Good Evening!

When I left Italy last year I vowed I would return and I always try to stick to my promises. I could have headed for Cassien for Christmas but I knew that would be taking the easy option. I am not saying Cassien is easy before anyone jumps down my throat, but I have already spent over 250 nights on Cassien’s historic banks and I think I have had enough of that lake for a few years. I will certainly return to Cassien and my plan will be to fish there at the end of my five year trip…just for nostalgia you understand! Why am I so pleased to be back in Italy? The answer is simple really…the people, the scenery and more importantly the anglers themselves.

Last year when I fished in Italy I was met with nothing but kindness, generosity and smiles. It is very refreshing to meet carp anglers who aren’t secretive, they aren’t hostile, and they just want to have a good time and catch some carp. I am pretty sure the average Italian carp angler puts the good times first though and the carp are just a bonus. Take the pair fishing to my right. One has now caught three nice carp including the 23kg common I photographed yesterday. His friend has lost a couple, but there is no jealousy or bad feeling. They are out fishing over the Christmas period and enjoying the experience. It is also true what they say about Italian food – it is good! There are two other anglers fishing that have just left today. They caught nothing but the five of us all shared a good lunch today and what a great time we had sharing a few jokes and eating some fine pasta and organic salami. I obviously came to Italy to catch the Italian carps, but I also came to Italy for this kind of hospitality. I could stay in Italy for longer than planned!

On the fishing front the rods have stayed put now for almost five nights. In the end I decided not to move a rod yesterday as I am confident in my chosen spots and I am confident in my bait. It is however winter fishing and I know patience will catch the carp eventually. I have kept my bait introduction to a minimum and there is probably no more than half a kilo spread roughly around each rod. I mentioned a move is on the cards and this is definitely the plan in a few days time. I am not simply moving into the productive swim, but I am moving for the dogs sake too. However, obviously the fact I will be moving into an area that seems to be holding a few carp that are feeding does have its benefits!

Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve and I will probably spend the day making a few changes before the big night. As I know a move is imminent, I don’t want to chuck in much more bait as I feel it will be wasted, so I might leave two rods where they are and just move one to a new location for the final few days in my current swim. A searching rod is always a good bet for picking up a fish in the winter!

If you look on the right hand side I have started to build my new sponsor’s page. IndyLine’s products are well worth a look and they have an English translation on their site. As a sponsor of the last two WCC events they have a growing reputation across Europe and after seeing their products first hand I can see why. I will be loading up my spools over the next few days with their Cherokee sinking braid mainline and I am already using their Sioux leadcore. I have used various leadcores over the last couple of years and I must say this product splices extremely easily.

That just leaves me to say Happy New Year to all my readers. There will be a blog tomorrow so I will see you all then.

Be safe and have a great night.

Jake and the dogs