The blow back rig

I have written a lot about rigs and how to construct various types for various fishing situations, I even “invented” my own rig the Big Pig line aligner. However recently I find myself slipping back to simpler times and discarding complicated rigs and moving back to a simpler time, a time where we used standard simple rigs that caught fish rather than the angler.

With this in mind I present to you the blow back rig, one of the simplest and easiest rigs to tie and it catches fish too,

1st you need to assemble the components

Continue reading “The blow back rig”

tying popups on to rigs

I know that I said that I hated tying pop-ups onto rigs for chod rigs etc but I have had a change of heart. No I am not about to knock spikers but i have seen another way that actually seems to work. In the past I was always shown that the way to attach popups ( when using floss) was to use a complicated knot based on a grinner which worked about 50% of the time and was a nightmare to tie when you were tired or it was dark or it was cold, or in fact any time that was not at home, in the warm with good lighting.

That has now changed. There is finally an easy want to tie on a a popup using floss ! By the way I must confess that I didn’t think up this idea, it was in the latest issue of Carpology magazine the best “howto” magazine for carp fishing on sale at the moment. So how do you do it ?

Take off about 6-8 inches of floss, I am using Fox yellow bait floss as it is easy to see and in my personal opinion I wouldn’t bother matching floss colour to bait anyway ( especially if you are using bring fluro popups ). Make sure that you use either genuine bait floss or unscented dental floss unless you think carp like the taste of mint 🙂 As bait floss is not that expensive anyway I would just go with the standard floss from a reputable tackle manufacturer. Continue reading “tying popups on to rigs”

Do anglers have small rods ?

A friend of mine pointed me to http://doanglershavesmallrods.com/ the latest Peta rubbish to grace the Internet. They started off with Sea Kittens and migrated to attacking the sexual prowess of  freshwater anglers directly in the UK. Considering that Angling is the largest participation sport in the UK I am amazed that the loons have taken this long to refocus their attentions. Anyway i thought I would post it here just for your amusement and if nothing else  I will get plenty of use for stickers / images like this

Continue reading “Do anglers have small rods ?”

The Black Mirror – Dead

Reports are coming in that “the Black Mirror” from Colnemere near Heathrow is dead, not only is one of the prettiest carp ever to grace the bank dead but also the hardest to catch given that she now lives in an SSSI with no fishing rights. The carp has not been a frequent visitor to the bank and after Jason Hayward caught it in 1992 the lake has been more heavily protected as it has now been further protected and made an SPA, ie fishing the mere for the last few years has been illegal ( adding to the cachet to some to capturing the fish) In the words of Jason Heyward the 1st person to catch the fish ( and legally please note)

Continue reading “The Black Mirror – Dead”

And now for a short photography article

I thought i would swap it around a little today to post some of my favourite photography links. Photography is vital in carp fishing ( and to specimen hunting in general) matchmen generally only take a picture if they win, specimen hunters take far far more. with this in mind I though I would point out some of the places on the net that I use to help me with my photography both for fishing and for holiday photos. 1st up we have  TutsPlus.com and their rather spectacular 100 Photography Tutorials
Continue reading “And now for a short photography article”

RIP Two Tone – A tribute

Two tone the current british record carp is deadWell it is rest in peace Two Tone, the current British record carp. The carp that I had the ticket to catch in my youth but never really bothered with the lake. The carp that I was told about the week it popped up as a potential British record. The carp that lived in a small lake that was just at the bottom of my schools playing fields.  Not got the link to official news but I have it from too many sources that it turned up dead this weekend at Conningbrook lake.
Continue reading “RIP Two Tone – A tribute”

The thorney weir social

Well this was meant to be the post on the social however as no one else turned up this is the limit of the post. If you are going to say you will be somewhere – be there. Will put together a longer post when I am back in front of a pc.

OK now back in front of a PC, well the weekend was a nice relaxing weekend not interrupted by any carp action. One of the bailiffs wander around to check tickets and indicated that some people around the lake were having a few out. To the best of my knowledge there were at least 2 twenties out and 10+ doubles. My only fish was a 9-8lb tench which come to think of it was probably a PB so should have been weighed and photographed.
Continue reading “The thorney weir social”

Anglers Paradise Summer 2010

Anglers Paradise, what more can be said that has not been already ? the only venue that has starred in match fishing programs, specimen carp programs and in a plethora of publications. The place is legendary, and as my wife wanted to go down to Cornwall to see The Eden Project, I thought I would combine a few days down there. The lake complex is located near Halwill Junction in Devon and your TomTom will direct you to the entrance gate.
Continue reading “Anglers Paradise Summer 2010”

Angry old boiler

Not really a fishing post but I thought I would share a pic I took last week at the “Lost Gardens of Heligan” down in Cornwall,showing what has to be the angyest old boiler I have ever seen

angry old boilerThe gardens are well worth a visit if you are in the area, fascinating story behind them and were the surprise event of the week.

If you want to see more pics then click  here for a full gallery from this and other places we daw down in Cornwall and Devon.

Archer Lake Social

As you know I am linked to Carp-Forums and as part of that link I was invited to a a social in the frozen wasts that are the area of the UK above Watford… other wise known as “oooop North” . With all inoculations in place and with a suitable supply of currency with which to impress the natives ( coloured beads, BIC biro’s and disposable lighters) I set off. After going through passport control on the outskirts of London…. enough with this frivolity 🙂

Anyway The lake was easy to fnd and a mere 2 hrs after leaving my house I was in the wilds of up north which was as kind of like the south but the people were friendlier.I was soon ensconced in a swim and set up ready for the 3 days of hard fishing that lay before me. I was told to look for gravel patches and so stick and a few boillies were dispatched on to a patch in the middle and 2kg’s of slimy pigeon conditioner was dispatched on to a margin spot. To cut a long story short apart from a tench and several screaming takes that came to nothing ( which as put down to the massive eels that the lake contains) as well as some pike attacking the fry with such force I managed to get splashed… the weekend was quite from an angling perspective.
Continue reading “Archer Lake Social”