With the close season is well and truly upon us and it was now time to start thinking about a spring stillwater campaign. I have spent the last four springs targeting big bream on a low stock Berkshire pit. The water contains around a dozen fish which can mean things can be a little slow at times. Having fished over 100 nights on this water, culminating in a personal best bream weighing 16lb 7oz, I felt it was time for a new challenge. After having a look around a few waters, fellow Gardner sponsored angler Sam Meeuwissen suggested a pit he was intending to fish. After securing a ticket at the beginning of April, I had a quick walk around the lake to familiarise myself with the venue. I always have my plumbing kit stashed away in the van and made good use of this by searching out some inviting areas. This would at least give me something to go on during my first visit to the venue.

I am glad I made the effort as in my second swim I located a small gravel bar only 30 yards from the bank. This was surrounded by heavy weed and just screamed an ideal area to lay down a carpet of bait. Once back at home I sorted out my kit for the following week, eager with anticipation. Arriving well after dark on Friday I was able to drop straight into the swim I fancied. Getting the rods and bait out was easy, as it was a simple case of finding the clear gravel area with the maker rod, clipping up and pacing the rods out down the bank to the desired distance. This would ensure everything landed bang on the money.

It was gone midnight before I finished spodding out a big bucket of groundbait full of hemp, pellets and corn, before I got the rods sorted. My rigs consisted of balanced sweetcorn hookbaits using the new Enterprise Tackle Super Soft Sweetcorn. This was perfectly balanced by the weight of a size 8 Talon Tip hook, my favourite pattern when using this rig. Hook length choice was my favourite Trickster braid and I added a small Micromesh PVA bag to each rig containing a pinch of 4mm pellets.

An hour later I started to get liners as the bream had obviously found the carpet of bait I had introduced only a short while ago. A take was imminent and it wasn’t long before I received a typical bream bite and landed a small fish of around 7lbs. A good start to the campaign, but I hoped a bigger fish might put in an appearance. That was the first of five bites that night, the best fish weighing just over 9lbs. Before dawn broke the swim went quiet and I had a feeling the fish had cleared the bait and move on.

The day passed quietly and mid-afternoon I introduced another big bucket of groundabit containing lots of molasses hoping that the flavour trail would attract the bream back into the area. Conditions deteriorated that night and the temperatures dropped to just above freezing. This certainly affected the fishing and only two fish fell to the rods that night, both small fish weighing around 7 to 8lbs. Before leaving I spent a couple of hours with the plumbing rod, learning the lake and trying to identify suitable areas for my next session. Much of the lake bed at short to medium range was full of weed, however, much further out in the middle section of the lake it seemed barren and it was here that I located a gravel bar running between two swims.

The following weekend I was back and was able to drop into the area I had located in my previous session. Lining up with a tree on the far bank I whacked the marker a long way out just past the area I had located. Drawing the lead back across the silt I soon felt the ‘tap tap’ as the lead bumped across the gravel. Popping the float up it was around 90-100 yards out, this feature just screamed bream. I decided to bait the swim aggressively and spent two hours spodding 12 litres of bait over the mark. I soon had three rods spread across the bar with Enterprise tackle Super Soft Corn hook baits with a small Micromesh PVA bag threaded down the hook length containing a small pinch of 4mm pellets. That night I took six bream from the area, the best weighing 11lb 9oz.

The following weekend I was back in the swim for another overnight session. After casting three rods out to the desired distance I started to get to work with the spod in a bid to lay down a carpet of feed across the bar. Two hours later, I’d had enough and it was time to sit back and await events. I had a take on each rod that night landing two bream to just under double figures and a rogue low double figure carp.

The weather conditions had been all over the place in April and we finally got the rain we so much needed. The nearby River Loddon found it difficult to contain the week of solid rain that fell and after bursting its banks it spilled into the lake leaving it, the nearby fields and roads completely under water. Hopefully in a couple of weeks the water levels will have subsided and I can get back to the lake for another bash.

For most of March and April I’ve been getting right into my perch fishing and for the moment I’ve not been doing much carping.

After my last session perch fishing, when I caught the 3lb 8oz, I was eager to get back to the same lake and try for some more big perch. I planned to do a 24 hour session because the best time to target perch is in the evening, just before dark, and early in the morning (or so I was always lead to believe). That’s when they’re out of their hiding places and on the look out for food. The gate to the fishery is closed at 7pm, so by doing a 24hr I thought I would fish into darkness and see what happens.

I managed to get a day’s holiday so I phoned the lake and said I would be coming after work. Later on that day and with the work all done I got home, loaded my car with the fishing gear and headed for the lake. It’s not that far away and in no time I was pulling into the car park; there were a couple of cars which was a good sign. I quickly grabbed some of my kit and walked to the lake. There’s a really good corner swim, it’s nice and snaggy, and it was free! I dumped my gear off in that swim and then went to get the rest, as soon as I got back I started feeding maggots little and often to get the silver fish active, which in turn would hopefully get the perch interested.

I intended to float fish with just one rod (using a starlight after dark) and my hook bait was prawns. All set up, I flicked the float out then put the kettle on for a cuppa, even before the kettle had boiled my float slipped under and I struck, the way it was taking line this was no perch and after a good fight during which the 6lb HydroFlo didn’t let me down, I slipped the net under a mirror carp of about 10lb. It was a nice fish but not what I was after; I thought what with all the splashing about my swim might have been spooked. So before casting out again I had a nice cup of tea and a smoke.

After tea I cast another prawn hook bait a rod length out. I could see there was a lot of activity all over the lake and it seemed to me that the carp had woken up but still no signs of perch. It was getting dark so I reeled in and changed the tip of my float to a Starlight tip, the type you crack and shake. With the bait cast back out I waited. It was about 8pm when my float dipped then went under, as I struck the rod I connected with a fish that felt more like the species I was after. Yes! It was a perch and a big one at that, I popped it in a plastic bag and it weighed 3lb 4oz. What a result!!

I set up my Gardner 50” Outreach Landing net and positioned it in the margins a couple of swims down then put the perch in there while I went to get help with the pictures. With all the photos done I slipped her back, but not in the swim I was fishing as I did not want to spook any perch that were still in there.

I fished on until I couldn’t keep my eyes open. It was about midnight but in that time I had caught 7 perch all over 2lb and the biggest being 4lb. This to me was strange, to catch perch so late well into darkness. I guess you don’t know till you try. I put the two biggest in my carp net where they would safe and sound till first light so I went to sleep and woke at 5AM. The same fella came round to help me with the pictures then I slipped them back, happy days!

Thanks to French angler, Jerome Sebille, friend of Gardner Tackle and member of the French Carp Connection Team, for his account in first locating and then banking this stunning carp weighing 30lb 8oz.

A good challenge in Carp fishing is targeting one fish in particular. Two years ago, I saw a nice fish with beautiful scaling and since then I have dreamed of catching this beauty in my net…

I hate fishing at the same place and after a day I need to move and see what is happening elsewhere. So I practice ‘speed fishing’ – just one or two hours in a spot with one or two lines. At the moment in France, fishing during the day is difficult because for three weeks the weather has been very cold. So the fish have not been moving much or eating and their activity has been sluggish without the sun.

One week ago, I saw the nice carp again and I decided to fish for 30 minutes in one spot with one line and then move to another. This technical fishing requires organisation and the ability to track the Carp. I used a PVA bag with small particles like pellets, corn, hemp and crushed boilies. It’s important to use attractive bait, like a method mix with a strong dip and to make the trap quickly to be reactive. Only the minimum kit is needed when adopting this approach and essential items include my Gardner method bowl and Slinga catapult.

After two hours tracking the fish with no result, I had a small run near a submerged tree. The fight was very strong and I could see the beautiful scales…My dream became a reality and I landed the fish in my net…ouahhhhhhhhh !

Speed fishing is a great sensational and technical activity which can be a different approach to achieve your target.

This month I have been swamped by assignments from college, but I put the hard work in, and hopefully should get some good grades!

The first bit of fishing related stuff this month was that I managed to pass my level 2 angling coaching qualification! This means that I can help the club that I currently coach for even more, helping youngsters from the local area, but I am also looking into starting to do individual carp tuition sessions.

With 3 week’s off college for the Easter holiday it would have been rude not to do a bit of fishing! The first session I did was 2 night’s on the Carp Society’s Horseshoe Lake for my friend Benedict’s birthday social, with all the guys from the BYCAC. Only 2 people caught carp (Brad catching a lot!) and I drew a blank! It was a good social which made up for it a bit!

The next session was going to be 4 nights on Yateley Sandhurst Lake. I was going with my mate Will so even if we struggled it would be a good social! I had been to Sandhurst for 4 nights before, both times the weather took a major turn just before my session and resulted in a blank, and I was determined to change that this time. The weather for the first day was really “carpy”, with low pressure, south westerly winds and rain.

We arrived to find the lake very quiet, so after a quick walk round we saw a few fish show in front of the vacant Pipes and Second Pipes swims. Seeing as Will had the first choice of swims the last time we fished together, I chose to go in the Pipes! Within about 4 hours I was regretting that decision a bit! Will had cast 2 solid bags at showing fish and had been reward with a pb bream of 13lb 7oz, a pb common of 30lb 2oz and a pb mirror of 35lb!

I was having a nightmare sorting my rods out, having to re-spool my reels and not having any rigs tied! Just as it got dark I did have all 3 rods out finally, and was very confident of a bite. All rods were rigged up on my favoured maggot and corn rig, with 3 spombs of maggots over the top, fishing on silty spots on this mostly gravel bottomed lake.

It didn’t take long for my first bit of action, from one of the massive Sandhurst bream! Unfortunately this set the trend for my night, having 4 more! Eventually though, as it got light the right hand rod screamed off and I was connected to my first Yateley carp! After an epic battle I managed to slip the net underneath it, a stunning 23lb linear was a lovely way to get off the mark.

The weather changed through the first day, as a high pressure front came in and it looked less and less good for a bite. I decided to leave the rods out until around midday, then reeled them in and put out a few zigs. However, more and more fish started to show further down the lake, but this coincided with the lake becoming more busy which meant that we wouldn’t be able to move swims, which was more than annoying!

We kept plugging away for the next 2 nights, but apart from the relentless bream (I think I had 13 in total, most being doubles!), we didn’t catch any carp. The carp had now moved in numbers to the middle of the lake, and were steadily being caught by other anglers- which was getting more and more annoying!

On the 4th morning 3 fish showed in quick succession at about 100 yards out from my swim, so I quickly reeled in my left hand rod and cast a single pop-up onto its head. The cast went down with a soft drop, which is what I had been told to look for by a lot of regulars so I was really confident of a bite! The hours passed by and it was looking worse for a bite, when the alarm beeped- and I had another bream. As I was re-doing the rod a venue regular walked past and I got chatting to him, he said that white pop-ups had been doing the business for him, so I took the yellow one I had on and replaced it with a trimmed down Kent Particles White Chocolate one. I cast it back out to the spot and re-did the other rods for the night, sticking with the maggot tactics, but using white corn instead.

The night passed quietly, but at first light I was up and wandered into Will’s swim, but halfway there I heard a few bleeps from my swim and what sounded like the clutch going. I ran back to find the rod with the white pop up on nearly dragged off the rests and screaming off. After an awesome fight, I slipped the net under an stunning 21lb mirror!

I decided after that to change all rods to fish with the balanced white chocolate pop ups. I was using size 8 Incizors with a long bit of shrink tube, and it had given me a solid hookhold. I was also using a small PVA mesh bag containing some crushed Cell and Kent Particles 2mm halibut pellets to just add a bit of smell as well.

The weather was quite hot that day, and it passed without any more action or seeing anything really. As it was the last night (and we were feeling lazy) we decided to order a pizza, and as it was about to be delivered my right hand rod was off! Luckily, it didn’t fight too hard and it was in the net and photo-ed, which turned out to be a nice 22lb 14oz mirror, before the pizza got cold- bonus!

That was the last of the carp action, but Will did manage an 18lb pike from the tiny ditch behind the lake! We had been seeing big swirls coming up, and eventually thought it was a pike, and using a few maggots to catch a roach he managed to catch it!

The only other bit of fishing I have done this month was a quick session on B-1 for a total carp feature. All my tactics will be in the magazine soon, but they really worked, catching 16 fish. I was mostly fishing 1 rod for about 7 hours in total!

Next month I’m not really sure what fishing I will do, but I do have my UK Carp Cup qualifier on Coking Farm Long Lake, so will definitely be practicing for that and hopefully will qualify!

With the end of the season looming and a lovely mild spell of weather I just had to have a concentrated effort on my local River Loddon in search of monster chub. Tactfully I had saved some holiday especially for the occasion and I hoped that this would pay off in spectacular style. A big chub was firmly in my thoughts and with this in mind I started priming a swim every other day with a mixture of hemp, dead maggots and 4mm elliptical pellets from Sonubaits. I carried out two after-dark baiting missions before deciding to fish. The stretch in question is a tricky, low-stock big fish stretch of the river and I hoped that by baiting I would be able to concentrate the fish and gain their confidence before presenting a rig.

Arriving after dark, straight from work, I settled into the swim, set up the kit and soon had two rods positioned mid river; one positioned on the bait and one just below to intercept the fish as they moved upstream to feed on the baited area. Both rods were rigged up using a trusty mag-aligner rig using a long length of brown 15lb Trickster. An Enterprise Mag-Aligner Grub slid over the shank of a size 12 Mugga hook creating a deadly line-aligner effect. Each rig was finished off with a large Micromesh PVA bag containing a third of a pint of white maggots.
How could any big chub resist?

In the early hours of the morning the downstream rod pulled over and after a typical big chub fight, where the fish tried to snag me in the near bank margin, a good fish weighing 6lb 13oz was soon being slipped back into the river. A good start, however, the rest of the early hours remained quiet. I did hear a couple heavy rolls from the big fish that inhabit the stretch, which gave me confidence that the bait was doing its work.

I kept the bait trickling in between trips and on my next two quick overnight sessions I heard fish rolling 20 yards downstream of the baited area, just above small snag. I was sure the fish were feeding on the bait most nights, but with extreme caution.

During my next trip, which consisted of a short evening session, I decided to fish opposite the fallen branches as I was sure this is where the fish were spending most of their time. As darkness fell a couple of big chub rolled right over the rods and I was confident of a bite. Just before 9pm the upstream rod pulled over and after a good tussle I knew that this was no chub but a barbel weighing just short of double figures. After slipping the fish back into the water I baited the swim once more before returning home.

Looking at the long range weather forecast, conditions looked spot-on and I booked the Friday off work with the aim of getting straight down Thursday evening. Setting up in the dark, I repeated the procedure as before and after an hour of casting the rods the fish were rolling over the bait. Soon after 11pm I had managed four bites, missing one and landing several fish weighing 4lbs, 5lb 3oz and a monster weighing 7lb 10oz. This was my fourth 7lb plus chub and my second from two different rivers in 12 months. The fish soon spooked and I fished a couple of more all-night sessions without action or hearing any roll before deciding to call it a day.

After getting my chub ‘fix’ I fancied a concentrated effort on the River Kennet going after a couple of big barbel I had seen there in the summer months. I made sure to keep visiting the short stretch throughout the winter to keep in touch with the place. Once again I started trickling the bait in and fished four evening sessions without a pull to show for my efforts. This is one stretch that I aim to return to next season to settle the score.

By this time the season had ended and I had a couple of features pencilled in that needed completing. I have just started a new series with Total Coarse Fishing magazine on how to target specimen fish. The series involves targets set for six individual species with carp and perch being first on the hit list. A 20lb carp was top of the agenda and I headed to Thorpe Lea Fishery with the aim of getting plenty of bites and hopefully slipping the net under my target. The session went to plan and after getting a good bed of bait out, the fish were soon attracted to the sound of the spod hitting the surface of the water. I managed to take 18 fish in front of the camera including my target weighing 23lb 10oz.

Next on the list was bagging a big perch with a 3lb fish being the target. I knew I was up against it from the start and combining blue skies with temperatures exceeding 20 degrees C I wasn’t confident at all. If there was one place in the country that would give me half a chance it was Stream Valley Lakes in Sussex. Arriving at 7am as the fishery gates opened I soon had three rods cast out with king prawns, a deadly big perch bait. Just as the sun began to rise in the sky the bobbin on one of the rods slowly crept towards the rod blank. Playing the fish carefully, I was soon netting a fish weighing 2lb 2oz, a good start but not my target. Soon the sun was high in the sky which, made fishing difficult and I had to wait until the sun began to dip behind the trees on the far bank before I felt I had another chance. I recast the rods with a new prawn soaked in Enterprise Tackle ‘Worm and Shrimp’ flavour before introducing a couple of spods of chopped worms, prawns and maggots over each rod.

An hour passed before I started getting indications that maybe things were about to happen. Shortly after, the bobbin on the right hand-rod confidently pulled up to the top and a strike was met with solid resistance. From the start the fish didn’t seem anything special until it neared the margins and after a good tussle under the rod tip the fish broke the surface revealing its size and I knew I couldn’t afford to make a mistake. The fish was soon brought over the waiting net and I can’t say more than grab a copy of the May issue of Total Coarse Fishing to find out more…

My ticket was just about to come to an end and I was keen to get to the lake for my last session for a while on there, so as you can imagine I was quite excited about getting the rods out and hopefully bagging myself a lump or two.

I rolled into the carp park full of anticipation and soon had the carp barrow loaded and was hastily making my way to the lake. The conditions were not the best to be honest with high pressure and bright sun forecast for the whole time I would be fishing there, but we all have to make the best out of the time we have allocated to us.

After a quick lap of the lake I realised that most of the going swims were taken, but I had an ace up my sleeve as I had been baiting up a not so popular swim just in case this happened to me. The mountain of gear was deposited in my chosen plot and I sat there exhausted – tired due the heat of the day. However, my spirits soon lifted sky high when I saw a carp crash out in front of me, so rubbing my hands together I was soon setting up camp.

I knew this particular swim well, and had previously given it a good going over with the marker float so it was not long before I had my rigs flying out to their designated spots. So the traps were set, all I had to do now was put the kettle on and everything would be perfect.

That night, at some ungodly hour I was rudely awoken by one of the most savage runs I had ever seen or heard. As I picked up the rod and was greeted by the satisfying curve that only a big carp can do, but whatever was attached to the Incizor it obviously had other ideas and duly tried to strip as much line as it could from my reel, the worrying thing was that I just could not stop it. Everything went solid as it had made the sanctuary of a weed bed but with a little persuasion I managed to get it moving, slowly at first but never the less moving, and I could feel the load getting lighter as the weed was coming off the line so the lead had been dumped by the Multi-Clip on the take, exactly as I had hoped. This was when it decided it wanted to make another demented dash for freedom but I soon curbed its enthusiasm and had it under control in no time. Soon it was plodding around in the deep margins, but Mr Carp had an ace up its sleeve – an unseen snag in the margins in front of me – and it found it with relative ease as well! It felt truly immovable once it had found the sanctuary of it, and try as I might I could not move it and so I put the rod back in the rest and opened the bail arm.

I sat there for a while scratching my head at what best to do in this situation. There was no way I was going to wade out there with almost 10 foot of water! Then it dawned on me that there was a boat on the lake that I could use to free it, so I donned my life jacket and went off to hunt for the boat. I eventually found it at the furthest point of the lake (just my luck) and had to try and get to the other end of the lake without getting lost along the way. More by luck than judgement I got back to my swim and put the landing net and unhooking mat in the boat, grabbed my rod and wound down to the fish which in turn dragged me towards it. No need for oars at the moment then!

I was now sat directly above my quarry and initially there was still no movement but then I could feel it kicking as it freed itself due to me applying pressure from a different angle, and so the fight carried on for a while but it was soon beaten, and with one last heave it was in the folds of my net.

At this stage I still had no idea about the size of the fish and seeing as I was fairly close to the bank I decided not to haul it onto the boat, but to row back to shore and sort it out there. I bit through the line so all I had to do was get the mat out of the boat and lift my prize onto it. I soon realised that the carp was quite big and was not disappointed at the result and the scores on the doors did not let me down! At 35lb it was a worthy capture and the kind of result I was looking for.

Whilst I was fishing I noticed a small shoal of big roach swim past me and due to the clarity of the water I was able to see that these were of a specimen size. Being the opportunistic angler I quickly set up a rod to set my sights on these. I had some “sticky baits” bloodworm pellets which I was loose feeding to get them tempted and it wasn’t long before I had the reaction that I wanted and they were soon feeding with wild abandon. I flicked out my float with a small piece of bread flake and after a while I realised that they were not going to take it so I put my thinking cap on and the next piece of flake was dipped in a little edge I use if the going is tough, the ever faithful hydrolysed bloodworm compound. The dip did not let down on this occasion and neither did the new size 12 Talon Tip! As the bait slowly fell through the water one of the roach took it and I was soon playing a roach of specimen proportions. It was all a bit heart stopping at times, but the Roach was soon in the folds of my landing net and not long after that it was gracing my unhooking mat.

Just the sheer size of this fish took my breath away, and I knew straight away this was a new personal best roach and at 3lb 6oz’s it turned out to be just that! So with a big smile I was soon having the pictures with my prize.

Just when I thought life couldn’t get any better having caught a fish of that size I was to be surprised later that evening when away slid my float again and I was soon playing a sizable roach in the fading light. When I laid this one on the mat I was astonished to realise that this one was probably going to beat my personal best for a second time in a day, and was soon punching the air in joy as the monster roach weighed in at 3lb 12oz!

To catch two personal bests in one day is the stuff that dreams are made of and it had turned out to be a real red letter day…

Gardner Tackle monthly Facebook competition time…

It’s about time we offered our friends on Facebook the opportunity to win some great prizes – and we thought ‘how about a Gardner Tackle Facebook fish of the month competition’…

To enter simply post up a picture of your fish, with details of the Gardner Tackle products you used to catch it with on this Facebook page!
Facebook Competition Link

Any species count!

We will offer a prize to the lucky captor for either the most meritorious, prettiest or simply the most awesome fish reported each month…

Prize will be £100 RRP of any tackle from the Gardner Tackle range – you can choose what you want!!!

It can be hooks, lines, a new holdall, terminal bits and bobs – whatever you want!

Good luck everyone!

To enter please Join us on Facebook: Facebook Competition Link

After having some success fishing in one of the snaggy corners of the lake, I felt as the days warmed up that there may be a chance to be had from the middle of lake which still held a significant amount of weed. In parts it was new fresh growth, which I knew was really attractive to the fish at this time of year. I had been having a few chucks about with the marker on previous visits which had located some of these areas, but one particular spot really caught my interest. It was in a swim which was a fairly popular one, and not one I had ever done well out of, but it was a new spot well away from the known spots in this swim.

I was yet to see a carp actually roll or jump so far this spring, but I had seen a large amount of tench activity in this swim, but always in this one spot. When I had a lead about in this area I found a firm smooth silty strip in between two fresh areas of weed growth, which felt like the lead had come off it moved so easily when pulling over it, but it was certainly encouraging. The other aspect I particularly liked was that this spot was that it was right between 2 swims, and was an area that had never had any lines through, and had obviously been neglected. As I left I put about a kilo of Essential B5 baits on it in preparation for next time, which was easy as the spot was only about 25 yards from the bank, and was really looking forward to a return the following week.

I was back a few days later, and in lovely warm spring sunshine. The only downside was that the air pressure was sky high, and the nights were cold, with heavy frosts. I was optimistic though as the fish were clearly well awake, and the warm days seemed to be bringing the lake to life more and more each day. I had a walk round first, but saw nothing despite the water being crystal clear and even clearer than the week before.

Admittedly I was keen to get into the swim I’d seen the Tench showing in the week before. I had the banker spot which I hit first cast, but my other spot wasn’t as good. I could get a drop but no real pull back on the lead, but there wasn’t really another area in the swim that I fancied, so two rods it was. I put on 16 mm pop ups on both with stiff links, made up with the new size 5 Covert Chod hooks. I was very lucky in having some of the early samples of these, and this size was perfectly suited to my rigs, and I’d been constantly pestering Lewis at Gardner as to when they were coming in stock! (Especially since I had used my last one a couple of trips before). These are not only incredibly sharp, but also strong without being too thick in the wire, which I have found affects critical balancing of the whole rig. I added nice long lengths of Heavy Plummet lead core to pin it all down, and subtle 1.5 oz Chod Bolt Bombs, and fired about a kilo of B5 boilies on each spot.

The lake was flat calm and I spent the afternoon sitting in the sun watching, but I saw nothing at all, not even a bubble. I had that nagging doubt that I could have done the wrong thing as the snags had produced a few takes, and I was sure that fish were constantly in residence in there. However I was glad to get a good view of a decent piece of water. The trouble with the snags swim was the feeling of being totally shut in, and due to the hit and hold nature of fishing in there, you really had to be right on your rods at all times. This swim was far more enjoyable to fish, out in open water and with a good view of almost the whole lake. That said I was disappointed not to have seen anything show, and as the day wore on and the sun dropped so did the temperature. I was glad I had bought my winter sleeping bag, as by 10 pm there was frost on top of my bivvy!

At 2 AM I had a fast take on my left hand rod from the silty spot, and I ran out in my t-shirt and bent into a powerful fish that was kiting left around the corner towards the bay. This fish was really going well, which didn’t help as I was stood doing battle in sub zero temperatures in a t-shirt! The lake was flat calm and with a clear night I could see several big rolls out in front of me, each one sounding like I was attached to something really decent. Eventually I had the fish on the surface and coming in, and I could see in the moonlight a big dark head getting closer and closer to my outstretched net. One more run and it was mine and after quickly putting on a jacket I lifted out the fish on to the mat. I knew then it must be close to the magical 40 lbs and sure enough it was, at 40.10 lbs. I was delighted. It was absolutely nailed in the bottom lip, and I placed it in the retention sling and re-cast, knowing that the usual bite time was still not yet upon me.

I was up just before first light to check on the fish, and sat there having a cuppa watching the clear dawn break. It was cold but a lovely sight, as the birds were singing and the mist was rising off an eerie still lake surface. With a friend on the way to take some photos for me, at 6 AM I had another take on the same rod. This one didn’t fight at all; in fact right up until I slipped the net under it I was convinced it was a Tench. However I knew this one, an old original, one of only 3 left in the lake, and at 24lbs one that never fluctuates in weight at all. It is an awesome looking fish, with such a big paddle I would have expected to fight a bit!

After taking the photos and returning them I stayed on another night with no further action, and once again never saw a fish during the entire session, except the ones I was fortunate enough to catch. I left the next day delighted, and confident that it was all falling into place, certainly my bait and rigs were working, and I had now had fish out of several different swims. The lake was fishing well, and other members had also had fish, so hopefully this summer will be a good one for captures. There are certainly a number of fish well overdue, and several of these are some of the lakes real prizes!

With spring approaching more quickly than expected I thought I would share a few things that I feel help me put a few carp on the bank during this period.

The first thing on my list is tackle maintenance. Whether you are a seasoned all weather angler who still goes in search of carp during the winter months or an angler who packs his carp gear away neatly as soon as the first frosts arrive in view of either fishing for other species or taking a break until the warmer weather resides, now is the time to make sure everything is in order ready for a season when the carp will be in fine fettle and fully fighting fit. Nobody wants to spend the time waiting and working hard for that first run of the spring only to find that the tackle they are using isn’t up to scratch. Give everything a good going over, check that reels are in good order by cleaning them and giving them a grease and that your rods are up to scratch, especially check the eyes on your rods for any damage or dirt that may play a part in weakening your line. As for line if it needs changing do it. There is no excuse for not doing this; there are so many decent lines available today at reasonable prices that reels can be respooled quite easily and cheaply. As for the rest of your gear make sure it is all in order be it for doing either a day or night session. Have a look at terminal tackle and get it organized and replace anything missing so that you are prepared for any eventuality that may occur whilst on the bank. Check alarm batteries and if you are doing a night make sure that your head torch is in full working order. These may seem like obvious things but if overlooked they can be the difference between success or going home an unhappy angler. I know which one I’d rather be.

The second thing on my list is location. With your gear checked and in full working order it’s time to find the fish. Location is a very important part of carp fishing regardless of the time of year but spring has to be my favourite season for starting to suss out where the carp are residing on my chosen venue. Temperatures start to rise, the birds and other wildlife are in full flow, the plants and trees start to gather there summer colours and most importantly the carp start to stir looking for food to binge on after their winter rest. At this point the carp will start to give away their location, be it cleaning away the leeches that have taken residence along their flanks and on their fins during the colder months or in their quest to find warmer areas of the lake as the sun starts to warm during the months of spring. This is a prime time for catching carp so put on your polarised sunglasses, climb some trees and have a good look around your chosen venue. (Never rule out marginal areas that receive sunlight during the day and face into warm southerly winds, as carp will often seek out these areas looking for warmer water, I have caught a lot of carp very close in on these type of spots during the spring). By doing this a pattern will soon start to form as to the carps movements. Once you have established this it is time to start putting some bait on the “spots” in preparation to catching our elusive quarry.

This brings me onto the third thing on my list, Bait. Hopefully by now you will have decided on your chosen bait for the spring/summer campaign. Be it either a proven bait that you have caught fish on previously and have complete confidence in, or a new bait you like the look of. Now is the time to start introducing it into some chosen areas where you have seen the fish. I personally start of with the view that less is more introducing a little bait onto the spots for a start and as I start to fish and the temperatures continue to rise I increase the amount of bait I am putting in until I reach my normal level of baiting for this time of year. My chosen bait for the up and coming campaign is Mistral Baits i40 Red, I have caught well on this for the last two years and keep getting results on it so have decided to stick with it. It’s an old cliché but if it works why change it?

This leads me onto my fourth tip, Rigs. Once you have located the fish and you have a bait you are confident in, you will need a rig that also gives you confidence that you will land a high percentage of the carp you hook. I won’t go into details too much as I am not particularly a riggy person. I do feel however that with the amount of rig components available today and the amount of different rigs published in the magazines it can all get a bit confusing and complicated when it comes to tying/deciding which rig to use. I personally like to keep things as simple as possible and this has stood me in good stead, a couple of years ago I landed 88 carp from my syndicate water and lost only 2. Not a bad return from rigs that couldn’t be simpler or easier to tie. I am also a fan of using big hooks but that is only a personal preference. I believe rigs are a personal thing and by experimenting, any given angler comes to a decision as to which rig to use either from their own experience be it good or bad, or by talking to other anglers or reading about them and learning from there.

Last but not least, stay mobile. Take as small amount of gear and bait etc that you can get away with for any given session, this doesn’t always apply for example if you are booked onto a lake where you will be staying in the same swim and moving won’t be an option by all means take the gear you require to have an enjoyable/comfortable session. If however you are fishing a syndicate/club lake or any other type of water where moving is an option by travelling light you can move onto showing fish. Most importantly stay vigilant. Your eyes are a very important tool within you carp fishing armoury and you won’t see anything if you are wrapped up in your warm bivvy with them shut. We can’t always get swim choice right and for whatever reason it may be, if fish don’t seem to be in the area you have chosen to fish keep your eyes open and always be prepared for a move. I know of many very successful anglers who wouldn’t catch half as many fish as they do if they stayed in the same swim waiting for the carp to find them. If you do find yourself in a situation where you are not catching and the fish don’t appear to be showing elsewhere or moving isn’t an option, try switching to a zig rig as the fish may be in the upper layers of the water making the most of the spring sunshine. Also try casting one of your rods around your swim trying different areas for a set amount of time. By using a rod almost as a fish finder you’ll be surprised how many times you can land on an unsuspecting fish and get an almost immediate take. You can also try fishing for liners and if they start to occur try recasting on a regular basis a bit closer each time until the liners stop. By doing this there is a very good chance that you’ll be on some fish.

I hope my spring tips help you to put one or two extra fish on the bank, don’t just take my word for it, get out there, enjoy your angling and give it a go.

Until next time, tight lines, Rich “Fatbloke” Adams

My fishing this month started back on the syndicate, hoping for 1 last fish before the close season! I managed to get off uni early on the Monday, meaning I was going to be able to do 2 nights instead of my normal 1. After having a quick wander round, I dropped a bucket in a swim I had been told had past form and set about getting the rods out.

After a few casts with the marker I had found a nice little gravel seam at long range, and while clipping the rods up heard a fish jump twice near the spot! Full of confidence the rods went out well, and with a few spods of maggots and hemp over the top I sat back to wait. As night came in the temperature plummeted, and it looked less and less good for a bite, and in the morning I was greeted by a thick frost!

The weather soon started to warm up, and another fish crashed out near the spot. I decided to leave the rods out on the spot as they have gone out well and I didn’t want to risk disturbing the area. In the afternoon the weather changed from being seriously hot and with no wind, to a strong south-westerly blowing straight into my swim with a lot of rain as well! I was really confident now, but the fish didn’t seem to want to get their heads down and I guess the showing fish were just clearing their gills after being sat in the weed all winter.

I planned another 2 trips before the close, but it seemed every man and his dog decided they were going to do the last 5 nights of the season and therefore I couldn’t even get a swim so ended up at home doing more uni work!

My next trip was to Linear Fisheries, hoping to get on Brasenose 1, with the intention of trying out braided mainline for the first time. With the reels spooled up with 15lb Hydro-Sink, and the car filled to the brim with bait I set off. When I arrived I couldn’t believe it, on a Tuesday there was only 1 swim left on all of B1 and B2! I went in it anyway, and having fished the swim in the BYCAC I knew the spots and soon had the rods out at about 3pm.

It didn’t take that long to get my first bite, a mid-double mirror. The benefits of the braid were clear from the start, the fish came straight out of the weed with a bit of pressure, and I could feel the perfect drop when the rod was recast!

One more mid double graced my net during the night, and then a 21lb mirror at first light, my first 20 of 2012! Both the rods were rigged up with a whittled down Kent Particles pop-up tipped with a fake maggot, and a size 8 Covert Incizor on around 5” of 15lb Chodskin.

The lake really wasn’t fishing well, and I hadn’t seen anyone else catch! With some real hard work, spodding at over 130 yards accurately I managed to winkle out another 3 fish, amazingly all 20s at 21lb 4oz, 21lb 10oz and 22lb 8oz. It was at this point I felt my back “ping” and was in great pain, and it felt like a good time to pack up!

With the last week of the month being so hot, and not having to go to Uni, it would have been rude not to have done a bit of surface fishing! I always head to one of my local club lakes, called Sopley, at the start of the year for some surface fishing. The lake is filled with small commons, but with a bit of selective fishing you can single out the doubles. My target for this year however, was to catch a surface 20! After 3 short, 4 hour afternoon sessions, I had caught 23 fish. The biggest was a 19lb 2oz common, so I missed out on my target, but with all but 1 being doubles I couldn’t really complain, and there is still time yet! I had found success using a trimmed bit of cork on a size 12 Covert Mugga, and on this I only lost 1 fish!

I am starting to get the buzz back, and now have 3 weeks off uni with 2 nights on Horseshoe and 4 on CEMEX’s Sandhurst lake, hopefully I will catch a few lumps!