Spending
time on a venue observing is just as important as time spent fishing. Not only is it enjoyable to sit in the warm
sunshine on a summers evening watching the kingfishers dart across the lake,
buzzards circling high above and the rabbits venturing out from the safety of
the hedgerow for a quick nibble on the dandelions, you also gain an idea of the
carps habits, patrol routes their numbers and size.
When
conditions suited I spent many hours watching the carp in the lake prior to
fishing for them. My main aim was to
roughly work out the number of carp present as my tactics would vary depending
on the stock. On sunny afternoons some
of the carp would behave as expected and visit the shallows, enjoying the warm
water, here I could observe their feeding habits. The most carp I saw at any one time was
4! They generally visited in twos or
threes, a few of these fish I could identify as the same fish on different
occasions however these areas where never “black” with fish and on days when
the conditions were perfect to see carp basking in the shallow water, I still
rarely saw more than two at a time.
Other waters
I have fished with much higher stocks of fish I have witnessed dozens of carp
in small areas of the lake as they enjoyed the summer sunshine, I guessed the
stock of this captivating water at maybe a dozen fish, I am certain I would
have observed more carp in these areas if they were present. As I was only fishing for a handful of carp I
started to put together a plan to catch them.
At the time it felt as if I was attempting to pot a snooker ball on a
table the size of a football field!
When
starting a campaign on your chosen water you have to decide what is going to be
your ultimate goal. Whether you are
targeting the biggest fish in the lake or simply trying to increase your catch
rate you will require a plan of attack.
For instance, if I was targeting a specific fish in a venue I would gain
as much knowledge as possible on that fish, where it is most often caught? What
bait was it caught on? What time of year did it mostly make an appearance on
the bank? In my case I had no other
anglers to exchange knowledge with, these fish had never been angled for so I had
to rely on techniques that had served me well in the past. Thankfully carp are generally creatures of
habit and behave similarly on different venues.
I had decided to catch as many of the inhabitants as possible, I had
already gained an idea of the numbers of carp in the water and had started to
build a knowledge of some of the areas they visit. The best way of finding feeding areas is by
spotting carp head and shoulder or crashing out of the water however these wily
carp rarely showed themselves and I only witnessed one carp crash out during
daylight hours and that was in a small bay just above the shallows. So with this in mind prebaiting would
probably be my best option, creating feeding areas attracting carp to my chosen
spots.
Using a
marker float and rod I spent several hours accurately finding the depth from
the margins right out towards the middle of the lake and locating any clear
areas between the weed. Although local
knowledge is always helpful I take such advice with a pinch of salt until I
have investigated the information personally.
I remember standing on the banks of a water some years ago having a
conversation with a grizzly faced seasoned angler who had been born and raised
in that particular area, he commented that an overgrown corner of the lake was
famously “bottom less!” Once the aged angler had left I was intrigued to find
out the cavernous depths on the venue. Within
3 minutes I had accurately plumbed it to just over 9 feet! Not quite what I was expecting! Local knowledge can be helpful and also
misleading and in most cases it is worth investigating personally to give yourself
peace of mind.
My venue was
fairly uniform, margins shelving down to 6 foot with around 8 foot towards the
middle of the lake with the odd deeper area reaching 9-10 feet. The shallows were 2-3 foot, a depth the carp
enjoyed on summer afternoons. Making a
detailed map of my chosen venue is something I have done since I started carp
fishing many years ago and they have proved invaluable throughout the seasons
as a reference. I will map a new water
within weeks of fishing it to help me build up a picture of the lakes features,
the rest of the season the marker rod can stay in the holdall, when I arrive in
my swim for that particular session I can refer to my map and if no fish are
showing work out the best areas to place a hook bait.
One
particular area on this venue was a clear patch towards the middle of the lake
which was surrounded by weed, if this was not already a feeding area I felt I
could persuade the carp to feed here away from the sanctuary of the nearby weed
beds.
The other spot that I fancied
introducing some bait into on a regular basis was a crater like area the size
of a pool table, 9 foot in depth it was a clear depression as the surrounding
depth was only 8 foot. This raised a few
questions, with the lake bed being so soft had the carp created this depression
with regular feeding here? This was
worth further investigation. These were
the two areas of the lake I decided to prebait as I did not want to bait too
many areas as I required the carp to visit more often, returning for food
once they had accepted my boilies as part of their diet.
There were
other obvious clear patches amongst the weed in the shallows however I decided
these would be best left for any opportunist fishing, mostly stalking, that
came my way during the hazy summer afternoons and not to be prebaited. I required a couple of lines of attack,
prebaiting and stalking would be my best options and believed these would give
me results and if not then reassess the situation at that point.
Time would
also be a factor, being a single parent, sessions would have to be planned in
advance and if an opportunity to go fishing presented itself my gear would have
to be ready to be loaded into the van at short notice. I had to make the most of my situation and as
I worked within a mile of the lake when time permitted during my lunch hour I
would nip to the lake to throw in my freebies knowing I had a session planned
within a few days. On my shorter day
sessions stalking would be my main tactic and the prebaited spots would be
fished during my longer sessions.
All that was
left for me to do was to start prebaiting at least a couple weeks prior to my
first session and put my plan into action, I was excited at the prospect to
hopefully tempting some uncaught forgotten carp to the bank.
To be continued……
William sat still, well still for him as hes such an active child, while I rigged the rods up, I cast the carp rods out for Isaac as he isnt confident enough yet to cast close to the overhanging foliage which is often the best place for a quick bite on this venue. As I turned my attention to Williams float rod one of the bite alarms burst into life however as I was tying on a small hook to complete the float set up, by the time I picked the rod up the fish was snagged in the roots of the trees that lined the far bank. It was my own fault I forgot to set the bait runner to locked up and it was easy for the carp to take line and reach its sanctuary. I had no choice but to pull for a break and the hooklink snapped, so after replacing the hooklink and rebaiting, the rod was soon recast to the same spot, this time with the bait runner done up tight!
Isaac sat close to the carp rods as I started to teach William how to hold the float rod and on out first cast the float dipped and we pulled in a pristine rudd. I was fishing about 3 feet deep in about 5 feet of water as there were plenty of rudd up in the water and with every cast half a dozen grains of sweetcorn were flicked in around the float with a single grain on the hook. I was using the rod like a whip with enough line let out o as not to use the reel, however as boys do, William could not resist turning the reel handle when the float dipped, so since then I have bought him a fishing whip which he should find easier to use on our next trip.
It was soon Isaacs time to shine as the same rod went into action he picked the rod up and with a few pointers on the best way to hold a rod when playing a fish and few tips on adjusting the drag he soon had the carp splashing by our bank as both myself and William netted the fish. A lovely carp about 3lb was soon on the mat and both the lads held it up for a photo before gently releasing him back to the water.
William soon got the hang of feeding sweetcorn every so often when suddenly the float shot away, not like the dozen or so rudd we had already managed this fish meant business and as Isaac was sat with William at the time they both played a small carp into the waiting net, it gave a good scrap on the light float gear and I was proud of them both for staying calm as they played the fish. 
Then all of a sudden the float once more shot away with vigour and it was obvious another carp had taken the single grain of corn, Isaac called for my help as we were using light line on the float set up, I took control of the rod as William held the butt section, the carp gave us a merry run around as he dived for the wooden platform before we guided it over the waiting mesh as Isaac did the netting honours. It was beautiful carp to catch on the float and a testament to lads with keeping up the feeding all day which had obviously attracted the carp into their swim.
It was the last carp of the day, 5 in total, 3 on the helicopter rigs and an uncountable number of obliging rudd fell to the float rod. My biggest concern was keeping William entertained throughout the session however not once did he complain he was bored and hopefully this is good sign for his new found love of fishing. Every fish made his face light up and having now bought him a fishing whip I am already planning his next session. It was an enjoyable day with memories that will last a life time.
