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New Post has been published on http://www.bivvedup.com/carp-fishing-rig-guide/chod-rig-tie-chod-rig-carp-fishing-rig-guide

Chod Rig, How to tie a Chod Rig - Carp Fishing Rig Guide

New Post has been published on http://www.bivvedup.com/carp-fishing-rig-guide/multi-rig-tie-multi-rig-carp-fishing-rig-guide

Multi Rig, How to tie a Multi Rig - Carp Fishing Rig Guide

New Post has been published on http://www.bivvedup.com/carp-fishing-rig-guide/360-rig-tie-360-rig-carp-fishing-rig-guide

360 Rig, How to tie a 360 Rig - Carp Fishing Rig Guide

New Post has been published on http://www.bivvedup.com/tackle-reviews/solar-set-launch-new-candy-floss-boilies

Solar set to launch new Candy Floss boilies

Solar set to launch new bait under the 4th Rod Specials banner in the coming weeks… and we’re sure you’re going to want some of this!

The new Candy Floss boilies that are set to be released in the coming weeks consist of a nut-mix base and the same attractors and flavour profile as the incredibly popular Candy Floss Pop-Ups that Solar recently launched, these baits are sure to be good.

New Post has been published on http://www.bivvedup.com/catch-reports/geert-ooms-ends-autumn-campaign-56lb-mirror

Geert Ooms ends autumn campaign with 56lb+ Mirror

This 56lb+ mirror, landed a couple of weeks ago, marked the end of Solar team member Geert Ooms’ autumn campaign on a huge sand pit.

New Post has been published on http://www.bivvedup.com/tackle-reviews/deeper-fishfinder

Deeper Fishfinder

The Ultimate Marker Float. ACF’s Pete McKenna explains why the new DEEPER fishfinder has unlocked a whole new dimension to accurate feature finding…

Fishfinders incorporating sonar technology have been around for quite a while, but nothing quite like this new offering from Deeper.The first thing that stands out is that it’s designed for casting into the lake. You don’t have to own a boat as well just to get your device to where it’s needed.

Inside the floating black ball is a whole new realm of technology designed to provide accurate, tangible information to help the angler. Sonar waves are emitted through the water column, which record things like the depth, water temperature and detailed contours of the lake bed.

This is where things get really cool. There’s no add-on handset to display the findings, it all goes through your smartphone or tablet. Simply download the app and all the data you need is sent straight to your device, from the fishfinder floating on the water. You can chuck this out and manipulate its position with the rod and line, just like you would a normal float, then simply take out your phone and absorb the information and detailed map being displayed. Brilliant!

It’s also got the shape and enough weight to comfortably chuck it 100 yards on most average setups. A word of warning, though; use a shockleader because you don’t want to be cracking off nearly £200 worth of brand-new technology! That would be a wallet burner to say the least.

The device is also capable of picking up the fish themselves. It’s up to you whether that’s acceptable in an angling situation or not but, regardless of that function, the advantage of the topography map and other information is surely going to be a big edge. Forget about marker floats and hours of painstaking data recording to get an idea of the lake bed, simply cast one of these out and get a detailed view in seconds!

The Deeper fishfinder is fully compatible with the latest Android 2.3+ and iOS 5.0+ operating systems.

A revolutionary advancement in feature finding!

Price: £165

Website: www.buydeeper.com

New Post has been published on http://www.bivvedup.com/carp-fishing-tips/accurate-casting-hitting-the-mark-every-time

Accurate Casting – Hitting The Mark, Every Time!

Many anglers turn up at the lake, spend hours meticulously studying the water for signs of fish, settle on a peg and chuck out the marker float. They find a bar or area of gravel and pop the marker up. Now to get the rods and spod out! I still see numerous anglers just casting at the marker and guessing how close the leads or spod are landing. There is however, a much better way of accurately hitting the marker, without also having to walk 100 yards down the bank…

 Once a spot is located I will clip the line into the line clip on the reel and line it up with a far bank marker before reeling in. I place two bank sticks or pegs 12ft apart (a rod length), attaching the lead to one and with the bail arm open (using the clutch causes line twist), pay line out and wrap it around each peg until I hit the clip, counting each turn. If, for example, I counted out 12 and a half turns, there are 4 yards to 12ft so I would be fishing at 50 yards exactly.

Marking this down on a piece of paper for future sessions, I would then reel the marker line in, clipping up the spod to 12 and a half turns. By clipping the spod to this range, I can bait up quickly and accurately when the marker is not in the water later in the session and even ensure I can hit the spot during future sessions without the need for marker work.

  Josh with a superb 41.06 mirror caught using this approach

  I am then able to clip up the fishing rods, but I allow a certain amount of extra line depending on the depth of water I’m fishing. Because of the way the lead enters the water when it hits a line clip, it falls through the water coming back towards the angler (see diagram), so clipping at the same range as the marker would mean it landing just short of the spot and your baited area. Obviously this is not needed with the spod as it lies on top of the water above the spot and doesn’t fall through the water column.

With this in mind, imagine a gravel bar at 50 yards (12.5 turns) which is 15 foot deep. For each 3 foot in depth I add an extra 1 foot to the distance I need to clip the fishing rod up to around the sticks. If this were the case I would add an extra 5 foot to my fishing line, so although my spod will be clipped to 12.5 turns, my actual fishing rods will be clipped to just under 13 turns. To ensure that I am ultra accurate, the angle of the rod when hitting the clip, is also noted down. By holding the rod at vertical when hitting the clip, 90 degrees to the water level, I can gently lower the lead or spod onto the surface of the water. This ensures each rod hits the clip at the same angle and allows the angler to feel for a ‘donk’ on the lead as it hits the bottom, ensuring I am on the desired spot.

Furthermore, this allows me to gently lay the spod or rig onto the surface of the lake, without having a big ‘badoosh!’ each time you cast out.  If I were to hold the rod pointing at the lead as it hit the clip, this would probably be the case and the stretch in the line (100% of my fishing is done with monofilament or fluorocarbon) would have an emphasised ‘bungee’ effect on the lead and spring it back towards me further still, numbing the ‘feel’ of the lead hitting bottom via the rod tip and decreasing accuracy. By feathering the cast to hit the clip as delicately as possible, this allows the lead to have minimal effect on the stretch in the line, making the lead arch in the water column and hopefully land as accurately as possible.

Once I have clipped up, some marking tape or elastic placed by the butt ring when the line is still in the clip allows for each rod to be recast after a capture with ease and not risk putting my hook bait beyond my baited area. By writing the distance, far bank marker and always casting with a 90 degree angle in the rod when hitting the clip, even if I turned up on a Friday night in the dark, I could still hit the same spot every time on the next session.

    Please excuse the terrible paint diagram, but hopefully it aids in describing what I am trying to highlight. The dotted line with a small red dot indicates the marker above a feature. The grey line is the spod, hitting the clip and having no stretch in the braided line landing bang on the marker, depositing bait all over the feature. The black line is the fishing line and as you can see I have put a small orange circle where I aim to hit the clip; just above the water line. This puts minimal stretch into the main line and reduces the arc you can see under the water line. This arc is the reason I add an extra foot for each 3 foot in depth to ensure I land right on top of the bait. As you can see if you were to clip up at the same distance of the spod, you would be landing smack bang next to the float, but due to the arch in the leads descent under water you would be landing well short of the spot. On the surface of the water, you should be landing just behind the marker.

Quite a complicated article I’m afraid, but trust me with practice, this method really is very accurate.

Josh Bennett

New Post has been published on http://www.bivvedup.com/carp-fishing-tips/birds-diving-on-carp-bait-what-can-i-do

Birds diving on my carp bait – what can I do?

Question: I am fishing a 3 acre lake which I have caught plenty of fish from with a good stock of doubles and 20’s.  It is shallow with most areas being 3-4ft or less. The bottom is mainly silty with some harder areas in places. There is a large island in the middle of the lake.

On recent sessions I have been having terrible problems with birdlife picking up the bait. It is mainly tufties. This problem even persists during darkness. I never had it quite so bad before, admittedly this is worse in winter time. Do you have any suggestions how to combat this?

Many Thanks, Cliff

Hi Cliff,

I have faced this situation myself on one or two waters. It is always worse in the winter when there is not so much natural food about for the tufties & coots so they are obviously looking for something else to eat. Also in the winter the water tends to be much clearer (unless it’s overstocked) thus making it easier for the tufties to find your bait.

There are a couple of things you can do which may help you:

1. Bait up when you are not fishing and in different parts of the lake. The water you are fishing sounds reasonably small and so by baiting up different area’s the carp will still find plenty of the bait and soon get a taste for it. I have found that the Quest baits are pretty instant anyway.

2. When you are fishing don’t put out any freebies. This time of year I much prefer to fish single hook baits or small stringers / p.v.a stockings. Try small 3 bait stringers, crushed up baits or the fast dissolving Maximum Action Pellets. I will regularly recast with at least 1 rod, every hour or so until I find the carp. By not introducing any freebies the tufties will be less inclined to search for the bait.

3. One dodge you can use here is to dye the baits black thus making them less visible to the tufties. The carp will still find them through their terrific sense of smell.

It can be very frustrating with the birdlife at this time of year but keep at it and the results will come.

Cheers, Pat Gillett Quest Baits

New Post has been published on http://www.bivvedup.com/carp-fishing-tips/top-tips-for-winter-success-on-day-tickets

Top tips for winter success on day tickets

My name is Benedict Fowler and I have been fishing busy day tickets for almost 8 years now and like to think I was a bit of a master at fishing them. Although like most of us I am very much a fair-weathered fisherman I have had to adapt and home my skills for when the weather turns horrible. These are my top tips for fishing busy day tickets in the winter.

Tip 1; Finding the fish

In the winter finding the fish is imperative. My tips for fish finding is do some previous research on the lake and find out where the shallows are and avoid them. Furthermore check your weather app find out what way the wind is blowing and get on the back of it if the weather is cold. Take your Polaroid glasses, cap, and a thermometer and take a few readings and jot them down on your phone for different parts of the lake. Use your common sense; if there is fish crashing regularly on certain part of the lake get on them even if it is the shallows, if there are fish their fish for them.

  Tip 2; choosing the correct venue

This is really down to your personal preference. However if you are looking to catch numbers of fish on a couple of nights or a day session for example I have a few venues for you to try.

Drayton reservoir; a 15-acre lake in daventry, northamtonshire. A very famous prolific venue that you are guaranteed to get bites on. Drayton suits its self to a verity of methods.

Boddington and clattercote reservoirs; two large reservoirs popular with match anglers. They both hold a massive stock of fish so come prepared. I recommend long-range fishing with solid bags, sticks and zigs. Make sure you bring some stage stands or a pod though.

Linear fisheries; probably the most famous day ticket water in the country. Try the Brasenose lakes if you want to catch a few. Fish to your maximum range as the fish sit in the middle. In the winter I recommend using single solid bags and single zigs.

Thorpe lea; just off the M25 by Thorpe park Thorpe lea is another famous prolific venue. It gets very busy so arrive early and make sure you come prepared. I recommend fishing solid bags, sticks and short zigs in the winter and spod out little and often.

Shearwater; a 37-acre lake in Wilshire that holds thousands of carp. I have had up to 50 in a day in the winter. The best tactics are lightly spoding slop over zigs in the winter.

Tip 3; the best winter methods.

Solid bags Single solid bags are great in winter especially when cast to showing fish. I like to use ccmoore oily bag mix in the bags and a nice bright hook bait. Make sure you tie a few up in advance in the winter with different hook bait choices. Keep casting the bags regularly and you will be successful.

Zig rigs; These can be fished in many different ways you can fish lots of colors and lots of different depths. In the winter months they are best fished as single zigs rather than being spoded over. Make sure you know the depth of the water you are fishing in and start fishing your zigs at mid water depths.

Mesh bags of pellets This is a great method to use when you havent had any preparation time. This is due to the fact that little mesh bags are so easy to tie up. Just threat a mesh bag down your hook link and cast to showing fish. Vary the size of the mesh bag depending on the distance you have to fish. I recommend using ccmoore oily bag mix.

New Post has been published on http://www.bivvedup.com/catch-reports/dan-goult-northey-park-autumn-catch-report

Dan Goult, Northey Park Autumn Catch Report

I left off with on my last blog saying that my new build wasn’t far off being completed, which it is now, so I have spent the last nearly 2 months moving in and getting sorted. I haven’t had much time to get the rods out, but I did managed to get Friday 31st of October booked off work, and got the nod from the missus to get out for two nights.

I knew my syndicate; northey park was throwing up a few fish, so that’s where I planned to head. I arrived at first light on the Friday morning, to find a few anglers on, mainly along one bank. As I walked into a swim known as ‘Eliott’s pitch’ a lad was just packing up after a quiet night. Whilst talking to him and keeping an eye on the water I noticed a couple of subtle shows. Once he was packed and gone I carried on watching from this swim but didn’t see anything else to go on. With the signs I had seen and seeing as the opposite bank to this swim was pretty stitched up. I knew this could be a good bet seeing as I would be the only angler on this bank and that the fish may well push away from all the pressure the other side.

I soon was flicking a bare lead around the swim, looking for some presentable spots. I know in the summer this swim was absolutely chocca with weed, but this had died back a considerable amount. I soon found some firm silt spots, that we’re more than presentable. With three rigs on the spots I added 30 to 40 15mm equinox boilies that had been glugged in matching bait dip whilst they were still frozen, so they draw some of it in when the defrost, scattered over each one.

The morning had soon turned into afternoon and with the odd show close by, I was fairly confident. But that afternoon soon turned to evening and evening to early morning. I awoke on the Saturday morning to a dry net. With my good mate Dan on his way down, I stuck the coleman on to make us a brew. We were soon off for a walk to see if we could find them, as I had hardly seen any movement in front of me. Two laps of the lake later and we was still none the wiser as to they’re where abouts.

With now seven anglers on the lake, and the majority of them on the opposite bank, I thought it best to stay where I was for the last night. So I topped up my spots with another 1/2 kilo of the glugged equinox, and decided to rest the swim for the afternoon with no lines in the water and pop and see my mate Dan who had set up in a bay down to my left. We spent the afternoon having a bit of a social and a good catch up. The light began to fade so knew had to get my rods back out on the spots, I topped up each spot with another 20 baits just I case they had been and had a free feed.

With the rods out I stuck tea on for me and Dan, just as we started tucking in, we heard one bosh out in the darkness, so shot down the bank to see if we could see where it was, and saw the ripples were coming from just behind my left hand spot. Over the next two hours we see nearly 30 shows just behind the left hand rod. They had moved into my water big style, it probably helped keeping the lines out the water for the afternoon, leaving them to move into quieter areas away from the pressure from the opposite bank to me. All what was left now was to hope one slipped up and made a mistake.

Through the night was quiet with only the odd liner. With that many showing though I knew something had to happen. It did, at around 5:30am my left hander pulled up tight, upon picking the rod up it was nearly torn from me, as whatever I’d hooked took off. After probably 5 minutes of it tearing about, I was beginning to think it was most probably one of the lakes smaller carp, as the ‘A’ team usually just seem to plod about. Nearly 15 minutes past with the unseen carp tearing about the water in front of me, then in the very dim light I managed to get it in the net first time though. I put the net down and went and grabbed my head torch, picking the net up I expected to see a 20 pounder, but what I did see was a rather large chunk. A quick shout to Dan, and he was soon with me to help with un-hooking and weighing. As we rested her in the un-hooking mat we both recognised her as the ‘Amazon’ fish. On the scales, they swung round to 37lb 8oz, and we both couldn’t believe it as she was well up in weight from her last capture. So we zeroed the scales again and hoisted her up, lo and behold they settled on 37lb 8oz again. I was well made up, a proper late autumn chunk!

I placed her in the retention sling to wait for some good light to get some pics, and stuck the kettle on. With a couple of brews sunk it was soon light enough for a few snaps, she looked absolutely stunning in her autumn colours and behaved well for the pics. With her I returned I was soon packing my gear away on cloud 9, as another one on the hotlist was ticked off. I later found out that ‘Amazon’ was the only one caught that weekend to 7 seven anglers on the lake. I caught her on a 15mm Equinox hard hook bait that I trimmed the top off slightly and tipped it with half a 10mm matching pop up, to balance it. This was fished on a blowback rig, which was nearly 2inches back in her mouth! She certainly wanted that Equinox!

Be lucky! Dan

New Post has been published on http://www.bivvedup.com/carp-fishing-tips/unpressured-vs-pressured-by-lee-crampton

UNPRESSURED ‘vs’ PRESSURED by Lee Crampton

Having been asked by CC Moore to write this article I found it hard to know where to start writing about carp that have not been pressured by anglers. At the end of the day, they are just carp, same carp as you find with rivers and day ticket waters.

However I do feel they behave slightly differently and are in fact, once located, easier to catch in my opinion.

Most unpressured pits are normally large windswept lakes that have been dug for materials. I think their stock have either come from stocking campaigns by the excavation companies, moved from rivers and surrounding pits in floodwater, or even fish eggs transferred by a number of ways, or, every now and again, moved by humans.

Most of these lakes are probably estate lakes or Natural England waters and are likely to be either Local Nature Reserves (LNR), or Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) waters, which means you probably shouldn’t really be fishing them.

These waters normally contain very few carp which means location is absolute key. They are normally extremely rich with weed growth and natural food, so the carp don’t need to travel far to find what they need. Additionally, I often find they shoal up on these waters (summer and winter) and most fish will be in one area of the lake at any one time.

If you are fishing the wrong area, you could be there for an entire week without a single fish crossing your path.

I would use your time wisely on these waters and make sure the odds are stacked in your favour before wetting a line. Spend as much time as you’re willing to spend just watching the water. If it’s a new water and you are unsure of its stock then plan your ‘fish spotting’ periods and wait for either a scorching hot day when they should be cursing, or even spawning.

Time is precious so I wouldn’t spend much angling hours until I’m completely confident I know exactly what’s in there, and if you time your fish spotting period correctly you will soon find out.

These carp are not shy, in fact some are even intrigued and will come to check you out. You don’t need to be cleaver with your terminal tackle, they won’t be rig shy – tackle strength and good hook gold is far more important.

Bait wise I would suggest sticking well away from commercialised flavours and focus on keeping everything as natural as possible with hemp, pellets and natural boilies.

Unlike pressured carp which can take hours swimming past your baited area, picking up crumbs and building up their confidence. I find that natural fish will simply get their head down and as long as it’s not completely alien to them, they should willingly accept bait quite quickly.

As mentioned I think location is key, I would suggest that finding them is 80% of the battle. Two days of research can be more productive than two weeks fishing in the wrong location – it’s not about putting in the bank time, or about ‘filling it up’ with bait – I think it’s more about fishing when the time is right – fishing clever, not harder.

Because they are normally big windswept pits, this can make watercraft easier. Their diet pretty much consists of naturals so I would look to follow the wind. Strong winds will cause strong undercurrents which move weed beds and unsettle naturals, makes easy pickings for carp. Plus carp are designed to swim against currents so they should be at the end of a strong wind, especially in warmer months.

I would check Google Maps and if possible screenshot it and play around with contrast in Photoshop in an attempt to identify the bottom contour, I try and find gaps between underwater bars because undercurrents will push naturals through the channels causing entrapment areas which will often get patrolled. If there is such a thing as ‘patrol routes’, I would imagine its due to the bottom contour and undercurrents flushing natural through these channels.

Full moons should be productive on these natural pits. In my opinion the moon doesn’t have a great affect other than that hatches normally happen during a full moon so this should stimulate fish feeding. I think that natural fish will be very much in tune with their environment and know when the most productive feeding times are – it’s just another piece of the jigsaw.

I would also plan my actual fishing time around air pressure, in low pressure they normally have their heads down so I try and sit on my hands until, in theory, they should be feeding.

I try and make sure as much as possible is stacked up in my favour before actually fishing these pits. It’s all the small things that add up for me, each one may only make a 1% difference individually, but collectively they could add up to 10% or even 20% difference and increase your chances of catching by the same amount.

Fishing these pits successfully is all about watercraft and planning your time wisely, rather than bait, rigs, tactics, time or dedication.

Unlike stocked waters and pressured fish, now this is something completely different.

I find the biggest challenge is to stimulate them into feeding. Location isn’t really an issue, presentation is normally straight forward enough, it’s convincing them to get their heads down is the difficult bit.

Now there will be certain spots they will confidently feed and if you manage to track these down then it makes life a lot easier, but that’s often not feasible as they could just be feet in diameter and hundreds of yards out.

I think you will be surprised just how many carp pass your baited area during your session on stocked waters, it’s just a case of grabbing their attention. There are obviously many ways of doing this and I wrote a small article a while ago about coating boilies which might be worth a read:  http://www.ccmoore.com/bait-blog/coating-baits-by-lee-crampton/

Once you have stimulated them into feeding, that’s almost job done and now it’s down to your presentation as these fish have quite literally seen everything before and will constantly be on guard watching for the slightest sign of anything that doesn’t look or even feel quite right.

I truly believe pressured carp can recognise elements such as lifted line, reflection off many materials, swivel, lead clips or even hook contrasts and shapes so the more you can do to break the familiarity the better your changes of going unidentified, and the obvious elements are the lead, lead clip, swivel and hook which you might assume is unchangeable, but with a little effort, thinking and creativity it really isn’t:

There are many other things you can do to stack the odds in your favour but I would suggest that on stocked and pressured waters, the main areas of focus should be stimulating the fish to feed, and rig presentation, which is all completely different challenges to unpressured, natural environment fish where its location, location and location.

Lee Crampton

New Post has been published on http://www.bivvedup.com/carp-fishing-tips/effectively-fishing-in-weed

Effectively fishing in weed

The majority of the lakes and pits I choose to angle on have an abundance of one thing and that is weed. It is no coincidence that these weedy pits nine out of ten times are filled with crystal clear water that allow uncontrollable amounts of light to raise the weed from the lake bed all the way onto the surface film.

Small insects, snails and other forms of aquatic life use these caverns and strands of weed as a holding. With such protection from predators the natural life can thrive in high density. If there is one part of the lake that is weed ridden then more times than not that is where the highest stock of natural food will be found. But on the other end of the scale if the whole lake is weed ridden you have very little to go on in terms of areas with a larger holding of natural food as the whole lake is likely to hold similar amounts in nearly every weed bed.

For some strange reason people have a mental block in fishing in and around weed, whether that be presentation or in deed the landing of your prize. Within this article I will give my thoughts on fishing successfully in and around the weed.

Without a doubt the biggest edge on a weedy lake or indeed most lakes is the use of a boat. The boat when rules allow is a game changer, from finding spots, baiting spots, checking spots, lowering rigs, and if you get it right you can use one to make the landing process a whole lot easier!

Rules on most lakes “if your lake has rules that is” will usually restrict the use of a boat altogether, while some will only allow you to use one for weeded fish or baiting up. For the purpose of this piece I will not mention the use of a boat, but more on how to angle well on a weedy lake from the bankside.

The Finding and preparation of a spot

The majority of my angling takes place upon pre-baited spots; before I decide upon a likely area I go down the same thought process time and time again and ask myself the same old questions; where have I seen the carp regularly? Where are the favoured swims for anglers to sit? And what areas are neglected by others? Many anglers like to sit in swims with so called “form” and end up making their minds up before they even start a campaign. Personally I take very little notice of “going pegs” as they usually have a heavy footfall of anglers making it very hard to create a feeding situation without the intrusion of other anglers bait. How many times have you said I’d never fish that bait if it was free!?

Well that bait could be thrown into that popular swim a few days after you vacate from a baiting trip by another angler! I like to keep variables as close to controlled as possible and by sitting in a peg with heavy foot fall it’s a near on impossible situation to create.

With that stated it indicates one of the many reasons I end up looking in the more unfavourable swims, and most of the time the most under fished swims are the weediest! In these quiet swims careful introduction of bait can be controlled safe in the knowledge that you know what is going into it. The only negative of fishing an under fished swim is the nature that makes them that way, so in this case and abundance of weed stretching from the margin all the way to the far side.

Turning the “weed is a nightmare” expression on its head it helps you find one thing a lot easier… the “going” area. Weed can indeed tell you where to fish, it might be a small hole the size of two bucket lids or a strip the width of an old railway sleeper but there will be spots to find. I actually find a weedy lake a lot easier to fish than a barren open sand pit type water with little or no weed. Where would you put bait in that situation when the whole lake is suitable for a bottom bait rig? Weed fishing is much more suited to small traps and that is exactly what I enjoy setting.

So with a quiet swim selected and base it on the fact fish do visit it on a fairly regular basis you have a small piece of the lake you could look at as your own for the time being.

Before any bait is introduced id be actually feeling for these small spots. Over time when feeling the lead down you will grow used to the sensation when your lead has plucked or snagged the weed on it’s decent. For example in 8ft of water you want to make sure you feel the lead down 8ft, at this stage I’m not looking for a donk or even a soft thud, all I aim for is the lead descending all the way to the bottom missing the weed as it falls. Once that lead is on the bottom a small gentle sweep of the rod to feel the bottom will give me a rough idea of what the bottom is like in the hole. Sometimes it will be like glass and slip straight back without a knock (more than likely clay), on occasion it might feel like a heavy but consistent slip across the spot (dense silt), or most of the times it will lock up and pull out as you sweep the rod (strands of weed). It doesn’t matter if its weed clay or silt at the bottom of the hole then I will always apply a heavy load of small seeds like hemp or pigeon conditioner to clean the spot. No matter how clear we might think a lot of these spots are there are always bits of crap on the bottom that could ruin a presentation.

The particle serves two purposes it not only cleans it, but it will get the fish slowly feeding on the spot. With regular baiting on spots in holes in the weed I have rarely had them fail me, where do the carp feel the safest? It’s either within the confines of snags or weed so you’re creating a new larder right next to their area of sanctuary.

It’s important to mention that there is no substitute for regular baiting, and it’s even more important to keep it as low key as possible. At the end of the day there are many anglers about with little or no morals and these will be quick to jump on the back of other anglers hard efforts. If you keep captures and baiting missions on the quiet you will reap the rewards for a lot longer and sit confidently whilst safe in the knowledge your hard work won’t be undone by someone else’s greed for easy success.

Rig concealment

With a spot hopefully encouraging a few carp to divulge into a feeding frenzy the next thing to cover is the presentation of your trap. I use the word trap because I see it as just that, the over used concept of the modern day angler flinging singles out 120 yards and claiming them as traps is utter rubbish! that is more of a chance! By a trap I mean a carefully placed rig on a spot that fish venture over or (fingers crossed) feed upon…

The presentation of this trap can mean the difference between a take or a refusal, or indeed a lost fish.

The concealment of your trap especially in weed is something that can easily be achieved, hopefully by now the spot itself is quite clean, so the lead and hook link will lay somewhere near the deck. I say somewhere near because it will never look as good as it does in the edge, but despite this the rig will still be fishing. On the rig camouflage side of things I usually stick to green colours and I rarely differ, there is always weed kicking about on even the clearest feeling spots. But if I can see the spot or if I’m bringing clay back on the lead I will usually opt for some light brown materials water clarity dependant. When fish are feeding with greed they will usually overlook most things, but on them odd occasions when you have a single fish feeding or a couple sparsely blowing on the spot that’s when concealment can get you them extra bites (anyone can catch a greedy fish!). Time and time again fishing is put down to percentages and if you perfect each percentage and you still don’t catch then at least you gave it your best shot!

The one thing that will let you down in a weedy environment is your line lay. Fluorocarbon this and fluorocarbon that trust me when I say all line in weed can looks flipping terrible no matter what anyone states. Even with the slackest of lines just one bit of weed can hold up the line at an acute angle and make it visible from meters away. It’s something that is impossible to avoid when the weed is growing at different gradients.

Small castable weed rakes can be a vital tool in carving small channels out of the weed; I’ve used them in the past to clear small routes through my own margin so the line stays down. That said they are not very effective at removing the actual bed of weed. If beds of weed must be removed id look towards a large garden type rake that’s weighted and thrown in by hand. Either way a small channel for your line to lie within is taking your rig concealment to another level; on super “riggy” waters this can be a huge push in your favour.

The debate on slack against tight lines in weedy situations continues to stir many different opinions; some valid and some not. It’s always entirely dictated by the scenario you are faced with. On a basic rule of thumb if the weed is low enough or if you have a small channel to aid line lay I will more often than not fish a slack or semi lack line. That is because your line actually has a chance of sinking somewhere near the bottom.

In another breath if it’s not possible to clear a small track to your spot and the weed is dense between your rod and your trap I take a totally different approach and fish a much tighter line. The reason being is the line is going to held up by the weed so a slack line is giving you no advantages what so ever at all. I’m not saying fish a bow string line but a nice small drop on a light bobbin and a straight line angle going out towards the rig is what I look for. I try to lay the line over the top of thick weed beds and actually try to lift the line as high off the water as possible, fishing with your rod tips at a higher angle will help raise the line out of harm’s way (in your own margin at least).

Whether I fish a slack line in weed or a semi tight one I will always try to keep my tips up at an angle, and keep my clutches screwed tight. Some people’s idea of a tight clutch is different to my own, by tight I mean locked down, this is one of the biggest aids in actually hooking and landing a carp in a weedy scenario. By keeping the tip up all the carp’s power on the take is absorbed through the rod and the stretch in the line. This leaves the carp to discharge the lead a lot quicker, and more than likely rise in the water. It imperative you are close to your rods and have decent back rests that secure your rods under any amount of pressure. Most of these takes will pull the rod tip down and then hold in that position until you pick the rod up; now the fun begins!

The Landing of Fish

I dread to think how many good fish are lost due to the weed that densely populates most rich waters, but there are small things an angler can do to discourage the carp from throwing the hook.

The first thing I do when I bend into a fish is keep it under steady pressure with a healthy bend in the rod. Most of the time when fishing a really weedy peg you can feel like your bending into a brick wall, at these stages I hold the rod in full test curve trying to gently tease the fish out of the weed. I don’t use any striking motions the only thing I may do is try to change the angle. If you can walk up the up the bank to gain height over the fish this usually does the trick, if not then just hold tight. Sometimes they start to come out, but more often than not they just stay put and your left with no sensation down the blank at all just a dull weight. It’s vitally important to understand that if you can’t bring the rig in then a fish is still attached. How many times have you struggled to get leads back when you have landed in weed? Not many I guess? That’s because there isn’t a great big weight of carp blocked against a bank of weed to contend with. If the rig is stuck solid then you are still in battle with a carp.

After holding the rod for a good 5 or so minutes with little or no line gained I tend to hope I have a good hook hold on the fish because it has been on for some time, I proceed to put the rod back on the rest whilst slackening the line off to relieve tension to the fish. Sometimes the fish will start taking line straight away, other times it might take hours but they will usually come out on their own steam. I remember many occasions I’ve put the kettle on and had several brews whilst waiting for a fish to swim free of the weed, on a few weeded carp I’ve went back to bed only to be awoken a few hours later with a freed carp. Patience is a huge virtue when it comes to bringing in weeded fish without the use of a boat.

As most would have experienced most carp once freed from the weed tend to have a bit of weed covering their heads, this can subdue them enough to tease them all the way to the waiting net. If this is not the case once you have the fish moving it’s vital to keep them moving towards you. Walking back is a lot more effective than winding them in, because as you pump the rod you can lose pressure on the fish as you reel the line when the rod arches forward. This small lapse in pressure could let them find hostel in another big bed of weed and you might need to start the whole process again.

Playing fish and successfully landing them comes down to a bit of luck, skill, and hard learnt experience, that unfortunately will involve a few losses, but that’s the game we play!

There is little point in going to the effort of finding and feeding small holes in the weed if you’re going to allow your tackle to let you down. I’m not an angler who likes to over complicate an approach, or in fact try and fix things that aren’t broken. When weed is brought into the equation only small tweaks are made, this is not through media hypes but through what I’ve witnessed and learnt through hard hours on the bank.

Lead Ejection

There are a handful of important notes to take on board when fishing in weed, and one of the most important is dropping the lead. To all the people who think it’s a gimmick, a waste of money or has a huge impact to the ecology underwater you really need to get over yourselves and take your blinkers off. It makes your hook to land ratio in nearly all situations increase tenfold.

In clear water when a fish shakes its head it can be cushioned directly through the line and the tip of your rod, not a big 3oz lead waving about. The lead serves absolutely no purpose once you have hooked the carp, and is actually a huge hindrance. Dropping the lead will reduce the numbers of hook pulls an angler will incur over a year.

The reason why it’s even more important in weed is it allows the fish to rise up in the water layers and keep in direct contact with the pressure you apply. It’s just one less thing to knock the hook hold about or become lodged in the weed. For me I have to be confident that the lead will come off on every take.

The Line

Going off from the topic of lead ejection the next area of importance is the line you choose. I have used fluorocarbon in weedy environments and it has faired very well, especially when using chods straight on the line. The only scenario I saw fluorocarbon letting me down was when swan and pea mussels were in abundance. On occasion you will reel in and have small nicks in the line when fishing fluorocarbon and this will increase the chance of cut offs. To combat the mussels I have switched to some heavy monofilament, I’m under no illusion it doesn’t disappear or indeed sink anything like fluorocarbon but when dealing with mussels and heavy snags it’s a cut above any fluorocarbon I’ve used.

No matter what the popular consensus is a chod rig is not the be all and end all in fishing in a weedy swim, there is a time and a place for the use of a chod in weed but more often than not when fishing a hole in the weed or on a pre-baited spot I favour a more conventional rig fished on a helicopter system. It doesn’t matter whether or not im fishing a chod or a bottom bait I will always tie the lead on with light line so it will snap off on the take.

The chod on the line is a devastating singles tactic and I’ve done so well fishing it on large clumps of weed in hot conditions. Imagine a perfectly presented zig just sitting an inch or two over the weed that the carp are cruising over; that is basically what you are recreating with a chod without all the fuss of light line and shortening links down. It’s so important to make sure the weed is fairly thick so the chod sits on top and doesn’t fall into small holes within it. By using it on the line with a super slow sinking chod section it will just hover over the weed with just the two beads lying on the Frome’s of weed. It’s a tactic that makes the synonymous pub chuck rig anything but.

Hooks

I’m a huge fan of a big hook and I rarely fish a hook smaller than a size 5, I’ve noticed a great improvement in hook holds by using larger hooks. It doesn’t matter whether I’m fishing a weedy water or not a big hook is paramount in my approach no matter what. The only time I scale down is if I’m fishing zigs or floater fishing.

I’ve seen no evidence of big hooks spooking fish; they only give you an added grip in the fish’s mouth and an increase in strength once the hook is buried.

One thing that is well worth mentioning is that bigger hooks are predominantly blunter than their smaller counterparts. I continue to hand sharpen larger hooks, that way I overcome the only problem with larger hook patterns. With a sharpened point the hook will bury a lot quicker so it really turns everything in your favour when you’re battling a weeded carp.

Like I said right at the start of the piece everything could be played out in a giant “how to” guide but it wouldn’t make anyone a better angler overnight. There is no substitute for hard hours on the bank learning through success as well as failure. Hopefully a few bits in this piece will help out and open a few different avenues for some people to explore.

Good luck and just enjoy it!

Tom Betts Causebrook

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3 Top Tips for Successful Rigs

Alex Grice tells us his 3 top tips for successful rig tying.

Anti- tangle element

Ensuring your rigs are tangle proof is a critical factor when fishing under all circumstances, and especially when fishing at greater distances or lakes where leaders are banned.

Creating a tangle proof set- up is also vital in making sure that the rig mechanics work effectively at all times. If you consider that on a typical overnight session, your rigs may be in the water for more than 12 hours at a time without a recast till the following day.

In this time you make encounter multiple pick- ups that don’t register any form of indication, whereby the fish could eject the hook length and possibly move the lead and other end tackle.

It is important in these situations that the rig can successfully re set, which can be achieved through implementing elements into the rig that help eliminate tangles and create effective rigs.

This can be achieved through the use of anti- tangle sleeves or using large loop knots in the hook length.

By using these forms of stiffer, anti tangle features on the hook length, they allows the hook length to separate from the lead during flight, without the hook length twisting around the lead mechanics and leader material.

When the lead falls through the water, the anti tangle properties will help kick the hook length away from the rest of the set up to create a trap which is most effective.

Steaming hook lengths

I have always found that a straighter hook length presents more effectively than a coated hook length that hasn’t been straightened.

Usually, most hook length materials are stored on circular spools for months. Using a straighter hook length material aids the mechanics of a rig to create a more effective hooking potential when a fish picks up the hook bait, as there is direct contact with the lead.

Straighter hook lengths generally stay flush to the lakebed, especially when fishing over firm flat spots. T o create a nice straight hook length, steam is the most effective way which lasts for longer periods.

By holding the hook length tight from either end, and running across steam for 30 seconds is the best way to achieve a straight hook length. It’s always best to store the rigs straight when not using them.

Sharpening hooks

Sharpening your hooks has become a ‘fashion’ recently in carp fishing, and it now seems that everyone is doing it, but it really does benefit your fishing and your catch rate in my opinion.

There is no doubt that a sharper hook will penetrate quicker and easier, resulting in successful hooking potential.

There are products out there now specifically designed for creating super sharp hooks, and I will sharpen hooks straight out the packet.

It’s also important to regularly check your hook points for tiny ‘dinks’ in the point. At times these can be easily missed, so make it a habit of checking after every fish or when reeling in to re cast.

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Beware of TIMS!

Shaun Harrison explains his gripe with the TIMS (Thoughtless Inconsiderate Mallet Society) and offers some advice…

This year I decided to spend a little more time on a local venue before the otters move in and wipe the fish out. Unfortunately the so called do-gooders are still releasing otters into an environment struggling to cater for their savage destruction. But, this is another issue and not one for now.

I guess over the 37 year period I have fished for carp, I have in the latter years been rather spoilt by the venues I have been able to fish and indeed the incredible high standard of the anglers on most of these venues. This never really hit home to me as it was the norm and thus I simply got on with my angling the same as others and never really had anything to worry about. It mattered little if a decent angler slotted in next door as they were generally very discreet in their approach so would rarely disturb my baited areas or traps.

What a shock to the system it has been moving back to a normal ticket venue rather than the hand picked syndicate waters I have become used to.

I have kept my ticket for this local venue for several years using it mainly for a little winter action when I am wanting to bend the rods, but like I say with more otters being released around us I felt it time to have a bit of a go during the summer months.

Like all waters I fish, I watch what others are doing and then try and be different. It can be difficult on some waters coming up with a different scenario for the fish to stumble across other than being clever with bait. On here however it has been obvious over the years that most turn up, cast to their comfort zones then pile the bait in.

I have seen very few over the years margin fish this venue yet it is as perfect a margin water features wise as you could imagine with a sharp shelf dropping off quite fast in most swims and a lovely Canadian pond weed screen keeping the fish and the angler out of view of each other.

My last 3 sessions on there have seen me catch fish out of the edge but the last two sessions I have had my sport cut short after having a few fish by what I refer to as TIMS (Thoughtless Inconsiderate Mallet Society) and when challenged it is pretty obvious they are totally oblivious to the fact that they are ruining their own angling as well as that of others.

Last week-end I had caught a few then a TIM man turned up and proceeded to send shock waves through the bank thus through the water, I had felt the vibrations through the bank rather than heard them as it was so windy, so the fish armed with their ultra sensitive lateral line certainly did and after a succession of line bites from the fish still mooching about on my bait this totally ceased.

Exactly the same thing had happened on my previous session, I had caught and still had fish on the bait then a TIM man turned up and smacked his bivvy pegs in with a mallet. The fish naturally melted away.

The ridiculous thing about this is that it is one of the most basic things we were taught when we started angling, to be quiet and discreet. To be fair after much experimenting in the past the carp don’t seem to mind noise it is vibration that freaks them out and really spooks them. Some fish are more sensitive to this than others but one spooked fish bolting takes the less sensitive fish with them. It is a natural shoal fish defence reaction.

We are angling for wild creatures, treat them the same as you would if you were wanting to get up close to view wild birds.

This blog is a gripe but also a Blog to help.

I guess many just do not realise how sensitive the lateral line on a fish is to vibration. We all know not to tap on the glass of a fish tank, it distresses the fish, so why when trying to track down and catch a fish that can easily swim so far away from you would you want to give it the head start by letting them know you are there after them by beating pegs in with a mallet?

The real sad thing about this little bit of advice is that there is not one swim on this pit where it is not possible to push or screw bivvy pegs in!

Now there is another little tip before I sign off. Bivvy pegs are made with a screw thread as they are often easier to screw into hard ground than they are being pushed into the ground yet rarely do I see anyone taking advantage of the thread provided.

Hey ho!

Best fishes Shaun Harrison.

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Daiwa Whisker DF 3LB

ACF editor Tim Hodges casts an experienced eye over the 3lb Daiwa Whisker DF, a British-made rod oozing quality at a very sensible price.

I actually own three old 2.25lb Daiwa Whisker rods, which I use very frequently when I’m on smaller waters, and they are a delight to use.Through the combination of Danny Fairbrass and his team at Korda and the designers at Daiwa, the DF range of rods has gone from strength to strength. So, when the new Whisker DF turned up in the office I couldn’t wait to have a good look at it, to see what Danny and the Daiwa team has done to improve it.

As with most of the DF range, its finish is very professional with subtle graphics, which seems to be the trend at the moment and this gives it a very classy look. It is fitted with six rings, including the tip ring, and, as is the modern fashion, it has a 50mm butt ring.

My first impression is that this has not been designed as an out-and-out distance rod because it has a nice soft action to the tip section. This not only makes playing fish a thoroughly enjoyable experience but it also means you will suffer less hook pulls, which often happens if you are using a very stiff powerful rod. So unless you need to cast to the horizon on a regular basis the Whisker DF range is a very good all round carp rod.

However, if you have some half decent casting ability and the correct set-up with a decent big pit reel I’m sure that you would be able to hit distances in excess of 140 yards.

In my humble opinion, this is a very good carp rod that at £185 is an absolute bargain. I would normally expect to pay considerably more for an English designed and made rod of this sort of specification.

Although we were sent the 3.0lb version to look at there are four 12’ models in the range starting at 2.75lb up to a 4.25lb spod rod and two 13’ versions in 3.0 and 3.5lb.

The Verdict A great rod at an even greater price. Top marks all round.

Website: www.daiwasports.co.uk

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A Run of Big Carp at Grand Orient

Jim Kelly and Paul Cooper travelled out to Grand Orient, a very private 29 acre venue situated mere yards away from the banks of the giant Lac d’Orient. Here’s Jim’s report…

Grand Orient is in an absolutely unique location. Set in the middle of a huge forest that also serves as a nature reserve with no access to the general public; in fact unauthorised people could face a fine of 130 Euros! The nearest road is something like 2 miles away meaning that there is no noise or light pollution.

The lake is in a fenced compound of something like 3 square miles; hence the grounds could be described as extensive.  The satellite picture below shows just a small portion of the forest. The straight lines are forest tracks, not roads.

The lake

Imagine being in an unspoilt forest, Golden Orioles are giving their haunting, fluting calls in the treetops. Pheasants abound, deer roam the woods and there is even the chance of seeing a wild boar. Every now and then you pinch yourself to make sure that you haven’t died and gone to heaven. You are at peace with the world, in an idyllic location. All of a sudden the status quo is broken by the harsh sound of an alarm as a carp accelerates from nought to full speed in an instant. Is this place imaginary? No it is called Grand Orient and it is very real.

The lake is trapezoidal in shape and approximately 20 acres in size, average depth is approximately 8 feet with a firm clay bottom. Fishing is from two banks the other two banks being a causeway and a dam.  The causeway separates the main lake from the stock pond. There are 7 recognised swims each has the choice of bivvying up on either grass or a hard-cored rectangle.

As stated earlier there were a few of things that are going to be improved over the winter. Although the bivvying area is dry, casting and landing fish is done off spits of clay that have been formed by back dragging the lake bottom. These were muddy when we were there so I would suggest taking a pair of wellies in the wetter months. Another problem was access to the East bank as it was very soft after a fair amount of rain and impossible to drive a car round. However, the owner was more than happy to take tackle etc. around using a trailer attached to his Land Rover. The West bank also needed a little bit of maintenance. It is our understanding that these minor issues are on Fabrice’s  (the owner) to do list.  However, none of the above prevented us from fishing or enjoying this unique location.

The Fishing

When Paul and I arrived at the lake we had a really good look round. As the weather was cold we both decided to fish the deeper water. Paul set up casting along the dam in 11 feet of water and I set up to his left in 9 feet of water. Paul as usual was off to a flyer and by Wednesday had landed something like 13 carp to 39lb 4oz. The carp ranged in size from doubles through twenties to thirties. I on the other hand had only landed one fish, a double. I was reluctant to move as we had a kitchen area set up including a fridge to keep the beer cold. After all we had come together and it appeared antisocial to split up.

During my days watching the water I had noticed a large carp showing in the same place several times in an area just off the causeway. I decided to bite the bullet and move. I moved one swim along and cast 120yards to the area the fish had been showing. I had a fish straight away, a low twenty but very welcome. I didn’t fish Wednesday night as the owner decided to “force” a few drinks upon us and it would have been rude to refuse. I don’t fish if I think I can’t handle the fish properly.

Come Thursday and I spombed a few Kg of boilies into the area and cast out. What a day it turned out to be… I had 10 carp including four 40’s and three 30’s. After every fish I spombed out another couple of Kg of Quality baits boilies. By 8 o’clock I was absolutely knacker and reeled in for the night. The next day I was off to another flyer including a lump of 52lb 10oz. I also lost a much bigger fish.

Paul continued to catch steadily, but alas he didn’t appear to be on the same stamp of fish that I was on. Paul has several theories why this was the case, but who really knows? In total we finished with 42 carp. From one visit it is impossible to state the stocking level or the maximum size of the fish. All we can say is there appears to be a lot of carp and they grow really big.

The Facilities

On site is a hunting lodge situated about 50 yards from peg 1. Outside of the lodge is a covered area with table and chairs brilliant for those lazy summer evenings. Inside is a toilet, shower, a well-appointed kitchen and a dining area with a real fire. An absolute god send if the weather turns inclement.

Due to the isolated nature of the lake there is no mains electricity or drinking water. The toilet and gas shower are supplied via a water tank that is gravity fed. The facility has electric lights powered by a solar panel. There is no provision for charging bait boats or phones. Whilst we were there we boiled lake water for washing up and bought 5 litre bottles of drinking water from the supermarket.

For more information on Grand Orient follow the link – French Carp Fishing. You can also watch the venue video filmed with Paul and Jim below…

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New Lake Record Catfish at Molyneux

It seemed to be the night of the big cats last night (August 4th) with two being caught almost simultaneously. Barry in Barn landing a 56lb catfish around 11.30-12pm, whilst at the same time Paul in Stones was battling his own demon in the shape of another monstrous cat…

This one led him a merry dance around the back of the island for quite some time before he managed to tame and bring it to the net, where he found that the battle was not quite won. It was now a case of fitting a quart into a pint pot (one for you oldies out there). Eventually it was bundled into the waiting net, and assistance was called upon to help weigh and photograph the beast… It weighed in at a new lake record weight for Catfish at 75lb’s.

Massive congratulations Paul… Cracking fish!!

For more information on Molyneux follow the link - French Carp Lakes near Calais