Zorbeen98

Yesterday I caught my first carp on the lake (14lb). 😁 Thanks so much for all of the advice and hopefully the below will inspire others. So first of all I tried to take very little with me as I knew having a lot of gear would limit me on being mobile. I had two rods (1x chod rig + 1x standard hair rig), a bucket of bait (whole + chopped + crushed boilies, pellet and sweet corn), and my tackle bag. I checked the weather and decided to leave the brolly behind. I left my chair in the car which didn't do my back or comfort any favours but with only a bucket to sit on, it meant that I remained sufficiently alert and once again, not weighed down. I began with a walk round the lake which was cut very short. As soon as I arrived I came to a very weedy and very shallow section which must have had at least 15 carp sitting there. I couldn't help myself and rushed back to the car to get my rods. I baited and dropped the chod rig in the weed - I could see it was presented fine which takes away a stress that I would usually have but noticed any bait I put in around it quickly disappeared below the weed. Very quickly I learned just how easy it is to spook fish. They just wasn't coming near my rig so I decided to try and drop it somewhere a little closer to where they kept visiting. I was impatient; I should've waited until they moved further away but I didn't. Threw it in and they all swam away... I then found another quiet spot at the other end of the lake. The swim was not much of a swim (most people would ignore it) and was the last fishable swim on that side of the lake before you get to the heavy weed. There were 3-4 fish there very close to the margin on a polished gravel spot. I waited for them to move away and then baited and dropped my rig in. This time I used the hair rig as I knew the spot was clear. They kept coming over, taking some of the bait and moving off again, over and over again. It was great to see what was actually happening and how the fish behave. Once again, I learned how easy it was to spook them, but this time, not so badly that they wouldn't come back. I decided to get back from the edge and sit on my bucket. Suddenly around midday, a family of 8 came over and started feeding. There was huge amounts of fizzing and then finally I got one! 🙂 Unfortunately I think catching that fish probably ruined the swim. As it was all pretty close quarters all his mates heard it and swam off. I tried looking for other areas along the lake and baited 4 other clear spots but nothing really came of them. I kept going for walks to check on them but every time the bait was still there and no signs of fish (one time I did find some ducks having a go though...). With no reason to go elsewhere, I stayed put which remained quiet for the next few hours. I was a good spot because the way the weed was sitting on that part of the lake meant that they would have to pass the bait if they wanted to get across the swim to the other side of the lake. Around 17:00 I started getting the odd fish appear again and they would come feed on the spot but they never took the rig. By about 18:30 it was starting to get a little grey and dark so decided to pack up. I think if i stayed a couple of hours longer I may have just caught another one. Not sure if this actually counts as stalking as I ultimately pretty much stayed in the same place for the day. But I learned so much and am really glad that I didn't just setup wherever and throw out 2 rods on bite alarms and wait.

Hook sharpening and bait glugging is something I've been doing. Vodka and rum is a new one to me! 😳

I believe size 8 but could be wrong as going from memory! What would you suggest?

These are the two rigs I've been using. I've used the chod rig on the new lake because of all the weed but was using the standard knotless knot rig last year as well.

I think you're right and I have been considering it. I think I just want to prove to myself that I can do it the other way. At the moment, I feel like I can't catch fish by sitting on rods and until I prove myself wrong, I'll still feel like I'm doing something wrong. I'll post my rigs when I get home to get those checked.. If I am to give it a go, do I just throw my usual rig out? Should I only drop it in if I actually see fish or should I also just consider dropping it in a likely spot? How long should I wait before moving on? (P.S. @cromiee Hope you don't feel like I've hijacked your post while you've been away... I imagine the responses here will help you regardless!)

Wow, that's really kind. Unfortunately I'm in Essex but appreciate the offer.

For me it's a 4 acre weedy lake with lily pads. Average Carp range from 8lbs to 20 something (and one or two 30lb apparently). They have a Facebook group and from what I can gather I'd say there's probably about a 60-70% chance of catching (though obviously not everyone who fishes it is on FB). Would appear the regulars who do a night a week usually catch a few but even they sometimes blank. My work life and the fact that I'm only just starting out means that nights aren't quite an option for me just yet so limited to days atm.

I'm in a very similar situation. Started again last year and only caught 1 on my own + a few when with someone else who told me exactly where to drop the rig. Both of these were at what would be considered close to a 'runs' water. Last year I was changing a lot at once including baits, rigs and venues. This year I've take a much calmer approach. Became a member of a syndicate lake and plan to only fish the one lake the entire year in order to actually learn about it. I've been taking less bait and less variety of bait with me so I can focus on ensuring I'm actually on the fish instead. I've also been trying to avoid re-casting so much as I think I have a habit of doing that too much from coming from float/feeder fishing. I've been on 2.5 day sessions so far and blanked all of them which feels quite frustrating but I'm trying to remain 'calm' about it. Not sure how often you're going but I think I am a little hard on myself. It feels to me that I've been loads and am 'always' blanking but in reality, for some anglers, 2.5 days is just a single session (which they may blank on fairly often). I think it's hard to know whether you're doing something wrong or not when you have no baseline to begin with. Would be good to hear how often others blank to get a feel for what is considered 'normal'. (Obviously this is lake dependent!)