Posted on October 25, 2014 by richardhandel

I am back out on the River again and I would be a fool not after seeing those fish the other day. It has been 5 days since I was here last, so hopefully the Barbel are still hanging around this area.

I have moved one of the rod’s down the river a bit, as there is a large clearer patch of gravel and it is a bit further away from the other rod.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2N0Jrwesd7w&list=UU-KRiiCtOmgKS70tkKPwmUA

Both rod’s are baited the same as last trip. I have added some Korda sinkers on the hook link. This will keep it flat on the river bottom.

Hopefully these will help.

I am hoping to stay here untill around 1030 pm, it would have been better if I got to stay later, but I have to be at work by 0530.

I did stay until 10pm and had a few knocks, but that was it.

Till next time
Richard

Posted in Avon rods, Bag Fishing, Brollys, carp, Carp fishing, Chub Fishing, Course Fishing, Delkim Buzzers, Diawa, Fishing, Fishing Video's, Food, Fox Tackle, Gulp Baits, Hampshire Avon, HEMP, infusion baits, john wilson rods, JRC Tackle, Korda Tackle, matt Hayes, River Avon | Leave a comment

Trip No40 River Fishing (2014)

Posted on October 20, 2014 by richardhandel

This is my first spot on the river today. A nice early start with a nice bit of mist/fog on the Hampshire Avon.

This area is quite fast flowing, with a nice weed bed you can drop your baits over onto a gravelly channel. However, with the reduced weed growth this year, the silk weed is a big problem. It rolls down the river on the bottom, like tumble weed. This then clogs up around the lead and hook baits, whch is not very helpful. I hate to cast out a lot when Barbel fishing.

It’s been over 2 hours without out a nock, so it was time for a wonder around as the light was much better and I could see the bottom and any clear patches. I had a good look around the area I was currently in. I needed to move and after a long walk with plenty of looking and not seeing any fish including Chub. I finally spotted a barbel WOW.

Just behind the rushes on a big clear sandy patch. (Sorry about the photo, I did not fancy disturbing the swim to much. ) I put a brand new hook link and hook on (not wishing to take any chances) and with a ball of scholed pellet round the hook. I creeped up, lowered the bait down as best as I could and then sat back for a long wait.

Rod on the rest and coffee in hand, let’s hope it happens soon. 😉

After another 3 hours, no joy, dispite seeing a barbel. I was getting itching feet, but I forced myself to stay put for a bit longer. It got the better of me and I was off for a walk. Before I wondered off, I put a couple of handfuls of bait out. Anyway, after some time and only a couple of chub spotted there was no real other choice but to stay put. I do love doing days on the river, as it’s the only real chance I get to have a good look round. Normally I am a bit rushed in the evening and with the nights closing in fast and the clock’s changing soon, I really did need a good look about before I lost the chance.

I can’t believe my luck. I crawled up to the rivers edge to check my bait and there was a barbel feeding. I creeped back and after 45 mins I knew that there must have been some thing wrong. No signs of barbel. I opted for a rebait, the hook had been masked by the weed, (which is nice). I redid the rod and all the freebies had all gone. Well at least I know they like the bait and for good measure I did the other rod. I also spotted another barbel and a nice carp just below my other rod. They were on another clear gravelly spot behind the rushes.

Well at least I am in the right area and I believe my tactics are spot on.

A nice bucket of scoled pellet which I am moulding round the hook baits

Bait-Tech pollony boilies

I can’t be too far of the mark and it’s not for the want of trying over the years (well 4 at least). I would like to point out in my defence, that this section is very hard and there are so few members. This is the trade off for peace and quiet fishing. I did try some years back, on a club stretch and I was amazed that there were 3/4 people set up on a bend. All with two rod’s each, I only did 3 trips, can’t cope with that many people, today I have seen NO ONE in the whole mile stretch I have walked.

I have been getting great rafts of weed coming down the river today, lucky the flow takes them just away from my spots.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJPvTCb-Ipo&list=UU-KRiiCtOmgKS70tkKPwmUA

Well is 1845, the light is fading fast and I have been fishing for over 12 hour’s with no joy. Dispite seeing 2 barbel & a carp, Mr Chub has even not put in a appearance. Bob the Bailiff (I believe his cousen could be in construction!) did drop by for a chat and feels the fish are fishing harder this year. This is due to the lack of weed growth. saying this a few barbel and carp have been had this year, including the one I had back in August.