Scamping like a "tart"

I've been toying with various ideas as to what I'd like to achieve with my angling during 2023. Quite obviously, that March "twenty" plus Pike has suddenly become a very current challenge. However, there are several other projects which may, or may not, come to fruition one of which revolves around my desire to land a double figure Carp in every month. There are Carp anglers all around the UK who will wonder what all the fuss is about as they do just this year on year. Well, as I'm not, nor have never been, a Carp angler this is something which is there to be attempted and not beyond possibility given the venues available locally. 

Whilst I was number crunching my Pike captures, one side effect was that I examined the diaries relating to my time at Stanborough Lake in 1983/4,  to discover that I only managed to land fourteen Carp over ten pounds (four twenties) during that full-on project. Further investigation showed that in the period 1981 to 1993 I only managed to land thirty-two Carp "doubles. With Carp now dominating the modern, freshwater, angling scene there will be venues capable of producing these type of returns in a few days/weeks. 

There are several local venues where my short session approach will still give me a realistic chance of enticing a bite from my targets. What is becoming quite worrying, from my stance, is that I slowly appear to be morphing into a tackle tart. A bloody "Carp Faggot" Nash reels, alarms and baiting pole, Korda terminal set-ups, what's happening to me? Fortunately, a semi-sensible side does come into my tackle choices. NGT bobbins, landing nets, unhooking cradles and weigh slings plus assorted Korum, Kodex and Avid kit ensures I've all bases covered, yet without the trendy logos!  A short, three and a half hour, session down at the farm irrigation reservoir produced a single bite, but from the fish I was after. A 12 lbs 5 oz Common Carp my reward and therefore, the February "double" in the bag.

Another session, probably on Friday, down at the reservoir before I'm back to the RMC in search of that Pike which has, so far, eluded my efforts.