Good Afternoon.

What a lovely way to end the session – smiles all round!

On January the 9th 2009 I began this blog. The idea of “The Big Carp Hunter” website was to allow other anglers, sat in homes and offices, to join my journey fishing. To follow the highs and lows associated with carp fishing. To witness the sometimes hellish conditions and ordeals I would put myself through. And to share in the joys of carp captures, amusing occurrences, and weird and wonderful characters I would often meet along the way.

The idea for the blog was actually that of my first sponsor. Unfortunately he wanted it to be a promotional train for his company and products, and although I was happy to give him the odd plug, I never wanted it to be a blatant platform for his merchandise. “Anglers will see through it, for what it really is. I want to give them the real deal. I want them to feel like they are actually on the bank, fishing with me.” I began writing it whilst fishing at Cassien, and immediately gained a loyal gang of followers. I think you could say it has been a success. Some of the original band of readers still catch up on my sessions from time to time; and although it isn’t written with such regularity these days, that just reflects on the amount of time I spend on the bank these days, compared to how I used to fish – 24/7/365.

Carp fishing certainly appears to be more popular these days. It has literally exploded and when I started the blog, Facebook was another fairly new creation. I do like Facebook but it does seem to have created various breeds of angler. There are the anglers who like to sit at home and guess the swim, the name of the lake, or what the fish is called. There are anglers who don’t seem to be able to do much else other than criticise others. There are anglers on Facebook who probably aren’t even anglers. Then there are the real bunch. The anglers who get out there and fish. They get on with it regardless. They celebrate their successes, and they nurse their failures. Everything to do with carp fishing seems to be done through Facebook these days. 99% of tackle companies and companies involved in fishing have dedicated pages and generally use it for spamming, sorry, promotion!! I don’t know exactly how many carp anglers use Facebook, however it does allow anglers to show off their catches to their genuine friends, and other people on their contact list. It is, when used correctly, a fantastic porthole.

Quite why some individuals feel the need to expose their jealous nature and have a ‘pop’ at people is beyond me. However, it isn’t just in carp fishing, as many seem to think. This negative attitude, and the green-eyed monsters sadly lurk in all forms of sport. In cycling, athletics, boxing, and horse racing for example. I am sure Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins has his fair share of backstabbers and envious critics. Sadly society is to blame for the downfall in manners and etiquette. Things won’t improve though. We just have to live with it, and the best way is to turn a blind eye to those sorry individuals.

Not everyone has writing skills. Not everyone is a whizz behind the camera lens. Not everyone is a naturally gifted angler. Not everyone will make it into magazines. But everyone deserves the chance to have some limelight and Facebook gives anglers this opportunity to shine. Be happy for others and they will be happy for you.

The reason I have spoken about this subject in my 500th post is not because I feel like I get any negativity. If I did I would simply chuckle and turn the page, so to speak. I have mentioned it because I have seen the attitudes in the sport change dramatically from about the time when I began writing my blog. I guess it is a sign of the times but it’s still a sad fact. Five hundred posts is a significant number in case you are trying to do the maths. Over a million words are included in my website, and when you consider an average book contains 100,000 words – my blog amounts to ten books with thousands of pictures.

The Big Carp Hunter blog has brought me tremendous pleasure. There were periods during particularly tough sessions, when my readers got me through the pain. Knowing there was this loyal gang of followers, who would often post comments of encouragement, really meant the world to me. I take this opportunity to thank you all.

I will write a book one day. I may even turn this blog into a large diary style book. Perfect for reading during sessions to give you motivation, or simply to laugh at some of the amusing events that often happened to me and the dogs. As and when this will happen though, I can’t currently confirm.

The conclusion of the Orellana session.

It now brings me to the part in the blog when I will bring you up to speed with how the Orellana session turned out. When I last blogged I mentioned that I had caught a 22lb common, and Craig Reid had managed three takes and landed one fish. The fish were being very picky and although we knew the fish were there, and often showing over our spots, they just didn’t seem to be feeding with much gusto.

Things didn’t really change for me for the rest of the session. I kept fishing my spots, I occasionally changed my hook bait variation, but I stuck to my guns. I generally had a recast at midday, baited up, and left things at that.

35lb for Mr Reid.

Craig however, started getting slightly more action. Fish could regularly be heard over his spots as darkness fell, and he went on to have nine takes in the six night session, landing five carp. On the day I wrote my blog from Orellana he caught two more carp during the coming night. The first fish was a lovely common turning the needle to 35lbs. It was great to see a larger fish on the bank and moral was high.

The biggest of the session at 42lbs. Well done Craig.

Last night Craig received two more takes. The first fish came shortly after 1am resulting in a upper twenty common. His final take though, at 6am, produced the biggest fish of the session – a fine common weighing 42lbs. I woke at 8.30am, made a coffee and sat on my chair, wondering why on earth my rods weren’t producing. No sooner had I sat down the middle rod’s alarm beeped once and the tip pulled over. How considerate of the carp to let me have a good night’s sleep.

Yours truly with a magnificent looking specimen from Orellana.

The fish came in like a dog on a lead and I was convinced it was a small carp. Bubbles then started appearing as it got close to the bank, then it showed itself and I commented to Craig that it actually might be bigger than my first fish. Craig was already convinced!

The fish then plodded around the margins, occasionally taking line, and often coming to the surface, pretending it was beat. I took my time though, enjoying the moment, and only when the fish surfaced and stayed there, did I guide it into my net. A cracking fish to finish the session with. I have been told that the fish in Orellana often have a pink tinge to their bellies and this was no different. Although you can’t really see it in the photograph, this coloration  is caused from their stable diet of signal crayfish heavily present in the lake. We weren’t bothered by them at all however, during our stint at the lake.

Had I just caught the one carp as it was looking likely at 8.30am, I probably would have called it a day on Orellana for the rest of the year. Not surprisingly though, after the last knocking’s capture, I now can’t wait to do another session, and one is planned for mid-November.

Till the next post – number 501 – thanks for reading, and catch you soon.

Jake Langley-Hobbs & Flash