Leaderboard

After 15 months of trying I finally caught my 1st White Cottage carp. Beautiful 27lb Mirror just as I was contemplating packing up and going home as the weather was so dire. To say I'm chuffed is an understatement!!!

Its not often I put photos here but here are a couple from the latter part of the week .

Finally had my first bite of the year. 43lb 14oz

29lb!!!! First fish this year!!! Well made up!!

So as I can't find a may catch reports I thought I would start it off. So I came out for a last minute afternoo/ evening session and finally after sitting here for a few hours thinking to myself I'm going to chalk up another blank to add to the list the right hand delk beeped.....nothing unusual in that but...........it then ripped off like a steam train 🚂 The result being my pb smashed to pieces and a beautiful 27lb 14oz common in the net much to my delight 😁😁 not the best picture as she/he was rather lively anyway picture below......

First fish out of White Cottage for ages this morning. 30lb on the nose. ABS Plan b again

Had this 36lb 08oz mirror earlier today, the biggest of 5 fish today. Gone quiet now though.

Well I only went and blooming done it! Had the session of my life Thursday night. Arriving at the lake around 5pm Fishing before work the next day and managed 5 carp. A low 20, 25.6 dark scaly mirror, a 27.14 mirror and the biggest in the pond slate grey, down in weight at 37.4lb. I caught it Friday morning and still can’t stop looking at it! Spent the whole of last year about 20/30 nights for 12 carp. A switch of tactics for this season and in 6 (1st one being a blank) sessions I have had 9 carp 5 being over 20lb (didn’t get anything over 18 last year). Absolutely mental it’s all come good. Typically it was only last week on here I was asking about getti a decent camera...

Rules. NO SELLING OF FISHING TACKLE OR ADVERTISING FISHING SHOPS ON THE CARP.COM FORUM. 1 No swearing or racist statements, sexual innuendo, explicit language relating to racist, religious or any other insulting comments. 2 No promotion or endorsing of any activities that are illegal e.g drugs/prostitution whatsoever. 3 No advertising of sites/links without permission (a list of approved sites will be provided at a later date) if in doubt contact a Moderator. Links to shops/forums that are in direct competition to Carp.com are not permitted at all. 4 No slandering or naming names/waters/clubs etc. on the basis of rumour. 5 No posting of pornographic or offensive material, links to adult sites, pornagraphic pictures or jokes. 6 No personal attacks/insults or harrasment of members be they race/ethnic/sexual/disability or religous whatsoever. 7 Any usernames, avatars, posts or pictures that show violence, pornography, drugs or conflict with any other rule are strictly forbidden. NOTE...PERSISTANT OFFENDERS WILL BE BANNED FOR A LENGTH OF TIME WHICH CAN BE UP TO LIFE, DEPENDING ON THE SEVERITY OF THE INFRACTION AS DEEMED BY THE ADMINISTRATORS AND MODERATORS. For a full definition of the rules and site usage hints and smallprint, see below or go to http://www.carp.com/terms.php for full Terms & Conditions members agreed to when signing up for Carp.com.

had my 1st fish out of the secret lake about an hour ago. A few fish were breaking the surface so cast to them , within 5 minutes it tore off.

Best of a 2 fish catch on my one day session of the spring on a reasonably low stock res. Buzzing with that.

I’m absolutely buzzing with this one!! Couldn’t find a spot for this rod in a new swim, so decided to bang a bare lead over to the far margin on a whim. It goes down with an almighty crack. Gravel found. After a little less about the spot is surrounded by a wall of weed 4-5ft high and dense. A mix of parrots feather and Canadian. A 1 inch chod was the best way of presenting on here at the range with the crosswind. It took 10 casts but I was finally happy with it. Half a kilo of boilies sticked out and time for a beer. I never expected anything from this rod but just as the light was going it pulled up tight. I lifted in to it to find it had weeded itself solid instantly. 5 mins of constant pressure with the rod at full compression and it longs free and the weedbed starts moving. The fish frees itself now it’s on the surface some way out. (Thank god for high banks behind me) it decides to do the same in the next two weedbeds between me and the spot but soon I’m leading it in whilst in the waders. I assumed it was a large tench from the pretty uneventful fight. A ball of weed caught on the leader knot appeared and I went to strip it off when I see a carp swim past my feet with my pop up blowing out it’s mouth. Immediately going to a bag of nerves I quickly rip the weed away as it goes off on a powerful surge back out in to the lake. A bit more angry antics from the fish and it was in the net. I let out a huge YEEEESSS as I looked down at a lovely dark fish. A celebratory beer sprayed around the swim as one of, estimated 8-10 fish in 5 acres, is in my net. 26.12lb of unreal common carp, but weight is irrelevant. It’s the history of the fish that means everything. My third from the lake (I had two last year), all different fish too.

Got down after work today and saw a few fish topping at range so launched a single hookbaits as far as I could and within a couple of minutes the rod rattled off resulting with this 23lb 04oz mirror.

here's one i had at the start of the month, 40lb 02oz happy days.

Back down this evening with the float rod.

Managed this lovely one on Monday night. 22lb and stunning scale patterns. Caught early at 6.30ish then just one pesky tench. Lovely fish and a great nights sleep. Success for a school night!

Biggest of 3 fish so far at 28lb 14oz.

On Saturday I managed to get out for an impromptu overnighter which turned out to be a right laugh. Drove down to my syndi on Sat afternoon, mainly to say hello/congratulate a mate who landed something very special on Friday. Wasn't too excited tbh as I was convinced on the busiest night of the week there'd be no chance I'd get on fish. Had a wander round and couldn't find much to fish for, not looking good. Was chatting to a fellow member and saw a lovely big common nut out in the swim next to him. I had a quick peek down the bank and matey in the swim had his stuff on his barrow. Legged it down there, had a chat, he's just leaving. Result - and I'm in a good mood all of a sudden. I wait for matey to leave and get my gear round there sharpish. I know the swim well and have an area in mind, not far from where the common showed. Out comes the spod and I load it up..... 4 or 5 kg on the deck which might sound a little excessive for an overnighter but for some reason I'm thinking they're gonna get right on it. With the baiting done I go and see my mate way over the other side to congratulate him on his capture. We chill out and have a beer and he points out where my spot is from here. Over the next hour we see a number of carp directly between us and it's looking promising. Eventually I see one show quite close to my spot which is the sign it's time to get back to my swim. The rods are already baited/clipped up ready to go. Just as the light is fading, out they go - plop, plop, plop. I chat to a mate in the next swim and don't really see much so I end up getting an early night. At about 1 am I get up for a wee and have a quick cuppa just to listen for carp when the lake is at it's quietest. Over the course of an hour I hear several fish breaking the surface. It's tricky to tell where they are but they can't be that far away so now I'm mega, mega confident. Back to bed. As we approach dawn I'm woken by a liner on the middle rod. I turn on my side and watch intently as the sun prepares to breach the horizon. Ten minutes later and I get a tiny drop back, again on the middle rod. I'm out of the bag and just putting my waders on when it absolutely rips off. Game on. The fight is immense, a proper tug-of-war with the fish kiting left, right, all over the place. It takes me a long time to get it anywhere near me but when I do I see it's quite a big fish, so I turn the head torch on for netting, don't want to screw this one up. As it surfaces I see it's a big grey common and I'm pretty sure I know which one. It goes over the cord and into the folds and I have a better look at it, it is indeed the one I thought. I secure the net, get the rod back out and make a cup of tea and a roll up. I look over at the spot and a carp sticks its head out bang on the money, this is looking awesome. Then the right hand rod rips off! I get the waders back on but by the time I get to the rod (literally 5 or 10 seconds) the bobbin has dropped back and is swinging in the wind. I hit it and there's nothing there, no carp, no lead, just a rig. I've been well and truly done, big time. I still have 2 rods on the spot so leave this one out for now. Matey from next door pops over to do the photos of the common and it's weighed at 33 lb, not quite as big as I expected but I'm certainly not complaining. It's an unusual colour for a Nene Valley common, all silvers and greys. The length is impressive but you can tell there's room in the belly for several more pounds at the right time of year. We put her back and I relax, happy that I've caught a big old common, but annoyed about the missed take. With the rods on the right and in the middle having been picked up I'm now thinking how awesome it would be if the left hand rod did a bite. An hour later and I haven't seen much but I'm still confident. Matey from next door is with me and we're drinking tea and chatting when the left hand rod let's out a bleep. I walk over to it and there's a tiny drop back, similar to the first take. There's then a tiny lift, so I stare intensely at the rod tip. I see it nod once and the line lifts slightly as it enters the water. That'll do me i think as I lift the rod and bend into what is clearly a fish. Not just any fish either, as the resistance on the end of the line suggests it's another decent carp. This fight is completely different, it doesn't really want to do anything other than just stay put some 60 yards away, almost like it's locked up in weed but it's not. Eventually I get it moving and it head over to my right and I begin to get worried it's heading for a snag I'm aware of. I clamp down and turn it and it goes through my other lines. Luckily my buddy is on hand to lift, lower, and weave the rods around, and eventually I net the fish. I recognise the fish, a long sparsely scaled mirror with a pretty little birth mark on its shoulder. I've seen pics of this carp before and have to say I'd not really been too fussed with it, I thought it looked a bit plain, but now it's in the net I'm absolutely blown away by its INCREDIBLE colour! We get her out and the colour and condition of this fish is just mental, its back is a rich dark brown, like a conker, and its flanks are a ruby red wooden/copper colour. It is in absolutely perfect nick, like a brand new penny, it's long and lean and just about as pukka as carp come. We weigh the fish at 31.08 and get some really nice photos before putting it back and watching it swim away strongly. What a result. By now it's gone 8 am. I'm hoping for one more bite but I'm pretty sure I've been cleaned out and they've down the off. I pack up with a big old smile on my face and am in a great mood on the drive home. Overnighters can be hard work when you can't get on fish or worse, have to leave when you're on fish at bite time. A brace of thirties reminds why I do them though - sometimes you just have to keep the faith. I have a proper session this weekend and I'm buzzing for it!

26lb 8oz pb common this morning.

My 72 hour session ended after about 48 hours as it was just too hot. The fish were all chilling out on top and typically the lake had a no surface fishing rule which sucked. I was the only 1 on 5 acres of lake for my stay. It fished hard at first but once the cool wind got going so did the fish. Unfortunately most of these were under 5lb as all the big boys were on top. I think I had about 16/17 carp only 3 being doubles. Faced various issues, little silvers were pecking my boiles to death, small carp were giving me aborted takes or actual bites which meant I couldn’t keep the rods in the water for longer then an hour or 2, any spods of bait put out drove silvers into a Frenzy which meant there was little out there to attract the big carp. moved off the bottom and onto zigs..... more small carp! Anyway that’s a problem I have to try and solve, 1 decent fish was this 23lb. The fight was pretty special it had obviously saved a lot of energy recently!

ZIGS As I mentioned before, I am no expert but I do use zigs a lot of the time in my angling. I have lost count the amount of times I would have blanked if I didn’t fish with zigs. I have also had lots of big hits using them. If I could only fish one tactic all year; zigs or standard bottom baits/pop ups, there is no doubt in my mind that the zigs would heavily outscore the standard set up come the end of the year. I have had a good think about how I could go about writing some information on how and why I use them but don’t want to bore you all with paragraph after paragraph of ramblings. There are so many variables to zigging, just like fishing on the bottom, if not more so. If I was to tell you that a capture of mine was caught on a zig, this could have been one of many guises that my zig fishing comes in. From one foot off the deck to 4 inches over depth. From feeding over the top of them to a one rod, single approach. Maybe even stalking or sat ‘twitching’ an adjustable zig by pulling the line back and forth a couple of inches! I will try to break things down into sections and will try and find some photos that I can illustrate things with. These may need adding later though, as and if I find them. Why? Where? When? It is well documented in the media and videos that carp spend most of their time ‘off’ the bottom. Great news for standard zig tactics and over depth zigs for surface feeding fish. But there are times when carp are feeding on the bottom that zigs can still be the only way to get a pick up. One of these is on a weedy lake like horseshoe. Fish love to feed in and amongst the weed but presenting a bottom bait or even a pop up, can prove almost impossible in some cases where the weed is just too thick or moving around. These feeding fish will move in and out of a spot that they are feeding on numerous times throughout the feeding spell. This is where a strategically placed zig can catch them off guard. Either placed on an entrance/exit route or even sitting just above the weed. I’ve had fish from Horseshoe on zigs that are only 8 inches high. My standard zig set up is a size 8, short shank hook mounted knotless knot on the fox Zig line. I have tried several different lines and most fall short in one way or another. The Fox line is by far the best and I use it in 12lb. I always start with a little 10mm foam ball that is half black and half white. The black sits underneath to form a silhouette against the brightness of the sky and the white on top so fish above it can pick it out easier as it shows up against the deep dark water or bottom. It is mounted tight to the hook but with the use of rig tube so that the bait can be sat slightly above the bend of the hook whilst still being tight against it. I also use a tiny piece of clear shrink tube to form a slight kicker. This allows the hook to be sat in a claw like position, ready to prick the bottom of a fish’s mouth if picked at. These are almost exclusively used in conjunction with lead clips so that I can quickly change between zigs and more standard rigs in double quick time. One exception of this is if I am using adjustable zigs. These are set up just like a marker rod. If you imagine the marker float as a fox clear bubble float and the hooklink coming off the top of it. On the subject of adjustables, I don’t just use these in very deep water. As Phil has eluded to earlier on, I have been known to stalk fish using adjustable zigs. Sometimes, the fish need that bait to be right in front of their mouth to get a take. I have watched this in very clear water and even ½ inch difference in height can mean getting take or not. Fishing an adjustable lets you make these minute changes in an instant. If all the fish are swimming around with their backs just touching the surface, every one of their mouths will be at a different height due to the shape, size and type of mouth they have. Another thing an adjustable can allow is ‘twitching’ of the bait. A little bit of movement will sometimes provoke a bite when a static wouldn’t rouse any interest. This is especially useful in the spring and early summer when the fish may be feeding on fry! Back to a standard set up. I see people advocating the use of the lightest lead possible. I go completely the other way. You could be fishing with say an 8 foot zig. There is a lot of play in that hook link and I want the weight of that lead to really pull the hook into the flesh. As soon as this happens and it has done it’s job, I want the lead gone. This is another reason for using lead clips. A chap on my syndicate was saying he will only use a light lead as he doesn’t want the fish pivoting on the lead giving it a chance to shed the hook. As I explained to him, the fish are already moving so having that heavy lead pull down will generally see them bolt off and dump the lead, giving you one hell of a screamer of massive drop back at the same time! This leads nicely on to bite indication and line lay. I think it’s pretty obvious that a tight line are the order of the day when zigging. The majority of takes I get are, as said, screamers. These normally come with no prior warning. The fish are already moving when taking the bait. That could be away from you or towards you, hence the tight line allowing the biggest range of movement on the bobbin during a drop back. Another ‘non standard’ way of fishing them is over depth. This can give them something different to deal with other than a floater, with line all over the surface. I will only fish them around 4 inches over depth. This will give contact with the lead in the shortest space of time/distance. The more over depth (longer amount of line on top), the more aborted takes I seem to get. 4 inches seems to be the best option although sometimes, the bait just breaking the water will score more. Again, this is another time I would use an adjustable. Even casting six inches left or right of the same spot can be 4 or more inches’ difference in depth. That could be the difference in having a bait on top to having one 6 inches below the surface. I can honestly say that I have never spodded over zigs (other than Barston in the BCAC semi finals). If they are feeding mid water, they are there for a reason other than your sloppy spod! If I was to fish a very heavily stocked lake, as said, then I may change this and feed over them. There is a way that I have fed over them though. This is with Nash riser pellets. These are the best surface feed that I have ever come across. They can get the fish taking far quicker and with more confidence than bread or dog biscuits. As some of the pellets slowly sink, a zig placed just under the surface is a killer method. Most the time though, I will be fishing amongst a hatch, in a shoal of fry or, say in winter, fishing at a depth were the fish are comfortable. No need for bait in these situations. To finish, I will give you a few tips as bullet points. · Look for hatches. These can be given away by simple things like ducks supping the surface or birds swooping down to take the immerging creatures · Commit all three rods to them. If you think the fish aren’t on the bottom, why just fish one rod for them. Increase your chances by having 3 out there. · Keep busy. Changing depths, colours, areas you cast to etc etc. · Use a heavy lead. I favour 3 or more ounces · Bow string tight lines · Don’t ignore ‘twitching’ an adjustable · If your struggling to get a bite on the bottom but you know fish are there feeding, put on an 8 inch zig. · Don’t go too small on the hooks or too light in the line breaking strain. I hope this helps a few of you convert to using them and I will gladly try and answer any questions you may have or expand on bits if required.

carp.com members now have access to a fully functioning photo gallery. Here you can create albums, upload photos, Via: "Your Profile" -> "My Settings" click on the Gallery "tab", or short cut: http://www.carp.com/index.php?app=core&module=usercp&tab=gallery You can also access the global gallery, click the gallery button top right of the forum, or shortcut: http://www.carp.com/gallery/ You can browse all galleries, rate and comment on others. You can also access members public galleries by looking up a user and browsing via their profile.

Had a couple of hours yesterday evening, freelining prawn a couple of feet from the bank. 2 perch and 3 carp landed.

So this just happened... not a great pic but it’s just off the phone. 29lb6oz

I see a lot of confusion over mainlines. Guys seem to compare lines that are intended for completely different uses. There are numerous different types of lines and each have different advantages/disadvantages, and I'm only referring to mono here.... not fluoro, braid etc..... Pre-stretched lines: These are your casting lines like Fox Exocet. They obviously have very low stretch and fine diameter vs. BS and they have a super smooth finish. The result is a line that casts really well. Unfortunately the abrasion resistance is what suffers. Hence in a weedy lake you want to avoid pre-stretched lines. Semi-stretched lines (I made that name up, not sure what they're actually called): These are the latest in line tech and include Gardner GT-HD and Shimano Technium. They are pre-stretched but to a lesser extent than the casting lines. This means they cast very well but maintain other qualities (so they can sink well for example). They beat the pre-stretched lines for abrasion resistance yet still cast a long way. All-rounders: These are the more traditional mono's, the meat-and-two-veg carp lines. they include stuff like Gardner Pro and ESP Synchro. Just because they're not high tech lines doesn't mean they're not very good indeed. They'll not cast as well as the stretched lines but they are hands-down stronger, with better abrasion resistance. If weed is an issue I'd not look past this group of lines. Snag lines: Brute lines, thick with immense strength and serious abrasion resistance. You'll struggle to cast these past 100 yards without casting lessons but if there's snags about this is what you want. Stuff like Gardner HydroTuff and Rig Marole SLS Specimon Tough. ***** Now I see guys comparing lines from different categories all the time. Just the other day I saw a thread on another forum asking if GT-HD or HydrTuff was best. They cannot be compared imo - the GT-HD would be best in a lightly weeded lake requiring big chucks, but with snags or heavy weed in the water the HydroTuff wins hands down. Therefore you can only decide what is best for your angling situation. You need to look at how far you need to cast and what kind of challenges your water presents (weed, bars etc) and choose a line to suit. I always err on the side of caution i.e. STRENGTH. What I mean by that is I would rather be a few yards short of the carp and be in with a chance of landing them, than being able to cast on their heads but lose them all to snags/weed. I have used pre-stretched lines on French trips to huge silty waters with no weed/snags, waters where you need to cast 150, and they've been great. But there is no way I'd choose to use them on the weed choked waters I fish in the UK. I think a lot of guys pay to much attention to castability. If you need to cast 150 then fair play, go for pre-stretched lines, if you don't (and most don't), go for a proper carp line, an all-rounder or semi-stretched line at least, one that will land you everything you hook. So next time you see a "what's the best line?" thread we need to stop and think before we go shouting out the name of what we're currently using. What is best depends entirely on the individual and his/her angling situation. If the angling situation varies, then it is logical that the all-rounders are best (the best of which imo is Gardner Pro). I'm currently suing HydroTuff due to a minimum diameter rule on my syndi, which is normally very weedy. It's been great, never let me down.

Well after moving this morning on a new wind I finally got my reward and hour or so ago with this 34-10 mirror.

It worked. Good work that man @muftyboy

This was the beauty that dragged me all over the place on my float rod.

I've now enabled facebook signup and login integration. You can link your existing account facebook account to your carp.com forum account. This will allow you to share posts you create on here with your facebook wall, closer integration for sharing posts, liking etc (even though the forum has it's own like system). If you are already logged in to facebook, then you can link your carp.com account, via this forum under "Your Profile" click "My Settings", under Settings and down the left, there is a "Manage Facebook" tab. If logged in already on facebook, click the login button and then approve and done! This will provide a more seamless social experience. Working on twitter integration (there appears to be a problem on twitter). --- ALSO, We also have a facebook login page: https://www.facebook.com/carpdotcom if you can like it, it will help us get the word out.

Popped into my lake after work today knowing where the fish would be in these conditions which resulted in this 23lb 12oz mirror

Two weeks left on the ticket and I finally caught a grass carp. 15.6lb on one other in there and that's 27lb. Backed up with a couple 20's from the margin

Good evening so far.

I've just commited a school boy error. First fish of the year and my remote battery has died. So a mat shot. 26lb 12oz mirror.

Thank you gentlemen for all your best wishes. 12.30pm,my grandson was born at 6lb 7oz. Mum is in recovery, but doing OK.

Nothing better mate, been taking my boy since before he could walk . Slowly progressed him to bigger fish the last two fish were caught on our first over nighter together, I had also took his older cousin with us . He had gone to bed a bit down as his cousin had caught a couple during the day & he hadn't had a bite lol .. his rod screams off at 1 am & there's no waking him no matter how hard we tried so his cousin landed that one too , anyway he stuck with it the next day & got his rewards . Very proud Dad x

I'll start it off this month if I may. It started raining when we got to the car park Saturday morning and didn't stop till about 5am this morning. Managed about a dozen perch. The biggest being 2lb 2oz. Had a lovely common about 2,30am around the 20lb Mark, no photos or weighing as it was absolutely hammering down. Then about half hour before I was due to leave I saw a nice mirror having a good old splash about , reeled in , put on a stick and cast straight out on top of it. 10 mins later a 28lb mirror . Happy days. He didn't want his photo taken at 1st. 😆

I pulled this from a group I follow...………. Just brilliant..

I stopped off at the lake on my way home from work on Tuesday. Found some bubbling away on my prebaited spot, so grabbed a rod out the van and chucked one out. Within 30 minutes of driving through the gate, I had found some fish, caught one, packed back up, done my walk around and drove back out!!

So after what seems like an age since i had a decent fish i finally ended the drought last night. Did an afterwork 4 hour session which I nearly didn’t bother with due to the bright and scorching conditions. Finished work around 4.45 and joined usually rush hour traffic,my 25minute journey taking just under an hour. Hold-all,chair,bucket and rucksack I took a walk round a little water that has just become available to me duing to our club closing all our river stretches due to the weather. There was only one other angler on so after a quick chat I went up the far end out of his was as he was on for 48hrs and didn’t want to spoil his chances . I’d fished on overnighter last wk end there for a blank the story of my last 2 months to be honest,even tho I was happy with my fishing and knew I was doing all the right things I just couldn’t buy a bite ! So 2 rigs cast out one on a large bag of pellets and chops the other on a 6 bait halibut stringer with the hookbaits wrapped in paste. Stringer to the island the bag in between the 2 islands it was time for a brew and a butty after a long hot day in Work. With no wind and bright hot sun i knew if I was to have a chance it would be dusk so sat back and topped me tan up. There was plenty of swirls appearing from mooching carp around both islands and given that I’d not caught anything to put a bend in the rod i thought I’d have a go on a zig for a bit. As I’ve said I’m new to this water so wasn’t sure about the stock of carp in there I knew there was a few cats up to 40 in there but the only carp I saw was doubles,but that would do me. I rummaged around in my bucket and ended up with a 4ft zig with a white avid tic tac a size 10 Korda Kurv shank (I didn’t even know I had them) and some drennan hooklength id bought for barbel in 8lb 10oz....... ample for the fish I’d seen mooching around. I spent an hr doing a few casts around trying to pick off fish but to no avail so plopped a cast 4ft off the island and kettle on. By now the sun was starting to go down and a small ripple on the water started to get the fish moving a bit. I’d just took a sip of my brew when the indicator dropped to the floor I thought ooohhhh that’s a bite ! In picked the rod up into a fish that didn’t really know what was happening and I thought yes a nice little carp. It then turned and slowly made its way to the other island and as I bent into it more it started to feel more like a lump. Given I had a smallish hook and hooklength I slacked off the clutch a bit and for around a minute it just plodded up and down. Right I thought let’s give it some pressure and held the clutch as I put a healthy bend in the rod,big mistake ! All hell broke lose as the fish woke up and darted for the back of the island. Twice it took me round it and twice I coaxed it out,all the time all I could think about was my tiny hook and hooklength. After 20 minutes I finally gained enough line to get it into open water for it to undo all my good work and go round the other island. After 40minutes I had it in front of me and i started to give it a little bully as I was confident of landing it by then. The hook was doing it’s job and if it was going to snap me I reasoned it would of done by now. I went in with the net waded out a bit and with the rod arched scooped up my prize. YES a fish at last I peered down to see the fat head of a catfish. 45 minutes it took to come in and the hookbait and hook looked tiny in its massive gob. Another angler came and help weigh and do the pics and after 10mins resting up it kicked it’s tail in defiance as it swam away strongly. I sat there feeling elated,at no point during the fight was I in control but I was chuffed to have landed it. I looked down and seen my freshly made cup of tea and took a big gulp,it was cold,it didn’t matter. A PB catfish for me at 28,3 and I was over the moon. I didn’t even re cast I wound my other rod in made a fresh brew and packed my bits away. And to think I wasn’t even going to bother to go,I’m so glad I did. 😬

A 24lber from a few days back, caught from under the tips..... Short 4 inch rig, slack lined and locked up clutch...… Have locked the kit away for a couple of weeks now. Too tempting to nip over the lake with it in the van...…. Had a walk round last night and put about 1kg of bait in around the edges, no where in particular. I will try to do this a couple of times a week. Saw a few showing. Had I left the kit in the van I doubt I would have got home any time soon 😊

My 1st 20 from my local. Taken nearly 4 years.

I'll kick this one off. Seems like we have all had a rough time of it lately! After 5 blank nights over December I was out for a day session on Saturday and about 20mins after dropping a snowman hookbait a rod length off the dam wall I landed this mid double. I did absolutely ruin the pics, probably out of practice or due to the cold. Not that it matters really.

For fear of repetition!!......................... 27lb Mirror

Well at long last I can contribute something worthwhile to one of these catch reports. As usual I'll make a meal of it and give you an essay lol...... The water I've been fishing this last year holds some wicked fish and I've been lucky enough to land 2 of the three mirrors I really wanted, but ultimately the reason I joined was the commons this lake holds. There are several old original Nene Valley commons swimming about (some of the best commons in the country IMO). Three of them are real biggies, each of them beautiful in their own way, topped by a very, very long, dark chestnut whacker that's easily recognisable by some old damage to its tail that makes the top of its upper lobe appear almost perfectly flat. A better common you cannot imagine believe me, but unfortunately it's also probably the least frequently caught, quite a rare fish it is. Not a problem; I'd be over the moon with any of these incredible old commons. So I showed up early Friday afternoon having blagged my way out of work early. It was warm and sunny so I hoped there'd be the odd fish milling about on top giving away their location but a couple of hours walking and looking didn't give me any clues. I kind of knew roughly where I wanted to be as the lake had done a couple of fish recently and I knew where from. I had a choice of two good swims to jump in and changed mind regards which to choose several times over as I went to retrieve my gear from the car. I eventually chose the most central of the 2 knowing full well it'd give me a decent view of the lake later on when they'd likely give their location away. The conditions looked good, bright and sunny with a decent ripple and the odd brief shower that came with a slight drop in pressure. It took me a while to set up, 3 spots found, rigs positioned, baiting with the spod. I was particularly pleased with my rods and it was now a question of waiting and watching for the signs that would hopefully come. The day flew by as it always does when you're enjoying a session and before I knew it the clock struck around 8 o'clock. I was sitting on the edge of the bank and starting to get a little worried I'd not seen owt when in the distance a couple of hundred yards away I saw what I'd been looking for. A carp popped it's head up out of a weed bed, then a few minutes later another did the same. Now I wasn't about to move for just two sightings but the area was noted for future reference. I got an early night and set the alarm for 4 am which IMO is the time you really figure out what the score is. Alarm goes off, out of the pit, kettle on, Fag rolled, sitting watching. There's still the odd shower, clouds rolling over, yet still warm, it looks PERFECT which is worrying as I've still not seen owt in front of me. I keep a close eye on the weed bed down the way and around 04:30 I see one smash out. Then another, then another. I make my mind up to sit it out until after bite time and make a move. By 10:00 I'm packed up and bringing the rods in, I load the barrow and wander down to the swim that looks to be holding some fish. I dump the gear in the swim and go for a wander to see my mate way over the other side of the lake. He's had a stonking common of 29 lb, spawned out yet looking healthy, black as anything, a proper looker, and I want to congratulate him. The sun is well up now, it's proper hot, so I'm in no particular rush to get back fishing too soon. I drink tea with my mate before we go on a wander. We spend the early afternoon watching a couple of stockies ghost in and out of a margin spot taking snails off the floating weed, beautiful sights. We see, and I swear to God this is true, a MOLE SWIMMING! I had to google this to confirm we weren't imagining it. Yes, turns out moles can swim. Who knew? By 14:30 I'm back in my swim and getting my fishing head on. I have a couple of casts with a tiny lead, the weed out here is nothing short of savage, It's completely solid, but I do find one spot out in front at 36 yards and one spot to my right that I found last year, maybe 30 yards out. Both spots feel a bit special, I can get a drop with a 2 oz lead so it's clearly presentable and they're both surrounded by forests of weed. Pukka. I suspect the fish are held up in these weed beds so there's no way I'm spodding, it'd be the kiss of death. I chuck my little white pop ups on the spots and put a couple of pouch-fulls of baits round each one, maybe 30 baits per rod. Easy, quiet, effective. I sit back and hope as the day goes on I'll spot them showing. Well, I didn't have to wait long, because by maybe 17:00 I've seen them, even in the afternoon heat a couple have popped their heads out and I tell you what; they look bang up for it. Then the magic starts; I'm looking at the right hand spot, I can see the weed that's up to just under the surface rocking as a fish or two are clearly moving in and out of it. Then, silently, a massive, dark, stunningly beautiful common comes right out up to its anal fin before sinking back down. WOW! It then does it again to confirm I'm not imagining it. I'm speechless and a little nervous, not only is there a big common on the dance floor, it's clearly one of the big three..... and it's just feet away from my hook bait. I continue watching subtle signs as the weed is moved by whatever is down there. They've started showing near my other spot too and all of a sudden this is looking bang on for bite. I've now done 5 nights this spring and this is the first time I've really been on them and as you can imagine I'm pretty excited. The bailiff shows up, he's moving in next door, we share a beer and we stand watching the signs of carp for a while, he agrees it's looking good in here. We finish our beers and he goes to get set up telling me to grab him if needed for any photos. Likewise I say to him. I sit back, it's now 18:00, the sun is still well up, it's boiling hot in fact and it's no surprise I aint had a bite off the deck I think to myself. I make the decision to put a zig out for a few hours next to the weed bed on the right (the big common spot) in the hope that the massive common takes it on the way in or out of the weed. The rods are 5 paces away. I take one step and look up over to the area, see nothing. Two, three steps and I'm looking at the rod. Fourth step and I'm reaching out bring the rod in to put the zig on. I take my fifth step, my hand is literally a foot away from the rod when...... BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.............. It absolutely rips off!!!!!! I lift into it and it's like lifting into a brick wall! I cannot believe it, if I had got up 10 second, 5 second.... even 2 seconds earlier I'd have pulled the hook bait from under it's nose!! 'CONCENTRATE' I think to myself. Immediately I know it's a biggun, no head shaking, no rapid movement, it's just slow and heavy. It slowly kites to the left away from the weed bed which I'm amazed at then it seems to realise that it's making it too easy. It heads for the weed bed, directly to the weed bed, it does not pass GO, it does not collect £200. It gets right in there and before I know it the rod is completely solid. 'Right then' I think, in all fairness this is exactly what I expected. I'm fishing with 18 lb line that's tough as old boots, I'm as confident as I could possibly be with the tackle. I apply side strain for the next 5 minutes and can still feel the odd kick but there's no way it's coming out like that. There's an old log next to the swim, I climb on top of it and get a better angle from above, and I can feel the fish coming up in the water, perfect, long fronds of weed clinging to the line, I reckon I'm gonna see what I've hooked here.... but just like that the fish clocks what's going on and shows me what it's capable of..... It hammers out of the weed to the left, it flat rods me, kites across the swim, taking line off the spool like the reel aint even there, 40 yards it runs, through both other rods completely wiping them out and into another weed bed. 'OK'...... So I'm back to square one here so I continue as planned. Heavy side strain which has no influence on anything but again, I feel the odd kick. I apply the same method as I did before, I'm over the other side of the swim now and I'm on tip toes holding the rod as high as a I can. Again, I can feel it coming up in the water, brilliant, and once more the fish clocks what's going on. It kites out of the weed, more slowly this time and as it passes in front of me maybe 20 yards out its back breaks the surface. I would get banned from this forum if I told you the words that went through my mind at this point. It's big, it's long, it's covered in scales..... it's the massive common.... and I begin to shake. As it sinks back down the tip of its tail breaks the surface and I swear I think I see that it's flat. Jeez. Now I don't know about you guys but I honestly prefer not to know what I'm playing, especially if it's a good'n. It just makes me panic and I struggle to concentrate. I'm now thinking of the three clear PB commons I've lost at the net in my life time and wondering if it could happen again. 'CONCENTRATE'! The fish heads back down into deeper water and over into the original weed bed. I am overjoyed to say the lines from both other rods have pinged off so I'm in direct contact with no obstructions, very lucky I think to myself. I don't fancy letting it get right in there again so I tighten the clutch and give it some stick, knowing that I must have a good hook hold, but at the same time considering the pain I'd feel if I lost it. To be honest I'm really not enjoying it, I know it's a PB common, I'm shaking, there's weed all over my line, it's just too hairy for my liking. But, it starts to tire and it's coming closer, it's out of the weed bed now and it's within 10 yards of me. It still makes couple of spirited runs even off the tight clutch, it powers down into the depths, but can't stay down there for long and for the first time i think I might actually land this thing. It's on the top again, kites to the right and to the left but much slower now, it looks amazing, dark, as long a fish as I've ever seen. It gulps air and I know it's almost over, my legs have completely gone, I'm shaking like a leaf. And then just like that it rolls over the cord of the net. I'm speechless, there's no victory shout, no scream of joy. I kneel down and reach down through the weed that's everywhere now and feel for the tail, find it, and gently lift it above the surface..... It is flat. My God...... it's the biggun. My jaw hits the floor. I unhook her in the net. She's very well hooked, I was never losing her, all the worry was for nothing. I secure the net and let her recover and try to roll a Fag, it's very difficult as I'm still shaking. I smoke it then have another look at her. She has been as big as mid forty's but I can tell she's not that big. She's clearly spawned but she's still looking in fantastic nick. In fact I actually thinks she looks better down in weight, proper carp shaped, doesn't look empty in any way. I guess around 40 lb. I pop round to get the bailiff. It was less than an hour ago he was sitting having a beer in my swim. 'You got one' he asks? Yup? 'A good'n'?? Yup! I tell him which fish it is and his jaw joins mine on the floor. Like me, he momentarily loses the power of speech before coming to his senses and saying he'll be round in a minute. I go back to the swim. I have another look. It's the nicest looking common I've ever caught by miles and it's my biggest common too. It's a dream fish, a true blue, original Nene Valley, rarely caught, stonker of a common, blacks and browns and chestnuts and golds..... just absolutely stunning. I'm joined by the bailiff and he's blown away too, he agree it looks 40 and I still think that when I lift her out so it surprises us both when it goes 38.12 on the scales. Am I complaining? I'll give you one guess. The hair on the back of my neck stands up when I peel away the mesh, it's an incredible fish. We do some photos, into the pond for some water shots, and I hold her until she's strong enough to power off out of my arms. Part time! I chuck the rods back out, get pretty poor drops, don't care, get the Churchill Cuban cigar that's been waiting in my kit for this moment out, and sit back with a beer. There's still carp in the area and in all honesty I should have had another but I'm just happy to be watching them under the affects of that big fish spell. The rest of the session flies by and before long it's time for home. The pics have turned out amazing, some of my fave photos ever, and I'm still checking them every few hours now. Mind = blown. This is why we do it fellas. Happy days!

18.06 common I managed to stalk on stinky single after my last frustrating session at the syndicate

Weigh the wet net then when there's a fish in it hook the scale in, stand on one corner of the net and lift until desired weight is achieved.

Had a couple of hours spare this afternoon some went down the lake for a bit with the rods. Literally 5 minutes after casting in the rig, over 3 spods of bait, the rod was off! I was just getting the second rod out the sleeve!!!! I used the same B5, black snail and B5 pellet mix again with the added liquid B5 food. Absolutely instant attraction to a bait that they must now be accepting as a good food source. Being the bailiff and only having a select few members on the lake, I know exactly what bait goes in and I'm the only one on essential. The weekly baiting I do, throughout the year including winter, is really paying off. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I've had a bit if time this morning to put paper to pen, well finger to key rather, so I thought I'd just get on with it. Watercraft Watercraft starts at home for me, google earth has proved to be an invaluable tool over the years, mainly because it gives you an entirely different prospective of your lake. All these pictures can be screen shotted and saved directly to your device. Make sure you make a note of compass reading's, I always remember being told years ago "If your ever in doubt, fish the north east corner" This is the corner that receives the warmer south westerly winds during a good part of the year, it is also the corner that is sheltered away from the colder north easterly winds during the winter, so it's always a good starting point for me. Once I'm satisfied I have a good enough collection of images saved, I'll go down to the water, just really to get my barings and get a feel for the place. You'll often find me starting in the north east corner as I've already stated, and working my way round the entire lake, familiarising myself with the correlation between image and sight. At this point I'd just like to point out three bits of essential kit that really will help you along you way. Polarised Glasses A Cap Binoculars I am still amazed to this day how many anglers don't own a pair of polarised glasses, there so useful for cutting out the surface glare on the water. Giving you sight down into the depths. A Cap to keep any sunlight out of your eyes and a pair of binoculars to look for any distance features or even fish movements. You might also want to take a pen and paper to mark down anything you see. I take a lot if pictures on my phone as I'm walking round, mainly of fishy looking features. I know the golden rule is to ask, start asking questions with the other anglers on the bank. I never have, I've always preferred to try and work it out myself without any preconceptions from others. If you do ask others, don't take everything as gold, see if a picture starts to build with all the info you get. I've often just sat back on lakes and just watched. Sooner or later you'll see where they are casting, what time they are casting, what type of bait they are using and how much, but I still like to try and do things my own way. When it comes to watercraft, there is no better signal than seeing fish. I used to spend hours sitting up trees watching fish. I'm never in a rush to get a lead out either, you'll learn far more if you just watch, especially if the fish are relatively close to you. Watch to see what direction they come from, see if they stop over certain spots for a mooch. Years ago whilst pre baiting a gravel pit, I watched a group of fish move round, taking the same route every hour or so. It was obvious they were aware of the presence of anglers as they'd act differently when they neared baited spots. One of my pre baiting days just happened to be on a Sunday afternoon. I sat aloft in the willow just watching again. Some of the anglers were pulling off to go home from the weekends fishing, I could see the fish at first. Then I saw a cloud of brownish sediment coming up from one of the baited spots. It was as if the fish knew when the anglers were pulling off. The water was nearly completely devoid of anglers, and the feeding really started. This was the first time I had ever seen this happen. It was a clear sign I needed to be fishing when all the anglers had gone. That first weekend, I fished 4 days, from Friday to Monday night, one cast each rod, then I sat on the rods all weekend. I had my first take on the Sunday and my second on the Monday morning, on a water that wouldn't give up its fish very easily. Seeing those fish was a massive lesson to me, and something that's always stayed with me. Something I have noticed over the years is the direct correlation of fish with other wild life like birds. On some waters some of the birds tend to follow the fish around, feeding on the sediment thrown up to the surface by feeding fish. Some treat fish like the plague and keep well away giving you another clue. Birds are very protective over their young, and will often bark at something lurking beneath, giving you another clue. Watch the gulls, if they seen to congregating and swooping over a certain spot, there has to be a reason for it, and it's usually fish activity. Treat carp like Solar Panels, they love a bit of sun, and can often be found sunning themselves somewhere. Look for where the sun comes up in the morning and where I dissappear in the evening, look at the areas the receive the most sun light during the day. Carp are relatively temperature controlled so you should always bare this in mind. One of the most influential factors is angling pressure, look to see where the bulk of anglers are set up, look to see where and what time of day they are casting, and I bet you'll see a pattern emerge. Keep away from heavily populated areas, unless the fish give you a reason for being there. Don't ignore overgrown swims, or swims tagged as no fish swims, I've lost count the amount of fish I've had from supposed no fish swims. Most of all keep you eyes open and don't be in a rush, slow down stay calculated, write things down if you need too. Get a pair of polarised glasses, get a pair of binoculars and go and do some foundation building I'm going to hand over to yonny Feature Finding Kit The kit I use is fairly normal to be honest, I've always been a fan of using bigger test curve rods to my normal fishing rods. I've never understood the fad of using 2.75lb tc rods. Stiffer rods I've found transmit more vibration from the braided mainline down to your hands. I use two pieces of tape to mark out 12 inches of distance on my rod. I would recommend a braid of 20 to 30lb, this should cope with most casting needs. A word of warning about braid, wear a finder stall, I've recently had a near miss and believe me it hurts. I do tie a 6 inch loop in the end of my braid so I can change from a lead, to a break away lead to a float. Normally I'll start by just having a lead around, so just a simple lead on the line is all you need. Once I have found a couple of spots, I like to attach a float set up and measure the depth, from the back of the feature, on the feature and to the front, sometimes even both sides, just to give me an idea of what the bottom is like. The float is an MCF Weed beater, these are very buoyant, they fly nice and straight, plus I know from the lake bed to just under the top of the float there is a distance of 6 inches, enabling me to be quite accurate. Once I've measured the spot, sometimes ill cast out this sea breakaway lead. The prongs are cable tied close, and these trap any weed giving me an indication of what I am fishing over. If your new to feature finding get yourself set up and run the lead over different substrates in your garden so you get used to the feel them. Then you'll have an idea of what your doing when you go to your water. Please, don't go down to your water and thrash it to a foam when your water is busy, the other anglers won't thank you for it at all. Try to pick a few hours one evening when angling pressure is low. I absolutely hate using a marker set up whilst I'm fishing, I will always try to spent a few weeks before markering round various spots before I actually start fishing. Make notes on your phone or into a book of the distance and sight your casting at so you have a reference for when you are fishing. Right that's it Over to you yonny Could one of the staff please combine the two posts into one, thank you

Called back in on the lake where I had that 20lb + mirror from yesterday as I baited a few spots when I left .... only had 3 hours to play with ,but just wanted to see if anything was on the spots . Nothing not even a touch , started to pack up as I reeled in the first rod I noticed a little bit of fizzing to my right about 60 yards away so decided to flick this rod on it while I packed up the other two . Just putting the second rod in the bag & I hear my bait runner start to click which turned quickly into a full blown take & resulted in another low 20 but a common this time. Couldn't of been out more than 4-5 minutes.

So.... I decided that I was going to have a cheeky couple of hours backside before picking my son up this evening, best decision I have made re. Fishing for ages! Bait in the margins less than ten mins and I get a one toner [emoji16] I am now sat banks side with the biggest cheesiest grin going! Just had this little beaut at 13lb on the nose. So not only have I broken my blank but I've also had my first fish on the Nash h-gun sawn off that the other half got me for my birthday happy happy scott [emoji16][emoji16][emoji16][emoji16][emoji16] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk