Ramblings Of A Carp Angler – Line

What line should I use? Fluorocarbon, Fluorescent, Monofilament or Camouflage. Paul Cooper runs through yet again more controversial issues, this time surrounding different types of fishing line. Are we kidding ourselves over this fad of slack line fishing, disguising our line or hoping to make it invisible to the carp? I have fallen into this trap! They […]

Do you really need the kitchen sink to catch a carp?

I haven’t really done that much carp fishing in the last two or three years, having concentrated on barbel, but when I have been or have had a walk around a lake one of the things that has really struck me is the vast amount of gear that a lot of carp anglers seem to […]

A Visit To The Northern Angling Show

One thing I love doing when I have the time is heading to one of the many angling shows that are on this time of year. This year I went to the Northern Angling Show at Event City in Manchester. This is the second year its happened but only the first time I’ve been, previous […]

Is it worth carp fishing in the UK in winter?

We thought it was about time we resurrected a select few of our winter carping posts, beginning with this piece by Shaun Harrison… Do UK carp feed sufficiently often in the winter  to make it worth while fishing for them?   In this excellent piece Shaun gives us the benefit of his 30 years of carp […]

Young Carp at Jonchery

During the netting of Jonchery carp lake this November, we took the chance to see some of the young carp that fish farmers Pisciculture Bachelier produce up close. It was great to see how the big beautiful scaley mirrors that Jonchery is known for start off. These fish are removed from the lake each year […]

Boilie Paste – An Essential Item

One of the essential items in my bait bag is boilie paste. This method is extremely effective at any time of the year but becomes even more important as temperatures fall and the fish become less inclined to feed. Anything I can do to attract carp and stimulate a feeding response has got to be […]

See Your Swims – New Map Facility

Here in the office, we’ve been making a few changes to the website. We’re trying to make everything easier whilst keeping you super informed. By far one of our most exciting improvements is the new map facility on every venue’s home page.  In short, you can now see every individual swim on a lake in […]

Little Piece of Carping Heaven For Sale

Seriously considering making the big move to France? Check out the little gem for sale below… FOR SALE ESTABLISHED CARP FISHING LAKE & BUSINESS WITH 2 SEPARATE LOTS OF ACCOMMODATION QUICK SALE HENCE PRICE £ 225,000.00 ovno Stunning 2 acre lake set within 8 acres of one of the most outstanding areas of natural beauty […]

Ramblings of a Carp Angler – Dropping Lead

Should I set up my rigs to drop a £1 plus lead on every take, or not? This is a subject that again is becoming a controversial issue amongst the carp angling community. It appears to be the fashion to set a rig up so that if you get a take the lead is released immediately. […]

Life as a Bailiff – Pt 1, A Dream Come True?

Like many British carp anglers, the thought of one day living and working in France as an Owner or Bailiff on a carp fishery has never been far from the forefront of my future thoughts and aspirations. Four years ago, whilst on a fishing trip to France, I met Martin, one of the owners of […]

Getting Ready for Your Next Long Session

…and learning from past mistakes. With the frosts forming with more regularity and the longer dark nights dragging on, there really isn’t a better time to start thinking about organising yourself for your next trip to distant waters. Next years fishing holiday may seem such a long time away but whilst the natural instinct of […]

Annual Netting at Brocard Large

Some of you may have seen our earlier post this week documenting the netting at Jonchery, here is part two where we watched the large watery expanse that is Brocard Large drain down… Around this time in France fish farmers are in full swing managing the nettings on their many lakes. It is because of […]

Nick does it again at Villefond

November 9th 2013 and Nick Johnson and Dave Proctor return to Villefond. This was Nicks forth visit to our lake, being the last booking of the season the same as the year before. On their last visit to Villefond they landed  1 x 20, 6 x 30’s to 39lb 10oz, 6 x 40’s to 47lb 8oz […]

The Ramblings of a Carp Angler – Barbless

Barbless or Barbed, that is the Question. Over the next few weeks I will be putting a few blogs together about a number of controversial issues around carp welfare and carp rigs. My first ramblings will be around the controversial use of Barbless hooks. Throughout my carp fishing career I have come across a number […]

Monster Wels Catfish

Fishing for the monster Wels catfish of the river Ebro is something I have always wanted to do, so when I got the chance I grabbed it with both hands. My anticipation was at an all-time high and I was desperate to get started, I had set myself the rather ambitious target of catching a […]

Colour Coded Rods

Now this picture created a fair bit of discussion when I showed it elsewhere as many seemed surprised my rods are tipped with different colours near the handles. This is something I have done for years now and is simply to be able to easily tell them apart. I did it originally when being forced […]

Late Season Catches at Castle Lake

Fishing a week this October at Castle Lake, Steve Bardens came away with 17 carp in total, here’s his feedback below… Details of your catches: 17 carp in total, vast majority over 35lb, biggest 39lb. We fished grassy point on far side. Your best tactics/bait/rigs: Found slightly firmer spots at 100m + and baited heavily with 20mm […]

Pat Gillett’s October Fishing Diary

Pat Gillett’s monthly fishing diary installment, once again on the hunt for Barbel… Friday 4th October 2013 – Upper Trent Not much to say about this session really. The river was rising quickly (1.20m +) and with it came the inherent problem of loose weed (that really ‘dogs’ the Upper Trent) flowing downstream. This made […]