Otters VS The UK Carp Population

  The ongoing Otter debate needs no introduction for 99% of you reading this. However, for the 1% that aren’t up to speed, it amounts to this… The recovery of otter populations in the UK has brought about an increasing concern about predation, particularly on still water fisheries and on specimen fish, including our beloved […]

A Short Breakdown of the Different Carp Species

  I’m sure everyone is familiar with the phrase “Carp Angler”, often followed by photos of 20, 30, 40+ pound fish, but has anyone actually considered what defines a carp angler? Is it someone who only targets big commons, mirrors and leathers? Or can the phrase be used in a wider sense? This mini series […]

A Beginners Guide To: Carp Fishing in France

Every year hundreds of British anglers invade France in search of those monster carp. With literally hundreds of lakes to choose from, it seems that more and more Brits are traveling to France in the hope of smashing their PB’s.  A week seems to be the average length of time that an angler would spend […]

Carl and Alex Fishing

Here are two guys you’ve probably seen around the online carp world already. We’ve been watching Carl and Alex’s youtube channel for a while now and have been incredibly impressed by their angling and filming skills. We’re going to start featuring their videos here on the blog once a month, beginning with their experience netting […]

Doors & Floors & More! – Building the Cabin at Glehias

Glehias Carp Lake are well on the way to finishing the Floating Island Cabin in readiness of the 2014 Season, here’s the latest update from Lee… Despite the wind and the rain and a couple of terrific hailstorms, Saturday turned out to be a pretty productive day. After finishing up the rest of the decking, […]

Angler’s Questions Answered at Boux Lake

Paul Cooper was recently contacted with a few questions posed by an angler heading out to Boux this year. Boux is a 12 acre water with a reputation for top class carp fishing since the 1980’s. However, it is best to go prepared to this lake and the Q&A below is definitely worth a read… Hi Paul Apologies […]

Two Fifties Stocked at Jonchery Carp Lake

Jonchery carp lake gets an additional stocking of 2 x 50lb+, 15 x 30lb+ and 50 x 20lb+ carp this January. We think the common at 00:34 seconds in is an absolute corker! For more information on Jonchery follow the link – Fishing Holidays

Ramblings of a Carp Angler – Using Backleads

  How safe is the use of backleads. Can I use them in every event? Definitely not! The use of backleads have been about for a long time now. It would be during my time on the Fox Pool that I first used backleads to pin down my main line to the lake bed. I […]

How-To… The Coiled, Unleaded Rig

Coiling your hook link may sound bizarre, but there is method in the madness as Martin Locke details a setup he’s used to catch carp in excess of 60lb. Here’s a rig that, for want of a better phrase, flies in the face of convention. With almost all rigs being designed to lay straight and […]

How-To… Supple Hair Fluorocarbon Rig

My next rig is one that Neil Spooner from Korda showed me at the Northern Angling Show, I told him that I need a rig to use at Bradshaw Fishery as an alternative to the D-Rig, since all braid is banned there rigs such as the D-Rig can’t be used. He told me this is […]

Winter Carp Campaign at Villefond – Part 2

In this video series Mark details his 2013 winter carp fishing campaign at Lac Du Villefond. Find out the tactics employed on this mature big fish water right from the person that knows it best. If you missed part 1, you can watch it here. For more information on Villefond follow the link – Carp Fishing in […]

Ramblings of a Carp Angler – Hair Rigs

 My thoughts on the hair rig, running leads, semi-fixed rigs and slack lines… The hair rig This rig was a revelation for specimen fishing.  Kevin Maddox and Len Middleton first came up with the idea of presenting a bait leaving the hook free to prick into the lip of a fish. Here we had a new […]

Fresh Water Predators – Pike

I ended November on a real high with the capture of my monster Perch, so I decided to switch my attention to Pike sooner than I had originally planned. With Christmas getting ever closer and two very excited kids at home getting time on the bank through December was never going to be easy, but I […]

How often should I re-cast?

A simple question to all the Bloggers: How often should you re-cast a rod/bait in a day?  I have no hard and fast rules on this one but generally speaking like to leave my swim as undisturbed as possible and pay far more attention to the time I re-cast. Now I am a firm believer […]

Ramblings of a Carp Angler – Leadcore

Paul Cooper expresses his thoughts around yet another controversial issue. Leadcore, impregnated leaders and tubing. How do we define leadcore – For years now leadcore has been readily available, complete as a fully spliced leader, or on spools where you have to splice your own. Leadcore is normally made up of a length of braided type […]

Alternative Hookbaits

With having a bit of time off over Christmas I’ve been able to get stuck into planning for my next French holidays, one in April for fishing and one hopefully in February for a short city break. The April trip was booked early last year for Sapphire, however due to unforeseen circumstances we’ve had a […]

Climbing the Walls! – Building the Cabin at Glehias

Glehias Carp Lake have begun work on the Floating Island Cabin in readiness of the 2014 Season, here’s the latest update from Lee… First of all, we would like to wish a HAPPY NEW YEAR to everybody! Over the Christmas period I managed to get about five days on the build. The first thing to […]

Barbel Fishing Musings – Bivvies and Bite Alarms!

With more and more carp anglers trying their hand at barbel fishing, I see lots of anglers fishing behind 2 rods with bite alarms and even at times lying in their sleeping bags on their bed chairs inside a bivvy, as they would do in carp fishing, and paying more or less no attention at […]

Moontime Carp – Part 2, A Short Session Approach

In part 1, I outlined the basics and summarised the effects the moon plays on carp behaviour and their feeding.  Now I get to the heart of the matter and reveal the practical details and specifics on how I apply this knowledge to my carp fishing and improve my catch rates. Preparation I, like the […]