I headed down to the legendary Redmire pool from Gloucestershire with a 35 mile drive ahead of me. I was very excited as I remembered watching “A passion for angling” back in 1993 when I was 13 years old. I will never forget the series when Bob James and Chris Yates ventured over to Redmire in search of monster carp. It summed up the whole angling thing for me and since then I have acquired a passion for carp fishing. The interesting thing is none of my friends have this addiction but to any carp angler the feeling of actually catching a carp is quite an achievement in itself, and that first carp bite can change people lives forever. I was lucky enough to catch my first carp of 3lb on a small lake in Ledbury when I was 14.
When I arrived Rob and Jeoff Shaw had already set-up their stuff in Willow pitch and the one next to this. I decided to opt for the opposite bank as the weather looked surprisingly good and we were blessed by Isaac Walton for this. I set-up my 3 rods and decided not to use any buzzers in the true spirit of Redmire. As the evening progressed the weather got worse until I had to get my brolly out. I had decided not stay the night as the worst rain was forecast for that night. On the next day I arrived fresh and anxious to catch a fish.
Anyone who has fished Redmire will understand that there is a lot of Canadian pond weed in the lake. Also with the weather being so cold the fish were sitting up by the dam and not in the shallow water. The only bite I had resulted in a hook pull from the evening pitch. I started my first day fishing in Pitchfords and put some sweetcorn on some clear areas of the lake, which I could see wearing my polarised galsses. I checked it the next day but no fish had visited the area suggesting to me they were in the deeper water by the dam. On day 2 I cast all my rods into the central channe of the lakel but I think the fish were sitting above the weed and therefore missing the bait presented to them. I think I would have opted for a helicopter rig next time as the weed was very bad. The bait I was using was fake pop-up maize that normally works well in the colder months. On the other two rods I had spam and a Mainline Cell boilie. If I was to go again I would just use fake sweetcorn on all rods I am sure that would result in success with a small PVA funnel web bag of pellets attached to the hook.
I would give my right arm to fish in the summer and try and tempt a Redmire carp on a floating dog biscuit. My other favourite tactic is floating bread soaked in honey. From my past expereince the carp go mad for it for some reason. I got the idea after reading BB’s legendary book on carp fishing. The other end of the Redmire lake is very shallow and I could only imagine what it would be like in the summer months. The carp would be rolling in the red mud/clay of the lake and easily visible I am sure. Rob Shaw was fishing opposite me and he caught 2 beautiful carp so congratulations to him. One was 22lb and the other 26lb specimen so it just goes to show that November can be as productive as any other month of the year. The experience is one I will treasure and hope on my next visit I am able to catch a carp.
As the weather begins to improve carp start to become more competitive for their food. As the water temperature starts to increase the carp tend to be seen near the surface of the water. On highly pressured waters the carp are rarely sighted so high in the water. To get the best results from floater fishing you need the correct rod, reel and end tackle. In my experience a 2 ¾ lb rod is ideal, which will be strong enough to absorb the sudden explosive energy as the carp takes the bait and bolts for safety. A standard Shimano bait runner reel with braid main line is best as the bite indication is superb as there is no stretch like monfilament. Drennan double strength line or Korda Kruiser Control line is best for hook length at a breaking strain of 10-12lb. The new Korda mixa or wide gape hooks are a perfect balance in weight to a dog mixer and this ensures the bait does not sink when cast. I have found that a size 12 hook produces the best results also a wide gape hook by GT or Korda can achieve very good results too.
There are a number of controller floats on the market but I would strongly recommend a Drennan, Nash or Korda Interceptor distance & Korda cruiser controller float. If you aim to cast mixer bait more than 30 yards please use a 15g+ controller float to achieve this. The new Korda range features an “Interceptor” float that is designed to achieve greater distances than the standard controller float.
Pedigree chum or Tesco dog mixer are the best bait for floater fishing. A trimmed down pop up will achieve great results too. I have found in the past that Dynamite baits halibut pop up trimmed to the size of a dog mixer works extremely well. This is probably due to the intense fishy oily smell of the bait that leaks on contact with the water. A very cheap buy effective method involves using a stale loaf of bread soaked in good quality honey. This produces incredible catch results provided the carp are feeding confidently.
Observing carp feeding off the surface is very interesting. In the past I have noticed that the carp tend to be attracted to the bright orange controller float tip. This confirms why bright pop ups can be so effective when all other baits are not producing the desired results. There are occasions when the carp will try to feed on the float as though it is a source of food. As soon as they realise it is not a food source, they quickly turn and disappear to the depths of the lake unlikely to be seen again for quite some time. Sometimes the situation calls for floating putty instead of a controller float. The best product is “Kryston Polyfloat”. This putty can be moulded round the swivel connecting the mainline to the hook link. As a guide the Drennan double strength hook link should be between3-6ft in length. This ensures the feeding carp are not spooked by the controller float or putty. The other essential piece of gear is a pair of polarised sunglasses and a pair of binoculars to help locate the carp. Many anglers underestimate how important finding the carp can be. This is essential before delivering the free offerings and casting your hook bait. These tools will help it that quest and give you the confidence to achieve a bite on the most difficult waters.
Once the carp have been found the key is to get the carp feeding confidently off the surface by catapulting dog mixers up wind a few yards in front of them and using the wind or lake current to let them drift back over the heads of the patrolling carp. This is why fishing into the wind can be such an effective tactic. As soon as the carp appear to be feeding on the bait confidently you have won half the battle. Now is the time to cast your bait a few yards in front of the feeding carp. Try to ensure the mainline does not to cross the path of the carp and spook them. If the carp are competing for food they are less likely to be aware that a hook bait is in close vicinity. Slowly wind the reel so that the bait moves into the feeding zone. The trick is to take your time and not rush this as any sudden movements will spook the fish immediately.
If it is the case that the carp are very wary of the controller float then there is a trick to achieve a good distance cast without the need for float or floating putty. To produce the necessary weight on the hook bait to achieve a good cast simply get some Korda PVA mesh and tie a knot in one end. Then carefully fill the PVA mesh with about 30-40 dog mixers. Ensure they are tightly packed like a small football. Now tie a knot on the other end of the PVA funnel web and snip of the excess mesh. Simply attach this to the hook. If you want the PVA to be secure to the hook a good method is to place the hook within the mesh and then fill with dog mixers, this then ensures the PVA full of bait does not fall off when cast. When the cast hook bait hits thewater the attached PVA starts to melt and the dog mixers disperse over thewater surface. It is now very difficult for the carp to identify the hook bait amongst 40 other dog mixers. It won’t be long until you are playing a carp to your net and there is nothing more exciting than catching carp using this method.
