How did you get on?

[Steve Arnold]

Have you tested your scales against some known weights. That way you can be 100% certain what unit they are measuring in.

Regardless of weight its a fabulous fish and catch.

I bought the digital scales as they are small and rechargeable. The Shimano spring scales I had used previously had been tested the way you describe and the digital scales tested against them. Unfortunately on the digital scales you can change the units! ..... JIN for gawds sake!

As I do not weigh the small species and do not worry about a few ounces, let alone grams, anything better and bigger is not required. But I do like to know when I am around those key numbers of 10, 20, 30, 40 and now even 50 pounds!

I am still searching for a river Lot barbel of 10 pounds+, recently a local guide showed a photo of one that looked an upper teen.

As for the carp - the stories I hear and the photos I have seen show that a "70" is a possibility. I just cannot get my head around carp that size in a river, I keep thinking I am in some sort of weird anglers dream!

Your recent carp catch looked remarkable. Don't know how you did it with that light tackle! I did have a 29 on a 1.5 TC once, that day the river was going like a train! But that was from one of the few swims I fish with no major snags. As you can probably guess the really big fish hang about the tangles of sunken trees or the boulders around weirs!

The ESP tungsten loaded coated braid I bought recently worked brilliantly with that last carp. The coating had one little pull and the braid inside was untouched, despite being dragged over rocks at the start of the fight and into the first branch of a sunken tree towards the fights conclusion. I had lost two carp here previously, then got a smaller one of 13 lbs, whilst using 19 lb fluoro. Even with the 13 lb fish the trace was frayed to hell! Carp do not seem to be put off by coated braid traces but, in the clear waters of the Lot, barbel are a bit shy and I find fluorocarbon traces take far more barbel.

Still learning, I will get it all right one day!

 

[fishface1]

It’s certainly a lovely fish and well done.

At first glance it looks a mid, upper thirty, but photos are notoriously deceptive - it’s up to you and your scales what weight you claim.

You seem to be very much at ease with holding it, and although I’ve not had a fifty pound carp, I do know that anything approaching that weight take some practice, and/or strength to hold.

 

[mikench]

Steve’s nickname in his part of France is Obelix .

 

[Steve Arnold]

It’s certainly a lovely fish and well done.

At first glance it looks a mid, upper thirty, but photos are notoriously deceptive - it’s up to you and your scales what weight you claim.

You seem to be very much at ease with holding it, and although I’ve not had a fifty pound carp, I do know that anything approaching that weight take some practice, and/or strength to hold.The carp is on my lap, no way could this 70 year old hold it out! My right wrist is knackered since a fish bit me and I developed sepsis, two years on antibiotics and some surgery to save my arm. It was as much as I could manage to weigh the fish, Alistairs 31 a few days earlier was a doddle in comparison!

The carp is on my lap, no way could I have held it - especially as my right wrist is knackered after a wound led to sepsis. That wrist is almost fused in the position you see it. Another reason I rarely take big fish away from the water, but in this case it was necessary as there is deep water right under our fishing position.

It took the two of us to get that on my lap, fortunately Alistair (70 also) has spent the last decade renovating an old stone cottage and still has some muscle!

Whatever its weight I feel lucky to be here and still able to fish. After I had that sepsis I did not think I would ever be able to cast again, the first time I tried I screamed with the pain! I have always been proud of my casting ability and it took a lot of practise (+pain) to get back in the game. Eventually I joined a casting club and after a couple of years managed over 170 yds with a 5 oz weight, used a rod I had made out of two broken beachcasters for that!

Best thing I could have done to prepare for fishing this river. It's wide, in summer I often put my bait under the far bank. On my favourite swim it's a long cast downstream to reach a nice stretch where the carp hang out. Impossible to access from the shore!

Fishing has always been a great incentive for me to work at recovering from frequent health problems. If I could not get to the water and cast a bait what would life be? I am betting there are many on this forum who feel the same way!

 

[mikench]

A brilliant fish Steve and one to remember fondly.

 

[Steve Arnold]

A brilliant fish Steve and one to remember fondly.

I was brought up with tales of Clarissa and it was very much a "specimen hunting" mentality of that era. It was also thought that these great fish were difficult to hook.

Well, with the advent of boilies and hair rigs they became regular captures. My hooking them is now a fairly regular occurrence, it's the landing of them that is difficult!

Probably I have said this before - it is now 50 years since I was reading about the river Lot and its huge carp. Never thought I would end up living here, certainly I am amazed it has changed very little!

Not my house, unfortunately! But I live just 10 minutes away that carp was caught about 1/2 k from this spot!

 

[mikench]

A beautiful part of France certainly.

 

[Aknib]

A very random post from me just to say I'm still wetting a line during what has been the most hectic eighteen months of my life with full roller coaster journey thrown in for good meadure but more importantly that I hope all on FM are keeping well. Tiddler bashing of late but the homemade Avons are still doing the biz for me. Tight lines everyone....

 

[Peter Jacobs]

Good to see you again. Tight lines.

 

[Aknib]

Cheers Peter

 

[seth49]

Usual fishery yesterday, I was first there at 6 15 am, and had my choice of pegs, picked one I hadn’t fished for a while for a change, at least the green algae is going out the overflow, which was good to see, usual tactics sleeper rod on alarm, and pole out at top kit plus two sections for the tench and crucians, using either paste, cockles, or soft pellets.

it was very misty to start before the sun burnt it of later, slow start with just an odd skimmer and a couple of roach, did get one tench later, so tried in the margins with just the top kit and cockles, which produced a couple of crucians and two barbel, one of the barbel was from the first stocking and gave me a good scrap.

in the afternoon the carp started to show in the margins, so I decided to have a go for them, but they were very cagey they were there feeding on the ground bait, but ignoring the hook baits, l changed to luncheon meat and did get a couple at last, it turned out warm and sunny for most of the day, and was a pleasant day to be out.

 

[mikench]

Good to see you posting Steve and all the best to you too. I reckon you were stood in a river.

 

[wetthrough]

Had a day on a water @mikench and I have fished on many occasions although not for some time. It has no feed and relies on the water table. It can be low in mild summers. In the summer we've just had it wasn't even worth looking at. Talking to an angler on another water you've been able to walk across it at some points recently. The club closed it for a while and took the opportunity while it was low to renew all the stages. Which they've done as well as cutting back trees and undergrowth. Well done Bay Malton. Thankfully the owner laid a pipe and topped it up making it fishable again, though still quite low. Where I set up it was 18" at most. A guy was fishing the pole to my left and when he lifted his rig out it looked to be about 3'+ where he was.

A little chilly first thing, around 6.30 but it soon warmed up turning into a glorious day with very little wind to my back. The trees having been cut back meant it wasn't long before I dragged a branch up from the bottom which sat in the middle of the swim. Couldn't catch it agin to drag it out so had to go back to the car for the weed rake which soon got rid of it. It's a nice water and you can usually expect to get a bend in the rod @mikench has had 14 in a session before now. Started picking a few Roach up to sweetcorn. Not huge, to about 4oz through the day, no see thoughs! It wasn't long before a 4lb 3oz common took the sweetcorn (I'd put a little gb in).

Picked another three Commons up and more Roach by around midday, the first being the largest, the others just a few ounces less. They seemed to lose interest in the corn switching to 5mm cubes of meat got me another slightly smaller Common and a couple of Mirrors around 3 1/2 lb. This was the nicest of the two.

Slow for the rest of the day just picking up the odd Roach and a surprise Tench 1lb+, first I've had on this pool. A very pleasant day. Tricky in such shallow water as there was foliage left and right of the peg meaning I had to strike up. Quite a few into nothing, you can guess where the rig ended up. Contemplating calling it a day around three when I got stuck on what was probably a tree root near the island and lost the rig, time to go home... Three others on the pool while I was there all catching OK AFAICS.

 

[mikench]

Well done on the tench Gordon. I think I have only ever caught one, two at the most in over 5 years. I look forward to going there again and maybe next week. I have some catching up to do.

 

[flightliner]

I mentioned on the "mice" thread that I was looking forward to a days fishing with my neighbour friend on the tidal Trent yesterday where we would be using Hemp n Tare with stick float, or, maggot with waggler.
The tide was. Pretty big and we arrived to find it had just started to run up to Newark meaning a wait of some four hours before it would turn and run back to sea.
Never, in my experience a good time as over the years I can only remember one time when the fish fed in earnest when it went into reverse.
But still, we started and in those first four hours I had two very small roach and my neighbour had just one.
Around 2—15pm the river turned back to seaward and at that point I took advantage of it standing still to plumb the depth before it ran back at full bore.
It was almost eleven feet deep and my hopes of some nice roach were raised.
A pouch of hemp every other cast failed to get any response but it was early days so to speak and we both carried on performing like metronomes but try as we could no roach came to our nets or even an interest in our baits, dissappointing would be an understatement and almost in unison we both reluctantly reached for our pre rigged waggler rods.
A pouch of maggots a third way out past the Tare line was delivered followed by my double maggot baited hook and a few yards dowstream my float dissappeared and it was a roach I felt thumping away at the other end of the line— result, but a short lived one as susequent runs downstream began to produce a bleak with monotenous regularity save for the odd very small Dace.
We both persavered but the bleak were truly annoying.
I tried one last ruse by pushing my float about five foot higher in order that my bait would be dragged along the bottom. Tho it lessoned the annoyance of the bleak the really small Dace kept on showing but they were even smaller than the bleak so with some reluctance we decided to call it a day at five thirty pm.
Oh well, heres to the next time!

 

[john step]

Sorry it didnt work out Mick. Funny how the tidal can be like that. I suppose it was one of those "shall we stick it out moments or up sticks and move to the non tidal days. No wonder the zander and other preds flourish there with all that food.

 

[nottskev]

What a pity, Mick - I can picture some of those nets of Tidal roach you've put on here before. Funnily enough, I've had a couple of short sessions for barbel lately many miles upstream, and I haven't bothered to write a post. After livening up for a (very small) flush of rain, the river turned clear and stale again and river life seemed in suspension. I ended up moving to swims that are really unpleasant to fish - high bank, big rocks, low trees, the lot - just to save blanks.

 

[nottskev]

I didn't know where to go today. Carp res was poor yesterday, and the river is only getting lower and clearer again. But it's a nicer place to spend a fine autumn afternoon and moving water is just ..... better. Ukrainian saying: take your troubles to the river and the river takes them away. For a change, I went to float-fish with the pin, but the low water meant fishing down the middle not the side, and that's beyond my pin skills, so fs it was. It didn't start off well. I picked an unused big slider from the box, (easier to cast and better strike) but the eyes were solid with varnish. I picked the next biggest, put on an olivette well below its alleged capacity - and it sank like a stone. I ended up with a float barely taking 4g

I guessed the depth, put on a piece of punched meat, cast in .... and it sank. Oh dear, I said. But then I saw the line tightening, and it had sunk for the right reason

I manged one more, but the sun came out and the barbel disappeared. Rather than flog it, I packed up and moved to an area with more features where it's easier to find them when they're at home. Mussels down the side got a couple of bites and the afternoon turned out better than I expected

View attachment 23597

 

[John Aston]

My autumn /winter perch fishing is starting , now the heat has gone. A session on a coloured Swale (about 12" visibility) yesterday afternoon proved fun , with a nice surprise catch . Fishing 7cm bright green or pink paddle-tails on a 3.5 g barbless 1/0 , I had perch of 1-4 and 1-7 (losing - drat ! - a better fish which looked an easy two), 5 daft tailwalking pike from 8 oz to 4 lb and chub of about 1-8 and a thumping fish of 5-13 , my best chub on lure.

Although delighted , I did convince myself that I was attached to a huge perch ; it was clear it wasn't a pike(not fast enough ), it wasn't charging for snags very much and was doing that thump- thump , jagging fight that perch do . Not complaining though.

 

[Neil Maidment]

Finally, my first trip of the season to the Dorset Stour!

Stubbornly predetermined to strap on one of my centrepins to the 15ft Acolyte Plus and trot a float all day. A fair few micro dace, roach and chublets arrived mostly on caster over hemp, punched bread or flake. Mid/late afternoon got a bit more interesting as I finally hooked something a bit more substantial. Clearly a big Stour chub! So, the marauding pike that came to the net was quite a surprise. Pretty sure that's the first pike I've ever had on bread.

Last couple of hours saw some bigger dace and roach arrive but I lost a few to pike. Some of those pike hung on for a while which was fun on the Acolyte especially when I finally got one to the net. It had grabbed a dace but somehow was again neatly hooked.