Posts Tagged ‘Spomb’

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Finished on a High!

November 12, 2011

Good Morning.

I am back at my house after packing up early this morning. After nine night’s I decided it’s better to be happy with your results and walk away, rather than stay on in the hope of catching more, and possibly be faced with packing up in the pouring rain. I also had another reason to pack up a night earlier than expected, as at 9pm last night I caught a new personal best mirror carp from Sierra Brava! A regular reader, Martyn, commented earlier in the week how my carp senses seemed to be functioning well during this session and I guess he was right. In yesterday’s post I made the bold comment that it would be great to finish my session off with a 30lb+ mirror – I got it right again as my fishy prediction came right!

I made a couple of subtle changes to two rods yesterday and placed them about five yards further out than they had been throughout the whole session. I did this because I had a hunch that it may produce something larger, as quite often big fish can be in the vicinity of smaller feeding carp, yet they can often hang back, almost watching their counterparts feeding, but possibly not wanting to join in due to sensing danger! People often talk about fishing off their baited patch, and what I was doing was essentially that.

I also did something I haven’t done before on one rod, also to try to tempt a larger fish. I am not going to say what it was, which is unusual for me, as I don’t normally have secrets! However, as it worked, I would like to see if it works again on my next trip, before I reveal what my simple change to my hookbait turned out to be!?

After I ate my dinner last night, I was hoping if I had a run, it would be on this very rod. Five minutes later, as I was sat outside, the rod took off – don’t you just love it when that happens! The fish powerfully took a lot of line in a short space of time, and then slowed down. I gradually bought it back towards me as it kited inch by inch to my left. I was expecting the fish to put up more of a battle to be honest after its initial surge of strength, and then I heard a small splash a few metres out, and my heart sank a little. I suddenly thought the fish had fooled me completely, and it was in fact another small carp, but then it bobbed to the surface and stayed there. I could see a pale and large shape that grew and grew as it got closer to me, and realising I had a big mirror coming straight towards my net – I was then completely gob-smacked!

I broke the net down quickly and carried the fish to the unhooking mat. My size 2 hook was securely in its bottom lip, so after gently removing it, I transferred the fish into a retainer and weighed her. The needle swung round and settled on 38lbs or 17.23kg to be exact. My previous biggest mirror at Brava was a mid-thirty so not only did I get my 30lb+ mirror, I also got a new pb mirror from Sierra Brava. What a result!

A two-tone mirror from Brava weighing 17.23kg

I left the fish to settle in the retainer, secured against a bankstick, and got the rod back to the mark. Three spombs followed and then I checked on the fish. She had tilted to one side and wasn’t looking comfortable so I guessed that she was having problems with her swim bladder. I never like to unnecessarily retain fish for long periods of time especially when the fish looks in distress, so I quickly got my camera equipment sorted out, did the deed behind the lens, and carried the fish back to the water. I stayed with the fish for twenty minutes until she seemed to let out a big burp of air! Only when I was satisfied, did I let her swim off, and happily, she looked okay, and was not tilting to either side as she waddled off into the depths.

It is very important when you have a carp in this condition that you don’t let it swim off until you are completely sure it has recovered. The best technique is to hold the carp under the surface and gently let go. If she rises to the surface and tilts to one side then there is obviously still a problem. The danger sometimes is the fish can seem okay and swim off quickly, partly due to stress, then once the fish has swum a few yards it can suddenly resurface; meaning the fish is now out of your reach, and you are now unable to help the fish recover. Carp care is not just about unhooking mats and miracle anti-septic products(!), and it is always your responsibility as an angler to return a carp that is healthy and strong.

Finishing my session on a high with my new personal best Sierra Brava mirror carp!!!

Nothing else happened for the duration of the night. The weather is not exactly how I would like it as the winds are easterly for the next few days, so once morning arrived I made the hasty decision to call it a day. Packing up took about two and a half hours, as I like to pack everything away, so it is ready to go at a moments notice. My house is now set up so I can quickly unload everything straight through the front door into two different rooms: a tackle store, and a bait room. I even have a drying room outside for smelly items such as unhooking mats and slings. It is just as well that I currently don’t have a girlfriend, as although it might be the carp anglers dream house, I am sure a female would have other ideas!!!

My next session is planned in a weeks time. I will be doing another longish session and will continue my mission to catch my first twenty kilo carp from Sierra Brava. A fifty pounder would be nice, but one step at a time!

Thanks for following my blog during this session. I hope you have enjoyed reading about it as much as I have enjoyed writing about it. Finally, enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Cheers

Jake and Flash!

 

 

 

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My First Spanish Forty Pounder!

November 9, 2011

Good Morning.

I can’t describe how happy I am this morning! I have finally achieved my first milestone at Sierra Brava and broken the forty pound mark and it feels fantastic to do so. I remember when I caught my first 40lb common at Cassien and feeling pleased about it; this however means so much more, as it is my local water. I really do think on a personal level that this could be the start of things to come, and as I am planning on fishing as much as I can over the next four months, I am hoping there will be more big fish to show you all.

It is now tipping it down with rain. The weather actually changed yesterday evening, just before it fell dark. I checked the weather forecast and sure enough, it confirmed a low front was moving in, bringing slightly warmer temperatures, cloud cover, low pressure, and rain. The weather for the past two days has not been brilliant, and this favourable change until the end of my session, might help me out a great deal more.

Due to the sudden change in climate I was on the edge of my seat for most of the night. I ate early again, conjuring up a chicken curry with rice (there is a familiar pattern emerging here)! My first take came at 10pm and after a spirited tussle I netted a common which weighed 18lbs. I returned the rod to the mark and quickly topped up the spot with my spomb.

No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t sleep. It is as if I knew something good was about to happen. At 3am I was actually sat in my porch on my chair when a single beep alerted me. I watched the rod in question as the tip bounced back slightly. Another beep followed as the tip slowly pulled forwards, by which time I was already on the rod. Nothing really happened to begin with until the fish woke up and then it took line. There was no need to try to stop it so I let the fish chug away like an underwater barge. Finally it slowed down by which time I had switched my boots for my waders and was now stood in the water. I could feel the fish kiting to my right. The fish had taken a lot of line and the danger to my right was a tree. The fish clearly knew where she was heading so I quickly had to get some line back on my spool. I heard the clatter of my stop-knot through the rod rings and breathed a sigh of relief, as I know the tree is slightly farther than the distance of the stop-knot. The fish continued to kite right and then as I wound in line I experienced that horrible feeling as everything went solid! The fish suddenly and very powerfully went on a ballistic run. Whatever was caught before had now been pulled free by the fish and I breathed another sigh of relief. The fish slowly changed direction and started to head for the shoreline to my right. I was trying to pinpoint its precise location when it suddenly boiled a couple of yards from the bank. Realising it was now in shallow water it then slowly headed back to open water.

I now felt like I had things under control with the fish in front of me and the shockleader knot almost on the reel. I still hadn’t caught a glimpse of the fish and was starting to wonder what was attached to my hook. Three times as I heard the shockleader knot rattle through the rings, the fish decided to have another go and forcefully took line. On the third attempt however, I could feel her energy reserves were waning. Out of nowhere I saw her come to the surface. She stayed there, so I slowly drew her towards me, and into the net she went, first time of asking.

I peered into the net and saw a fish that was definitely a good thirty. I waded along the margin with my prize in the net and left her in the edge whilst I put the rod down. I rolled the net down to carry her to my unhooking mat and now my estimates suddenly changed. Was this possibly my first forty in fact?

On the money!!!

I was quite lucky to be honest as when I went to unhook her, the loose hook and bait was rolling around in her huge cavernous mouth. I transferred her into a weigh/retention sling and hoisted her up onto the scales. Well would you believe it – forty pounds exactly – on the nail. I had to take a picture as I couldn’t quite believe it myself!

The smile says it all!

My new Spanish PB - Happy Days!!

At first light I self-took photos and released her to swim free once again. She looked magnificent as she sat in the water preparing herself to swim off. Certainly not a young fish by any means and on closer inspection her mouth was in excellent condition, still sporting the curtains in the upper part of her mouth. As public water carp go – they don’t come much better than this!

Blow-back rig, size 2 hook, and big baits. The perfect combo!

The rig I used was the blow-back rig with a snowman for bait; a 24mm OR-O bottom bait and a 20mm Strawberry Scopex fluro pop-up and the carp was caught from my open water spot, no more than fifty yards from the bank.

I am now going to have a siesta!

Back tomorrow with more news from Sierra Brava.

Cheers

Jake and Flash.

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Posted in Sierra Brava | 10 Comments »

Spombs Away At Sierra Brava!!

September 30, 2011

“Without doubt one of the simplest, yet best, inventions, to hit the carp fishing market in the last decade!” Jake Langley-Hobbs

Simple yet innovative!

I have been using Spombs for a year now and I supply, and sell them to my clients. The reason being, they are the best bait delivery tool on the market with no spillage, a fast retrieve, and they fly straight as an arrow. I have used other types over the years but there really is no comparison!

I supply and sell Spombs to my clients!

Most importantly the Spomb really does allow my clients to get the most from their bait during their holiday, as all of it ends up in the lake and not spilled all over the bank. They are so easy to use!

I give lessons if necessary to clients that haven’t had experience spodding before. It does not take long to learn the art and using the line clip on your reel is the best method to achieve that all important accuracy combined with either using a landscape marker or a separate marker rod, to ensure you hit the same mark each time.

The retrieve of the Spomb is very impressive as it literally runs across the water towards you as you reel in. I supply my clients with Diawa Emblem Spod reels – the best spod reel on the market with an incredible 1m retrieve per revolution.

The Spomb combined with the Emblem reel and SK3 spod rod

The Spomb is designed to be filled with your bait of choice and when fully loaded it weighs no more than 5-6oz. The Sonik SK3 4.5lb/tc Spod Rod is well up to the job of casting a fully loaded spod.

I always use braid when spodding and my clients reels are loaded with the same. I always recommend you wear a finger guard or a glove to protect your finger from braid cuts that can be very painful and will certainly put an end to anymore casting.

The Spomb company have recently made a very important change to their product in the shape of a new material used to manufacture the spring, responsible for opening up the two sides and keeping the spomb open so it retrieves well. I sometimes noticed that after prolonged use this spring would sometimes break so I spoke to Bryan who was already aware of the small change that needed making.

Thanks to the newly designed spring, breakages are a thing of the past, meaning clients can now take their purchased Spombs back to their home country and carry on spombing to their heart’s content.

I often hear of anglers complaining that the Spomb sometimes opens during the cast – the Spomb is not to blame! There are clear instructions printed on the packaging explaining how to turn the front button for a stronger latch and you may need to see which strength suits your bait the best.

Clearly printed instructions to change the latch strength.

The Spombs are available in an assortment of colours, black, white and red; and I have even seen a pink one that was made for a known lady carp angler!!

If you haven’t tried a Spomb – what are you waiting for!!!

GET SPOMBING……….

For more details go to www.spomb.com

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