TheCarpCatcher

A solid wall of resistance

This week I decided to continue where I left off from last week, fishing to the first island over a decent bed of bait. The weather was less favourable, plenty of sun was forecast and the south-westerly winds that had prevailed all summer had been replaced by a north-westerly. Now generally when this occurs I get on the sou...

This week I decided to continue where I left off from last week, fishing to the first island over a decent bed of bait. The weather was less...

Woolpack lake 8 special

Two sessions in late august 2018 on the woolpacks lake 8, the first a day session and the second an overnighter. The fishing had been going well of late but it's always nice to have a change and lake 8 always presents a good challenge with the chance of a few nice fish if you get it right. The swim I choose was one I knew...

Two sessions in late august 2018 on the woolpacks lake 8, the first a day session and the second an overnighter. The fishing had been going...

I could see it was a beast

Since the beginning of August when I first secured a ticket for Cawcutts lake I've been doing short targeted sessions three or four times a week. Some sessions were spent in just one area and others spent moving around, as much as anything it's a fast way to get to know a lake. Luckily for me I have managed to pick up a few...

Since the beginning of August when I first secured a ticket for Cawcutts lake I've been doing short targeted sessions three or four times a ...

It all means so much

I've come a long way from that freshface lad who set out to fish the river with his first proper fishing rod in 1968. The memories of getting up before dawn and sneaking down to the river, cycling through the silent village streets. The absolute magic of it all and the complete sense of freedom it gave me still lives with m...

I've come a long way from that freshface lad who set out to fish the river with his first proper fishing rod in 1968. The memories of gettin...

Golden Commons

In 1952 Richard Walker caught a record Carp from Redmire pool using a split cane rod he built himself, the MKIV. This was the very first purpose built carp rod. That same year he commissioned B. James & Son to build the rods for him. Over the years the rod went through a few small changes until they ceased building them ...

In 1952 Richard Walker caught a record Carp from Redmire pool using a split cane rod he built himself, the MKIV. This was the very first pu...

Built like Mike Tyson

I did four sessions this week on Cawcutts lake. Monday's 10:00 am start saw me walking around with the minimum of kit and a single rod for a few hours, more in the way of getting to know the place again than anything else. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdays sessions were spent getting to know one particular swim where I had ...

I did four sessions this week on Cawcutts lake. Monday's 10:00 am start saw me walking around with the minimum of kit and a single rod for a...

Cawcutts Lake pictures

It was first stocked with carp back in the late 1980's by the club that held the lease. Many of the fish died off but the ones that remained grew to good proportions reaching high twenties within ten years. Then in 2016 it was taken over by Embryo angling and restocked, three years later in 2019 I secured a ticket....

It was first stocked with carp back in the late 1980's by the club that held the lease. Many of the fish died off but the ones that remained...

First fish

It was 15 years ago when I last fished this lake and back then I also caught a 20lb+ common so I guess it's apt that my first fish on my return should also be another 20lb+ common. Right now I'm fishing short day/stalking sessions before or after work which is enabling me to get around the lake and in just a few sessions I...

It was 15 years ago when I last fished this lake and back then I also caught a 20lb+ common so I guess it's apt that my first fish on my ret...

Living the Dream part Nineteen

There's nothing like finding somewhere where you can fish in relative peace & quiet and just get on with doing your own thing. Where the carp are not so pressured that they stop behaving naturally. Where you can study them in their environment feeding on your bait and moving around the lake. It's my last session on this lo...

There's nothing like finding somewhere where you can fish in relative peace & quiet and just get on with doing your own thing. Where the car...

All my birthdays

My sessions on the Great Ouse river are mostly short 6-8 hour affairs where I usually concentrate on just one swim. All the work like finding the actual areas/spots and sussing them out has been done before hand so when I move into a swim all I have to do is fish. Same as when I fished the river Cam I spend more time lookin...

My sessions on the Great Ouse river are mostly short 6-8 hour affairs where I usually concentrate on just one swim. All the work like findin...

Worth every single journey

The previous four sessions on the ouse were spent in bright sunshine and high temperatures, not the best conditions for carp fishing as we all know. On a river finding the carp can be hard enough but with temperatures so high and floaters being a difficult tactic (they just float down river to be picked off by the gulls) op...

The previous four sessions on the ouse were spent in bright sunshine and high temperatures, not the best conditions for carp fishing as we a...

River Great Ouse Pictures

It's been an ambition of mine to fish the river Great ouse for carp for many years now but with one thing and another I never managed to get around to it. But then a casual conversation with a mate in a local tackle shop in the spring of 2019 sparked my interest again. There was no mention of fish or locations it was all ab...

It's been an ambition of mine to fish the river Great ouse for carp for many years now but with one thing and another I never managed to get...

Living the Dream part Eighteen

It's monday and I'm back down the pool for another morning session. This time I drive past the morning swim and head straight round to the back of the lake. With the sun getting up high in the sky I expect the carp to arrive around 10-11 AM so plenty of time to get myself sorted in time and put on the kettle....

It's monday and I'm back down the pool for another morning session. This time I drive past the morning swim and head straight round to the ...

A rare riverbeast

Of all the fish I have caught from a river this has to be up there with the best. I've managed a number of fully-scaled carp since I started in 1980 but never one from a river. I know that mirrors exist having had many from the river Cam. Over the decades of flooding plenty have escaped from the lakes along the Ouse valley ...

Of all the fish I have caught from a river this has to be up there with the best. I've managed a number of fully-scaled carp since I started...

That bit in between

I think it's got to be one of the most exciting things in fishing, hearing your alarm go off whilst fishing a river. Even more so perhaps when you get it in the net, but that bit in between, that's the bit that leaves you breathless. It all means so much, it's no wonder it gets the emotions going and the heart racing. This...

I think it's got to be one of the most exciting things in fishing, hearing your alarm go off whilst fishing a river. Even more so perhaps wh...

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