{"id":26335,"date":"2019-08-22T20:14:53","date_gmt":"2019-08-22T19:14:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/?p=26335"},"modified":"2019-10-29T18:53:46","modified_gmt":"2019-10-29T17:53:46","slug":"under-pressure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/under-pressure\/","title":{"rendered":"Under Pressure"},"content":{"rendered":"\n


With over 40 premier French carp fishing destinations under management, Angling Lines is your \u2018fast track\u2019 to your next PB. But, with visiting angler numbers on the rise, the resident carp are wising up. How can you, as a holiday angler, stack the odds in your favour?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Once upon a time, France was regarded as a Mecca for\nholidaying carp anglers: a place where cyprinids of biblical proportions would\nall but crawl their way up anglers\u2019 lines, before hurling themselves suicidally\nacross waiting spreader blocks. No longer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those big kippers are still present; indeed, they\u2019re\npacking on the pounds. But they\u2019re also a whole lot smarter. And no wonder:\nwith more popular venues being fully booked for the greater part of the year, angler\npressure can exceed that of many UK day ticket venues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And carp respond \u2013 adversely \u2013 to pressure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Lepinet <\/a>– home to many, many big French carp, but with 34 acres and lots of open water, a little thought is required.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

So, what\u2019s to be done?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, let\u2019s start with a definition; specifically the\ndifference between \u2018pressure\u2019 – angler numbers \u2013 and \u2018stress\u2019: the impact of\nthat pressure on the fish\u2019s behaviour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contrary to popular belief, the latter is not an\ninevitable consequence of the former. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fish respond to noise and vibration, which at best can\nput them on their guard; at worst pushing them out into the centre of the lake,\nout of casting range, or into the sanctuary of the snags.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Time, then, to get back to basics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Simply adhering to the time-honoured principles of\ncamouflage and stealth \u2013 wearing drab clothing, keeping noise to a minimum,\nstaying off the skyline \u2013 will put you at a distinct and immediate advantage\nover the guys having the social in the peg next door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the further you can get away from that social \u2013\nindeed, from other anglers\u2019 lines \u2013 the better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an angler of advanced years \u2013 who cut his teeth on\nintimate ponds and drains \u2013 I never cease to marvel at many anglers\u2019 bankside\nbehaviour: their apparent ignorance of their impact, both visually and audibly,\non their quarry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sure, some folk  are naturally cognisant of their environment; quiet,\ncautious and organised; others, not so much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And any activity in and around the lake contributes to\npressure on the carp. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Setting up your bivvy, for example (step away from the\nmallet!). Leading around. Chatting. And of course repeated (mis)casting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The greater the pressure, the quieter we should aim to\nbe, across all aspects of our angling. Even baiting-up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spodding may be tantamount to \u2018ringing the dinner\nbell\u2019 on match style commercials. But on trickier holiday venues, it can be an\nabsolute no-no.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Better therefore to use either a (love \u2018em or loathe\n\u2018em) bait boat, throwing stick or catapult. If, that is, feeding is actually necessary\nat all. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider for a moment how much bait might have been applied\nby the previous occupant of your swim; and where and how much of that bait might\nbe left on the lake bed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With this in mind, kicking off your session with small\ntraps, in conjunction with a washed out wafter hookbait, might be more prudent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moreover, this softly-softly approach will enable you\nto try different areas; topping up the swim if you\u2019re fortunate enough to catch,\nand increasing baiting levels if and as the runs continue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the old clich\u00e9 has it: you can put it in, but you\ncan\u2019t take it out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
A small baiting approach is often the best initial plan of action.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

You might also consider what I like to call\n\u2018in-session pre-baiting\u2019. That is to say, baiting an area for a few days, and\nsitting on your hands: letting the carp get their heads down on your bait,\nwithout the distraction of lines in the water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, this is easier to do if space \u2013 other\nunoccupied swims \u2013 permits. Not so easy if you\u2019re stuck in the same peg for the\nduration of your stay. In which case, it can take real nerve \u2013 and restraint \u2013\nto resist fishing for a few days, having travelled 100s of miles for the\nprivilege.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nonetheless, prebaiting in this way can be incredibly\neffective; allowing carp to feed in total confidence; and ensuring their guard\nis down when you decide the time is right to cast in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve tried it on a number of occasions, and I can\nconfirm: it can result in some very big hits of fish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It can also go horribly wrong, if conditions change\nadversely during your stay. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nonetheless, if you can adopt the right mindset –\nenjoy your holiday for its own sake, for three-four days \u2013 the results may\nsurprise you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And in the meantime, you can enjoy a great social \u2013\nsecure in the knowledge you can be as loud as you like\u2026 in someone else\u2019s swim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just remember, when you finally cast in, to ensure that\nyour line is thoroughly pinned down – all but invisible to those fish which, by\nnow, should be feeding with gusto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clearly, on the majority of pressured venues, it\u2019s the\nout of bounds banks and central \u2018hard to reach\u2019 areas of the lake where you\u2019ll\nfind the majority of the fish, due largely to the absence of lines entering the\nwater. So concealing your end tackle will go some way to convincing the carp\nthat your area is \u2018safe\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Old Oaks<\/a>, a renowned French lake for big carp, but one where it is often most productive to place baits carefully on the far margin – something that requires very accurate casting! <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The use of fluorocarbon mainlines, leaders\/leadcore\nand blobs of putty can all help to keep \u2018the business end\u2019 out of sight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alternatively, on venues where leaders are banned, go\nfor a fast sinking rig tubing such as Nash\u2019s No Spook, which is a breeze to\nthread and quickly blends into the\ncarp\u2019s natural environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back leads and slack lines can also play a role,\ndepending on the contours of the lake bed, proximity to snags, and the range at\nwhich you\u2019re fishing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Resting the swim after each fish can also be a real\nedge – allowing the carp to regain their confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of which might lead you to believe my lines are\nout of the water more often then they\u2019re in. Which, come to think of it, may be\ntrue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I firmly believe however that the most successful\nanglers \u2013 be they on UK circuit waters or equally pressurised holiday venues \u2013\nactually \u2018fish\u2019 far fewer hours than are available to them in a given period. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To my mind, however, the trick – on \u2018revolving-door\u2019 (one\nangler in and one angler out) waters such as these – is knowing when (and when\nnot) to cast in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Master it, and you can look forward to more than a few big kippers \u2013 maybe even a PB or two –  on your next trip out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Steve Calder<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With over 40 premier French carp fishing destinations under management, Angling Lines is your \u2018fast track\u2019 to your next PB. But, with visiting angler numbers on the rise, the resident carp are wising up. How can you, as a holiday angler, stack the odds in your favour? Once upon a time, France was regarded as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":26349,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,835,634,1113],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26335","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-carp-fishing-news","category-first-carp-fishing-trip-to-france","category-old-oaks","category-steve-calder"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26335","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26335"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26335\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26349"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}