Whilst I've written hundreds, possibly thousands, of pieces on carp fishing in the last forty years, one of my favourite series started in Crafty Carper in 2008: “Diary of an Everyday Carp Angler”. A true monthly diary piece written by an obsessional carp angler, but an angler who had a life outside of carp fishing: full-time work, relationship ups and downs, concerts and family events.
Almost twenty years on, it still feels pretty similar. Completely obsessed with carp fishing, but even though I retired from court in 2018, my carp fishing has to fit around family events, trade obligations, biking, gigging and gyming… and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Whilst I admire full-time anglers and their stickability and results, 95% of carp anglers don’t fall into that position.
Having chatted to Richard, we thought it would resonate with many of our Nutrabaits users if I did a Nutrabaits-based monthly diary of my fishing, from mid-month to mid-month. Hopefully, it will inspire you to believe that even with limited time, but a great bait, it is possible to catch carp consistently.
May to June
Is it me, or does spawning come round quicker each year? From sitting under a brolly, sheltering from a bitter north-easterly wind and squalling rain, to waters closing for spawning — what happened?
I’ve seen it all before, so I knew that although April and early May could be inconsistent, if I could time it right, the week or so before spawning can see carp lower their defences and trip up. Although I have tickets for four waters, it’s impossible to fish four at once, so it was a case of keeping my ear to the ground and trying to be in the right place at the right time — easy to say, eh?
Bait choice was never an issue, as from day one back at Nutrabaits, it was always going to be Trigga Ice in one form or another. Back where it belonged quality-wise, and now being steamed, I’d be happy to say possibly better. And I can say that, as I was there then… and now.
The Big Pit was out of the equation, as it had flooded in winter and had stayed flooded, so Jurassic it was, with its own issues. Although lack of angler pressure sounds good, what it does mean is that they are aware of any angler pressure and behave accordingly. So getting on them was not the one; predicting where they’d end up and setting traps was much better.
Trap-wise, I had fishery pellets soaking in Trigga Ice Activator for three days, and at the lake I was going to combine them with crumbed Trigga Ice, Boilie Bites and 12mm freebies. The night before the session, a small amount of the Boilie Bites and some squeezed 12mm freebies were added to the soaking pellets, which meant that come the next day, they’d have nicely drawn the Activator liquid in too.
Four to six swims were baited up by hand — edge fishing — and I’d make my decision where to fish from midday onwards. The temptation to fish is always there, but it’s better to spend twelve hours in the right spot rather than eighteen in the wrong one. Usually, I was fishing by 6pm, with bites coming at first light over the lightly baited swims. Twelve fish to over thirty pounds in a few sessions — that Ice is special!
Eventually, the water in the Big Pit started to drop, and I had a few reconnaissance trips in late April, hoping to find some fish to have a go at. Three walk-rounds were fruitless, but on the fourth I found some in the car park end, looking like they were just about to follow a new wind to the shallows.
There are two pinch points where a central island funnels them left or right, so I had to decide which bank to set up on. Sod’s Law, I picked the wrong side and frustratingly saw the carp, well out of casting range, on the opposite bank. Urghhhhhh!
Back a week later, and similar conditions, but with the wind blowing slightly more into the bank I’d blanked on last time. Three margin spots baited heavily with three-day-old Activator-glugged pellets and Blank Saver pop-ups on multi rigs over the top. A crazily strong wind meant I had to hide behind my Scope Brolly, and that was hidden behind the marginal trees.
This time I did get it right, and two in thirty minutes were a just reward for the effort — first blood at last!
Hope you’ve enjoyed my “real world” look at my last month fishing-wise. Twelve sessions, only three of which were overnighters, but carp from three different waters.
Tip of the Month
No matter how busy you are, you can only catch carp when you are there. Look at the month to come. Are there any days you have free? Block those out and, be it four hours or twenty-four hours, you can make it happen. Forget waiting for ideal conditions; those are your days, so get yourself on the bank.
Make it happen!
Julian Cundiff
