Renovation CARPdiem

Lot’s going on this side. Our Magazine CARPdiem has taken a giant step forward. Apart from a total re-design and re-format we are now printing in the UK, so import times from China have been cut down. The magazine has grown in terms of team members too. I still have the original team Angel and Raul but now we now have Peter Staggs on-board as Sub Editor. Peter is a well known Angler in Spain having spent more than 25 years fishing here for Comizo Barbel and Carp. I am sure he will bring rich content and higher quality articles to CARPdiem. We have also taken on UK Angler James Harrison. James has a wealth of knowledge something like 25 years Carp fishing skills from the UK Carp fishing Media, between the two of them Peter & James the mag has something like 50 years more knowledge. The pair of them are excellent photogrpahers, and since the new objective is to make the magazine very visual with the best quality photos possible, I am sure we can do just that. The new issue is out now and is set to give all European magazines a run for the money. To be fair we are trying to evolve the CARP fishing press, and we are well on the way to doing just that. I think in 1 years time we will have the best looking magazine in Europe, so watch this space. You can see the new cover here in this blog and the original photo as it was taken. The fish was a cracking mirror carp from Sierra Brava a good mid 30lb plus Royal, I was well happy with that. Actually Peter Staggs did the photo for me. I think the cover came out very well, but I will let you and the readers be the judge of that. Session wise, we have been out and about. This year already we have managed to fish in Salamanca on the river Tormes. During this 16hr. Football Fishing session we managed to pluck no less than 14 fish from the river. Not bad for winter fishing. The full report is in the current issue of CARPdiem. Besides that we have also managed a session on the Sierra Brava against the Black Carp Team. These boys are some of the best Anglers currently fishing Spanish waters. The team put up a good fight against us and we managed a few fish to mid 20lb. Once again the full report will be in issue 8 of CARPdiem. Tight lines and keep on fishing. See you the next time. AM

Posted on February 27, 2009 Filed Under Fish, Fishing | Leave a Comment

There are two activites that will make you go blind

The first is widely known. The second is staring at a fishing float for two long. As my buddy Ali has recently taken on a slightly less labour intensive job we decided we should celebrate by a wee fishing excursion. As usual the weather didn’t play ball but as both of us had already received our day release passes from our significant others we were determined to make the most of the day. The venue chosen was once again Murloc Fishery in Aghalee, I’m a big fan of this place, the lodges faculties are great, the owner Fred is always on hand to help you out if you’re struggling and possibly because it’s new the other fishers are even more friendlier to new faces. To begin the day we started in the more sheltered side, left of the jetty. There was a slight breeze that was building up quite quickly. This enabled us to get our casting fine tuned and quite quickly I got into a plucky rainbow of about a pound on an apps bloodworm. After a fishless half an hour afterwards it was suggested that we try the opposite bank. Usually I’ll avoid casting into wind as I’m a bit of wimp and it upsets me when my casts end up in a heap at my feet. It was a nice surprise to find that my casting must have improved as with a couple of tips from Fred and a little change in style i was almost able to get a decent cast out. Yay Unfortunately the task of catching more fish didn’t have the same progress as my casting. The remainder of the day was pretty much fishless for myself and was spent going cross eyed staring at my bobbing but not sinking pimp. Ali on the other hand was still in strong fish fighting spirits. With short casts around the weeds and the pontoon he managed to get two strong takes. The first he managed to lose after a knot gave way, bloody amatures ;) , and the second he miss-timed the strike even after it had been pointed out by a passing fisher tsk tsk. With the gusting wind we faced I’m not surprised we didn’t get more fish. It was a day where everyone seemed to struggle. There was one noticeable exception one fella, John, had managed to crack the code and to get all the ingredients right, the wind seemed to be funneling the fish at him and whatever he was presenting to them (rumour was it was some strange leggy claret goldhead hopper thingy) was working extremely effectively. By the time we left he had a tally of around forty eight!! A special mention I feel should be made to Alan Coleman, not only was he the fella who almost caught Ali his second trout, he’s the first person to recognise me solely from this Blog. Cheers for your kind words and I hope the rest of the day was more productive for you.

Posted on February 22, 2009 Filed Under Fish, Fishing, Fishing Diary | Leave a Comment

Prologic Quick Release adaptors

Prologic Quick Release adaptors. No matter what your angling discipline, these handy little adaptors will save you masses of time on the bank as they can be used on everything from landing nets to storm poles! Sometimes it’s the little things that can make all the difference; and such is the case with this quick release adaptor from Prologic. OK, you can’t use it on the hook, so in that respect it’s not going to catch you any more fish, however, if we are talking about time-saving devices which allow you to set up and break down your tackle much faster on the bank, then look no further. For review purposes, ‘it’ should be ‘they’, as I’ve been using a number of these adaptors for some time now, and for a number of different uses. I use them on my storm poles, on bank sticks, and even on my landing net pole. To be honest the applications are endless – if it has a standard thread, you can use an adaptor on it! Quick release adaptors/connectors (call them what you will) have been around for quite a while, it’s just that I’ve never come across any that I felt were up to the job. I’ve used some of the bayonet type in the past, but I found the fittings left a lot to be desired and before long you had an element of play. This was ok if using on storm poles or such like, but if using on banksticks or buzz bars, they could hamper indication when the idea is to have everything quite solid. When I say used, it should actually be borrowed, as my mate spent no small amount on a set of four to make his four rod set up nice and smart, though when I borrowed his alarms & buzz bars (and thus the adaptors) for a week on Birch, I have to say they left me less than impressed – within the hour I’d whipped them all off in order to get a solid set-up! I think this is why I like the Prologic design so much; not only are they extremely strong and durable, but the ball bearing locking system removes the ability to spin, twist, or play. They are, quite simply – solid! They are made from a high-grade precision cut alloy and so can be used for even the toughest of jobs, I’ve been giving them stick for ages now, and they are still just as good as they day I had them, and the fittings just as tight. As I say, they might not directly put any more fish on the bank, but when I think about it, they’ve certainly given me a helping hand. Over winter I’ve been doing quick overnighters, arriving after dark and leaving pretty much at first light. Setting up in the dark is never great when you’ve got to erect shelters and set rods up, but these adaptors have shaved loads of time off the job. It takes less than a second to pull the collar down on the connector to release it – far quicker than a bayonet fitting. This means all my storm poles are secured in a couple of seconds, and as I’m also fishing bank sticks on this water, the alarms are attached in seconds also. All of which means the rods are out in double quick time. The same goes for packing away, and a session I had about a fortnight ago proves perfect testament to their effectiveness. I was fishing a quick overnighter using my brolly, and to cut a long story short, the conditions caught me out; the wind turned really nasty, changed direction completely, and started slating horizontal rain right in and all over me. There was no way I could turn the brolly around on the swim, and with no front on, it was just a case of chucking my gear right under the bed, pulling my bag over my head and seeing it out till morning. Come the morning the rain was still coming down with the temperature barely above freezing, not helped by a biting wind hacking right into me. It was ‘proper’ grim. No surprise then that the pack up was a mare from start to finish. Even after a brew my hands were freezing, and after only a few minutes spent breaking down rods, rigs, and end tackle, my fingers were already numb, to the point where I was struggling to feel them whilst zipping up my tackle pouch. If I’d then had to start unthreading bank sticks, buzz bars, storm poles and whatever else, I think I’d have screamed! As it was, it took less than a minute to break down the shelter, alarms and banksticks – all thanks to the quick release adaptors. To be honest, they paid for themselves on that session alone. They’ve received quite a lot of attention on the bank too, where friends or other anglers have seen how quick various elements tackle go together. I fished a bit of a social at the weekend with a mate I’ve not seen for ages. Again I did not arrive till I’d got the kids off to bed, and jumped into the next swim just so that we could have a natter and catch up. He’s an engineer by trade – and a bloody good one too – and as he helped me set up various odds and ends, the adaptors immediately caught his eye. I told him how I really rated them, though I knew full well he’d make up his own mind irrespective of what I might have to say on the subject! He was still messing with one of them some twenty minutes later after I was all set up and in, and after intense scrutiny, not to mention a thousand testings of the locking mechanism, he finally declared all matter of fact “They’re bloody good, these!” … I could have told him that! Anyway, they must be good as he rang today to tell me he’s bagged a couple of sets for himself. Praise indeed! He got all technical on me (as he often does) and started telling me how mega-expensive air hoses in the automotive industry use similar fittings, though to be honest, as Izaak was screaming for his dinner in my other ear, I didn’t hear the rest of it! Suffice to say they are just the job; strong, durable and extremely effective. I have to point out that I’m not really a fancy gizmo man, and certainly no tackle tart – perish the thought! However, I have to say that I’m properly taken with these. You know how you sometimes find something so good that you can’t remember what you did before it came along? Well that’s what these adaptors are like – they are just so easy to use, and save me so much time, that I can’t imagine being without them again! The adaptors come in sets of three, priced at just £4.99 from Trevs Tackle, which I find incredible considering how useful I’ve found them to be. The bonus of course is that at this price you can bag a few sets to do storm poles, landing nets and banks sticks, etc. Purchase Pro Logic Quick Release adaptors here > > Reviewer: Julian Grattidge – NorthWestCarp

Posted on February 20, 2009 Filed Under Fish, Fishing | Leave a Comment

Fishing Report: 7th February 09 – St Osyth, Essex

As seems to be the norm in recent years my Christmas Flattie crusade went completely down the pan. The fluctuating temperatures, way too much rain and the sharp bouts of frosty weather have either confused the Flatties or the fish are just not there any more. I tried one daylight session at Brightlingsea with Stuart a few days after Christmas, when the prom front should have seen us take at least a few fish, but it just didn’t happen and we managed not even a bite between the two of us; the only action of the day was watching a huge scrap boat coming into the river. A lonely night session a few days later produced nothing more spectacular than a small Whiting and the first week of January saw my first Cod session of 2009 turn into yet another depressing blank, so it wasn’t exactly the most exiting start to the fishing year. Thirty years plus throwing bait at the sea teaches you that these bad spells come every now and again and that things will look up in good time if you persevere, but when the weather is cold, the nights black and the wind blows right through you from the north a few naff sessions can dampen the enthusiasm of even the keenest angler amongst us, myself included. With a never ending list of things to do on the website I decided to have a rest for a while and set to sorting out some more suppliers and getting the online cart in order; it took me a lot longer than I expected and in the end it was a good month before I had the site where I wanted and decided on the spur of the moment to fish a few hours over the top of the tide amongst the rock groins at St Osyth. Starting at about 6.30pm on a freezing cold day I originally intending to walk up to the bird reserve end but with temperatures dropping decided that it would be a bit foolhardy, not to mention hard graft in all the cold gear required for the nights fishing and a change of heart saw me setting up two rods in amongst the rock groins in the hope of better results than my first session of the year. Fishing both rods with frozen Black Lug and Cuttlefish baits I started the night off well landing a Codling of about 1.75 lb on the second cast but that was pretty much the end of my luck for the night the only other action being just on the turn of the tide when I hit a slack line bite which saw me connected to another fish for 30 seconds or so before it swam straight in towards me and dropped the hook. I spent the rest of the night without so much as a bite until my last cast when I managed to contact another fish and thought for one foolish moment that I would be heading home with a brace of fish to my score, but it just wasn’t to be. This fish again swam straight in towards me and about 20 yards short of the beach stuck me into an immovable snag which resulted in a lost fish and rig. Such is life and as it was now midnight and the cold had started to get to me I decided to take the hint the fish were giving me and headed for home and a warm bed. Quite clearly the fish are still feeding on the sprats as the fish I did land coughed a few up on the beach. If anybody is thinking of fishing at St Osyth in the near future I’d suggest using a lead lift as the beach as obviously had a good scour lately and this has left quite a number of small snags showing close in which tend to catch you out when you least expect it.

Posted on February 20, 2009 Filed Under Fish, Fishing, Sea Holidays | Leave a Comment

Almost But Not Quite

Me and Rob had a few hours on the Upper Ribble , we arrived and stood on the bridge as we did Pete phoned telling me about a rod he had seen . The water looked spot on , A silver springer was making it’s way upstream a double , the opposite way another double fish almost black was trying to make it’s way back to Sea a more natural contrast you could not see . We decided to walk , it’s nearly a mile to the other side of the wood but what fantastic water it is . Half way through the wood the phone went again this time Mike, I wish I could show my mates this water complete with fisherman’s cabin which has bunk beds Think if I was a member many a summer night would be spent by the river it’s like your own holiday cabin , you can take non fishing friends for free The length as been adapted to help both fish and fishermen the stones form a waterfall with a run in the middle ,this channels the fish , if we had Bears I’m sure this is where they would be fishing . A further 200 yards or so another such sculptured feature in between is a long fishy looking pool . We crossed the river lower down at the ford and Rob fished down the pool while I moved up Nymphing, as I did I noticed silt coming down I thought it was Robs wading upstream so no concern , it soon became apparent though that the river was going into spate no rain maybe snow melt? we rushed back to the ford and the river was now over 2ft higher we just made it Today I’m off with the kids it’s half term the weather looks spot on but dont think I will find any time, but you never ever know!

Posted on February 17, 2009 Filed Under Fish, Fishing, Fishing Diary | Leave a Comment

Carp Fishing – Winter Carping Pt2

I was listening to the radio earlier today when the announcer reading the weather stated that we’d had the coldest start to a winter in 30 years!. I didn’t doubt this for one minute, when I banked my first and only double figure carp of the winter so far I actually felt like I’d got out of jail on that trip because the temperatures were so low. I kept an eye on the temperatures prior to my second fishing trip of the winter and again they were low all through the week. When Saturday came around I very nearly didn’t go because I thought the lake would be frozen over. I always have a back up plan when it comes to my winter fishing so I packed my rover lure bag so I could visit the river dee if the lake did happen to be iced up. Luckily for me I didn’t need the lures so the pike were safe for another week. When I arrived at the lake it was clear of ice and thankfully there was no fog this time either so I had a good view of the lake. I made my way to my usual swim that covers a large amount of water, the odds were that the carp would be somewhere within casting range so I got myself setup up and cast both of my rigs to what I call my ‘starting spots’, the areas I’ve caught regularly from in past winters. One of these hot spots had done me a carp the previous week so there was always a chance. Whilst I waited for a bite I kept scanning the water for signs of fish moving. It wasn’t long before my best mate the local robin was being a nuisance again begging for food, I didn’t mind feeding him but he didn’t seem to understand that he wasn’t supposed to crap on every item of fishing tackle I had with me!. I continued scanning the water for most of the day but no carp showed. That might not be much of a big deal on most carp waters but the lake I’m fishing is exceptional and it’s very rare not to see at least a couple of carp roll during the daytime. These carp are so prolific in winter that I’ve even witnessed upwards of 50 shows when the lake has been half iced over!. Today however, I wasn’t seeing anything and it wasn’t until I listened to that radio announcer that I realised just how bad the weather conditions have been this winter. Cheeky little robin perched on my rucksack! I continued watching the water for signs of carp right up until 4.30pm when it was time to go home, it had been the quietest winters day I’d ever known on the lake, the temperature barely made 4 degrees all day and with the light fading it was getting very cold very fast. I made haste when it came to spodding bait in my swim and I was finished and on my way home in record time!. When I got home I could feel my throat tightening and the next morning I succumbed to a cold which stayed with me for most of this last week. I’d recovered enough to go fishing this weekend but the temperatures hadn’t. The lakes had been iced up all week but on Thursday night into Friday morning the temperature rose a little and it began raining. Rain is good news when the lakes are frozen up and I hoped a bit of the wet stuff would get me fishing. I delayed any decision on going until I got up the next morning and checked the weather websites and had a look out of the window. When I got up I logged onto the internet and had a look at the bbc weather, the temperatures hadn’t come up very much and looking out of the window there didn’t seem to have been much rain during the night. I doubted there was enough of a thaw to have made the trip worth while, there was always the pike fishing on the river but that was going to be my only option and as I’m mainly a winter carp angler I based my decision to not go fishing on the fact the lake would definitely be frozen over. This brings my winter carp fishing up to date, one freezing cold blank with no carp showing and one abandoned trip due to the lake being frozen over. I hope that announcer on the radio has some better news about the temperatures for next weekend!. Tight Lines Mark.

Posted on February 15, 2009 Filed Under Fish, Fishing, Fishing Report | Leave a Comment

Back to normal

A quick post to say hello and sorry for the lack of updates. the site was hacked and due to this all our positions in Google and similar search engines have been lost. I have cured the problem now and all should be good! Finger crossed everyone……….. Related Posts: Looking for anglers / fishermen or fisherwoman to write for the fising blog Fishing blog the rebirth how temperature affects fishing line Beach Casting Beach casting and Kayak Fishing

Posted on February 11, 2009 Filed Under Fish, Fishing, Fishing Trips, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

Carp Fishing – Winter Carping Pt1

After a long break from carp fishing I finally felt like I needed to be on the bank again so on Saturday 29th November 2008 I paid a visit to the old winter carp water I’d done so well on in the past. This Cheshire carp water is well stocked so there’s always a chance of some action but I hadn’t reckoned on the weather!. I woke up early on Saturday morning as I wanted to be at the lake in plenty of time to have a good look around. Unfortunately I found myself packing the car in freezing fog. I actually contemplated not going at one point, not only was the fog hazardous to drive in, it’s probably the poorest conditions of all for catching carp, specially in winter!. I wasn’t going to be deterred, it had been nearly 11 months since I’d banked a New Years Day twenty from the lake and I was ready to renew my chess match with these lovely commons. I drove a bit slower on the way to the lake due to the fog but eventually I pulled into the car park to get my first view of the water. It was certainly foggy, the first thing I looked at was the margins, sure enough they were ice free despite it being freezing cold so at least I could actually get the rods out. Due to the fog I couldn’t see very much so I unloaded my fishing gear and made my way along the bank to my usual winter carp swim. I’ve fished the lake for many years so I knew the swim well, my new plan was to get the rods into areas I know have produced for me in the past then sit and wait for the fog to lift so I could watch the water and hopefully work out the carps location. The out of bounds bank was about 200 yards straight out in front of me and I could barely see it, I could just about make out the tree line through the fog and that was enough to give me the line I needed to cast on. I quickly put the rods together, tied a couple of new rigs on and dispatched two peparami hook baits along with a small pva mesh bag with a couple of freebies in. I could only guess at the range my baits were cast but I did step into the casts and I gave each rod a good overhead thump, I’m guessing they landed somewhere around 80-90 yards out as I didn’t see either rig hit the water due to the fog!. Once the delkims were set I settled down quite quickly, I didn’t realise it was so cold, there was ice forming on my monkey climbers and at one stage my main line was actually frozen to the tip rings until i freed it!. The resident robin was on the scene as soon as I arrived so once I’d got everything sorted out I gave him some food. That was a mistake, he turned out to be a real pest and after crapping on my rucksack, chair, flask, mat and bait box I’d just about had enough of my feathered friend!. I stopped feeding him and decided to try and watch the lake, the fog had lifted a little although I still couldn’t make out the colour of the leaves on the trees opposite. Winter Robin, I made a mistake feeding this little fella! I was scanning the water for signs of fish when at 11.45am the left hand rod suddenly burst into life without warning, I was quite stunned, these were possibly the worst conditions for catching carp yet the spool on one of my infinity reels was going into meltdown!. I jumped up and hit the rod and it arched over nicely as I felt that characteristic thump of a carp on the other end. I kept the pressure steady and the fish came slowly towards my bank, there was a few bushes in the water down to my right and I did think these might be a problem at one stage as the fish kited over to my right but some consistent side strain kept things on track and after a short fight in the margins I slipped the landing net under my first carp of the new winter season. Well that was a good start, nothing had showed so I must have pretty much landed in the right area as the bait had only been out for just over an hour. I quickly set up the tripod and camera and got the unhooking mat and scales ready before lifting the fish out of the water. It was a nice common, not a massive fish by any means but most welcome on such a cold day. I weighed the fish at 12lb 2oz which is probably an average sized fish for the water. I rattled off a couple of pictures and released the fish quickly so I could re-bait my rod and get another hook bait back out to the same area. 12lb 2oz winter carp caught in icy and foggy conditions My re-cast was good and the fog had lifted enough for me to see my rig land this time. The next hour passed uneventfully and I had a brew from my flask and some ham sandwiches I’d brought with me. Around 1pm I caught sight of a fish, it rolled in the area I’d picked my carp up from and I already had a bait there so my hopes of catching another fish rose considerably. Another hour passed when a slow run developed on the same rod, I was on it quickly and as I wound down and struck I expected the rod tip to pull over but it didn’t, I just hit fresh air instead. I checked the rig over and everything seemed in order, I paid particular attention to the hook point and this was ok too so I put another pva mesh bag on and recast my peparami hook bait back to the same area. As the afternoon wore on the fog lifted enough for me to see the golden colour of the remaining leaves on the trees in the out of bounds and late afternoon the clearer conditions allowed me to spot a couple of carp that rolled in different areas. As it was getting late I just made mental notes of where I’d seen the fish and then got on with putting a little bit of bait in to give them a little taster and hopefully encourage them to hang around my swim. It was so icy my landing net froze solid! With my baiting up done I headed for home around 4.30pm I had a hard time packing up as my landing net had frozen solid after the morning fish I’d caught. I’d been trying to get my net dry by shaking it but every time I propped it back up against a tree it would be as solid as a board 15 minutes later. I did manage to get the net back in it’s bag after wrestling with it for a while. The frozen net was an indicator of just how cold it was and I left for home happy that I’d opened my winter carp account and happy that I’d caught a carp with the odds stacked against me. Tight Lines Mark.

Posted on February 8, 2009 Filed Under Fish, Fishing | Leave a Comment

Sterkfontein Update

Golden Sterkies Yellow , I have just returned from a weekend at Sterkfontein dam. I can honestly say it was the finest weather i have ever experienced at this awesome piece of still water. The fishing on the other hand (Darren) was a bit more challenging . Members in our group did land several fish with the high light being Hilton’s 3.6kg Large Mouth Yellow. This is the view from our unit at Qwantani. If you ever want to know what is happening with the weather at Sterkies , just visit www.windguru.com. The forecast was 100% spot on. Jaco fishing for some cruising yellows in Bosckloof. Jaco and Hilton cuaght some nice fish off the banks , while Shane , Tibby and Malcolm were drifting in the bay. The fish locked on to some # 16 and # 18 black flying ants , later a hatch of redish flying ants also apeared. ( not our rysmiere) This yellow I hooked on a # 14 PTN – Flash Back nymph. I had a lot of refusals on dries and changed to nymph’s , eventualy, tight lines. We are planing a trip or two , will keep you updated.

Posted on February 2, 2009 Filed Under Fish, Fishing, Lake Fishing, SaltWater Fishing | Leave a Comment

Pages