World Carp Classic - Offical Global Website
Lake Bolsena 3rd - 9th September 2012

I have designed some whacky experiments in my time, technically robust and statistically significant but with www.carpandcatbussters.com the Bunsen burner had been pimped with nitrous oxide. The guiding experiment was not one to blow up in my face and the first time I met Benji was on the Ebro in Spain and told him of our English fishing delights.

To this extent one of those fishing sixth senses led to think that maybe we would need to move swims even with such seemingly perfect starting conditions to our session.  The rods were re-baited and bagged, gently cast back on the money with minimum of noise and big splash fuss. The clock was ticking and by mid afternoon for no take some 36 hours later with the sun sinking faster and faster I made the decision to pack up and move onto a different lake before nightfall was upon us.

It seemed just moments ago as the pack up was easy but a Delkim screamed out loud in the hour after sunset. A cheeky combo of KG1 micro pellet in a walnut sized PVA bag and two 8mm tutti bottom baits nearest the hook. This gave rise to a sigh of relief as Copenhagen based Spaniel latched into his first English Carp caught on a Richworth boilie and the Hard core hook link from Ultima helped nail the take.

I was shocked that the maggot rod hadn’t ripped off first but a carp plodding into the margin on the end of a hooping rod was a welcome sight. Not the biggest but a well deserved as it slipped over and into the net, Benji’s face was a picture, victory was ours.

The rods were wound back in and all put in the same area from where our first carp had come from, but first light soon penetrated the eyelids and a good night sleep ensured the tackle was packed away with the River Thames being our next port of call. By 8am we were both sat in the car, I had hoped for more fish but one was enough to get the ball rolling and the taste for more carp gave a rise to fishing’s enthusiasm. I had worked in Wallingford many a moon ago, and the Thames running through this quaint little town is home to fish of specimen proportions.

After a pit stop for food we arranged to meet a good fishing buddy of mine and we spent the afternoon chopsing about fishing and what the future may bring. Steve Dunnet has had some cracking results from the stretch of Thames we found ourselves upon, the maggot or medusa rig was deployed to all rods and we were fingers crossed for a barbel of any size or shape. As the afternoon drew into early evening the invite to stay in a warm bed for the night was too tempting to refuse. That evening we feasted on Chinese takeaway and whispered big fish stories into the night.

Both well fed and watered my night’s sleep was a restless one, the weather conditions had not been kind to us, and the lack of fish action laid heavy as my head rose from the pillow the following morn. After a quick cuppa and some friendly goodbyes our next venue was a private estate lake of about 3 acres near the sleepy village of Tring.

The lake was home to some real monsters of several species, but a high head of fish meant that we had to wade through the smaller ones in an attempt to bank the bigger of residents. We started with carpets of ground bait and maggots with small PVA bags of pellet and plastic corn as main tactic. The lake had a series of islands with rope bridges, bays, inlet streams and was an interesting challenge to say the least.

We set up in a position to cover as much water as possible and it was just a matter of minutes before the first rod tip quivered to a tight line and the spool started to tick at a steady rate. We knew that this former home to farmed crayfish had lots of small carp, it was the mummies that we had our hopes on catching and with 20 carp under our belt before dark with not one over 10lb we looked at each other and smiled, maybe the big ones will move in and on the bait during the night?

The evening was cool, the skies were clear and a frost was on the cards. The rods had been strangely quiet but an hour before sunrise saw a take turn into another cracking carp in the net and on the mat. The stamp of fish were  to be savoured, nothing near the 40lbs of common we knew to be resident but a stunning battery of fully scaled mirrors and golden marmalade commons.

The net was unravelled and to our surprise we found a low double figured ghost mirror carp and our smiles widened to a grin of better fish to come. All rods were wound in and re-baited; time again was against us as by afternoon we would be on the road to our final destination and a kind of home from home.

The morning action was thick and fast, combinations of double takes and fish blowing hard over our baited areas made it hard to pack down. Slowly but surely the tackle was back in place and ready for transportation, a last departing view of the lake gave rise to the thought of a return before too long.  The M25 was chokka and gave plenty of time to discuss our last venue which had been my training ground to say the least.

http://www.carpandcatbussters.com/