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Head up on him a touch Kev
Big smile boys
Hi I'm Kevin Nash
and I'm Alan Blair
It's coming to the end of our year on the big pit and we have had some right good results haven't we Kev?
We have
It's been brilliant
It all come good in the end
Anyway enough of us sit back and enjoy Nash 2014
Where there's plenty more beautiful fish to be seen
I went into work this morning and the weather wasn't looking that good
I watch it every day I've just been waiting for summer to start "KEVIN AND ALAN - ZIGS AND FLOATERS"
I love hunting and stalking and surface fishing thats my thing
I looked out of the office at midday and it was warmer than they predicted
The wind is a bit light but its a good chance to fish the Riser and hunt them which is what me and Alan love doing best
I spoke to him about his workload and my workload and we've pulled a stroke
We've taken 3 or 4 hours off to come over to this club lake and we're going to work this evening
The plan is simple we are going to fish as a team
The best way to fish Riser Pellet is to get upwind and keep pulting it in
A steady stream drifting down so thats what I'm doing
But of course the fish are going to be down the bottom of the drift taking it off the surface
So I'm going to fish from this end with zigs
One a foot below and I might bring one up to the surface as well
with a Riser imitation but I'll tell you about that in a minute
I want to get the rods out because these carp are beginning to trough
I honestly believe the Riser Pellet is the most lethal bait in carp fishing
On its day of course
Its got to be a day when the fish will come up in the surface layers or to the top
They don't necessarily have to be on the top and thats the point of using the Zig Bugs
The Riser Pellet attracts them up to the top
If there is a cold chill on the surface they may not come up and actually take off the surface
But you will certainly nail them on the zigs underneath
They are really beginning to show and Alan down the other end
I wouldn't be at all surprised if he starts picking them up on the controller off the surface
A zig doesn't necessarily have to be fished midwater
I've put one 9 inches below the surface and one actually in the surface film
The Zig Bug I'm fishing 9 inches below the surface thats a louse
I have to say its my favourite pattern I've caught so many carp on it
I'm sure I would have caught them on the other Zig Bugs but you just get confident in something and so you use it a lot don't you
The one on the surface I think I mentioned is a Riser Pellet imitation
That is lethal
Alan has been using it a lot with the controllers on the surface but there is no reason why you can't use it with a zig rig as well
Both are flavoured
Beetle juice on my louse and Shrimp juice on the Riser Pellet one
Set-up wise there is an awful amount of blanket weed in here clogging up the leads and everything
So I want to discharge the lead
I don't want a lead stuck nine feet below my hook link so I'm using Weed Safety Bolt Beads
That's an example of how effective this method is
That rod has literally been out for 3 or 4 minutes and do you know what
It could be a reasonable fish
Did I just hear a take?
Yeah you did Al
I only cast it out 3 or 4 minutes ago
Oh this is just such an amazing method isn't it?
How are you doing down there?
There's a lot of fish about but they are a bit finicky at the moment but yeah that drift is working really well Kev
What I've noticed is that you have lots of fish quickly coming up the drift and feeding closer to you than right at the bottom of it
Yeah that's because I'm trying to keep them away from you
I'm so good at feeding Riser Pellet I watch them and if they start drifting towards you I just stop feeding
Sounds like I'm going to have to get some floaters out
Get a bigger controller and cast it up this end
If this lake seems slightly familiar this is the club lake we showed in the Zig feature last year
The first time I ever fished it and I had the lakes big common
and this is the first time I have been back since
and there's also a big mirror in here that has gone to 40lb
Wouldn't that be bizarre if lucky Nashy got the big mirror
I take Alan fishing with me becuase he's my pest controller
I let him catch all the little ones and I just catch the big one
I don't mind though mate I love a bend in the rod
I asked him once 'What woould you rather have, a 50 pounder or 10 good 20's?' He said said 10 good 20's
So we are a great team
So there's a tip for you veterans find a young lad who can carry all your tackle for you
you catch the big one and he keeps the little ones off you
I'll tell you what this things fighting I'm going to shut up now
I'm beginning to shake and get nervous
and that's the wonderful thing after 40 years
It's certainly kicking up plenty of swirls
They are still taking it's crazy
Really got them going
I'll tell you what Alan this isn't going to be over for a minute or two do us a favour get some more riser out there keep them feeding
You know the score you've got to keep them feeding
Proper team fishing this
GUTTED!
I lost it
That was a good fish
Well they are still toughing so hooking that fish didn't spook them
I've got the rods back out now
I might look ok but I can tell you I am absolutely gutted
That was a really good fish
a really good fish
ALAN I'M IN AGAIN MATE
I can't stress enough how lethal this approach is I have been fishing half an hour
You've seen me lose an absolute chunk and already I'm into another fish
and let's make no mistake this lake is not the hardest in the world but...
You're not messing about!
Equally it's not the easiest either
The guy who left as we were arriving he had done 3 days and blanked
I am not tying to say look at me the big 'I am' I am just trying to put across that this method is so effective
This fish is not as big as that other one I can tell you that now
It's a nice one
Is it?
Mmm
Alan just told me it was a nice one
Yeah it's pretty
Pretty oh it's not big
Does it matter that they are not massive?
Well...if they're pretty and massive then that's perfect
Otherwise I will go for pretty
Well I was happy to get that one in after losing the other one thanks Al
Well done mate
What a cracking old warrior not a bad consolation for that chunk I lost before hey?
I'm pleased with this one shall we see the other side?
A quick photo of the other side and we'll put her back
You can go and eat another Zig Bug
Enough Mr. Camera Man?
A touch under 25lb
A touch under 25 I'm being told I didn't expect it to be that heavy
Must be eating more spinach these days
Well Kev's had a couple of bites already
but that pellet has drifted far enough down that its stopped here
The wind has really died off
and I've just hooked my first fish on a little Bolt Machine probably about 40 yards out towards the middle of the lake
You know as Kev said he likes catching the big ones but for me you can't beat this
Drifting a bit of Riser and some floaters across the lake watching those backs break the surface of the water
and when it comes up and takes and hooking one...I love it it's brilliant
Excellent love it
So first fish of the session for me taken using the Bolt Machine and its absolutely engulfed the hook bait
It just goes to show that when you do get them feeding confidently you can get some really good hook holds when surface fishing
This one is nailed it has taken it right back
What I am using here is a little Floater Bug
and this one actually imitates a dog biscuit
So in with my bucket of Riser Pellet I've mixed in some floating pellets some dog biscuits and a bit of Zig Juice for added oil and flavour
Like I said this one has taken it right back
I'll just pop that out and there it is
So you have a lovely colour to imitate a Pedigree Chum mixer and mounted underneath that you have a size 8 Uni hook
Its a great way of catching a few fish
Just had another one
A pretty little ghost mirror
that's now 3 in an hour
Well I've managed to sneak another couple out while Win and Oli have been up there filming Kev
The wind has almost stopped now and the Riser Pellet has ended up in this part of the lake
There are quite a few fish down here mopping up the last bit of the drift I don't think we are going to hang around for much longer
Its been a great afternoon Kevs had a few bites Ive had a few bites its just been good fun
When you are catching fish as pretty as this it doesn't get a lot better
I've got another one in the net
It was a bit hectic I was just laying both rods on the floor and I looked round and the clutch was going
I leant into the fish and while I was playing this one the other rod went off and I've managed to get them both in the net
and there is the second part of a quick brace
Another absolutely gorgeous carp
It can be such a productive way of floater fishing laying a couple of rods on the floor
and that is the beauty of the Bolt Machines it allows you to fish more than one rod and keep the feed going in
Nice fish
I'm going to get this slipped back then I'll show you these Bolt Machines
What a lovely little carp
Before I get this cast back out I'll quickly show you the Bolt Machine and the setup I'm using
Its very simple there are three sizes in the range
A small cute one for close range work and intimate fishing
There is the medium size
and the there is the daddy to get you right out to the middle of the lake to those areas where it is unlikely that it has been floater fished before
They are simple to set up you just slide the plastic tube and body down your main line and tie a swivel on
The swivel then plugs into the grommet at the bottom
Very very simple
They have been designed in such a way that you can interchange them it allows me to take the body off
and put a lighter or a heavier one on depending on where I want to get to
On top of the Bolt Machine there is a foam cylinder
A great tip here is you can actually soak those in flavour or oil I've got a number soaked up ready to go here which means before I recast
I can quickly drop another one in and get it out on the spot
It does two things firstly it can put a flat spot on the area this allows you to see your setup better
if you want to actually watch the fish taking the bait
and secondly its putting a load more attraction into the swim
It's other purpose is as a sight aid if you want to watch your float out there you can put a black one one or an orange one in
It really depends on the light levels and what is easiest for you to see
To finish my rig off I've got a nice long hook link here
It really depends on how the fish are feeding some people like it very short
I personally prefer to fish it at least a metre long just to keep that hook bait away from the Bolt Machine
I'm using Zig Flo line that sits nicely on top of the water
and finally my hook bait
hook bait choice is really up to you
Kev has been drifting Riser down so on one rod I have got the imitation Riser Pellet hook bait
This is an imitation dog biscuit but really you can use anything
A pop-up a marshmallow you can hair rig a dog biscuit if you like the choices are endless
I'm going to get this rod back out and see if we can catch one more fish before we go
and here is the end of our quick afternoon session
A final beautiful little carp
It's been a great afternoon
Get out there and give it a go yourself find a mate who is up for it
Get out there with a bucket of Riser Pellet and get it drifting down the lake
ERGONOMIC
VERSATILE
RUGGED
TRAX - GO ANYWHERE
I'm here today to show you our awesome new range of Airframe Sleep Systems for 2014
The last couple of years saw us really focus our attention on how we could deliver a product that not only worked exceptionally well
in the colder months but all year round
I feel that we have really delivered a range now that will see you right through all the seasons of the year
I'm going to start off by talking about the frame
Obviously the frame in any bed is really important it's what is supporting everything
A lot of attention is paid to the design of ours to ensure that it stands the test of time
We use full oval bars all the way round which ensures it is strong and rigid and doesn't flex when in use
The hand wheels are gone and we now have these big double hinges at the head and foot section
Not only does it take away some of the bulk and the weight by not having the hand wheels there any more
it allows you to fold the whole bed up really compact and flat
It sits brilliantly on the barrow
The beds now lay completely flat
If you do want to incline it simply adjust the leg mechanism on the head section and you can adjust to to whatever height you want
to give you the comfortable nights sleep you require
Moving up from the frame you have the mattress
Interestingly about three years ago we changed our mattress design
We have now got a patented system using a mesh base and this does a couple of really important things
First of all in the summer months because of the mesh it eliminates any moisture and damp underneath which is generally just un-hygienic
As well as that it allows the maximum amount of airflow
It also reduces the weight making the overall bed chair a little bit lighter
On top of this mesh base we fix on a luxurious mattress and this features high density foam
Importantly on top of that there is a deep pile Holofil topper making it so soft and nice to touch
The whole thing is covered in a cotton type fabric that makes for a comfortable nights sleep
Its a Sleep System product which means its got two duvet layers fixed all the way round the skirt
Again a patented system and it allows you to customise the layering to the time of year you are fishing and the conditions that you are fishing in
This year we added a development that we put onto our sleeping bags last year and thats is the climate control baffles that run all the way down the full length of your body
It basically works on the same principle as the mountaineering style bags
These are narrow in design meaning that when you get into them instantly you are warming up that little void around you
Unlike a conventional carp fishing sleeping bag which is very large
When someone like myself gets in it I have these huge voids that I have to warm up before I'm actually warm
As I mentioned it is two layers so you can zip an additional layer on for when it gets really cold
However when it isn't so cold in the summer months you can detach that and you can keep it safely at home until you need it when it gets cold again
There are a few bolt-ons for this years range that really make them a year round product
First up is the Airshield Underlay Blanket
You can remove the main mattress and lay it underneath it fits in place where the velcro tabs are securely to the mesh base
You can then replace your main mattress on top of it and in the winter months it adds an addition layer of insulation to your Sleep System
It also doubles up as a brilliant summer blanket
We have a range of pillows
The final product is the Airshroud
Its 100 percent waterproof PU coated with a Hydrostatic head of 10000 meaning that you can do nights under the stars with no issues at all
and when you are fishing under single skinned shelters or under an umbrella in damp weather you are not going to get cold and damp yourself in the under layers
If you flip the Airshroud over and look at the underside its got another layer of Holofil and a layer of the peach skin fabric
I've slept on that light mattress with the lightweight Airshroud over me
Its meant that I can pack up and everything is compact and light for the time of year when I am fishing most actively and I'm getting up early and moving swims
Another point I've got to mention about the Airshroud
A cool but practical element is these two little eyelets in the corner you can take a 48 inch storm pole and add a U rest onto it
jack up the side that you are looking out of and spend a pleasant night under the stars
If you are out in the depths of winter you can load it all the way up and be extremely warm
However if you are fishing and active through the summer and you want a comfortable nights sleep strip it all back
Leave some layers at home sleep on the blanket just use the shroud customise it to your own requirements
There are five models in the range
The SS3 and the SS3 Wide that is the short legged version
Then you have the SS4 and the SS4 Wide with the longer legs
and finally the big beast the Emperor
There really is something for everyone in the Sleep System range
Well worth checking out guys and if you get the opportunity jump inside just to see how comfortable and cosy they really are
Alfie Russell - Park Life
Hi I'm Alfie you join me here today on one of my local London park lakes
As you can see its a beautiful day
I've had a little walk around already and I've just seen some fish behind this hedge
so I'm going to set up a rod and see if I can nick a quick bite before I have another walk around
Right thats one rig in position now
I was a bit hesitant when I put it out because there is actually quite a number of fish down there now and the bottom is stirred up
There is the odd bubble popping up to the surface so if one of them is hungry for that little pop-up
we should be in with a chance of nicking a fish quickly
So I'm going to see how it goes for now
I can see my hook bait so I'm going to watch it and see if a shadow comes over it and picks it up
Well I got that rod out
Just plopped it a couple of feet from edge where I saw some fish
I'm looking now and a few of them have moved further down the bank so yeah I think I'm going to set up another rod
Maybe I'll try a different bait on it this time a little boilie or a little piece of fake corn
Rain rain it's raining
Well that's the set up I'm going to be using
Two grains of Mutant corn just weighted with a split shot on a KD style rig
Size 8 Fang X
and a little bag of Instant Action pellet and some fishmeal ground bait
and 1.5 ounce drop-off lead
Well it looks like after that shower we had the fish have been pushed a little bit further out than my margins
so I think I'm going to reel the rods in and go for a little stalk
As you can see when I've retrieved this rig there's loads of silkweed and dead leaves round the hook
That's why I opted for the light lead and longer hook link with the two bits of balanced corn
Just so it sits and settles on any old rubbish lying on the lakebed
I've just had a little walk and I've come to the other end of the lake I'm just in a little stalking hole now
Where the sun isn't high enough I can't quite see any movement or fish in the edge but there are a couple out there sunning themselves
I'm going to walk up a bit further and see if I can see anything but so far its looking like there are a few fish in the area
I'm going to trickle a bit of bait in this edge and then come and check it in an hour or so
See if any fish have visited the spot and hopefully by then the sun will have moved and be on this spot and we can see clearly what's been going on
There are quite a few fish cruising around so I think its looking good I'll just drop baits in the edge where they have been fizzing and see if we can nick a bite
There are still fish in then area I managed to get rigs in without spooking them
and there are still a couple feeding but they have pushed out just that little bit more
When I got here I quickly dropped singles on them as they were feeding the two grains of corn and the little pop-up
I've just tied up a little bag and I think that extra bit of scent might draw one closer to the hook bait
They are grubbing on some of the naturals and sieving through the silt
They are gaining something from it otherwise they wouldn't be eating it but hopefully that little mouthful will be a bit more attractive to them
One just rolled out there again
Lets get it out there
Well I've been sat here for about an hour now I was fishing single hook baits just dropping them in front of feeding fish but that didn't induce a bite
I thought I'd throw a couple of handfuls of pellet and hook a little bag on and as soon as the pellet went in the fish came into the swim and started grubbing about and fizzing
I still haven't had a bite yet I don't know why
I've been sitting on my hands but I've just re-baited the swim as they were bubbling and fizzing for an hour and I think its looking good
The sun has gone down a bit the temperature has dropped by a degree or two so its just a matter of time
Perfect
What can I say it was just a matter of time
After a little while fish came back over the spot after that fresh baiting and its ripped off
Well there's the proof a beautiful old park lake common I caught it in the edge on two pieces of Mutant sweetcorn
Lovely old fish
There is just something about these park lake fish that no other fish have
every fish has its own character and looks like its got its own story
Beautiful
That little angry common has beaten up my rig slightly so I've just got a new one out and I'm going to tie it on
I nailed it on the two pieces of Mutant corn the lead ejected safely so the setup worked a treat
I'm going to get it out there while there is are still fish milling about and see if we can nick another one quickly
Well after catching that little common from the opposite bank I've come for a walk
After catching it I didn't see another fish no movement no bubbles nothing I haven't seen anything round here either
The light levels have dropped massively so seeing them is quite hard I can hear thunder in the distance
so I'm going to do a very quick lap of the lake and see if I can get settled down for the night
Well I was planning on staying for the night but the rain is torrential and it looks like its set in until the morning
I'm going to call it a day
but you never know there's always tomorrow
We were first placed on this planet as hunters
Thousands of years of so-called civilization has tempered that basic genetic trait
but for some of us the desire to hunt still burns inside
and hunting is the ethos of Kevin Nash’s carp fishing approach
Rather than camping out in ambush, hoping that a fish may come along he takes the more certain and mostly speedier alternative of seeking out his quarry
With the hunter awakened you become aware of your surroundings and in tune with nature
stealth and concealment become instinctive and the ability to cover ground easily without fatigue essential
Rods and luggage have been made smaller with no detrimental effect in fact it has brought about huge benefits
Scope has kicked off a tackle revolution as more and more anglers ‘get’ the fact that 9ft and 10ft rods aren’t just for stalking
You can do virtually everything with a 9ft rod that you can do with a 12 or 13-footer and in many cases you can do it a lot better!
The Scope ethos of mobility and compact equipment is now our focus for future developments
Sometimes you get stuck in a rut and can’t see the wood for the trees.
Kevin realised that this happened with carp rods over the years
as we sought the extreme distance that we rarely need to achieve
He recognised not only the advantage, but also the pleasure of downsizing back in the 90s
when a 9ft stalking rod of his was swapped for three of the same – but not as stalkers as fishing rods 4oz bolt rigs with PVA bags
He found it so much easier to make the necessary precision cast under far margin trees and playing fish was a dream
Kevin just felt so much more in control and was quite surprised at how far he could chuck them
The furthest cast he needed was 120 yards or so and he was doing that with his 9-footers with ease
So quite why he got his 12 footers out again is anyones guess
A couple of years ago while undertaking the challenge of a new water which was a wilderness of some three miles around
and struggling through bramble reeds and rush memories of the 9-footers came back
The ‘eureka’ moment of retracting the butt came to him as the obvious answer and so Scope was born
Now Kevin had the cutest of rod skins and he could float through the undergrowth above quiver and rod-skin-grabbing thorns
The performance of the rod is one thing but the package length and the ability to miniaturise your gear is a revelation
Now you don’t need an estate car or a van for all your kit or a barrow to transport it and you needn’t worry about theft either
Scope can hide in the boot of your car safe from prying eyes and ready to use on the slightest whim
With the size of your gear minimised everything is so much easier and time can be optimised by moving around following the carp or even taking advantage of a lunch break
Sitting by a park lake eating your sandwich and spotted a fish feeding?
Just get a Scope out and catch it!
Scope is not only the preference of the serious carp angler
but also of anglers fishing around the world for species as diverse as bass catfish and sharks
Scope is a lifestyle
Kevin had been testing a 4.5lb Scope originally with spodding in mind but then he made another discovery the sensitivity felt through it was immense
This rod is a big step forward in feature finding for the simple reason that the transmission through a 12ft rod is dampened considerably
whereas with a 9ft, 4.5lb Scope it’s amazing how much more you can feel
We predict that this will be the trend for the future of marker rods and it also makes a great heavy-duty fishing rod for such species as pike and catfish
If you’re a globetrotter a Scope offers you a package short enough to travel
but without the disadvantages of loss of performance that you would experience with telescopic or multi-joint travel rods
We are enhancing this philosophy with the launch of a 6ft Scope that measures a diminutive 29” when retracted
For a day or evening on the move we are especially proud of the new Scope Backpack
designed and thoroughly tested by Kevin Nash with the nomadic angler in mind
The special lightweight aluminium frame ensures that the pack clears your back giving you full support and ventilation
Anglers understand that Scope rods aren’t just short-range tools they are equally as effective at distance
so we are delighted to announce the addition of our 1 and 2-Rod Scope Big Pit Rod Skins
Finally we turned our attention to bivvies and now the session angler can extend the compact Scope ethos to his shelter
The S-Pod is lightweight and ultra-compact. It is micro in size but easily roomy enough to accommodate the focussed angler and his kit
It provides all-weather protection and rapid breakdown
to move quickly and hunt
Scope - for the future
Hello my name is Carl Smith
and my name is Alex
We have been fishing for around seven years now and since we started we have just really loved it
Sorry I wasn't expecting you to stop there
Hello my name is Carl Smith
and my name is Alex
We have been fishing around seven years and since we started we have just loved it
CARL AND ALEX - GO FISHING
When we started our parents had never fished but they took us to the local lakes
We fished for roach on the float and that sort of thing and gradually we taught ourselves simple methods
and more recently we have progressed to carp fishing
We started filming our sessions about four years ago with a little Handycam
and Alex you decided that we were going to put them up on Youtube
Yeah we wanted to share our experiences and our adventures from our sessions on the bank or on the river
So yeah we are in a privileged position today because the Nash cameras are here with us
so the pressure is off in terms of filming but the pressure is on in terms of us going to catch a carp
so I think that is what we should do
Yeah definitely
Lets do it
We are off to Tanyard fishery
Its our local commercial fishery and some of the lakes there are stunning
We have arrived at Tanyard and we have chosen to fish Specimen lake 1
Mainly because its got some stunners in here
There are seven lakes here and we have had a few haven't we Carl?
Well in the past we have done a bit of stalking down here
I had a really nice 23lb mirror recently I was really happy with that
but that is a bit above the average size for this place
I'm expecting a few pretty scaly smaller carp
The sun is blazing down on us today and I think stalking is going to be the way during the day
Yeah
Shall we bait up some spots for the night?
Yeah I think we will bait up some spots for this evening and tonight when they go down on the bottom
but for now I think stalking is the way forward
Anyway lets get our stuff and get set up
Lets get fishing
Right so we have set up the bivvy now and we were thinking about putting out some bottom bait rods
but if I'm honest we have seen so many moving round near the surface I just can't imagine them feeding hard in this weather on the bottom
so we are going to go stalking
I've just got my 9 foot Dwarf rod a little reel filled with 10lb line
and on the end I've tied on a size 8 Gaper hook
Nice and wide gape and I'd say that is going to be perfect for popping on three little grains of corn
To make them sink a bit slower squeeze them out a little bit that will allow it to flutter down through the water as it sinks
and give me more time to tempt that carp as it drifts down in front of its face
Squeeze out that last grain
Hook it on and thats it
I'll just go around dropping that in front of fish fluttering it down in front of their noses
and every now and then one of them takes it
So we will give it a little go and see if we can catch one
Its head is right underneath the pads
Sweetcorn
Yummy bait you can eat it and you can fish with it
What, you have already had two?
Two bites?
No I haven't had a take yet
Oh right
Nothing has gone for mine yet
They have gone down for it loads
Nothing has even gone down for mine
Right so we are just approaching Specimen lake 2
This is sometimes where I see fish in this little bay here
Yeah there is a couple out there lets give it a go
Yes guys guys guys!
Alex I'm in
Got one
YES!
Oh my god sugar sugar
Its a chunk!
Oh sugar no no no!
Oh my god yeah!
Its decent Alex grab the net
Oh my god Alex its a chunk
Don't worry about getting weed its so far round this corner
I can't believe it it was the second fish I put it in front of
Really?
Yeah
Come on Carl
I'm going up here
Its decent Alex
I can see it
Is it stuck?
Yeah
Completely?
Does it look like it can come out of there?
Look its going under there
This is a beast Alex
When it took it it looked like a twenty
Alex seriously you've got to go in quick
Let me take this off
Quick!
Just jump in it doesn't matter
Shall I go in as well?
No its fine
Hello I can't believe it this is Specimen 2
probably the harder lake on the fishery
and I put a bait in front of the second fish I saw and it slurped it straight in
Only problem is its gone and wedged itself in a bit of weed
but Alex my brother has jumped in after it
Come on net slave!
Oh yes I can feel it I can feel it
I can feel it
Is it in?
Yes
Is it really in the net?
Yes there is a lot of weed though
Oh my god!
Yes!
That is quite big as well shame I had to go in though
You only got a bit wet
Alright Alex you wouldn't mind giving me a hand would you
Ok
There we go still a bit of corn left on that hook
I'll just get a bit of water on it
Getting a drenching
Ok what does that say?
24 exactly
24 exactly!
I've equalled my personal best but this time with a mirror
Right well here we go here is the result of a bit of stalking
24lb on the dot equalled my PB and I'd say thats a pretty decent fish I'm proper happy with that
A lovely mirror and that was taken on the corn just as it was sinking
Put it in front of a common and it wasn't interested
Put it in front of this little fellow and it slurped it up
A wonderful fight and a wonderful fish
Excellent!
Alright?
Carl I got one!
Yes!
Its coming towards me
Right
Sorry
Its a common
Come on
How big is it?
I don't know
Where are you going to net it from?
I think I'm going to go in here
I'll go in actually can I borrow your shoes?
Yeah
Its a nice hard bottom here Alex
Where is the line?
Come on Carl yes!
A lovely fish on this boiling hot day but a method that catches them when they are on the top
Wicked fish Alex
It is lovely isn't it
He is a pretty one
Awesome well done buddy
Hello
Got it?
I thought it was foul hooked
Ready?
Plunge the net quite deep
Go for it lift it lift it
Yes
Come on!
Third fish of the day that is just insane
I'll quickly get the weed out
Oh look at that
Its just coming to evening time now
I just saw a patch of bubbles coming up and flicked the corn over it
The line just twitched slightly and Bam I was in
That is a stunner
That is a nice one isn't it
Right I'll get the net out
There we go thats not a bad fish probably the prettiest one of the day
A lovely lovely carp its not quite as big as the other one but I'm just as happy with it because just look at those scales
An amazing looking fish
Do you want to kiss it Alex?
No
Right there is the other side but it has been quite a hard day stalking today it's been really warm
In a way the heat has made it hard for us because we have been so sweaty and horrible
Finally got this lovely carp and I think what we will do now is go back have a bit to eat and get the bottom bait rods out
Anyway lets pop this absolute beauty back
Magic
We are just going to make up some PVA are bags because we are going to put these rods out for the night
I've just got some Maize Pellet
I'm just going to squeeze up some Monster Squid into here
Just a few crushed up ones
Add a bit of attraction to my hook bait really
During the day I don't bother but at night I want a bit of smell and attraction to draw them down to the hook bait when they can't see it
There I just have a small bag and I'm going to thread that onto my hook link so the hook won't be showing to get caught on any weed
Ready to go
Well what a day its been we have had three fish
Carl's had two I've had one all of them were stunners
We came down here for two nights and had one fish we've come down just for an afternoon and we have had three
The weather has been good the sun has been out its got the carp moving round on the surface
and because they have been near the surface we have been able to put baits to them
Its been a pretty good day but now we have just put out some bottom bait rods with some boilies
some sweetcorn and a couple of Pepperami hook baits and we'll see what happens in the night
Its supposed to be a mild night with a bit of cloud cover so we'll have to see how it goes
Yeah can't wait for tonight
I can't wait to have that stir fry
Okay lets get it cooking
Goodnight and we'll see you in the morning
Good night
See you in the morning
Well see you in the middle of the night with a massive fish
Yeah
Night night Alex
Are you in buddy?
It pulled the rod off the rest
Did it? Where is it?
Its out there somewhere
Are you gaining line?
Yeah that was on the PVA bag Carl
A screaming run on a bag of Monster Squid boilies and a cut down boilie on the hair
It pulled the rod into the water
But we were close to the rods so that we could hit it quickly
Well done boy
There are a million midges on me
Yes
An extravagant netting by Alex
YES!
The fourth fish of our session come on and one on a bottom bait as well
That has made a really awesome session even more awesome
Its small but its a nice fish
and there is the Monster Squid hook bait just really trimmed down
How about that a stunning ghost carp?
Caught on a small PVA bag cast to where I was seeing fish
Awesome
Back into the pads where he came from
I think I'm going to get some sleep
Well Alex has got a fish
You got a fish?
Action
Carl and I walked round the lake this morning really early no fish in our swim but round the other side in some of the pads
we could see tails out of the water obviously a shoal of carp
I brought two rods round and the one I put really close to the pads went off
So happy with that
Oh its decent Alex
No....no...no
Oh yes what a fight that was we've eventually got that lovely mirror in the net
There we go a 16lb carp early in the morning
Just cast to where I was seeing fish with a bit of bait around it
What a result
I had that lovely ghosty yesterday evening just as it was getting dark
I'm just going to show the rig that I caught it on
and a rig that I normally use here at Tanyard
To start of with I've got some supple Missing Link braid and stripped back about 12 inches to give me some space to work with
I'm going to tie an overhand loop as the hair loop to put on my bait
Next thing I do is get the bait in this case I was using a cut down Monster Squid boilie
Be careful when threading it through
Put on the bait
get the bait stop through there
So there is the bait and now I know how long my hair has to be
I'm using a bit of silicone on the hook to weight the point of the hook so I'll cut off a bit of that and thread the silicone down the braid
Then I put the hook through the silicone
Now the hook is on I can make the length of the hair pulling that hook up
and that is ok
Thread the braid through the eye of the hook and then its a simple knotless knot
One two three four five six seven seven times round then back through the eye of the hook
and then pull it tight just moistening a bit as well
To finish the rig completely its just another overhand loop in the end so you can attach it to your lead system
I'm using an inline lead with a quick change adapter which means you can tie a loop in all your hook links and change them really quickly
Thread that on and pull the lead inside the swivel for a bolt effect
and I've also got a few bits of putty up the mainline as well just to hold the line on the bottom out of the way from spooking the carp
and I've got three bits of that spread over about a metre
So thats the rig that I have had success on this session
Its been a great two days
We have done a bit of stalking we have done a bit of bottom bait fishing and we have caught a few fish
We have really enjoyed ourselves and thanks for watching us
Mum is just on her way but before she arrives I think we should go and do a bit of stalking
Yeah
See if we can nick another one
Hold it up one second show its side
Look at that my biggest ever trout from the smallest river I have ever fished
It shows that stalking with sweetcorn isn't just for carp
Look at it!
Well we're at Orchid Lakes in Oxfordshire
Its a water that I've fished on and off for about 20 years now
Its a venue that I first fished in around 1993 when I came down here to do a review for one of the magazines
I sort of fell in love with the place
I also got on really well with the owner Marsh Pratley I got on with him really well
Its a lake that contains some fantastic fish
At the right time of year there are around 20 different 30's in here
and as you can see around the lake there are a lot of good features
Its really just a carp water its got that feel about it
There is an island in front of us there are pads some weed there's snags there's reed beds there's bays
There are all sorts of different things to fish to so it really is a carp angler's paradise
and that's one of the reasons why I really fell in love with the place
Whenever I approach a day ticket water I always think you have to go on a bit of local knowledge
It doesn't matter whether you are a Kevin Nash or a Steve Briggs
You could be the greatest carp angler in the world but everybody needs a bit of local knowledge
I've fished this water quite a bit but the first thing that I did when I arrived and I know it sounds like a bit of a cliche
is have a word with the other anglers on the lake I went and spoke to a few of the lads
I went and spoke to Marsh as well as Kevin
I found out where was fishing and where fish had been coming from
Thats the first thing I do whenever I come to a new venue is find out what is happening
This swim is known for having fish all year round
It doesn't matter when you come here whether its in the depths of winter or whether its autumn spring or summer
The one thing I would say is that you should never put all your eggs into one basket on a day ticket water
All day ticket waters can become very spotty
By their very nature there is always quite a lot of anglers on the water and the carp see a lot of pressure
They see different rigs they see different baits
so one day you can be picking up fish from in this swim lets say tight to the island
Next minute it could be from the left hand margin or the right hand margin
So what I'll say is if you go to any day ticket water never put all three rods to one area
Try and spread them out because today they might be picking up from this margin to the right or they might be off the island
If you've got them all in one area you're never going to find those sort of things out
My approach today is basically the same wherever I go
I stick to the same rig which sounds very boring
It sounds like I'm a bit old fashioned but I've been using the same rig or the same rig principle anyway for about 20 years now
It is basically just a piece of braid with a knotless knot with a line aligner on it and a bottom bait and thats how I fish
I have put quite bit of bait out today especially tight to the island
because as I said before about local information and getting to know the water
I know from the previous trips that I have done down here that the island always has fish patrolling around it and they do like a good bed of bait
There are a lot of people that come here that tend to fish with a little clump of bait or a few bits and pieces
and as we've seen today there are a few bait boats going out there
and with most bait boats the approach is the same which is dump a pile of bait there
I've tried to go in a little bit differently by putting a bit of bait out there and spreading it around
Trying to mix it up with a variety of different sized baits as well
What I've done is look at the features out in front of us and tried to work out in my mind where the carp are going to be today
I do know that the set of pads to my right always holds fish there are always fish right in the thickest part
If you climb any of the trees at the right time of the year and look into them you can always see fish around there
What I've done is I've got my right hand rod just down the margin in an area where the fish do go in and out of those pads at the back
My middle rod thats out towards the island I've got that rod actually quite tight to the island
It's only in about 3 feet of water because its nice and sunny today
I had a look at the long range weather forecast app on my phone and with a bit of sun around those fish will be tight to the island
so thats where I've got that one
The left hand rod thats on the edge of these pads to the left there is a nice set of pads that juts out there
I've just got it over the top of there with half a dozen Scopex Squid boilies
I used to work for Kevin in the early 1990's and I was one of the field testers then
When Scopex Squid first hit the market I was one of the original people to use it
One of the first places I used it on was this particular water I came down to the venue
I've got a great memory of this
I was fishing across from Dead Dog swim over to the reeds
I was fishing in there and I put the bait out and within an hour or so the reeds were bending and shaking backwards and forwards
It was great to see when I put this new bait in it really opened my eyes as to how good some baits can be
I ended up catching seven 20's in one day which in the early 1990's was a good catch
I ended up running out of bait it was that effective
The reason I'm using it today is because I've got so much confidence in it
A good test of a bait is that its been used for a number of years
and 20 years ago when it came out through to today its still catching fish
That tells you that it is a damned good bait
Right we're just going to take a look at the rig that I'm using today
As I said earlier it is based on a rig that I have been using for 20 years now
and its caught me carp form literally hundreds of waters around the globe
What I've got here is a piece of Missing Link in 25lb
I'm going to take the coating off stripping it completely from the braid
Then I take a size 6 Fang X and all I'm going to do is tie this knotless knot style
I whip it round generally about ten times
then pass it back through the eye and there is the knotless knot sorted
All I'm doing today is I'm using a bottom bait
I'm going to measure the length of the hair that I want and tie a granny knot in the end
Pull it tight and trim off this excess
Pierce the boilie and put it on the hair
Put the hair stop in
and I always tend to like my boilie just touching the bend of the hook
Its not too tight and its not too long
Then just to complete the rig all I'll do is take a piece of shrink tube which is the TT shrink tube
I'll form a line aligner by piercing the tube like that then threading that into place
Push it down into place
That is there to form the line aligner but it also protects the knot as well and all I'll do to complete the rig is attach the swivel
I like a nice short hook link with a heavy lead to drive that hook home
I just do a 5 turn grinner knot
Pull that through
Trim that bit off
and there we go its about 8 inches in length
I just stick that in boiling water shrink it down and cast it out and we're ready to go
I've used it now for a number of years all round the world on hundreds of different waters
and yes there are times when it probably isn't the best rig to be using
but I do know that wherever I take that rig it will catch me a fish
It has done today although its only a little one
We've still got a bit of time left so hopefully we'll get another one
Its only a little one but there are some cracking fish in here to be caught on a day ticket
and hopefully we are going to see a few more of them
Well you might have noticed the Carp Cradle we are using today is slightly different from last years model and that's because it is
Right in the middle of the cradle we have got these extra legs
to give it a little extra support because this particular model is the Monster Carp Cradle
it's designed for the really big carp on the continent
In a couple of weeks time I'm off to Rainbow Lake and then I'm off to Hungary to hopefully catch one or two really big carp
Which is where this cradle will really come in handy
Something that's just as important as your landing net or unhooking mat and your cradle is your Medi Carp Kit
It features a nice little towel which you dab on to any areas of infection or injury you just dab it and dry it off
Get hold of one of the swabs
Get the anti-septic solution
Dab it on to the swab
and just touch it up and this is perfect for little wounds where the hook holds have been or any little areas where the scales have come off
Just dab it on to those little areas
and make sure that the fish can fight another day
Right then we've got the rods set for the night now and I've got my three different spots sorted
I'm relatively happy with where they are
Although its been quite slow today I've only had the one fish I'm pretty confident I'm going to get myself a fish before tomorrow morning when I leave at about 9am
Either way, I've really enjoyed myself down here today
"Next morning"
Well it was a quiet night last night
Not a sound on the rods
but typical of Orchid right out of the blue just as we were packing up I've had this little common
so what a fantastic way to end the session
A couple of fish in the bag and a nice enjoyable little trip
Its mad I've been making Titans for over 20 years
but I've never made one with an inner mesh capsule
and I'm glad we did with the hot summer we've just had
because I field tested it myself
and I thought it was great for keeping out mosquitos and the like
For our European friends it will have much greater benefits
keeping out snakes and some other real nasties
There is a one and two man version of the Globetrotters
They feature an inner mesh capsule with a waterproof front
where you can lift up panels to expose a mesh door and windows
Then it has a waterproof over skin with an extended porch
so if the rain is driving in your face the door can be used pillar box style so you can just zip down part of it
and look out and there is no water ingress
In the rear we have built in a zipped flap
so you can unzip that and expose the rear of the mesh capsule
so you can have air flow through on those hot summer days and nights
This is a Titan in every sense of the word
Its got the legendary Titan frame renowned for strength
In fact they have saved people's lives
So attached to that is a mesh capsule
This summer on those really hot nights that's how I fished
I didn't have the overwrap on it
For damper nights and when it is raining just slip the overwrap on
and because it is twin skinned you will get no condensation drip
Fitted to the inner mesh capsule is a lightweight groundsheet
That makes it easier to fold up and put away
but we do an accessory heavy duty groundsheet
I recommend putting it underneath then if you have sharp stones underneath it won't puncture through the lightweight groundsheet
So there you have it
Titan Globetrotter available in one man and two man sizes
Its a great bit of kit and I think it will be well favoured
Like I said if we keep having hot summers here
or especially for our European friends
I hope they think I'm thinking of them now
Hi its Rich
Gary Bayes at Nash Tackle set me a bit of a challenge
He sent me the new Instant Action bait range and I've got a few hours on my hands to try it out
I've come to a local club lake to give it a go and to see how instant it actually is
Nash Bait Instant Action - Rich Wilby
Great start the rods been out 7 or 8 minutes had a bite straight away so I'm really happy
I knew the bait would work and this one was on the Tangerine Dream
A good start and I can't wait to get the rod back out and see if we can get another one
Lets have a quick look
It feels like an ice cube this fish is so cold the water is freezing at the moment
It might not be big but its a freezing cold day lets see if we can get some more
Right he wants to go back
Another bite they seem to be having it now
I knew this bait would be instant as soon as I cracked that packet open it smelt so good
This one is scrapping
Great fun on these little Dwarf rods
There we go another one
A lovely little dark fish he's got his winter colours now
He couldn't resist the bait lets have a quick look at him
That one had literally been out there 30 seconds so pretty instant
Nice fish a little dark one
There we go
Well that certainly works Gary the old Tangerine Dream
I've got a box in the car I'm going to go up and give another flavour a go
Lets see if we can get some more
Lets have a look at what Gary has sent me then
When I arrived I just grabbed a bag of the Tangerine Dream out I love tangerine its freezing cold
I'm not surprised they have caught quickly to be honest
But what else is in here
These ones here stand out to me Tandoori Spice
Another classic cold water and Autumn bait but they will work all year
I actually know that on Gary's own day ticket lake he has let a few people use these and they have caught loads of fish
The good thing is these shelf life baits come in three different sizes
You've got the 20mm 15mm and the 10mm
Again in the winter I love the 10mm but when I'm on the river in the summer I'll definitely be using the 20's
and probably theses ones Crab and Krill
You won't beat those fishmeals and shellfish flavours in the warmer months so they're going to be a winner
We've got pellets as well we've got the tiny little ball maker pellets
These are great for stick mixes and PVA bags as well in the winter remember and you can add in your liquids
and there are some liquids in here that I have spotted as well
All the flavours have a matching liquid and all the Nash liquids I have used over the years have been excellent
I know Gary puts so much time and effort into making these liquids and food dips so they are going to be great
You can boost up your bottom baits your pop-ups with some liquid or you can put it onto your pellets
I've also spotted some method mix in here as well but I'm not using it today
Its a bit cold to be honest but that's going to be a winner
The method is really popular and underrated
I've seen how good it can be on commercial fisheries like this and on trickier day ticket lakes
and you have got the high-attract pellets again a little bit cold today for big pellets
but as it warms up these are I'm sure going to be in everyones spod mixes
The thing I really like are these little bags great for short sessions like today at all times of year
Four of those in your bag and you can switch flavours quickly you don't need to carry kilos and kilos of bait around
These are designed to be instant they've got high attraction levels in them
they break down
The other thing I've noticed is they crumble really quickly in my fingers so they are going to be soluble
They are not hard I'm totally impressed
To be honest I'm going to slip one of these on now because I think these are going do the business
So I'm going to put the rods out
Here we go I saved the best one until last
Well Gary I can certainly say this one liked a curry because I had him on the Tandoori Spice
I've had a great day
I'm going to slip him back and go home for a curry myself
Fishing La Gomera was an experience I will never forget
It was like stepping back in time
and the carp they looked prehistoric
A couple of years ago I visited Gran Canaria for a holiday and met a guy called Dave Beecham
I got on extremely well with Dave and his wife Alison and a year later Nashy visited them
They talked carp and knew a lot of the same people
One thing led to another and they both reminisced about a story of a lake they had once been told about
Dave ended up hunting the lake down
and with a couple of friends that lived on Tenerife Ian and John they began to fish it
With results almost immediately and fish landed to over 60lb
it wasn't long before Kevin and I jumped on a plane
With the Scopes in a tube and a bag full of bait and tackle we headed over to Tenerife
We met the lads
After a short ferry ride through the mist we ended up on an island called La Gomera
Jurassic Carp
Diverse isn't it Alan?
Different yeah
The lake was situated at the top of a mountain
with a remote village using the water as their source of survival
We knew the lake contained these prehistoric carp
certainly almost unfished for in a home that consisted of bottomless depths
and an underwater village for snags
An environment just perfect for carp to grow to very large proportions
You can get down there there's an area off to your right
They will head right down to that end tonight on the far side
Thats where I lost those two fish from over there
There are your two palm trees
They were about four feet underwater
Just to the right of that you can see the marker in the water
The first night saw us sleeping by the water's edge just to try and get in tune with the place
and although we were both tired we found it easy to sit up
until the early hours listening chatting formulating a plan
and occasionally hearing a thud through the silence as something out there leapt from the depths
DAY 1
Morning came round quickly and we eagerly loaded the boat and set off in search of the best vantage point
covering the maximum amount of water
Well Kev's gone for a shower we spent the night in here last night
really just to get a good vantage point
We've seen one fish this morning but we've decided to move a little bit further down here
It looks lovely and is a much better vantage point
You can see right round into that back bay
I'm going to get this boat over there and go and have a shower
then we have got the rest of the day to get our rods positioned nicely
We pitched up on what we believe was once a small mechanics yard or a very basic garage
and as we fumbled to get our brollies stable in the rocky substrate
we pushed our banksticks into the ground realising it was safe to say
no-one had ever fished here before
DAY 2
As the day wore on Kev tactfully analysed the water in front of him and how his assault would follow
I however began to get restless and needed to go and explore
Carp are carp and I did what I knew best
Went and found some
Compadre
Huge
Not normal
Do you want to come in for the picture?
Say cheese
Thats a good picture that
The whole time we were at the water I never saw a soul until that moment I netted my first fish
They were really happy to see that fish
They had grown up on this island and reassured us that no-one
other than Dave and Ian and John had ever even fished this place for carp
The bass yes but the carp were almost mythical and like we used to believe uncatchable
They explained that the fish I had though was nothing other than a baby
What do you want me to do now?
Just leave it mate its running
There it is first fish I've just been up for a shower in the beautiful little apartment on the hillside
and as I walked past I saw a few fish sitting in the weed I couldn't resist just lowering a bait on their heads
Real simple I grabbed a pop-up and a hook off Dave tied it on the line and lowered it on his head
and he's hungry he came straight up and nailed it
Certainly a small one in comparison to the photos that Dave and Ian and John have shown me
but we are off the mark
There she goes
Adios!
So we are just approaching this secondary part of the dam now
There is a very large bank of weed up here and I have found what is almost a tunnel going through it
I have positioned baits at both the entrance and the exit
I'm actually using some large floats to keep most of my line out of the water and I'm going to try and show you these now
Basically they are keeping the line away from the snags
There it is there
so I have got my lead coming up to that and then the line runs all the way back to the bank
A great way of fishing that prevents you from getting caught in all those obstacles down there
Later that day I found another group of carp
and after slowly drifting in and out of bays and along inaccessible margins
I was actually skipping heartbeats when I finally began setting up a rod
I began getting fish feeding with large chunks of bread
What happened mate?
Don't Kev
I've gone to check my spots
Two up by the dam and further round by the birds
Nothing has been touched same as yours they haven't got down on the grub yet
I've basically done a full lap of the lake and I've come down this long bank here and I've seen two fish
I came back here saw you and grabbed a rod hook and some bread
My take anywhere rig slow sinking bread
I went back over there and they were still swimming around on this ledge
What sort of size were these fish?
I don't want to talk about it
Massive mate colossal
Collosal
I parked the boat up
Safe to say they were doubles then?
You know when you just want to cry?
I parked the boat up...its inaccessible we can't fish along there its covered in brambles
Yeah parked the boat up and very gently waded down towards where they were
I've made a long cast towards them with a bit of bread with the water clarity you can see everything
First cast nothing and I've retrieved it
Second cast the bigger fish of the two has taken it straight in without any thought
I've hit it and its dropped off the ledge
and just dived and dived and dived and dived
I've got it on
How long for?
Probably 30 to 45 seconds
Long enough
Never got anything on it and its just cut me off
Sorry mate
I think there are some really big fish in here Kev
So do I
I'll get the baby oil out and soothe you
Don't don't
You have got to lose some haven't you
I didn't want to lose that one though
Cheer up mate I'll get you an ice cream
Can I get a flake in it please?
Kev and I had found a group of fish that seemed very content in one particular corner
Kev was fishing his rods long over to another area full of submerged houses
and this allowed me to reposition my rods in that corner
Nothing other than my bed, rods and boat pointing in the direction of the fish
In the middle of the night the carp started hunting the bass fry
and all hell broke loose in front of where we were fishing
Literally feet from where I lay there were carp smashing through the snags hunting their natural food larder
For hours we sat listening to this watching in awe of this amazing spectacle
It was a memory that will stay with us forever
Needless to say we both blanked that night but it was a very special moment
As weird as it sounds they never knew we were there but we were so close
Day 3
Its the party bus Kev
I don't know if you can hear the music in the background
I think its a car touring round
Probably local elections or something
Such a mad place
What is it 10 in the morning on the third morning
Second night with the rods out
This time yesterday I was in my shorts and it was probably 27 or 28 degrees
This morning quite frankly I'm not too warm
As you can see I'm clothed in my hoody and my old Force 10 suit
I'm not too happy either
Yesterday evening Alan lost a big one stalked on floating crust
He went to bed I think its true to say he was upset
probably because he saw the size of the fish he lost
I felt for him
Then at 2 this morning there was an amazing sight as the fish moved into these snags on this point we are fishing
I can only describe it like pods of whales
There really are some seriously freaky big fish in this place
Im beginning to think this lake is a freak of nature
They were there for three or four hours crashing around
I think they were herding up prey fish and pushing them into a group above my baits before smashing them and eating them
But whatever four hours later I had a take
That shot straight into a snag and cut me off as well
So the fish are winning at the moment
Am I peed off of course I am but with this sort of fishing
you have to keep your spirits up and keep at it and hope that one is going to go right for you
A few words about bait that might be of interest to you
Back in the late 80's when I first came to the Canaries with Dave Plummer
We brought 20 kilos of the old faithful Scopex boilies and a few cans of sweetcorn
It was apparent from the beginning that all the takes were coming to the sweetcorn
In fact we bought the island out of sweetcorn and spent £180 searching every supermarket vainly for sweetcorn
I absolutely believe it is the most instant carp bait
We also now put pellet in there
There is not a fish anywhere in the world that doesn't love fishmeal pellet
It breaks down nicely as well Kev and creates a groundbait
and again the Scopex boilies are a yellowy orange colour so they are hitting on that visual approach
For sure that is an ultimate visual mix oranges and yellows and the darkness of the Halibut pellet
I'm sure other flavours would work as well its just that it is a good one
All I will say to anglers if you are fishing unfished waters like this
Forget your frozen baits forget your English baits
Its all about leaking out the flavour and bright visual baits thats why readymades work better than frozen baits
Its about massive attraction of both colour and flavour
There we are thats base camp
There is me through there in those snags
As we move round a bit just there is where I hooked and lost the fish both the fish actually
That is the start of the dam wall this is obviously the deepest part of the lake
We come to a second concrete wall
I've had baits over there that have been in the water for 36 to 48 hours
This is Danny the duck
Kev named him a couple of days ago and decided to start feeding him
and now everywhere we go he follows us
There are a lot of ducks on this lake but this is the only tame one
Didn't you Kev?
Eh?
Got him following us everywhere
Yeah our tame duck
Day 4
You haven't weighed it yet then?
Well I've finally managed to land a better fish
Had a quiet night last night
Kev and myself were getting up every hour and listening for fish but it was very quiet
and then at about 8 this morning I have caught this prehistoric creature and it really is a special fish
37 and a half
Thank you
They go to twice that size in here mate
Dave I'm not kidding when I was playing it in the boat I saw one twice as big
Definitely no question
I saw a fish yesterday with Kev that was easily twice as big as this
That is a warrior
That is a beauty mate
There it is I am so chuffed
An amazing fish from a truly amazing place
Well I think its safe to say we are fishing a spot that no man has every fished before
and its also safe to say this is a carp that has never been on the bank before
Are you sure its a carp I think its some mutation look at the pecs on it
It is so special
Amazing creature
Amazing
Pan down its body Dave
Look at those fins look at that tail
What a carp!
Day 5
Finally I've got my first La Gomera carp
An absolutely prehistoric dinosaur and I'm humbled to be in its presence
Its been in a sack so I don't know how she's going to be
I'm struggling for those that don't know I broke my arm in the winter but happily she is being a baby
What a fish
Oh my god like I said I am humbled to have caught it and be holding it
On a greedy pig sweetcorn rig from the same spot that I lost the other one and then my other rod went off an hour later and I lost that one
I'm a bit sad about that but like I said
At least finally I've got one
Ha ha yes!
Well its our last night here
Its been quite possibly one of my best carp fishing trips ever
Yeah I've only had two fish and lost three but just being out here you can hear the frogs
Spending a week away with Kev somewhere really special
Special environment special fish a real special place
What fishing is all about to me
Day 6
The sun is just breaking over the mountain and how welcome is that
Yesterday it was freezing with a sharp Easterly wind coming off the sea we had rain we had sea mist
Sometimes we couldn't see ten feet in front of us
This place is bizarre it certainly gets all the weather thats for sure
Last night was our final night and we were so full of expectation
We have learnt a lot this week
We put the baits on spots where we saw carp in the vicinity or caught from and I don't think either of us slept last night waiting for one to rip off
Unfortunately none of them ripped off
I guess thats carp fishing
Just when you think you have really got it right the carp gods decide that you haven't
I'm sad to say goodbye
I really want to come back but then there are other lakes to explore where no man has been before
Who knows
In 2013 we unleashed the Monster Squid Purple right across Europe
and it very quickly cemented its place amongst the rest of the Nashbait Squid range as a prolific catcher of carp
Throughout the course of the year anglers utilising this range of proven baits caught consistently and caught big
the famous squid base mix and proven flavours irresistible to carp everywhere
With boilies available in multiple sizes from 10mm to 20mm and matching pop-ups, dumbbells
liquid attractors and food dips, pellets and paste
there are countless ways to customise your approach and share in the successes of 2014
With our UK consultants the Squid range has been catching wherever it has been taken at venues ranging from tiny to vast
from prolific to rock hard here are some of the highlights
Nash Tackle’s Richard 'Ditch' Ballard is a regular visitor the river Ebro in Spain but he has had to wait several years
to catch his first 40lber from the river until one morning two showed up at once
A spread of Scopex Squid, Monster Squid and Monster Squid Purple helped him bank 11 fish in quick succession including
two 20lb, two 30 and two 40lb commons
He also enjoyed success on the Squid on a variety of waters back in the UK
bagging some beautiful river carp on the Purple, and topped off by a 39lb leather on the Monster Squid Red
A quick February trip to Farlows in sleet and snow by Tony Bramley yielded three carp in three hours fishing to the Purple squid topped by this ancient 28lber
The poor weather continued in March but Tony bagged a 33lber from a tricky water in horrendous conditions
again on the purple, the first of 15 fish in a six week mega haul
True English leathers are a rare beast but this 29lber which is well over 30 years old fell to a bed of Purples with a Scopex Squid pop-up over the top
Finally a handful of broken MS Purple and an hours fishing was all that was needed
to tempt an even older carp in the shape of this 40 year old estate lake upper 20
The ever–consistent Jordan Dicks continued his success with the Purple Squid on Farriers
catching regularly and getting amongst the some of the better fish with several commons over the 35lb mark
He also banked a couple of the lakes rare and much sought after mirrors topped by this cracking linear
Young Jack Matthews had a fantastic year on Gary Bayes syndicate lake using a scattering of the Scopex Squid fished with a MS pop-up on a stiff hinged rig
to bank many of the venues awesome scaly mirrors during his midweek overnighters between work
This was topped by the PB-busting capture of this giant 46lb mirror
He also banked his first common from the Essex venue in style the immaculate ‘Coconut Common’
which weighed in at 42lb plus and was a new PB common for him too
Steve made the most of his limited time this season and still managed to bank some cracking fish using the Monster squid
He started off the year in style with a stunning winter capture in the shape of this scaly mid-20 mirror which fell to a chod rigged MS pop-up fished as a single
He used a bit more bait around a kilo of Monster Squid to tempt this pristine 29lb Colne Valley common
The highlight of Steve’s season was the capture of the second biggest mirror from a new venue
this chunky mirror of 33lb 4oz again fishing over a scattering of Monster Squid
Simon Crow had a great year fishing Rod Hutchinson’s Woldview syndicate in Lincolnshire banking many of the lakes A Team
He used his favourite Scopex Squid to bag the Big Lin and his target fish Floppy Tail at 40lb 10oz
He even caught off the top on the Squid using a floater-fished Scopex Squid pop-up to tempt a 34lb mirror known as The Beast
Crowy also bagged two biggies on the Scopex Squid from the nearby Mesters syndicate
a fish known as One Pec at 35lb plus and the beautiful Drop Tail Linear
Adam Garland used a mixture of his favourite Scopex Squid with matching monster carp pellets and the highly visual Purple Squid
to fool several of the prized residents of his local Northants syndicate
He took lovely old mirrors of 31lb 14oz, 32lb and 33lb 12oz along with commons of 31lb 14oz and 33lb 9oz
He also scored further afield with a successful trip to a Cambridgeshire syndicate resulting in a mirror of 32lb on Scopex Squid
and a 30lb 12oz mirror on Purple Squid at the Carping 4 Heroes event at Linford Lakes
Making the most of the fishing on his own doorstep Alfie Russell used the Monster Squid and Monster Squid Purple to tempt his local park lake beauties
Even in the coldest conditions he banked some incredible old carp from Hampstead Heath and other park lakes in the area
Even more impressively during the spring and summer he hunted down two previously unknown
and uncaught 40lb commons from urban venues largely ignored by others
an incredible achievement especially for one so young
The first a chunky black fish weighing in at 43lb 12oz smashed his PB
and was caught on a Monster Squid boilie after weeks of careful prebaiting of the 70 acre venue
The second, a fish that had probably never been caught before upped his PB by another pound
Again, prebaiting with Monster Squid proved successful for Alfie.
Belgian carp ace and Nash European manager Ronny De Groote has gathered together some of the highlights from across the continent
Let us have a look at some of the carp that have been caught from around Europe on Nash Bait Squid and Monster Squid boilies
Italian Nash Consultant Jack Bracaglia fished a very successful session at Lac de St Cassein in Southern France catching carp of
19, 21 and 25kg with the cherry on the cake this incredible 23kg half linear
In Northern France French Nash tackle Media Manager Olivier Peyrebrunne caught this 25kg mirror from a tricky
public lake using a mixture of Monster Squid and Monster Squid Black boilies in different sizes
We stay in France where Andy Chambers fished the immense Lac d’Orient and caught this new PB common at 71lb 8 oz
He bagged the giant common using Monster Squid Red boilies
Using Monster Squid boilies also paid off for Italian Nash consultant Roberto Bussolari during a trip to the crystal clear waters of Lake Blet in Slovenia
Nash Benelux consultant Joery Van Der Beek caught many beautiful carp like this using his favourite Nasbait Scopex Squid Freezer Baits
Belgian ace Mark Pansar prefers to roll to his own recipe and has enjoyed success with his homemade boilies
made using Nashbait Squid and All Season Squid mixes along with additives from the Nash bait range
German Nash consultant Daniel Konopatzki is a big fan of the Monster Squid Purple boilies having had another great year
particularly in the spring as he believes that it brings even the older more experienced carp on the bank
Big carp catcher Ralf Emmerich scored big fishing Monster Squid Purple boilies when a trip to his local lake produced this common of nearly 25 kilos
Consistent as ever Tobias Steinbrück again caught an awful lot of carp using his favorite Nashbait Monster Squid Purples
Polish Nash agent Pawel Kiermaszek fished a 1600 acre lake in Southern Poland using Monster Squid Purple and caught this lovely dark 38lb mirror
Austrian Nash consultant Christoph ‘Ecky’ Eckhart used Monster Squid boilies in his quest for this massive Austrian common of 32.6 kilos
Monster Squid Purple also accounted for some giant Austrian commons when Thomas Harderer caught commons of 23 and 24,5kg in the same session
Austria is a country with a lot of potential and that was exploited by Willem Verspoor who caught this big common from one of the giant
mountain lakes using Nashbait Scopex Squid Red boilies.
Long time Nash man Matteo Marmocchi fished a 3 day stint at one of the Italian lakes catching amongst many others big carp of
19kg,19,5kg, 20,5kg and this 21kg beast on the Purple
Something a little different but no less impressive from well known Italian carp angler Graziano Giambastiani who caught this giant grass carp using Monster Squid
Awesome Dutch common
The other one of the two we caught last night
Also fell for the Monster Squid
Very pleased
Lovely
Here she is
27.3kg her name is Julia the local guys have caught her a few times
I caught it on the Monster Squid 20mm bottom bait
I am very happy to catch it
Once again thank you very much Gary for giving me such a great bait
Steve Briggs - Continental Carper
Well for a change I'm actually close to home today probably about 50 yards from my front door
It's one of the rare times particularly this year that I've had the chance to do a bit of English fishing and close to home
Its been a really busy year for me travelling away but I've loved every minute of it
March was the first proper trip away and it was down to near the Spanish border
A place called Iktus lake
As usual I was up for a new venue and a new challenge
It was a very cold spring over here and it was horrible and cold here
Looking at the weather forecast out there it was 27C and bright sunshine
Well it didn't quite turn out like that because when I got down there
they hadn't actually seen snow settle on the ground in that area since 1985
and we had three days of about 6 inches of snow on the ground
So it was a bit of a shock
It turned out alright because I ended up getting my first proper carp in the snow
I was real y happy with that and it was worth travelling all that distance for that one moment really
It was a good session I was there for a week and I think I had 15 fish 3 40lbers was the best of it up to 47lb
In cold conditions it was a great week
The next proper trip really was Rainbow
We were about a month behind with the spring so really although it was April it was like fishing in March
I started off there with my old mate Simon Crow and we both had 50's
He had a 50lb common and I had 2 50lb mirrors
Quite a few fish with a few 40's in there but it was just a little bit too early
The best of it really happened a week or two after I'd come home I started hearing about all the big fish
I guess that is one of the points really with the fishing I do you rely on so much luck with the timing of the trip
It was ok but you can't win them all there's always next year
It was back home for a little while I had a lovely session down on Church Pool at the start of May
My wife Joan had the Cuckoo Fish which turned out to be the last capture of it
and we had some lovely fish
About 12 fish we had including a few of the scaly ones
And then it was back away
My next trip was Poland which was literally a few days after the Church Lake I'd never been to Poland before and I've got to say
what a nice country Poland is the roads were fantastic and the people were really nice they looked after us really well
and the lakes were absolutely stunning
There are some lovely lakes out there with some lovely carp
We fished two different lakes and the first one was the best one Goslawice it was called in the North
I ended up with about 25 fish from there I think
Up to 45lb 12oz was the biggest a nice old mirror
I had a little bit of a rest in June and did a bit of work for a change even I have to do a bit of work sometimes
In July I was on my way to Cassien
My favourite water of all the ones I've ever fished
It goes back well 27 years now I've been fishing Cassien it was the first place I ever went outside England
and I still try and go back there every year
It was another struggle but a lovely session I absolutely love being there
Red hot everyday 30 odd degrees during the day 20 odd degrees at night
The hardest thing with Cassien is always getting on the fish its always trial and error
Fish a spot if they are there good if they are not move on
So it was getting on for the second week when I actually found some fish
Then I caught fish up to mid-30's and before I knew it it was time to leave again
Moving on into August it was Lac Serriere its totally different to Cassien obviously
You are going from a great big lake down to this little 3 acre pool - Badgers Holt
There is something about it I really like its a lovely little lake nice and intimate
A good weeks fishing that was caught fish every day
Its got four or five 60's in there and of course you are always hoping for one of those
but to catch 20's 30's and the odd 40 everyday it was good fishing really enjoyable
September was mainly Germany
I started off in the North of Germany again with the Pike fishing only 3 days 3 separate day sessions out on the boat on the Baltic Sea
Me and three of my mates we had about 60 or 70 pike I had decent fish every day over a metre
A metre pike is like our 30's and 40's thats the benchmark and I caught those every day
so I was well impressed with that and that was all on the little Scope rods as well
Get into that lure fishing and the rods and reels are silly prices
I was sure the Scope rods would be ideal for that lure fishing I took the 9 foot 3 pounders over and they were absolutely perfect
I caught the biggest fish every single day on them so they work alright
Literally three days of that couple of days chilling out and drove 700 miles south to Bavaria to a lovely little lake down there
I started off well I had a 52 pounder and a 30lb 4oz on the first night I ended up catching again every day
30's and 40's mainly ending up with two 50's so a nice week
I had four days at home after that then I was straight down to Rainbow with Crowy for a week
We were in swim 21 down there which is probably the most one-sided swim on the lake
where the right hand side is definitely a lot better than the left and it was his turn to have the choice
We do it fairly like that so I knew I was going to struggle
He had caught 12 fish by Wednesday and I hadn't had a bite
Eventually I did start catching I had a 30lb and a 42lb on the Wednesday and that kick started it
My best was 61lb and I also had a 54lber Crowy had a 63lb so it was a really good week
Even as I was packing up on the Saturday morning I had four fish I had a 42lb two 45lb mirrors and a 49lb common
literally in the last hour and a half while I was packing up
I was thinking God I want another week of this but that was it my time was up
It has been a good year
Looking through there hasn't been any blanks anyway
I know there are always going to be times when it is hard but if I can go away with just one fish I can say at least I caught something
I've had some good trips amongst that lot its been good stuff that has
I guess the nice thing about working with Nash and using Nash gear is they do everything
Basically everything you want for a trip away it's there which is fantastic
but there are certain products which are very important to me and there are a few that stand out that I use a lot
When it comes to Continental fishing gradually I've gone bigger and bigger in both respects
Leads gradually I've gone from the old days of 3 and 4oz and I'm working my way up to 6 7 and 8oz sometimes
You want the lead to give you a good hook hold quickly and that's what they do
Brilliant leads they are grip the bottom well hook the fish well
Bigger hooks definitely do the job and the Twisters I've got to say are the strongest and the sharpest hooks I've used
Once they are in they stay in and there are trips even to Rainbow where I have landed 100 percent of the fish I have hooked
Its quite rare on places like that so thats what you want if you can land all of the fish you are hooking
it doesn't get any better than that
It was Alan Blair that put me onto these he said they were really good for feature finding
In conjunction with an echo sounder it gives you a perfect reading of what is down there
An echo sounder gives you the depths and it gives you a rough idea of the features
but what this does once you put the sections together with the metal tip
you can actually put that down on the bottom and you can feel whats down there
You can feel if its gravel you can feel if its mussels, silt
I've really found one of these bits of kit absolutely invaluable it really does help you
There is one other bit of kit that has become a real favourite for me
The Scope rods
Mainly it started off for the boat work at Rainbow long rods don't lend themselves very well to fishing in boats
but I've actually ended up using the Scopes in all sorts of situations and today I'm using it as my spod rod
Its probably the rod I use more than any other now I use it all over the place
Its not a gimmick its a really good bit of kit
That's just a few of the bits like I say there is whole range of kit that I use
That's say half a dozen bits that I picked out that I use all the time that really make a difference - they do the job
Super sensitive
Extreme remote performance
Independent volume controls
Four head connectivity
Four customisable colours
Protective case included
Four head presentation set
Nash Siren S5R
Next Generation Bite Indication
I think its been a great DVD
We have given you some great and exciting stuff
and of course its been one of our best years for gear
But as this lovely late Autumn sun is setting on the year I thought I'd come and have a session on my own Church Pool
To reflect and do a bit of proper fishing just for myself
and whilst sitting here I was thinking about an article that I have had in mind to write for a while
I guess the article is aimed at the large number of people that come on my Facebook page asking about rigs
and what rig to use where
The other thing I have been thinking about writing about is indication
I just don't understand what has happened to indication
In the good old days we used bite alarms and indicators to let us know when we had a bite
and from that we reacted to it
Now they seem to be just ornaments on the line
So lets talk about how I go about my fishing in terms of indication and what rigs to use on the day
Kevin Nash - Rigs and Indication
I see every time I go fishing as a new situation so lets talk about how I am approaching today on the Church
On arrival the first thing I noted was how sharp the wind is now and so I decided to fish on the back of it
Its the first really cold wind of the year
and on The Church from my observations the fish prefer to get out of the wind
So I've decided to fish this bank which is known as the Wibble
In front of me I've got weed beds
Some nice silt gullies and some clean hard areas which I have found
I know already where I am fishing my four rods
The right hand one here is in the margin
I had a plumb around and found a tiny hard spot amongst silkweed
In a way clay pits are the easiest lakes to read because the clay is always soft unless a carp has come and cleaned it
So when you cast out and feel a bump on the lead you can be fairly certain that is an area that has recently been fed on
So I found a little spot amongst silkweed and I am comfortable with that
It is the only rod I am going to fish with a slack line
There is a massive myth in my mind about slack line fishing
The further out in the lake that you are fishing a slack line the harder it will be to get good indication
We did some underwater testing and I can tell you the bite indication is appalling
The only time I see to fish a slack line is in a margin situation
So the fish are going to be swimming left or right to this margin rod I don't want them to come up to that rod see the line
and swim up and over it and miss the bait
So that's the only rod where I have laid the line flat and slack on the bottom
Because it is in the margin at short range and that fish is only going to go one way
Away from me
So what rig am I going to use for my margin rod?
As I mentioned it is silkweed and I found a little hard spot I'm not bothered about trying to get back on that hard spot
I'm sure they are browsing the whole area so to my mind its perfect for a chod rig
It will just sit somewhere near that hard spot on top of the silk weed
On my choddy I am fishing a Critter and lets see what happens there
In fact out of all the rigs I've got out today that is the one I want to see roar off
I'm fishing the Bug Life mix
I'm really excited about this concept of a ground bait that attracts naturals which in turn attract the carp
I mentioned that we did some experiments but even to me it was a real eye-opener when we did the underwater stuff
That is really proof of the pudding when you have got a guy at the bottom of the lake pretending to be a carp
It actually revealed some things even I didn't even expect
Indication wise he was having to move 8-10 feet away in a straight line to straighten the slack line enough to get a bleep on the Siren
That stunned me that he had to move that far
Left and right indication was non existent fifteen feet and still no bite
Things like just lifting up the hook, rig and lead like carp do and then shake it out
You wouldn't even know you had been done you could get done twenty times a day
The one that really got me was a myth about fluorocarbon
I know a lot of people use it
I've considered it myself in the past because it is so heavy
It's not good on knot strength and that's why I have never used it and I'm glad I haven't now because again its a myth
We saw that it sunk heavy to the bottom just off the rod tip and by the rig
But in between there were big coils coming up off the bottom
What was interesting is it was like a spring and until you pulled those coils out you didn't get any indication at all
So taking the next rod along from the right
That one is fished with a maggot rig
Autumn and winter is a great time for maggot fishing I believe especially after they have been hammered all year on boiles
So that is on top of a hard ridge of clay
So any carp coming along should easily see them wriggling away
The next rod along is just on the edge of the silt with my old favourite Blowback rig
Slightly buoyant to sit on the silt and I've baited with the throwing stick
I visualise they are going to settle down and be partly submerged in the silt but still also visual
So that is why I have selected those two rigs
Now again back to the big one which is indication
I think how I am fishing those is popularly called semi slack with a drop on the indicator
The key thing is if I get a pick up from a carp I will get quick and positive indication
Again going back to the diver with weighted indicators with a bit of a drop (so called semi slack)
as soon as the lead was picked up off the bottom I got a bleep on my Siren
He moved forward a few inches and I was getting a bleep
Left or right I was getting a bleep
So I'm going to know if a carp picks up that bait
My fourth rod is in a position which arguably next to slack lining is the least understood or practiced properly
and that is fishing against a far margin or island
Something like that where in essence your indication is going to be what is refferred to as a drop back
In this case I am fishing against reeds over there
Now in that situation its about having the line as tight as you can so you can register that fish swimming towards you
So you need a lot of tension on your line
Either a really heavy bobbin a loaded swing-type indicator
This is a situation situation where I feel flying back leads really come in and its a situation where I love using them
I use the heaviest one I can but I put a backstop up the line because I don't want it to fly so far up that because of the heavy bobbin
I will actually lift it off the bottom
In essence I'm trying to get the line as tight as I can but still have a bit down on the bottom by the rig
Rig choice in this instance is a short rig and that is because it has really been cleared out along those reeds
I'm fishing on a definite area of hard bottom and baited really tightly
This rod is a classic example of where good indication is needed
There is a possibility that the fish could crash into the reeds and be lost so I've got to be on them straightaway
I've got to know immediately if something is hooked and so I'm fishing on that rod for one bleep
So there you go thats how I'm approaching this swim today
I hope that I have put it across simply
It's just a question of finding the spot and deciding how best to fish it
What rig for it and then the important point is how you get your presentation and indication
with the bobbin and bite alarm to be as effective as possible
Now I'm going to sit back and hope for a big girl to come along
What a carp
I'm particularly happy with this one
As you can see is a very pretty fish
It was caught over the Bug Life on a water boatman Critter
So its a Bug Life beauty
Just as the sun got up this morning at around 10.30am she roared off
You don't get much more beautiful than that
That is why the Church is such a desirable fishery
Well I've had a great session topped off by this beauty
40lb 4oz a new forty for the Church
and after last year's tragedy where I lost a few its great to see them coming back and looking in such good condition as this girl
What a way to end
Thanks for watching guys and girls and have a great 2014
I hope you catch the fish of your dreams