Big Rik Belenger is better known as ‘Carp Angler’ or ‘Big Rik’ on the FISHINGmagic Forum, where he is appreciated for his generous help to all and sundry. He has now extended that help with a regular carp fishing column for FISHINGmagic ‘The Carp Column’.
About Rik
Rik started fishing at the age of four on his local tiny tidal river, catching eels and small wild trout on worm. 
Not having had any angling family members, all his early fishing was solitary and this seems to have carried through to the present.
Like most anglers nowadays, he has a full time job and his fishing time is limited.He currently lives in the depths of Hampshire, and so is within easy reach of some excellent venues.
He has in the past, and still does, fish for most species, although his greatest love is for carp fishing, which is how the majority of his time is spent.
He now finds himself more thrilled with overcoming the intricacies and problems associated with catching carp, rather than the actual weight of the fish he catches and the so-called glory that goes with it.
Adaptability is the Key to Success
Most of my carping nowadays is based around difficult, low stocked and mostly under-fished waters. To keep myself fresh and to make things harder, I limit myself to a maximum session length of 24 hours. Writing about how I attack this type of venue would probably not be relevant to the majority of carp anglers, but the experience I have gained through fishing for and catching from all manner of other waters enables me to go to very difficult venues and apply that knowledge to give me an edge and a far greater chance of success.
As in all forms of fishing, adaptability is the key to success.
If you are stagnated in your approach or are unsure about using different methods, you are severely restricting your chances. There may be resident fish in that comfortable swim that is the short chuck to the island, using your standard 18mm bottom bait on your normal 10in braid hook-length with your usual 3oz lead.
But what if the wind has turned?
They may be on the opposite side of the island, in the light weed and feeding on snails.
What depth are they feeding at?
Are they feeding hard or just browsing?
Does that patrol route have any feeding points along it?
These are the type of questions you need to continually ask yourself if you want to carry on catching.
I’ll give you an example of what to avoid.
I’ve recently started fishing a difficult, highly pressured gravel pit. On my first visit I had a walk around, having a good look and a chat with the other anglers. I saw a couple of fish but they were cruising in open water and the areas were pretty much covered by the other anglers.
I decided on a corner swim that had a gentle breeze blowing into it. As the weather was very warm, I thought this would be an area that the carp might visit.I didn’t catch, but seeing as nothing had been caught for a fortnight, I wasn’t unduly worried.
One week later and I am back for my second 24-hour session. This time the banks are all but deserted and it’s now three weeks since the last carp was caught, so having a good choice of swims, and wanting to get to know the lake better, I fished a different area of the lake.
That was my error, I fished in an area that hadn’t shown me any signs of fish, nor had it given me any reason to fish it, other than it was a new part of the lake to me.
Did I learn anything new? Yes I did, the fish follow a new wind when it’s warm.They were stacked up in the corner swim I had fished the previous week.
Did I ask myself any questions before I chose my swim? No I didn’t.
If I had been thinking about what I was doing, I would have fished that corner swim again. Would I have caught? I don’t know, but my chances would have been greatly increased.
Thinking head back on you idiot!
We all make mistakes, although I won’t be making that one again, but as long as we learn from them, we will become better anglers. At the end of the day we all want to catch carp and if a few blanks and a bit of thinking helps us attain our goals then it’ll be worth it.
I don’t profess to know everything (although the people who think I’m a walking encyclopaedia may say differently) but the knowledge I do have helps me to succeed with far greater regularity.
Hopefully this column will make you think and by doing so will improve your understanding and skill set, if they don’t then just enjoy my ramblings.
My new regular carp column will be a general mix of technical and session writings and If anybody feels that they would like me to write an in-depth article on any particular carp fishing subject, please feel free to e-mail me at carp.angler@talk21.com or contact Graham on graham@fishingmagic.com, with your requests.
