I hope you all enjoyed your firework parties last night and everything went well and safely. They don’t seem to have such a celebration in Spain, but then they have enough fiesta’s to keep them happy! I have caught two more carp. The first was caught whilst I was cooking my dinner at 10pm last night and was a mid-double common. I unhooked it in the water’s edge, released him quickly, and returned to my dinner of chicken and potatoes! I actually cooked double portions of everything, as I can then use what I don’t eat the following day saving on gas and preparation. Speaking of gas, my gas fridge is so effective, my frozen chicken breasts I bought with me, are still in fact frozen. My model is made by Dometic and cost about 140 Euros.

The sun shining on Charley - my lucky mascot!

The second carp arrived at 5am this morning. This time an 18lb common was responsible. I recast the rod, topped it up with more spombs of boilies, and returned to my sleeping bag. Interestingly enough, both of these carp came from the rod that was yet to produce, and the second one was obviously after my clipped-up recast in the dark, showing the effectiveness of a night-time marker and a line-clip on your reel.

All of my fish have come at different times so there is no pattern emerging as of yet. I am only into my fourth day and I have another seven nights to go. That number could increase, depending on whether I think another night might benefit me, and if my food rations last that long!

I have no carp pictures to show you today so instead I have taken lots of shots of my bivvy set-up. Basically to show you all how I am functioning during this session. The colossus is a great bivvy, huge in size and space, and the large porch really is a great benefit to have. The inner door can be left open during rain, as it is only the porch entrance that gets wet and that’s no big deal. I am super prepared for this session and the longer it goes on, the more I am enjoying it. I know I am waiting for a big fish to give me the chance I came for. The fish I have caught to date, all five of them, are welcome, but not what I am here for. It wouldn’t surprise me if a mirror carp shows up soon, so watch this space.

I haven’t touched my rods at all and I am leaving them all till about 4pm when they will all be reeled in, checked, and recast, followed up by baiting up effectively. I may slightly decrease the amount of bait I am putting in tonight to see if it actually increases my catch rate.

Did you find Flash yesterday!

I have another ‘spot the dog’ photo today, and slightly harder than yesterday’s one. Did you find Flash in yesterday’s picture? If you scroll over the picture and double-click, it will enlarge to make him easier to find!

Sunday's Spot The Dog Puzzle!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and I hope you like my selection of photos I have taken for you to look at.

Sunday is big-breakfast day!

My huge home for the session - Trakker's Colossus bivvy.

It's bigger than my SUV!

The cooking side of the porch.

The tackle/bait side of the porch.

Plenty of spare clothes and my personal item bivvy table.

Flash sleeps on an old Trakker Armo unhooking mat.

Or anywhere for that matter!

Original Peachskin sleeping bag cover protecting my Peachskin bag underneath. Both old, both well used, but very much loved for warmth and comfort.

The all important chair!

The back of my truck is great for storing wet items, rubbish etc...

This ariel means I can get 3G for my internet, without it I only get Edge which is a slower connection.

A white USB cable for the internet and a 240v power cable for my laptop. Both are fed into my bivvy.

A 12v-240v invertor working off a leisure battery to power/charge my laptop.

Fingers crossed for a couple of lovely carp shots in tomorrow’s posts.

Cheers

Jake & Flash.

Tonight’s title could be from Italy last year! The rain has not stopped since it began yesterday afternoon. It has rained so much that the water levels have risen about 6 inches. My bivvy was set up on flat ground by the water’s edge, so an emergency bivvy move was done earlier this evening; I am now on higher ground with a slightly longer dash to the rods.

Flash was not amused during the move. It was dark and raining, so I put his bedding in the back of my vehicle to stop it getting wet. The bivvy was quickly unpegged, lifted to the new position, then the groundsheet and bedchair, was slotted inside. My brown shadow kept walking in the bivvy to lie down, before it was ready, then he whined because he was getting wet outside – what a wuss!

I was very confident last night, so much so, that I had trouble sleeping. I kept expecting one of the rods to take off, as I heard several large fish crash in the bay throughout the night; one of which sounded like a skip falling in. I eventually dozed off and woke at 2.30am. The moon was full and just visible behind some cloud cover. I lay on my bed as my left hand rod beeped and took on a healthy bend before the baitrunner ripped. I was on the rod in a flash and it took a while to slow the fish down. Eventually I stopped it in its tracks, I began to retrieve some line, when all went solid. I was sure my lead was snagged, or maybe my leader was caught around a branch or rock. I let the line go limp and felt the fish start to go again. I lifted the rod and quickly wound down, and to my relief the line had come free and I was back in contact.

The fish then came in quite quickly and I was soon slipping a nice looking common into a new safety retainer till the morning. This fish is the first one to fall to the Rahja Spice from Quest baits, so I was pleased to say the least. I have two rods on this particular spot this evening, as it has produced the most fish to date, whilst my other rods remained quiet last night, until I had a funny occurrence at 8am this morning when the tip pulled forwards on one of them and then sprang back. It got me out of bed anyway, so I made some tea, and the day started from there.

Rahja Spiced Common.

I have been diligently working on my new website today from the bivvy. With the heavy rain, there was little else to do, and I have made real progress. The new site will launch in the next week.

I am heading back to civilisation tomorrow, but only for a day or so. I have some parcels being delivered and once they have been signed for, I will be back out again, fishing a new spot which I fancy – providing the conditions are right, which by the weather forecast for next week – seems they will be.

Catch you soon.

Jake L’angle’y-Hobbs

Fishing’s in my name!

The rods are out and I am all set for my first proper session. By proper, I mean no leaving the swim during the day-time, and spending at least a week in pursuit of a whacker. The clock has just struck six pm Spanish time, darkness will shortly fall, and I am eagerly awaiting the first night back in my favourite spot.

The fantastic thing about no longer being a consultant for Dynamite Baits, is I am now a free agent for trying new tactics with regards to other bait companies products. Most importantly I am not looking for a new ‘deal’ or another consultancy, as I don’t think I really warrant one any longer. A sponsorship deal is not just about free stuff after all, and you must give back something in return, be it words, promotion, or plenty of jaw-dropping carp that were all caught on the next big bait of the moment, soaked in the next big gloopy-glug of the year! I am very grateful for my short, one-year period with Dynamite Baits, for the support, and the help, over the time I worked for them, and I wish the company all the best in their new situation with Rapala, and would like to personally thank Mick P, Dan W, Steve C, and Pete C, for making my time with Dynamite an enjoyable one.

I would like to point out now, that I am still using Dynamite Baits boilies on two of my rods this evening – because they work. All their pop-ups have been nailing the Sierra Brava carp but, enter a new contender from Vital Baits. As my readers will know, Nicky from Vital was present at Sierra last week, and he kindly left me some samples to play around with. I love fishy baits, and his SB-X and K-12, both hit the right chords as far as fishy baits go. Well textured, not overpowering, but smooth fishy notes, and in my eyes – the bait colour is very natural looking, and would pass off as the carp’s everyday food. Happily the pop-ups are bound with cork dust, which I love being present in pop-ups; so ‘tonight Matthew’ – I am fishing one rod with a 20mm SB-X pop-up, fished over a kilo of the 15mm boilies to match. Game on – lets see if Vital can deliver me a 40lb common similar to the one Nicky had last week.

I am also trialling my Meccanica Vadese Nick’Ettos during this session (see earlier post). I have decided to just use the front stick complete with buzzer bar, and my rod butts are secured in place, on the sandy bank, incorporating two bivvy pegs. These prevent the rod lifting off the ground, but allow the angler to slide the rod butt out, and then continue to play the fish. This technique is commonly used at Rainbow, where ‘locked up’ fishing is the norm.

The weather today has been great, blue skies and warm sun, then the clouds and wind moved in, and as far as fishing weather is concerned, it couldn’t have looked any better. The rain has kept at bay, which is always nice when you are setting up, and in my Armo bivvy, behind me, is my gas heater, burning away. It is not cold outside by any means (okay, you wouldn’t want to be out there in a t-shirt and shorts), but my bivvy does resembles a warm sitting room – how pleasant, and on that note, I bid you all farewell for the evening!

Cheers

Jake and the dogs.

Tomorrow I am off fishing. I don’t have far to go either. This evening I am going to chill out, prepare my equipment, and then go and get set up tomorrow. I am going to take more kit than normal (well, more than I have been recently), as the temperatures have dropped slightly, and I think the full bivvy treatment will be needed. I am not a wimp when it comes to winter fishing, but the damp is the problem, and open shelters may be good for a quick overnighter, but anything longer and then comfort comes into play. I may even dust down the German bivvy heater, and go the whole hog!

My little spot, not far from the house, is where I will be focusing on. It is producing fish, I have landed a good mirror from there, and I know a certain big ‘tubby’ carp that often gets caught in that region of the lake. She is due out too, so fingers crossed I will get my chance and I can up my Spanish PB to a respectable fifty plus.

My tactics since I arrived in Spain have been very simple. Nothing different from anywhere else I fish in fact, and pop-ups seem to be doing the business for me at Sierra Brava, as they have done in most other waters on my travels. Stick with what you know best – that’s what I say. I also love using a stringer, be it a one bait, two bait, or four bait attachment. I use my faithful technique of slipping the loop of the stringer over a pva nugget, which protects my hook point from any damage on the rocky bottom, and prevents tangles. You can also be rest assured that you have a couple of free offerings lying right by your hook bait, and that is why I love the simple technique. PVA can be used in many forms, but personally I am not into the fiddly art of filling bags, and then loading them up with your lead and rig – takes too long for starters, and if you flunk your cast, you have to repeat it all over again. Tie up twenty stringers in preperation for the night ahead, as it only takes a few seconds to attach a nugget and then slip the stringer on afterwards. Lovely Jubbly!

Steve Howard and his lovely wife, left last week. They both caught some good carp to a shade over 30lbs. Steve was cursing his own stupidity one morning, as he was convinced he lost a lump. Rather than netting it himself in the dark, he called out to his partner for assistance, who was fast asleep in her bivvy. The fish then lunged hard, and the hook pulled. Oops a daisy Steve!

I will be blogging from the bank, so come and join me for a few days – why don’t you?

Cheers

Jake and the dogs.

I had an incredibly busy day yesterday, so combined with the blistering heat, it was a case of taking baby steps to carefully get through all of the tasks that lay in store. First job was to go out in the boat and using my echo sounder I found four spots to begin with. I have decided to try relatively close range fishing to begin with, to save unnecessary long-range work; however, if the fish are going to play hardball and long-range drops are required, then I will change my tactics. The water level is down a little and the water temperatures are high so the 8-9m depths may be more desirable, but for the first few days I am focussing on the 4-5m depths at the bottom of the first slope in front of me.

I love my new bivvy!

A few fish were heard and seen and they have been showing at all ranges. They do like to betray their presence at this lake and I like to wake early, get a cup of tea on the go, and sit back and watch for signs. Night-time is also a good opportunity to listen for the give away crashes, but my friend does not know how to talk quietly (!), so it can be quite difficult to hear them, amongst his incessant droning!

So do I.....!

Baiting my spots was next on the list and I have decided to start off heavy. This lake has a big head of fish, nuisance and carp, and they will quickly eat whatever is available, so I am not too worried about overdoing it. Similar to fishing very big waters it can be a case of waiting for the fish to move through, or you try to draw the fish onto your bait, or you move around and find them. I am going to try to draw the fish first, if that doesn’t work then I will go long, and fish deeper! The magnet I am using to try to draw in the fish is Halibut Pellet and with the warm water this should be very effective.

My fourth rod had to be made up and this is to be my token tiger nut and hemp rod. My Meccanica Vadese pod was switched to four rod mode and I was then almost ready to go and get them dropped in position. I am using bottle markers with reflective tape on them. The lake can get rather choppy sometimes so it makes baiting up easy, and finding them in the dark is a straightforward process. My markers have been placed about ten metres back from my actual drop position, and the four rods are spaced about 100 yards apart.

My inflatable has a small puncture so one of my jobs today is to repair that. Fortunately it is overcast today so this will be possible as trying to repair a boat in scorching hot sun is not advisable as the adhesive is not effective. I had to inflate my boat a few times yesterday to keep it going but my electric pump which runs off a battery makes light work of that job. I am not moving my rods for the next 24 hours, so if I do get a take whilst repairing my boat, I can fortunately use my friends craft – I have a back-up just in case!

The Colossus absolutely dwarfs my two-man Armo!

After my second night’s kip in the new bivvy I can confirm that it is everything I hoped it would be – the Colossus is awesome. I first clapped eyes on this huge bivvy last year when Korda were filming it along with a host of other Trakker goodies for their Thinking Tackle part three dvd. For my long session fishing that I often undertake I knew this was the bivvy for me, and the dogs, and I have waited very patiently to get my hands on one. They are now in production and available in the UK, and although I doubt you will see many of them set up on English lakes and ponds, they will be very popular for trips to Europe, plus I expect many of the European distributors of Trakker tackle will snap them up quickly for their dealers. If you like big bivvies there are plenty to choose from, but if you want a big bivvy with Trakker’s trademark quality this bivvy has it all and more.

The inner shell sits on top of the separate groundsheet.

The front of the shell is pegged through guide holes.

Setting it up was fairly straightforward. I did not have instructions and as usual the groundsheet became the template. The inner shell is a completely closed and separate structure with interlocking frame support bars and it sits on top of the separate groundsheet. To ensure it sits in the right place there are two tension clips underneath the groundsheet and peg holes at the front of the shell to guide you. The back of the shell is pegged using elasticated rings found underneath the separate groundsheet. The support bars of this bivvy are noticeably thicker than any of Trakker’s other bivvies, but this will provide more strength, and peace of mind, knowing it will stand up to whatever the elements throw at you.

The inner shell windows are opened and closed from inside the structure - unique!

Two doors to choose from - clever!

Five practical pockets included in the inner shell - three inside and two for the porch area.

The roof storage system - I am using it for my sponsor's hats!

If we look at the inner shell itself it has four windows with mesh. The noticeable thing with these windows is they can be opened and closed from the inside of the shell. The door design is brilliant and it works by having two separate zips because the shell has two separate doors that are cleverly stored in a neat velcro pocket at the base of the shell. One door is mesh, and the other is made from the green shell material, which you may wish to use to keep out drafts in the winter months when warmth is essential.  The shell comes complete with extra storage. Five pockets are stitched into the bottom of the shell and unlike some of the other pockets I have seen on other bivvies, these actually function. They are small and tight which means items actually stay in them and the pockets don’t sag. There is also a storage system in the roof. At the moment I have my hats stored in this as I did find it is not strong enough to support heavy clothes; however, for light items it is perfect. The shell itself is very big. In comparison to the two-man Armo – it is bigger! You could fit three bedchairs in it and have room to spare. Finally I am pleased to say that the material used for the shell’s integrated groundsheet is impressively thick and it should withstand lots of use – plus it has a stengthened door mat area which is a very good idea.

The outer shell with a single frame bar at the front where it's needed.

Once the inner shell is secured and sitting on the separate groundsheet, the outer structure needs to be erected. This has one interlocking frame bar at the front which provides the strength for the whole structure, porch, and door area. This bar gets its tension from attaching it to two clips positioned underneath the groundsheet. Once these are clipped up the Aquatexx material is pulled from front to back and then pegged down. This outer shell is pegged to elasticated rings found underneath the groundsheet at the front which ensures you get the correct porch space. At the back it is pulled out as tight as possible and then pegged down. This ensures you get space between the inner and outer shell to help with ventilation.

The windows on the Colossus tie up perfectly and doesn't it look strong!

The outer shell itself also has four meshed windows and a large meshed door. These tie up perfectly with the inner shell and provide brilliant air flow on hot days. It is possible to sleep in the daytime without feeling like you are in a sweat room. The porch area is enormous. Compared to a Double Top Extreme I used to own which did have a good-sized porch, this porch is bigger, fully protected with the groundsheet, and really is a useful space which you could cook in, or use for socialising. Just like most of Trakker’s bivvies if you want to open up the front area completely there are elasticated loops with poppers so you can roll it back and quickly secure it.

This is obviously the first time I have put up this bivvy and although it wasn’t put on perfectly flat ground, nor was the terrain firm for peg grip, the final outcome was outstanding. It would not look out-of-place at a tackle show. The Colossus took me about twenty minutes to put up, but with more practice and better ground, I could probably get this down to ten. Could there be any improvements made to this bivvy. I am undecided as to whether or not it should have a peak on it. At the moment if it rains the exposed porch area will get wet, so personally I think it would benefit from one. They make them on other bivvies so why not this one? The roof storage system needs to be redesigned to make it stronger and sag less; then you will have a storage system that is really beneficial. The simple thing to do would be to do away with the elastic they have used near each clip as I don’t think it is necessary.

Apart from that – I have no complaints whatsoever. The pictures of the Colossus on Trakker’s website do not do this product any justice whatsoever. I really love it, and I look forward to using it in the winter, when it will really come into its own. Much thought and some very clever design has gone into the Colossus – well done Trakker!

I will be back tomorrow.

Cheers

Jake and the dogs.

I have just spent the last few hours moving my bivvy yet again. I have actually put it in a waterlogged field behind the swim, and although it does not guarantee water tightness, it is better than where I moved them before. I have actually packed one bivvy down completely and squeezed everything under my bed, to make packing up less work; and if I need to move the bivvy again, it will be much quicker than moving two! There is a slightly longer dash to the rods, but as I am fishing locked-up, the fish can’t really go anywhere anyway. However, to compensate for the longer distance in the dark, I will sleep in my waders and jacket, and that should speed up the sprinting process!

As normal there has been no activity during the afternoon. I went and primed my spots earlier, to try to sneak one out, but it will probably be the usual feeding times – early evening, throughout the night, and the brilliant morning spell.

I am now more determined than ever to see it through till the end of the session, as I just can’t stand the thought of packing up early, when the fish are feeding so well. It could pay off handsomely and I may get my deserved prize at the end!

Here is the picture from earlier.

This morning's Daily Mirror!!!

Catch you tomorrow.

Jake and the dogs

Specchi is the Italian for mirrors and it seems a very fitting title to today’s post. I have been very lucky and have caught three stunning mirrors this week and the third little peach of a mirror was caught last night. At 12.5kg she is not the biggest mirror I have caught by a long way, but what a picture she is! The tiny pearl like scales near her tail are very beautiful and I was chuffed to bits when I peered into my net in the torrential rain! The rain is the real problem at the moment but not for the fishing. The rise in level is great, but the nightmare scenario we are now faced with, is we are running out of ground – we are literally being flooded out!

I moved both my bivvies back a few yards very early this morning. One bivvy already had water creeping underneath and my other was close to the edge. I have been very impressed with my Armo as the groundsheet has remained dry for the whole time I have been here. It is just as well as the dogs beds are on the floor, on top of an old sleeping bag cover; and it is my dogs that I am obviously most concerned about. They are both outside now as I write this as the sun has peaked out for a while; however, it is not fun for my dogs when they are confined to a bivvy all day.

I have now moved up to 28 carp in total. Five more have been caught since the (make that 29 in total…I have just caught another amazing looking mirror – a heavily scaled long specimen..he must have seen me typing the blog, and obviously wanted to be included too! I will have to post the pictures later, once again.) great mirror was captured yesterday morning. I think with the amount of mirrors that seem to be cropping up, they have obviously moved into the bay in groups to spawn. There is a really good chance of a big mirror before I finish the session and still a good chance of a big common. The commons I am catching are all in the 15-30lb bracket and I have caught so many recently that I am actually bored of taking pictures of them. I ask them where their mother is, they get blown a kiss, and are released quickly from the boat.

The deciding factor will be whether or not the session will have to end prematurely and we have to leave because of the serious water problems, but at the moment whilst the sun is out, and it is not raining, all seems rather good. The water level is still rising though, and yesterday there was so much water moving through the lake, it was like fishing in a river. The debris was horrendous and I was back and forth in the boat all night clearing it off my lines. I resorted to heavy rocks as lead substitutes, in order to get a piano wire, tight line, on the way back in the boat. Otherwise you ended up with a massive bow from the flow, and then huge amounts of debris would catch on the line, which inevitably will drag your rig out of place. With the heavy rocks there is no way on earth they will move, you just end up with a huge bend in the rod tip, as the debris starts to slowly cling to the braid. It is jolly hard work but this is what you must do in order to carry on fishing. I have been in similar situations before and can cope fine with it, the only problem I have is my boat motor is not working well. I have borrowed another from a friend and his does not work well either. I came up with a solution and I have both in the boat to get the desired power…I have a twin turbo boat! I have decided that I am going to invest in a Minn Kota when I get the funds available as they do seem to have the best reputation for reliablity. I have seen a 70lbs thrust version which uses two 12v batteries and I am considering this model.

That is all for today. I have some tidying up to do, and as all three rods are in the water, there may be some more carp to be had today…fingers crossed!

Ain't she pretty!

Self-takes in the rain are never easy!

I could do with a platform on stilts!

It now looks rather different from yesterday's rod shot!

It takes a bit of practice to control both at once, but I have learnt quickly!

Cheers

Jake and the dogs

There have been no more carp caught since the gorgeous thirty pounder yesterday afternoon. I have a funny feeling I am experiencing a repeat performance of the weekend’s vanishing events, and after Monday night’s, and yesterday’s heavy rain, and moody weather, the fish probably exited the bay at some point yesterday. The sun has been shining with enthusiasm today and I am sure the carp will return. The fish clearly seem to be in spawning mode at the moment and I am sure they are being dictated by the delicate changes in water temperature.

Where are you carp?

From time to time I look at my stats on the website to see how my traffic is doing, and to see exactly where this traffic is coming from. I find this very interesting and occasionally I will click on the links and see what is at the other end – so to speak! I have noticed in the last two days a few visitors arriving from this Italian carp fishing forum www.passionecarpfishing.it and it seems I have upset a few people. I don’t normally pay any attention to forums but this one had to get a mention!

http://ilmercatinosenzaregole.forumup.it/viewtopic.php?t=15542&mforum=ilmercatinosenzaregole

I don’t speak Italian but I have a translator on my PC, and I kind of got the gist of the thread that had been posted about me; and I have to say it made me laugh – a lot! It was about the mouse photo I posted yesterday, and how cruel and unkind I was to do such a thing!!

"You tell them Dad!"

I am now going to defend my actions. I don’t have to, but I will anyway, as I think I am more than justified in what I do and for the following reasons. Firstly…I am sorry, but mice and rats are vermin. Let’s get this point mentioned straight away! Someone mentioned on the forum that it is okay to kill them when they enter your house. Well I live on the bank most of the time and for very long periods, and when I am fishing my bivvies become my houses, and if mice enter, then they face my traps that I set. In my opinion it is exactly the same thing. I may be at one with nature and you must expect these things to happen, but my bivvies are my personal space and I don’t like my personal space being invaded. Also consider this for one minute whilst you’re reading this sat at your computer in your dwelling. Your lovely house and the manicured ground it stands on; what do you think lived on that sacred ground before it was bulldozed for your luxury accommodation? Mice I expect, and in their hundreds and thousands!

A hole caused by a mouse!

I am a professional angler and I guess you could call me a survival expert. I have very expensive equipment to look after and protect, and if mice start entering on a regular basis, then things slowly get destroyed and before you know it they end up living in bags and luggage. Last time I left Italy in 2008 and headed to Germany, I accidentally took a mouse with me. It was dead when I eventually found it, a month later inside a pocket compartment of a green rucksack! The stowaway got his comeuppance!

Another vermin killer!

I bet half the whingers on the forum have never even undertaken a long carp fishing session in their lives. If you ever do, and you manage to get out from behind your PC’s, and stop cyber carp fishing, you will soon notice the little scurry of feet at night, and droppings and urine on your equipment in the morning, if you don’t prevent or eliminate them in some way. If that is how you want to live when you fish, then that is up to you quite frankly. Personally I would rather kill them if they come in my bivvies, or go near my cooking equipment. They are unhygienic and I don’t want myself or my two kids (Charley and Flash) to pick up any unwanted germs.

Caused by a mouse...

Good old gaffer tape!

I would like to assume or at least hope that all of the moaners on the forum are actually fisherman! How do you fish by the way – with hooks of course. I mean come on! Get a grip will you! Fishing is hardly the most compassionate of sports is it. We trick fish into picking up a bait, we then drag them in, whilst they have a metal hook imbedded in their mouths…and you are whinging about me killing a few mice, because they keep trying to eat my dog’s food for example! Whilst I am on my trip I will continue to kill mice and rats wherever I go, and I take great pride in my job – I am the international vermin slayer. So far I have probably eradicated over 200 mice and about ten ‘small dog’ sized rats!! ! Rats spread diseases such as leptospirosis, and mice, quite frankly, aren’t much better. We aren’t talking about some fluffy pet shop hamster or gerbil which you buy for your child. Mice and rats are vermin and here is a dictionary description of that word:

1.noxious, objectionable, or disgusting animals collectively, esp. those of small size that appear commonly and are difficult to control, as flies, lice, bedbugs, cockroaches, mice, and rats.

The thing that really made me laugh the most, was how negative the whole thread was. There wasn’t one mention of the beautiful carp – you should all be ashamed of yourselves, and if that is the only way you can criticise me, it’s pathetic. Get a life or better still – GO FISHING!

I am prepared for vermin in all shapes and sizes!

My blog or website is a platform to tell my story, and to inform readers of what I have to go through and put up with, and of course the good bits – like when I catch carp or meet certain characters. Vermin is one of the pitfalls of long stay angling, and if a few more anglers now take mouse traps with them when they go, then that makes me very happy as I am doing my job well. I don’t have to publish certain pictures but then that would not be a realistic view of what I am doing. Life isn’t always a bed of roses and you deal with things, as and when they happen, and how you see fit. I use traps and that’s that – like it or lump it, and if you don’t like it – go and look at someones elses blog, there are plenty more to choose from. I am not in a popularity contest, my goal is to catch carp, I will continue my quest for another three years, and unfortunately that will mean more dead vermin.  Setting a trap in a house, is no different to setting a trap in a bivvy, so stop being such hypocrites.

I have my own bin which minimises vermin attraction!

That's lovely isn't it!

Whenever I leave a lake, and in particular my swim at the end of my session, I always leave it clean and tidy, I often clear up other peoples rubbish before I begin, I even have my own plastic bin for christ’s sake, which works by not attracting mice to black bin bags left on the floor, and I do respect wildlife and nature. There is a stone building at the back of my swim which has been used as a dumping ground for rubbish. The rubbish has clearly been left by carp anglers, and judging by the Moretti beer case, Italian ones I might add. One thing I have observed when fishing in Italy is how the Romanians seem to get blamed for all the problems at lakes – rubbish, violence etc… I heard on the grapevine that a fight took place a few days ago between some Italian anglers and some Czech anglers over a swim at Pusiano. What’s all that about! It seems none of us are perfect after all!

I decided to treat myself!

My friend Pippo arrived today so I could nip to the local Tigros shop to get some supplies for the last few days. I fetched all my rods in before I went and left him in charge of the dogs. On returning I put my stuff away, we opened a couple of beers, as I am getting to the end of the session and I felt like I deserved one, and then I started getting the rods in position again. I had done two and was taking the third one out when  a boat appeared in the distance. It was the local Polenzia and the Guardia. It was an educational visit on all accounts and although I was rumbled for fishing too long (I was caught red-handed at my 550m spot, and they have those snazzy binoculars which read distances!), and for going out in my boat too early to place my rods before it was dusk; they were very pleasant about it and just gave me a fine! You don’t get a warning in Italy – just a fine. It’s no big deal, I can take it on the chin, and as I am coming to the end of my session it just gives me more material to write about. They even asked for my blog details so they could have a read later. Cheers guys – hope you like it!

That’s all for tonight.

Yours truly

Jake and the dogs!

What a welcome sight I was greeted by this morning upon climbing out of bed. The sun was desperately trying to burn through the clouds and I could see patches of blue developing. The dogs came out to see the phenomenon taking place and in half and hour it looked like we were all going to be treated to some fine weather. I could be anywhere really, hidden away in the woods with my dogs, and I am very happy in my own little world; the sun however has been missed and I beckoned it on with outstretched arms. I hope he comes back tomorrow!

I had another visitor today and this was from an English chap who lives about 50km away. We have spoken a couple of times in the past week or so and I informed him I would be setting up my stall at a lake not too far away from his location. The meeting was arranged and he promised to come armed with a treat – tea bags and strong Yorkshire ones at that. Buying English tea bags in France at the big supermarkets is fairly straightforward but astronomically expensive. I remember buying some from a LeClerc store in Montauroux last year and they had the English retail price tag on them which read 75 pence. I was charged three and a half Euros which for forty PG tips is a right rip off. Buying tea bags in Italy is proving difficult. I have been enjoying my strong coffee but, you can take the Englishman out of the UK, but you can’t take the tea out of an Englishman. The first cup of proper tea I have had since the end of last year tasted excellent! Cheers Jon!

Sorted!!

Jon stayed for a few hours, I cooked him some lunch, and we chatted about the carp scene in Italy and about some of the problems he and I have encountered. These aren’t serious problems but more administrative issues and complications in purchasing tickets etc. As an example, on one public lake the limited number of swims are managed by three separate towns who control the swims separately. In order to fish you must call each provincial office, find out which swim is free and do this with each town. Once you have booked a swim, you then get a signed form faxed to you from the local mayor. I said before Italy is not as straightforward as France’s public lakes and it seems I wasn’t wrong. However it is worth the effort, so do not let the minor complications put you off paying Italy a visit. Some lakes are certainly more straightforward than others and you will just have to see when you get here.

Jon gets the doggy treatment as Charley explains the meaning of life!

After I had whizzed Jon back to the mainland in my boat, I decided to go and do a 72 hour check on the rods. More of a peace of mind check really, after the initial 24 hour check last Saturday. Two of the rods were fine, but one rod had one of the two 20mm pop-ups missing. Quite possibly a crayfish having a nibble. The crayfish must be starting to wake up from their winter slumber and I will have to now check the rods every 72 hours just to be on the safe side. The water has actually come to life today and I have seen fish topping and plenty of bubbles in the shallows. The bubbles could easily be gas so I won’t get too excited about them, but I did see some patches moving in a directional line, which had to be feeding fish of some description. If the warm weather continues for a few days then I really do think it will be a matter of time before one of the rods rattles off. It could even happen tonight!

Canadian pond weed off the small hump spot.

I spent this evening repairing my mossie door on my large two-man bivvy. Why you may ask? Surely it is too early for mossies? No it isn’t and this morning I was woken at 6am by a buzzing by my ear. This evening as I stitched the door up (where my dog Flash incidentally ripped a hole in it trying to get out during my New Year session) I noticed a large, fat, fly. The fly in fact was a large, fat, mossie, filled with the blood of one of my dogs. I noticed a few other blood suckers waiting their turn, so I swished them out of the bivvy and hurriedly finished off my sewing task. I know from past experience that this lake can be horrible for mossies, but that was in July of 2008. The problem with this lake is the fact it is pretty much still water and not fed by a large river that enters and exits the lake. The lake is also reed lined and there is plenty of stagnant water and thick mud; the perfect breeding ground for hatching bloodworm. Being prepared I have my repellent, however today’s selection of biting guests were probably down to the sun which has certainly bought a few out from the woodwork so to speak. I can’t stand the little critters though and my dogs are sitting targets for them. It does mean I get bitten less, but it is unpleasant for Charley and Flash who can’t flick them off. The door is now mended though so we are fully protected at night.

Speaking of bivvies I will soon be getting my hands on Trakkers‘ monster mansion – the Colossus. This has been in the pipeline for some time and it will hit the shops at the end of April. If you like your long sessions, you need plenty of living space, and you like a little luxury, then this is the bivvy for you, and it is certainly the choice shelter for me and the dogs!

The Big Game Knot

I posted a picture yesterday of a knot I use for the Safezone leaders to prevent damage to the eye of the leader. Here it is in more detail.

A damaged Safezone leader.

Tie a large loop in your mainline or shock leader.

Thread the loop through the small leader eye and slide it down to the knot of your loop.

Now pass the loose end of the Safezone leader ten times through the open loop.

Wet and pull together to form a well bedded knot that should look like the one in the picture!

I would like to add that I only use this knot when using the Korda hybrid lead clip that is permanently attached to the leader or the lead release method using an inline lead such as the method shown below. A lead clip that is pushed into a swivel and sometimes slides on the leader after a take is not suitable for this knot, as the lead clip won’t pass over it. Always check and use lead clips responsibly, so a fish is not left towing a lead around if you suffer a breakage.

A great and very simple lead release method when fishing to snags.

That’s all for tonight. (A short post as usual!)

Cheers

Jake and the dogs.

The weather worsened as darkness fell and the rain that started at around midday strengthened along with the winds. There wasn’t much socializing done last night – it was a case of looking after yourself and staying warm and protected. One thing I always do whenever I undertake a session is I ensure my shelters are put up perfectly so they work as they were designed. There is no point having a top quality Trakker product and not utilising the benefits it provides. I always put mine up so they are very tight and this should prevent accidents in the winds.

A good installation is essential!

Solid...solid as a rock!!

Yesterday afternoon I braved the elements, put on my life jacket, and ventured out to redrop my rod onto the hump spot from where I caught the 12kg mirror. I protected my pva nugget and stringer with a plastic bag to stop it getting wet in the rain as I rowed out to my spot. The winds were very strong at this point and it wasn’t easy. I did a good job though baiting up and dropped my rig on the money before motoring back to my swim. I was rewarded for my efforts at 5am, when a few beeps had me out of my sleeping bag and into a waterproof jacket. I played the fish from the bank because it would have been dangerous in the boat. The wind was reaching its ultimate strength and I know it is possible to play fish from the bank due to the lack of snags. An average common appeared in the choppy water yards from the bank after reeling in for a few minutes. I slipped the fish into a sack till the morning as the weigh in could be done then.

At 5.8kg the carp had put me in the lead for the first time. Danilo has now managed to get his rods out as the winds have switched direction and also died down a tad. The weather is still rather British and grey and overcast with a slight chill in the air. I hope tomorrow it will improve and we will have a little sunshine.The fishing has slowed up a little in the last few days since the weather took a turn for the worse, however, the carp have kept coming, but with slightly less regularity. It would be nice if the temperatures rise as I am sure we will have a nail-biting climax to the winners post!

Is he still alive?

Yes he is!!

It did look like a bomb had gone off in our swim this morning and the bomb had struck the Italian’s side. I am proud to say that I had a good night’s sleep till the arrival of the carp, and apparently I was sleeping so well that I failed to hear the commotion going on outside as Danilo’s bivvy took off, his rods leant against his bivvy appeared by his head, his kitchen umbrella was smashed to pieces along with most of his utensils, and everything was drenched including the Italian himself. In true Danilo fashion he greeted me this morning with two words “No Problem!”

The Bombsite!

It is now time to eat some good hearty food and see what the night brings. We are back to our electric-powered boats for the time being as Christian has returned, and has taken his boat back for a couple of days, and is fishing much further up the bank. We are both used to operating our crafts in bad weather though, so it is not a problem and our boat batteries are full of charge.

The results at the end of today are as follows: Danilo with six carp has a weight of 49.2kg and with eight carp and a weight of 54.5kg is the English gent…apparently!

Back tomorrow.

Jake and the dogs…and of course – the Italian!