I am a year round angler and always have been. I love seeing the seasons change on the bank. After a long winter fishing in fairly miserable conditions it’s so nice when the shoots of spring arrive. I really love the sunshine so by the time summer arrives I’m quite desperate! It’s now September and this article sees me reflect on the summer of 2018 fishing in Hertfordshire and Essex.
Continue reading “Reflecting on summer 2018 – fishing in Hertfordshire and Essex”
So we’ve all probably had red letter days when carp fishing, and we can all agree that they don’t come along often enough! Here I recount of one such event that happened on a 12 hour overnight session on Fryerning Carp Lake – the Main Lake in May 2018.
In the warmer months one of the most affective methods is surface fishing for carp. As the water warms up carp spend much of their time in the upper layers, so presenting a bait on or near the surface can get fantastic results. For me surface fishing comes in several forms. There are various methods and approaches that you can take when catching fish off the top. Within this article write about my approach.
We were so excited to be going to Thailand again this year. The weather, the beaches, the people and the food are amazing. For me it’s our very special family time in the most amazing place. It’s certainly not about the fishing but it would be rude not to dabble given what’s available to your average fisherman over there – Arapaima, Siamese Carp, Juliens Carp, Catfish and much more.
I love my carp fishing on the River Lea. There’s a certain mystery when it comes to fishing for river carp. Unlike a lake you really don’t know the stock. Fish can swim for miles which can make it tricky at times but also means that you never know what you might catch.
It was late August and I decided to pay a visit to the Lavers Syndicate in Essex. It’s got some great looking carp and it had been very kind to me on a couple of short visits in June. This was going to be my first full night on the lake and I was very much looking forward to it!
Continue reading “Near disaster strikes – wrong rods at Lavers Syndicate”
It’s July and I’ve been enjoying myself catching carp at the Fryerning Essex. I’ve been travelling light and moving around all the lakes picking off fish including some good ones too. I’d had a number of decent fish doing this and even managed to bag the Valley Lake record at 41lb 3oz. I had turned up at the lakes at around 5pm and was planning to do the night but then pack everything up in the morning apart from a stalking rod and a few bits and go for a wander.
Continue reading “Hello again – the Roundtail Common, Fryerning”
Just about every carp fisherman has heard of Farlows. It’s kind of become part of carp fishing history. Indeed, I first fished it over 25 years ago. A hell of a lot has changed since then. One thing that’s changed from back then is the introduction of Farlows Lake 2. This article covers an overnighter where we tried to unlock some of the gems in Lake 2.
It’s early summer and the days are becoming long and hot. I’ve been having quite a lot of success floater fishing, one of my favourite methods. But the other day I decided to try something a bit different – fly fishing for carp!
The main lake at Fryerning can be tough. 20 acres is a lot of water for just 50/60 carp. I had a blank night on left hand point on the main lake so I took a wonder. I found most of the lakes stock spawning in the shallows so I decided to look at the other lakes on the complex. The Valley Lake Fryerning has some nice fish and I found a few in a quiet corner at the bottom end of the lake. All the gear was packed away on the main lake and the stalking kit came out!