We have suffered from a long winter, forcing all carp anglers to take a break from our beloved sport. This enforced down-time has by many been spent buying carp magazines and DVD’s in a effort to get our fishing fix. But how many of you have used this time constructively? Planning your fishing for the new 2011 season? As they say, Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance!
Many of us are happy to just fish and catch whatever happens to come along but for many others they target a particular weight of carp, be that a 20lb + or a 30lb + or bigger. Some target specific named fish to add to their angling CV. Targets, aims and goals can help us all focus on the job at hand and can add great deal of satisfaction when they are reached.
Once we set our goals, the next important factor to look at is, where we are going to fish to stand a chance of catching our target?
Obviously named fish are located in one venue so your job here is done but for those looking for a target-weight fish to catch, we have a whole lot more work to do. So let’s look at an angler who has set himself a goal of catching a 30lb + carp.
A fish of this size twenty years ago would have been a huge fish and worthy of front page news on a fishing publication. However now with modern high quality carp food 30lb + carp are quite common. However you still need a venue that has a number of 30lb + carp in to give yourself the best opportunity of bagging such a beauty. Remember, you will not be the only angler fishing the lake and anyone could bag the lake’s only resident 30lb carp, this will therefore make this fish a very wary carp indeed for a few months.
This is where you need to start doing your home work about your chosen venues. Magazines like Carp-Talk, Advanced CarpFishing and Total carp can be full of useful information. The internet now has many thriving websites that can be extremely helpful, sites like Mid-kent fisheries, Cemex angling, Fishing Magic etc (just to name a few) will have anglers who will know the venues you are targeting and can be a source of good advice. Try looking at old threads or posting a new thread about your target lake’s and see what people post.
Whilst still talking about the internet, Google Earth is a great way of looking at the lake from above. Google Earth uses satellites to take overhead pictures of the terrain below. To be able to do this, the pictures are taken on clear cloudless days which are therefore bright sunny days. This bright light enables us to see deeper into the lakes and pick out a lot of their features. Gravel bars, sandy banks etc are very easy to see and help you understand more about the lake.
Here is a map I found on the Cemex Angling website for Yateley Sandhurst fishery in Sandhurst. It has a great deal of very useful information.
A company called M & B Contour maps offer a great mapping service with many lakes already mapped. Once a venue is mapped you can, for a small fee, download a detailed map like the one shown here.
These maps show detailed contours with water depths and main bottom features, with the relative positions of fishing pegs / swims shown, so you are able to place yourself in an exact position around the water. This will save you hours of time with a marker rod and note pad documenting every swim, time much better spent with baits in the right place fishing.
So, we have got our targets/goals set and have also decided upon the venues we are going to be focusing on. We now need to look at our tackle and see if it can cope with the venues we are fishing.
Are the venues large open expanses of water that will need a long cast to reach the fish if they are showing at range? If so you will need a rod with a larger test curve to be able to punch the larger lead or solid PVA bag further – and possibly a rod that is 13′ long rather than the standard 12′ rod.
Greys and Chub both offer a range of great rods that are more than capable of casting a baited rig to very long range and are priced to suit most pockets. From the New Chub Outkast Plus 50, 13′ 3.5 through to the top-end Greys Torsion 50 13′ 3.5 and many rods in between.
If our venue is a small snaggy intimate lake where stalking or margin fishing is the key we would then need to look at using smaller rods like the 7′ Greys or Chub dedicated stalking rods, which are ideally suited to close quarters carp fishing. These rods will only require a small free-spool style reel like the Shimano XTE-A 5000.
Whilst on the subject of rods, don’t forget your marker and spod rod. Are they up to the challenges of the new venue? If not you may need a spod and Marker capable of long range fishing. On the other hand, if the venue is small and intimate then a 12M baiting spoon may well be more appropriate.
With the rods sorted, we need to look at the reel we are using. Small, free-spool reels will just not hold enough line to get the range we need, before the spool empties of line. So we will need a large-spool reel, either a free-spool or a big pit front clutch reel.
Several manufacturers make great reels; Shimano, Daiwa and Wychwood and between them there are reels that will suit every budget. Understand the conditions the line is going to have to perform in. So if the lake is a very clear lake it would be beneficial to use a fluorocarbon line that would sink well and become invisible upon the lake bed. However if the lake has pronounced gravel bars or beds of Zebra mussels, then a thick abrasion-resistant line will be required. If you are faced with a weedy or snaggy venue, again a strong robust line will be required. And finally, if you have a clear bottomed lake with few or no snags then you can get away with a finer diameter line. Whichever line you finally decide upon, make sure you fill your spools with line to the outer lip to ensure you get the best from your casts.
If you plan to undertake long sessions on the bankside you will need to be comfortable so a quality bivvy is essential. Pick a bivvy that will fit in the swims at the lake but will be large enough to be comfortable. A quality bed-chair like the Chub Cloud 9, 4 leg – which is also available in a Jumbo size for the larger anglers – will ensure you are able to get a good night’s sleep until a carp decides he is going to wake you up. The Chub Cloud 9 sleeping bag in either a 3 season or 5 season format will keep you from suffering any night chills and help you feel comfortable.
Bait is one of the key aspects to any fishing and a good quality bait is a must to ensure consistent catches.
The tackle shops and magazines are full of new and super looking baits which all promise to catch everything that swims. However, if the tackle shops have a lot of a particular bait and it is popular, you could then become just another sheep in the flock so to speak – and as such are just following the crowd, rather than leading the crowd.
What you need is a reliable quality bait from a company who know what they are doing and use only the best ingredients to create a bait that will work longer through the season before blowing out. Mistral bait have been making bait now for over twenty-five years and have got a great range of baits from freezer to shelffies, pop ups and wafters, to dips and gluts. A bait offer that will meet all of your needs.
One of the most recent is I 40 which is a sweet brazil/ tiger-nut based bait. It has been producing some great results and the new I 40 R with added Robin Red is set to do the same in 2011. Get on some good quality bait that you can get easily and start pre-baiting your spots ready to start bagging fish.
With every session you undertake, make sure you take a note of it. Things like water temperature, air temperature, barometric pressure, wind direction and water colour. Also make a note of what swim you are fishing at, what range and with what rig/bait.
Keep an eye out for fish activity and note down where and at what time you have seen the activity. If you are friendly with the other anglers on the venue, or the bailiffs, ask them how they are doing and how the venue is fishing. Make sure you log this as well, all of this information will help you understand the lake better and put more fish on the bank.
Finally, take time to go through all of your tackle. Make sure the rods are not damaged or chipped and the ceramic eyes are not cracked. The landing nets are all ok and the unhooking mats. That your reels are working smoothly and the clutches are ok. Go through all your torches, digital scales, cameras/flash guns and alarms and replace all the batteries, keeping new spares in a box ready if need be.
Look at all of your terminal tackle. Make sure you are stocked up with the right bits you will need and that all of your hooks are sharp and not rusty.
Once on the bank don’t fall into the trap of being a slave to one particular rig. Carp feed at all depths and so can be caught at all depths. So don’t just stick to a bottom bait! Zig rigs and surface baits can catch carp just as well as bottom baits.
Most important of all, have fun and enjoy your fishing. Don’t take things too seriously and get frustrated with your fishing as this does not help you in catching your target fish.
My 2011 target is a UK 38lb + fish. Not a huge fish, but it’s what I have set my heart on and I believe with the correct approach and a lot of time and a bit of luck it’s a target I should be able to achieve. Watch this space for my UK carp fishing exploits!
Good luck in 2011 and tight lines.
Ian Gemson – www.Smartcarping.com
