Angling Lines blog

This is the time of year when some of the biggest fish in a lake can be most vulnerable to capture; so winter carp fishing is not as mad as it might first appear! Good planning and preparation including refinement of baits, rigs and use of using warm clothing and equipment is easy. Read on to improve your chances of big winter fish… The often different activity levels of other fish species and altered availability of many natural foods along with changes in carp behaviour in colder water temperatures can contribute to making them a little easier to catch at specific times. Very often the impact of there being far less angling pressure with only the really keen anglers going fishing makes thing much easier. Sometimes you can have the pick of the most favoured swims, although this can become a problem if fish are grouped in front of only 2 or 3 swims on a water. continue reading…

Vince wrote:

Why do I end up with holes through the centre of my home rolled boilies ? I have tried adding more liquids / oil to no avail. I am using bog standard semo/soya/milk powder etc with the inclusion of finely ground nut/seed mix in proportion

Hi Vince,

I’ll pass on your query to my friends at Quest Baits, also who will have a better appreciation of the problem than I,  but here is perhaps the reason.

It’s a long time since I rolled my own bait there are a few things I remember as crucial to getting round baits.

1) Make sure your mix is right, ie. The right consistency, number of eggs and wet ingredients to get a mix that is firm but not too dry nor too wet. This will take some trial and error, especially if you are putting together your own base mix blend from dry ingredients.

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by Linda Latham,
Hi to all anglers, how safe am I out there?

I love relaxing by a lake side to carp fish but it is always a worry how safe am I!. Obviously during the day you pick a spot where you can see who is approaching and also be seen by other people passing. If you are on your own make contact with anglers in the next swim.

When trying a new lake out I always ask anglers already fishing where they are fishing to check what space is available and if they look approachable (but all mass murderers do!!) ask which are the safest places to fish and does the lake have any problems or a reputation. Iv’e heard too many horror stories, I know of some lakes where lads say don’t go unless you are in a group as they have a problem with being to close to main roads etc for easy access/getaway for opportunist thieves.  Tackle now days is not cheap and when you add up the cost to others you may as well just put your jewellery box on show. continue reading…

Location location location!

First find your fish; they may be indicated by other anglers catching fish, or come from where you caught previously. Past year’s records of hotspots and over – wintering areas can be very useful. But these can vary according to a season’s dominant prevailing winds directions and temperatures. Also fishing pressure, food availability, changes in the lake bed caused by moving / feeding carp, other fish present, e.g.; big over – wintering catfish etc can alter ‘holding areas! Snags in the water like fallen trees, rocks etc, silt beds, gravel bars, old water lily beds, dying weed beds, water inflows, overhanging trees / bushes can all hold fish and all are worth a try. Also investigate cut – away banks, undercut margins, shallow margins in shade or sun where rolling / bubbling fish may be observed, in Winter on the end of a warmer wind or the back of a Northerly wind, reed beds, underwater humps, troughs, ‘food traps’ along the prevailing winds lanes, dips, smooth hard areas may well indicate a feeding area as will old silted up areas / bloodworm beds that produced fish previously in warmer times of the year.

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by Bridget Keep
Being part of the Angling Lines team is a challenging but enjoyable job. We get to meet lots of new and many repeat clients each year… some of whom go on to be real friends and we also get the chance to share our passion with other like-minded people. We love this business because we are arranging holidays, something that we know people will enjoy – so I think we are really lucky in that respect. But I guess one of the most interesting parts of the job is the lake visits. Its important that we try to visit all our lakes on a regular basis – it gives us real perspective and updates us on changes so when we are talking to people we know exactly what we are talking about.

So it was that three of us headed out to France to visit around 13 of the venues including 5 new ones! Our first port of call was Genets, where we had been promised a big English breakfast to start the tour. Heathers breakfasts are renowned and we definitely needed the walk around the lake afterwards to get us moving again! Genets is a lovely lake and is going from strength to strength as the carp are growing on very quickly. The swims were in superb condition with the main bulk of the fishing from the wooded bank onto the far margins and talking to our hosts and the anglers on the lake everyone was very happy despite the unsettled weather, they were catching well. continue reading…