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.

I arrived at my chosen swim on friday afternoon. With a nice westerly breeze pushing down the narrow section I intended on fishing, I suddenly had that rush of excitement that any carp angler would recognise instantly. I heard a couple of fish slap the surface further along to my right as I set up my marker rod, and after finding the river bed, I decided on where to place my rods. Two would go left and right in the margins, and one would smack down in the centre channel of the river bed.

The sun’s intensity was strong as I sat finishing my latest book : The Eleventh Commandment, by Jeffery Archer. As the sun dipped behind some trees I got my dinner ready; a simple pasta dish with tuna tossed through it. I had seen the barometric pressure on the television in the morning and I had a feeling the coming night would be bitten with cold – I was right, and by 10pm a wet dew was coating the ground and my equipment.

Flash loves his Trakker bedding!

Jose, a local friend of mine, was fishing much further along the bank to my left. I heard alarms going off and smiled, wondering when my chance would come. I knew there were plenty of fish in front of me, as occasionally a carp would roll, leaving surging ripples that flickered in the moon’s spotlight. The moon presently is full, and I always like fishing during this period.

Whether it's really responsible for big fish remains another matter, but you can't beat a full moon!

After reading a few more pages, I drifted off to sleep. I woke an hour later, to find my hat and headtorch had slipped off my head in my drowsy slumber! I turned over and nodded off again when suddenly the first take startled me. The margin rod to my right had been taken, and after a short battle, a fat golden common was landed, unhooked, and returned. This fish took a liking for a yellow banana/pineapple pop-up. During the fight the fish had briefly caught one of my other lines. There is plenty of silk weed in the margins, and after yesterday’s breeze, it had caught up on most of my lines. After removing the weed, I decided to reel in the rod in question and switched the purple squid pop-up for a yellow one, before casting it back to its target. A couple of spombs duly followed and the work had been done.

Half and hour later the margin rod to my left took off. Another common put in a brief appearance on the bank, before I ushered him back to his home. I flicked the rod back out, and quickly returned to the welcome warmth of my sleeping bag. The next three hours were undisturbed until 7am, when the rod I had recast, with the now yellow pop-up, beeped a few times, then hit full throttle. The fish took plenty of line to begin with but I was in control all the way to the net. A 10kg common was quickly dealt with, and then left in the landing net in the water; whilst I quickly put a filled pva stocking on, and cast the rod back to the spot. Two spombs rapidly followed, then I photographed the male common, oozing milk, and released him to rejoin his comrades.

One of many in Sierra Brava!

A welcome coffee followed and I sat on my bed watching the day wake up. I had barely put the cup down, when the tip of the rod I had just recast, bounced, nodded, straightened-up, before slowly arching over. It is always a pleasure to watch a take occur, but, I also equally enjoy waking, bleary-eyed, to a blistering run.

The fish kited slowly to my left and took line as it did. I allowed the fish a little headway, and more than I should, before realising the imminent danger. I have never seen this before at Brava; a bottle-marker left in the water by an irresponsible angler, and regretfully the fish had managed to get behind the marker’s line, which I imagined was of the sea-fishing variety! Whenever I used bottle markers in the past, I always used fine match fishing line, which would inevitably break should a fish tangle occur. This was clearly not a good situation and the fish was clearly still on. What was I to do?

I left the rod for a few minutes to see if it came free. After twenty minutes of tugging, and walking left and right, I realised there was only one thing for it – pull for a break, or swim out and cut the bottle-marker’s line. This would then hopefully allow the fish to swim free, and I could possibly have a chance of landing the carp. I stripped off to my boxers and tested the water. Bloody freezing was all my mind screamed at me. I backed off and tried the rod approach again. The fish was definitely still attached as the bottle kept bobbing. “Sod it,” I thought, “It will be like swimming on Boxing Day on Blackpool Beach!” (I would like to clearly emphasise that you please don’t try this at home whatever age. I am slightly nuts, plus I did have help at close hand should I have got into any trouble.)

With a pair of Korda Razorblades in my right hand I waded out, quickly ducked under, let out a gasp of shock from the icy temperature, and then went for it. I am actually a strong swimmer, but I do prefer the warmth of the mediterranean, the beaches at Ibiza, or the heated indoor pool variety. I soon made it to the marker 50 yards out. I cut the thick mono and headed back to shore doing front crawl. I raced back to the rod to find the fish was still on, but sadly still stuck! I now knew the carp had obviously managed to get the marker’s mono attached to the stone or rock, caught up on either my hooklink or the hook. Still not wanting to pull for a break, I donned my waders, and waded out to try to get the whole lot moving. Every so often I made a little gain, but then everything would lock up again. I left the rod in the rests and watched as my kettle boiled for a brew. The tip then suddenly pulled forwards and line was pulled off the baitrunner; could this be it?

I felt something moving as I tightened down and slowly the whole lot seemed to come towards me. I realised by now, that I was reeling in a carp, plus a large rock, dangling several feet below, and after all the effort I had gone to, I dearly wanted to land the fish, and see what it was. A beautiful mirror suddenly surfaced a few feet out, unable to move, due to the tension from all angles. I gently slipped the creature into my net, and then pulled the marker’s mono sharply, so the line broke and the rock fell away. I walked triumphantly back to my unhooking mat. Was it worth the effort – indeed it was!

Worth swimming for? I reckon so!

Not expecting any day-time margin action, I moved the rods to the river bed, in the hope of snaring a passing carp. My theory with river beds, at this particular time of year, is they are used by carp, similar to motorists using motorways – they are the quickest way to navigate. At night, and under the cover of darkness, the carp are more likely to explore the shallows in search for food, but once daylight appears, these familiar patrol routes signal a safer and easier way to travel. At the end of the narrow section I am fishing is an area where the carp spawn, and that is why the fish are present. My theory is they arrive in the day, and move out, whilst feeding, during the night, and the most likely route they will take is the one that holds the most food – the shallows. Hence my two margin carp caught in the night, and the two river bed carp caught at first light. It’s my theory however, so don’t quote me on that one, although Flash does agree with me!

Back tomorrow.

Jake and Flash.

Tomorrow I am off to wet a line. This weekend at Sierra Brava there has been a small competition, so I am expecting when all the competitors vacate the lake, and the noise from the cars, along the tracks, quietens down; the carp will get their heads down for a good old munch. Weekends have a habit of being fairly non-productive due to the many anglers that converge on the lake; fish obviously still get caught, but not having a normal 9-5 office job, gives me the distinct advantage to hit the lake at the more advantageous periods. I would have loved to have got out earlier this week, but the new website had to take precedence, and I am pleased to say it is almost done. It seems like I have been saying those words for months – I have I guess, but these things can’t be rushed, and when you consider that the content of the site is in the region of 10,000 words, complete with many pictures, which I have added myself, it has been a labour of love, with many long days, late nights, and early starts. I have probably driven my website guy round the bend, with changes here and there; but when you have an idea in your head for the finished look, you must stick to your guns.

The last few items have been arriving at my house for my range of equipment for clients. Happily I have three separate, confirmed bookings on the calendar, which is great news in these early stages, and apart from the fishing, I intend on pushing the boat out in other areas. Having fished on the bank for so long, for varying lengths of time, I learnt to adapt, and I learnt how to make certain aspects much more comfortable. I myself am happy to fish without these creature comforts from time to time, but taking clients different needs into consideration was what I set out to do. My large trailer for instance is going to be kitted out with a variety of gas-run products enabling me to provide the meals I promise to deliver, whilst allowing me to keep food fresh, drinks cold, and supply hot water for taking a shower; leaving room to store everything else, along with clients supplies, and up to four full tackle outfits. Bringing this plan into reality has been a real headache, with many nights lying awake, working out solutions to problems, and striving to achieve what I know is possible. All of this comes back to my long sessions on the bank, and anything is possible if you put your mind to it, and you research in order to find the right resources. For example: I had to buy one piece of equipment from the states, which was a nightmare in itself. Many US companies do not take international orders or indeed won’t ship abroad. I therefore had to open an account with MyUS.com who give you a genuine US address, they then take the delivery, and then ship it to your address anywhere in the world. The postage cost more than the product but it works as I hoped it would, and that was all that mattered.

Gold Label Tackle have agreed to support me in my venture and my client’s line was delivered last week. 15lb Pro-Gold has been loaded onto the spools of the Baitrunners, and this will be combined with a shockleader from the Pro-Tough range. A shock-leader is very advisable at Sierra Brava; I have always used one, as after fishing so many different lakes and rivers throughout Europe, I fully understand the importance of having some abrasion resistance between you and the fish, especially in the last few metres. Only last week one of the carp I landed was snagged for a short time. It was the line that was caught up and without a shockleader I would probably have suffered from a breakage – the fish was successfully landed and was the biggest of the session. I have much experience but I don’t mind admitting that I do like a shock-leader for casting long distances; it gives me that extra confidence, and I don’t worry about crack-offs when the line catches on the butt ring for example. We are all different as anglers and you have to do what you feel comfortable doing.

Rob at Gold Label has kitted me out with the Pro-Clear which is a less forgiving line for casting as it’s much finer in diameter. I will be using the 12lb on my long chuck reels, and 16lb for close range casts with my smaller Aero Baitrunners. My 8000 versions may look small, but they can cast okay with 18lb line, so with the change to the Pro-Clear 16lb, and matched with my Soniks, I expect them to perform even better. I am also going to start using some of GLT’s hooks; the Penetrator Two, and the Flexi-Swivel Penetrator. If these prove to be right for Brava, then my clients will have the option to buy and use, if they choose to.

Trakker are also featuring very heavily in my array of tackle for clients. Typically a pair of anglers would normally fish together, or in close proximity of each , so the four SK3 rods and reels will be protected in an NXG five rod holdall, with a marker rod for company. The SK3 spod rod and Emblem Spod reels are supplied in their own sleeve. Each person can tackle up their rods whilst sat on one of the new Compact chairs with arms, and the pairs coolbox will be stuffed with Trakker cooking equipment for brewing up, utensil kits for eating my meals, and lots of other Trakker goodies. A first aid kit is even provided should any minor accidents happen.

Using a pod or banksticks is always one of those tricky scenarios on public waters. Banksticks are great for spreading out rods, but what happens when you have a rocky margin. The Gardner Scuds I have purchased have really impressed me, with their UK build quality, and once again they seem to be the ideal piece of kit, allowing rod tips to be high, to keep lines clear of the margin; and the clever anti-twist features mean alarms and rods stay firm when a take occurs.

I apologise if this post is rather pluggy, but that is honestly not the intention. I am not mentioning these items for any personal gain – after all I have purchased everything myself. It is merely to highlight the superb equipment clients will be presented with to use, and the reasons why I chose them. It is all very well going out and buying tackle, but it must suit the water and purpose that it is intended for. How many anglers do you know that bought the Century FMJ rods when they first came out. They were probably used once at a small commercial lake in France – not exactly a wise choice, but tackle tarts know best when it comes to buying the right kit!

How is life in Spain – rather good-by all accounts. My Spanish is slowly improving but I find it difficult for a variety of reasons. I speak French to a level where I can converse, and then I lived in Italy for seven months. Now I am presented with a new language, which is more similar to Italian than French. French is my second language, but the Spanish must now come first. I have only been here for a short while so I know it will come together eventually.

There are two other quality guides that live in Extremadura known as Craig and Lee. They are experienced, hardworking, and both provide a great service to the many clients they take each year. Together we have decided to join forces, to further push and promote the area, pass on the odd booking to each other, and ensure the reputation of guiding in this fantastic region of Spain grows for the good of our businesses. If anyone is interested in fishing Orellana they are the men for the job, and their recent haul is testament to my words. They have both been a great help to me too, and I must personally thank them for making me feel welcome in the last couple of months.

The next post will be from the bank.

Enjoy your fishing.

Jake Langley-Hobbs

I would like to begin this post by saying how grateful Flash and I both are for all your kind and sincere messages about the passing away of Charley. It meant a great deal to me and has certainly helped me deal with the whole process of adjusting to being one man and his dog! Flash, bless him, has adapted quickly to being the ‘only’ dog in my life, but Charley won’t ever be forgotten by either of us, and during our long walks together, he occasionally looks around for her, and I am sure I can hear her trotting beside me, watching out for her master. Thank you once again.

Charley at the mighty Orient.

I am now back in Spain and have been for the past week. I am settling back in but my feet haven’t really had time to touch the ground. My plans are going ahead for my guiding business but much has changed and it is now a sole independent venture. In a nutshell anyone who chooses to book with me will get professionally guided and catered for – completely by myself. That will mean quality fishing using quality tackle whilst eating quality food!

Over the next month I am gradually putting everything in place. The new website is already underway, a suitable house for myself and my clients, within close proximity to the lake, has been found and is being transformed into a fishing lodge, and high quality tackle is sat waiting to be used. I have been in talks with two bait companies (Quest and Vital Baits), to deliberately give clients choice; but rest assured they will work, and they will be priced to offer options for different pockets. Whilst I was in the UK my trusty van was sold and I returned with a 4 x 4, and a large, secure, box trailer. This transport will be used to safely get clients to the lake with enough space to carry equipment, and the kitchen sink.

All the tackle for hire has been chosen very carefully and is specifically for use at Sierra Brava, where boats incidentally are banned, but close range fishing is very effective. Having fished the lake and after catching many Sierra Brava carp from 10-90yards from the bank, I know what is required, and this is why certain tackle choices have been made. However, as everyone is different, I also carry alternative stock to cater for specific needs or requests – bigger reels, stiffer rods etc… For a list of the tackle you would be given during your trip take a look below:

• Sonik SK3 12ft 2.75lb/tc rods x 2 combined with Shimano 10000 Baitrunners loaded with Pro-Gold line

• Sonik SK3 Spod rod combined with a Diawa Emblem Spod reel *

• Sonik Sk3 Marker rod combined with a Shimano Navi 7000 *

• Gardner Scud rod rest system

• Atts alarms and receiver

• Pram style shelter

• Nash Indulgence Bedchair

• Trakker Compact Chair with arms

• Nash Monster Coral unhooking mat

• Venture XL Recovery Sling

• Reuben Heaton Scales

• Nash weighing tripod

• JRC Defender Landing net

• Korda Eazistik 20 & 25mm

Plus a host of other Trakker Bankside goodies such as stove, kettle, cookset, utensil pack, 10l camo bait buckets, cool boxes etc…

As you can see you will get provided with a brilliant selection of the latest tackle available, and if certain products do turn out to be unsuitable, for whatever reason – a better product will be sourced. More importantly specific items will be replaced every year anyway, to ensure customers are always using gear in great condition, rather than some old tackle that looks like it needs to be binned!!

One crucial aspect that I have looked at closely to ensure quality control is I only intend on catering/accommodating a maximum of four anglers during any one week. This is purely to keep standards high, and to ensure everyone gets equal attention, and professional guidance. I am more than happy to teach certain skills, help with rigs, or casting techniques for example, and I will always stay with clients for the duration of your holiday. Whether I actually fish with you myself will be purely down to the clients preference. Personally, I will be more than happy just to guide, cook, and take photos of your catches. Flash will obviously be on hand to serve and protect, so if the alarms don’t go off one night, you can be guaranteed of a safe nights sleep!

With regards to packages available there will be no restrictions or limits to what I can offer. Sierra Brava will be my offered water for year one as it has so much potential and I am addicted to the place; but if you are interested in other waters I can pass you onto another very experienced guide in the area. In year two I myself will be stretching further afield, allowing clients to explore other waters, individually guided by myself. I will specifically tailor individual holidays if necessary, and I will also cater for single clients if that is requested. I fully understand that any client who books a fishing holiday expects just that – a holiday.

With regards to staying on the bank at night there is good news that has been made official at Sierra Brava. Legal night fishing is now being made possible at SB and after speaking to the president of the local club, he confirmed this as of March 1st 2011. You were allowed to stay on the bank at night in the past, but whether you fished or not was down to your discretion or balls! This is great news for anyone wishing to book, worrying about getting caught, as now the path has been cleared. It is good news for the tourist trade and local economy.

As for the delicate subject of toilets and showers – well you know me! I have all of this in hand and suitable solutions to these facilities ‘bankside’ are being looked into. They may be a little Heath Robinson, but if it means you can take a hot shower every few days, and use a spotlessly clean toilet in private, whilst you’re fishing, that can’t be bad can it! I know some anglers are happy to nip behind a tree and go without a wash for a week, but firstly there is too much human waste on display at carp fishing waters around the world (Cassien for example) and it is disgusting and unnecessary, plus there is nothing like having a shower every now and then to freshen up or to get rid of the smell of carp slime!!

I have plenty of fishy tales of the ones that got away, and ones that didn't!!

Whether you just want to come to pick my brains whilst fishing and listen to fishy tales about Cassien and beyond, or simply to spend a week in mine and Flash’s company, or you are just in urgent need of sampling some fantastic Spanish Extremadura carp fishing – it doesn’t matter as we are both looking forward to seeing you soon.

My boy - happiest when in the sunshine!

Flash incidentally is making waves in the village and everyone is making a fuss of him wherever we go. I think he realises there are big advantages to be the only dog, as he now gets all the strokes and titbits to himself! I myself am settling in well and last night I went to a small Spanish gathering for some food and had my palm read. The results were very interesting indeed…

I will be doing some fishing very soon and will update you of any developments when they happen. My new website will include full details of everything you will ever need to know, such as what you will need to bring with you, travel options, other activities on offer, and lots more.

Catch you soon.

Jake & Flash

I have been fairly busy since yesterday’s post. The cold winds were not exactly inspiring for hard graft, but needless to say, I got the spod rod into action and delivered the goods to the spot. Spodding when your body and hands are cold is not the easiest task, and I actually think it would have been better to warm up first. With the first few attempts falling short, or going left or right, I eventually took off some layers of clothing and finished the job to some degree of satisfaction. I was rewarded with a common a couple of hours later, so it made the effort seem worthwhile after all!

Back on duty!

My little tree spot to my left has been consistent since I started fishing this swim. I was therefore surprised that it took so long to nab one and the fish was only caught after making a subtle bait change. I fished with a choccy malt and tiger nut pop-up to start with, and as no takes had come my way, I switched to a monster tiger nut variety in the 20mm size and this got me my fish. There is little difference between the two to be honest, but possibly the paler looking pop-up was preferred by the carp in this instance. My second carp from this spot came at 4.30am this morning just to prove my point!

Jake's Sierra Brava spod mix special!

I am using a spod mix that I knocked up especially for this rod. It consists of tiger nuts, hemp, and krushed monster tiger nut boilies. I add some liquid attractor to the mix and it spods out nicely. This rod is being fished locked up, and the MV Nick’Ettos have coped fine with the aggressive takes. Undoubtedly it is the double pronged footplate that helps keep the whole set-up in place, and I suppose a sideways take is probably the best test in my opinion. There is more force in the initial take which keeps increasing as the fish moves away. If the Nick’Etto wasn’t up to the job it would be one rod and reel lost – that’s for sure.

Buy a good one - worth every penny.

My curry I cooked last night was rather tasty. I do most of my bankside cooking in a very good quality non-stick frying pan. You can even cook toast with it, along with any other dish you like; it cleans very easily, and heats evenly which is important when cooking. I don’t think I have seen a single frying pan on the fishing market that is really suitable for frying. The problem lies in the base of the product. Most are too thin, which in turn means the pan gets far too hot and everything burns. Most pans are too small too, which restricts how much you can fit inside, and you get annoying spillage. My advice is ignore the fishing market frying pans, and nip to your local home store. Spend a minimum of £25/30 Euros, and you will get a quality product that lasts. My Tefal model was purchased in France, it cost 50 Euros, and providing you look after it, it will look after you! I bought mine a year ago and as you can see from the picture, it still looks in good condition. I also have a lid which fits mine, which makes it suitable for slow-cooking and steaming. Cooking should be enjoyed and not rushed – the slower you cook things the better things usually taste.

I knew cub scouts would come in handy for something!

The hot-rock oven!

I have also created a wind-break for my Trakker stove. Trakker make a folding metal wind break, but I personally prefer to use what’s around me, and rocks or stones don’t blow over. You can really go to town when making a cooking hide, and fill in the gaps between rocks with wet sand or earth to help make it air-tight, and you’re left with a great addition to your bankside kitchen. Sierra Brava is littered with rocks of all shapes and sizes, plus the stones get hot which creates more heat, meaning you don’t have to use as much gas. I have made mine so the kettle fits snugly inside, and my frying pan sits on top of the flat stones, slightly away from the flame.It is a work of art, I tell you!

At 6.30am this morning my open water rod took off. I am also surprised it has taken this length of time to catch one from what was my most productive spot the last time I fished here. I think the cold winds that were pushing out of the bay area yesterday may have something to do with this, as there certainly appears to be less fish activity than normal. As I type this the lake is flat calm, and I am hoping the winds will turn more in my favour, and blow from my right with some added warmth. The fifth carp of the session was another small common. These small fish are in abundance at Sierra Brava, but they are a very good thing as they keep you active. They do fight very hard for their size, and they are growing very quickly indeed. I guess the real challenge at Sierra Brava is to catch a big carp; it is what most of us want, and after seeing a great many carp caught since I arrived, I know some real lumps have been landed in that period – just not to my rods yet. I am delighted with the cracking mirror that I caught at the beginning of this month, and there will certainly be more of those to come. Sierra Brava in a nutshell is a numbers water. If you are catching carp then that is the first step, as eventually a big fish will put in an appearance. If you successfully land it, then that is the final step; however, if you lose it, then you are back to square one again! I am patiently waiting for my chance…

His big ears get cold!!!

My dogs are really enjoying their time with me on the bank. It has been a while since they have been my bivvy companions, and I can tell by the way they are behaving, that they have missed my company, as I have theirs. I certainly haven’t missed their night-time farts in the bivvy, but you can’t have everything in life. I know they are enjoying the luxury heater and Flash has been quite greedy, in that he takes the bed nearest to the heat-producing machine. Charley in her old age has turned into a proper fidget, and she wakes me up every hour or so, as she turns round and round in circles looking for a more comfortable position to lie back down in. I may have to invest in a special waterproof bean bag product for her, but then you can guess what will happen – Flash will steal it, and she and I will be back to square one.

Click picture for details how to buy me!

The lake is very busy this weekend. Competitions are common-place in Spain, and this weekend is no exception. I have to hand it to the Spanish carp anglers – you are all very keen and I admire your fishing spirits. Good on you!

I will be back tomorrow.

Cheers

Jake and the dogs.

After the previous day I could not wait to return to the scene of the high drama!! I set up in the same spot and eagerly got the bait delivered, the hookbaits aimed and fired, and then wound in my marker rod. Now it was time to wait. I take my laptop with me now as my new screen has been fitted (by myself) and it works a treat. The problem around the lake is the poor signal that you get or rather can not get! I am going to make a telescopic arial to attach the Internet stick to, and see if this works any better. I will probably fashion one out of a beachcaster rod I own, and slot it into a pole attachment on my roof rack. A long USB cable will be needed, and then fingers crossed, I will be online whilst angling.

The van solar system for charging 12v and 240v items.

I have now fitted a super solar system in the back of my van. Rather than having to charge my laptop from an inverter attached to the cigarette lighter (which would need the engine running); I have put one of my solar panels (the flexi one), and now have a 120A leisure battery, and a 150W inverter, neatly fitted into the rear of my van. This will be charging all of the time, and the regulator (the little black box with green led) stops it overcharging or draining back through the solar panel. I figured as I am no longer undertaking long sessions, I may as well put the panel to good use, and the sun is still strong in Spain (and hot, and rather nice for sitting in)!

My first take came at 22.48pm. I had fallen asleep, and was alerted by a few bleeps from my alarm. I decided to fish locked up (rather than have the baitrunner tightened to the max), and I was soon landing my first carp of the session. A very cute common was unhooked and returned, and the hook was bang in the centre of its lower lip – lovely! A Chocolate Malt and Tiger Nut pop-up doing the business. The hook was checked, a new stringer was attached, the reel was clipped up, and the rod was then sent packing to my night-time distant landscape mark.

I made a cup of tea and that was followed by some curry! I have funny eating times and I tend to eat when I am hungry, rather than follow set meal times. My mum commented when I was home in the UK that I graze like a native – whatever that means! I was expecting more action but I had to wait till 5am, when the same rod was away again. This rod was positioned in the place where I had no fish from the previous night, after realising my lead shot had come off! I pulled the rod from the rests, wound down, and ran to my right to stop the fish getting into the tree. I felt the sensations of snags coming up the line, but fortunately the fish was not quick enough. I kept the pressure on and the fish boiled in front of me. I let him have a little display of eagerness and then slipped him into the net. A quick ‘mat’ photo was done, and the fish was released to fight another day.

Fin and scale perfect.

Despite the fine weather the night’s have suddenly developed a wee nip to them. Yesterday I inserted the additional lining that comes with the 365 sleeping bag from Trakker, and I was relieved I did. A quick cup of tea got the toes tingling and sleep quickly followed. Could I make it three carp in a night?

"It's far too early in the morning for any of that darling"!

I was expecting a run just after first light but it did not happen. I am wondering if the fish are coming from the left hand side, and my rod to the left intercepted the fish as they came through. It is too early to speculate, but it’s a theory I will go with for now. I am also in two minds about the lead release system. Why? Well the lead releasing does send the fish to the surface, and the upper layers are where the branches of the trees lie. At the base is a trunk that is clean. If the fish is up on the surface it is more likely to get into the branches, where as if it is hugging the bottom, then there is more chance of pulling it back round the trunk of the tree; if it makes it that far of course. I am going to play around with a few options and see which works out the best.

That’s all for today.

Cheers

Jake

I have probably just covered more miles in my van in the last week, than I did in the last eight months in Italy! I have literally driven the length and breadth of the UK, visiting a few of my sponsors to have meetings about the coming year, and to pick up some new products too. I even had a chance to wet a line for a couple of hours, so that was an added bonus, and the hardcore road trip all started last Tuesday.

I left Wiltshire with a short 150 mile drive to Sheffield. I had a meeting planned with Dynamite Baits the following day in Nottingham, so Martin Ford, and his lovely wife Caroline, put me up, once again, for the night. This makes three nights in the last year, and I may have to give them the vote for the best B & B in the North! Last time I stayed with MF we popped down to his local water to have a dabble. It proved unsuccessful. This time round we popped down to see if we could sneak one off the top. I had a slight chance after getting them cagily taking DB mixers of the top in the ripple, but once again we left without getting the net wet. Martin swears he catches every time he pops down for a couple of hours, so either I jinx him, or he is a liar!!

The following morning, and with my bait-sponsor meeting done and dusted, it was then time to clock up another 120 miles, and travel north-west to Lancaster, to stay with my good mate Matt Dent. Matt recently wrote a two-part Orellana piece for International Carper, and is someone I met at Cassien in 2008. After popping to a couple of rivers to check for salmon and sea trout – (he is an Environmental Agency worker), we nipped out for a few pints at his local, where I managed to persuade a George Formby impersonator to play “When I’m Cleaning Windows” at the weekly open-mic night. I had a very early start the following day as I had to drive east towards Northumberland where SONIK are based, so I got quite a shock when I noticed the time was 1.30am!

With four and a half hours sleep under my belt I left Lancaster and was soon driving across the top of the lake district before veering right and cutting cross-country towards Newcastle. I made good time covering the 130 miles and was in the north-east by 8ish. The Little Thief (Chef) breakfast went down well, and before I knew it I was sat having a coffee in the Blyth based company office belonging to SONIK. After discussing a few products with them and looking at some new things in the pipeline, I left armed with some new rods, including the SK3 2.5lb tc carp rods, and a 9ft 2.5lb tc margin rod. The SK3′s are perfect for close range snag fishing of which I am a big fan, and I look forward to using them as soon as possible.

If you remember reading my early blog chapters about Cassien in 2009 when I fished at Aviron, you might recall a female came to visit me for a week. Well…it just so happens that Heidi, the shower girl, lives in Newcastle, so I figured it would be rude not to look her up, and a wise decision it was!

The following morning dawned, quicker than I would have liked, and I was back on the road again, heading 150 miles down the A1/M1 towards Sheffield. I had a meeting organised with Trakker, and I was keen to see how the pictures for the catalogue had come out – very well as it turns out! I picked up some new products whilst I was there, and within thirty minutes I was back on the road, covering the short 50 mile trip towards Nottingham.

I had some bait to pick up, so a healthy amount of the Fresh Fish, Mussel and Oyster boilies, were carefully loaded onto my van. I will use these on my way down to Spain, as I have a few waters in mind that I would like to fish before crossing the Spanish border. In Spain I will be back on the Carp-Tec range.

After the bait was on board I now had to make it over to the Forest of Dean – another 120 mile journey! Through the magic of the Dynamite Baits website, an old school friend had tracked me down, and it was twenty-three years since we had seen each other! My friend James has three children, two of which are mad-keen match anglers, and in fact, Ethan and Blake had a match the very next morning, so after a quick chat with my generous bait sponsor, the two young lads were kitted out with matching DB caps, and a few bags and tubs of match fishing bait. Naturally they were chuffed to bits, and I must say a personal thanks to Chris and Jonathan for sorting that out.

Two happy chappies!!

Four mornings after beginning my road trip I arrived back in one piece at my parents house in Wiltshire, after covering approximately 1000 miles. Where am I now you may ask? In Surrey of all places, as I still have a few important things to do before I return to France, including a meeting down in Southampton with Ross Honey (aka WCC promoter) to discuss the upcoming carp-competition. One of my other sponsors Edgar Brothers Outdoor have kindly agreed to supply some great products for the event for the Marshals and for prizes. These will include products from the BlackHawk and Surefire brands. I am really looking forward to the event – in fact I can’t wait!

Well, this will be the last blog till I return to France in a week or so.

See you then, in the mean time ”enjoy” your carping, wherever you may be!

Jake and the dogs.

Last week saw me arrive at Churnpool in the Cotswolds for a three-day stint to combine a catalogue shoot with hopefully, a spot of fishing. Trakker had booked the whole fishery for the event. I arrived through the secure gates on Tuesday morning, to find that Mark Bryant already had his rods out (he wasn’t wasting anytime!) and, who was being kept company by Mark ‘Kodak’ Dean. I hadn’t met either of these good guys before, so it was pleasant to chit-chat whilst we waited for the others to turn up.

Churnpool itself is situated outside the village of Cerney Wick. It is a trout fishery by nature, but is also available for carp fishing at set periods of the year, and it can be booked in advance. All the details for this beautiful lake can be found at www.churnpool.co.uk

As I said in my last post, the lake holds some truly stunning specimens, which are partly made up of the original stock, of which there are about thirty left. This stock is further backed up by two fairly recent introductions of prime carp sourced from Simon Scott’s fishery. You can therefore imagine what these fish look like. The first crew of stockies are now approaching the upper double barrier, and the more recent posse are fast-growing singles. As for the originals – “wow” is all I can say. Here we have a collection of some of the finest looking carp in the Cotswolds. The pictures on the clubhouse wall literally jump out at you, and the lake’s two largest inhabitants are 30+ commons that any self-respecting angler would dearly love to catch.

Playing a carp at Churnpool.

I also mentioned I didn’t have any tackle with me as I wasn’t expecting to do any dangling whilst back in blighty. Cash Farnham kindly bought a spare pair of rods, reels, alarms, and buzz bars with him, and as Matt Quibble was set up next to me, his tackle box was raided and pillaged at every available opportunity. Bait was also missing from my list, so once again, I nabbed what I could!

Everything went smoothly with regards to the photo shoot. Rain did hamper the beginning, but by the time the camera had made it round to my pretty face, the photographer had his eye in, and the sun was even shining. The Colossus caused a stir sitting proudly in my swim, and we all agreed that it truly is a humongous and stylish shelter, which not only gives plenty of room, it also sports some unique and well-thought out features. The group shots were done in the huge porch area where a dozen people could easily sit!

Wednesday evening was spent very wisely. I took on the duty of head-chef and manned the gas-fired bbq. Once everyone was fed sufficiently it was time to get the rods out to see if I could make up for the lack of carp in the first twenty-four hours.

I didn’t have to wait long and a minute after casting out I got off the mark with one of the lakes rare treaures. A 17lb 4oz koi was the netted result, and this is one of three koi that reside in the lake. My capture is apparently the most elusive, so it was a lucky capture indeed.

A Churnpool koi!

My tactics were nothing more than a scaled down version of what I use abroad. A 360 rig combining a seven-inch stiff fluro-carbon hooklink with a size six barbless Kurv and a 15mm pop-up.

The following morning I added one of the young stockies to my tally, and a beautiful linear of five or six pounds was gently cradled in my hand, before I slipped it back into the edge. These stockies are incredibly special and four or five of them were caught during the session. This lake has a very positive future with these fantastic looking carp lurking in its depths.

I now have a few days out on the road. I am off ‘up north’ to see some sponsors and a few contacts, and in no time I will be back in France.

Till then.

Cheers

Jake and the dogs.

I thought I would give you all a short update. My first week in the UK has not surprisingly flown by. A lovely weekend was spent with friends, and the boat regatta, in and around the docks of Bristol, was thoroughly enjoyed. The house party afterwards went on into the early hours and my only regret was not getting the blonds’ telephone number!!

Tomorrow I am off to a location in the Cotswolds. I am joining other members of Trakkers’ outfit to do a shoot for a future catalogue. My dogs will be trying to sneak into a few pictures no doubt and we have been given a Colossus and other equipment for the three day jolly!

I only found out about this event whilst staying at Gigantica for three nights. Richard Farnham and Matt Quibble were fishing alongside Neil Spooner and company. I am eager to find out how Trakkers’ intrepid duo got on at the French lake, as when I left, they had both yet to score!

I will write a blog of the three-day Trakker event when I return. There are some stunning carp in this water; whether I fish or not will be a different matter though, as unfortunately I have no tackle with me. However, I am hoping someone will have a spare rod and reel with them, and a spot of stalking will definitely have to be done. I can’t wait!

Back soon.

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.