Sean nets his first fish   his first ever ide 

It was a lovely sunny day, but the east wind kept the temperatures down. Both decided they would like to fish on the tip as they were not pole anglers. 

just waiting for the tip to go round 

There were lots of bites at the start from small F1 carp. They were taking double hair rigged corn but a switch to hair rigged banded pellet was better for the bigger fish and quite a few were hooked and lost. 

Chris needs some help to net this big one

a lovely common carp – a beautiful mirror carp in perfect condition 

A great day was had by all and they were so keen I left them fishing when I departed at about 6 pm. 

Chris and Sean with their catch 

Well done Chris! 

Well done Sean!

an early big tench about 3lbs 

Feeding is always the key factor in fishing and with some small rudd near the surface I thought it would be a good idea just to feed 2mm and 4mm carp feed pellets plus some red maggots in a large pole cup. 

2mm Van Den Eynde Expander Pellets  

just waiting for the next bite - first fish of the day – a big rudd 

It was amazing, the fish reacted immediately to this way of feeding and it eliminated the small fish. 2 red maggots on the hook was the best bait and the swim had to be topped up every 30 to 40 minutes. 

Do you need some help to net it, Andy? 

No, thanks. 

Big roach, rudd, bream and tench came regularly to the net, with hardly a quiet moment. 

this one is stretching the elastic – the skimmers fed well 

another big fish is hooked – this big roach was almost a pound 

I had an easy day because Andy fished very well and there was not much I could teach him as he struck, played and handled the fish in an expert manner. At the end I estimated his catch to be in excess of 50lbs, well done Andy! 

catch shot Andy Sikyta – Thanks Nicky it was a great Christmas present. 

What a fantastic catch more than 50lbs. Well done Andy!

this big rudd was an early fish 

After a chat on the phone, it was decided that we would fish the small silver fish lake at the wonderful Pisces Country Park. 

Sid’s dog Ralph looks on as Bob unhooks a bream. 

a 2lb bream in perfect condition 

Keith friend Bob Grycuk had also come along for the day and soon they were both into fish. 

this tench is putting up a good fight-biggest tench of the day for Keith 

Bob with a beautiful roach nearly a pound- his first fish of the day was this tench 

The main feed was Gold Pro Bream groundbait laced with 2mm carp feed pellets and cupped in at regular intervals. Hookbaits varied between maggots, worms and pellets. They all worked well, but the Van Den Eynde Halibut jellets seemed to produce the bigger fish. 

biggest tench of the day for Keith 

The good sport continued throughout the day with both anglers catching well. At the end I guessed Keith’s weight to be more than 30lbs and Bob had caught similar. What a fantastic day! 

a mixed net of silver fish  

Great catch, well done Keith!- 2 good friends together after a great days fishing

Just hooked into my first fish, I wonder what it is 

First fish of the day: a big mirror carp about 10lbs – what a start! 

Marks partner Mel had arranged this special birthday present for him, it was a days fishing with me at the wonderful Barford Lakes in Norfolk. I decided that the pleasure lake would be the best option – you can always guarantee plenty of action. 

Oh I am into another big one 

my biggest fish of the day: a 12lb mirror 

Mark was so keen, he had only been fishing for about a year, but really had all the equipment. We started by cupping in 4 good cups of 2 mm and 4 mm hard feed carp pellets, hookbait was 4mm and 6mm Van Den Eynde Elite Expander pellets.

Very soon after cupping in feed bubbles appeared on the surface, as the carp became excited at all this food appearing before them. A big carp was soon hooked and landed, plus several others with some bream and skimmers in between. 

there were some good bream to be caught as well 

When the outside line went quiet, a short spell in the margins under a tree proved very productive, loose feeding maggots with 2 maggots on the hook, 1 good carp, some big bream and roach were landed in quick time. 

this common carp was in perfect condition

my biggest tench ever 

We did not use a keepnet, but I guess Mark caught at least 70lbs of fish. He really did not want to pack up, but all good things have to end sometime and I am sure that some of the tips I gave him, will prove invaluable in the future. 

a small bream in perfect condition 

this lovely crucian took a 6 mm soft pellet 

I caught this one under the tree on double maggot

2^nd fish of the day: this big bream about 4lbs and soon after this carp 

Barford Lakes is always a good venue, when you want to catch some big carp. It’s very close to the city of Norwich in the county of Norfolk. The water is warming up well after the recent spell of good weather. This always makes for some exciting fishing.

My guest for the day was Paul Morgan, who had just recently returned to angling after a long layoff. I decided after looking at the wind direction, that the best peg would be number 30 on the Pleasure Lake. 

a big mirror carp just over 10lbs and a tench about 4lbs 

Long pole at 13 metres was the chosen method. Carp and bream would be the main species. Feeding is always the key so we put in 2 large cups of 2mm and 4mm hard feed carp pellets (and we repeated this every 45 minutes), the hookbait was 4mm and 6mm Van Den Eynde Expander pellets with some scopex liquid flavour. 

I managed to kick Paul off his box for 5 mins and caught a 5lbs bream 

I also loose fed with 4mm carp pellets just to help draw the fish in. After 30 minutes the bream and skimmers began to feed and soon after the first carp. There was a short period about midday when the fish stopped feeding, but most of the time it was arm aching action. 

It must be a big one! This mirror carp of about 14lbs was the best of the day 

As always Barford never fails to produce the goods and Paul vowed he would be back to try out all he had learnt.

This 8lbs mirror carp had distinctive markings

This was the day that Jake had been waiting for. At Christmas I sent him a surprise letter (it was a present from mum Ruth and dad Mark), that we were going to have a days fishing together.

We decided to fish the small lake at the wonderful Pisces Country Park at Welney on the Norfolk / Cambridgeshire border. The lake has a good head of tench, bream, roach, rudd and ide, also there are some big crucian carp.

The pole is always a good method here. I mixed up some groundbait (Van Den Eynde Superlake) and added 2mm carp hard feed pellets plus some red maggots; and then cupped in 3 good size balls at 10 metres.

view of Jake fishing the small lake at Pisces – Will my elastic be strong enough?

The action was immediate. A big roach to start followed by an early tench and so it continued throughout the day as a procession of fish came to the net. I kept cupping in balls at regular intervals (about every 45 mins).

with these pellets Jake caught tench and bream

Jake varied the hook baits from red maggots to 4mm and 6mm Van Den Eynde Elite Expander Pellets, but the best pellets for the big fish were the Halibut Jellets.

a big tench early in the day and this big bream soon after

Jake fished really well, shipping his pole in and out like a true professional. Hardly a fish was lost and not one tangle.

One of the best tench of the day

It was a great day and I estimate at the end of the day he had caught more than 40lbs of fish.

catch shot: a fantastic net of tench, bream, roach, rudd and ide – more than 40lbs

Well done, Jake.

Bob.

This was a Christmas present form their wives Bev and Lynn – and they got me!!!! We decided to go to one of my favourite local venues Pisces Country Park in Welney on the Norfolk / Cambridgeshire border. 

Steve netting the fish and holding his best carp of the day 

Steve wanted to start on the tip and was soon into a good carp. Meanwhile Colin also hooked into a big fish which took him straight into the rushes and was lost. One or two more carp were lost and they decided to have a go for the roach and rudd, Steve was on the waggler, Colin on the pole and both caught a steady stream of good quality fish. 

this carp took chum mixer on the surface – there were some good rudd to be caught 

I was feeding chum mixers and the carp were quite active. So they both had a go at surface fishing using a banded chum mixer. This is a really exciting way to fish. It’s all visual – you see the carp take the bait and the line tighten as the fish feels the hook and heads towards the nearest reed bed. Both caught 2 fish each on this method. Colin caught the largest fish of the day: a big mirror carp about 10lbs. 

Steve with a lovely mirror carp

Colin with his first and the biggest carp of about 10lbs 

At the end of the day I guess they both caught just over 30lbs of fish each. What an enjoyable session! 

Colin and myself with his catch, we put the big mirror carp straight back 

Steve and myself with his catch of carp, roach and rudd

the first and the biggest carp of the day: a 3 lbs mirror and a 9lbs common 

What a great days fishing! Damian Curtis had booked a masterclass day with me. We decided to fish the Pleasure Lake at the Barford complex near Norwich, when we arrived, there were already several anglers fishing. The conditions were almost perfect: a light wind and about 14c, water temperature was still low. We had hoped to catch up in the water but decided to fish on the bottom instead. 

a big mirror about 8 lbs – Pleasure Lake at Barford

a 5 lbs tench in perfect condition 

Feed was a big pot of 2mm and 4mm carp pellets at 13 metres and every 45 mins we potted again to keep the fish interested. Hook bait was 4mm and 6mm Van Den Eynde Expander pellets, 6mm seemed to be the best as it sorted out the better quality and before long fish after fish were coming to the net, I estimate Damian caught about 80lbs in total. Here are just samples of some of his catch. 

there were some nice bream to be caught as well – a 7 lbs common in perfect condition

another big tench – this one took a 6mm pellet on the drop

Clive Wylie with his first fish: a good chub 

We stayed until 6 pm. I thought the fish might start to feed later in the day and in the last hour Clive was into the carp and caught 3, also losing a good fish right at the end. 

Oh it’s great when you hook into a big carp! 

Clive with his first and his biggest carp (a bit of koy in I think) 

What an interesting person he is! He had a real thirst for knowledge and was asking me fishing questions all day, an artist by profession. He also is a skilled yachtsman – with his wife they spent 4 years sailing their yacht in the Mediterranean. 

great catch on a tough day