I have been carp angling for more than 30 years and have caught fish to just under 50lb in the UK. I have limited time to get out due to work commitments and mainly rely on a 24-hour session on Saturday nights.
As we are now coming in to autumn I hope to continue catching on a regular basis before the harsh winter sets in.
To start off, I would like to give you an insight into my year so far. I won’t bore you with every fish I catch but I will go through my simple tactics.
I use a shrink tube blow-back rig which consists of a size 6 RM-Tec Beaked Point hook with a soft 25lb coated hooklink. My bait is Receptor Marine from The Bait Asylum, a high quality fish meal boilie which the carp love.
Around spring time, I joined a new syndicate in Essex. I went a few times but this venue was too busy for me and I could not settle. It had some stunning carp but it was not for me.
I was still waiting for a couple of other lake tickets to come up so I decided to go back to one of my favourites, Golden Gates. I had been a member here many times in the last 20 years and it’s never let me down. My plan was to catch a 30-pounder as I have previously caught singles, doubles, twenties and a fish known as The Bulldozer at 41lb, but I have never caught a 30!
I started around July on Golden Gates and caught fish straight away – the first one was a stunning mirror of just under 25lb. The summer flew past and there was still no sign of a 30! Then, during the back end of August it all came right.
I had a couple of days off work and I arrived early one morning to find just one angler on which meant I had had pick of the swims. Straight away I found a few fish milling about in a swim called The Cut. I put all three rods on previous spots as I have been in there before. I don’t fish over a lot of bait, just a couple of pouches of boilies. The day flew by but the fish were still in the area. At around 1am I had a take which turned out to be a 26lb common, my biggest common of the season. Later that morning my rods were away again. I was playing this fish for a good 10 minutes and she felt very heavy and kept low. She soon hit the surface and it looked like a long lean mirror and I was convinced it was going to be the 30 I had been waiting for.
Straight away I could see the size 6 Beaked Point nailed in her bottom lip. She turned out to be 31lb and I was made up. Knowing I still had a further two nights to go I reeled in later that day as I felt the fish had moved on. I thought that now I had caught my target for this lake I would be satisfied, but it simply increased my need to catch more. I went for a walk and found a few fish on the opposite end. I have never moved swims so quickly in my life! I didn’t know the swim very well so I put all three rods where the fish were rolling and my luck continued. Three hours later I was away again, and I couldn’t believe it was another 30. I waited so long to catch one and then I go and catch two in the same day. The rest of the session flew past. I caught a further five fish including one of the lake’s gems called the Big Gatty and she weighed in at just under 29lb.
I couldn’t get back until mid-September and when I did return my luck continued. I had another three days off work for a long session and as soon as I reached the lake I noticed fish jumping out on the end of a big south-westerly wind. I ended up in the swim called the car park and I landed nine fish including a stunning 31-pounder called the Witch Hunt Common.
Overall, this year has been one of my most successful on Golden Gates so I will be staying until at least Christmas.
Look out for my next blog when I reveal all the goings-on at the recent RidgeMonkey social at Berners Hall, Essex.
Until next time.
Nicky.