More of this, more of that.

Archive

Blogs

• Fly
• John Garnett takes the new SK8 fly rod to Flaminco Cay resort, Andros, Bahamas for a good workout.
• Sea
• Fishing wagons that get there...
• Carp
• The Italian Tour is Almost Over!

Popular Tags

• Carp Fishing
• Fly Fishing
• Sea Fishing
• Troutmasters

Recent posts

• More of this, more of that.
• On and on.
• A true test of a rod!!
• Burghley Game & Angling Fair
• Sonik Open Day on the Derwent Reservoir, Co. Durham

Hope you’re all well and out catching a few.  Me?  Well as usual, I’ve been out every week without fail both near and far in my quest for great fishing and although a little embarrassing, I’m certainly not complaining as my year has gone from strength to strength and I’ve been ever so fortunate that wherever I’ve cast a bait I’ve been well rewarded with some superb fish from both home and abroad.
So much has happened since my last instalment I really don’t know where to start, but anyway, upon my return from France I had lots of magazine work which kept me very busy for a month or so as well as a bit of floater fishing here and there.  For my personal fishing I had a couple of new waters lined up to help keep the enthusiasm fired up. Both these waters are a big drive from my home, but appealed because the fish they contain are very special old carp indeed, which is, as you are no doubt aware, right up my street and helps to make the horrendous journey in rush hour more than worth the effort and stress.
Of course, being based where I am I have to drive past an awful lot of great waters on my drive South, but to me it’s all about a new challenge and so I threw myself into my latest mission headlong with unwavering commitment until I caught what I was after or got bored ,whichever would come first - I hoped it was the former.
This meant leaving home at gone five pm and heading around a miserably slow m25 which is currently fifty times worse because of the current widening works that has reduced the flow to more of a stop start, stuttering crawl, bad at the best of times but truly soul destroying when you’re going angling and possessed to get there as quickly as humanly possible!
Eventually,  after what seemed like an eternity, I’d make it as far as the m3 junction where I headed south all the way to the coast, negotiating more road works before heading towards Bournemouth on the m27 and the pits at Ringwood. If I was lucky, I would arrive in time for a quick scout around before the light faded , so you could say it was difficult! And that was before I’d even found some fish to fish for.
Difficult or not, it didn’t take me long to get amongst the fish and on my very first bite I caught one of the best looking fish I’d ever laid eyes on, in the shape of a cracking heavily scaled mirror. As you can see from the pictures, it is a truly incredible carp and the mental scars from the long hours spent in traffic were forgotten in an instant when it slipped in the net on a damp and  misty morning.
Around the same time, I had a little dabble on a nearby water and was rewarded with some lovely fish on a variety of methods including the gorgeous chocolate mirror that I’ve included a picture of for you to enjoy. Since then I’ve been all over the place and have caught some superb fish but more of that next time, as I’m off now to a lovely little lake in Kent,  chasing the lovely old carp it holds. Cheers for now,
Nick.