Depth of winter carping!

Carp fishing - A year's short carping clips.

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An Interesting June 16th.

Wow! What a long time it has been! I can’t even count the previous article as my own in January! What a busy start of the year it has been – no fishing but plenty of fish related work, I can tell you that. From the 1^st of Jan up until the close season in March, I had very few sessions and even fewer worth writing about. The issue (if you can call it that, really) was the increase of my Fishery Management course I’m currently studying.  Not only is it the occasional trips we do, but also the assignments that come with it. Slacking could not be tolerated and the fishing, unfortunately, had to subside. My second ‘excuse’ was the close season itself! Between March and the 16^th of June, I did 2 trips! One of which was a blank and the other was a social event with only very few – and rather small – fish being caught. On top of all this, part time jobs were increasing in busyness and the work I do for HCP Baits made fishing fall back even further priority-wise. Recently, I bought a new camera that I am very proud of and I hope there is a noticeable difference in the photography. Previously, I’d use Edwin’s or my little compact digital which wasn’t up to the job for what I wanted it to do. Using Edwin’s DSLR made me want one too and the photos you may see dotted around here may have well been taken on that too (before I bought my own, obviously). This year has been somewhat of a breakthrough for my angling though and work with HCP Baits and a local rod builder has given me many opportunities for the future – for which I am extremely grateful for!

I think that is enough of my waffling about why I have deprived you of blogs on here, but that is about to change! Without further ado, I shall commence the ‘story’ of An Interesting June 16^th.

You'd never know that
they were once 1 piece!

It was my first proper night session where the regulars of my local fishing club would congregate for a BBQ and drinks to ‘see in’ the open season at midnight. I had spent the day either packing my stuff or in the local town of Burgess Hill to meet a man called Graham Dadswell. Graham is a class rod builder and can do most things you can throw at him. I had previously bought 2 rods under the name of Wychwood Extricator 6’. These were very classy little rods and at 6 foot, they were rather compact too. Well, they would have been had they not been 1 piece.  After searching around, I was put onto Graham and he agreed to, essentially, cut them in 2! Of course, with his expertise, he would whip ferrules in and create a stunning set of rods with quality spigots. Now with 2 super slim, 2 piece, 6 foot rods, I knew I could take these anywhere. 

Their length allowed me to get in almost
any swim...and be right on my rods.

I would have to use them for the open season night! Though we were late, we still managed to arrive at the lakes’ car park at about 6 o’clock. This gave me plenty of time to look around the lake of my choice and even set up before dark. I chose a spot where most people would normally not fish from due to overhanging trees but with my new rods, casting was, as they say, a doddle. I was also casting to a spot where many people fish from instead of to. The reason was simply a pressure thing and not many people fish under their feet. Now, I wasn’t doing that but I was casting to a bank many people fish from and thus achieving the same thing. Many people also easily access this bank and what with the many fish that are happy to take floating baits, people regularly throw in all sorts of food for them.  Even though I was only casting within feet of the bank, the lead had a while to hit the hard bottom. Though it wasn’t actually a deep spot, it was for this margin. I could easily walk round to bait up with my slightly different bait too. Most people feed pellet and/or hemp, but I decided to still fish particle but with a liberal dose of chick peas. To that, I would also add Coconut Crunch boilie crumb, sweet corn, fast breakdown pellet (not the normal 10mm halibuts that this lake is synonymous with) and a good glugging of HCP Baits’ Coconut Crunch liquid * find how to make this mix in ‘Angling Tips ‘n’ Tricks. I wanted to give a sweet but very nutritious mix, as the fish would respond better to this than an overly enhanced artificial flavoured mix. The Coconut Crunch liquid not only added a whole new dimension to the bait, but emitted a sweet, nutty, cloud into the water column. Along this typical patrol route, the fish should be drawn down to my bait at any level. The rigs would be simple and very anti-tangle. A simple coated braid hook link and stripped back section at the hook end, with a balanced hook bait consisting of a trimmed down Coconut Crunch dumbbell. A buoyant piece of corn balanced it nicely and was then all glugged in matching liquid. All of this would be attached to a leadcore leader and a leadclip arrangement. Lead wise would be a 1.5oz Dung coated flat pear swivel from J&R Leads on Facebook *find in ‘Links’ . Their leads are top notch and can offer you the largest range of coatings imaginable. They can even do custom coatings. I chose the dung coating due to its ability to appear natural on any lake-bed. 

'Dung' coating, big-eye swivels and
low profile body made them
the best leads around.

After the BBQ, drinks and social, everyone went their separate ways onto the lake of their choice on the complex and began baiting up, clipping up and making final adjustments for the midnight cast out. It was just like a match when 12 o’clock eventually came around and the whistle was blown. Thankfully for me, I was away from most of the commotion and I felt this gave me a good advantage. I got both rods ‘on the money’ first time and I had a lot of faith in my PVA bag mix and prior baiting approach. My mix was very similar to the free offering bucket mix but with more boilie crumb and less chick pea juice. Every cast, I would find my tape marker, clip up and then dunk my 50p-sized PVA mesh bag in my ever faithful Coconut Crunch dip. It is a bright white liquid and certainly creates a very attractive cloud. I managed to hit the clip hard most times and feeling the lead down in the 5 or so feet of water made me safe in the knowledge that the rig was presented well. If I was paranoid that I hadn’t hit the clip hard enough to kick the bag away from the lead, I could get away with dragging the lead bag 3 inches or so as the bottom was clean and the PVA bag protected my hook point. 

Natural patrol route and feeding
spot from the public.

It was about an hour and a half later when I had a little twitch on the rod closest to the bank which very quickly developed into a good run. I had a tight baitrunner set and I merely had to swing out of my bedchair and reach out to pick up the rod - the joys of having compact rods and being on top of them. This also allowed me to keep my volume on the alarms very quiet and it was only when the head torch was turned on to see what I had in the net was when I was asked whether it was a “good’un” from my closest neighbour on the lake – still at about 40 yards away. I simply replied with a quiet, “na”, and I was right. It was another of the stocked fish which didn’t surprise me. These greedy little blighters were always the first to scoff all my bait but I was thankful I was off the mark.

The weight simply doesn't
matter when you get off
the mark with this.

As I’ve mentioned before, these fish are so solidly built and are very strong little fighters. Though only being 6-7lb, the growth rates of these fish are phenomenal and other than the odd parasite around its face (which I removed); it was as clean as a whistle. Again, I simple walked my line back out to the tape and tucked it under the clip. Though I probably should have put more bait in to top up the swim, I didn’t as I was already running out. Top tip would be to make more than you think as you can always freeze it (if the missus allows). That night was the first time I was on my own as I have always done sessions similar to this with friends. However, I liked the peace and it possibly even had a positive effect on my angling as I had fewer distractions - saying that, you can’t beat having a good chat on the bank and a cup of tea with your mates. The rest of the night was quiet and even my new neighbour down the lake only had an 8lb common and an eel. The issues with this lake are the masses of smaller carp you have to fight through to even get into double figures. On the other hand, they are clean fish and scrap well for their weight. When it’s that snaggy, you can’t complain about getting – and landing – bites. Had I been using heavier leads, dropping them off would have certainly been at least a consideration due to the amount of tree stumps left in there. However, my 1.5oz leads still gave me the ability to stay in direct contact with the fish and the lead clip would have done its job had I become snagged anyway.

Just as my friend Simon arrived at 09:30 the following day, I received another steady run and I was on it in a flash. I knew it was a better fish as it plodded rather than violently shake its head and dart around. I normally pride myself in knowing the stock of the larger fish in this lake but as soon as it boiled on the surface and its massive head hit the surface, I could have told you instantly I didn’t recognise it. Most of the fish in there are lean commons with dark colouration and the mirrors were either fully scaled or of the above strain. I could tell it was a special fish, not only because it was unknown, but also because it was rather old. The experience was heightened even further when I realised what I was playing it on...my new 6’ rods. It just felt so natural and smooth that I forgot about their length and short handle. Still, the fish eventually tired from plodding in front of my feet – too deep to net safely – and ran off purely for the hell of it, it seemed. Even with half the length of my normal rods, I still managed to turn it and after about 7 minutes, Si did the honours and the draw cord passed   easily under the fish’s almost out-of-proportioned length.

Bit of a warrior, one might say.

Though being an old fish, it clearly had managed to avoid capture as, like most in this lake, its mouth was so clean it looked almost uncaught.  Its fins, scales and tale were all immaculate and I simply didn’t care about the weight. At a touch under 14lb, it was never going to be considered a ‘beast’ but I was so pleased I had at least a double - and a mirror at that!

Matching paste just
added another dimension.

After those 2 bites, I baited heavily again and positioned both rods tight on the patch again. However, I think I had missed any more bites from the initial feeding spell as everything dried up. One last fish was to be had soon after and was a typical 15lb common from my neighbour up the lake. He was a brave chap and was prepared to fish right in the middle of the miniature lilies that almost covered the majority of the lake. I spent most of the day talking to Si and catching up with what we had missed for many months. Though he had set up next to me, he didn’t have the patience to wait for a larger fish and soon went off with his new fly rod onto one of the easier lakes to winkle out a carp. Though it turned out to be a typical middle-of-summer day what with the rain showers and humidity, it still seemed not all that unpleasant and I too soon wound in to try and find my friend.

Typical summer day, eh?!

I also bumped into my step-dad who had also had his first carp of the season whilst, what he calls, “tiddler bashing”. One lake up, I found my brother and Si both after the carp that were still on the surface despite it raining. To say that his Hardy Zenith was a magnificent piece of engineering was an understatement and its flex was extraordinary whenever he had even the smallest of carp. My brother, who was either half up or crouched under an overhanging tree, was usually in too and had them up to about 9-10lb – which was nice for him. After the weather subsided, I went back and cast out to my rested swim. It had certainly worked leaving it for a couple of hours as a bite was then almost instantaneous. The proof that was when the fish were in the area, they couldn't resist a bit of the ‘Crunch. I definitely think that the added shot of the matching liquid made a massive difference and drew the fish right back in. The bite was typical and so was the fish itself. At least, the shape and colouration was. It looked a little underweight but it could have been spawned out for all I know. It could have pushed double figures after a scoff but I had to admit it wasn't a double just yet.

No matter how hard I tried, I just
couldn't make this a double. 

Only a little over an hour later, at 16:15, I had my 3^rd fish worth taking a photo for (as I had 1 or 2 extra during the day but were the fish probably swept down from one of the match ponds). It was a little bigger and seemed a lot angrier on the mat. I simply smothered it with the weigh sling and the darkness calmed it soon enough. Covering its eyes usually calms most animals and fish are no different. Though it was another clean fish, its mouth was not quite right but probably had nothing to do with previous captures – simply an odd shape to it. The orange in its tail was somewhat nice and most of the fish in this lake have some sort of character to them, no matter how big or small they are.

Glad to finish off with a nice
 chunky and angry carp 

Now that the season is upon us, expect more tales from especially Edwin and I and always check out Si’s blog at alwaysangling.com. 

Dusting off the cobwebs with a bit of winter action.

Edwin Woodhams' story of Christmas time carping.

As you all know winter carping is a bit difficult at the best of times and getting a bite can be quite a challenge, especially if time is limited and you can’t get on the lake at the right time for a bite. However, there are a few things you can do to stack the odds in your favour of netting a winter carp or two. Firstly, being on the water for key bite times, which, in winter, can be quite short and tend to be at dawn, dusk and in the middle of the day when light and warmth are at their greatest. In addition, timing your sessions with the weather can also help, with big low pressure systems from the south-west typically being good conditions for a bite as the warm wind increases the temperature of the water and stirs up the naturals hiding in the silt. Also, pre-baiting will massively increase your chances as long as you use appropriate baits, more of which later!

High attraction but not
overpowering baits were on
 the menu for these fish.

Anyway, Adam and I had been struggling for a bite in the last few weeks so, with the Christmas holidays imminent, we decided to pull out all the stops for a few bites. Living locally to the lake, Adam was able to go down and do a bit of pre-baiting, over about a week, on a few deep marginal spots - which we had caught from previously. The bait used was a mix of Vitalin dog food, hempseed and sweetcorn – all baits suitable for use in winter, unlike for example, halibut or trout pellets, which have a high oil content and as such are difficult for carp to digest in cold conditions and so fill them up for long periods. This actually works against you and defeats the object of pre-baiting. The aim is to get the fish wanting your bait and then recognising it as a good source of food – being consistent and getting a routine in order helps you achieve both these necessities for pre-baiting,
Adam even baited over Christmas day!

So, enough of the theory, how did the actual fishing go? ‘Quite well’ didn’t really sum it up, especially over winter and on this particular lake! Getting down to the lake before sun rise, we soon had the rods out to the prebaited spots and sat back to wait. Adam had typically forgotten his brolly and water-proof over trousers so he wound in and marched off home to get them before the forecasted downpour was due. It was only ten minutes before Adam arrived back in the swim – still quite dark - when my right hand bobbin rose steadily to the rod and I lifted into a fish. Though being in the middle of winter, it made a good account for itself. The fish turned out to be perfection in miniature as I slid the net under a mirror of about 5-6lb. Despite this fish being one of the smaller residents - since their stocking only a few years ago, the growth rates are incredible. It was caught on a rig I've had a bit of success on lately, that being the butterfly KD rig.

One of many fish from
 the last stocking.

The 'butterfly' presentation
of the KD corn rig. 

I reckon its success lies in the odd shaped bait that the fish aren't used to ejecting. I hope to meet that little chap again in about a decade’s time, when he’s put on a bit of weight – If he keeps growing like this, there’s nothing stopping him getting into double figures, easily! As the weather subsided for a minute or two, Adam had the chance to safely re-cast his rigs without getting drenched. His solid PVA bag of Ace baits’ black ice pellets and Marukyu JPz hookbaits went out safely on the spot he had measured up tight against the far margin. And his other rod had a tiny PVA mesh bag nicked on the hook. The bag consisted of liquidised boilies, crushed fast breakdown pellets and a liberal dosing of Nash baits’ Scopex squid In-juicer – though it is not PVA friendly, it does not melt the bag quickly. That small bag then complemented a blatant pop-up rig with a strawberry ice cream hookbait soaked in the said In-juicer. My rods, on the other hand, were flicked out with the KD rig on the right and the other with a couple of the JPz on the hair of a simple bottom bait rig.

The bait that produced the 2
biggest fish of the day.

Both rigs were accompanied by little mesh bags of a mix containing a blend of CCMoore’s live system base mix, pellet Ultramix and liquidised bread. All of which was dampened down with a fair bit of hemp oil and whisky – the alcohol content helps to disperse the oils and flavours. It really works, just ask a chemistry teacher!

My winter stick mix -
all tied up and ready to go.

All we had to do now was wait for the magical call from a twitchy bobbin and the song of a bite alarm’s bleep or two. Again, not long after we had settled down for the second time, the downpour began. We waited a bit more. And then even a bit more! Recasting fresh bags at regular intervals to keep a fresh smell in the water was one of our trump cards as too many people seem happy to sit behind motionless rods! At around 11 o’clock, Adam registered a quiet bleep of the alarm that soon turned into a wary bite. After a mediocre battle with a sleepy common, I netted Adam’s first fish of session. Like many of the fish in this lake, Adam recognised it immediately and told me it was a fish called Dumpy. There was no need to explain to me why! He then, amongst wrestling with it on the mat, proceeded to explain that it wasn't actually a particularly fat fish either.

Descending order;
Spike's twin
and Dumpy.

I guess, like people, some are naturally stocky or lean and some are long or short. The fish was left in the net for a short period to recover and also due to the rain making unfavourable conditions for photography. However, whilst in the net, Adam received a very odd bite on his furthest rod, which took about a minute to materialise into something that definitely wasn’t a liner. After a strong tussle, the draw cord of the net was carefully passed under another common, known as Spike’s twin. Thankfully, it had stopped raining so we got the fish out of the net for their short moments of glory before they were allowed to go home.

Spike's twin weighed in at 15lb 9Oz and Dumpy was 10Lb 4Oz. Adam seemed surprised when I read out the weight of Dumpy as he looked in his log book and noted that it had lost a considerable amount of weight, even though it being winter. He genuinely believes that a log book has not only allowed him to keep an eye on the fish’s habits, but also improve his general understanding of fish and angling as a whole. Though before we could look though his book properly, my JPz pellet rigged rod roared off resulting in a near fully scaled mirror that weighed about 13lb.
Three fish in three quarters of an hour – not bad for a winter session but also highlighting the fairly short bite times typical of winter. The rest of the day session passed without any further events, other than significant quantities of rain!

Don’t forget to check out the accompanying video soon and get out there and catch some winter carp! Keep an eye out too for a pike video and article too!

By E.Woodhams - Carp Mad Men

Never fear, it's that time of year.

A golden carping session.

Winter, a time where many carp anglers move onto different species. Whether it’s due to the season opening for that particular species or that winter carping is, quite frankly, not as comfortable to fish in to say the least. One particular recent session certainly proved that point. It was 19th of December and it forecast light rain showers. However, it was quite mild and a gentle breeze was entering our chosen swim from the west. Following such winds really was one of our trump cards as many fish will follow this. Such winds bring an undertow in the water which suspends food particles. Even in winter, where the fish are reluctant to bother with many traditional baiting methods, carp can simply not resist the ‘scent trail’ of a free dinner waiting for them. If correctly baiting with this in mind, carp can be as easy to catch as in any season. You see, if you are fortunate enough for this wind to blow for at least – I believe – 24 hours in the same direction, the carp have already congregated into wherever this wind has lead them. All you have to do then is give them what they think they want, bait.

Now after the first 200 hundred words or so, I don’t blame you for still wondering what the title of this article is about! And to be honest, you’re going to have to wait to find out. As I mentioned, we, yes we – Edwin and I – were fishing this very carpy looking swim. The wind was blowing in our favour, it was pleasantly mild for December and we had the whole lake to ourselves. Our tactics were either to go with really ‘foody’ baits – to try and get them feeding instead of just mooching. Or, really high attract baits like 2 pence size PVA bags packed with attractants and small, bright pop-ups. Edwin chose to go with gooey, sticky, boozy tiger nuts with a cloudy mix and me, knowing this lake the way I do, going with a Black Ice flavoured yellow hookbait an inch popped up. This was because I wanted to fish over some chod where the last remaining natural food would be and a slow sinking pop-up rig with a coated braid hooklink would allow the rig to flutter down on top of it all.

What we all want, just that
bobbin jumping into life!

It certainly worked fast! Casting out and feeling the lead down at least 9 foot onto a very hard patch of silt the bite came about 20 minutes later. If you have read ‘Well....what can I say?!’ then you may recognise this fish! That’s right, it was Goldilocks. What a pleasure it was to see it again. It still fought as hard this time and it certainly knew its home. It made a dash for the same snags which were well over twice as far from where it was hooked! However, this time I had more powerful rods and the fish was turned a lot easier this time. Though this only made it try harder. In the clear water the golden flanks and bright white belly shone straight through the water as it writhed beneath our feet, still 4 feet down and you could still make out it the beautiful scales and big shoulders. As it came up for one last breath the hook and bait was clearly visible in the side of its pristine bottom lip. A gulp and a gentle knock it’s the head gave the all clear for Edwin to slip the net under it. Taking into consideration the fact that a fish like this cost considerably more than a standard mirror carp, we carefully lifted it out of the water in the collapsed net, removed the hook and weighed it immediately. We then put in the sling and let it have a rest in the margins.

2nd time and still impresses me. 

Like many fish, you don’t want it swimming away and then seeing it floating upside down in the middle of the lake! But this fish was even more precious and we are very privileged to fish this water – carp care was not just a necessity, it was a top priority. After the fish had recuperated, we then took it back to the unhooking mat and quickly took some stills. Thankfully, it swam away strongly like nothing happened and at 13Lb 4Oz, it was almost at an identical weight as last time!

All the time this was happening, however, Edwin kept on receiving countless line bites. Unfortunately, he could do nothing about it as he had to have tight lines as he was fishing very tight to heavy snags. All he could do was wait and hope the fish could find his hookbaits. However, after noticing my fish had been caught on a blatant pop-up, he quickly tied up a hinged stiff rig. Though his hands were so cold, I had to tie on his pop-up! We were both now receiving an unusual amount of liners of which one was so powerful I struck at it, only to find nothing attached!

Oxygen rich and slightly warmer,
fish love inlets.

This was getting irritating but there was nothing we could do, we had to have tight lines. Recasting my rig with a fresh bag, a new glugged hookbait and onto new spot, it was out in seconds. Though, this spot was a little softer on the drop. This might have had something to do with the fact that it was near an inlet and after some heavy rain, much of the leaf litter must have washed in from here. Though, I had nothing to worry about as this brought oxygen rich water and a trickle of warmth to the surrounding water. If the fish weren't here then they must not be in there! Soon enough, another funny bite was received from this spot and after cautiously picking up the rod a small little common was plodding away under the rod tip.

Weighing only about 9lb, it was not going to be much to shout about but it was another untouched gem of the lake. The size of these fish really doesn't matter when you have fish of this quality very local.





‘Till next time, stay lucky...and warm,
Adam, Edwin and Simon.

An apology and added news.

Hi all!

 As you may of noticed, the site name has changed. This is because, as mentioned in the news and at the bottom of Carper's Tips, that Edwin Woodhams and Simon Bosher - 2 very competent anglers in all lines of coarse angling - have joined me and thus, we are now a trio...the 'Mad Men.
However, this post wasn't really about that. It was about the trip, or the lack of it materialising to your knowledge, that I mentioned on here a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately, the trip did go under-way, and I say 'unfortunately' due to the poor quantity of fish caught - 2, a small 'ghosty' and a nice fully-scaled upper double mirror - and the awful weather, which did no good for the chance of filming.
To add to that, I also have to apologise for the lack of recent articles! But, and a big 'but', Edwin and I especially are out to fix that. As well as the carp, pike may be on the agenda this Winter for you all. Just something a bit different.
 'Till then, keep fishin' .... they'll soon come.

                            CMM

Twenty number 2!

You join me a few days after the success of another fishing trip down the local ponds. I only had a few hours fishing and I needed to make the most of it. Taking minimal equipment and light baiting ideas allowed me to pursue the fish, instead of baiting and waiting.

It was an overcast day with temperatures struggling to reach upper double figures. A cool but gentle westerly breeze blew straight into my favourite swim. Things looked good, but not as good as I could have expected!
Recently purchasing some new bite alarms and indicators I was keen to christen them with a couple of good, hard fighting carp which would give the alarms a good work out.
The alarms and bobbins in question were Delkims coupled with Korda Stows. To say that start of the session went off well was quite an understatement. The Stows - fished slack - twitched, rose slightly, dropped, and then went ballistic!  Being a short session, I was sat next to my rods with Carp World magazine, a packet of crisps and not much else. By the time I got up to hit the rod, the fish was 5 yards away in another weed bed.

20Lb 10Oz

As mentioned so many times before, it is unwise to just pull, pull and pull a bit more. Instead, giving barely any pressure - just enough to stay in contact with the fish - allowed it to free itself from the weed bed but still keep in contact with the fish. I was on my own at this time, but thankfully an ex-angler was fortunate enough to observe and then finally net the fish - along with another 10lbs of weed behind it!

Many photos were taken, though unfortunately a few had to be deleted. Top tip is to give your photographer a run through on how to work your camera! However, saying that, a couple were quite good and I was made up to see my 2nd 20lb carp, and a first for my home lakes, swim away strongly.

I put the landing net back together again, hung it up to dry, and sat in my chair just to soak up the satisfaction of my catch for a minute or two.

After that, I got up, put a fresh Black Ice dumbell hookbait from Ace Baits on, tied a stick of their fast breakdown pellets and glugged the whole lot in CSL and Molasses liquid. No other bait was put in as the fish were clearly turned off on larger beds of baits.
Take number 2 came off from the left hand rod - though being only 3 yards from where the right one was positioned  - with one of the lakes' dumpy little mirrors. Though giving spectacular bites and fights, all seems lost when they come to size. Not being fussy, as these fish are in fantastic condition and wonderfully scrappy, I do like catching these fish now and then.
Fish number 2 was caught on my favourite type of pop-up rig, see Rig Library, with a Black
Ice pop-up.

As our sessions are getting cooler, get on Black Ice from Ace Baits, it's a fantastic all-season bait!.
Again, best of luck with your own fishing, and don't forget to send us your photos/catch reports. CMM

For any other carp related talk, check out the Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/groups/136521579773468/ .