I can count at least three occasions where I had a carp in the net within two minutes of casting into the river during my sessions on the Cam back in 2011. An upper double, a twenty and a thirty all from a river in less than six minutes fishing! So how did I do that? Whenever I have 'got into the groove' on any water my results have improved tremendously and I can think of any number of occasions when that has happened. Regular visits to swims to observe the fish coupled with bait application are the key factors to success. Last month's article was all about that, using what little time I have to achieve results that are better than expected for the sum of hours spent fishing. Night fishing on the river cam is not allowed and weekends were out because of the hordes of people using the river so I was left with only a few hours before and after work each day in which to fish but it would be backed up with trips down to bait up or 'prime' the spots as well as plenty of observation. The idea behind short targeted sessions backed up with frequent short visits to bait up and observe is to stay connected with the river and the carp and thus get into the groove even though you're not doing a great deal of actual rod-in-hand fishing. You stay fresh this way and you're always looking forward to getting down plus it builds up the confidence of your quarry to the point where results can be expected. Your confidence can build too especially when you're seeing the bait going each time you visit.

The swims I choose on the river Cam were close in and viewable however there are of course ways and means of finding out if the carp are eating your bait even if you cannot see the bottom of your chosen swim and one of them which I have found very handy over the years is 'Sticks'. You tie a boilie to the end of a long (as you need) piece of say 3lb line, mould some ground bait/method mix around it and toss it into your chosen margin spot. Then just stake the other end of the line down into the bank with a tent peg and a use a stick to prop up the line a foot or so from it. If the stick is over and the line tight when you come back then you have had a take, make sure you hide them well and remove them when not needed. So on the days when I was not fishing I would nip down to the river for a few minutes either early morning or after work and stand rigid still by the swims starring in with polarizing glasses looking for signs of fish. I would often spot them too, always in the same areas always moving along the same stretches of bank. All the bait I put in went; it never stayed around long even if the carp had moved off for a while, they would eventually come back and clear up what was left

From the start of my visits in early May 2011 I kept up a constant trickle of bait and it's difficult to say how much I used but somewhere in the region of 70-100 kilos or more I expect. I had the bait manufactured for me and so the cost was less than half what you would normally pay but it still digs into the pocket. The bait I was using was one I named 'The Ghost', and its original recipe is a simple combination of Vitamelo milk powder, Soya and other dairy products dyed white. It had a smooth clean finish with a creamy; sweet spicy, fruity, cinnamon/clove attractor that worked really well and of course being white it was oh so obvious on the bottom of the swim! The carp quite obviously got very used to seeing this bait and would always clear it up when they came upon it. My kit was cut back and I took only what I could carry, since most of my sessions were to take place early morning and evening I did not need much just the essentials and a few spare pre-tied rigs. My entire kit plus two rods and fox stalker pod was stashed inside my JRC cot which was then just slung over my shoulder. My rucksack was mostly full of food, water and bait and in my spare hand I carried a cheap B&Q garden chair to sit on. There is something very liberating about carrying minimum kit, you feel you're ready for anything and able to respond far quicker. You are freed up from the clutter of decisions that have to be made when you have a wheel-barrow and a mountain of kit to consider. I recall my days on the Woolpack's Lake #3 because when I got into the groove on there I did tremendously well and a lot of it was down to doing day only sessions, carrying the minimum of kit and being mobile

My next short session on the cam was the following morning the 17th June 2011 the fish were milling around the swim and all the bait I had put in the previous day had been cleared up. After the success of the previous day and the ease of catching the 34lb mirror I reckoned my river cam carp quest was not going to be as tough as I initially thought. I had counted 7 fish in the pod I spotted originally with a possible two or three others I could not be certain of however, I stole myself with the thought that I would soon catch them all. Wrong I blanked! Not long after posting up a picture of the 34lb mirror on my Facebook page I was informed by a fellow cambs angler that it was one of the escapes from 'The Backs' in the center of town and that I had in fact caught Bullseye the bigg'un. It took a little while for the realisation to sink in. I had caught a fish I always wanted to catch but not from where it had lived originally but from my own back yard! Well what do you know eh? So the fish were cute that was obvious and they had been hunted by anglers before so they knew the score too. Now whether I spooked the fish or something with my oh so obvious tactics I am not sure but I immediately resolved to be little less cavalier in my approach and start to work at it a little more. Since it was a Friday and the end of the week the next session would be on the Monday and that was fine by me as the 'Bumps' were on (University boat crews chasing each other up the river) and it was going to be mayhem for a few days! I popped down on the Saturday and fed the spot with a couple of kilos of bait. Some of the carp were milling around but I did not see either Bullseye or the Linear (the two biggest). Monday morning came and a short 2-3 hour session before work again produced nothing and what's more the carp were conspicuous by their absence. I decided to move spots to one just down the bank on the other side of the bridge so I put the rest of the kilo of bait I had with me in the new spot when I left that morning and popped down again after work for a look see. All the bait I had put in had gone so I threw in another half kilo and left. I returned later the next day after work to fish the new spot I had been priming and caught one within 30 seconds of the bait hitting the deck! The carp gave me a terrific scrap, tearing up and down the river and not giving in until right at the net. The fish was in perfect condition too, an absolute minter! With a wonderful dark brown scaly colour it was a fish that would have any angler smiling and I was well chuffed. Before I left I put in another half kilo on the new spot with the intention of coming back the following evening after work

The next morning I found out that I could have the day off so by lunch time I was back down under the bridge beside the river. The half kilo I had put in the previous evening was still there and I was surprised but I also knew that if a carp moved in it would soon clear it up. When the weather started turn wet I was even happier about my prospects because of course the sewer outfall pumps harder and the water gets coloured from the road drain off. Within a short time of the water colouring I got a run to the left hand rod just off the spot which produced another hard fighting double figure common from the river. This fish yet again displayed the wonderful condition of all the carp that I had caught from this river. They are all distinctly different in colour, strain and pattern, all completely eclectic, you just never know what you're going to get. This one, a common had some ghost carp in it and was fin perfect. The session were now moving to the evenings as I could not keep up the early starts with a day's work on top of it but I still intended to pop down before work for a look see and a quick priming of the spots, so in a way the bait would do the fishing for me. Two days later I was back again in the evening for a few hours, I had been down and baited up the previous day and all that bait had gone so I was hopeful. Standing in the swim just back from the bank with my polarising glasses on I could clearly see the clean sandy/gravel spot with the bright white baits spread around it. If any carp moved in I would see them and I have to say this was heart stopping stuff. Dark torpedo like shapes that seem to move in from nowhere, shimmering mirage like whilst the breeze ripples the water's surface, sometimes you can be left asking yourself 'did I really see something?' Then without warning the Delkim fires off and the rod lunges over ,the bait runner spins blurring everything within that moment into one fluid movement to the rod that's up and in your hands bent and pulling hard, concentration fixed, stoney and determined, heart racing! If we were junkies then this would be the fix

Like all the other carp I have caught from this river this too was very distinctive and not like any other carp I had previously caught. Unfortunately you cannot catch large carp on your local river without a few people finding out or witnessing said captures, the thirty was witnessed and this last capture also by three young keen carpers from across the river. In light of this and the fact that I had already caught four out of the seven fish I was targeting (and if I was honest fed up with all the noise from the bloody road) I decided to move the spot again. Now I say move the spot in a quite deliberate way because that's how I saw it. As far as I was concerned the carp would follow me up river away from the bridge to any other decent area if I put in enough bait. One area in particular that got my attention was a few hundred yards upstream next to a willow set in a boggy-reedy area. I had seen the carp cruising around this area and in fact it was the first place I spotted Bullseye and The Linear. I glimpsed them earlier in May moving through the thick weedbeds, tenting under the accumulated weed in the slack margin areas that are created by the reeds and boggy nature of the bank. The spot was far enough away from the bridge to negate much of the noise and as a bonus was set amongst untouched bankside and if there is one thing I love, it is a swim 'au naturel'

During the following week I continued to go down and fish the old spot under the bridge and to put bait in the new spot in the reeds. By Friday evening everything was ready for a session in the new spot and I couldn't wait. On getting there I quietly set the kit up away from the bank as I was intending to fish close in and fish were in the swim when I got there. Right on cue and whilst I was filming a huge boil appeared over the top of the spot and I knew I was going to catch, it was a certainty. As always you never know what you're going to get until you get it and I was kept waiting for almost an hour before the Delkim alarm gave out a single bleep and then just took off. I was on the rod in an instant and felt the fish surge out of the swim and head down river. A huge bow wave appeared on the water's surface as it powered its way out of the swim and across the river. The clutch sang as the fish took line, the rod bent around into its full curve and I just held on hoping it would not get too far. Then the fish turned and started to head back up river towards me, I started to wind down, I could clearly see that it was heading for the tangled mass of streamer weed and lilies in my left hand margin so I wound down even harder trying to get the fish up in the water as much as possible before it got there. It managed to get its head in, but pressure from the rod brought it slowly up and then, it all locked up. I kept up the pressure and tightened the drag on the clutch, I started to gradually put on more pressure, feeling for resistance through the rod, feeling for any movement and any chance of it coming free. The rod bent over hard as I leaned into it and then I felt it slowly give. I wound down on the line that I had won and quickly positioned the net; I knew that when a hooked fish comes out of weed it can often be netted quickly but if not then you were at a much greater risk of losing it. I wound down again and gained line. It was at this point that the fish showed itself and I immediately recognised it as 'The Linear'. This was the fish I was after; this was the one I wanted the most ever since I spotted it way back in the close season in mid-May. Here I was finally with The Linear on the end of my line, a moment I have to admit I had day-dreamed about as I guess we all do when setting out our plans to fish somewhere. It wallowed on the surface as they do when they come out of weed but I couldn't get the net to it as the weed was too thick. Away it dashed on the hard set clutch pulling the rod down hard and taking line; I moved my left hand high up the rod and leaned into it to compensate against its dash for freedom as I couldn't let it get back into that thick weed to my left. It took line but didn't go deep, I applied pressure and won precious yards, once again the fish veered out into the river and I held on the pressure took its toll and it turned and rolled on the surface. I wound down guiding it ever nearer to the net, the rod was over my shoulder to its limit and I was at full stretch when the fish slid into the net and I let out a triumphant cry!

I went on to catch the other two carp I was after from the original pod of seven that I first identified back in May 2011 in the following weeks returning to the river to fish later on that year in the winter and catch Bullseye again at 33.8lb. I had a few other recaptures in 2012 but the river is long and there are plenty more surprises, dreams and adventures to be had further downstream which have been grabbing my attention. I am not sure if or when I will get the chance to fish these areas of the river but there on my list and will demand even more effort than this campaign did for sure but then 'effort equals success' doesn't it