More Stalking Carp & Night Session

During the next few days on my angling adventures, my aim was to catch a carp from one of the harder lakes on my local club complex. The days were getting warmer and I was rather excited, deciding to target these carp from the harder lakes with surface or slow sinking baits, as well as bringing a few bits and pieces for some opportunist bottom bait fishing in the edge. I arrived the day after I had that enjoyable session with Ollie to find that a few carp on the middle lake were yet again cruising and basking. I tried again to gently lower baits into their path but all I was greeted with was the fish spooking and also completely ignoring my bait. I couldn't believe it at some of the points as I managed to gently get the bait to kiss the water and hardly leaving a dimple on the surface but they were still spooking. After a few hours of frustration, I placed a bottom bait in the edge on the middle lake on a small barrel bait which eventually was eventually engulfed by a bream. After this, I felt I should call it quits and go home and think about how to tempt those fish that were showing.

I again returned and tried the two harder lakes which again was a frustrating affair. This time I had stocked up on more dog biscuits as lose feed, therefore I opted to go on the slightly easier lake in search of getting off the mark. After a few minutes of trickling in dog biscuits I managed to get a few nice carp coming up and taking a few mixers and then dropping down again in the pads. It took a while to get one fish confident but with little helpings of mixers now and then one fish started to slurp a fair few up. I saw this as an opportunity, so I casted just above its path and tweaked the biscuit back slightly. This was a painstaking moment as the fish continued to slurp and coming rapidly closer to the hook bait. The first turned and slurped in my mixer along with another; this was met by a firm strike and I had a good fish on. I instantly put some steady pressure on the fish in order to guide it out of the pads, but unfortunately it kited at an unexpected time and therefore consequently pulling my hook. As you can imagine, I was disappointed as I was pretty sure it was a double figure fish, which to me would have been more than welcome. Not feeling too sorry for myself, I chucked out a few more mixers in the pads to see if I could re-gain another carp's confidence. After just over half an hour of watching the odd carp come up now and then and take the odd mixer, I noticed one fish quite happily helping himself to quite a few of my freebies. This I felt was another opportunity and as it was continuing to feed, I managed to cast perfectly over it and gently tease my biscuit bag with leaving barely a dimple on the surface film. This fish hurried to my biscuit in the appetising position it was, and with no suspicion whatsoever, took the bait as good as gold. I lifted decisively into a nice carp and I was ready to cup the spool when it tried to charge in the pads. After a mental battle of kiting left to right and diving down deep, putting my barbel rod to test, I managed to guide it into my waiting net. This was a great result and I punched the air with delight as I was so happy to get some great sport. This fish was no monster but decent enough for my liking! After this quick picture I slipped the nice common back to its watery home and after that I decided to head home and get some revision done.

Low Double Common off the top!

A day or so later, my good friend Oscar Bates and I chose to do a night on the middle lake. The lake itself is shallow and silty and has a good head of carp to over 20lbs (rumours of 30s), Tench to around 7lbs and some nice bream. We opted to fish bottom bait rigs with one rod each after carp and one rod each after bream or tench. Oscar had managed a rather large tench specimen from this swim from the reeds straight ahead, therefore we opted to put our tench and bream rods towards this zone. The carp rods we aimed at the pads nearby on the left after spreading a generous helping of bait in the area. I managed to hit the areas I wished first attempt and after a couple on his carp rod Oscar got a perfect cast on this carp rod. It was just after he had sunk his line and put on the bobbin his alarm screamed off, but when this was met with a positive lift into the take there was unfortunately nothing there. After Oscar put his rod back in, we had a good chat about various things and watched the light fade. It wasn't until midnight but after a few bleeps on my carp rod, it slowly started to rip off and I was also connecting into nothing. We both found this somewhat confusing as there was nothing wrong with our rigs or bait presentation. We assumed it was tench or bream picking up the bait and not being hooked properly but I still do wonder whether it wasn't carp getting away with it.

After a reasonably cold night and the light starting to arrive again, I re-casted both of my rods and it wasn't long after this until I got a run on the tench and bream rod. I lifted into a weight of some description, but this was a leaping bream! I was pleased to be off the mark. I re-casted again to the same spot and again, it wasn't long until a bream had latched onto my bait. After doing another quick flick into a similar position, the next take was a slow but decisive take with the bobbin shooting up. I was again connected to a small fish, but the way it was fighting would to me suggest it was a tench. Sure enough, a small male tench popped up which was great to see as it shows a hopeful sign of new big tench for the future. Oscar had also managed tench similar to this size, which is a good sign of flourishing recruitment for future bigger tench. One more bream was to follow, but it was a nice little session and social with Oscar and certainly looking forward to having more trips with him in the near future...

Tench for the future!

Tight Lines,

Tom

Stalking Pressured Carp with Ollie Johnson

The first session I arranged to meet Ollie Johnson for a bit of stalking on my local lake after a carp or two. I arrived at the lake and this was the hottest day of the year so far, and we both expected the carp to be on or near the surface. We started by walking straight to the top lake and instantly we were greeted with a very fine sight of carp, to what I reckon were over 20lbs, basking in the sun and slowly cruising around. Both Ollie and I were very excited by this sight and crept round the lake in search of more fish. The lake was low and had a lot of clarity, therefore we could both admire shoals of small roach and perch, as well as jack pike chasing them around. We arrived in the area known as 'the bowl' and admired some more carp merely cruising past casually.

After finishing the walk round the lake, we headed back to Ollie's car where we had left the tackle. On our way back though, we saw some reeds moving vigorously with clear ripples of carp moving around on the other bank. Luckily with this lake, it is accessible on the other side, as you can go down the middle on a point. We gingerly crept around and spotted a few fish, but the most likely to feed were the one's Ollie had noticed in the reeds. With polarising glasses he managed to locate one fish he thought was at least upper double and a few smaller fish around. Doing this preparation before hand meant that we had a good idea of what areas we were going to target. We quietly crept away and headed back to the car. We headed down the point where we had located those carp, including the more active ones in the rushes. Ollie headed quietly to the rushes and we both opted to fish a single lump of breadflake amongst the groups of carp. We used a size 8 hook with the top part of the flake merely pinched on at the top so could be fished on the surface or as a slow sinking presentation. I crept around and spotted a few fish and quietly put the bread flake in their path but they either didn't have the interest or confidence to investigate. With thoughtful stealth, Ollie flicked a generous helping of bread perfectly amongst the fish. After a few minutes, Ollie struck into a bite, but sadly pulled out of the fish. "That was a decent fish" he said. Not feeling disheartened, but cautious, as the strike caused some disturbance, Ollie re-placed his bait in a similar position. After slowly creeping towards moving fish, I saw a fish on its own near the pads. I managed to perfectly place the bread offering in its path, but just as it started to move towards the bait, the ducks homed in on it; I was left with no choice but to reel in, and therefore consequently spooking the fish. The next minute I looked up to check if any fish were about Ollie was calling me saying he was into one. I picked up the net and watched the fish lunge and kite in the reeds giving Ollie a good run around. After a bit of steady pressure from Ollie, the fish was ours. We lifted the fish onto the bank and it was a nice conditioned common of 8lb 14oz, a nice first result for the day.

After failing to tempt anymore carp which were basking and slowly cruising by, we ventured back up to the top lake. Ollie picked up some of his bottom bait gear as well, in order to target the carp that would possibly get their heads down as the temperature was dropping. We again were greeted with the same carp in sight slowly moving and basking with circular motions with their fins. We spotted a few carp patrolling in close and opted to try the 'single bread' method again. A nice looking mirror swam perfectly into Ollie's path and he set the bait agonisingly slowly sinking in front of where the fish was heading. The fish clearly noticed the bait and paused as if it was going to consider slurping it in. The bait continued to sink and we noticed the fish was closely trying to monitor the behaviour of the offering on Ollie's hook. At the most uncalled for time, as this was happening, a sudden gust of wind came upon us and affected Ollie's bread presentation which consequently meant that the fish ended up rejecting it. I also tried the slow sinking presentation in its path but it didn't even seem to think about considering it.

After briefly fishing the 'single bread' method in a more static way and having no interest, we decided to go to an area were there were some nice features where the carp were likely to be patrolling. I remained with the one barbel rod and Ollie started to get out his more 'beefed-up' carp gear for the job and flicked some bottom bait rigs a foot or so off the island where the water shelfs down deeper. I casted a zig in a zone where the fish were likely to be patrolling. The temperature was dropping, and the fish seemed to be too so I quickly rigged up with a basic bottom bait rigged and casted it to a nice gravelly area by a tree. Just as the light was fading and it was getting considerably more cold, the anglers opposite us got a screaming take and after what looked to be a very enjoyable fight indeed, they had landed a nice fish. Just as the light faded Ollie also received a screaming run and was also into a decent fish, here's a video clip of the fight:

It was a very nice result that Ollie had landed a couple of lovely carp with this lovely looking mirror going 17lb 6oz. We took a few quick photos and watched the carp swim back in the shallower water and then disappear into the depths. This was a lovely result as it was just before we were due to be heading home and was a nice meeting Ollie for the first time.

Ollie is currently in the process of launching a company, Clearwater Angling Solutions, which is going to be doing bits of terminal tackle for different coarse fishing demands, such as floats and also doing some great baits which will catch all sorts of species from bream to chub to big tench, barbel and carp!
Please check out their Facebook page for updates!

Tight Lines,

Tom Aldous

End of Season Chub and Reflections Video

Trotting and Legering for Chub & Dace Video