River carp fishing - session one

I started this post well before leaving to go fishing; I've been intrigued by the concept of river carp fishing since I learned of a viable population which reside in the tidal R. Stour. I have gained access to a remote stretch of bank and it is now down to me to do the business, or not?
My first goal must be to catch a carp, any carp, but, ultimately, my desire is to land a decent upper-double/twenty from the venue. Is this a realistic ambition? I have to admit that I'm going on hearsay evidence - no photos, or other sources of confirmation, being available. This is, for me, the beauty of the challenge. I have no idea about these fish, or the population dynamics - I'm certainly not seeking "Fred" who came out last week at "blah, blah, pounds!"

Hemp on the left, Curried Chick Peas on the right - it's why kitchens were invented!

My initial approach will be fairly standard fare; a bed of particles with a neutral buoyancy pellet/flouro combi on one rod and, the trusted, curried chick peas on the other. Rigs are very similar to those I use barbel fishing, although I will be using running lead clips rather than my usual semi-fixed inline set up. As the project progresses, I will adapt my tactics accordingly. Rods are my Duncan Kay's, fitted with Mitchell 300's and my hook links will be Kryston Snake Bite, in preference to my usual Silk Worm - both rigs fished using 800mm lead core leaders. It should be rather enjoyable, nuisance species will be tolerated, due to my own lack of experience - I'm really looking forward to it! (written at 10.25 hrs on Saturday 27th June 2015)

My swim, nicely tucked away in the bankside vegetation.

Well, I arrived at the river just around 19.00 hrs., fishing through to 23.00 hrs - not a sniff! It was a real eye-opener, of a session. The tidal influence being something I'd not really considered. High tide, in Pegwell Bay was at 20.00 hrs. (give or take a few minutes) and when I left the water was still rising, flowing back upstream, just a quickly as it moves in the opposite direction when the tide is out. I got my feed out, using a bait dropper, but can now see that I'll require some big (4 oz.) cage feeders instead of my usual leads. A cracking evening, the highlight being a Barn Owl which flew directly over my head as I was sat, quietly, tucked away in my swim. Other birds around the area included a Cuckoo and a couple of Turtle Doves with a Long-eared Owl, flushed from the roadside telephone wires, as I drove back home.

This, rather spectacular looking, Summer Chafer was amongst the egg boxes as I checked the
contents of the trap this morning.

Bev and I bumped into Franny and Brenda, in Westwood Tesco's, yesterday afternoon, and had time for a quick chat about the local mothing before moving on. It would appear that I need to acquire a book on "micros" - available on line, apparently, for about £25! It had Richard Lewington's name associated, top illustrator - so a copy will be headed my way sometime shortly! Franny feels that this tome will assist, greatly, my efforts in id-ing some of the tricky little blighters that I've recently encountered.