YOU KNOW YOUVE FOUND YOUR CARP FORUM HOME!

From the days of mad hairdo’s & brightly coloured clothing.
(Blame Steve Allcott)
When I used to read about carp, I was into catching anything, but mainly roach, and tench…. The reason why I started to buy carp literature, was to learn how to make good baits for tench.
I started fishing in 81, but picked up a copy of Carp Fisher Nov 81, sometime in 82. Though it wasn’t until 87 I actually started going for them, instead of catching them accidentally while fishing with paste baits.



In 87, 88, most waters I fished had a low stock of carp. Except for the Basildon Moat. Which was full of small carp. The average one was about 6Lbs….The next best place for carp near to me was Aquatels. The originals all died in years to come.
Reasons are still uncertain, but probably from illegal stockings, as in movement of fish from one water to another.
They had the same problems when I used to fish the place. Maybe we was just lucky we didn’t have a fish kill when we fished their.
Another lake I fished was Gloucester park, though in them days it had a very low stock of carp. It’s since been stocked several times with pastie carp. It’s now over loaded with them. The occasional twenty comes out, but there is easy well over 200 carp in there now. Probably nearer 400. (Well overstocked). but the water never attracted many anglers all year round. Where nowadays it does pull a larger crowd. I remember catching a 16Lb 4oz mirror from there years ago on my first visit.
Went to Aquatels for the first time next, and had a 19Lb 6oz rare caught leather from this very weedy difficult water in them days.
Then went over to Halfway House Thorndon country park for the first time.and in them days there was only twelve carp in there. Got smashed up by the big one a twenty, but managed a 14Lb monster.
I was all the gossip for weeks on my local lakes.
89 I decided I wanted to catch a thirty.
So I joined a not to difficult water in Bedfordshire, with a good head of carp, and a peach of a thirty known to the locals as Baggy.
In them days if they had one or two carp in a night, they were very happy chappies the members.
I used to manage to knock out about 30+ in four nights. I think 38 carp in a 4 night session was my best ever.
Got the locals tongues wagging. Many who have since become good friends.

Baggy



After catching Baggy in October at 32Lbs. I decided winter 89-90 I wanted to catch two fish from a very difficult lake in them days, Boreham Mere. I wasn’t worried about catching the thirty.
I wanted the big common known as the ‘Bream‘, or the ‘Long Leather’. Probably the two hardest fish to catch in the lake at the time.
I didn’t put much time in, but I was lucky enough to catch two twenty commons one afternoon in Feb 90. The biggest the Bream at 28Lb 14oz…The coming summer I knocked out two fish in a two night session, and one was the ‘Long Leather’.
I chose to fish Darenth next. I thought the Mere would be a nice place to go back to in years to come. Maybe knock out the thirty, or one of the other old residents, in this small stocked water.
Unfortunately I got a telephone call some years later asking me to pop over to the Mere.
The water was always crystal clear when I fished it. It was now very murky. Some time later all the fish died.
They have since re-stocked the water in recent years, but it’s not the Mere I knew. Reason for deaths of all fish was gill damage from diatoms, possibly caused by excessive ground baiting.
The unfortunate thing was, we found you never needed much bait to catch a Boreham Mere carp.
Unfortunately some still haven’t learnt from this disaster, because this was a famous little 7 or 8 acre water in Essex at the time.

The Bream Feb90



Anyway I fished Darenth Big Lake for the first time in August, and was very spawny and had a thirty first time on there followed by a 17Lb carp an hour later, on my third day of a four night session.
From August 90, until March 93. I mainly fished Darenth in the colder months.
I think I did 80 nights on the water in total, and took 21 different fish out of the 120+ plus carp in this 13+ acre lake.
To most of us this was a very well stocked water.
I would of caught a lot more fish if I had stuck it out during the summer months, but it was to overcrowded for me.
I only ever got to do one or two nights on the Tip, and managed probably the smallest carp in there a 14 pounder.
It’s funny how it goes like that sometimes….
Though what wasn’t funny was the new owners the season to come after 93, had decided to mass stock the water with foreign imports.
Like myself many of us had no intentions of re-joining.
Most of the stockies died I believe, killing most of the originals as well.
A very sad day for the Darenth original hardcore anglers.
They restocked again. This time with many monster foreign carp.
It was funny to see in the future weeklies with some of the original Noddy anglers who would blank week in, week out on Darenth, on which wasn’t a really difficult water years earlier before the stockings, now holding thirties, forties, and fifties because the new stock was starving, and picking up any baits with out much fear about being hooked.
Most of the originals are dead, if not all, because probably the ones that survived the fish kill, were probably to old to compete for food with the new stock…
Some seasons I was a member some carp didn’t come out some years, but I think all were hooked every year, but many were lost when cut off over bars or near the islands.

A Darenth 30



I was gutted I never fished Darenth more now, before the stockies were introduced, but I did manage to catch a few nice ones.
I used to try and get in 40 or 50 nights fishing in a season, usually split between quite a few lakes, and there was so many different waters I wanted to fish.
I think at last count I’ve fished 38 different carp lakes, and there’s only five I think I’ve blanked on.
Nowadays it’s to expensive to fish lots of different waters.
I can remember when Yateley was £25, and that covered you for all the thirteen lakes.

Another difficult water I fished for the first time was South Weald Country park in 91.
I rarely fish in June or July time, but I went for a day in the second week of the season, as in starting from June the 15th in them days.
I think it was the 21st of June, and had a 29Lb 14oz little fat Italian, carrying some spawn still unfortunately. Though Kenny Gates had found her on her side in the close season at about 31 I think, and helped her remove some of her spawn.. So we was well happy to see she had survived.
I had caught her within five hours of casting out on my right hand rod. Which was well bloody good on this water. I know of anglers who had done over 500+ hours on this days only water, and eventually give up without a take.
Though what many don’t realise. I had actually had a run within five minutes of casting out on my left hand rod.
I think I had three carp from this water in just an handful of days. Just fishing it every now and then.
Once again I’m gutted I never put more hours in on this water….because during one of my gaps away from angling I get a phone call again.
This time “Have you heard, all the South Weald big lake fish are dead, the silt as come right up and suffocated all of them!
The council I don’t think have ever bothered re-stocking this lake ever again.
Very sad…Especially being anyone who owns a water knows silt can be easily removed, using very simple methods.

A South Weald Mirror



Though after March 93 I didn’t want to fish much. The Darenth stockies should have been a lesson to us all.
Also the Snake pit, Horton, Essex Arena just to name a few fish death waters, and even Yateley I believe as paid the price with either home grown stockies or imports.
Once I was just having a stroll around the North lake Yateley, and came across the old Snake a thirty, being stressed out by about half a dozen small stockies.All commons I think.
They were bumping into her, nudging her quite hard, being total pests. They were really getting on her nerves I think.
So I threw a stone into the lake to spook them all, but unfortunately other anglers told me this continued. She died a little later.
These were not imports, but I couldn’t see the point in stocking them into the lake, like they did the Pads as well, also Horton, and Wraysbury.
RMC own enough empty waters they could of stocked with home growns. I don’t understand why risk what we already have.
The Pad lake is a joke to me now. There was only an handful of carp originally. Five mirrors I think. Jumbo the biggest.
Now it’s flooded with carp. Don’t make sense to me. RMC have enough already overstocked waters. So why try and make the venue into an easy place.
I hope they don’t ruin the Carpark lake next. Is it really worth risking present stocks for easier captures, or much bigger carp? We have well enough carp in our waters already.
Britain’s become so flooded from carp the challenge of catching a difficult one is becoming wiped out. Some will go at any lengths to catch such a beast it seems. Surely you want some kind of challenge. You don’t want everything so easy.
I remember years ago, anglers going mad that a bloke every weekend was turning up at a local Essex lake with a radio control boat in the winter months.
Some were that pissed off, one angler blew it out the water with a shot gun.
I would be worried I’d miss and hit a fish below, but now carp anglers are now using them to put fuck’in baits out.
Even if we are only talking fifty or sixty yards out.

A Darenth Mirror Sept 91



As I’ve said before I’ve had quite a few gaps between my angling. Of over 28, 40, 22, 21 months, and I haven’t been now since Dec 05...I’ve returned a few times to all difficult waters like Wraysbury1, the Brook, original North, and Pad lakes Yateley. In the days when they had only a few carp in them.
Maybe I’ll write something else about them waters.
I’ll never be a brilliant carp angler because I don’t fish enough, but I’ve found I don’t need to fish every week.
I know how to tie a rig, and roll a bait, and cast to a fish.
So I’m always in with a shout when ever I finally decide to return to the waters edge.
When I never fished for over 28 months the first lake I returned to was the Big Essex Grange in 95 I think. a water below the Little Grange.
Although I hadn’t fished the place before. I managed to find the fish, and take a 16+ carp within less than an hour of casting out.
Returned for another night and had another. Then returned for two nights, and took another five carp.
So you never lose how to catch carp, even when fishing hardish waters.

One thing I’ve always done, and it was a rule Kenny Gates asked us to try and keep to. I only ever use a carp sack while running to get another angler to take a photo for me.
I think it’s much more safer and comfortable for a carp, than being rapped up in a landing net. The longest I’ve ever used a carp sack for is a couple of hours I think. I just don’t like using them.
Though I wont use the same one on another water purely for disease reasons, this was Kenny‘s rule he hoped we kept to. If I stop fishing that lake. I give it to a member on that water. Or throw it.
The ones I use cost over £15 a time. But I’d rather lose money, or a session than an entire stock of fish. Moving maybe a disease from one water to another.
My landing net insert I clean after every session, and must of changed it easily six times since taking up carping.
Though I know some couldn’t give a toss about such things, and all they want is a photo with a big carp.
Most of my biggest carp have come at very close range. I never took loads of photos. I never owned a brilliant camera in them days, but I hope the ones I’ve added brighten up the article a little.
I used photo’s of fish that are unfortunately no longer with us.
I think it was only Baggy that had died of old age.

Tight Braids

S.Kibble

If you like this carp, cat, pike and coarse fishing forum, click the logo to vote for the best uk carp fishing forum.