Mark T started the Canal Carp Challenge thread in the forums as a result of conversations had on my previous thread; ‘Canal Carpin’.
Mark’s challenge was this;
“On the other Canal Carp thread I laid a challenge down to Speci to catch a 15lb or over Carp during the river close season. This is from a pound (one lock to the next) he doesn’t know (fishing wise). This got me thinking. The challenge should be laid down to all of you. Be honest, pick a section of canal you don’t know well and see what you can do. There are no prizes and def no glory to be had, just a good topic to chat about as it would be interesting to see how many ways people find to achieve this, baits, rigs etc and indeed how widespread Carp of this size are spread throughout the canals.
I personally think canals are very under-rated when it comes to carp fishing.”
So the challenge laid before us was simple – to catch a 15lb+ carp from our chosen ‘pound’ during the closed season.
I had started the preparation of my chosen area by baiting twice a week with my own particle mix, pellets and a few boilies. I had decided to bait by an area where the far bank was lined with blackberry bushes, I knew from previous trips on to the canal that carp moved into this area as the weather warmed up.
My first trip to the canal (14-03-2010) proved fruitless although it did allow me to check the spots which I found to be quite silty. The water was still freezing cold at the time. I tested a small PVA mesh bag in the margins and it still hadn’t dissolved after 10mins! I hoped my pre-baiting would encourage the fish to clear this area & maybe put me in with a chance of a bite but it wasn’t to be….this time.
My next trip down to the canal (21-03-2010) was after a few warm sunny days and I felt confident the fish would be moving around. It was also the day before my birthday so maybe the fishing gods would grant me an early birthday present.
I started by fishing my baited areas but after two hours there were no bites and no signs of Mr Carp. I’d seen a few small fish over my bait and hoped this might encourage the carp to feed. I was debating with myself on moving – what if they moved on to my bait as soon as I moved? Before long I got itchy feet and reeled in the rods and went to look for a few fish.
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| Nathan’s swim and the overhanging bare tree |
Less than 100 yards from where I had been fishing there were a few carp patrolling the far margins. That was all I needed to see, the gear was packed up in record time and I was soon casting a bait towards the edge of an overhanging tree with possibly 3 carp sunbathing under its leafless branches. I had started with some bits from my particles mix on my rig with no free offerings.
I had a single beep on the alarm not long after casting out and although I could see the fish cruise over my hookbait I wasn’t getting any action. I thought carefully and decided to change tactics. I tied up a new rig and out came some of my ‘special’ boilies which I’ve had glugged since last April. I tipped this with a piece of artificial corn that I’d had soaking in another liquid. This was cast out with a very small bag of mixed pellets, offering the carp a small snack.
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| The other side of Nathan’s fish |
My brother had come to join my earlier and we’d been sat watching the fish cruise out from under the trees, but they’d ignore my bait. He’d decided to go top up on snacks and two minutes after he’d left, the magic happened.
At the time I was tying up a zig rig as I could see them just under the surface and with no floater gear a zig seemed like the next best thing. Just as I was tying up the rig I looked over at my rod then saw the line off the tip pulling up. At that moment I ran over to the rod just as the line pulled out of the clip and the alarm was beeping.
I lifted up the rod and I was in! The relief was short lived, as soon as I lifted into the fish it went straight for the branches of the tree. After a short tussle I was able to steer him away from the snag and into open water with a huge sigh of relief.
As I was playing the fish a family were walking down the towpath towards me. They had a few young children with them who looked amazed by this monster sized fish swirling in the water in front of them. The grandfather of the children was also a fisherman so I elected him to net my fish, I must thank him for this as I’m not sure I could have done it on my own.
When I saw the fish in the water I figured it was probably around 15-18lbs. I’d seen a few fish in the area but none of them looked particularly big. Most I would have said were about 12-15lbs. Once the fish was in the net, we pulled back the mesh and it was only at this stage that I realised just what I’d caught. Not only was this fish HUGE, but it was also a complete stunner – easily the best looking fish I’d ever caught and still with some of its winter colours, it looked even better. And to catch it the day before my birthday was the icing on the cake. (It even took the sting off Liverpool losing to Man Utd!)
I had the unhooking matt and water ready to keep the fish wet. We then weighed the fish at a whooping 24lb 1oz – a new Canal PB! I was over the moon! It was at this point my brother returned and helped me out with a few pics. I’d also called my dad and girlfriend to come down and take some pictures for me (you can never have too many pictures!).
I feel there are definitely bigger carp to be had from the canal and this challenge has helped motivate me to find them. I may not catch them this year but I’ll try. So far I’ve managed to up my canal PB each year for the past 3 years. I will be back…….!!
Mark T started the challenge and said, “I personally think canals are very under-rated when it comes to carp fishing.” Personally, I’d now have to agree.
Nathan Ball
