Maiden French fishing trip...lessons learned.

It was packing up morning and nothing else  happened on the other 2 rods. Fenlon woke up at 6.45am to find me watching the water once again. With the middle rod left out after my loss he asked if I was packing them up not realising what had happened. It had passed over me already and I was back on cloud 9 after the week I'd had. The beds were packed down and loaded into the van. Bivvy was soon following along with the rods. 2 cups of tea polished off and we were venturing round the lake to meet the others. No one caught on the last night and I was the only 1 to get a bite. Karl asked if I knew what I had lost and I quickly said it was a 40lb carp. Andy wondered how I knew it was a 40lb considering it was no where near to netting and I said "I had a 30, 50, 60 and a 70....40 was the missing number in the sequence". We all laughed and took 1 last look at the lake and headed off in the vans. What a week we had encountered. A truly special place and the return trip is already booked for 2020. The weather was seasonal with cold winds, hot sun and heavy downpours. Snow and ice were the only experiences we did not fish through. The company was on top form and there were plenty of laughs. A good group of blokes to go with. A week away from my son was hard but keeping in touch with him daily made it easier. I couldn't wait to get home and see him.

The journey seemed to take forever. On the way to Island lakes we were on motorway after motorway. The home journey was for some reason travelled parallel to motorways give or take a mile in between us. The sat nav me and Fenlon were using kept asking us to make many U-turns yet Andy, convoy leader, continued driving the scenic route as best described. I started to feel sorry for Fenlon who was once again driving as his clutch foot was in full use. A lot of roundabouts and a lot of gear changing every few hundred yards must have been tiring but he didn't make a fuss about it. A couple of hours passed and we pulled over at a service station for food and a break. It gave us all a chance to sit and talk about the week. Unfortunately Alan never got to land a carp or even go into battle for that matter. I wish he would have made the move sooner and I could have pinpointed where the carp socialise during the morning hours. He was probably in 2 minds whether to move or stay put. My little blue book has positions written down to look at should swim 6 be fished in the future. We were soon back on the road after McDonald's and toilet break.
Fenlon was still beaming with excitement and we chatted about what we had learned over the week. Neither of us had ever had the opportunity to go out in a boat to view a fishing spot. I was personally pleased with the knowledge of feature finding with my marker rod. The feeling of casting a rod and landing a lead on gravel is the easy part. Knowing you are dragging a lead up, over and down a gravel bar has only ever been described and I suppose guess work when using a marker rod. Having the chance to look down from a boat clarified I am capable of finding spots. Presenting rigs that I use in England were effective and no tweaks were made. A lot of anglers go to France and use new rigs or make many changes to their rigs with the mindset that French carp are harder to catch. This can result in lost fish and not knowing which difference hindered the rig mechanics can ruin the chance of landing that fish of a lifetime. Both Fenlon and I stuck to what we know and it paid off. The biggest challenge we both had was how weedy the lake was. Weed is daunting at the best of times and in places Island lake looked like a flooded football pitch. We have both fished weedy lakes but the weed at Island Lakes was on another level. Fenlons biggest accomplishment was changing swims. This is a guy who likes to setup in a swim and wait for the fish to come to him. But he knew that staying in swim 10+11 was a bait and wait swim and not what he wanted this week. The move would have to be done and early in the week was perfect excuse. That and the fact I ran off with his rods probably. When fishing I try and watch the water a lot. This week though I took this to another level. Either in my swim or standing in other anglers swims I was fully concentrating on the water. Another milestone was playing and landing such big creatures and doing so with no one to help me. There is 1 thing that really put the cherry on top of our achievements. Bailiff Mick spoke to Andy soon after Fenlon caught his 29lb. All lakes have rules and at Island lakes there is a rule that any angler that has never fished France must fish as a pair. We were not aware of this rule and we chatted to Mick about people saying we were heading to such a hard lake for our 1st trip to France. Mick never mentioned to us and went to see Andy. He said that if this information should have been brought up on arrival day. Andy had visited this lake a few times and didn't think about the rule. He apologised and said they would all help me and Fenlon pack down and move. Mick was quick to say that there was no need. He had watched us both setting up, finding spots, helping each other, moving Fenlon together and catching the biggest carp caught that week on our own. He had 100% confidence in our ability and said we were both good anglers. That comment was amazing to hear and be passed on. A truly proud moment in my fishing journey to date!!

The time flew by and all of a sudden the road ended and we parked up at the channel tunnel. We didn't have long until boarding the train so a quick toilet break and coffee purchased. Sitting in the van we were directed to our carriage and it was time to say Bon Voyage to France. 35 minutes later we said goodbye to our fellow anglers and we were home bound. We were on the home stretch and already planning the next outing. After catching the 69lb and 59lb carp we were both told that our English fishing was ruined. Neither me or Fenlon go fishing for target fish or big fish only. Being on the bank next to a lake is what we personally enjoy. The surroundings, the peace and quiet, the time to relax and get away from day to day life is what we go fishing for. A bend in the rod is always the fun part and landing a fish no matter the size is the prize. But the biggest quest of each session is to learn lessons and the week in France taught us some of the most valuable lessons to use in the future outings.

'till next time...

Carper Dee

Maiden French fishing trip...missed opportunities

3.30am and the bite alarm was stuttering. Heart beat racing hoping the now silent receiver started singing a continuous tone. Walking down to the rods the middle bobbing was sitting tight against the alarm. Looking across the water my thought was loose weed drifting through the water and had collected the fishing line. A few minutes passed and the odd single tone was all the receiver played. Slackening the line was my only option. I could have reeled in and recast the rod but disturbing the swim seemed the wrong thing to do. In hindsight I should have brought the rig in for confirmation. Around 9am I reeled in and on inspection of the rig it was clarified that a carp had picked it up and ejected it. For future reference this lesson taught me to know my rig is fishing effectively not think it is.
It was now Friday and only 24hours left on the lake. The sun was beaming down and the hottest day of the week. A bucket of bait to prepare for the evening feed time was produced and the decision to pack up items that wouldn't be required was my plan. Speaking to Fenlon he was ready for home. He had no intention of fishing and felt he had achieved all he wished for. All tackle was to be packed up and loaded in the van leaving only his bed and bivvy to pack up the following morning. As I had my 2 man bivvy I thought it would be better for him to put his bed in mine for the night and it was 1 less item to pack on departure day. Suggestion agreed I left him alone for a slow pack up. Once back in my swim I took the time to enjoy the surroundings. The lake is a truly stunning environment and the water was flat calm. I've never seen perfectly mirrored reflections everywhere you looked.

The day went by at a slow pace which suited me as I was thinking back over the moments from the week. It seemed surreal knowing all the lessons I have taught myself over the 7 years of fishing had worked to my advantage and helped with the huge achievements. I had said to the other anglers before we arrived that my main goal was to learn lessons. If I was able to get a bend in the rod it would be a bonus. I never go fishing 'expecting' to catch. In a way if a blank happens (and they happen to everyone) I am not leaving a lake disheartened. If you have high hopes and the plan isn't playing out, you go through the thought process that something is broke and too many changes follow. I would have been 100% happy if I did leave Island Lakes with dry nets and sling. 

Late afternoon Fenlon was packed up and drove the van round to load items I wouldn't need. A few beers each and a belly full of BBQ food saw us into darkness. My rods were in position and bait was waiting for carp to munch on. With the clock ticking by we were soon ready for sleep. 

1.20am and I woke up to my left-hand alarm bursting into tune. All was quiet again once at the rods and the waiting game began. My bobbing had dropped and I was in decision mode again. Hit the rod or leave it. The alarm let out 2 more beeps and the bobbing headed South. Instantly I grabbed the rod, tightened the clutch and started reeling. As I pulled the rod tip into the air a weight could be felt. With no indication of a carp trying to escape I knew I was attached to a ball of weed. Once at the bank I untangled my rig and again realised the rig had been picked up and ejected. Rod clipped up and fresh rig attached, I cast to the spot and scattered a handful of boilies. 

My receiver flat lined at 5.15am and there was no argument that this was a bite. The middle rod tip was trying to exit stage left and the line was leaving the spool like a bullet train. I instantly felt a powerful carp charging through the water and then hiding in solid weed. Holding on tight for a while the carp shook its head and swam into open water. Gaining back some line the carp suddenly headed to another weed bed. Locked up once again I kept the pressure on. A short while later the carp was free and I was pulling my prize towards me. Thinking I was winning the battle the carp fought back and was soon in another weed bed. 40 minutes had gone by and the carp had found its last hiding place. In a slow motion action the carp shook its head sending the feeling through the line and to my fingers and the sensation of an ejected hook point soon followed. Battle wounded I just stood holding my rod looking across the lake. I was gutted to say the least. The sky was grey and fog had filled the lake. Kind of matched my feelings. I didn't recast the rod, just lay back on my sleeping bag looking through the bivvy door.

'till next time...

Carper Dee

Maiden French fishing trip...time to feast.

After another night of intermittent sleep I felt tired. Unfortunately it wasn't the carp keeping me awake this time. The thunder storm that passed over the lake was like no storm I've ever experienced. It felt really low in the sky and the thunder was so loud that it could be felt through the bed. If my Mrs was with me she would have referred it as "angry" and "cross thunder". Morning was breaking and the sun started to rise over the trees. The lake surface once again had mist rolling across. I stood at the front of the swim sipping a hot coffee watching the water. The carp were on their early morning routes and giving up their whereabouts to the eagle eyed angler I try to be. I've watched many YouTube and dvds on carp fishing and the saying "it looks good for a bite" is often used. Both myself and Fenlon have looked across ponds and said the same but all of a sudden stood in that moment looking at my view it really did look good for a bite. With a chill in the air, clouds amongst the sky and the activity the carp seemed to be in, it felt like the carp god's were looking down putting the final puzzle pieces together. My mind was made and giving the carp a good serving of grub today was set in stone.

Between Fenlon and I we had brought 60kgs Blakes baits nutmix maple boilie for the week. My daily plan was to make a 3kg bucket of chopped, crushed and crumbed boilie with a dose of matching glug. I had also brought Sticky baits Manilla glug which was also put in the mix. Throughout each day I used a throwing stick to put out whole boilies. With today's baiting plan I checked how much bait I still had. 12kg still frozen in the freezer with 2 nights before departing for home. More than expected 7kg was quickly deposited into an air dry bag so the boilies could thaw. Looking for signs of carp it was clear they had left the spot so the rods were reeled in. A rusty shower was needed and a visit to Fenlon as I hadn't heard from him.

Music was playing from Fenlon's hut and his kettle was boiling. Perfect timing for a brew I said. We sat and chatted for a while and spoke about ours plan of attack. After Tuesday's sleep catch-up he still looked exhausted and asked me to help him with bait preparation and possibly baiting up later that day. The week had seen hot sun and heavy rain but the humidity was the same throughout....sweaty!! A lot of effort and hard work had been put in by the pair of us but my good mate was visibly feeling it. I left him to relax and agreed I would be back at 5pm for baiting. 

The day was quiet again. Rob and Alan in swims 3 + 4 had chosen to move into 5 + 6. This was a good move as every morning the carp were queuing up in front of 6. Personally I thought the move came 1 day too late but there was still 40hours to go and Alan was the only angler yet to catch. Fingers crossed he could create a meal that would stop the carp to feed and trick 1 into taking the hook bait. The sky opened up around 1pm and I jumped in the boat to view the area I was baiting up. Earlier in the week the clear patch was big enough to fish 2 rods. However, with the sun shining it was an unexpected sight. The carp clearly enjoyed the bait and had torn through the surrounding weed to get every last crumb. The area was around 2.5 times bigger and easily enough to place all 3 traps.

An hour of baiting using my spomb and I got all 3 rods clipped up to their distance. Hook baits attached to rigs ready for the night ahead and extras on standby for recasting should I get a bite. Fenlon baited his swim from his boat as did the other anglers. Dinner being cooked and my rods were cast. I had good feelings as the sun was setting and made sure my slings were ready, nets were in close contact and life jacket in position should I need to get in the boat. It was now up to the carp to do the rest.

9.45pm the alarm screamed carp and I was bent into a hard charging carp. I was attached to a warrior that had no plans on making this easy for me. Deep into a weed bed it headed. Once free it took me into another and another. My adrenaline was rushing but each weed bed it took me had me praying not to eject the hook. 45minutes of beating me up and I lifted the net to another mirror carp. Battered I was but I quickly clipped the rod up and recast to the spot. A  few spombs cast out to entice the carp back and Fenlon unexpectedly entered my swim. He had woken up and could hear I was into a fish. He then realised he had nodded off and hadn't cast his rods. The carp weighed 52lb 4oz and photos were taken. Fenlon headed off with me having to persuade him to cast out.

Feeling confident of more bites I used the throwing stick to scatter 0.5kg boilie over the area and I got back in the sleeping bag. I woke up at 1am in desperate need of emptying my bladder. Through the trees I could see head torches shining from Andy and Karl. Karl was playing a carp and also enduring a proper work out. Back in bed for 20 minutes before I was again rushing for trainers and down to the rods. The left hand rod was being stripped of line and I was again playing a carp. What felt like a torpedo racing through the water I enjoyed another battle. 15 minutes of fun and the carp was in the net. With the knowledge of Andy and Karl being awake surely I didn't have to feel guilty about radioing Fenlon did I? Andy answered the radio and ventured round. I got into my waders, grabbed the camera ready for photos and Andy arrived. Not wanting to get in the way he stood by my bivvy watching my procedure. I cut the line at the net then threaded on another lead clip and tubing. Next I clipped the rod using the distance sticks and cast 5 spombs over the spot. Rod then recast and I was ready to lift the carp to the cradle. Each angler has their own routine and Andy said he enjoyed watching mine. Fish care applied and I lifted the sling to a 33lb 7oz mirror carp. Photos taken, another hand shake from Andy and he headed for his bivvy. 

                  
Another scattering of boilie and I was back in the bed waiting for more action.

'till next time...

Carper Dee

Maiden French fishing trip....A storm's brewing.

Another morning, another enjoyable sleepless night. I sat on my bed smiling with the previous nights achievement. 69lb was a huge weight and to catch a bigger carp the following night is unbelievable. After a coffee I reeled in and baited the swim with a scattering of boilies. The sky was looking miserable so I grabbed my coat and camera and set off to visit Fenlon. Parked at the swim was Mick's van. He was doing his daily round visiting each angler and getting the nights news. Walking into the swim I see Mick and Fenlon down by the rods and noticed Fenlon holding 1 high in the air with rod tip buckled over. He was deep in battle!! The left hand spot had paid off and something was putting up a fight. With a thick band of weed in close this fish knew where to head. For 45 minutes Fenlon was locked into something that was buried in weed no more than 5ft from him. Keeping the pressure on  Mick was saying "let the fish know who's guv'nor" and "don't give him an inch, keep the rod held tight". 30 seconds later he changed and the words "right what's this bladdy fish doing except making a mug of you" blurted out his mouth. All of a sudden the weed broke from its roots and the carp was surface bound and swam into the net. It definitely put Fenlon through his paces. Mick hung around to see the scales read 29lb 1oz and then headed off to see the other anglers.

Carp back to its home safely and the kettle was fired up. My good friend looked shattered. The heat and humidity was taking its toll on Mr Fenlon and I suggested he reeled in and tried catching up on sleep. It didn't take much persuading and he was tucked up. I walked the short trip to my swim and prepared a bucket of bait for later that evening. The rest of day was spent watching the water and baiting the spot with boilies and throwing stick. With rain coming down at times throughout the day the carp were crashing everywhere. All the fresh oxygenated water was hopefully playing to our advantage and the carp were using a lot of energy. From past sessions the rain has always provided me with bites so I was high in hopes the carp needed to feed.  

Evening was fast approaching so I baited the spots with the bucket of bait and cast the hook baits for the night. My dinner was cooked and the rain came down again. This was another heavy downpour followed by thunder and lightning. A phone call home to speak to the Mrs and my son got me a bit emotional. I always take him fishing and the longest I've fished for without him was 2 nights. Talking with him about school and the things he was doing after school made me realise how much I was missing father n son time. Finishing the phone call with good night, I had a quick tidy up in the bivvy and put myself into the sleeping bag. My phone received a WhatsApp message that made me smile and laugh. 

Wednesday morning came round with no action on the carp front. The weather had brightened up and the plan for the day was to all visit the next town for beers, food and chat about the trip so far. A 15 minute drive and we were parked up and looking for somewhere. We found a restaurant and entered to order beer. A lady greeted us and she had 8 anglers looking at her with stunned faces. Her attire was simply high heeled shoes and a short blue dress. On a 20, 30 or maybe even a 40yr old this would be normal. At a guess the woman behind the bar was close to 60 and her suntan was so dark that DFS could add a new colour to their brown leather range. Beer going down well and the atmosphere amongst us was lively and we needed some food. The restaurant we were sat outside had stopped serving food. And the restaurant next door had also stopped serving. In fact everywhere was closing and it was only 1pm. Heading back towards the vans and Karl asked a shop owner where we could get food. It turns out that on a Wednesday between and 1 and 5pm, the French have a siesta. Hungry and disappointed we headed back towards the lake. Driving through a small village we noticed a bar and pulled up. We all walked in asking for beer and the land lady was quickly pulling pints. After another 4 pints the land lady knew she was on to a winner and offered us omelette and pomme frites. Give that woman a medal. It wasn't long and she right footed her husband out of bed and was serving up food. Bellies fed and a couple more beers and it was time to get back to the lake. 

Driving in yet another rain storm we quickly got back to the swims to sort the rods out. By the time everyone had baited up the rain was really heavy and the thunder was back. This was the loudest thunder I had heard and seemed really low. Another epic lightning storm mixed with lake filling rain pour had everyone sat in their bivvys. Laying in my sleeping bag trying to get an early night was going to be impossible. I had the cover over my face and the lightning was so bright I could still see the flashes. My only thought now was "please don't get a bite. I don't fancy holding the fishing rod ready to get struck by lightning".

'till next time...

Carper Dee

Maiden French fishing trip...what next?

Sun breaking over the lake and news spread quickly about the previous night. Andre and Joe fishing swims 1 and 2 had received bites. 2 caught and 2 landed. Karl had caught in swim 8. A lot of smiles and all buzzing with excitement we were all awake and watching the water. Pretty much the same as the previous morning there were carp feeding and crashing through the surface. It wasn't long before bailiff Mick ventured round the lake to say good morning. Unaware of the captures he spoke to each of us individually listening to our stories and inspected the photos. After 17 years of being on the lake he knew all of the residents. Inspecting my common he said it was the biggest weight it's been caught at. Another congratulations and he left to see Fenlon. I put some breakfast on and stuck to my plan of resting the swim during the day. 10.00am I reeled in and used my throwing stick to bait up a few handfuls of boilies. Fenlon arrived in the swim and we walked round to see Andy and Karl.
The daytime was again difficult to spot the carp but the odd jump got noted down. As it was quiet and I had never been in a boat to look at a lake I chose to venture out. The sky was clear, the sun was shining and the water was so clear. Weed bed after weed bed. The spot I was fishing was roughly 12ft squared area, very clear and the gravel was easy to see. A lot of anglers concentrate on camouflarging their rigs and end tackle and after being in the boat it makes perfect sense why the attention to detail is high.

With evening approaching the bait was cast to the spots and fresh rigs were coupled with hook baits ready for action. Fenlon was preparing our dinner on the BBQ and I cast my rods to their spots hoping to build on the previous nights experience. Belly filled and Fenlon went to his swim ready for the night ahead. Not long after sun set the rain started. Thunder and lightning all around I was huddled up in the bivvy peering through the door watching an amazing electric storm. Another early night was needed and I hit the pillow.

2.30am and my bite alarm receiver was singing a 1 tone. I scrambled for my trainers and coat...the noise of the rain hitting the bivvy was loud and I was about to get soaked. I lifted the middle rod into a heavy weight. The carp had buried itself in a weed bed. Rod tip bent right over I held tight hoping for a sign the rig was still in contact. All of a sudden the carp shook it's head and sent the indication right through the line it was attached to. I walked back in the swim and the carp swam free of the weed. The heavy rain continued to flood everything and I realised I was only wearing shorts and a rain coat. I was soaked and the carp was putting up a battle. I had been playing the carp for over 30 minutes and it popped it's head out the water choosing to wave the white flag and let me win. In the net it went and I felt knackered. With the net secured I stripped my wet shorts off and slipped into my waterproof trousers. Once again I was radioing through to Andy or Karl for their help with photos. "Andy come in.....Karl come in..." Nothing!!! Deep sleepers or not wanting to get wet were my thoughts when all of a sudden I heard "Fenlon is on his way". What a legend that man is. 

In the time it took him to reel in and venture round I had the rod clipped up and fresh rig tied on. A scattering of boilies thrown out and rod recast. The rain had slowed and Fenlon entered the swim with a lot of laughter. His 1st thoughts were that I'd fallen in the lake. We lifted the sling out the water and placed in the carp cradle. The scales were zeroed and the carp was ready. A big mirror carp and I thought a mid to high 50lb. I nearly choked watching the display read 70lb 1oz. Oh my.....2nd bite and another pb. Photos taken, carp released back to its home to sulk and Fenlon walked back to his swim to recast. I fired the kettle up and got into dry clothes. What an experience I had just gone through. What other surprises will this lake throw up.

'till next time...

Carper Dee

Maiden French fishing trip...the journey

The alarm clock sounded at 4.40am and before the 3rd beep echoed in the bedroom the thing was switched off and my clothes were already on. A quick toilet visit and I was downstairs with the kettle fired up. Fenlon had arranged to be outside mine at 5.30am and if you are a close friend to this bloke, you know you got a bit of a margin verging towards 6am haha. The only things needed to go in the van were my rods, the camera and my tackle box. If there's anything to get stolen these are the 1st and most expensive items so they get loaded when we're leaving. A phone call to Fenlon at 5.31am as he was already late and I was itching to go and the only thing I heard down the speaker was "I'm on my way" and then the call was ended. A bit rude I thought but I wouldn't have my friendship with him any other way. We've grown up together over the last 23 years like this and there's no point changing now. At 6.05am the sound of a diesel engine pulling up and I was out of my chair and opening his van door loading the last bits. Now a week away from my 10year old son without saying goodbye would not have gone down well so for the 1st time ever I was shaking him to wake up to say bye and get a big cuddle. I fish a lot with him and this was definitely going to be a bit hard without him after a few days. Finally...we were on the road and me n Fenlon were definitely grinning like Cheshire cats.

 All the planning, all the talking, all the Google map looking was finally setting itself up for what we hoped to be an epic trip. We were in need of a coffee and a quick stop was all we needed as we wanted to get to the channel tunnel and get breakfast inside me. Everything was moving nicely until traffic picked up and then halted on the M3. A rolling road block from the police got me panicking about missing our train. All because someone had a blowout and rudely left it in the middle lane. All sorted and we were heading off. Arriving at the channel tunnel I was looking for any side of food and I needed a fry up.

    Breakfast down and we had met up with 4 of the other 6 anglers and before long we were on the train. 35 minutes later we were in France and had 4 1/2 hours driving in front of us. When I say we had driving what I mean is, Fenlon had driving. As much as I enjoy driving I had every excuse to get out of driving ready to fire out. And after an hour and at around 11.00am I was reaching behind my chair where I had strategically packed 3 cases of lager. Can open and me out of driving.

We made 1 stop at a service station and all needed a coffee. I had been watching a lot of Only Fools And Horses in the weeks leading up to France and my French was all schooled up so up to the counter I went where I proceeded to order "la coffee with sugar and la decaf tea with sugar". It worked...cheers Del boy. Another 2 hours and we were past Paris and steaming towards the overnight hotel. 

It was hard work watching Fenlon drive for 8 hours so we checked into the hotel and headed out for some food and drinks. I think most of the lads wanted an early night ready for day 1 at Island Lakes but the night was lively and the more we drank, the louder the djs speakers got. I think it was around 12.45am by the time we got our heads down in bed. All that was left was some shut eye. So....

'till next time...

Carper Dee

Maiden French fishing trip...big girls

Sunday morning and after a very early night I was up at 1st light. Kettle boiling and steam filling the bivvy I couldn't wait to sit by the water and watch for signs of feeding carp. It wasn't long before I spotted feeding patches and  areas the carp were. Mist rolling off the lake surface and the sun rising over the tree line and there was no other place I'd rather be right now. After a few hours of watching, the breakfast was fired up and my belly was getting filled. I had the plan to reel in about 9.30am and go see how Fenlon had got on. Neither of us had any carp through the night so I reeled  in and went for a catch up.

Fenlon and I have a way with words but walking into the swim was not a normal welcoming. Just a "hello boy" was my greeting and I knew he was not happy in this location. Swim 10 was a big bay more like a cul-de-sac where the fish may enter to get away from any pressure. Swim 11 was a single rod water and very weedy. Fenlon was already reeled in and mentioned the reed line in swim 13. We walked the track and upon entering the swim noticed there was a big weed patch in the right-hand margin with a 3ft wide hole in the middle After a matter of minutes this huge common swam through. We both stood and watched in amazement and decision made... we're moving his swim. It didn't take long to grab his rods and pod and off I went. An hour later and after picking up his bivvy and running like a mad man, swims were changed and I was hungry again. I had made the decision not to have my rods in the water during the day and to bait up with around 100 boilies each hour. Throughout the day there wasn't many signs of fish so locating their daily routes was being tricky to work out but any signs were jotted in my book. Around 3pm I visited Fenlon who was once again all setup and looking a lot happier in his new swim. Being a little distance away now we organised with Andy and Karl that 1 of them would be able to come round and help us with photos if we had the chance of a carp. 5.00pm and I was baiting up with 3kgs of crushed, crumbed and whole boilie. After watching the water for a while I was getting an early night again.
Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep the left hand rod melted off and I was chucking my trainers on. My Nash titan has a capsule that zips from top to bottom. Note to self: undo zip to the bottom not 13" from the bottom. 1 foot caught and I was holding my nails and chin in the air like a female and I hit the gravel. Without thinking I was back on my feet and picking the rod up. I was in and shaking with adrenaline. Head torch on and a face full of moths, mozzies and everything else attracted to bright lights, I searched for where the carp was heading me. Head torch off so the bugs would do 1 I could hear carp jumping in the background. The moon was high and the sky was clear and I couldn't believe the sight. Then at around 35-40yards the roll of thee most colossal sized common. Ho lee *** I shouted and my knees were shaking. The thought of losing this water pig would destroy me. Luckily this carp was chilled and the last 20yards didn't fight me. " Get in the net, get in the net (in the words of Danny Fairbrass) COM'ONNNN". Oh my god I could not believe what had just happened. I just stood looking in the net not knowing what to do with myself.

Grabbing the radio I called out to Andy and Karl. And again. And again!!! Not wanting Fenlon to reel in and miss an opportunity of a lifetime I radioed through for his help. The reply was "already got 2 rods in son" and round he came. It was at this moment that I realised how much my wrist was hurting from falling out of the bivvy. I was in a lot of pain but nothing could beat what was in the sling. Fenlon helped lift 1 end and just looked at me saying "woah". I unzipped to a very long common. Hook out and with the scales zeroed we both lifted the sling on and watched the scales quickly shoot all the way round to 69lb and 4oz!!!! Another burst of shouting and the camera was ready. I couldn't believe it and I had the best company to share this moment.

Fenlon said he wasn't going to recast but I made sure he did and after somehow falling asleep the walkie talkie sounded "Andy, Dion come in.... I've got a carp in the net". I was searching for my trainers when I heard a lot of rain drops on the bivvy to realise I had my waterproofs in Fenlon's van. Reeling in muttering my name's Fenlon and I only catch in the rain I heard "Fenlon always catches in the rain"...yeah don't you just. When entering his swim with the camera, the sight of a 6ft 3" 18stone man wearing red pants and crocs was 1 very laugh a lot moment that my eyes can not un-see. Once he was dressed we lifted the sling out the water and on to the mat to unzip a thick mirror carp. The words I hope it's a 30lb had me starring at Fenlon saying "do you want an Andy Murray" whilst showing him the back of my hand. We zeroed the scales and lifted and once again watched them race through numbers. 59lb 1oz. Wow!! What a night and it was only the 2nd night in.

'till next time...

Carper Dee

Maiden French fishing trip...arrival and setting up

After the previous nights food and drinks whilst getting to know each other I woke up in a strange room on a bed that was harder than dry weetabix feeling a bit sorry for myself. The alcohol was definitely punishing me and I did not feel fresh. Well...for under a minute until I got all excited remembering why I was here. With a dead phone battery and no clock in the room I had no idea what the time was but there was daylight creeping through the 1980's styled curtains so in the shower I jumped. This was like a toilet cubicle that had been borrowed from a Motts travel coach and there was little room. So little room in fact that as I turned round to wash my face and chest I experienced instant burning as my gentleman morning problem moved the water temperature from warm to 10 on the heat factor. Sun burn over I left the room and headed downstairs for breakfast. I was greeted by a very happy French lady who's face looked like I'd kept her up all night with my alcohol fuelled snoring. Then I entered the breakfast area....haha some bad headed anglers holding their heads drinking many coffees. A bit of food and we headed off.
After a quick stop at a supermarket to stock up on bottled water we were lake bound. The scenery itself was amazing and all around there was lakes. After 20 minutes and a few wrong turns we arrived. Finally we were here and myself and Fenlon couldn't wait to get walking round. Bailiff Mick came down to greet us. Andy, who organised our trip, had a small catch-up with Mick and introduced us all. Mick gave us the heads up on recent catches and let us do a lap of the lake. This was it, the time was here and we were exploring. The lake has 14 swims and allows 8 anglers at a time. 4 swims were doubles and each swim or double swim had a hut with English plug sockets and also fridge freezers. Perfect for keeping the bait fresh over the week.
After an hour of walking and viewing all swims we met back with Mick. He explained the rules and gave us tips on rigs etc. We had all chosen swims and off we headed. I chose swim 12 which had a bay to my right and open water to my left. Fenlon chose swims 10 and 11 directly behind me. We agreed to help each other at all times. When walking the lake I noticed feeding bubbles under a tree and hoped nobody else see it. But the carp had other ideas of my secret and belted out the water thinking it was flipper the dolphin...cheers mate.

Not that I enjoy rushing things but after that show I couldn't spend the time to get comfortable..... 1 rod quickly setup with a Ronnie rig and a washed out homemade fruity popup and chucked out. Hoping I could feel the lead hit the lake bed rather than cast into weed I stopped the line reeling off and held...bang! Solid landing and that was me chancing a quick bite. I got the bivvy set up and bait in the freezer and got everything sorted out and then set up the other rods. Mick came into the swim and gave me a few spots to aim for. He said to get out in the boat and use H-block markers to mark each spot. I've never had the opportunity to use a boat and I don't actually own any H-block markers so I stuck to my guns and started casting around with the marker rod. I get a lot of stick for my little blue book but I have used this since I started fishing. I write down everything from baits used to number of yards fished at to horizon markers to aim for. After 6 hours with the marker rod I had built up a good idea of the swim.

At 68 yards there was a gravel bar surrounded by thick weed. 10ft deep either side of a clear spot and 7ft on top I chose to put 2 rods on here. 1 would be fished a snowman rig and the other a Ronnie rig. The 3rd rod was to be fished into the bay on my right. 2 kilos of boilies scattered over the 2 spots and I was set for the night. A big dinner and an early night was on the agenda and day was 1 was reaching a close.

'till next time...

Carper Dee

Maiden French fishing trip...the planning

The thought of fishing France is on every carp anglers mind. I have a number of friends that have fished for years and made many trips across the channel to France for that special chance of catching a whopper. From the minute I found myself enjoying the hunt for carp I made a pact with myself to take my time and learn and perfect each stage to catching carp. From tying and understanding rigs to water craft. I was once asked by an angler on Linear's St John's why I had spent 2 days on Brasenose 1. My answer was simple, I am taking the path of carp fishing at a marathon pace not a sprint. He said I had the right mindset and shook my hand. I had been offered the French holiday trip but always declined the offer due to not being ready for it.
Fast forward to April 2017 and the puzzle pieces were fitting together and something in my mind clicked....let's do this French fishing. As many of you know there are hundreds and thousands of lakes to fish. Apart from the familiar "commercial" trips and advertised lakes that are fished on the many free dvds, I have no idea where to start with finding lakes in France. To get the Ice broken I had the idea of Dream Lakes. As a package deal it's ideal for the 1st time trip. A phone call to my good friend Fenlon and the planning started. However, 24hours later and a spanner thrown in the works. A mention of the trip between Fenlon and his boss and a bad experience had put a downer with Fenlon. Then the trip to a lake with his boss and 5 others was put on the table. We had the opportunity to a lake known as Island Lakes, 70 miles south of Paris. With very little information about the lake and it's residents and I agreed to put my name down for a space alongside Fenlon. This was it....the dream was a reality and my name was down for a fishing holiday. 1st hurdle passed, let the planning begin.
There was many, many conversations between myself and Fennlon over the next 14 months before the trip. Everything from what bait we should use to tactics and even food for us to take. The planning of a fishing session is something I take a lot of pride in and quite enjoy. Tying rigs, looking at the weather, getting to the local tackle shop I enjoy all of that. That is usually a week or 2 before I head out. But this was 14 months of looking at catch reports, saving for bait, writing many shopping lists of food I would need to survive on. It went so fast that before we realised there was 5 weeks to go.
Bait ordered and food was being bought and frozen for me to feed on. We both decided that we would buy the same bait and if we ended up in a double swim we would help each other and basically create 1 big feeding spot. So a trip to Blakes bait near Benson and 50kg of nutmix maple boilies was on order. This was then topped up by 10kg of boilie ends. These 5kg bags of mixed sizes and flavours of boilie are a great addition as the carp get distracted by the same colour and size of boilie....at least they do in my mind.
Rig wise I don't use the newest thing going and have an array of multiple choice of rigs. I use 3 rigs depending on the situation. The multi rig, Ronnie rig and my go to (and most productive rig) the snowman. As watercraft has made quite an impact on my fishing over the last few years I wanted to tie a few rigs so I could spend as much time watching the water when we were in France. So with that in mind I spent 2 nights and a saturday tying rigs. 30 snowman rigs tied all with a long hair and a boom section of 7 inches. 15 multi rigs were next tied and then 25 Ronnie rigs were created but leaving the boom section longer than normal. I had been using the Ronnie rig for 18months now and found the boom length works at shorter or longer lengths depending on the lake bed I was fishing over.
The night of May 30th was very long and the catching up on sleep was little. I had finished work at 5.30pm and travelled home. That night was spent packing my clothing bag. Thursday 31st May and I was like a kid on on Christmas Eve. Fenlon was knocking on my door and we were in the van Blake's bound. The collection of 60kg boilies was made. We were chatting to the staff and Tim knew of Island Lakes. He prewarned us that this lake is hard. And as a 1st trip to France he was doubtful of our chances. This didn't put a downer on the situation because I stated that as long as I learned new tricks I would be happy. A quick trip to Asda and the last of the food was bought.  The short trip home and we we packing the van. We both agreed that we would get an early night as Fenlon would be picking me up at 5.30am. Preparation done....now time for france.

Till next time...

Carper Dee

6 years in...time for a pb

It was October half term and I had booked 3 days off work. Weeks of planning and the time had finally arrived. My 9yr old son and I had 3 nights planned on the syndicate lake. The car was loaded the night before. All that was left was sleep and a trip to Asda in the morning to grab food and drink. After waking up to a big rain shower we decided to leave later than planned. Looking at the weather app, the syndicate appeared to be kinder on the weather front. Shoes on, rod bag n camera in the car and the adventure was road rolling. 

Arriving at the lake we were both expecting a few anglers...to my joy (and amazement) I had 10 acres of empty lake. I am guessing this was like picking out the number 1 from a hat and getting 1st choice of swim....get it wrong and you're the fool. So armed with the knowledge I had built up over 6 months of fishing the syndicate, on went the water proofs and the wellies and off I trotted. It was clear there was a pack of carp milling around in the car park swim so a bucket down to save the swim and I ventured round to the lilly pads. As a safe zone during spring summer and autumn I was expecting a lot of movement. The rain started coming down and signs of fish had disappeared. Back to the car for a dry seat until the heavens had drained.

It wasn't long and the rain stopped. Back into the car park swim and the carp were back and with tails in the air, they were munching on the last anglers bait. I'm not 1 for jumping in the nearest swim to the carpark for ease of distance but when the carp are there you can't say no. So for comfort reasons the bivvy was setup and the bedchairs in. Once again the rain started to fall. Inside the tempory home was dry so nothing else mattered. Buzz bars out, rods set up and leads attached, I tied some fresh baits on to rigs which had been tied the previous week. Carp in and around the area I decided to fish just 2 rods for a while. Either side of the feeding pack the leads went down and the wait and watch started. A couple of bleeps from the right hand rod was all the action I had in the 1st couple of hours. The carp had gone so time for a fresh hook bait and a couple of handful of boilies was the plan. 2 traps set closer to where the carp had been feeding and around 100 boilies around the area. 

It wasn't long until the right-hand bobbing pulled up and my ATT was singing a flatline. The lake is very silty and autumn was well underway and it was apparent that there was debris in the margin. Luckily enough the carp came in ok but once the carp was released I would need to wade in and clear a pathway. Carp in the net, sling camera and my son at the ready, I lifted the retention sling to the carp cradle. Upon lifting the weigh sling I thought this was a decent weight!! 27lb 1oz of old mirror carp....my biggest capture from the silty lake. After some photos and a safe return, a fresh hook bait was cast back out and the waders were on...carp path created. Jheeezz what a smell.

It was nearing 8pm. My son and I had eaten bacon cheeseburgers and was ready to get in the sleeping bags. We always have a laugh when we go fishing so a bit of father n son time was closing in. The traps were set and the middle rod tightened and single bleeps were heard from the receiver. Bream on!! Bream back in the water and new rig and bait cast back to the spot. It was then that I noticed the red light on my left alarm was flickering. Change of battery with a loose clutch on the reel and my ATT was good as new. Good timing too because as I turned my back and took 2 steps towards the bivvy, the bobbing smashed into the alarm and the screaming 1 tone was a good sign this weren't a bream. A slow plodding water pig was attached and had no intention of fighting me until under the rod tip. It was not long and a carp's head came out of the water. This was a decent carp!! Net in the water and the fish lifted over the cord. As the massive belly lifted in, she flicked her rudder up to reveal the top was missing....I had the biggest carp in the lake!! Lady Cut tail in all her glory. I was straight on the phone to my good friend Adam Fenlon. We joined the syndicate together and I wanted to share the experience with him. 25 minutes later and he had his girlfriend were greeting me with beer and a hug. 

A new pb at 38lb 9oz and I got to share to whole experience with my son. That's 1 thing money can't buy, memories. 

2 more bream and a 16lb mirror and we were homebound.

'till next time...

Carper Dee

A bit about me

Hello and welcome to my page.

I am a keen carp angler and have been since 2011. My stepson Jordan asked for a lift 1 day to a local lake and I kindly agreed. Armed with a day licence, a carbon stick with 2 different coloured tips, a pint of red maggots (14yr olds say these are the best to use) and a packet of sausages to cook, we were on our way. 5 Rudd, 2 perch and a netfull of roach later and the pun was set.....I was clearly hooked. Fast forward 6 years and I was all kitted up with the best quality carp gear my budget stretches too and in the back of the net was lying a 38lb 9oz on mirror carp. The biggest in the lake. Who'd have thought it.....an adrenaline junkie who loves rollerblading streets and skate parks taking up fishing. A sport that has you looking at the sun glazed water wondering what lies beneath the surface to being hunched up in a sleeping bag in the middle of a cold and frosty winter.
I have started this blog page as a diary of fishing trips and sessions for myself to read back over. As an open person with a good group of friends around me, I like to share my stories with all and this is my way of passing on my stories and experiences to a wider audience.

I hope you enjoy and I would be very grateful for any comments left

'till next time...

Carper Dee