Join Ian Chillcott in this exclusive show from Carp Channel Monthly which is free to view HERE on FishingMagic
‘To feed or not to feed, that is the question…’ Or rather that was the question for the former owners of Boyton Cross Lake on the Cleveley Fisheries complex in Essex and they went for the latter, banning all use of loose offerings.
The result is that the carp in this crystal clear water grew slowly and, although the fish are up to 35 years old, they are lean, mean and mostly under 20lb in weight. However, as Chilly was to find out, they are some of the most stunning carp you have ever seen.
This made-for-TV programme is both an insight into how a top carp angler tackles a new water and a journey into the mind of Ian Chillcott, as he begins to question his carping ethos. What exactly has the size of your quarry got to do with it, when the fish are this handsome?
Chilly is forced to use his legs and his watercraft skills on this 30ft deep gravel pit, and eventually he locates a group of carp and gets them feeding on the surface. But as anyone who has fished for carp off the top knows, getting them taking the mixers, and fooling them into grabbing hold of one with a hook attached, are two very, very different things.
Chilly runs through his balanced set-up and shows how to set up a safe controller rig for surface fishing, with a few excellent tips like how to feed mixers at long range. He also explains why he prefers braid to mono main line for this kind of work.
Having (eventually) snaffled a superb-looking, bronzed mirror carp, Chilly is then determined to see if he can catch on the deck, and he sets about finding a gravel bar where the fish might feed using PVA bag tactics.
As the light fades he begins to bag one stunning, torpedo-shaped, battling Boyton Cross carp after another and Chilly starts to ponder his whole approach to UK carping, and begins to realise that when fish are this beautiful, size really does not matter at all.
It’s free to view, split into three parts, in the March issue of Carp Channel Monthly – the video magazine for dedicated carp anglers everywhere. Just click HERE and use the arrows to scroll through the playlist.
