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If there was a carp god he’d be looking out for the carp not us 🤔

You could do with 6 rods in that swim looks so much to go for, I see the dude with the big bivvy is back… oh and nice reel 😎

Wasp Exile rod shot.

Struggles pah! If I don't catch the biggun after this , there is no carp god. Lost 2 to cut offs, bivvied up next to a rats nest, caught a 12oz rudd on a zig, managed to get the extra night, went to the shops, was having a look round the lake, when I came back thousands of wasps are flying round the same rat tree. I've taken a rod, net, mat and the hand of god baiting pole and I'm currently perched on a boat. If it wasn't fishing I would have quit, but it beats a day at work so I will enjoy it anyway. There is still time for my luck to change.

One of the smallest in the lake, but really nice to get and bend in the rods, from an old 2 acre pond.

Well done to everyone catching. Too many posts to like them all, some of those fish are absolute crackers, beautiful!

Whatever floats your boat init lol, I love catching Carp on the ressies, fishing at distance. When you lift into something feeling solid 100 yards, just feels wicked 👌 then it starts stripping you when youve got it half way back🤣 I find they fight so well on the ressies, 100% my favourite way to target carp lol. @yonnyit was your advice years ago that helped me get some of my first captures on a 90 acre water, which is now my favourite place to fish 🤣 I do try to mix it up a bit though, I go to a 4 acre estate lake with my dad, it's pretty easy to get a bite once you've cracked it, but tbf it's more about spending some time with him 👍 This year I've joined a complex with some stunning fish, I've managed 3 20s this year on the 4.5 acre lake, but still struggling on the 9 acre, not a single fish yet lol, they are very weedy lakes and just learning how to fish on them has been a massive learning curve and that's just presenting a bait 🤣

Thankyou

Well im on the alternative rig, most anglers are like you say ronnie, spinner and slip D, i have gone back to full on Choddy, light lead with lead free leader and blatent pop up , i had a eureka moment and realised the lake is perfect for chod rig, and now im getting the odd take, plus im happy with my bait choice i think its a matter of time before i get a few out of main lake

I agree. Big waters are a case of find them, catch them. Small waters, anglers are on them all the time. You need a little time to figure it out.

I find smaller lakes harder than bigger less pressured waters. The fish tend to be more wary, more rig aware, even more bait aware, so getting ahead of both the fish and other anglers. It is so much harder getting rigs that the fish aren't 'used to', although current fashions can make things a little easier if everyone is on spinner or Ronnie rigs, and you can come up with something different. When I first went onto Brackens Pool I knew it was heavily pressured, and nobody used much bait due to the rules of no catapulting or throwing bait in, everything had to be attached to PVA. I came up with my sliding revolving ring presentation (an adaptation of something I had seen Rob Maylin write about), and used plenty of big stringers, 30 boilies at a time, and would put in as many as 20casts of stringers before my hookbait cast. The first fish I caught was in a swim that was often ignored and was 30lb.

Setting myself up for a slap here having just got 10ft 3.5lb rods, TBH i was hoping they would be on the soft side of 3.5 but they are not, i wont be keeping them any time but if i do happen to hook a carp it will be played with care, like a few have said its getting hard to get what you really would like unless willing to pay a huge price TBH i have a lovely set of 11ft 2.5lb rods that i was told "too soft" i think i will be going back to these rods

Owdo...😎👍

Just to poke my nose in.... I have been fishing for over 50 years, brought up by fishing on river mole and Thames for catching Dace, Chub, gudgeon and also bleak bashing! Very light tackle in those days, learnt how to play fish in, barbless hooks, used to be used for match fishing to improve hooking for dace. Anyway, move on... times have 'sadly' changed, pot noodle carpers seem to think fishing day ticket waters with as stated before 3.5 test curve rods, 15lb line and hauling some poor double in.... Without dought I think this causes soo much damage. I now longer fish day ticket waters, however I unforturnatly expect to see the same on my club lake soon. As for hooks, barbless really dont do more damage, only hook I remember was the Rob Maylin bent hook which was an absolute no no!

Im in a better place regarding the lake and the blanks, yes every blank session is a learning session, and i have tweaked my tactics and bait, to a point where i am getting odd half hearted takes, maybe nuisance fish but things are improving, thing is at 3 1/2 acres and heavy stock it should be a pretty easy venue, but i do enjoy being at the lake even if i dont catch

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Manufacturers and tackle brands with their own media production. It has gotten to the stage that you can't easily get 'sensible' tackle. I've been arguing the toss about it for years. Practice casting is no more as 'high test curve rods will cure the distance shortage immediately'. Years ago in the 1990's I was hitting over 100metres with 2¼lb TC rods, admittedly with 8lb line and leader, and eventually switched up to 2¾lb rods with 15lb line, line which has become standard, to get the same distance. Nazeing Central and South was a real eye opener, I needed to hit 150metres, so went to 3.25lb rods. Everything was in 12ft, I could get those distances. The shorter rods just didn't seem right, especially as I have been to casting tournaments and seen rods get longer from 12ft, to 12ft6in, 13ft even 14ft. I get a shorter rod for stalking, it makes sense, but not in a massive test curve with a tip action.

Welcome to carp.com. Have fun finding your way around

Spot on.

I agree totally, blanking but learning is progress, knowing what you did wrong is as important as getting it right I guess - the bigger picture of understanding. I think the pressure of catching spoils it for many or they allow it to, but I'm doing this for me no one else, so I set the bar!

Hi I'm knuckles and have been carp fishing for over 40 years and love it.

I have just bought a boatman cl4 carbon with sonar and GPS, but there was no instructions with it, as anyone got a manual that could please send me some screenshots it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

I can relate to this massively. It was an 80 acre nature reserve with a very low stock that did it for me. I was nowhere near ready for it and blanked for a whole season before catching one right at the end (to this day one of the best I've ever caught). What a learning curve it was. The buzz from catching that carp set me on a path that I could never go back from. There are very few blanks that wind me up. As long as I learn something (i.e. literally anything) about the lake or its inhabitants on a blank, I'm not bothered. Every now I'll have a blank session where nothing is learned and that's the only time I'll be a little peeved. Best thing for that is get back down there and bag one!

That's my point, when it comes right it does mean so much. The common went in in 2018 at 18lb, it's now over 30lb, the linear was a 2020 stocking that was double figures. Last season I did have a very good year, although a 6 fish session really made my season

I'm like Ian in this respect, if it's easy what's the point? Blanking is a natural part of the process and even if I were top rod on the venue there would still be lots of blanks going on. The only people bothered by me blanking are friends and family who think it matters, I'm perfectly happy learning in my own time and enjoying the experience. Looking back now I'd have hated to catch my target early, almost a fluke, not understanding what it means to be so fortunate - if and when my time comes it will mean more to me than 10,000 fish from easy waters. Back in my 20s we fished a fairly large water, choked with weed and only 37 Leneys stocked in the 70s, we blanked for over a year but loved the lake, learning and social elements. It took away any pressure to catch coz everyone knew the size of the challenge, we didn't really think about that or understand what we'd signed up to - we just enjoyed it. We didn't know how lucky we were looking back was a great early experience that I still draw on now.