Mike’s Diary
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Just Dreaming
Posted in Mike’s Diary on 11th May 2014Well it's been a few months since I've found the time to update my diary page, but I suppose that's the result of trying to squeeze fishing time, family life, running a bait company and a fishery into a busy life schedule. So apologies on my part, but I got there in the end!
I think the title 'Just Dreaming' is a suitably apt heading for this diary piece, because it explains exactly how I feel about my fishing during this past few months. I've worked hard at it for sure, but effort equals reward and the 'Carp Gods' have certainly paid me back in abundance! I've been fishing on a Glos syndicate water (no publicity I'm afraid) and It isn't the easiest of venues, so I set myself a target of 20 fish for the season. You can therefore imagine how pleased I was to have reached a total of 47 fish by the end of the season!!
Out of those 47 fish, no less than 17 of them were over 30lbs, with the biggest going 48lb 12oz, thus making it my most successful season ever in over 35-years of fishing for carp. During one single session in April, I was fortunate enough to bank a hat-trick of 30's to 39lb 2oz . Thinking that was just about as good as it gets, I returned the following week and managed to bank 7 carp, of which 6 were over 30lbs and up to 46lb 6oz! This also included a rare brace of commons one evening of 34lb and 36lb 2oz resepectively. On my final session I was joined by my son Lee, who also managed to get in on the act and bank commons of 37lb 12oz, 31lb 8oz and 29lb 4oz! What a way to cap of a truly remarkable season - a season dreams are made of.
All of the above fish fell to a mixture of B5 and Black Snail freezer boilies, thus proving yet again how effective a really high quality food bait is at catching the bigger fish on a regular basis. Yes, it was a memorable season, made even better from the support of my family and close friends. One day the full story might be told, who knows, but for now I'm looking at a new challenge and have just joined the Stoneacre syndicate on the Linch Hill Complex. I've already fished my first session and looking forward to seeing some of its stunning jewels on the bank during the coming years.
Good luck to you all, thanks for your support and i hope to see you on the bank soon...
Wafters as hookbaits
Ian May with one of many 40lb+ commons he's landed on Essential Baits by making sure his hookbait placement is spot on.
The name 'Wafters' can be a little misleading because we don't want these baits too critically balanced. In our experience a hookbait that's too 'buoyant' can 'waft' all over the place as a carp approaches the bait and render it very ineffective and easy to eject. What we have done with these special hookbaits is to make them slightly more buoyant than a standard bottom bait straight out of the bag. This in turn will negate the weight of the hook and the hooklink and by the time the rig is presented, it will behave the same as the free offerings surrounding it. This is exactly what you need to achieve if you think about it because the carp will be feeding on the freebies and you want your hookbait to behave in exactly the same way.
Note
Our Wafters are 'tougher' than boilies straight out of the bag and are a popular choice for anglers that prefer their hookbaits a little harder than their freebies.
