Glorious!
In every carp angling magazine you will see and read material from some very successful Carp anglers, many of them now famous in the angling world due to their continued success, and rightly so. However, what about the likes of you and I? How do we achieve consistent success as well as holding down stressful jobs, bringing up young families and all of the other things that get in the way of our favourite past time? Well that is what I’m aiming for with this article, to help the everyday angler like you and I to maximise results and catch some Big Carp along the way.
For my sins, I am an Estate agent by trade. No doubt you’ve all heard the rumours about Estate agents, but truth be told we work very hard! I work at least five days a week from 8am until 7pm and on many occasions later than this. I get one day off in the week and one at the weekend, hours hardly conducive to successful Carp angling, I’m sure you ll agree.
Family, always first
As well as my Job I also have a five year old daughter and seventeen year old son, a demanding wife (aren’t they all?) as well as two mortgages. No pressure there then! I guess many of you reading this will be in the same position and need the release that angling gives from the everyday stresses. Whilst sometimes just being there is enough, personally I want to maximise my angling time and target certain Carp along the way. Perhaps we should have a look at how we can do this.
Preparation
We were not all boy scouts or army cadets were we? Well I certainly wasn’t, but I have learned that preparation is the key to being successful, particularly in my angling.
All prepared for an overnighter
Having your kit ready to go when you get in from work is essential. Walk in, get changed, load the Car, Kiss the wife and kids goodbye and go. Being at the lake just five minutes earlier can make the difference between a blank and a result. I can vividly remember once pulling into the Car park at a club venue, another angler kindly holding the gate open for me. On this occasion I was really well organised and had knocked ten minutes off of my usual arrival time. Anyway I pulled up, grabbed my Bait bag and set off to find my swim, whilst matey was slowly unloading his gear mountain of gear. Whilst standing in my newly secured swim (well known as the most productive on the lake), the very same chap who had held the gate open came huffing and puffing along the bank, pushing a fully laden barrow, saying that he had wanted this swim for himself ( sorry mate ). I had a cracking Carp that night, one of the most desirable in the lake, before packing up for work, which goes to show how just being organised can pay off!
If needs be, I can be angling within fifteen minutes of getting to the gate. My gear is kept to an absolute minimum. I’m sure you have all read that travelling light makes moving swims easier, however it also makes the time taken from getting out of the car to being actually fishing, much shorter; vital sometimes when you are arriving in fading light after work, which I normally am. I have a rule that if I have something in my rucksack that I have not used in the last three sessions, then its gone, banished to the spares box at home or in the wife’s car (more of that later). Empty your rucksack or carryall with that rule in mind, you ll be amazed at what you can get rid of.
My food bag is one of the freespirit cool bags,they are very well proportioned, everything goes in there, although I mainly live on those readymade slimfast milkshakes. They cost a pound each and fill you up quickly and efficiently. They are nutritional and taste nice too. No cheese slices and vitamins for me Mr Cundiff, neither am I lugging around cooking equipment for an overnighter or two either.
Quality Bait
My bait, also stored in a freespirit cool bag (two side by side sit perfectly on the barrow) is prepared the night before fishing, either removed and defrosted if frozen or soaked in hot water if I’m using the excellent Quest readymades. I just pour kettle boiled water into one of the quest two kilo tubs of baits, seal the lid and pop the tub in the cool bag. This washes the baits out a bit, softens them slightly and stops them splitting when fired from the throwing stick (not that the Quest baits seem to do this much). Whatever bait you use, ensure it is the best that you can get, don’t skimp on bait. An attractive, high quality food bait is as important as a sharp hook! If in doubt, Quest baits are the easy, quality choice.
2 kilo tub, just add hot water!
More preparation!
I ensure that on the day of angling that I do not wear aftershave to work and don’t have to stop for fuel, leaving my hands free of strong Alien smells. On arrival at the lake I wash my hands in the margins or if I have any cuts on my hands, I crumb some baits in my palms and fingertips, to further remove that human smell without fear of catching Weils disease. Just small things that can make a difference when doing quick sessions when a quick bite is needed.
Being different
One of the most important lessons I learned early on in my Carp angling career , is to be different. Carp are not intelligent, they just learn by association. So by doing something that little bit different, you are greatly swinging the odds in your favour. If other anglers are using big hooks, use small ones, if they are using small baits use large ones, if they are mass baiting, use single hookbaits or PVA bags. Pay attention to what others are doing, it can be painfully obvious what you have to do. One of the most common mistakes is bait placement. So many anglers are desperate to fish on gravel or where they get a trendy ‘Donk’ when feeling the lead land. Why? Not only is it usually not where the fishes natural food is found, but it is usually a pressured, regularly fished spot, where your end tackle can stand out a mile. Don’t be scared of the soft stuff. If I can find a softish bottom perhaps surrounded by a slightly harder area, clay or gravel spot, that doesn’t result in my lead coming back stinking, then Ill fish it. Yes the other spots produce, however these areas are my preference and can in my opinion produce the quicker result.
Anything for an easy life
So how can we make life easier for ourselves? Here’s a few simple but sometimes overlooked tips! Firstly bank holidays- I always work them! I tell the wife I have to work, allowing my staff time off, which in turn keeps them happy. They then dont bat an eyelid if I slip away early on the odd occasion.
Happy staff!
I then get a day off in lieu, which I can take when everybody else is at work! I also deliberately get myself a nice Car that I cannot get my fishing gear in. I then take my wife’s car fishing, don’t have to worry about keeping it clean for work and can keep a box of spares in the boot at all times. Nice. I’m fortunate in that although I don’t get a weekend off, I get a day off in the week and a day at the weekend, making it easier to divide my time between family and fishing. The weekday is mine, the weekend for the family. I quite often fish Wednesday night, Thursday day and then stay the Thursday night, packing up for a 5 am departure on the Friday morning.( This once yielded one of my best ever results, 7 large Carp up to a personal best of 56lb). This way I spend the weekend at home and have the quieter weekday, when not only do you have a better choice of swims, but the fish are not under as much pressure too.
Keeping in touch
Keeping in touch with your venue is essential to being successful. Even if you are a talented angler and gifted with watercraft, knowing what was caught the nights leading up to your assault is a massive edge. Does your venue have a website or even a forum? If not, build one! Its easy to do, have a look at www.proboards.com for cheap forum building that anybody can manage. Alternatively every venue seems to have a resident angler, somebody who is always there, not always worth following, as they are often stuck in their ways, but certainly worth pumping for information. How you use that information is up to you!
Keep in touch with the resident angler!
Make them a cup of tea, build a relationship, take them some milk or beers when you do visit them, that way you may get a text or a call when a fish is caught that others wont hear about. I usually make a call when I’m on my way to the lake, that way I know which way I’m likely to be heading with my barrow when time is at a premium.
Bankside comfort
Whilst we are aiming to be traveling light, we also must remain comfortable whilst fishing.We still aim to actually enjoy it. Firstly, realistically a barrow of some sort is needed. If you cant fit one in the car take one to the lake and chain it up with a bike padlock so its ready to use when you arrive. I used to have a bright red one chained up, it was easily found and nobody stole it! On my barrow I carry my bedchair with sleeping bag in it, unhooking mat, the two freespirit cool bags, brolly and rod bag. I have a rucksack on my back which, as I travel light, is easily managed. One of my best purchases recently has been the freespirit tree house brolly/bivvy.
Tree House
I’m not sure why you don’t see many of these on the bank, however they are superb, offering great protection in a lightweight and easily erected package. Check them out, they are brilliant (I’m not sponsored by freespirit, I just love their gear).
Set an achievable goal
Fishing one night a week or similar, you can rarely expect to be able to compete with the time bandits. You can however give the weekenders a run for their money! Set yourself a realistic target or you will find yourself often disappointed. I usually have a particular target fish in mind, angling midweek makes it an easier prospect to find and stand a chance of catching it.
Don’t put yourself under too much pressure , you have enough of that at home and at work!
Enjoy!
You ll often read that effort equals reward, the more you put in the more you get out, Positive mental attitude etc, blah blah blah. Get enough of the motivational talk at work? Me too. What is much more important is to enjoy your angling and to smell the roses along the way. We Carp anglers are fortunate people. I pity those who don’t have the outdoors in their lives. You simply cannot beat watching a stunning sunrise or sunset, or hearing the high pitched sound of a passing kingfisher. A bad days fishing is better than a good day at work. A good days fishing, well that’s just what life is all about!
Well there’s a few hints and tips. I hope there is something in this article that will either help or inspire you. Spring is just around the corner. One things for sure, Ill be out there, doing my one night a week in search of that elusive Whacker. Good luck…..
Is there such a thing as a bad days fishing?!
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