m a r t i n b o w l e r

28 Carpworld June 2013

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June 2013 Carpworld 29

m a r t i n b o w l e r

With the river season upon us, Martin reveals why there’s never been a better time to tackle Britain’s waterways, but beware,

once you’ve tried it you may never go back to a stillwater.

In unison with the Thames, my rod tip nodded in acknowledgement of the extra pace that recent rainfall

had brought to the river, its movement somewhat hypnotic as I kept vigil over it and then, in the blink of an eye, the connection was broken, replaced by a new, stronger force on the carbon, which seemed intent on prising the rod from me as well. I guess excitement and raised adrenalin levels hit me immediately, but until the cork handle was safely in my hands I had no time to think. Then, and only then, would I be able to consider what was responsible. It had to be a barbel, or a carp, but if it was the latter, this provided more questions than answers. A mirror, common, leather, ghost, or even koi, were a possibility

and, unlike their stillwater cousins, a name, or a weight had quite likely never been placed on it. Knowing what you had hooked was impossible – it was the equivalent of putting your hand in a chocolate box wearing a blindfold!

Rod safely in hand, the test curve was now taken to its limit and beyond while the reel’s clutch capitulated. I had hooked the fish under the tip, but now a combination of both brute strength and using the flow to maximise its power meant it was now in the middle of the river, and still going away from me. If there were a single chink in my tackle armour it would find it and I prayed the line would hold and the hook wouldn’t straighten. I realised, however, that the fish needed to be stopped, even if the equipment came under more strain, but sometimes in river battles guile not brute strength wins the day, so instead of simply pulling harder, I set about removing my quarry’s assistance – the Thames. By walking downstream with the rod, the flow no longer needed to be factored into the fight, and from below I could then allow the 15lb line to take its toll.

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Immediately it worked, allowing the handle to spin to my advantage, indeed, once on the move it seemed that the desire to reach London was no longer there. Instead, we would discover who would be the victor at close quarters.

Hugging the gravel bottom, the plan of stealing all my line may have changed, but that certainly didn’t mean it would surrender to my will. For a minute I gained no line, which was to be expected – but five minutes! Well, I knew now that this was no barbel because contrary to popular belief, a river carp has no match when it comes to an unwillingness to be landed. All I could do was keep it on a short leash and wait for the lactic acid to rob its tail of any strength. Having identified the species I was slugging it out, which led to the obvious and dangerous temptation of considering my prize. What size or strain? These endless variables with this form of fishing makes it special and tonight I needed to know badly, in fact for this moment it was the only thing that mattered. Angling at its best will remove you from the humdrum of daily life and lift from your shoulders every other issue or problem and I had reached that state of mind – I no longer wanted to know, I had to know.

A quarter of a rotation on the spool’s

clutch and the pressure was exerted to an increasingly desperate carp. Next I had to bring it to the surface and flood its mouth with fresh air, but at the same time be wary of not letting it sit too far downstream for fear of ripping the hook from its anchor. Slowly, but surely, I worked on the plan as the beast obeyed until it smashed its tail fin onto the surface, angered by the taste and feel of fresh air. It wanted to return to the deeps, but that was no longer on offer and I kept forcing it to repeat itself while another gulp was taken. The time had come to end this duel and my landing net would, I hoped, do just that. Under moonlight I could make out a form, enough to steer it towards the mesh, but no more than that. I braced myself, gently pulling the rod backwards while forcing the spreader block into position, on course with the hump in the river. The time had certainly come to hold my breath, only expelled as the frame was lifted to secure victory. What had I won? The tussle from start to finish was, to my mind, more than enough reason to target

river carp, but now we had the coup de grâce. What was inside my landing net? Switching on the torch I had my answer – a mirror and a scaly beast with no shortage of length, width, or depth, and while the scales would later confirm a carp over the magical 30lb mark, I knew immediately it was a moment with a fish to treasure. Anyone who wouldn’t have felt the same quite simply couldn’t be an angler. It was special, but equally it was, and is, on offer to anyone willing to try. Tempted? Yes? Then read on.

Virtually every river in England and Wales holds carp and if you have flowing water near you then the opportunity to angle in such a manner is 99% certain. Even the mighty Wye, famed for salmon and barbel, holds specimens over 30lb because while the country’s obsession of stocking every stillwater with carp continues, alongside floods which come both summer and winter, there is a restocking process each and every year. A ticket to these venues can also come as a pleasant change; in fact the carp I described was

30 Carpworld June 2013

Contrary to popular belief, a river carp has no match when it comes to an unwillingness to be landed

TOP LEFT A Thames 30.

ABOVE LEFT Even in the mighty Wye!

ABOVE Town centres are magnets.

Go With the F low Martin Bowler

tempted from a club stretch costing the princely sum of £13 for the year! So, assuming that you have a river near you – what should you be looking for?

The first places I would investigate are the stretches that run through towns or cities, because while they aren’t aesthetically pleasing, they are a magnet for carp, being full of structures that your quarry can’t help investigating, such as lock cuts, boats, and bridges. The role of predators, namely otters, also dictate the species’ placement in a river and while the otter does get bolder every year, the close proximity to man, and maybe dogs as well, can only help. I believe it’s no coincidence that the few stretches left on my local Avon with a reasonable head of barbel and carp are also very popular with dog-walkers.

As I have just mentioned, carp love to investigate anywhere the river alters course, and perhaps the biggest diversions are weir pools. It’s easy to imagine that white water and increased flows wouldn’t provide a home for a carp, but they love them, especially

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hungry creatures. The more you give them, the more they like it. The biggest edge you can have in this form of fishing is prebaiting and you will be amazed at what can be drawn to you. On more than one occasion I have begun baiting where I can see no carp, only to witness a dozen a week later. Now, I fully realise throwing in bait, especially boilies, is not cheap, so I would recommend combining them with some kind of particles, and for this there is little better than hempseed. Pellets are also great, but avoid them if bream are present because on your first angling trip you won’t get much rest! Therefore if, as I generally do, I select Richworth Xtracta boilie, for every kilo I would add four kilos of particles. Introduce this three times a week for a couple of weeks and you should be catching immediately. Be careful, though, to ensure your baiting is not affecting other anglers, or that it’s being fished over while you are away. Riverbanks are hardly crowded however and it’s relatively easy to find an area where the only person fishing there all season is you. Obviously, if the cost of the prebaiting is still an issue, alongside the price of petrol incurred in travelling, or you simply don’t have the time, don’t despair, but I would then fish as close to the carp’s home as possible because it’s unlikely that they will be drawn to you. While we are on the topic of baiting, remember that the water is moving and throwing it in by hand with a catapult or Spomb may not see it land in the desired spot. For introducing bait close to the bank, the baitdropper is supreme, while distant spots can be targeted with your feed bound in a groundbait. When I designed Richworth’s Xtracta groundbait, I ensured the blend provided a weighty mix and I suggest you do the same, with ingredients such as trout pellet powder and leam. You want a ball that binds well and doesn’t break up until it hits the bottom.

Finally, let’s look at the tackle, and here the rod doesn’t have to be of a huge test curve or have a 50mm butt eye. Notice I said ‘rod’ because if I’m fishing close in it will only ever be a single one used. The need to cast more regularly is one of the consequences of fishing in flowing water and the last thing I want to do is double or treble the disturbance. I also find that accommodating multi rods only leads to compromising my rig placement, fishing neither in the hot spot. Of course, on our largest rivers, such as the Severn,

when the river is low in late summer and additional oxygen is being pumped in there. The area of water directly above is also worth exploring, because this is normally full of structures and boats as well as increased flows as the water is drawn into the weirs. Then there is the lock cut to allow the boats to safely navigate the weir, providing almost stillwater. This area comes into its own in winter when floods tend to make the carp congregate in such sanctuary. As the river then meanders through the countryside, the key to location continues to be areas that impact on its journey to the sea; islands, confluences, bends, depth changes and snags are just some of the main obstacles needing to be overcome and it’s here that the carp set up home. Plenty of this watercraft can also be done at home in front of a computer with the wonders of Google Earth because it’s amazing what you can see. Then, with map in hand, you can visit, join the club, and you’re under way.

Next comes getting the carp to feed, and fortunately they tend to be simple,

Carp love to investigate anywhere the river alters course, and perhaps the biggest diversions are weir pools

TOP Clear-water rig.ABOVE Baiting accurately.

INSET Plenty of food.

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everything with ease. Firstly, I will definitely use a backlead combined with 15lb fluorocarbon to further aid my concealment. The lead is attached via the same arrangement as the backlead, float stops and link bead, meaning the fluoro is fished through, making up three-quarters of the hooklength. The final part starts with a small Size 11 Uni-link swivel and then a couple of inches of 10 or 15lb Drennan micro braid, which is incredibly thin and of a brown colour, which blends in with the gravel. Around the swivel’s barrel I mould some heavy putty that helps the hooking process like the AAAs, and also keeps the hooklength pinned down. A Knotless Knot connects the hook which, on many occasions, will be a Size 12 Super Specialist barbel pattern and, despite its diminutive size, I have never had one fail. The Hair itself is kept very short, which will support half a boilie. Why half a boilie? Well, in the flow it will act as a cup and fall over the hook, keeping it completely concealed. I have spent hours of my life watching fish feed in rivers and trust me, your hook is easily spotted. A small, but important, tip is to superglue the Hair stop in place because this will prevent chub from pulling off the bait. Lower this rig in position, along with a PVA mesh bag of free offerings, and there aren’t many occasions a carp will suss your presence.

This form of angling really is exciting and I love the air of mystery it provides that can be lost on lakes. So, if you are looking for a new challenge, it might well be worth walking down to your local river and taking a look – carp fishing may never be the same again! CW

Trent or tidal Thames, there is enough room, but I can’t remember an occasion where I felt the need for more than two.

The standard model I use is a Drennan 2¼lb Big River barbel rod, combined with 15lb Syncro XT mono, which is as tough as old boots, a vital property when fishing near structures. This is fished directly through to the terminal rig because products such as leadcore serve no benefit here because if debris gets caught on your line increasing pressure, which it is sure to do, it will be lifted off the bottom and stand out like a sore thumb. That’s not to say the carp will tolerate tight mono entering the swim and I have two tricks to overcome this problem.

Firstly, when fishing close in, I nearly always use a backlead which is semi-fixed on the line 6ft above the main lead. To attach it I place a Drennan link bead between two float stops, allowing me to add, or remove it, or change the size, dependent on the flow strength. However, when fishing the far bank or on a snaggy bottom, using a backlead may cause problems, so here I allow a huge bow of line to form to help reduce the tension. Now, the carp will brush the line but it will give because it isn’t taut; it’s also

worth noting that a big bow of line will also mean the lead will hold more easily on the bottom and is a good trick to use if you’re struggling to keep the rig in position. This issue is generally associated with floodwater and when debris is washed downstream it gets caught on the line and then it slowly works its way down to the rig, ruining the presentation. Therefore, even when not using a backlead, a float stop will still sit 6ft up the main line to ensure the debris builds up here, away from the rig.

For my standard terminal setup I simply use a lead clip,

flat-sided lead with the size dependent on

flow, to a swivel and 8-10ins of 20lb E-S-P Strip Teaze and my favourite river hook pattern

– a Drennan Continental

boilie. It’s not only strong, but its

beaked point helps prevent it blunting on gravel. Nothing

complicated, with a simple Hair Rig to impale a dense boilie. The only edge I use here is to pinch an AAA shot an inch away from the hook, making it look like

I’m fishing a pop-up. In fact, it’s there to help drag the

hook into the bottom lip, thus aiding the Bolt Rig. There is, however, a time

when such a simple rig is unsuitable, especially

in clear water when your quarry can see

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INSET My favourite hook.

BELOW Plenty of variety.