Here is a scenario I see time and time again wherever I fish. Carp anglers find a spot they like the feel of with their marker floats, like a gravel patch or a gap in weed. Then they check out the actual condition of the bottom of the lake around their marker float by casting their actual fishing rods, rigs and all, to the spot they have identified. Then they pull back - with the rigs they are about to bait up with, all along the bottom. Why would anyone do that? (more…)
by Ron Key
American Signal Crayfish are here and they are spreading virtually unchecked. I first encountered them a few years ago in the Colne Valley where there were actually stocked in some waters to cultivate as food.They eventually escaped and have now spread over the whole of mainland UK. They are much larger than our native crayfish, and carry a fungus that is deadly to them. From an angling perspective they are so frustrating. The crayfish are relentless they will try to eat everything; this includes your hooklink and boilie stop.I gave up using mono hooklinks very quickly as the crayfish nipped the line seriously weakening it.I use soft braids or coated braids now; they tend to fold when nipped rather than deforming but they do need examining regularly for damage.I also hide the hair stop when possible as this is usually the first thing to be eaten, leaving your boilie free for the crayfish to rob you.At best the only indication you will get is a single beep of your buzzer and you are no longer fishing.
I decided to write this piece about one of the hooklink presentations I have been using to good effect this season. I would recommend the use of this rig on firm bottoms such as sand and gravel, light silt and sparse weed, but not fished in thick weed or heavy silt as I feel the hooklink may sit up off the bottom awkwardly.
Just recently I have started using a lot more combi-link rigs again, and for the life of me I can’t remember why I stopped using them in the first place, perhaps the introduction of the coated braids maybe played a part in this. With a lot of anglers switching to combi-rigs made by simply stripping coating off the braid I think I may have been a little paranoid that the fish would suss it out and my results would suffer.
I used them almost all the time in the late nineties and I guess I must have either moved onto a venue that I found an alternative more productive, or as I said, become paranoid about their effectiveness with so many other anglers now using a similar type of presentation. Anyway I have been using them quite a lot again this year on a couple of venues and have tweaked them to suit my requirements really well. (more…)
One of my favourite methods of carpfishing is using PVA bags. We all know it can be an absolutely deadly method of catching carp but even more so when used at long range where the carp have rarely come across this presentation. The first time I tried to cast a PVA bag a long way, the bag didn’t stand up to the job and I wasn’t confident with the overall result. So I decided to set about making a rig which would cast well and not tangle. The rig below is what I now use for all my long range bag work, it’s simple to construct, casts well, tangle free and prevents the bag coming away from the lead on impact with the water.
I would be interested to read some of the other consultants and customers stories of their favourite sessions. It is always nice to reminisce about past results and moments on the bank that make you smile when you think back to them.
Setting the picture
I remember a session back in 1990 I think it was and I had been struggling in my early quests to catch Carp and hadn’t managed to catch a single double figure fish from my local pond.
Armed with a bag of ready made Richworth boilies and my 2 daiwa sensor rods I was off for a weekend sleeping on the floor in the back of my mates bivvy.
At this time I was only an apprentice toolmaker on about £40 a week so every penny counted and a bed chair and bivvy were way out of my price range.
It was either the last week in September or the First week in October if my memory is correct and it rained all weekend.
Just spent a week-end in real heavy winds. the Cambridgeshire lake I am fishing seems to always have a gale blowing across it. I guess because of the size of the place 1 3/4 mile around the bank then the wind builds up more momentum across it than it would appear to do on smaller sheltered lakes. Also Cambridgeshire isn’t the sort of place you go off on a hill walking or mountaineering holiday - it is pretty flat. (more…)
Here is a scenario I see time and time again wherever I fish. Carp anglers find a spot they like the feel of with their marker floats, like a gravel patch or a gap in weed. Then they check out the actual condition of the bottom of the lake around their marker float by casting their actual fishing rods, rigs and all, to the spot they have identified. Then they pull back - with the rigs they are about to bait up with, all along the bottom. Why would anyone do that? (more…)![[del.icio.us]](http://www.questbaits.com/blog/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/delicious.png)
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