Will kick off soon

Here we are nearly the middle of April and the weather is still not at its best for the time of year. The trees don't have the leaves on yet and the carp are still in winter slumber only the odd fish making an appearance on the cambs pit.

   I have only done 3 weekend Friday to Sunday sessions since my traditional new year eve session due to the weather. I feel that I have no need to sit it out in all weathers now I have done that in the past over the years for very little reward and am happy to leave it to the other lads that want to do it.

     So this weekend will be my 3rd full weekend. Weather forecast is looking up and should be by Sunday up in the high double figures BBQ weather and the zigs will be out although I have been trying them in the day with only one take that I missed due to taking a pee just as I started the buzzer started to make a noise the bobbin went tight against the delk and the rod tip was bobbin too. It was ether pee myself or hope it was still on when I finished I went for the latter option which turned out to be the wrong choice by the time I got to the rod the fish had slipped the hook.

       With the weather picking up it will not be long before the fishing kicks off and hopefully I will be there when it does. In the two week that I have been the only angler to catch is Spod with a stunning 30-01 common and Clippo who has had fish in his last two sessions although he has been having a few over the winter from a swim he has been baiting both was mirrors of 33lb and35lb.

    Happy clippo with just one of his mirrors at 35-12

     Spod with one of the cracking looking commons                                       this one was 30-01
                                                                                                 With the help of the carp gods i might get my first 40lb carp this year i was close again with this 39-10  

               Now I am back regular fishing the blog will be updated a bit more often hopefully with photos and videos of fish that's being caught along with tales of went on

 Till next time

Russ

                                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                              

   

Who wants to be a fieldtester

Who would be a fieldtester
It's the middle of February and sat in the house bored so I thought I would just put few words down for a bit for the blog.
Having been with 3 company's where I was a fieldtester I feel it's just not worth the hassle. The first company was active baits solutions not really a tester just getting the bait at a good price so I would help out on forums and and Facebook and of course on the blog with comments and photos of fish I had while using the bait although they never said I think I did a good a job for them.
Just over a year ago now i was not really on the look out for a new company but the lake I was joining does see its fair share of abs. So was looking for something different I asked sticky baits if I could buy there bait wholesale on Facebook within a few minutes my phone was ringing and it was a mate who does a lot with sticky baits he told me he would make the call and sort it for me .
True to his word the phone rang and it was someone from the company I told them what I was after and he told me that because I was recommend by my mate I would be sent a field tester price list by email. " Don't you want to see what I can do for the company with my blog,videos and the like" I said "No your mate says this and that that's good enough for us" came the reply. That was it I was now a fieldtester for sticky baits I thought this was it the real deal.
I had to tell Paul at ABS which I thought was only fair he wished me luck and all the best I thanked him for all he had done for me.                                      I brought 50kilo of vortex along with pop ups and glugs and started to use it on the lakes I was fishing at the time it was catching fish from the off and I was pleased on how it was going writing and making some videos for my blog and doing my bit on Facebook and twitter. I run out of pop ups and phoned up to buy some more I put my order in with the guy that made the call to me that let me on the team. Not one word was asked on how I was getting on with the bait or what I thought about it nothing. I put the phone down and just thought that was strange they don't seem interested in how I am doing what's that all about ???
A couple of weeks went by when I received an email from sticky saying that if I wanted to keep being a feildtester then I was to send in my cv as they was revamping the company and was looking to hand pick a few people to move the company forward which was fine but i felt that I had been let down they took me on without a cv when I offered them one then because it didn't suit they dumped me I was not happy i had 40killo of bait in the freezer that they was happy to sell to me which by the way was not that cheap To say I was gutted and let down was the only way I can describe how I felt. When I sat and thought about it they was only interested in selling bait it was not about feed back or me doing my best for the company it was about profit and selling bait.
What could I do I carried on using the bait when I got talking to a guy that had just started up his own company and was willing to give me a chance as a key consultant now that was exciting. I still had a load of sticky in the fridge so I had to get rid of that to get the new bait. After a few weeks and losing a lot money on the sticky I put the order in for the new bait again it was not cheap but I thought that it would come good. I was thinking that once the company had a foot hold in the door and was doing well that's when I would be rewarded for the effort I was willing to put in.
I joined the new water and started to again use the new bait it did really well almost catching from the off I was getting better and had software to edit the videos so I could put the company logo on there and blog was going nice getting loads of hits and i had 3 x 30lb fish to 39-10 in as many sessions had the photos in carptalk the lead shed seemed happy that I was pushing the leads and tackle that he does things was all good I thought I was doing a dam good job.
All that in a matter of only a few months till after a text message conversation with the company he asked how was I getting on with the wafters I said I didn't have any that was the last message. After another text message conversation I found out that the bait I had brought from the company was let's say it was not rolled right it was very crumbly i did find that i had to mount the bait on the hair by using a splicng needle other wise it just fell apart. The company that did the rolling for him had made an error. O dear I had 50kilo of it sat in the freezer but it was catching fish again nothing was offered or said i mean in the way of replacing the bait even though he had sent e batch back and got it replaced.    I just kept thinking that it was a new company and it would pay off in the end and come all good.     All my fishing while on the bait had been on bottom baits I had not used the pop ups what so ever. I put one on a size 5 stiff rigger choddy and dropped it in the margins it sank the pop up could not hold it up. I was not happy i had bait that just did not come up to standard that I wanted in a bait I had been reeling in bait that had been sat there over night and the bait had gone because it was too soft to stay on the hair and now I had pop ups that would not pop up and I had paid again good money for. Ok maybe the text I sent was a little bit angry but it was how I was feeling at the time.     As a key consultant for this company ( his words not mine ) I felt it was time to just say enough is enough I was not offered anything back I was put a bit back about the wafters would it have broke the bank to send me a pot to try for free I think not and there was other things that was just a joke I was glad to be out of it to be honest I now no that these company's just sell you bait at x price and sit back and let you tell who will listen how great the bait is. I worked hard for both company's and got nothing in return. Not even a phone call saying I was doing a good job or not even a phone call to say I was doing a shit job ether ha ha
What I am saying is think long and hard if you are offered a testers job think about what you get back for your hardwork it's you that's sat on the bank in all weathers spending your time there then putting yourself out to get in the papers or what ever its not all about because you have been offered bait at £6.50kilo which by the way is better profit selling bait to than to a shop
      It will be spring soon and the carp will start to wake up think it will be a better year for me on the cambs pit i have got the first year out the way and things will come together  and the carp will come to the net.
Anyway that's me done till next time stay lucky
Russ

Ramblings

Funny how things work out one day all your fishing comes together and you think you have clicked with the water when bang it smacks you back in the face the following week. Since the the last two fish I have had 2 blanks. but that is carp fishing for you and if it was that easy we would probably not do it.
I sometimes sit and think why the hell do we do it week after week sitting in all kinds of weather sometimes cold, and wet waiting hours ,days or even weeks for that one bite only to play the fish for a few minutes then photograph it and then put it back to do the whole thing over again. It's no wonder the wife's,girlfriend, and partners just don't get it and think we are all mad.
         Apart from the time we spend on the bank it's all so the amount of money that we spend on the things that we use to catch our favourite scaly backs. With the price of tackle nowadays its a miracle that when we do have the gear we can still afford to go. Who ever goes into a tackle shop just for a look. No one we go in with no intention of buying anything because you think you have everything you could possibly need. But within seconds there staring you in the face is the latest gadget,bait,tackle or what ever and you just got to have it. Only to come out the shop with a load of stuff you don't even want or won't even use and the poor old wallet has took a real bashing. It's not just getting the gear it's also the price of petrol the food bill. I don't no about you but i just pig out on junk food crisps,biscuits,chocolate and the odd take away which all adds to the cost of going. And not forgetting bait. All the different types of glugs,dips. Boilies,pop ups it's just never ending. Now I have sat back and wrote this I am now thinking is it worth it ( laughing out loud )
            This now brings my thoughts on to how much time we spend on the bank for me it's mostly every weekend. Work for me just gets in the way of my past time
But it's always an end to a means and work has to be done to pay for the life style I have and for the family that I love.   Its maybe most anglers dream to be able to fish 24-7 like some of the top boys do. But sit back an really think about it for a while would you really want to fish everyday week in week out??
          I love my fishing after all I have been doing it over 30 years now. But I would not want to go full time. I used to do a week every year one in France then the other on a water over here I used to look forward to them two weeks. but I was always glad to get home and have a week or two off before going back to the weekends chase.
      I take my hat off to anglers that want to fish full time jim Shelley, Ian Russell just to name two that are what I call full timers they do tuition's to make their living then like us normals have to take time off to do there on fishing. For me that's just too much fishing and as much as I love it I would soon get fed up being on the bank that amount of time how they keep the buzz is beyond me. Takes a special kind of angler to commit to that much time and effort. Is that why these carp anglers are top of there game maybe??
Well these are just some of my thoughts I would share with you while I am sat here behind the rods
Till next time
Russ

Over the edge

            There was 7 on the lake on the Friday night so it was a case of drop in where I could. I was in the swim where I had the big girl from and as I new the swim a bit the rods was placed in double quick time. Bivvy up and bedchair sorted the kettle was found I the bottom of the bag and a brew was soon on the go. It's now early autumn and the nights are getting longer by the day soon the clocks will go forward or is it back? Any the bed was calling by 10 with a few liners I was hopefully of a fish. I never sleep well on my 1st night and had a restless night only to be woken by the liners I was getting off 2 of the rods. That was about as exciting as it got the night soon came and went into dawn. These days I have a little longer in the sleeping bag than I used to must be my age or the fact that if I was to spot fish I could not move anyway as the lake was pretty full. Saturday was not very good the sun was hot in the sky and the fish just started to poke the backs out of the water and cruse around on top a zig went out for the day but I do hold my breath on it working. It's also a mare on here as its mostly 18-23 foot deep.
       Nick text me at 4pm did I want a take away for my tea Too bloody right i did and swift text was sent back with my order. By 7.30 I was into what can only be the best value for money half pound Burger and chips in the world it was epic to say the lest. Eyes bigger than my belly I struggled to eat it all just leaving a few chips ( well I still had some midget gems ) I sat back put the iPad on and watched the movie the Avengers assembly. The buzzers never buzzed as I fell to sleep only to be woken be carp crashing to my left up on the north bank. They spent most of the night up there.
      Sunday morning and it looked like another blank was on the cards . Mark had been baiting a small area just off the reed line about half a rod length out. He lives close to the lake and been going down after work and baiting it with a few bits and bobs. He had taken a 25lb linear off it in the morning  Saturday afternoon and I had sat and watched 9 fish grubbing around I the spot one a mirror called scargill was there he had been out at 34lb only a few weeks ago.

                          Clippo with the linear at 25-14

As nothing was happening in the middle of the lake I baited the spot and dropped a small 3" hooklink along with a 3oz lead on it. Anything that picked that up would deffo be nailed. It was the next swim to mine only a matter of yards so the sounder box was switched on. I kept nipping back to see what was going on. There was fish on the spot heads down and tails up only a matter of time before one slipped up.
I watched as the fish buried themselves in a cloud of sand as they went mad sucking and blowing food. It's really easy why they get away with not being hooked. At least twice the hook bait was taken by the carp and just spat out. One of the carp that was in the group was scargill again I saw him on top of the hook bait 2 or 3 times only to miss it by millimetres. It was a real buzz standing there watching and waiting heart stopping stuff at times. As the feeding got more intense one of them shot of across the lake he was the one with my hook all the others was spooked too. And the battle began.
       This one was not happy he wanted to bury his self in the weed at point he got his head down and did get in it the power he had was immense but I kept the line tight and the tension on as I pulled him free of the weed he came to the top with half the weed still over his head. He shook that off and found new strength and then again trying to bury him self back in the weed but I held on and got his head up once again he came out of the water and took in air he was beat and the battle was mine. I soon had everything set up while he rested in the bottom of the landing net. Scales zeroed and he was in the sling and weighed in at 25-08 Again he was in great shape as all the fish are. So the effort paid off and it saved a 3rd session blank. I was going home a happy man with a smile put back on my face.

The rig that caught it short 3" hooklink along with a 3oz leadshed distance lead coated in leafs the yellow foam is foam from a factory earplug cut down

        Clippo had a few days off works. So took the chance to get down the lake. He was only there a few hours baiting the spot up again and watching when he nailed scargill at a nice 35-10  Then followed it up with fish of 34-06 and 33-01 not all off the spot but that's good angling 3 x 30lb plus fish in 12 hours.

                         Clippo with the old warrior scargill

Till next time
Russ

Another one bites the dust

                After having the 39lb i had already made the decision to take the following weekend off and spend it with my granddaughter trouble is i have 3 two of them at the age (7) that no what they want an they wanted to go to the seaside. We did all the fun stuff and it was a great couple of days.    The following weekend however was a very different story the weather thought it would start a mini summer and because it was so nice i stayed at home again spending some time with the family which gave me some bonus points.
     This has put me in the good stead to fish now till christmas hopefully banking a few Autumn and winter waterpigs in all there winter colours. Anyway it was the weekend again the van was loaded and travelling south at a rate of knots. I pulled threw the gates to find only a few cars in the car park i grabbed a bucket and went for the usual walk to a peg.   The wind was blowing a nice gentle sw and the north bank was free with fish topping and rolling it was the best choice for the night. The barrow was soon loaded and i was on my way round to the swim with my bucket in there. With the nights drawing in so fast now i am racing against time to set the rods up and get a couple of spots found while i have light.   I had 2 rods set up and cast out with a hand full of bait placed around them.  I was only fishing a rod length or so off the margin they seem to like to travel along the marginal shelf that runs close in along the bank.

        The bivvy house was set up before the dark beat me and the 3rd rod was set up this time with a fox rapid bag with a few loose boilies and chops in and was cast again just a couple of rods lengths out. Then it was lay back and chill with a nice cup of tea.   It was not long when the eyelids started to get heavy and the thoughts soon turned into dreams as i got into the bag for the night and into a deep sleep.  Before i new it it was daylight and another bleepless night. Thats how most friday night goes so no surprises there.
      The rest of the day saw the fish roll and crash all over the lake with no swim getting anymore attention than the next so i sat tight i was the only one on this side bank so only my lines was that end of the lake.  The take away meal of Kebab was soon put to rest and at 9.00pm i was tooked up in the bag. I hate these long winter nights.
    Blllleeeeeeppppppp was what i opened my eyes too at around 12.30am the left hand rod was away it was still taking line when i got to it which meant it had not found a weedbed to bury its head in.  It was not long and it was in the net i could see right away i had another big mirror in there. I got everything ready and gave my mate flash a shout on the 2 way and asked him to take the photo's   As flash has fished the lake for 6-7 years he has seen these fish grow on he new the fish he had it at a lower weight. The scales was zeroed and the carp was lifted.   I was right it was another big mirror banging the needle round to 35lb on the button what could i say that was 2x30lb plus fish in two sessions I was buzzing big time now nothing beats the buzz of catching big fish.

                                      The one they call lumpy at 35lb

    Photos done fish back in the water safe and me back in the bag chatting all things carpy to flash on the 2 way till i heard his buzzer scream out he was in to another of the lakes big fish I was soon stood at the side of him as he played the fish and soon i slipping the net under it. A cracking 34lb mirror one that flash had had  before a couple of times at lower weights it's all ways good to see that they are growing and fit and well.

                                  Flash with his 34lb waterpig Well done mate


    So all in all a great weekend for both me and flash. As i write this i have since had 2 weekend blanks but that is carp fishing for you some you win some you lose.

  Till next time
     Russ

Getting Close just 6oz

 Its August bank holiday when the boss asks me if i would take the Tuesday off as well which made it a 4 day trip was on the cards. The weather was not going to be the best for fishing with high pressure during the day i would just have to make the best of what i had after all it was 4 days of what i love doing.
     I set up in a swim that i had not fished before which meant i could put a rod on to the tip of the Island and the free offerings about a killo was spombed  over the top what a great bit of kit the spomb is. The one i use is the mini spomb it delivers 15 x 15mm baits at a time and it saves me carring a spod rod to do it.  The other 2 rods was spread around with a a killo of bolies on one rod and over the other 3 killos of mixed particles.

      The first fish came at 2 in the morning a nice looking mid double common that gave a good account of its self it had a really big tail which would explain why.

               That was the only fish i had during that sunday and the lake seemed to just go dead normally the fish are rolling and showing all over the lake but it was so hot and not so much as a breeze.  The carp just came up and was just swimming under the surface so 2 rods was changed to zigs. I have used zigs on the folly before and not had a one yet but when there on top or just below you just got to give it a go they could just switch on to the zigs at any time. One lad did try the zig when he sat watching them roll for 12 hours without a pick up on bottom bait and changed to zigs he ended up with 11 takes with the biggest going 32lb.

    Monday soon came with just 3 of us on the lake and the wind due to pick up i was confident that things was going to change i had heard fish crashing and rolling all night in the deep water to my left. At mid morning the wind started to pick up and within 2 hours wind speed was up to around 25 mph it was just what the doctor ordered carp was showing all over in front and to my left over the particles i made the decision to reel in the right hand rod and put it over the to the particle area too it was a good idea because it ripped off within minutes of me casting it there.  It was a short battle because the hook pulled i soon had the it in and checked the point it was still sharp so i rebaited it with enigma pro boilie and recast it back to the zone. The carp where still going mad and was enjoying the windy conditions when the second  run of the afternoon came this time to the right hand rod i made sure i pulled into this one a little harder and within what seemed only a few moments it was in the net a cracking mirror this time of 24lb.

                                              24lb mirror

   Right i have saved the best bit till last its now tuesday morning and the lake once again looks void of carp nothing showing anywhere.Its my last day and the sun is getting stronger by the hour so i decide to pack up early and spend sometime with the good lady. But i thought i would just have a mooch about first i had my receiver for the delkims and had a look in the pads. You can stand there and watch them come in and out of the lilies again nothing was showing so i walked back past my swim and went to the next swim up from mine again after a few minutes watching and seeing nothing i walked back to my swim where i saw the bobbin on the middle rod move only a twitch before it went into melt down unbelievable i thought as i pulled into it. Right away i could feel the x-line grating threw the weed that it had picked up on the take i was now thinking that the line would break or the hook would pull.  It was just one massive ball of weed as big as a mini car roof . I just kept the line tight and pulled gentle till the ball of weed was in the swim i put on my waders jumped in and started to part the weed i new the fish was in there but just could not find it. But there at the back of the weed was the fish with its head buried in the weed  it never looked that big.  I thought might do 20lb.
     I new that i could get the landing net under the fish so thats what i did i slipped the net down the side of the fish and as i scooped it in it rolled over on its side.  It was massive bigger than the 20lb i thought when i first saw it more like a mid 30. I could not help my self from laughing i new it was a big un and how lucky i was to get it in with all that weed around it.   Everything was set up camera, scales, water,weigh sling and i was ready to see just how big this mirror was i lifted the scales up to read them 39-10 a new pb for me i could not believe it over the moon i was. The photos was done and a video was done fish was back in its home and i was one happy carp angler.


Here is the video of that bank holiday with footage of some of the carp i had plus the big mirror Hope you enjoy watching it

    Till next time thank you and have a good un
   Russ

A brand new start

 By the time you read this i am well into the new water and after a sticky start things have started to turn round and the carp are coming to the net. Firstly i would like to point out that i am no longer using sticky baits and i have now moved on and am pleased to say that i am now using Steve Renyards pro boilies and the carp seem to like them too Also i am also being sponsored by The Lead Shed and they are quality leads i must say Well that's the plugging out of the way lets get on with the blog.
   The new lake is great full of big fish and it was a shock when i got down there for my first trip on the main lake. The last time i had seen the lakes was back in January when the trees was empty of leaves and things was looking a bit bleak. It was now june and my god things had grown the swim i last fished was covered right over by over hanging branches full of color the grass was 8 inches in height it looked so inviting.

                             Just one of the many sexy looking swims

The first trip was a bank holiday just to get a feel for the place and meet other members There is only 20 members on it and 10 was fishing that weekend so a few was met and we chatted about the coming year and how we was all looking forward to catching the carp that swam in the lake. All though i blanked it was good just to soak up the feel for the surroundings It was after a couple of trips that i had my first folly carp out a cracking 24lb linear nice and dark with a lovely off white belly.

                         24lb of stunning linear proper looking carp

Over the coming few weeks the fish was coming nice a steady with one or two gracing the net every weekend Most was just doubles commons and mirrors Here is a nice common one of a three fish i had that weekend.

           Not the biggest in the lake but who cares when they look like this

I had walked round the lake to find the fish held up in one of the corners of the lake they seem to like this area when its a nice hot day

                                         Found em
I set up about 30 yards down the bank away from where they was i put 2 rods out in the margins a rod length out in 8 foot of water the lake is like tap water so i went naked no leadcore and fluro hook links size 8 hooks and 2 enigma bottom baits on the hair with a good scattering of hemp and groats no bolies only the hook baits then sat back waiting for them to come down the margin and find the bait. In between where i had placed the 2 rigs was a tree in which i could climb and watch for the carp coming and going i spent hours up that tree as the fish came in had a little bit of the bait then swam off only to come in again and repeat it all over again it was only a matter of time before one of them slipped up and took the rig. I watched as 6 carp was on it feeding on the baited hemp and groats 3 of them was well over the 30lb plus mark. I climbed down out of the tree as if i had a run i new i would end up falling out of it trying to rush to get to the rods.

      Within seconds of walking round to the rods the one that the carp was over ripped into life then all hell was unleashed as this carp went on a rampage. Having made a good attempt at escape i slipped it into the net at first look i could see it was a good upper 20lb. The scales told the truth though and the needle stopped dead on 31lb Happy days my first 30lb carp from the lake. They had just been spawning that week so i had 3 photos took and slipped it back as i did not want to stress the fish too much (  it was caught 2 weeks later at 29-05 )

                               Hope i have more of these

Well that brings us up to date and i hope i keep catching so i have something to write about so till then tight lines

Russ