Preperation

So I have a 48hr session planned for October at Oxlease Lake on the Richworth Linear complex in Oxford. This is a session that will be following on from the marshaling at the UKCC final, I am thinking that this lake sees so much pressure all the time that a weekend where only 14 anglers are on the lake should have them moving about quite confidently with me then flicking a few rods out on the Sunday till Tuesday.

Now I've never been on Oxlease Lake and have no idea on what the bottom is like or what features there are to fish too so for the main part I can't do a massive amount of prep on the lake itself. All I can do is make sure my gear is ready. So I have been rummaging through my tackle bag and trying to condense the amount of crap I have in there! It's amazing how much gear you collect over the course of a season. I have managed to acquire 4 Spombs! (Thank you Mr n Mrs Spomb!) A few marker floats from margins around lakes. An old torn groundsheet for that "just in case!" And other odds and sods! So a lot of it has gone into the shed for when its needed.

So today after sorting through the bags and car boot and getting the rods in their sleeves built up and ready I made a few rigs up for my session. As I have (at this moment) decided to go for a spombed area with a pva bag on top of it then I made some short KD rigs for my small pop ups and balanced tigernuts. But as can always be the case anything can happen and I have enough gear in my tackle box to cover everything. He says hoping!

Anyway with more tubs of hook baits than I probably need and plenty of particles and plastic baits I think I should be ok. This is a session I really am looking forward to. I also have a good book with me just in-case!

To pre-bait or not to pre-bait?

With winter looming many of us will be tucked up at home rather than on the bank but how many of us carpers will be out and fishing through the winter?

I have decided to do a winter baiting campaign on my local lake with the intention of putting in 1-2 kilos a week in a few 'spots' around the lake and while there whack out a few hi-viz pop up's for a few hours at showing fish (if they show themselves that is!)

Some may think that this is a waste of time and money and to fish over this pre-bait for a session (24hrs+) rather than leave it for a free feed, others will think it is unfair to other anglers that may come to the lake and fish a different spot whilst the fish are on my spots feeding on freebies. They would be doing that anyway if I was fishing (hopefully!) so to me that argument is moot. I believe that the fish will come in and feed, not get hooked and then leave, come back and repeat and build up a great deal of confidence and then when it does come to me being able to get on the bank for a long session then the chances are greatly increased on me hooking one of the residents.

Hopefully after winter I will be able to share some results with you and it will have been worth the effort and cost. But when you get a cracking deal buying in bulk then it really doesn't cost the earth to do a winter baiting campaign with a good quality boilie. The S7 from DNA is my choice of winter bait and from what I have heard and seen it makes a cracking all year bait and should really get those carp munching all the way through the cold snap.

So we will see if the pre-baiting works and if so I will have something else to write about!

Tight lines.

Up to September

So as mentioned before the majority of my time on the bank this year has been spent marshalling the BCAC and UKCC in various locations across the UK. I first saw the advert for the marshalling on the BCAC website and as I was looking at entering the competion at some point then marshalling would give me an insight into how it all works.

So my first event was a BCAC eliminator at A1 pits on pit 6 and I was introduced to Chris 'Bonesy' Holmes. First thing I must say about Chris is how welcoming he made me feel and funny the guy is! Pure legend and cracking angler. He put me on the Trent bank and I had the pleasure of meeting Jason Cann and Jerry Bridger from team Crafty Carper! I had such a laugh listening to them banter with Bonesy and also Jason's bag of goodies was an epic sight! The Doctor down in the bottom corner swim was far too intelligent for me but was a nice chap. And then I had the round winners Phil Bury and Joe Hubble who showed me so much. From rigs to setting bobbins and casting at range. I had a fantastic weekend and was delighted with the fish caught and another highlight for me was taking pictures for Jerry and Jason of the big common Jason had. 

The next event for me was at Poolbridge Farm in York for the UKCC. Again I had a great weekend with Mick in charge this time with his boy Lloyd. I met some great guys and even though Bobby and Kieran didn't make it through the lads had a few nice fish and Bobby's big ghostie was a stunner. 

The following event was again at Poolbridge Farm in York but this time it was for the BCAC and what a weekend it was. Wind, rain and Bonesy on fine form! Haha. I really enjoyed the weekend and also got chatting to a few guys around the lake, Daz and Vinny from DNA, Lewis and Alexi from Fox and Kris and Graham from Crafty Carper. Must admit that these guys know their stuff and was great watching them work. Kris and Graham where a great pair of chaps. Chalk and cheese springs to mind with these two! Kris was a right bag of nerves and G was as calm and cool as anyone I've ever met! Again I learnt a lot from them including G's epic Chod rig. 

So after the eliminators came the semi-finals but unfortunately I couldn't make either of the semi's. But I did make it to the final of the BCAC at Broadlands lake in Southampton. First of I have to say what a stunning venue. Absoulutly stunning. The only thing I would say about the place from an 'day ticket' point of view is the amount of pegs and proximity of them. I understand that they need to meet the supply and demand area of their business plan but having 4 pegs in less than 10 yards is a wee bit too much in my eyes. Anyway other than that the place is stunning and although I didn't see any carp grace the bank on my section of the lake I did see some catch photos and there are some gorgeous fish swimming in those waters. This time I got to meet some 'Stars' as I would call them. Ian Poole was floating about taking photos and chatting to the competitors and Rob Huges was with the Sky Sports cameras and interviewing the guys. I was lucky enough to watch a zig rig tip from Mark Hutchinson, brilliant stuff, loved it. 

I also got to meet Lofty and Ginge as well as the other regular marshals. The grub was cracking and the banter just as good. I got to have a good chat to the Nash guys there too and have decided on my purchase with my tackle vouchers! 

So was it worth it? Damn straight it was. Will i be back next year? Try stopping me!

After the final at Broadlands I finally managed a few short sessions, one to Stillingfleet this time using S7 Dumbells and I had 2 small Commons. The other was an overnighter to Ladywoods which was a hard night and unfortunatly ending up being a blank. But never fear for Autumn is here and I plan on getting out soon, even if it is just for pre-baiting at Shipton. Oh and I have the UKCC final to marshal and a sneaky 48hr session on the lake after!