End of summer finale

The last few sessions have seen me bank several twenty pound fish to finish off my summer campaign. It's been an interesting re introduction to my Carp fishing this year and I have thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it. The flurry of twenties has been the icing on the cake after having applied a bait all summer to the water. I have to say that my whole ethos towards my fishing has also changed which has enabled me to fish in a more relaxed manner and yet still fish in a very effective way. Having banked a large number of fish from the water including a few of the better specimens I am pretty confident in the way that my whole approach is working. My rigs have evolved over the course of the season to the point that I have no concerns whatsoever about their effectiveness. The fish in this lake may not be big by national standards and the water may well be regarded as carrying quite a heavy stock of fish with an estimated number of around 120 Carp in a couple of acres, along with a large head of silver fish, but believe me when I say they are some of the cutest Carp I have come across. Their ability to rid themselves of an anglers rig is their party trick and it became apparent quite early on in my campaign that I was indeed being 'done' regularly by these clever Carp. I knew they were eating my bait and I was catching a few fish but I was also getting indications on the rod tips and alarms that led me to believe that some of the fish were indeed dealing with my rigs. The final conclusive piece of evidence was when I reeled in several times to find the blow back tube up by the eye of the hook.....
This led me to make some very small  but important changes to my rigs, and I now believe that the majority of the fish that pick up the rig are being hooked and if they should still be able to deal with it then at least the rig will still be fishing effectively once rejected, offering me the chance of hooking the next fish that should pick up the bait...

One I'd been hoping to bump into.

 

 

Last fish of my summer bait campaign.

So the seasons are now moving on and summer has turned to autumn and this in turn will take us into winter and it's time to change my approach. The bait I was using, while still one of the most effective baits I have ever used in colder water temperatures, and indeed one of the best baits I have used full stop, has come to the end of it's usefulness in catching Carp as we move into the twilight months of this year. A change of bait is in order to something more suited to the colder water temperatures, and early results on another water suggest that I am on the right track with my new bait.

Early result to my winter bait from a different water.

 

 

 

The Carp are now getting their winter condition and colouration and I am really looking forward to hopefully banking a few in the coming weeks and months. It won't be easy but it will be worth the effort to see them in their glorious winter coats.