Good Evening.
Thanks for your patience! My writing is done and I am now very relaxed. My final chapter of No Fixed Abode was sent to Angling Publications today with a slight tinge of sadness, mixed a sense of relief. Two years of writing for a magazine is a two-year long committment, and although I am positive I will return to the pages of Carpworld, I am looking forward to a few months off. My European magazine contributions will continue, and as I am now using the Carp-Tec range of bait that Dynamite produce, it makes more sense for me to focus on promotion where it counts.
A repellent that really works.
The move to tiger nuts was a good idea and yesterday morning my middle rod took off. A common almost exactly the same as the first carp of the session was on the other end, so I released it immediately, straight from the boat. The cats have not bothered me since the change of bait, although this morning something did manage to pull my lead from the clip on one of my rods. Interestingly when I put the rods out on Tuesday I tipped each tiger nut presentation with imitation corn. Green, orange, and pink, was used as a visual aid to help produce a take. The carp was caught on the pink rod! So far all my takes have come to presentations with pink involved. Pink pop-ups, a snowman with a pink pop-up, and now pink corn along with the tigers. I don’t know whether the depth makes this certain colour stand out better than others, or it is just a coincidence, but then I had a take this evening on the pink rod again. What is it with these Italian carp? They love pink!
Pink baits work well in Italy!
Unfortunately the carp I hooked this evening was not landed. As I made my way out in the boat to my distant marker I could feel the fish occasionally tugging. As I got about 100 metres from my marker the braid was caught around an underwater obstacle – probably a large branch or log sat on the lakebed. As I neared the spot I felt the fish pull a little, and I suspect I pulled it into the snag and it then shed the hook. In the end I could feel nothing on the end, so I had to wrap my braid around my arm and pull for a break. Oh well, you win some and you lose some. To be realistic, at this particular lake, this is par for the course, and you will never land every carp. The lakebed is littered with snags, and I would use my pike controller idea to try and keep the braid off the bottom, but then the frequent canoeists and boats that literally pass your rod tips would catch your line, especially if the pike controller bought it up to the surface.
A large rock used as a lead substitue to achieve more weight.
Here is the rock lead I am using for my long-range fishing. It is a simple method, which means you can get a very tight line back to your pod, you can also tighten up any bow, if you were unable to return in a straight line, without the fear of moving a lighter lead; and the hookhold you obtain from the rock is much more secure. You can also guarantee that the rock will release after the take bringing the carp straight to the surface.
My braid of choice and with the 25lb version it is possible to get 600m on a big baitrunner spool.
I now have three of four nights left of my session. The rods are all in position, but I have stuck boilies back on two rods, leaving the middle rod sporting the pink tipped tigers. I am hoping the cats have buggered off, and I won’t be bothered by them anymore. To try some old tricks, and tempt a final big fish, I have stuck a big bait presentation on one rod, consisting of two 26mm Mussel and Oyster bottom baits, tipped with a 15mm pink Squid and Octopus pop-up. I caught a 23kg common from here in 2008 on a similar sized offering; so you never quite know do you?
Happily, my mate got off the mark this morning with this pretty common.
I will be back tomorrow with a Friday afternoon post.
Cheers
Jake and the dogs.
