Good Evening.

It is with great delight that I write tonight’s post! I had a successful week in the UK and got everything sorted that needed to be done. I am now back at Gigantica and preparing my equipment for my session at Madine. Unfortunately, Flash my dog is under the weather and I will need to take him to the vets tomorrow morning. My dogs health is my priority above everything else, and until Flash is on the mend, I can’t go anywhere. While I wait for Flash to recover I do have plenty of things to do anyway. I have some fishy things to do, and I am also waiting for a few things to arrive in the post. More about that later….

My trip back to the UK was mainly spent travelling from one place to another! I travelled up to Paris by train on the Sunday evening. Imagine what the busy metro looked like in the centre of Paris, after spending months living on quiet lakes all by myself. It was quite a shock to the system. I stayed in a cheap hotel for the night by the airport and I then flew into Liverpool on Monday morning. After a speedy cab ride (which cost the same as my flight), I then jumped on a train to Nottingham. I had a meeting set up with Dynamite Baits, scheduled for the afternoon. The meeting went really well, and a fantastic new bait deal was secured for myself. I had a good look around the factory and I have to say it is a very impressive set up.

Dynamite have several warehouses and each one serves a purpose. The dry ingredients are all stored and mixed in one. The bait is then rolled in its own specially designed building, before being dried and bagged which is done in another dedicated section of the factory. Finally the bagged products are all boxed and stored in a massive warehouse. Dynamite carry a very large amount of stock at all times and supply 800-1000 shops every week, as well as exporting all over Europe. I left Dynamite’s site feeling very satisfied that I had made the right choice and I slept well that evening!

The following morning I was on an early train to Sheffield. I made my way to Angling Publications who publish International Carper; the magazine I write ‘No Fixed Abode’ for each month. I met all the team and discovered exactly what happens to my words and pictures once the team receive them. Sandra and Linda proof read the article first, checking for grammar and spelling mistakes. Once they have checked everything, Tim Paisley’ son, Tim junior, then has a final read of the hard copy to double check everything. This is then passed onto the design team. Gary Hood has been laying down my series for the past few months, and he is responsible for how it looks when you, the reader, eventually see it. I send my pictures directly to Gary and he has free reign as to how they are used in each episode. It was really good to meet all the team, and to see how the biggest carp fishing magazine is put together each month.

Shortly after lunch, Martin Ford and I then drove to Trakker who are also based in Sheffield. Martin managed to get lost on the way, but we eventually made it in one piece! I have been in communication with Dave Mills at Trakker for several months and finally it was time to put a face to the name! After going through my requirements and ensuring Dave was happy with his half of the bargain i.e. what I could do for them in return; it was then time to chill out at the Ford residence for the evening. Just in case I was missing my bedchair, Martin kindly provided me with one for the night and I even had a TV to watch. It came as no surprise that most of the programmes on the TV are still the same rubbish, as when I left the UK 18 months ago!

In the morning I was up early and Martin and I made our way to Reel Carp; a local tackle shop in Sheffield, run by Matthew Birtles. The shop opened in October last year, and it is growing in popularity and has a good number of regular customers. Its range of tackle is expanding and I wish Reel Carp all the best.

It wasn’t long before I was sat on another train, this time heading South to Swindon! My parents live in Wiltshire and it was good to catch up with the folks and I even got to see one of my three sisters; Jo. With the brief family visit over, and after a quick night in Bristol, I was soon on a flight back to Paris and then sat on a train to Troyes. Dan the bailiff kindly picked me up at the station, and before I knew it I was back at Gigantica. Where did that week just go?

While I was away, two lads from Sparsholt College were busy doing some work experience at the lake. The lake had started to fish well too. Jack and Hamish fished in the evenings and worked in the day and between them they had several fish each, practically catching carp every night from Co’s Point. Hamish’s first carp of the session and first French carp, was none other than the ‘Giant’, at a weight of 68lb. Well done that man!

Since I have been back at Gigantica I have been flat out, working on the blog. You may notice some changes? There is now lots more information on the blog, loads more pictures, and a new clean look. There is still a little work to do, but I hope the new look is approved by you all.

Two hopeful anglers at the mighty Orient.

On Friday evening Dan, Hamish, Jack and I went for a look at the Orient. I plan to fish here after the World Carp Classic for two months till it closes. I will be fishing with my good friend Lee Croson, and I have a feeling that will be a good idea. Lee caught ‘Bienvenue’ last year at a weight of 67lb and I am hoping his experience on the water will lead me towards a similar sized fish! We will both be fishing with Dynamite Baits and together I am sure we can nail a few carp during our time on the Great Lake. I must admit I was chomping at the bit when we arrived at the Orient on Friday evening. It looks a truly wonderful place and I am now raring to get fishing on a big lake very soon.

Sunset at the Orient.

This brings me onto Madine. I am now getting ready to fish Madine. I am waiting for my first delivery of bait to arrive early this week. I have a small maintenance job to undertake on one of my boats. I have equipment to clean and prepare. There are Tiger Nuts to soak and cook. And then there is Flash!

Unfortunately, my dog is rather ill. I suppose I have been very lucky with the pair of them, and the adventure so far has been sickness free; apart from the hook incident with Charley at Cassein! Tomorrow I have to take him to the vets to try and find out what the problem is (fingers crossed it is nothing serious), and then try to get him better as soon as possible. I am hoping to get to Madine by Thursday or Friday at the latest. This will then give me about two and a half weeks to fish, before the World Carp Classic begins. I have mentioned before that I volunteered to help at the WCC, and the hard work does not just start when the competitors arrive. Think again! It actually begins several days before and there will be plenty of hard graft to be done, before 130 pairs of anglers arrive from all over the world. Not to mention the camera crews, the press, the supporters, and volunteering marshalls; most of which will also be arriving early, to help get everything set up. I can’t wait for both events at Madine; me fishing and the World Carp Classic.

That just leaves me to say, thanks for being very patient whilst the blog has been on holiday. The blog is back, as am I. There is plenty to look forward to in the coming months and I do hope you will join me each day.

Cheers for now.

Jake & the dogs. 

Tags: angling publications, blog, Dynamite Baits, Gigantica, International Carper, jake langley-hobbs, Madine, Orient, Paris, trakker

This entry was posted on August 2, 2009 at 9:16 pm and is filed under Madine. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.