I relearned and old lesson last weekend, you may think you have the lake sorted out but no one tells the carp the rules.When I joined Shaun on our syndicatewater Grenville Lake he had already fished for 24 hours.He was fishing a swim in a bay that he knows well and has fished successfully over the last year. I chose a swim at the other side of the point on his right.Conditions for us both looked good.Within an hour I was getting liners over the Surf n’Turf and after three hours I had a run that I did not connect with.I sat confidently for another 24 hours; while the new wind that should have pushed the fish towards swung slowly around 360 degrees and the temperature cooled considerably.Was I worried was I hell? The fish in this lake always fish off the back of a cold wind.Don’t they?The wind picked up and I sat it out. (more…)
When fishing snags, tree lines or next to awkward features you will generally have more success if you place the rig tight under the tree coverage or very close to the snag during the day. The reason is that many carp, especially in pressured waters, tend to hold up tight under the trees or directly in the snags during daylight hours. This may be because there is noise and/or a disturbances, or probably due to the general angling pressure from fishermen. Whatever the reason, carp prefer to hold up in “safe” areas where they rarely get caught. In the past, I have placed effective carpfishing rigs up to 12 feet away from hanging trees when casting to the opposite bank, and on many occasions, have not caught all day. (more…)
by Scott Ratcliffe
How many of us take tins and rehydrated food out with us while fishing, even if its a short session or a weeks session? Here Im going to show how easy it is to cook fresh on the bank while youre waiting for that special take.
Having had to abort the session the previous Friday after just half an hour due to high water levels and a large amount of debris being carried through, I was more than keen to get back down for another session. All seemed right, the level was only about a foot up on summer levels and the waterclarity was reasonable.
I was cast out within minutes and was more than happy with the spots as I have had a few fish from them this season. I feel that knowing the area you are fishing is vital if you are only there for a limited period and it is almost dark when you arrive. Due to this I always have my rods ready with hookbaits on when I arrive and leave my leads in a side pocket of my rucksack along with my buzzer bars. One problem you get with the river is that the topography changes over the years and snags can get moved every time the high levels and floods come. Even existing snags change and get more branches etc attached to them, so feeling the lead down is vital even if you think the spots are clear. (more…)
With these dark nights and awful weather I thought it was time to have a smile. Any clean(ish) funny stories or happenings would be welcome. Below is my first contribution.
As some of you may be aware I am a mathematicsteacher. Years ago I was fishing a water that had both a syndicate and day ticket anglers. As it happened one of the pupils I taught and I were syndicate members. Now this lad was a really good kid, but not overly academic. Just to paint the picture he came round one morning really excited that he had caught a greencarp. Wow I thought, is this a carp from Mars? Or a new species? Or had he been on something? On going round to photograph it.. you guest it it was a tench.
Now one night the lads thought they would play a joke on him and placed a blow up against the back of his bivvy. Next morning, when the day ticket anglers arrived the comments were wonderful: (more…)
I just got home from a session abroad with some friends
When the trip was getting towards the end something happened too one of the other anglers that shocked me.
On his final morning a rat got in to his bivvy and was sitting on his face. When he woke up, and tried to scar the rat away it bit him in his ear leaving him devastated.
It was the first time I ever heard about something like this happening to an angler. But I am sure there are plenty more stories that are similar to this one.
I never encountered a thing as horrible as that, but do had some occurrences with wildlife in my fishingcareer birds cleaning my tackle cows watching me playing a fish. (more…)