The editor has been asking me to write some new articles for a while now and, to be honest, I’ve been scratching my head a little bit with regard to subject matter. I’ve written so much ‘how to’ content for Anglers’ Net over the years that there’s often a risk of re-writing the articles time and time again, when to be honest, I couldn’t write much of it any better now than first time around, as almost all of this past content still holds true today in my own fishing, if not more so – especially in terms of watercraft.
As such, I’ve been thinking of ways to try and come at the same important subjects but from a fresh perspective; trying to impart what I hope will be valuable information on all matters in relation to watercraft and approach, but done a little differently.
I know the journals and diary pieces I’ve done in the past have always been well received, but to be honest, I’m not getting out and about enough to do anything along these lines. Since starting my own syndicate water from scratch last winter, my time on the bank has been extremely limited. Don’t get me wrong, my Meadows syndicate is hugely rewarding in ways I never imagined possible, but I’m so busy working to finance it, that I’m not really getting the chance to fish!
One aspect of my fishing I’ve really missed over the last year or two since taking on the Meadows is stalking – my favourite method of fishing. I can only get out for quick overnighters at present, which means I don’t get out of the house ’til around 8pm, and I’m packing up at 7am the next morning to get home and get the kids off to school, so daytime sessions have become a thing of the past. When you work for yourself, any free time usually ends up being work time, but there are a few occasions during the week where I could grab an hour or so out of the house between jobs and, as they say, every second counts, so my intention is to do a series whereby I fish a water for an hour, literally, to see if I can catch myself a decent carp in that time!
Each article will cover one of these hour long sessions, and I’ll detail my approach as the minutes tick away, right from arrival at the water to the moment the gear is back in the car. I’ll also explain my strategy on arrival and the tactics employed as the session unfolds as I try to grind out a result.
Hopefully we’ll have a few of these along the way!
With such short sessions, I’m hoping these articles will give a good insight to the various aspects of watercraft put in to play when arriving at a water cold, but more so, I’m hoping they will provide an interesting challenge for my own angling, allowing me to start getting out a bit during the day and early evening to do a bit of stalking again.
My tackle will be extremely basic, as the whole point of the series will be to try and show that you don’t need a shed load of gear to catch carp, and will consist of a few bits and pieces you could leave in the boot of the car; a four piece 9ft travel rod, reel, stalking net, unhooking mat, and a small shoulder bag with a few odds and ends allowing me to swap my approach between a surface, bottom or midwater presented hookbait.
I’ve already managed to get out for my first hour long session during the week, and it was certainly interesting to say the least, so I’ll look forward to covering that one in my next piece.
Until then, tight lines…
Julian Grattidge
Northwestcarp.co.uk
July 2011
