These days we tend to think that going for carp you will be taking boilies, going for silver fish and the maggot is king.
I was invited to spend a day with Stuart Heard and his father Stephen on a small lake in Oxfordshire. They are both members of the syndicate that owns the lake and during the close season it is only used by the twenty-odd syndicate members and invited guests, the rest of the year it is rented to a local club. It’s stocked with carp, tench, rudd, perch, and crucians and has a limited 40 pegs around it, many of which are solid platforms. Not only was it a free trip for me, but Stuart and Stephen offered to provide the bait as well, stewed wheat for groundbaiting and dyed chick peas for the hook, plus a few scattered on top of the wheat. Great, so we met up at 8:30 and took a brief walk around the lake and when we got to a little peninsula I knew that was where I wanted to make a pitch. Stephen advised me where to fish once we got the tackle out and set up.
I was tempted to cast out, but Stephen said no. Drop it in just down the edge beside those small rushes. So I placed it about 1 metre off and was quickly told “Too far”, so I brought it in to half a metre. “Still too far,” said Stephen and only when I tangled with the reeds was he happy. It’s a wonder I wasn’t fishing on dry land, it was that close, but the fall-off was quite significant and it was still three to four feet deep. Handfuls of wheat thrown into the reeds and allowed to fall through with a few chick peas on top and the first fish soon came to the net, a small carp of 2 lb. In fact the very first fish was a rudd that fell to a bare hook whilst I was setting the float, so I was told I couldn’t count that. After the second fish I switched to an area beside some trees and took a fish from there. Bites came regularly and I must have missed three times more than I hooked. Seeing how my wife had been digging the garden on Sunday and had saved the big lobs, I tried using them and that resulted in a three and half pound tench and a couple of more carp. Then I switched back to chick peas and after a couple of others including a nice little crucian I switched to some reeds on my left that had been moving. That resulted in a really fat little crucian of around two and half pounds and I say without any shame, it has to be my best crucian ever.
What was surprising me was their readiness to accept chick peas. I have tried them before without much success and they’ve usually gone in as groundbait with a boilie over the top. Here, no sooner had the bait touched bottom than twitches were evident, most of them were missed if I struck, but often enough the float would bury itself beneath the surface and another carp came to the net. In the end the best fish was possibly a double, nothing to excite BIG carp hunters, but then I wasn’t using a 3lb test curve carp rod. My tackle was a Daiwa Specialist Avon with a 1.25lb t/c, Arnold Kingpin centre pin reel and 8lb line (although I could have got away with 6lb, but no less!) The better fish bent the rod down to the butt and all that I can describe each fight as was pure unadulterated fun. The matchmen who hold matches through the season regularly catch 200lb plus of carp in a four hour match, so what I caught over 10 hours was nothing by comparison, but I wasn’t fishing with fine pole floats and poles with 16s elastic. I have no doubt that the catch rate would then increase, but my bit of peacock held with a band and size 10 barbless hook gave me all the fun I needed. Those who complain about these small carp fisheries and denigrate them as ‘mud holes’ should try them for themselves and if they say they’re not having pure fun I’d say they are stretching the truth somewhat.
Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t want to fish them relentlessly every day, but then I wouldn’t want to fish for barbel every day nor fish for big carp, nor roach and so on every day. Variety is the spice of life and come the start of the season proper, Stephen, Stuart and myself will be found on the rivers. For now why not treat yourself to a confidence booster, find a similar pond or lake near you and give it a go. The Bait The chick peas were soaked in water along with yellow food dye and almond essence, both available from supermarket shelves. Bring them to the boil in the same water adding a little more water so they don’t dry out. Don’t over-boil as the peas will continue to cook in the warm water. They should be soft enough to introduce a hook through, but not so that they’re splitting. Alternatively, you can always buy a couple of tins of pre-prepared chick peas from food stores. Pictures by Stuart Heard |
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