Angling Lines Blog

by Paul Cooper

One of the finest aspects of carp fishing is arriving at a venue to find that you are the only one the lake. Peace tranquillity and the choice of swims, you cannot beat it.

But what happens when you capture a specimen fish that you want to record on camera?

With most cameras there are facilities that will enable you to fix your camera to a tripod. Once the camera is on the tripod you need to accurately focus on the area that you intend to take your pictures and then you need a means of taking that photo shot.

Another angler or passer by, maybe? You are on this lake and there is no-one around.. Do you sack the fish until someone does arrive or do you think of the welfare of the carp? Now my answer is self photography.

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Like so many things these days the advances in technology have meant that top quality video even high definition is accessible to everyone, not just professional television crews, as was the case just a decade ago. The latest range of DV and HDV cameras are just mind-blowingly good. But have a good camera doesn’t turn you into Spielberg over night. You need to know how to use it and a few basic rules will help you shoot better carp fishing footage and better still be able to edit it into DVD’s or web clips for Youtube etc….
There is nothing worse than watching wobbly, out of focus, poorly shot videos. so below are the first basic rules on how to get better result with your video camera. continue reading…

 Hi there,

We’ve just received some early season reports from Lac du Val. This lake with its top quality accommodation and fabulous stock of carp has been a popular choice with anglers this year.

Here are some of the catch reports to date from Lake Owner, Sammy Harding:

Lee Bullock managed this super 37lb 12oz mirror in the snow. It was his first fish and was followed by a 37lb 6oz common, both were PB’s

The fish fell to Lac du Val special boilies fished on a snowman rig over chopped boilies and pellet. The 31 year old Computer engineer from Orpington was on his first time in France.

28th March a young lady Megan Sitko caught a 43lb 10oz common her PB in the freezing cold and snow.  She went on, with her husband, to land a further 4 thirties to 38lb 4oz and 29 twenties.

We’ll keep you up to date with more Lac du Val news as it comes in over the season.

Long range casting is something we all want to achieve. Modern carp gear is better and more efficient in this area than ever before, and relatively modest rods and reels are capable of huge distances. So for most anglers you don’t necessarily need the hugely expensive tackle to improve your distance. A fine tuning of your set up and a good technique will see the average casters putting in pretty good performances.
One of the main ways you can add distance to a cast is by dropping your line diameter down to the 30/100 or 28/100. Now line diameter is a far better indicator than breaking strain. Forget the stated strength; diameter is what you should be looking for on the label. Good lines for this include Shimano Catana, and P-Line.. These lines will typically be stated at 8-10lb but will normally break far above these weights.
When you reduce line strength to these diameters it is imperative you use a shock leader to avoid cracking off. There are several types of material you can use for leaders. continue reading…

I don’t know if you are like me but I can be very forgetful, and there is nothing worse than leaving some important piece of kit at home.

As a photojournalist it was a stackable offence to forget an item of equipment. I well remember a colleague of mine, who shall remain nameless, who set off for the first Gulf War without his camera bag.

So what is the solution for all you scatterbrains out there? Simple, write out check lists! continue reading…