My angling's evolution

There's a fair chance that this might get a bit heavy? I recently watched a Nash TV offering, by Samir Arebi and Henry Lennon, on Youtube (click this link) and, as entertaining as it certainly is, found myself drawn to the conversation about the willingness to accept/utilize modern technological advances within an angling context. In this particular situation they were questioning the use of a drone for fish finding, but the sentiment could have equally been applied to bait boats, or even bite alarms, at some time in the past?

With my own roots firmly planted in an era before Carp fishing dominated UK freshwater angling, I still remain devoted to the ethos contained within the pages of "Still-water Angling" by a certain Richard Walker. My own copy is a 1962 Macgibbon & Kee addition, the vast majority of advice contained within these hallo'ed pages being as relevant, today, as when first penned. What has happened over the intervening period is way beyond anything Dick Walker could have envisaged, yet nothing which he wouldn't have fully embraced. He was the inventor of the electronic bite alarm, compound taper Carp rods and the "Arsley Bomb", an engineering genius who liked to go fishing!

February 16th 1985
14 lbs 5 oz from The Thames at Mapledurham.
Link legered Sardine on a Duncan Kay with an ABU Cardinal 66X

So where do I stand on these issues? It's pretty simple really. As an individual I have a decision to make, nothing is compulsory thus, am at liberty to pick and choose what suits my own situation. If a bait boat isn't what you perceive as "fair angling" then you don't have to use one. If, however, the fish location abilities of flying a drone above a venue will aid your decision making why not utilize the technology to assist your swim choice? A drone won't help a piss poor rig become more effective, or cause a fish to pick up a bait which has no attraction - just the angler will know that they'd failed because of what this additional knowledge has provided. As Henry says in the Youtube offering, quite where technology will be in ten years time is a mind numbing prospect? To ignore the benefits is insane if consistently catching fish is why you're at the water side in the first place. 

I don't require a drone to find the fish I target, purely because my current venues are very intimate and watercraft skills learned, over the previous fifty years, stand me in good stead. A bait boat, however, was the major reason why my Loch Awe "twenty" visited the unhooking mat and my current Carp folly is fully reliant upon the use of a baiting pole for accuracy and stealth. Fair angling? Isn't that for me to decide?

The fact that my bait had been positioned using a baitboat,
complete with sonar recording technology, detracts absolutely
nothing from the memories of happiness at the capture of
this magnificent Pike.

The "Old School" label still plays a role as my pursuit of enjoyment remains a fundamental piece of the angling experience. That my rods and reels are from an era when Hemel Hempstead was my base and Tring Reservoirs the  hub of UK speccy hunting doesn't change a thing. I'm not in the least embarrassed to place a couple of Duncan Kay's, complete with ABU Cardinal 66X's, on a rod pod with Nash Siren R3's and those £16 butt grips. It's not about what I look like, when viewed by others, but is my kit capable of doing the job I require? One thing which can never be up for discussion is the vital importance of using the best line and various rig components that you are able to afford. I'm totally confident that every aspect of my tackle choices, which will connect my rod and reel to the fish, are the best quality items available to me. 

April 20th 2023 and I'm still using the same old Duncan Kay rods in
combination with ABU Cardinal 66X reels. Why fix what isn't broken?

Modern manufacturing techniques ensure that consistency of product quality is at the very top level hence hooks, line, swivels and umpteen other accessories are now better than at any time in the past. With no brand allegiance, personal preference is how my kit is assembled. If I should see something being used by another angler, be that on the bank or on Youtube, which might be an improvement on what I'm currently using then I will often explore the potential, usually via a visit to Camo's shop in Ramsgate. Once I am happy with a set-up, or product, I rarely seek to change it in order to comply with current fads and fashions. I leave it up to the fish, not market forces, to decide when it's time for a re-think of tackle and/or tactics.

It's the desire to get to grips with some more Carp of this type which is driving 
my current angling forays. What tweaks I devise whilst fishing on the club fisheries will,
hopefully, pay dividends later in the year when I return to the Flatlands.

Crazy day - photos speak volumes.

Not a fishing rod in sight. I'll start the post at 21.00 hrs on Saturday when one of the regular Foxes turned up at the feeding station. I'd been getting another Scrabble lesson from Bev and, between games, went into my study just as the tiny vixen showed up to get first choice of the morsels on offer

Another Red Kite drifted south, over the garden, mid-morning before we headed over to Ash for some serious shit. En route we called in at Pegwell Bay where we discovered four Common Lizards sun bathing on the wall behind the garage. There were also six Avocets present on the main pool, so it was very brief, but equally enjoyable plus I added Whimbrel and Sandwich Tern to the year list. 

Once I'd got Bev home, I took a drive across to Stodmarsh NNR where I hoped to add a few more species to the self-found year list. I got Yellow Wagtail between Monkton and Sarre and Corn Bunting just outside Stodmarsh village before I arrived on site. I took nearly three and a half hours to complete a circuit of this, jewel of a, reserve and added yet another three species to my tally. Wheatear, Sedge and Reed Warbler. 

No Cuckoo, Common Tern, Hobby, Bittern, Bearded Tit, Nightingale, Willow Warbler or Garganey, so plenty of excuses to return very soon in the hope of filling these gaps on the list. Brilliant fun pointing the camera at whatever species deigned to pose. I certainly need to up my game knowing that holiday season is fast approaching.

Pegwell Avocets

Just a very short, ninety minute, visit to the Pegwell Bay NNR site in the hope of adding a species, or two, to the self-found list for 2023. Sadly, I was to be disappointed as the inland area was virtually bird less! So it was The Garage Pool which saved the day with four pairs of Avocets present. There was a ninth individual on the small pool to the right of the public hide which I spotted later, as I made my way to the Stonelees NR.

A singing Chiffchaff was the only sign of Spring migrants, whilst a fly by Little Egret provided the quintessential image of the view across the saltmarsh, dozing Common Seals providing the backdrop.

Enjoyment - why not?

My dalliance with Carp is certainly gathering momentum as 2023 progresses. The Wednesday afternoon forecast being for 50+ mph gales, plus accompanying rain, I knew that my window of opportunity wasn't that great. Bev had a luncheon engagement, with her mate Christine, so I headed back down to the local farm Carp puddle to waste away a few hours, safe in the knowledge that I could easily pack up and be home within twenty minutes should the weather get too out of hand!

Very much the calm before the storm. 

As it turned out I managed to get the rods out for  four and a half hours before conditions became so ridiculous that my personal safety might have been compromised had I remained on the bank? Seven Carp graced the unhooking mat, including two more doubles, so just the job. 

My bankside set-up is becoming more "Carp Clone-like" with every visit to Camo's shop. The latest acquisition being a pair of Nash butt grips, the requirement for which was due to nearly loosing a Duncan Kay rod, complete with an ABU Cardinal 66X reel, when a fish bolted off with my rig on Monday! These new items will certainly prevent a repeat performance yet, at £16 each, are another manifestation of over zealous Carp Tax! 

 Piss taking of the highest level?

I've owned a pair of these iconic reels, from new, 1975-ish.
Swedish built, they are a class above anything with origins in the Far East.

The bottom line, however, is that my angling is all about enjoying the experience of being at the waterside. That these various items of bank ware are able to assist the cause then so much the better. I pay my money and make my choices accordingly. I realise that this particular fishery isn't much of a test but, because of the regular action, it is a great place to work on various aspects of presentation and bite indication prior to using them in a more serious situation.

Garden watching & stuff

Not too much going on in my little world beyond the ritual of Easter "Spring Cleaning" Absolutely mind numbing the amount of pointless debris that has accumulated in my study over the past twelve months! Nobody else to blame for the build up of useless crap - it's me! Chinese take-away tubs, fat ball containers and umpteen other, equally ridiculous, plastic items which have been accrued now in the recycling bin! Exactly where they should have been placed when originally emptied? One positive, if that's possible, has to be the opportunity to keep an eye on what's happening around/over the garden whilst going about these, self inflicted, chores.

The Blue Tits have certainly been active as they've collected nest material for use in the nest box right outside my study window. Two pairs of Great Tits must also be holding territories along the adjacent gardens as they frequently appear at the feeding station and squabble noisily. It's nice to be able to report that House Sparrow numbers remain buoyant around the Newlands Farm patch and it is not unusual to see flocks in excess of thirty birds flicking around the field hedgerows or local gardens. Rose-ringed Parakeets are a constant source of entertainment at the feeders. Seventeen being the highest count, thus far, in 2023. A male Skylark continues to proclaim territorial rites above the field beyond our garden, whilst Lesser Black-backed Gull sightings are now part of the daily routine as they return to the Pyson's Road gull colony for, yet another, breeding season.

With so much activity being centred around the garden feeding station it is no surprise that the local Sparrowhawks, of which there are at least three pairs within a km radius, are also regular garden visitors. 

My self-found year list is stuck at 105 species with Red Kite, over the garden on April 4th, being my latest addition. In times gone by I'd be suicidal due to this meagre tally. Today? Doesn't matter in the slightest. I enjoy the birds that I do see and worry not a jot about those which I don't. Knowing that Bev and I will be heading off to the Eastern Mediterranean, at least, twice in 2023 what's to worry about? I'm going to encounter some superb birds, in stunning surroundings, without some saddo wielding a, long lens, camera but no bins asking "have you seen it?" 

If it's the only photo then, by definition, it has to be the best?

Still haven't made any effort to cast a bait in the direction of an Eel, although the weather forecasts do suggest more favourable conditions as the month progresses. A very short session down at the Carp puddle, on Monday, resulted in three more fish gracing the net with the best one, a Common, weighing in at 11 lbs 14 oz. The learning opportunities that this type of venue allows has meant that I'm tweaking rigs and bait presentations which I'm hopeful will provide an edge when I return to the Flatlands in June.

 

Making the most of it

 I'd planned to do a Wednesday afternoon, into dark, session down on the new farm pool but, circumstances beyond my control meant that I had to revert to plan B at the last moment. So it was just after 13.30 hrs when I loaded the van and headed back to the local irrigation pool knowing that I'd have to pack up around 18.00 hrs. Very much the same old routine. Bottom fished particle hook baits positioned using the "Bushwhacker" baiting pole (eight sections = 12m/3 wraps!). I am certain that these Carp have never been offered anything like my mixed particle concoction which I introduce as groundbait. If a commercial bait manufacturer was to produce such a product they would need to charge in excess of £20/kilo to ensure "Carp Tax" levels of profitability. For me, however, it is simply a matter of sourcing my raw materials, from a local grain supplier, then mixing them all together in my study and producing small batches (1.5 kg dry weight) in the slow cooker. The flavours and enhancers, I use, are added once the grain has been cooked, but prior to it going into the freezer. In exactly the same manner as it is stocked for a Pike season, the freezer now contains enough "party mix" to ensure I can get out to the bank at very short notice. My hook baits are produced in an identical manner, yet frozen in Chinese takeaway tubs with a date scribbled on the lid to help me with the order that they are subsequently used. 

May 2016 - my first "twenty" from the RMC on particles and a split cane!

It would have been around 1986 when I first became aware of the effectiveness of particle baits for Carp, yet it wasn't until 2015 when I stumbled upon the fish in the flatland drains that I sought to pursue the subject further. It's a really weird series of events which have gotten me to this stage because it was the 2013/14  Barbel campaign, on The Stour, which first  made me revisit the particle option. It wasn't because I thought I'd catch a Barbel on sweetcorn but, instead, a deliberate ploy to avoid Eels picking up the Halibut pellet hook baits we were using. Originally the swims had been fed with small pellets and it was like a "swim-through" Mc Donald's for the Eels, so a particle option needed to be explored. What then occurred is now consigned to the history books but, inadvertently, led to the current fascination with the flatlands and the Carp which reside there.

An old image but, tank testing rigs and bait presentations has been
a fundamental part of my angling, whatever species I'm targeting.

My confidence with particle baits is so strong because I know that 99% of the other anglers, on the same venues, won't be using them as hook baits? "They're not Carpy" or, more likely, because Danny Fairbrass and Alan Blair use boilies it's a case of "baa - baa - baa" stick with the flock. Let's get it right, the sun will never rise on a day when I will ever be perceived as being as talented as any of the Carp circuit "names". Guess what? Neither will the vast majority of those other anglers who frequent the club and day ticket venues I visit. If you do the same as everyone else why would your results be any better than theirs? So I'm back to the point where I'm telling Eddie Turner that I will only use dead baits for my Pike fishing. His advice is as relevant today, in these Carp related circumstances, as ever it was whilst on the banks of Wilstone Reservoir in the mid-1980's. "Give yourself an edge" That's exactly what I attempt to do with my approach to every angling project I undertake. For this current Carp caper I am reliant upon the fact that all my bait is produced at home, thus not available off the shelf and is, therefore, unique.  Doesn't equate to it being better than anything else, just different?

Like peas in a pod - a scamp Common of 11 lbs

So, after this post going around the houses, back to Wednesday's session. Under no circumstances can this particularly fishery be taken seriously, as a challenge. If you can't catch Carp here then it must be time to sell the tackle and buy some golf clubs or a mountain bike! In little over four hours I landed thirteen Carp, four doubles, and had to pack up because I'd run out of bait. Absolutely crazy and just the sort of session required to counter the disappointment of not being able to offer a baited rig in the other club fishery. I'm happy to let the Easter break pass before making any further visits to the bankside. Having spent a considerable amount of my time perusing the Youtube offerings, I've a couple of rig presentation ideas that need experimenting with as my season moves forward.

At 12 lbs 2 oz this "Ghostie" Mirror was the best of the bunch on Wednesday

Play time

My new Carp venue has provided more challenges than simply getting a bite. The swims have been built to last and the foundations, of the majority, are so solid that there is absolutely zero chance of getting a rod rest in the ground, let alone four - which is how many I require to fish two rods! My last visit resulted in me breaking a stainless steel rod rest and, as a result, resigned to the fact that I would need to purchase a rod-pod set-up before I returned. As I spiral rapidly downward towards total tackle tartdom, I called in to see Camo on Friday. Ten minutes and forty quid later, I left the shop with a Leeda "Rogue" pod and a silly grin on Camo's face. I spent much of Saturday playing around with my new toy and have made some alterations to the rod spacing on the buzz bars. Although designed to house three rods, my own requirement is only for two, thus I was able to grab a hacksaw and reduce the outer width of both the front and back cross bars. 

Although I'll never claim to be an engineer, the pod is now very much to my liking. I had it set up in the lounge and spent time playing around with the various configurations that the pod allows, much to Bev's displeasure! It was then down to the choice of attachments. My butt rests were simple rubber "U" types whilst I decided to dig out the "Dragon Carp" Ultimate Redmire bite alarms, in conjunction with equally cheap NGT bobbins. I purchased the alarms in 2013 when the Ramsgate branch of Dragon Carp shut down and they were available at the ridiculous price of three for £5! That they still function perfectly well means I get get huge enjoyment whenever I use them. 

With all this prep work done there was no way I could stay at home so, having secured permission from Bev, I headed off down to the local club fishery for a very short session in order to see how my new toy performed? To be fair the new pod is perfectly fine. My choice of butt rests was a major error, as the rods slid easily towards the alarms. I fixed it by using elastic bands on the rod handles but will change over to gripper type versions. The NGT bobbins are absolute crap and, again, will be changed for more superior models before I venture out again. The outcome of my, off the cuff, session was that I landed four Carp in less than three hours, the best weighing in at 13 lbs 4 oz thus ensuring my April target has been achieved. I would still like to catch a Carp from my new venue and will certainly give it my all over the next four weeks. However, with the pressure off, I might just have a dabble with the Eels before the end of the month?