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Using Brilliant ‘Natural’ Extracts!
There are many ways to make very successful fishing baits without using flavours; why not try using very powerful ‘natural ingredients and extracts!
Freshwater flies, bloodworm, insect larvae, water snails, and all kinds of sea and freshwater shellfish like mussels etc, can all be incorporated into your fishing baits, giving a natural taste and crunch factor, and are available from many pet and fishing bait companies.
It is important, to make your bait as different as possible from the ‘normal’ for your water, to give you a competitive advantage.
As an example, I used a bait which was purely based on proprietary ‘coldwater goldfish food’ which instead of being the usual pellets form, was based on natural nutritional extracts like spirulina, impregnated into rice flakes.
I was using this bait as a test bait to find a successful alternative protein based bait. It incorporated daphnia (water fleas,) and spirulina (algae,) together; forming a truly ‘unique’ natural, alternative boilie.
I mixed the flakes with a small amount of semolina, as I did not know how much the flakes (based on ground rice,) would bind. After taking what seemed like literally hours to mould each individual bait by thumb and fore fingers, I convinced myself it would all be worth the effort!
I did not wish to ‘contaminate’ the bait with extra semolina binder and reduce its effectiveness. I prepared ‘hair rigs’ in advance of fishing and carefully dried the paste hook baits until they went hard and tough enough to stay on the rig.
At the lake, as it turned out, within half an hour of casting out, I hooked the lake record fish at that time weighing around 35 pounds in weight.
It was a valuable lesson in the attraction of alternative protein based baits, and the benefits of their use! This was on a fishery where extremely good quality milk protein and fish meal baits had dominated catches at that time!
The author has many more fishing and bait ‘edges’ up his sleeve. Every single one can have a huge impact on catches.
By Tim Richardson. ‘The thinking angler’s fishing author and expert bait making guru.’
For more expert bait making information and ‘cutting edge’ techniques see the expert acclaimed new ebook:
BIG CARP BAIT SECRETS!
Tim Richardson is an internationally acclaimed carp and catfish bait-making expert, and a highly successful big fish angler. His best selling bait making and bait enhancing books / ebooks help beginners and experienced anglers alike, to improve and enhance their baits achieving far greater catches of big fish.
His books are even used by members of the ‘world elite’ “British Carp Study Group” for expert reference. Your catches could gain from more understanding, expert bait making experience, powerful insights and cutting edge fishing information and techniques; take a look at Tim’s dedicated fishing bait making website.
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Sportfish have been operating since 1982 and have developed into one of the UK's leading suppliers of fly fishing tackle and equipment.
Uk Fisherman take a peak at the special offers they have on fly fishing tackle and accessories this month
Wychwood GT Grande Tourer Rods
An amazing fly rod for the overseas holiday angler. Packs down to only 15 inches!
Save Up to 50% off.
RRP was £219.50 now only £109.50
Wychwood Wildrun Fishing Reels!!
High performance reel for the most demanding situations
Suitable for Salmon, Sea Trout and Bonefish
Available in four sizes.
Save Up to 50% off.
RRP was £129.00 now only £59.99
Costa Del Mar Hammerhead Sunglasses with Wave 580 lenses.
When you wear sunglasses all day, you want them to perform. Costa's high performance glasses dont just sit there, their frames grip with nose pads and temples that sculpt to your head for maximum comfort. They are also so light youll forget your wearing them.
You will see more fish & protect your eyes with the Wave 580 lenses.
Save 20%. Was £229.00 now only £179.95.
Save over £49.00
UK FISHERMAN'S VERDICT
As usual Sportfish have come up trumps with these excellent fly fishing deals. What are you waiting for - click the links above to get buying right now !!
To browse all the fly fishing tackle at Sportfish, visit their website at: www.sportfish.co.uk
UK Fisherman would be delighted to here from you if you would like to comment on any of our sale items. To do so, use the comment box below.Alternatively if you would to submit a sale item of your own, please visit the CONTACT page.
This week Trev's Tackle have a fantastic offer to share on Greys Spod & Marker Rods - Not only have we knocked 10% off the RRP on both rods, but we’ll also be giving away a fantastic Fox Horizon Marker Float with each Grey’s Marker Rod sold, or a fantastic Korda Skyliner Spod with each Grey’s Spod Rod sold!
In the modern carping age a marker rod is now an essential piece of kit. Using a marker rod will help give you a better understanding of the lake bed and enable you to find features such as depressions, gravel bars, weed beds and silt gullies. The rod tip is ground down for increased responsiveness making it ideal for finding those underwater features and contours such as gravel bars- silt areas and weed beds that are not visible to the eye.
The Marker rod features a powerful butt section which is able to cope with casting a 4oz lead attached to a marker float and achieve distances over 100 yards. The distance Marker rod- at 12' 6" - is designed for you to feature-find at distances over 100 yards with ease. It can cope with leads up to 5oz with a marker float but it can still be used at short range without any problem.
Both Rods Feature:
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Depth markers at 6" and 12" for accurate depth measurement
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SIC rings for use with braid or mono
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Fuji NPS 20mm reel seat
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Laser etched butt cap
Standard at £89.99
Distance at £107.99
PLUS FREE FOX HORIZON MARKER FLOAT!
Yep, buy any Grey’s Marker rod and get a versatile Fox Horizon Marker Float completely free of charge!
10% off Grey’s Spod Rod
The two option Greys' Spod rod has become a common part in a carp angler's armoury and enables the angler to bait up well beyond catapult range. Neither rod features a test curve due to both rods ability to cast all spods on the market. This is achieved by each rod having a progressive power build-up within the blank. A lot of spod rods are so stiff it's virtually impossible to pull the tip round 90 degrees yet they are still rated with test curves! It's vital that the blank is progressively compressed by the spod in order for the rod to work properly and propel the spod into the distance.
The standard rod is ideal for mini rockets to large spods and is able to cast distances up to 80+ yards. The distance version is ideal for large heavy spods or when you're wanting to fish at distances of 90+ yards. Wet baits, big distances and large s! pods are what this rod is all about. There is a huge amount of power - compress the tip and release the power!
Both Rods Feature:
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SIC rings for use with braid or mono
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Fuji NPS 20mm reel seat capable of taking all big pit reels
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Laser etched butt cap
Standard at £89.99
Distance at £107.99
PLUS FREE KORDA SKYLINER SPOD!
Yep, buy any Grey’s Spod rod and get a fantastic Korda Skyliner Spod completely free of charge!
UK FISHERMAN'S VERDICT
As usual Trev's Tackle have come up trumps with some excellent deals on Marker and Spod Rods. What are you waiting for - click the links above to get buying right now !!
To sign up for the newsletter and to browse all the tackle and bait on sale at Trev's Tackle, visit their website at: www.trevstackle.com
UK Fisherman would be delighted to here from you if you would like to comment on any of our sale items. To do so, use the comment box below.Alternatively if you would to submit a sale item of your own, please visit the CONTACT page.
How many times have you lost potential customers to your fishery because your website had little or a basic minimal graphical reference to your pools?
We can draw them to a high standard and blend them to match your existing site for inclusion. With over 10 years experience of graphic design packages, we can create a detailed plan of your pool for use on the web, print or other marketing material to help you promote your fishery.
Knowing how difficult it is to convey the size and layout of a large asset as a fishing lake, we focus on creating a visually impressive image for you to advertise the best features of your lake and help to attract more business. We like to work closely with our clients and offer a fast, efficient service at every stage of development. Customer satisfaction is paramount and we will work hard to turn your project around.
We also have the facility to create 3D fly-over animations to further communicate your lake layout effectively. These can be included, compressed, on your website in the form of a downloadable movie or as an interactive marketing tool that you could supply to generate business.
Contact us today for a quotation, you won’t be disappointed.
Call Duncan Buckley on: (0)7801 286294 quoting the UK Fisherman website.
Portfolio:
Weston Pools Fishery (Oswestry) – Contracted through Countrywide Fisheries to provide layout drawings for three of their pools. Drawings used as signs mounted around the site.
Manor Farm Fishing (Sandy, Bedfordshire) – Contracted through Countrywide Fisheries to provide a pool map for use on their website and brochure material (www.manorfarmfishing.co.uk).
Eastmoors Lake (St Leonards, Dorset) – Provided a lake layout drawing for use as a road sign and for inclusion on their website (www.fishinglake.co.uk).
“I congratulate you on a very good representation and a prompt service.”
Nick Hoare (proprietor) of Eastmoors Lake.
UK FISHERMAN'S VERDICT - **Highly Recommended**
You only have to look at the quality of the graphics above to see what a fantastic product Duncan really offers. They provide vital information for visitors in terms of swim location, layout and the fish you can expect to find at the fishery. Any fishery shrewd enough to hire Duncan will benefit hugely from a first class graphical representation of their fishery which can only add value to their business.
What are you waiting for - Give Duncan a call today on (0)7801 286294
you won't regret it !!
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Alternatively if you would to submit a sale item of your own, please visit the CONTACT page.
I had heard on the fishing grapevine that Lizard Fisheries in West Drayton, Middlesex had been fishing well of late, presumably due to the mild late winter weather we have been having. I decided therefore that my first visit of 2007 to Lizard was in order !!
I arranged to meet by buddy Steve there and decided to start on lake 1 and see how the fishing was, before possibly moving on to Lake 2 later on. For those of you who have not fished Lizard Fisheries before, Lake 1 is the "match" lake and holds huge stocks of fish with carp to 10lb+, tench, bream, perch and huge shoals of roach and rudd. Lake 2 is primarily a carp fishing lake, much harder to fish but with carp to 20lb+ being the reward for those who like their fishing a little more challenging.
The conditions were bright and definitely "gusty" to say the least. When I pulled into the carpark after a "leisurely" start to the day, it was clear that the choppy conditions were not going to make fishing especially easy.
Depsite this I adopted my usual tactic at Lizard, waggler fishing, this time slightly overdepth, to try and hold the waggler in place against the stong wind. Unlike my usual summer tactics of using pellets or meat, I thought conditions favoured the good old maggot, so I loaded my size 16 hook with four maggots and loose fed a small handful of maggots every third cast of so.
No sooner had my float hit the water for the first time, it dipped boldy under the surface and I was soon into my first fish of the day, a hard fighting mirror carp around 4-5lb. What a great start !! To be honest I was expecting a tough day and was delighted to catch on my first cast.
The afternoon continued very much in the same vein and I ended the day with 9 carp, the best topping the scales at just under 11lb, plenty of small roach and rudd and a bonus perch late on. As the sun went down behind the trees around 5pm, the weather reminded me that we were still in fact in the winter, and I dediced that having had a great day it was time for home.
Lizard rarely disappoints - fishing is relatively easy on Lake 1 and the fish will take most baits. Bear in mind that it can get very busy at weekends, escpecially in the summer, so get there early. There are quite a few bait bans on Lake 1, so don't take groundbait, boilies (ok on lake 2), oily pellets (such as halibut pellets) or sweetcorn with you. If you are caught using any of these banned baits, expect to be thrown off the fishery. Don't let this put you off however, as Lizard is a great no frills fishery where you are sure to catch.
Lizard Fishery is loacted on Trout Road, Yiewsley, West Drayton, Greater London, England
Til next time, happy fishing!! Paul @ UK Fisherman
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After all the excesses of Christmas and New Year, Jim, Connor and I decided to clear our heads and get in an afternoons fishing at Wood Lane Farm Fishery, situated in Iver, Buckinghamshire.
As we turned into the car park it became apparent that no one shared our thoughts on this grey, blustery day. At least we had first pick of swims as no one else had ventured out to try and tempt the match lakes large population of skimmers and carp. We chose our swim for comfort rather than one which may produce better fishing and set up with the wind at our backs in a sheltered corner of the match lake.
We all set up waggler rigs fished slightly over depth with double red maggot as hook bait. Small amounts of loose fed maggots and casters completed our plan of attack. It took quite a while to tempt the fish into feeding but after about an hour we stated to pick up the odd skimmer as bites started to come more frequently. Upping the feed rate a bit tempted the fish into feeding pretty well and amongst the regular skimmers we caught quite a few of the fast growing F1s in the lake.
Wood Lane Farm Fishery only opened to anglers around 6 months ago and already the F1s we caught in the summer have packed on a fair amount of weight. Fish we were catching around the 8oz - 1lb mark are now tipping the scales at around 2-4lb. Talking to Danny the owner (who I think was quite surprosed to see anyone fishing on this dreary winter day) he explained that the carp in the second lake are now nudging the lower double mark.
Around mid-afternoon the leaden skies opened and a steady drizzle soon got the better of Jimmy "Tangles" and Connor who had unfortunately forgotten their umbrella and they were soon heading for the car for some shelter. Bites dried up soon after as we approached dusk and we decided to call it a day. I caught around 20 fish in all including around 4 or 5 carp in under 3 hours which was pretty good. Apparently recent winter matches (one which even included Keith Arthur) have been won with well over 100lb. Not bad at all.
Give Wood Lane a try....I think you'll find its worth it.
Til next time, happy fishing!! Paul @ UK Fisherman
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Dreaming of fishing for BIG carp with the sun on your face all year round. Turn your dreams to reality and pay a visit to rural France for some big carp action.
Ron Browning from Carp Anglers Dream sets the scene:
Set in the heart of the Limoisine region of France, dating back 100 years, Etang De La Boissonie is a totally secluded private lake. Being five acres in size and totally surrounded by acres of treelined meadow, it ensures that you are not overlooked by houses or roads.With its mainly gravel bottom and two natural water supplies feeding the lake, it makes the perfect habitat for big Carp and Cats.
In my 25 years of Carp fishing, I have seen too many lakes overcrowded, making fishing very difficult, so we have limited the maximum number of anglers to six. The lake opened in April 2004 and has seen a successful season. Bookings for 2006 already being taken so book early to avoid disappointment.
To compliment its original stock of between Two hundred and Two hundred and fifty Carp, we have added another ninety Carp with weights up to 30lbs. Fourteen catfish were also added up to 30 lbs
January 2005 saw an additional stock of carp introduced which consisted of 3 x 28.5 lbs, the rest were between 31 lbs up to 36 lbs +. Also added at this time were 6 Catfish between 41 lbs and 98lbs.
To make your stay with us more comfortable we have added an English shower and toilet block, with hot and cold water. We can now offer collections to and from Limoges Airport in our 11 seater mini bus, when booking Fly and survive.>
To read more about fishing at Etang De La Boissonie or to check availability and prices, visit Carp Anglers Dream's website at:
www.carpanglersdream.com
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Regular readers of the fishing forum here at UK Fisherman and Fish South East will know that for some weeks now we have been planning a pike fishing trip to farlows Lake in Iver, Buckinghamshire - the first UK Fisherman "social" if you like.
Predicted numbers were anywhere between 3-10 and not surprisingly the number who actually turned up was 3 (myself, Nigel Laughton and Luke "crazy carper" Thomas. Undaunted we met in the carp park at 9am. The weather seemed ideal for a spot of winter pike action: clear skies overnight had left a touch of frost on the ground, whilst the morning saw still, glouriously sunny conditions. We were in confident mood as we chose our swims and set up our rods.
Nigel had done a fair amount of pike fishing at Farlows and we followed his advice to live bait on the match lake. After a quick trip to the tackle shop on site we all set up a float rig with a free-roving trout livebait set around 3-4 feet under the water. As the floats bobbed and moved around we felt sure it wouldn't be long before the hungry winter pike gobbled up one of our offerings. It was just a case of waiting !!
Well, we waited and waited, and then we waited some more and after that we waited a little bit longer and nothing happened. Several hours went by and despite one run on Nigel's rod which, despite a firm strike, failed to lead to a fish, there was no action at all. By early afternoon, the bright sunny skies had given way to grey, rain filled clouds and a cold wind had sprung up leaving the lake choppy and making it difficult to control our floats effectively. After a brief discussion we decided to move to a more sheltered corner of the lake, which looked much more inviting for the fish.... and us in terms of keeping warm !!
As it turned out, this happended to be the best decision we made all day. After only about 15 minutes in our new swims, my float which I had been fishing in the margins, dipped once and then disappeared under the surface. Slightly surprised, I grabbed the rod and low and behold, I was in !! Now before you get too excited, the fish I landed will not break any records for weight - in fact It was probably the smallest pike caught at Farlows so far this winter. As you can see from the photo, it probably was around 1lb or so. Not a monster, but so, so welcome on an otherwise unproductive day.
Someone must have rung the dinner gong because as soon as I had slipped my capture safely back into the depths of the lake, Lukes pike float boobed and dipped under. He too was soon into a monster pike (again around the 1lb mark). He and I, as novices to the art of pike fishing, were delighted to have actually caught something.
That was unfortunately the beginning and the end of the action for the day. Nigel sadly failed to catch although he is experienced enough at this fishing lark to except that's how fishing is sometimes. I big thanks to Nigel for showing Luke and I the ropes. I thoroughly enjoyed his and Luke's company and I'm sure this will be the first of many enjoyable fishing trips together.
Til next time, happy fishing!! Paul @ UK Fisherman
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From Beckmann Direct - The Best in Special Interest Video and DVD
A 100 minute DVD in which Paul Gustafson, one of the world’s leading pike anglers, catches fish to over 23lb in weight. This DVD explains how to locate pike on huge strips of water, along with the most effective tackle and techniques. These include float fishing, trailing and dead-baiting.
In this DVD Paul demonstrates how to catch huge pike, with lures and dead-baits, on some of the most difficult waters in Ireland. He explains how to locate pike on these huge strips of water, along with the most effective tackle and techniques to use, including float fishing and trailing. Fly fishing for pike is also covered in depth, along with tackle and techniques.
Lough Gowner, Lough Oughter, Lough Ramor and Lough Earn all feature in this breathtaking action packed DVD in which Paul lets you into some of his secrets. This is an inspirational DVD that is a must for all pike anglers worldwide.
Paul Gustafson, 50, is acknowledged to be one of the world’s leading pike anglers. His experience is extensive and he has fished in Europe, America and Great Britain, catching huge numbers of big fish from a wide range of waters including rivers, lakes and loughs. He has an uncanny sense of where, how and when to target big pike globally, which has kept him at the top of his game for almost three decades.
Release date: 5th February 2007
Running time: 100 mins
RRP: £16.99 DP: £11.57
Where to Buy:
The pike fishing in Ireland DVD is available to buy online from:www.beckmanndirect.com
For further information, please contact:
ksmith@beckmanngroup.co.uk
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Regular readers of my diary pages and the UK Fisherman Fishing Forum will know that for some time now I have been itching to try some carp fishing at Thorpe Lea in Surrey, a venue in Surrey renowned for its huge stock of fast growing carp and as a quality "bagging" water. Anywhere with "easy fishing" suits me to a tee !!
I couldn't resist a kind invitation from Luke "crazy_carper" Thomas to meet up with me and show me how to get the best from a days fishing at Thorpe Lea so duly took the day off work (any excuse to get away from the computer) and met up with Luke at 8am in the Thorpe Lea carpark.
The weather forecast had been for heavy rain and wind and for once the weathermen had got it right. The grey skies got greyer as we walked round to the far side of the lake and the heavens opened as we settled into our swims. Luke explained that the reason for choosing these swims is that about 60yds out there is a plateau around 4ft deep that the carp patrol along, hoovering up any feed they come across. Luke set up a simple rig with a hair rigged Richworth Dumbell boilie whilst I opted for a method feeder using a hair rigged squid boilie.
The morning was hard going !! I failed miserably to get a take at all and to be honest I was having difficulty reaching the shallow plateau. Luke's spodding seemed to be paying off however as he managed two decent mirror carp, the largest tipping the scales at 16lb.
Things livened up in the afternoon (as the bailiff said it would). Luke continued to catch at a steady rate and ended the day with 9 fish, the biggest of the day being a 16lb 8oz Mirror Carp. (In fact all the fish we caught were Mirrors).
Luke decided that the method was the not the best tactic for me and switched me to a simple rig similar to his and launched some of his spod mix out for me. It didn't take long for my baitrunner reel to whir into life (thanks incidentally to Bun at Eccleston Angling Centre for the reel) and I was soon banking a lovely 14lb 8oz Mirror carp. As we weighed it I was unsure whether I had beaten my PB but it fell just short by 8oz.
The rain got the better of us by around 4 o'clock and we decided to call it a day. Despite being easily beaten by Luke I was delighted with my fish and am itching to get back and try Thorpe Lea again. It was a pleasure to meet and fish with Luke. Thanks mate for your advice and patience in trying to educate me in the strange ways of you carp fisherman and I look forward to our next trip.
On that subject, we are planning a pike fishing trip to Farlows lake sometime before Xmas. If you fancy meeting up please indicate your interest via the UK Fisherman Fishing Forum.
Til next time, happy fishing!! Paul @ UK Fisherman
UK Fisherman would be delighted to here from you if you would like to comment on any of our diary entries. To do so, please use the comment box below. If you would like to submit a diary entry of your own , please visit the CONTACT page.
