Advanta Protector 60" Oval Shelter Review

I don't usually do a lot of reviews on gear, it wasn't something I felt I could do any justice too, but nevertheless, here I am writing a little review for an item I had recently purchased.
I mention the word purchase as this review isn't a favour for anyone or any company, its just my honest opinion of what I have bought.

Being a short session angler means my whole approach heavily relies upon the ease and quickness to get fishing. I may well move swims a number of times during the course of the day to facilitate my short time spent on the bank and all of my gear is based around this ethos.
Being able to set up and pack down within a matter of minutes is critical for me being able to move on to showing fish.
The most important item I have is my shelter, it really can be the deciding factor to whether I have a good session or a bad one.
It needs to be easy to set up, easy to pack down as well as fold away into my rod sling, it needs to be strong enough to cope with all of the weather conditions and most importantly it needs to be light.
Now i am not going to use this item once and type a glowing review, I am going to base this review over a few months period to hopefully give you, the angler a true prospective of the shelter in question.

This is The Advanta Protector 60" Oval Shelter.

It comes supplied with a ground sheet, two banksticks, two bankstick adapters and eight heavy duty pegs and retails for £54.99.

First Impressions

Without the groundsheet it weighs a little under 4kg's which is quite light for a shelter of this size. It rolls up very easily and fits into my rod sling no problem at all.
I like the way the pegs are constructed with the steel pegging spike moulded all the way through the plastic handle.

So there is no chance of the handle being pulled off. I have had this happen before and it is really annoying.
There is also a rod retaining strap to the right of the brolly.

Which is always a good feature to have when your either re baiting or changing a rig on your rod in high winds.

The brolly has a short centre pole which clips in very easily giving you instant cover which is only made stronger by screwing on the thumb screw.

Overall, the brolly for the money is a very good piece of kit, there's more than enough room to store all of your gear for a day session, its very quick to set up and take down, and most importantly it nice and light and easily fits into my rod sling.

Advanta is Angling Directs own brand, so make sure you keep an eye out for any gear boasting this logo.

I shall do another review in a few months time to see how I have gotten on with the shelter, for the moment, all looks good and I am looking forward to using thus shelter, not only for days but for the odd night session as well.

As always, thanks for reading and good luck.

Fourth Session 2015

Much to my surprise my next session would be in just a few days time, my sessions aren't usually this close together, but the boss had the day off and im never to slow to pass up another fishing opportunity.

I had a quick check of the Met Office weather reports and to my delight, Monday was looking a few degree's warmer than it had been recently, so already the odds were looking slightly better. 

I had planned to cover surface fishing tackle and tactics in this entry but as my fourth trip had come around so quickly I hadn't had the time to prepare any literature or pictures. 

I didn't think I would be fishing until later on in the week, plus I am still waiting for a few bits and pieces to come through the post.

My original idea behind these blogs was to give some detail behind my bait, tackle and tactics within the first five trips and then move onto writing about the more important fundamentals of fishing in the later entries. I am not one for constantly going on about which item caught this fish or which bait caught that, there's already so much literature based around these topic's and I don't feel I can add anything significant to the many writings already out there as I am not really doing anything special.

So I thought I would leave the writing until I was actually on the bank tomorrow, that way maybe I would capture the true essence of fishing, plus it would help to pass the time whilst waiting for a fish. 

I say this with a smile on my face, because as you know Winter fishing can present the hardest fishing of the year, so those long hours of motionless bobbins would be alleviated by keeping my brain occupied.

I sit here looking out over a still mostly frozen lake, the kettle is boiling to my right hand side, the sun is out and I dare not move a muscle as each of my rods are positioned no more than 5 yards out. I can clearly see the line on the left hand rod moving with the wind as it arcs down toward the pool and I have a feeling of deep appreciation with a smattering of hope. To be honest I am truly not bothered if I catch today as I find myself just enjoying being here. 

I had imagined what this picture would look like many times before and it was everything I had hoped for. 

The sun is warming up my feet and legs whilst my trusty brolly protected from the wind behind, I am comfortable, no, more than comfortable, I am in one of those sublime moments that are few and far between. 

I shall remember this moment, this picture, for the rest of my days, and that, at its core, is what fishing is all about for me. 

Not just those rare big fish but those rare moments where you are truly content.
If I had to sum it up with one word, it would have to be Enjoyment, surely that should be everyone's fundamental point.

A Robin has swooped down and perched itself on one of my rods a couple of times now, I presume to see if there are any free offerings to feast upon, but every time I go to grab my camera, he's off into the sanctuary of the trees. Maybe I should try to tempt him down with a couple of crumbed boilies to get a snap of him.

!!!GOTCHA!!!

Sorry for the poor quality of the photo, its all I could manage in the split second the Robin decided to stay still.

There's not a single noise on this pool apart from distant birds calling to one another, the tree's were still baron of leaves but that would all soon change with Spring. 

I am really looking forward to seeing this tiny little pool in its full glory, I can imagine me taking a lot of pictures and maybe doing the odd 24hr session to make the most of the warmer mornings.

I was feeling particularly tired and could quite easily go to sleep, but I didn't want to miss a single moment of today. The only thing that could disturb my peace would be one of the alarms bursting into life, and yes, a fish would be the icing on the cake, but not essential. 

Recently I have been taking an interest in another fellow bloggers exploits, I most enjoy his affectionate writing of his time on the bank, he seems to have a similar train of thought to mine. These writings are so rare now as the majority of carp literature seems to be based around the how to and the what to use, I just feel that the other aspects should also be kept alive. Paul Warren is his name otherwise known as @Charltoncarper on twitter, look him up, he's a great writer and one I intend on keeping an eye on.

The day had been fishless as you might expect and as the sun began to fade behind the wood to my right hand side the temperature slowly started to decline, nevertheless, I had a couple of more hours to go and remained optimistic.

I had even baited a few swims further up with dog biscuits hoping something might materialise, but It just wasn't meant to be today. 

I had really enjoyed my day and made some fond memories, a fish would of been nice but that's ok, there's always next time.

I did put in another 1/2 pound of free offerings before I left in a few chosen spots and bid the pool a farewell for another week.

As always, thanks for reading, I hope you have enjoyed my fishless ramblings, I think I am getting rather good at blanking now, until next time, good luck.

Third Session 2015

As I mentioned in the last blog I was now starting to focus my attentions on to boilies, this would be an important move if I wanted any kind of longevity with my baiting campaign. 

Tigers are my favourite hookbait but they only offer a certain amount of nutrition for carp, and having something with a higher nutritional content would keep the fish coming back for more, time and time again.

I had actually been rolling my own baits for quite a while now, and with the help of a couple of friends I think I have managed to put a decent boilie together. 

A guy on Twitter (northernnev) had contacted me last year, offering me a basemix to use at a greatly reduced cost than what I was paying.

To be honest I was a bit dubious but thought it was worth a punt, well, i have never looked back since. As well as northernnevs basemix's being first class he has always taken the time to answer my many questions and even made a few suggestions along the way, which have paid dividends. I would class northernnev as a bit of a bait geek, there's not a lot he doesn't know, and what he doesn't just isn't worth knowing.

These are just a few of the many fish I have had

since using northernnevs basemix

Another friend of mine (Del) has also been an integral part of my bait making, always there, offering help and advice. With both of these guys helping out i really felt in safe hands and now I think I have produced a very good bait indeed.

Two other guys who are as equally knowledgeable are squirrel of karpkandi and onegav of beechwood baits, these guys really know there stuff and anything purchased from their companies is going to be of the very best quality. You'll easily find them on Twitter as they are all regular tweeters. Squirrel had made me a load of different flavoured pop ups for me to try out but as of yet I haven't had the opportunity to try them out as much as I wanted as I am not a big pop up user, but these baits remain in my armoury just in case the situation arrives.

I haven't used anything from Beechwood baits, but after many a conversation with onegav, its clear he knows what he's talking about and I regularly see his baits catching for others on twitter. So if your looking for something that's built using the very best if ingredients then follow these guys.

@northernnev
@beechwoodbaits
@KarpKandi

Nev had sent me a kilo of his new winter basemix just before christmas, I was toying around with his robin red mix at the time but wanted a sweet/creamy boilie to coincide with the tigers I was using. This new base had a vanilla powder as one of its many ingredients and would blend beautifully with the creamy mixture I had decided on.

So I set to work, trying all sorts of combinations until I came up with these.

As you can see its a dark mix, which I really wanted, and the base leant itself very well with my creamy/sweet theme.

I had also made a batch of pop ups, bottom hookbaits, paste a stick mix and a lovely soak. 

Now I had all of the bait ready I just wanted to get back to the bank and give it all a good go.

I wasn't going to be back out for another week and a half which felt like an eternity. Twitter was full of anglers braving the elements, some returning back home after seeing their beloved water frozen over, and some were actually getting amongst some fish.

To say I was feeling envious was an understatement, not just for the fish but more for being on the bank, 

The days were slowly getting longer with the arrival of Spring being not so to far away, new shoots were starting to emerge on some of the plants in my garden and the morning bird chorus was getting louder with every day that passed, all signifying the approach of warmer weather.

Most of my spare time, well I say most, its more like all of my spare time is spent doing all things carp related to help pass the time until I go fishing.
Preparing bait and rigs, cleaning this cleaning that, watching this, reading that, all sounds a bit obsessive doesn't it, but I would guess most of us go through this.
You see, fishing isn't just a hobby to me, its much more than that, I have tried to explain this compulsion many a time to people who aren't within the confines of the fishing fraternity, with no luck at all. In fact no matter how I try to rationalise this behavour, I am still looked upon as if I belong in some kind of mental institution.
So I have given up trying to explain, now I smile and just say "I go because I like it" I am still greeted with that same institutional look, but it matters not, as I know I am not alone in my predicament.

My fishing would now be focused on doing midweek sessions in an attempt to avoid the weekend madness that would soon be upon this little pools banks.

This is normally a good move on these day ticket waters, and I am fortunate enough to be able to take advantage of this situation. As you'll remember from my Introduction blog, I explained my theories behind this move and felt a little more confident already.

The weather forecast wasn't looking good all week with temperatures barely exceeding 4°, and Friday looked cloudy but calm.

Friday morning did indeed look nice and calm on first inspection, not a single whisper of wind, not a single tree moved, and for the first time in a while, the paths outside the front of my home were not glistening with thick frost.
It was still very dark as it was only 3.30 am, I never sleep that well when I'm fishing, I just hoped the car wouldn't play up today as it had the week before, putting an end to my session before it had even begun.
There was a thin frosting of ice on the car roof but nothing of any quantity like it had from the weeks gone by, maybe the whether was on the turn for the better.

Much to my dismay the entire pool was frozen over, the air didn't feel that cold getting into the car at home, but I was now greeted with a biting breeze, which almost felt painful to my hands. To say I was feeling despondent was an understatement, but the sun was out and I felt sure all would be okay once I was in the confines of my brolly. The northern end was covered with very thin ice as the bright sunshine was focused in this area and breaking it was easy, so I set about rowing out the boat across swims 30, 31 and 32, using the boat to break up the ice.
It was a relatively easy task and there was soon 10 to 15 yards of clear water out in front of these swims, so at least I could get a couple of lines into the water.
I have to be honest, after all of the commotion I had caused I doubted very much that I would get a fish today.
Nevertheless, I was here now and set up and just hoped the carp gods would look down on me with a certain air of sympathy.
I had thrown in a couple of handfuls of free offerings around the two areas, some made it down but a few bounced off the sheets of ice and drifted off across the unbroken sheet of ice.
The bird life found these baits very appetising, so at least they had something to eat during the course of the day.
As the day progressed the temperature dramatically dropped and any chance of catching anything was quickly fading, but I suppose you have to be in it to win it.
Finally I gave in after a bite less day and I just couldn't stand the bitter cold any more.
Anyway, I was already looking forward to next week as I had a couple of bits and pieces coming through the post and looking around the banks you could definitely tell Spring was on its way.

I'd just hoped it would make an appearance sooner rather than later. Winter has always been my favourite season, but even I find the cold temperatures a little tedious towards the end.

As always thanks for reading and until next time, good luck.

Fish Care For Beginners (part 1)

This is such a big subject that I don't think it is possible to put all of the content into one entry, so I think I will split it into two blogs and cover the very basics in this addition and then move on into weighing and retaining fish into the next part.
Even though this is aimed at beginners to give them an idea of what they need, I still see the more experienced angler with insufficient carp care gear.

Fish care is one of those aspects of fishing that should be taken seriously as we all have a responsibility to look after the quarry we fish for, especially the bigger species like Carp, Pike, Catfish, Sturgeon and Zander. I still to this day see fishermen using inadequate gear for the job, and regularly see anglers using nets that are to small for the species they are fishing for. Sometimes being dragged up the bank and then set on to hard ground, without any consideration for the fish what so ever. So I am setting out to cover some of the essentials that you should have before you even think about going fishing. 

First and foremost I would like to cover Landing Nets.

It is your responsibility to ensure you have a landing net that is big enough for the job. At the very least you should be using a 36 inch net, I actually have a 36 and a 42 inch net, the 42 inch is more than capable of handling large carp. If you are Sturgeon or Catfishing you might want to consider using a 50 inch net. I usually try to unhook the fish in the net even before I think of lifting it onto the unhooking mat.

If I can not unhook the fish I will careful run my hand under the fish to make sure all of the fins are facing towards the back of the fish. If the fins are left sticking out from the fish you are running the risk of getting them caught in the net and possibly breaking the fins. Once the fish is in your net, it is good practice to take the net out of the spreader block and roll the top of the net. This ensures the fish is properly supported and it is easier to run your hands around the base of the fish, checking the fins are in the right position before gently lowering the fish on to your unhooking mat.  

That leads me nicely on to unhooking mats.

There is no excuse these days, you can buy unhooking mats in various sizes for very little money. It is not acceptable to be just using a towel, towels will take away the protective mucus which can lead to secondary infections. Always make sure that your mat is wet, you don't want to be putting a large fish down on to a dry mat, remember a fishes mucus is there as a protective barrier and keeping everything wet will only help protect this layer.

You should always have a bucket to hand full of lake water, to pour over the fish while it is laying on the mat.

This is the one I use, its really an expander bait bucket, but it holds a lot of water and is easy to fold up and pack away into my rod quiver. You must keep your fish wet at all times. If your fish starts to flap around while on the mat, you can just simply cover its head with either part of the unhooking mat or just place your hand gently over the eye, until the fish calms down. 

The next items I would like to run through are the unhooking tools.

These are the two tools I use for removing hooks. I use these tools as they give me better purchase when unhooking fish. The long nose pliers are for unhooking the fish and the cutters are for cutting through the hooks. So much damage is done to fishes mouths through anglers, and all you have to do is just use a bit of common sense, if the hook has gone all the way through the mouth of the fish then just cut the hook in half, Ill elaborate on this a little. This situation doesn't really apply to barbless hooks as they are fairly simple to take out as there isn't a barb, but barbed hooks and even sometimes micro barbed hooks can be very tricky to pull out if the barb has passed all of the way through the flesh. In this situation you are better cutting through the hook and pulling out the two pieces from either side of the wound. Remember your priority is to fishes welfare, hooks are a few pence each.

Whilst on the subject of hooks, I use micro barbed hooks where I can, if allowed, I know this subject is a very controversial one but I would suggest if you are new to carp fishing and removing hooks, it might be better to use barbless until you become more proficient with extracting hooks. I only say this as a starting point as I have seen so much mouth damage over the years and its mainly due to bad extraction.

The two bottles in the picture are fish antiseptic, which are produced by Kryston, I have even lifted the information from their website.

 Totally safe approved laboratory formulated antiseptic for carp and all coarse fish. Gives your catch a flying start to recovery. One-shot treatment following hook removal will sterilize the immediate area of the hook-hold preventing secondary infection from setting in.  Application of Klin-ik guarantees to speed up the natural healing process. Active bactericides help to heal all open wounds, mouth damage, post spawning lesions and where recent scale loss is evident.  Each bottle contains enough solution to treat well over 300 fish. Essential for today’s caring angler. Used by tens of thousands, fisheries and Koi centres

Klin-ik Shield is a high viscosity gel that acts as an antibacterial plaster for all species of fish. When applied correctly the gel is remarkably resilient to water and will not instantly wash off. Shield is specifically formulated to bond to tissue and remain in place for a considerable period of time. In tank test the gel was evident 72 hours after application. Easy to apply it can be used on its own or for the very best results used in conjunction with
Klin-ik Solution.

What does it do?
Shield creates a robust barrier to protect newly exposed tissue. Once applied it prevents harmful bacteria and micro parasitic organisms from attacking the wound and taking root. Shield offers the perfect medication to treat damaged fins, recent scale loss, and fresh body lesions, post spawning damage and hook holds. Any recent external body damage will greatly benefit from the treatment of Shield and help promote new growth.

How do you use it?
Before application remove excess moisture by using a soft tissue to gently dry the intended area. Apply a small amount directly to the wound. Using finger or cotton bud spread the gel to form a thin robust lasting barrier.

Why should I use it?
Shield has all the ingredients of Klin-ik but produced in an extremely sticky gel base. It will not penetrate effectively to the base of hook holds as efficiently as Klin-ik solution, which is why it makes the perfect secondary treatment. Shields superb adhesion to tissue ensures the barrier will remain on the fish long enough for the medication to be effective.  Klin-ik solution will completely sterilize the intended area in seconds. For hook-holds and hard to reach places first sterilize with a few drops of Klin-ik solution before applying Shield. Klin-ik solution is an extremely searching medication that will penetrate and cleanse right down to the base of the hook-hold ensuring it is completely sterilised. Kryston Klin-ik and Shield are the only products on the angling market guaranteed to contain the essential proven ingredients to combat damage to fish and contain the following powerful medicinal solutions and agents.

I am not a fish care specialist by any stretch of the imagination, especially when it comes to fish antiseptic, and like you, I have to put my trust into others to make that decision for me. So why not go with a company like Kryston, who have done the extensive research to put these products together for you. These treatments I have used for a while now and I honestly don't think i could buy any better from any where else.

The Weigh Sling has two jobs for me, one, obviously for weighing fish, of which ill talk about in part 2, but it is also handy for covering the fishes head to keep the fish calm whilst I am dealing with other bits. Again make sure the sling is wet or you'll risk removing the protective mucus from the fish, in fact mine is always kept in the bucket of water.

If you are not weighing the fish then, again, make sure all of the fins are facing towards the tail end of the fish and return to the water in your landing net. Do not pick up the fish to return as the fish may flap around causing you to drop the fish on to the ground.
Whilst the fish is in the water take hold of the wrist of the tail and gently hold the fish in the upright position until it either kicks or feels strong enough to release. Do not just put the fish back into the water and hope for the best.

It is also worth a mention that if dipping tanks are supplied, it is your responsibility to use these tanks and dip all of your fish care gear, especially if you fish a lot of different venues. When you get all of your gear home you should wash it all down with clean water and leave out in the sun to dry as the UV rays will kill most of the parasites, associated with harming fish. These days the care gear isn't expensive and is often over looked by a lot of anglers. So before you rush out to buy your first rod and reel you must take into consideration the fish you are angling for, and purchase some of these items to protect the fish for future generations. The gear listed and talked about in this entry is the very least you should own, it is your responsibility to make sure you always have it all to hand. Staying organised and calm will make the whole experience, not only more pleasurable for you but all the more comfortable for the fish.
Always return the fish as soon as possible and make sure you check the fish over and treat any mouth damage, lesions and missing or damaged scales.
It is good practice to have the phone number of your fishery to hand to report any problems or if you see any fish in distress, the quicker a fish is treated the more likely it will fully recover.

In the next addition I will be looking at weighing, retaining and holding fish so please keep and eye out for that entry.

As always, thanks for taking the time to read this, I hope in some way it has helped you out.

Until next time, good luck

Shelters, Night and Winter Comfort

In this entry I would like to discuss how to keep warm, dry, organised and safe whilst fishing during the night, especially in Winter. This is primarily aimed at the beginner but there might be a few bits to help everyone.

Shelters

Firstly look at where you will be putting your shelter, try to squeeze under a tree or tight to a hedge or a bush to keep you out of the wind as much as possible. Twin skin shelters are probably the best shelter you can use, as the air between the skins adds warmth by providing an insulating layer. This also reduces condensation that sometimes forms under single skin shelters that can drip over your sleeping bag, making your stay uncomfortable. 

Make sure you check your shelter is regularly water proofed, you can either use the Fabsil spray or the paint on variety. Make sure your Shelter is securely pegged down, i tend to push the pegs down at a slight angle to prevent them being pulled out so easily. For those of you who use brollies it might be worth you buying an over wrap, it won't eliminate the condensation totally but it does reduce it a little.

Arranging your shelter properly will pay dividends at night, try to use the same lay out every time you go fishing until you become familiar with the way it is set up. 

Soon enough you will know where everything is even in the dark and you won't be fumbling around looking for bits and pieces. 

Notice in the second picture i always have my foot wear to the right hand side of the door. Getting a run at night can be a very confusing situation so it is important that you know where all of your gear is before hand. 

Even the cook wear is always just outside the bivvy to the left hand side, i just find it easier to the left. 

Never bring your cook wear inside, always do the cooking and changing of gas outside. 

The floor i like to cover in an old army blanket, these are very warm to the touch in Winter, and stop some of the cold coming through the floor.

I also like to use a mat in the entrance of the door just to wipe my feet as i enter the bivvy and its also somewhere to keep muddy boots.

Sleeping Attire 

A decent comfortable bedchair is a must, what ever sleep you do get you will want to make sure its as comfortable as possible. I have a six leg bedchair version, which is just perfect for setting up on any ground. Also i never tighten the spigot joints down, i think it just gives you a little more freedom when setting up over uneven ground.

The sleeping bag i have is a five season sleeping bag, with a fleece inner, this particular sleeping bag has a hood at the top and the bottom of the bag which slides over each end of your bedchair.There is also a retaining strap just to secure the sleeping bag down about mid way. All of these points keep the sleeping bag nice and stretched out over the bedchair, which make for a more comfortable sleep. I also use a bedchair cover which has six retaining straps that clip around the legs of the bedchair.

This just ensures the damp air stays out of your sleeping bag, and i quite often only use this cover during the summer months when the five season bag would just simply be to warm. 

Make sure that when you are not sleeping, the bedchair is fully covered with this cover, there is nothing worst than climbing into a damp sleeping bag. For Winter months you might also want to consider purchasing a hot water bottle and put this in the sleeping bag about an hour before you intend going to sleep.

Cook Wear 

If you are using a gas cooker i would suggest buying one of these little converters.

This is just so you are not tied to purchasing one type of can of gas, a lot of the screw top versions are more expensive than the bayonet versions. This cap simply screws onto your gas bottle connector, so you can use both types of cans.

These shields really make a difference, wrapped around the stove, firstly protecting anything from getting burnt and keeping the wind off your gas.

I would just like to make you all aware of the dangers of using stoves, particularly the petrol stoves such as these.

These Coleman stoves are particularly dangerous when lighting, as many of you Coleman fans are aware, you can get burned very easily when first lighting one of these stoves. I always refill mine a day before I’m due to go fishing, and if I needed to refill it while fishing I would always do so well away from my shelter. I usually pump mine about twenty times and then light it, wait for a couple of minutes and then pump a further twenty or so times to get the nice blue flame going. Then you know it’s ready to cook or boil. At the end of each session I relieve the pressure by undoing the filling screw a little bit. This lets out all of the pressure and will prolong the life of the seals on the stove. Please make sure you do not use any kind of stove within the confines of your shelter, especially during the winter. Although your shelter may have a breathable skin, dew and condensation renders the breathability useless. Carbon Monoxide poisoning is very real threat whilst camping, many have died just from a few hours exposure. Just to reiterate One word should always be on you mind when ever using stoves and that's, !!!CAUTION!!!

Just think about what you are doing and stay safe. I have owned one of these stoves for many years now and they are fine in the right hands but that isn't without being cautious.

You may want to consider buying one of these long reach lighters to keep your fingers away from any potential hazard.

Important Note

While on the subject of stoves, please do not use your stove or lantern while your shelter is zipped up. The evaporation of CARBON MONOXIDE is greatly reduced by the thermal barrier in between the two skins of your bivvy, especially when your shelter is either wet, iced over or covered in snow.

The side effects of CARBON MONOXIDE poisoning are as follows. Mild Frontal Headache, malaise, nausea, vomiting, dizziness and manualloss of dexterity. Headache with rapid heartbeat, confusion, lethargy, visual disturbances. Death can happen with in one to two hours of exposer.

If you want my advise, get a water bottle and use all heating appliances outside, its not worth the risk.

 Other Essentials

Torches, head torches and bivvy lights are all a good idea to have, always make sure you have spare batteries. Make sure your mobile phone is fully charged, just in case. I usually hang my head torch on the spigot joint of the bedchair. You might even want to consider getting yourself a little pocket radio, just to give yourself something to listen to during those long dark nights. Personally I like to take a book to read.

Something I have purchased recently is one of the wind up chargers for my phone, you’ll find these particularly useful on longer sessions. Remember it’s always good to keep in touch with friends or family members.

Keeping Warm

I always wear thermals and a good pair of socks underneath all of my clothing. Hats, scarves and gloves are also going to help keep you warm. There are many winter suits available now on the market but make sure they are waterproof and again if need be use Fabsil on these as well. Take a few towels and a change of clothes and a spare pair of boots, trainers etc....... just in case.

Contrary to belief you don’t lose most of your heat, out of your head you are just as likely if not more likely to lose more heat out of your arms or legs, so remember keep them covered. Make sure you have plenty of water for hot drinks and food and if your using a gas stove make sure the canister is wrapped in something warm as gas can and will freeze. In addition high calorie foods will help to keep you warm, I always cook what's easiest and quickest and eat little and often, soups, pot noodles, instant mash, tinned curries etc.......

The moral of the story is to be prepared, keep everything tidy, and get familiar with the layout of your shelter. Night fishing and winter fishing in particular can be quite hard, but with a few easy steps and a bit of thought, you should enjoy your sessions, no matter what the weather throws at you.
It’s all about keeping warm, comfortable and safe, if you are just starting out in night fishing, letting friends and family know where you are, particularly if you are young, should always be your first port of call. Go with a friend or a family member, take your time and stay safe. Make sure the day before you are well prepared and everything is packed.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Until next time, stay lucky

Second Session 2015

With my first session for 2015 over I felt my mush/soup needed a little refining, and soon I would have to start about thinking of the inclusion of boilies if I wanted any kind of longevity from my baiting plans.

I just felt I could make it better, I just felt that if I stuck to my guns it would eventually pay off.

With it still being Winter I had a little time on my side, I knew it wouldn't be long before the banks would become home for the fair weathered angler once again with Spring not being so far away.

Swim 31

Maybe I would have to be more vigilant about my own presence and really keep out of sight. The problem lay with positioning myself properly away from the swim. This presented its own set of problems, 

Swims 29 and 30 were either side of this swim and way to close to even consider fishing from. 

Swims 28 and 31 would be a better choice, 28 would offer easier access but provide very little in the way of cover and swim 31 was completely opposite in the way, it would offer complete cover but would be a nearly impossible cast, however, priority number one was not to cast a rig directly into the swim. I would need to cast onto the bank and spoon feed the rig and bait whilst keeping a very low profile.

You may be wondering why I am focusing on this area? indeed for the better part, you shouldn't have any preconceived idea's before walking the banks, but knowledge is everything.

I had found out this was where the big girl had been caught before on a couple of occasions now, adding that information with my own sightings only galvanised my thoughts into this was the place to start my campaign. 

Only a few weeks prior to Christmas I made a clumsy, school boy error and stumled at the foot of swim 29, spooking a rather large fish. I could tell its bulk, it didn't swim off particularly quickly but the surface of the water sort of dropped the sending bow waves across the entire pool.

I couldn't see the fish as I didn't have my Polaroids with me but I knew it was a big fish.

Sunday, was going to be my next session and I couldn't wait to put theory into practice.

All I had to do now was decide upon a spoon mix I was 100% happy with.

I wanted a rich creamy mix to complement the tigers, hempseed was always my number two choice for a number of different reasons. Mashed sweetcorn would be a good addition, maybe with a few tasty grains thrown in as well, but I really wanted a big cloud.

A nice milky white cloud that would soak up all of the attractors from the seeds, nuts and corn and carry them over a wider area, plus this would also give away the presence of feeding fish.

I had already prepared over a pound of chopped tigers and soaked them in evaporated milk, but this wouldn't produce enough of a cloud.

After having a quick chat with a friend of mine, detailing what I wanted, he made the suggestion of condensed milk and porridge oats.

I had used porridge oats before for stick mixes and remembered how good they were for producing a nice little cloud, but never with condensed milk, I would have to do a couple of tank tests at home to see the results.

I do a lot of tank testing, it gives me a really good insight to what is happening, I use them for all manner of tests, knowing exactly how a rig sits or how a bait works once submerged builds my confidence and gives me a good starting point whenever I am trying something new.

So that was it, that was my recipe sorted, now all I needed was to get back to the bank and put everything into practice.

Recently I have been looking into using zig rigs, especially on the warmer days during the winter when fish can often be found in the upper layers, lavishing in the day light sun.

Its not ever something ive used before, I have toyed around with zigs on a couple of occasions but never caught anything as of yet.
I think the biggest problem is tying the rigs up at a moments notice to try a number of depths and colour combinations before you find a presentation that works.

So I set about making this method as easy as I could for myself, making a number of different colour foam combinations and making a number of different length hooklinks.
My number one aim was to make the rigs as easy as possible to change at a moments notice, which is where the idea of the multi rig sprung to mind.
Tying a loop at each end of the hooklink would enable me to change the foam and the length of hooklink at the drop of a hat.

To further my confidence in this approach, I would need to flavour these little bits of foam with something or another, which is when I had a dig round and found the Nutrabaits Atomiser Sprays.

This whole method is still something i am waiting to test out, but its looking promising. These are great atomiser sprays, which have all manner of uses, with the Cream Cajouser being my favourite.

Sunday couldn't come round soon enough, all week had been spent day dreaming of the endless possibilities that awaited me, tying rigs, experimenting with my soup and just generally looking forward to being back on the bank.

There had been various weather warnings of snow, that wasn't to much of a worry, my only concern would be the temperature drop during the course of Saturday night, which was expected to drop to -6°.

All was looking calm outside during the early hours of Sunday morning, not a single branch moved in the trees out in the back garden, and it certainly didn't feel as cold as I was expecting it too.
Maybe today wouldn't be as cold, but past experiences taught me that Worcester could be a lot different from home.

I could imagine the pool being like a large mirror in these calm conditions, no wind, not even a ripple on the water, a mist slowly emanating from the surface, the stuff that real carpy dreams are made of.
I so wished I could be there to watch the sun come up, but such as life, you fish the times you have, and you make the best of it.
Anyway, I am sure there will be a least a few times this season I will get the see the pool wake from its sleepy slumber like so many others I had seen before.

The motorway was a nice journey with the sun beaming down, not much in the way of traffic, which is always a bonus contributed to Sunday mornings.

As I pulled up beside the pool, the sun was illuminating the top end of the pool, including the corner I most wanted to be in. My original thoughts of casting from swim 31 proved to be a near impossible task, so I opted for swim 30, right in the site of the corner. I did check to make sure there were no fish present at this time and promptly got both rods into position and set camp up, to the right behind the bankside foliage so I couldn't be seen.

Swim 30

The pool was like a mirror with hardly any wind blowing at all, i sometimes find a very still pool, some what hypnotic, imagining what's going on under the surface, what leviathans lay beneath. Silvers dappled the surface every now and again disrupting the still water, and now I lay in wait for a hungry carp to come along and snuffle one of my baits.

My eyes were firmly fixed looking at the lake, for what seemed like an eternity, would something show? would something come along into my waiting ambush?

I watched a Kingfisher, perched on one of the branches right above my baited area. Looking down into the murky depths, then he'd disappear in a flash, only to return with a filled beak, "he was doing a lot better than I was", I remember thinking. Then again this was his home and I was the intruder trying to tempt something out of its home.

The day passed without even so much as a sniff, the weather deteriorated, temperature wise and it had even begun to rain. The air was cold and now I was slowly getting wet.
With the weather feeling so unpleasant I decided to pack away and make for home.
Before leaving I did drop in a couple of handfuls of Tigers in preparation, but now my attention was turning back onto boilies.

My second session finished on a blank, but there was always next week and my hopes remained high and undeterred.

Thanks for reading and until next time, good luck.