1 4 PA G E S O F T A C K L E & B A I T

STRUGGLING IN THE COLD? CUNDIFF & SKOYLES ON THE BEST METHODS FOR ‘SCRATCHING TIME’

a n g l i n g p u b l i c a t i o n s . c o . u k / c a r p w o r l dBRITAIN

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E 269 FEBRUA

RY 2013

ISSUE 269 / FEBRUARY 2013 / MONTHLY £4.50

B I G N A M E S

IAIN MACMILLANDEREK STRITTON

JOHN CLARIDGENICK BURRAGE

MARK HOLMESBILL COTTAM

TIM PAISLEY

C A R P A N G L I N G A R O U N D T H E W O R L DOUR 36-PAGE INTERNATIONAL CARPER SECTION INCLUDES:

STEVE BRIGGS’ BEST CASSIEN SESSION YET TONY DAVIES-PATRICKECHOES AROUND THE WORLD CATCH ING A WORLD RECORD COMMON

T H E S U P P L E M E N T F O R T H E I N T E R N AT I O N A L A N G L E R

ISSUE 112 February 2013

P171 Fifteen years of Chr istmas tr ips to Cassien culminate in a session which produced three 50s and two 60s

B R I G G S Y ’ S B E S T Y E T !C A T C H R E P O R T S T H E W I N D C R I E S M A R Y G L O B E T R O T T E R

P165 Our monthly round-up of the carp captures that matter f rom around the globe

P181 Mario Winnekes shares the story of his capture of the enormous German common

P190 Tony Davies-Patr ick continues the story of f ishing a large pit in Southern FranceA L S O I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E : 1 7 8 O V E R S E A S F I S H E R Y F O C U S • 1 8 8 H O L I D AY D I R E C T O R Y

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Paul ForwardOur resident diarist looks back

at one of his best years ever

A� er landing forty carp over 40lb, ‘Pecky’ picks out some of his

most memorable captures

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D A R R E L L P E C K

T H E H U N T F O R F O R T Y 4 0 s

J U S T A F E WO F M Y

F AV O U R I T E SHow many people catch a 40 in a lifetime? Not many, so

when you know that Darrell’s had 40 of ’em, you’ll realise just what an achievement that is. Picking

just a few out of that bunch was hard – but someone’s got to do it.

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ABOVE The Client – I couldn’t even imagine a carp as stunning as this one!

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week-session there during July and, although we never caught, we saw these legendary carp during daily walks around the venue. �ere was a swim named Trumptons which was a little point that jutted out into the lake, and in front was the biggest bed of Canadian pondweed in the lake, possibly a touch smaller than a tennis court. Fishing this swim was none other than Terry Hearn, and, as you might expect, this is where all the carp were, bobbing and cruising along, backs out on full display. 

Over the next few weeks I �shed the lake regularly and although I had 3-4 nights a week at my disposal, it didn’t feel nearly enough. �ere were a number of genuine full-timers on there that season, and even with my limited experience I could very clearly see what was going on. �e �sh were drawn to the weed and it seemed plainly obvious that Des’s Swim opposite Trumptons was the only one worth being in, having the best line lay to the �sh. All day, every day, the �sh patrolled this weed, but during the mornings sheets of bubbles would regularly erupt on the surface as these legendary carp disturbed the sediment along the edges of the weed. Darren Miles was in this swim most weeks and the rest of us were simply there to take his pictures. He was on �re, catching at will. 

W hen I look back to my very �rst 40, in 2003, it is, without doubt, my most memorable. �e way it all

unfolded before me in slow motion, and how terri�ed I was by the realisation I was actually connected to one of the legendary Car Park mirrors, is something I’ll never forget.

RMC Yateley Car Park Lake needs little introduction. Some of the country’s most famous �sh lived there and had been caught by angling legends such as Ritchie McDonald, Rob Maylin and Terry Hearn. Its history is rich, and it’s notorious for being extremely di�cult. At the time I had moderate con�dence in my own angling ability, having caught wherever I had applied myself, but this was di�erent. Back then I had only �shed my local waters; I was a naive 21-year-old and, if I’m honest, the stories in the magazines had not only inspired

me, but le� me feeling a little inferior. When I joined, my goal was modest, I simply wanted to experience the

atmosphere, possibly witness a capture or, heaven help me, get a bite myself. I remember the �rst session vividly, even all these years on. My good friend Ben Connolly and I �shed a

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I found �shing them pretty easy a�er being on the barren, featureless lakes up north for a while. So that would be my new plan of attack for the foreseeable future. At the time there were only three main day ticket lakes at Linear, so I would simply sling my kit in the motor and head down there, and decide where to �sh when I got there, depending on angling pressure and conditions. It became very apparent from the o� that Hardwick/Smith’s was easily the quietest of the pits, due to its apparent di�culty with the up and down nature of the lakebed. It was its deserted banks and stunning Oxfordshire scaly carp that �red me up even more.

It was my marker work that started to improve on Hardwick; I mean, some of the spots were in 9� of water on top of a plateau with 18� all around it, with nothing else screaming carp in the boundaries of the swim. It was also the time I started to �sh tight, with all three rods on one spot to maximise my chances of a multiple hit. �e �sh weren’t shy either, and they are easily spotted if you look hard enough. I’d gone from sitting it out on a boring park lake to really thinking about my �shing on every level, and I was having to work it out all on my own because it wasn’t until later in the year that I got to know anglers like Jon Finch and Ian Russell, which, again, took my thinking process to the next level.

If I’m honest, Finchy always seemed streets ahead of me. He’d �shed pressured waters before and it was very clear he was comfortable with it all, and in all honesty I was a bit in awe of him, but once I got to know him he taught me no end, especially on the rig and baiting up front. I was brimming with con�dence, and the long journey �ew by. I also expected to catch every trip, rather than just hoping I would get lucky.

I’d been plumbing a swim on the Conveyor Bank spit, which gave me good access to a chunk of open water with a bay to my le�. �e big west/southwesterly winds hacked into the bay, and seeing as the lake wasn’t being

�shed much, as soon as we got favourable conditions, the �sh

acted like carp were supposed to act and followed the

wind. �is meant they would navigate over a raised clay area I’d found with the marker, and it

was just big enough (the size of a brolly) to get all

three rods on – perfect!Rigs were fairly standard, but

it was around the time the sti�er coated braids had hit the scene, which meant tangles became a thing of the past (almost). As for hookbaits, I was doing well on visual baits, such as small yellow pop-ups, or a couple of pieces of yellow plastic, which blended in perfectly with the hemp, corn and pellet mix I was putting out with the spod. My outlook on spodding had improved too, and I now understood how to �sh for bites, as opposed to spodding out buckets of mix just for the sake of it. I had done OK over the road on the Manor by concocting a mix of all sorts, including chopped boilie, groundbait, groats – you name it, it was in the mix, but I soon found a much simpler mix that still stands me in good stead to this day. However, it was the amount I’d put out in order to get the �sh feeding, rather than getting them totally preoccupied on all the small bits of feed. I think that the saying I’m a�er is less is more.

2 T h e H a m s t e r

L i n c h H i l l

I’d heard about another complex of waters just up the road from Linear. �ere were three lakes which were syndicate: the big pit, Stoneacres, and two smaller pits, Christchurch and Willow. �ey were reasonably stocked with some lovely old �sh, but there was also a good scattering of 40-pounders to go at. I popped in for a look because I’d got a couple of mates �shing on Christchurch. I’d heard all the stories on how riggy these pressured carp were, but I thought that a�er I’d done well on Hardwick, it was about time to step up a gear or three. I parted with my cash and couldn’t wait to get stuck into Christchurch. I looked at Stoneacres, but I’ll be honest, it looked way out of my league, and I like to concentrate on just the one water and get something going.

It was indeed a whole di�erent ball game on Christchurch. �e lake was only about 8 acres or so, but once I’d barrowed my gear down

and found around a dozen anglers �shing, I suddenly felt a bit lost. �ere were only a couple of swims free, and from speaking to a guy in the hot peg, Peg 1, it was apparent that most of the better swims were already booked before the guys currently �shing in them had even le�. My goodness it was busy!! Well, this is what I’d joined for, so it was time to get amongst them.

I got forced into Peg 3, which, in fairness, gave access to a good bit of open water; however, it was still relatively early, so the last thing I wanted to do as a newbie was to start

slinging a marker about bang on the morning bite time. Instead, I got everything set up and went back to Peg 1 to punish Dave, who was in there. �e gravel company were still extracting from the freshly dug pit behind Christchurch, and in order to get rid of the excess water they’d installed a pump, which, once turned on, �red all the water from the pit behind back into Christchurch. Well, you can guess what happened next – the pipe which launched the water back into the pit was in Peg 1, and once it was turned on it was like the Pied Piper playing his pipe to the carp. It didn’t matter what the conditions, they would pile in and around the pipe like nothing I’d ever witnessed before.

Dave was a shrewd character, and word on the grapevine was that he soon sussed that by slipping the gravel lads a few quid, they’d happily turn on the pump. Dave wasn’t a very gi�ed angler, he’d just sussed out what turned on the carp – and that was a load of coloured water coming streaming into his swim via a pipe!

ABOVE Hemp and corn was my main plan of attack on Hardwick/Smith’s.BELOW Big southwesterlies coming in on Hardwick; I always knew they’d be off the Conveyor Spit in those sort of conditions.

BELOW A stormy day looking out from the Middle Trees. The pump swim is on the far right against the gravel workings – just don’t mention the DIY skills!

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�e spot on the spit had now really started to produce for me, and due to the fact that the lake was hardly �shed, there wasn’t much danger of anybody going in there. Finchy had got something going on another plateau on the Summer Bay spit and we were both doing well, him slightly better than me – as always!! �e morning of the big day saw me have a couple of mint mid-20s, and the thought of big 30lb �sh was constantly on my mind. As I was �shing such a small spot with all three rods, I didn’t want to risk recasting and spooking anything that may have been lurking beneath the surface a�er my �rst two bites, so I was down to one rod.

I gently laid three spods onto the spot with hardly any disturbance, and not long a�er, a huge great mirror threw itself clear of the spot. I was nervous as hell, so imagine how I felt when the single rod tore o� out of the clip. I was shaking like a leaf, but luckily the �ght was slow and pretty uneventful and soon my prize was in the folds of the net.

I recognised the �sh straightaway, and a�er a quick call to Roy, he came round to do me a few snaps. She went 35lb 12oz on the scales, which smashed my previous park lake personal best. �e sun duly came out for the pictures, and as I smugly sipped on a cold Fosters, the Oxfordshire big-�sh bug had well and truly bitten me.

“ D a v e w a s n ’ t a v e r y g i f t e d a n g l e r ,

h e ’ d j u s t s u s s e d o u t w h a t t u r n e d o n t h e

c a r p – a n d t h a t w a s a l o a d o f c o l o u r e d w a t e r

c o m i n g s t r e a m i n g i n t o h i s s w i m v i a

a p i p e ! ”

�is trip was no di�erent, and he’d had a load of �sh, including the queen of the lake in the form of Petals at 45lb-odd. She was an absolute peach of a carp, one that I thought only existed in my wildest dreams, but there I was, about to get in a swim from where she was caught so o�en, and on my �rst visit to the pit. I le� Dave to it while I nipped down to the café for a breakfast, but I couldn’t help thinking about all the big �sh in Christchurch; I was even picturing myself holding Petals on my �rst trip!

Dave, being Dave, had signalled to the workmen to knock o� the pump, which to be fair, was the right thing to do; this would give me chance to plan my attack while the �sh dri�ed o� a little. I thought I’d try it my way for the �rst night, i.e. no pump, so I baited a couple of spots in the edge and pinged a couple of rigs directly on top of them. �e thing with Christchurch was that the going trend

was tiny bits of bait with an even tinier hookbait

over the top. For some reason the �sh’s mouths were only small, so the general thinking was

to go down the small route, because anything

bigger would be treated with suspicion, and probably

wouldn’t have been able to get in their mouths in the �rst place.

�is suited my Linear-style perfectly, and if I’m honest, I felt right at home on my �rst night at Christchurch, apart from waking up to motionless bobbins, that is. �is wasn’t on, so rather than being a martyr, I grabbed my wallet and kept my eye out for the workmen turning up just a�er 8.00 a.m. �ey soon pulled over because a new, unsuspecting fool was hovering about with a wallet in his hand. �ey certainly knew the script, so a crisp brownie was duly handed over, and I told them not to turn it o� until they le� at 6.00 p.m. �ey never le� it on overnight because the pit behind

would run dry, and the motor on the pump would either burn out or run out of diesel, so fair enough.

I reckon it only took around 20 minutes before the margin in front and behind the pipe was black with carp, and a fair few big ones too. Don’t forget, I’d only recently seen what a mid-30 looked like from Hardwick, and there were �sh as big as that there for sure. I did see Petals too, which was miles bigger than anything else in there and was easily spotted. It didn’t do my nerves much good, I can tell you.

Everything was ready, and I’d got a couple of rigs with a small PVA stick on to stop tangles. It wasn’t a case of having to attract them to the stick, the pipe was attracting them, so it was just there for anti-tangle purposes. I cast the bare leads over on the gravel margin, nipped round to clip on the rigs, and then lowered them into what was the ultimate in carp soup. �ey didn’t even spook o� me being there, such was their excitement about the

Jordan at 35lb+, still a big fish now, but bear in mind this shot was taken 11 years ago.

It was the icing on the cake.

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“At about 35yds �om the bank I was thinking, ‘�is bream is pretty weighty.’ Another 5yds later, the bream had woken up and

turned into an angry carp, ripping line �om my clutch”

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TOP LEFT Making my way to a frozen Mangrove.

ABOVE The sun warming the water below the ice; check the water temperature for yourself before and after.

been �shing it wrong? Should I change something? Wow! �at was a real eye-opener for me that night. OK, the water was cold at 6° but a bite as delicate as that was mad! I have even tripped up carp watching them shake their heads, but nothing at all down to this scale. A few minutes later I standing with a 22lb 8oz common in the net. Some things really shake up your �shing, yeah, and this was de�nitely one of them.

I must have always been one of the lucky ones; I had always read or heard of carpers who say a �sh swam 30yds with a rig without a bleep – but it had never happened to me before, never mind a carp just sitting, not even shaking its head.

L i g h t n i n g T r e e ( J a n u a r y ) A�er having a cold, but happy, New Year in Stream Mouth, we had a short,

freeze-over at the lake. I managed one more visit before the really cold weather got the best of the lake. I felt lucky because this session before the big freeze-up, I managed to �sh and rebait my spots one last time, just before a thick layer of ice was tightly screwed onto the old mere. I still felt good in the fact that I was keeping my plan going somewhat; for me it’s all about the big picture from one end of a season to the other!!

On my next visit, and with a cup of tea in hand, I sat watching the water from the top of my zipped-up door in Lightning Tree. I had got used to the odd bleep coming from my alarms, and at 7.00 p.m., the le�-hand rod gave a series of bleeps. �e bobbin was soon on its way back down to earth though.

‘Liner,’ I thought, and a feel of the line con�rmed my suspicions. I turned round and took a step back towards my bivvy, then the middle rod did almost the same thing – a slow up, a couple of bleeps, then down to earth again! Within seconds, the right-hand rod was no longer feeling le� out, letting

end up in the same area, I’d be lucky. With the baiting pattern ending up as a long trail, going from right to le� at a range of 50yds, I decided to �sh my rods like an arrow head, with the middle rod going another 20 or so yards straight through the middle of the area, well out into the lake.

With my rod tips out of the wind, I settled down for a quiet night. A�er the session I had in Stoney’s Peg, with the wind li�ing my rod tips all night – a bleep every two minutes was really annoying, to say the least – this session felt much calmer, sitting just out of the wind, so any single bleeps could be a bite on the way!!

Being used to proper runs on this old mere, this �rst night really caught me on the hop. An hour before �rst light, the alarm let out a single bleep, which woke me from my dream. Looking at the rod, I thought, ‘Liner, must be!’ Just a few seconds later, another bleep. I had visions of a carp eating a few free baits around my rig at this point. �en there was a quiet spell, well all 10 minutes of it anyway. �e bobbin did a small li� and two bleeps. �e next signal from the rod came, and another tiny movement on the bobbin indicated an upset bream. So, being a little gutted with the thought of a snotty upsetting my swim, I picked up the rod and started to reel in with a slight weight on the end. At about 35yds from the bank I was thinking, ‘�is bream is pretty weighty.’ Another 5yds later, the bream had woken up and turned into an angry carp, ripping line from my clutch. I was standing there with a thousand and one things rushing round my head. Had I missed out on carp before? Had I

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“Having the lake to myself again, I could have gone

anywhere, but I had a plan so, come what

may, I was going to see it through till the end”

TOP RIGHT The ducks will be in the first place the ice clears in the thaw. It was well worth the visit to the lake.

BELOW First of the three carp at the end of a session. (20lb 2oz).

out a couple of bleeps of its own. With a bright, cold moon looking down on me, it didn’t take me long to work out what had just happened (carp moving through from le� to right). A fresh rig in hand and a quick reel-in of the right-hand rod, then a short cast down the right margin, only 15yds from the bank, stopping the light lead in midair to get the lead to splash down as quietly as possible. I was really happy – OK, maybe not as happy as an hour or so later, when I was placing the same rod on the ground next to the mat, while I took the hook from a cold 20lb 15oz January common.

Every winter carp is worth the e�ort; I suppose you get out of it what you put in sometimes. It was funny how acting on what I was shown got me the only bite of the session.

S t i c k i n g t o M y P l a n ! ( F e b r u a r y ) �e old mere was frozen over for what seemed like most of January, but at long last the lake had started to thaw. I just gave the old mere a good couple

of days for the ice to melt, then I would be once again bobbing around the lake in a boat. I was feeling con�dent of some action because over any length of time that a lake is covered in ice, under the glassy layer the water will warm up slightly; it may sound da�, but with no bitter wind and cold rain, the ice puts a protective layer on the lake and any sun that shines has the same e�ect as a greenhouse, with the sun warming up the water inside. To prove my point, before the freeze-up, when there was an icy cold wind on the lake, the water temperature got down to 2.5°. But on this session, being the day a�er the ice melted, the lake water was a surprising 6°. How’s that for a little food for thought?

I was itching to hit the lake whatever happened, and once again, I headed straight for Lightning Tree and my well-placed dining room table. Having the lake to myself again, I could have gone anywhere, but I had a plan so, come what may, I was going to see it through till the end.

I rolled into Lightning Tree just as a strong northwesterly picked up. ‘Here we go again,’ ran through

my mind. A�er yet another battle of the bivvy in the gale, I �nally got set up for the nights ahead. �e wind was again relentless as it shook the boards below me! With my doorway facing the right-hand margin, I had a view from my warm bed. I’m always watching the water whilst out �shing – you never know what’s going to pop up!

I prepped my main spot with half a kilo or so of Nash Soluballs and a handful of boilies. I only placed one rod, with a bag of chops, over it for that night. �e other two rods went

to other productive spots. OK, one was a summer spot, but you never know really, do you? An hour from last light I was standing on the board behind my bivvy, staying out of the cold wind, when

a great big common rolled just to my right 30yds out. Wow! I didn’t need much persuasion to move a rod, so a small stringer was placed right on the money. I was sure it was going to rattle o� at some point, but not even a bleep came from that rod all session long.

�e wind had been battering me for the two nights and now came the rain on my last morning – and did it rain too! I was just thinking

of getting packed away when, out of nowhere, a run came from the

baited area. With the rain hammering down I picked

up the rod as line peeled o� the spool. I could feel the strong pull of

a carp holding its ground out in the lake. A�er a slightly

rushed battle on my part, a 20lb 2oz

common carp and

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something is not particularly good for the carp but is still being advocated as being the best thing for them. Before you ask if I have any examples, you bet I do, but in the interests of slander and libel, and in keeping with what I have written about many times in the past, I will not name individuals or companies in a bad light. However, be under no illusion that I can back up these claims from my own �ndings that have been learnt and formulated over a long, long time – 37 years to be precise! Like many, most of these �ndings have been based on information from learned friends and people I trust but, more signi�cantly, and in the majority of cases, my own experiences on a journey that so far has been worth all the heartache and failures. �ese experiences have been mind-blowing, disappointing, frustrating, euphoric, and encouraging, all rolled into one.

My �rst dabble into the world of carp baits and �sh ecology started as a very young lad when all I did was surface-�shing for carp from a local farm pond. I lived in the village of Cheveley near Newmarket for a short period of time as a young lad, and every minute I could wangle was spent trying to catch carp, which, to me, were big �sh, but the largest was probably only 8lb. On my way to the pond, I would call in at the local bakers, so when I �shed bread crust the warm, fresh bread was far better at catching and o�en was taken immediately. At the time I was unsure

why that was so, and it was my mate who made me think, when he said, “Maybe they like the smell of it better.”

�is got me thinking and I started to read up about bread-making. Seriously, I kid you not, and it was at this time I �rst learnt about yeasts and the process of fermentation. Being around at a time when carp-�shing knowledge was never given freely and catches were o�en published as being caught on ‘specials’, it was di�cult to �nd out anything about baits, more so if, like me at the time, you were just a kid, so you had to try to learn for yourself. However, two de�ning things happened which helped to push me down this path of bait discovery.

�e strangest revelation that I accidentally stumbled upon was when I �rst saw a man put Tate & Lyle Golden Syrup on his �oating crust. I asked him why he was doing this and he told me that it stopped the crust breaking up. Even as a 13-year-old, I was quite sharp and I immediately realised that perhaps not only did this boost the e�ectiveness of the well-worn tactic of �oating crust, it would also keep it on the hook longer. I was also aware that perhaps some reactive attraction was going on. Of course, those of you who know anything about bait and ingredients will recognise what was happening here, in that the yeasts within the bread were reacting to the sugars in the Golden Syrup, thereby causing some kind of fermentation. I hope by now you will see there is a thread here. However, I quickly realised

that the consistency of the Golden Syrup straight from the tin, was only smearing a coating over the bread crust. How could I get something that soaked into the crust but still didn’t make it sink?

My experiments were disappointing, to say the least, but I stumbled on the use of sugars and yeast to make a very attractive, bottom bait paste. Of course, if I had only read angling literature from over a hundred years ago I would have found out that honey-�avoured paste was a great carp attractor. Again, you see the thread running here? To make the paste easy to catapult out, my freebies were put out in the sun to dry and harden. In the colder months I would put these dough balls of paste under the grill at home. By accident or not, I had started to stumble upon using hard, round balls of bait on which to catch carp. Does that sound familiar? And this was 1976!

Later that same year, an article by Rod Hutchinson appeared in a magazine called Angling. It was a general �shing magazine, so coarse �shing articles were read several times and carp-�shing articles were actually cut out and stuck in a scrapbook! �e article in question told of Rod’s adventures on Redmire Pool but, more importantly, his experience with particles. To say Rod blew the lid o� a lot of secrets was an understatement. Indeed, the following month I read the letter from Elliott Symak, headed Cat Out Of �e Bag, in which he berated Rod for writing

ABOVE Nearly 30 years ago and at the time this mid-20lb carp was a real biggy from the north of England. A sucker for a particle.

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RIGHT Yeah, it is me, from more years ago than I care to remember, and another one of Lancashire’s fi nest, Chocolate Drop, falls to my particle approach.

BELOW The catches on particles were such that big fi sh fell as easily to my rods as smaller ones. This never-before-seen picture of a 38lb fi sh, a real giant for the time, 25 years ago, was my best peanut victim.

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the particles, and here was where I learned the real angling edges, although many times I didn’t realise it until later. What I mean by that is the various combinations of inherent attractors, that were dormant within the individual particle, could not only be released to give a pulling power unrivalled by anything else, but it couldn’t be replicated by anything available across the tackle shop counter. Just to digress and make a factual point here, those northerners who have � shed the Wyreside complex will know all about old Bob’s Liquid Mix (Bob was the owner) that pulled carp from all over the lake into your swim. Well, the reality is that Bob’s sloppy mix was so good at

the article. Basically, Elliot said Rod had given away far too many secrets and he shouldn’t have, because anglers would now go for short cuts rather than learning for themselves. Looking back, I’m not sure who was right, but in the secretive, as it was then, world of carping, I understand the arguments of both parties. However, for me, this was the catalyst for trying to understand all about particles and the attractors they made. Unknown to me at the time, the path that I would go down would be very much the same as the warm bread – namely, fermentation.

During the next few years I perfected the art of � shing with particles and used them almost exclusively. � e array of di� erent presentations and tactics that could be used with nature’s wonderful pulses was simply phenomenal, as indeed it is today. You could use big particles, such as broad or kidney beans, down to the tiny mass particles such as red dari and hempseed that quite quickly could have carp in a frenzy. Add in there the chickpeas that could take food colour and change their visual appearance, and I thought I would never need another bait again. � e maples, black-eyed peas, tick beans, etc., were just another area of discovery. I was simply like a kid in, not so much a sweet shop, but rather a particle shop!

Now all this talk about baits will leave today’s Jerry Maguire Carp Mentality, (show me the carp brigade), quickly bored to tears. However, if I tell you that my catches were not only good, but also consistently very good, I would be underestimating my results. On most of the waters I � shed, my catches were better than most, and this is not me ‘bigging’ myself up. � is is proving a point here. O� en, the catches would be multiple although indiscriminate. What I mean by this is that the size of carp caught would vary tremendously. It was actually o� en the case that a big � sh would be caught, and then a small one immediately a� erwards. It was like there was no set pattern to it, other than that particles caught lots of carp. However, being the inquisitive sod that I am, I needed to look further into what was happening.

Over the course of a few years in the early-’80s, I realised that the attraction of particles and their success was, in part, due to their liquids. � ese liquids were always mixed with various external liquids that I made sure, initially, were laden with sugars, some of which were natural, and some saccharins that were arti� cial sweeteners. Of course through trial and error, I started to experiment with these liquids and I used to hydrate

doing this he could have made a fortune bottling it. However if the bottle top had had an airtight screw � tting, or Bob had put a lid on his vat of liquid and stopped oxygen getting to it, he could have been the � rst Lancastrian in space!

When I adopted the particles into a real � shing tactical situation, I quickly learnt that � shing at range was di� cult. I tried drying the particles for use with PVA, which was not of the quality we have today, I hasten to add, but the e� ectiveness of the particles was far less obvious. Indeed, my particle � shing became very much a short- to mid-range tactic because the e� ectiveness was far greater if the liquid and the particles were � shed together.

Of course, I had my edges, even back then, and again stumbled onto some from a very young age. I realised that ‘tinkering’ with your hookbait from an attraction point of view not only increased your catch rate but certain things started to follow a pattern. � at pattern was, and still is today, the great carp bait secret that so many neither understand nor know how to apply to their � shing situations. Indeed, that is where I like to think I always had an individual edge over so many bait bu� s.

As I got more into my particle preparation and bait knowledge, it wasn’t a marketing or commercial slant that forced me on. No, I was, and still am, working from the point of view of a carp angler catching more carp, and preferably big ones at that.

“ � e knowledge of reactive ingredients in my particle � shing began to be something I really homed in on. Very quickly I thought I had an edge, which, if applied correctly,

could bring instant results”

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Lac D’Arcy has 11 acres of premium carp water situated in a 17-acre,

quiet, idyllic setting, just 3.5 hours’ easy drive from the port of Calais and 10 minutes from the bustling town of Vitry-le-François. It’s a very popular carping holiday destination, as owner Wayne Everitt told us:

“As we head into our sixth season at Lac D’Arcy, we are quietly con� dent that we are achieving the goals we set ourselves when we started out. Our aim was to be a big-� sh water with exceptional facilities, and as a quick look at the stock list

shows, we are well on our way.In 2011 we banned the use

of particles and, although not popular with some anglers, we feel we made the right decision. � is has bene� ted the � sh and the lake alike, and the ban has clearly been vindicated with massive weight gains in 2012. � e average � sh weight is 40lb+ and we are hoping for our � rst 70lb � sh in 2013. So con� dent are we that the 70lb barrier will be broken soon, we’re o� ering the chance of a free week in 2014, with 20 kilos of pellet and 10 kilos of Ace Baits’ boilies thrown in, to the � rst person who banks it!

At Lac D’Arcy, the facilities we provide are of a very high standard, some have even compared them to their own homes! We have large, well-appointed swims with custom weigh posts, and large unhooking mats and weigh slings in every swim. We have on-site mains electricity, hot and cold running water, and a fully-tiled twin shower and toilet block.

We also have a fabulous, comfortable lodge, complete with wood-burning � re and a dining area for those taking our meal package. � ere are also fridge and freezer facilities for all anglers, and washing-up facilities for those

who choose the drive-and-survive option. We also supply � rst-rate boilies by Ace Baits and premium carp pellets by SARB France.

We realise that our guests may not want to � sh 24 hours a day and we are only 10 minutes away from the main town, Vitry-le-François, which hosts various large supermarkets, Le Clerc, Aldi and SuperU, to name but a few. � ere are many restaurants and bars (we recommend Chez Maxine – good atmosphere and a good chance of catching the football on TV), pizza, kebabs, you name it Vitry has it – including a McDonalds!

� e grounds around the lake are

� ere are literally dozens of carping holiday venues in the Champagne region of France, so Lac D’Arcy needs to be something special to attract anglers. Has it got what you want? Read on…

O V E R S E A S F I S H E R Y F O C U S

LAC D’ARCYO

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kept immaculate all year round, as is the lake itself. � e perimeter is totally fenced and secure, so all the anglers need concern themselves with is catching ’n’ chilling.

We have a new baili� for 2013, Robin, who will be on site 24/7; we have every con� dence he will be as good as our previous one, Mark. On that note a big thank you to Mark Wilkins for a job well done over the last � ve years and we wish him every success as he moves on to explore other avenues back in the UK. Back to the present day, Robin has been � shing since he was young, and we aren’t sure, but we believe he may be part carp! He is totally committed, laid-back, and there to help with any questions you might have.

We Also Have Some Big News!!!

We have acquired two new lakes, one of seven acres, named Lac Donna, and one of 25 acres, called Lac Princess. Both are similar to Lac D’Arcy in their basic make-up, with regard to depths, vegetation and features.

� e seven-acre lake will be for exclusive hire only for a maximum of � ve anglers, with a choice of eight swims to accommodate them. Facilities will include electricity, hot and cold water, a kitchen and dining area, shower and toilet block, and possibly accommodation (we are currently in negotiation with the mayor, so watch this space). Fish stocks are 150 carp between 25-45lb. You arrive at the lake, a guided tour will await you, and then you take the key and she is all yours for the week!

� e 25-acre lake will be set up for 14 anglers as a maximum, and with 18-20 swims, there will be plenty of choice. � is lake can also be hired on an exclusive basis. On site there will be a 24/7 baili� , facilities will include electricity, hot and cold water, a kitchen and dining area, shower and toilet block and possibly accommodation (again, we are in negotiations with the mayor about this). Major � sh stocks are 350 carp in

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FISHERY FACT FILE

LOCATION: Approx. 3.5 hrs from Calais in the Champagne region of France. Nearest town is Vitry le Francois.

LAKE: Around 11 acres with gravel bottom with silt patches and small island. 10 swims, all gravel-lined, maximum 8 anglers, or 10 if booked exclusively. Depths 1.5 to 2.5m.

STOCKS: Around 220 fi sh, with an average size of 40lb. No nuisance species, poisson chat or crayfi sh. Several 50s, plus fi sh to 67lb.

BAILIFF: On site 24 hours.

BOATS: Bait boats are allowed.

ACCOMMODATION: None available.

FACILITIES: Two sets of showers/toilets, log cabin with log burner. Restaurant area. Freezer and power available.

RULES: Three-rod limit. Minimum 15lb main line. Micro-barbed hooks only. No leadcore, braided lines or leaders of any sort. No sacking of fi sh. Only boilies and carp pellet to be used.

BAIT: Available on site and to pre-order.

PRICES: £265.00 per angler. £2,050.00 for exclusive hire. Non-angling guests £35.00. Meal packages 150 euro.

EMAIL: info@lacdarcy.com

WEB: www.lacdarcy.com

TEL: 07753 254 679

total, all 30-55lb. We are hoping to open both lakes for 2014.

We have yet to � nalise prices for both these lakes but rest assured, they will be competitive and worth every penny. Both lakes will mirror Lac D’Arcy in the way they are run. � e quality of the lakes, � sh stocks and facilities will be on a par with Lac D’Arcy – we run a great setup and will continue to do so at each venue; it’s how we ourselves would like a lake to be should we be a guest, so it’s only right we put in 110%.

Check out our website www.lacdarcy.com for prices, bookings, and everything you need to know. If there is anything we haven’t covered, then please do contact us at info@lacdary.com We are on hand at any time for all your questions.

It has always been a dream of mine to run my own � shery. Now we are up and running, I am very excited about expanding. I want you to enjoy your time at any of our venues as much as I would expect to if I were out

there � shing. I am very particular, some say fussy! � is isn’t such a bad thing; it just means I expect the best, so that’s the service I provide; in the same vein, my � sh stocks are what I deem to be pristine, and you yourself shouldn’t expect anything less. I take great care and pride of our stocks and expect you to do the same. Yes, we have rules, they are there to ensure everyone is happy, � rstly the � sh – then the rest of us!

Our � rst lake was named a� er our daughter; if you are wondering how we came about the name of the small lake, I wasn’t going to hear the last of it so it is named a� er my wife – you know what they say, ‘a happy wife, a happy life’! � e big lake is named Lac Princess a� er my bit on the side…!!!”

Lac D’Arcy, where we aim to please and continually strive for improvement. Look us up, you won’t regret it.

We look forward to seeing you soon.”

Wayne Everitt

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“ W i l l t h e w i n d e v e r r e m e m b e r , T h e n a m e s i t h a s b l o w n i n t h e p a s t … A n d t h e w i n d c r i e s M a r y ” J i m i H e n d r i x

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TOP Dusk over the home of Mary.

ABOVE Joe in September 2011 at just over 80lb. He died later in the year.

For the last � ve years I have spent almost all my � shing time at an extremely hard 10-acre gravel pit in the

Rhine Valley. Jimi Hendrix goes along with me on the last miles to the lake, and I’ll tell you why.

Jimi Hendrix, the rock guitar genius, who sadly died in 1970, revolutionised rock music more than anyone before or a� er, in my opinion. When I started � shing this lake seriously in February 2008, I listened to one of Jimi’s greatest hits, Hey Joe, every time I drove to the lake. It inspired and motivated me, putting me in the right mood.

On April 19th 2008 I caught a lovely � sh named Joe for the � rst time, and from this point on my target became Mary, the huge common. I switched over to one of Jimi’s most beautiful songs to inspire me. From that day on � e Wind Cries Mary was played countless times on the CD player of my car whenever I arrived at the lake.

At 11.00 a.m. on Saturday 24th November 2012 I turned into the potholed, rocky road that led to the pool that held Mary and Joe. My wife had made it clear that this would be my last � shing night for 2012. At the car park, I saw a friend, Marius, whose car was parked at the very same swim that I had baited and � shed for the last few weeks.

“� e � sh are very active, they’re rolling and jumping,” he updated me.

He had caught two during the previous night and had to leave about midday. Great news because it meant I could � sh my favoured swim as planned.

T h e W i n d W h i s p e r s M a r yWhile I waited for Marius to load his gear into his car boot, we had a brief discussion about the lake, its inhabitants, and my way of tackling it. � e lake is a very rich gravel pit with an average depth of about 15� , shelving to 40� at the deepest end. Some of the 15 swims were temporarily un� shable due to massive weedgrowth, or due to adjacent anglers. � e water is managed by a club, the rules are strictly no guests, no swimming, no boats, no bait boats and two rods only!

� e original carp population consisted of seven commons, with four going above 50lb. Since the death of Joe, the huge 80lb+ mirror, in September 2011, only two original mirrors are le� , Halfmoon at 51lb and Zeus, close to 60lb. And there is,

of course, Mary, one of the biggest commons in the world. Added to these were about 35 stockies, all mirrors, which were stocked in late 2007. � eir weights back then were around 5lb; some of them had now reached 45lb – now that’s what you call growth!

I am a family man with a full-time job, so most of my � shing takes place from Friday a� ernoon to Sunday morning, with the odd break caused by family commitments, so there is no way to compete against all the unemployed, single, or early-retired full-time anglers.

During spring and summer 2012, my � shing was slow. From May to the end of August I did 25 nights and only caught three stockie mirrors of 26lb, 33lb and 42lb, with the last one

causing a serious attack of lumbago. No signs of Mary...

Mid-September I changed my tactics. Until the death of Joe, massive amounts of bait were dumped into the lake by other anglers – one of them claimed to have put in more than 500kg! Besides Joe, seven other carp died in that period, so I didn’t join this baiting frenzy, not only in order to protect the � sh, but I also reckoned that Mary was more a hunter-gatherer-type of � sh and avoided heavily-baited spots. A� er all, none of the excessive-baiting brigade had caught her!

I either didn’t bait up at all, or I spread only 1kg of boilies in an area of 50 x 50 metres and added one or two

spoonfuls of tiger nuts around my rigs. My ‘new’ approach

worked well; I regularly caught carp. On

the � rst session a� er my bad back session

I landed a stockie of 33lb

and one of the originals, a 45lb common, within two hours

of casting my rods. On the � rst October weekend, a very beautiful

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“ W i l l t h e w i n d e v e r r e m e m b e r , T h e n a m e s i t h a s b l o w n i n t h e p a s t … A n d t h e w i n d c r i e s M a r y ” J i m i H e n d r i x

I f o n l y I h a d c l o s e d t h e z i p p e r s o f t h e w e i g h s l i n g c o m p l e t e l y, i f o n l y I h a d f i x e d t h e t w o p o l e s o f t h e s l i n g t o o n e a n o t h e r, i f o n l y

i t h a d n’t r a i n e d j u s t b e f o r e , i f o n l y I h a d n’t s u f f e r e d a l u m b a g o

a t t a c k p r e v i o u s l y, i f o n l y a n o t h e r a n g l e r h a d b e e n p r e s e n t ;

i f o n l y. . . i f o n l y. . . i f o n l y. . .

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TOP RIGHT One of the koi I caught during my time at the lake.

ABOVE RIGHT Braunfels at 45lb. Caught at the end of November 2012 and named after a carp show that was on that weekend.

stockie followed, a half-linear of 46lb. I will never forget the very next

weekend. A personal best common, a koi, and two stockies within 24 hours at what I consider to be the hardest lake in Germany, possibly in the world, or even the universe! I’d done everything right... well, almost everything.

I arrived at the lake on Friday in pleasant sunshine. � e rods were cast out and my shelter was set up just in time, before black clouds darkened the sky. A heavy shower forced me into my shelter, but half an hour later the rain stopped and the sun broke through the remaining clouds. I was on my way to the car when a few bleeps stopped me beside my rods. Directly above my spot cruised lots of coots and tu� ies and they furtively peered in my direction. ‘OK,’ I thought, ‘beaked-beast on the hook,’ but the hanger didn’t drop to the � oor as expected. � e line pulled up tight and the spool started to click away. Within a tenth of a second, the rod was fully curved and by now I was sure that it wasn’t a beaky-beast but a scaly-beast! A slow, unspectacular � ght followed, suggesting one of the big ’uns and, 10 minutes later, a big common glided into my net. It wasn’t the big common,

but I was dead certain it was one of the A-Team, that might be a 55lb+.

But how to take care of the � sh? � ere was no one to assist me, the light was fading, and because eight carp had died recently, I didn’t want to sack the � sh, so I chose to weigh it in the water and take pictures with the timer. A� er securing the net with a bankstick, I got the scales, a weigh sling, set up the camera, put on my waders and started the timer. � e exhausted carp was transferred to the sling without any hassle. � e scales con� rmed my hopes and displayed 60lb 10oz. Yessss, not even a full hour at the

lake and a new PB common! Finally I’d done everything right, there was nothing le� to go wrong... I assumed!

I would have done everything right, if only I had closed the zippers of the weigh sling completely, if only I had � xed the two poles of the sling to one another, if only it hadn’t rained just before, if only I hadn’t su� ered a lumbago attack previously, if only another angler had been present; if only... if only... if only...

A� er the weighing was done, I had to carry the � sh to the mat. � e physiotherapist taught me not to li� a heavy weight in front of my body with straight arms. Either my spinal disc would dislocate, or if I hauled the sling tight to my body, the � sh could bounce against my feet or against the steep, ascending bank. ‘No problem, I’m moving backwards,’ I thought, so I could bring the � sh to the mat with a straight backbone, not risking my, or the � sh’s, health. No sooner thought than done. Step by step I cautiously paced backwards towards the bank, dragging 60lb of pristine common through the knee-deep water. When my heel hit the marginal shelf, I straightened my back and carefully li� ed the sling from

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