KingCarp
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Posts posted by KingCarp
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Keith,
Yes I've seen even worse , especially the clay you never get rid of. Around 1995 at the church swim [i never fished du Der btw] you could see 30 bivvies in the mud,..plus a few more behind the 'lucky' ones finding a spot. They camped out until one of the 40 left!! Is really true. Each was using 4 rods !
Need I say more !? <_< This scene speaks for itself too.
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Looks nice , but what a mess !
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Kris,
Well the 'norm' is , only mention success and 40+ carp and lace it with product names.
I wrote this a few years back to show the other side , in Dutch of course , so I'm sure some got lost in the translation , but I hope my grammar isn't too bad.
This picture shows that reservoir in simular conditions , that time I was a lot better equipped!
A five day and night downpoor made us 'evacuate', an unbelievable wet trip , let me tell you . Maybe I find time this winter to write that event too.
Sorry forgot the picture.
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We’re done, it’s over, we blew it. We use the dry moments and pack our gear, in silence .
We don’t speak much driving back, what remains are thoughts of guilt for all the break offs and disappointment of course.
But we’ll be back !!
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“Will you help me !?” ...I get out of my wet prison and peak outside....oh boy...”Where are you?” I ask.....”This way” he calls out...I pick up my landing net and walk into the direction of the muffled sounds, eventually I find him in the fog . I see his rod is fully loaded,..”Yeah it’s a big one, but I’m afraid he’s snagged !”....the line sharply points to the left and I decide to find the source of the trouble....I follow the line for 30 yards ,..until I find a beached 12lb carp ! I almost pissed myself, only ‘the bear’ could pull this off !!
At least I can laugh again and with a big grin I retreat into my wet shelter... No 30 minutes later....BIiiiii....I’ll have to get out again, the fog has lifted just a bit. “This is a really good one !” William says with a grin from ear to ear....I try to focus in the fog, because I see....no...not possible....yes it is !!! A heron in his line, caught at 100 yards out...tangled his wing in the line ! Unbelievable. I friendly decline the offer to unhook it ;”No mate , all yours ...I’ll hold your rod!” Of course I took a picture, there’s enough ‘stories’ around. Would you have believed me ?
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The rain stopped and morning welcomes us with an immense fog ,no more than 10 ft visibility....!
In the distance I hear an Optonic whining...not mine ...I took my rods in !!
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The last day.
Also our last night,..determined to do something against these acts of ‘violence’ I rigged my boat rod, a 20LB Hardy Boat, 20 lb Dacron on the reel.
I pulled a muscle in my neck and it really hurts, when I lay down I have a hard time getting up again. Around midnight the drag of my reel starts rattling , despite the pain I’m determined to land a biggie. But also this carp ends my dream violently.<_<
2.30 in the morning and it starts to pour down...I was told a groundsheet is an important accessory , and I found out why, within 15 minutes a small brook forms under my air bed !! The noise of the storm is so loud you can’t hear an Optonic, or do I ? I peak outside , and yes it mine....without glasses or boots I sprint to my rod, manage to bend the stainless bankstick with my knee and scratch my shin ...D A M N...I’m cursing like a sailor and apply full pressure to the boat rod ! Hurrah I manage to get it in, the first 50 meters I manage to get the carp in the shallows but than the carp decides he played Mr. Nice long enough and tears off, reaches the drop-off and bye-bye ! Oh no not again....I hate myself and shower myself in every imaginable curse , DUMM F&^%$ !!
I’m cured, no more...I’m not even going to cast the rods out anymore. <_<
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Le Patron,
Night 4 brings 3 takes each , the biggest is 27 lb , a mirror. Its the weekend and several locals show up. When they try to communicate the bear shrugs his shoulders and points to me ;”Le Patron !” ...thanks a million mate !!
Not before long whole families pull my line to hear the Optonics, pinch and smell the boilies , want to know about this and that !! They think its great. No more nice weather, it starts to poor down and night falls. In this moment I get a violent take, it’s a big one too ,but I don’t stand a chance and get cut off. No hour later the same experience , a very strong carp and a cut-off , the power of the fish was unbelievable. I sit in the car , writing my misfortunes and make a new rig....Biiiii....again I get a violent take and again I get cut-off. #### !! I don’t understand what happened to me and have no way to prevent it, the boat is no option to play a fish. Just after midnight another Jumbo is testing my gear, I go for a full pull and I get cut off again ! ^%$$^&$% !!! NOT HAPPY.
I’m fixing the last break and again a carp begs for attention, I know what to expect but surprisingly this one I manage to land...18 lb. This carp gives me just the confidence I need to go on...an hour later ...next one...but also this Jumbo doesn’t feel to make my life better , I go for all or nothing,...I get ...nothing. It’s really pitch black now and from time to time a big carp crashes on the surface, numb I stay I my bivvy waiting for the sun to rise.
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We spent the day sunbathing and being lazy, as predicted this reservoir only produces at night. We do find however that crayfish like boilies of all sorts,.and anytime, from Asian mix to Strawberry, mmmm. Every hour or so the rig is void of bait.
*The bear’s specialty are boilies with a wide range of flavors, being an ‘Indo’ he likes all kinds of Asian flavors. He brought at least 15 small containers ; Tutti-Frutti, Banana, Pineapple,Strawberry,Chocolade,Shrimp, Trassi etc etc. He’s not to keen seeing mine, as I don’t bother to roll the boilies , I simply cut the sausages in cubes and only hand roll the hook baits. He’s more like a lab engineer, inspecting each boilie individually ; OK, OK, OK ...Oh no a reject !
Chick peas,
The second day and the bear is not happy. “Shouldn’t we go where you saw those others guys?” he says, “Don’t worry, you already got one carp and last night they were jumping all over our swim”, Around 18.00 I go out to bait up again, half a bucket , plus a kilo of boilies each. It cools of quickly again and we sit in the car to warm ourselves a bit. “BIIIIIIIiiiiiiiii” another run for William!
This carp moves one of the markers and tangles three lines , mine off course, figures !!
It’s a 13 lb mirror, this is before unhooking mats ,so we decide to flip the boat and use the bottom... So this first carp punches a leak in it with the sharp fin on its back ! Bummer!The bear grins :”Asian Mix eh !!” <_<
We go to sleep, an hour later....BIIiiiiiiiiiii....I have to explain to the reader this is my first ever bivvy trip, I even had to borrow this one....I get up, but my glasses fog up and my boots won’t fit my feet...while I struggle William picks up my rod!! Feels like a good size fish ! After the initial runs I feel an additional resistance on the line...it wouldn’t be the crayfish cage ?? It was the crayfish cage and not long after my catch releases itself...*%^&$ !!
The temperature reaches high levels the next day and with crumbles of boilies we manage to catch dozens of baby carp...leathers, linears, fully scaled ones, the lot, okay only 4 to 6 inches long ,but what a treat. That evening after baiting up, it’s William again who has the first take, but this fish is so powerful and fast that he’s cut off on the drop-off. That night we get 3 more takes , two for me [ 18 and 25 lb common]. What are we going to do when we hook a real big one ? We can forget the small plastic boat.
Also today the crayfish leave our boilies alone, a very good sign !
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Late in the afternoon we agree on a small beach to use for the first few days. While I start inflating the plastic [toy] boat, William will make camp. No way the small inflatable will carry the bear! The next two hours I peddle and probe to find interesting bottom structures, finally I decide to bait up near the drop-off around 30 ft deep and let two marker buoy’s out. “It’s too far!” the bear yells, “I will never be able to cast there!”....”Well try than , I’ll wait here and check it out!” I replied.
He takes his 3 lb CJW rod and prepares for a long cast,...I don’t really trust his casting abilities and yell back;” Please aim for the marker !” Without answering the bear prepares for a big whack, instantly I feel I’m in the danger zone , pull up my legs , protect my head and turn away. “Wham”...the 3 OZ sinker hits my knee ! “ASS%^$&&” !!!!! The next few days I walk crippled like an old man, thanks buddy !
Countrymen;
The next morning I’m off to get groceries and licenses as the small shop already closed yesterday. In the mean time William is moving his bivvy as he is a bit too close to the rising water. I take some extra time to scout a small area we missed yesterday and find 3 countrymen, well 2 man and a female actually. They really suffered over the last week, because of the relentless rain the level rose 2 meter/ almost 7 feet and they only have one 8 lb carp for their efforts. Their morale was really low.
Back at the campsite [btw it’s a First Category Lake, which means NO night fishing , but we take the risk]. William’s bivvy was moved. I bait up our swims with two big buckets of chick peas and two kilo boilies, one each . I also use a crayfish trap close to my marker , I don’t mind a portion myself !!
It’s end September and it cooled off quickly after sunset. Around 20.30 a run for William and after a good fight he lands a 14 lb common, pretty good result for a first day. During the night ,other than the bear doing his thing,really scary, I’m freezing and listen to the dull sounds of big fish crashing on the surface,..looks like they found the bait,..it’s really pitch black . Another surprise in the morning, before getting my glasses on ,I swing my feet out and into ...water !! Looking outside I can just see my rods, but the reels are under water!! Bloody hell !
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Trouble in Paradise, ‘Bear on the loose’.
Fall 1990, I’m preparing for my first ever French fishing adventure. I don’t want to go to any of the known lakes or reservoirs and we finally decide to go to one of the biggest reservoirs [barrage] in France ,despite my friends advise, ..I want to do my own thing.
My companion isn’t too adventurous and his size [ just shy of 300lb] will prevent him doing wild things anyway. The nickname I gave him was ‘the Bear’, no not just his size, at night when he sleeps he resembles a wild animal, unbelievable a human being can make noises like that.
We leave late in the evening, this way we hope to miss the notorious French traffic jams, the car packed to the brim.
It’s raining continuously , but when we arrive at dawn after driving 600 miles , the sun is shining. The first view on the lake is overwhelming , what a stretch of water ! We go round the lake and go down each muddy track or donkey trail to find ‘the spot’. One of these trails ends in a steep hill down to the water and I advise William to stop here and let me go explore the swim by foot, before we drive the car down ....I know to go down is not the problem , but going back up will be !
Just when I get to the bottom of the hill, I hear the engine roar and seconds later the bear gets out with a big grin. “See ! No Problem”
Five minutes later we decide the swim is to dangerous, let’s find another spot,..but now the car has to go back up !! I stayed outside , you never know. As I feared , he didn’t make it. . “Well you go to the village and get some help ? I don’t speak any French !”.....” Thanks a lot mate , its 4 miles at least, why didn’t you listen to me ? ‘Let’s empty the car and than try again !” That proved to be the trick, cured as to follow donkey trails down, trust me !
Photo is of a later trip to that 'Barrage'
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Thanks Guys, means something to me !!
UK...I hope I wasn't too harsh , but I wanted to be very clear....and of course I also show novices how to catch carp.
And it can be fun to organize a 'fish-inn' too, plenty public places for that.
Keith, please if you want to use any, you're welcome!
And yes Simon you made a point there, it can be all of that 'the easiest and most productive angling', or nothing really! I find plenty spots where the carp only look for natural foods, they will not swim an extra 5 ft for my offerings....you need one to start and the rest to follow.
Never knowing what the next catch will be is indeed the real thrill.
PS a rare mirror from the Seaway.
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It's quite hot and I try to shelter under a big tree ,that is when I don’t play a fish !
I’m really busy and hardly notice ‘ dad ‘ arriving with two little boys and an older girl. In one hand four fishing rods, a pale with minnows and a chair in the other. I’m too busy to socialize and land one carp after the other. Half an hour later I see him slip his daughter a few bucks and off she went. Soon she ‘s back with two cans of sweet corn , he’s no fool ! Not too long after 4 rods [!!] are baited up with corn and clamped between good size rocks. I try and explain to open the brake, but the guy’s face doesn’t register he understands. About an hour and several nice carp later , I hear an outcry where ‘dad’ is fishing, and just witness how he , rod in hand , runs into to river to stop the fish,.. who’s playing who here ?? A few yards and loud ‘CRACKS’ sound, his rod broke in three pieces...I want to comfort the guy , but one look in his eyes shows...he’s hooked ! My next run I ask him if he wants to pick up that rod,...say no more...but he’s really puzzled now seeing the line speed off the spool...”Turn” I cry out...and after disengaging the baitrunner he plays the fish nicely, he now also understands what all that material is for and looks impressed.
How to handle fish was new to him too,..an hour later he manages to hook and land a carp. He takes a string with a metal pin attached , thread’s it through the carp’s mouth and out the gill case , allows the carp back in the water and ties the string to a rock ! Oh horror ! But what can I say , I’m just a tourist ! My next carps I try to show him how I handle fish , the unhooking mat , the forceps and releasing them . About ten carp later he unties the string from his victim and releases him !!
“You’re the first real sports fisherman I ever met!” he said when he left.
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Scott,
Thanks, you sum it up nicely. I can honestly say I NEVER fished known places !! So when 3 anglers arrive in my neighborhood , I usually retreat to find something else. Holland is a small country, a little bigger than Lake Ontario to give you guys an idea !! We live there with 16 million, so it’s crowded and hard if possible at all to keep your swim completely to yourself, especially since there are many specimen hunters around, ±25.000 now actually. So therefore I started fishing in France where nobody went, because ‘the big carp ‘were thought to be in Lac de St Cassien and a few others lakes exclusively !! I was lucky to be the first to fish the WWD of la Maxe and Pont a Mousson, and shared the results by doing a presentation for the national assembly of the Dutch Carp Study Group; the outcome ....of course I didn’t mention where I went, but within 6 months my Dutch and French swims were ‘discovered’ !!
I struggled like that until in 1992 I decided , enough...and I almost gave up carp fishing completely, like many others from my generation. These young kids buy the latest outfit, read a few books, buy the latest ‘Magazine for Target Hunters’ and presto they the are the genuine ‘carper’. The carp anglers in Holland are under attack because many of these kids create problems around residential areas, camp out where they want, drink too much etc... I really do try to stop the negative flow , still do presentations although I know some specialize in ‘analyzing’ photo’s...and you would be surprised what they can find. France is almost ruined for most anglers, because over 440 ‘pay lakes ‘ euro style have bought/stolen a lot of the big carp from public waters. Add the massive haul of illegal carp being exported to stock the day ticket lakes/pools in the UK. Because of that in many lakes carp have died because of viruses. Even in Romania, lake Sarulesti [Raduta] most of the stocked big carp died . So please understand there are people who went through a lot of efforts for their swim/carp, so respect their swims. As I advised over and over again on this board [mostly by PM], get a barrel , fill it with corn and when you see a ‘fishable’ spot, plumb the bottom for depth and composition...when you like it,...dump 10 Gallons of corn, ..do it in a few places, repeat it a few times , and then go out and ‘harvest’...you will not be successful everywhere..but when you do the satisfaction is great . In NA you still have so many virgin spots I’m sure if you try a new world opens....when I was trying to find spots in my beginning years, in Canada that is, the huge stretches of water looked daunting and impossible to crack on your own. I looked for waterlillies and reeds, recognizable spots so to speak, but the surprises came from real different locations , you never know.
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And a lean mean fighting machine for me, I hardly ever photograph myself so I depend on how the passer-by takes the shot, this time I was lucky .
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Couldn't complain about the quality of fish we took.
Here's Jan X,
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Just a few 'Seaway' carp as a result of building up this swim over several weeks.
After 4 days of fishing the carp got very wary ! An unfished swim, within 4 days ruined,...okay we took about 200 carp in that period, but shows how quickly they 'learn'.
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This penis envy is not helping the promotion of carp and carp anglers in general. Since more than 25 years I introduce novices to carp fishing, write articles, give presentations and attend most Tackle Trade shows as I build my own rods and nets ,I’m a bit of a tackle freak in the way everything you see could be used or not for carp fishing. The lesson you learn is not to bring everybody to your swims and keep quiet ! In Europe it is not appreciated by the local carp anglers if you point out their location to outsiders. There are plenty of ‘pay-lakes’ and ‘circuit waters’ and public places ,if you want to do the ‘monkey see , monkey do ‘ thing. It would be nice if I can make the reader understand why.....there is no particular reason , just that probably a very small percentage carp anglers are ‘trendsetters’, the rest just copy.
The vast and mostly un-chartered waters in NA hardly know any pressure at all, and as I very often advise on this forum , is to do your own thing...it’s more rewarding.
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As a veteran carper you get criticism anyway, as a friend told me several years ago;
When you didn’t catch a forty, you’re a loser
When you say you didn’t catch any , you’re a liar
When you say you catch very many , you’re a liar
When you prove you catch a lot, you brag
When they see you catch ,they ruin your pleasure
Photo; nice carp ,unique colors.
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I go back to the scene of the accident and fish from the Van for a few hours...around 18.00 a police car stops behind me...the driver smiles and says;” You didn’t catch anything did you?’ Very surprised I confirm but ask him too; “How do you know?” ...”Well , this morning we removed a stolen car from your swim !!”
Okay that’ll do it !! I pack my gear and spent the night with a friend. He has news for me. “ Your friends are here too !” My friends ?? “Yes the friends you brought last year!”
I spent a lot of time and money to find these spots and now ‘they’ show up and fish my swim, behind my back. I’m not happy, it turns out they don’t know I’m still there,..I ask them to please come back the next day , I have a surprise !! They understand and I don’t see them back...this type of ‘scouting’ is very popular in Europe and the major reason I fish N.A. There are plenty carp and lots of room why target me !??
Photo; playing a good carp from the docks.
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October 6, the water temperature is only 10 C degrees , unbelievable but true the temperature dropped from 18C in 8 days !
I’m a bit handicapped now and can’t wear a boot, I decide to stay in a motel for a few days. That night I wake up with a dry mouth but all the drinks are in the Van, ..eventually I get out of bed to get a bottle of juice out from the cool box in the car. With the juice I turn back to the motel door, ..that slams shut in my face!! Oh boy....03.00 in the morning and there I am , outside, in my undies, no other clothes on , strange footwear, bandages on one foot! ..and no key ! Finally I go to the reception and ring the bell, what else could I do ? The lady who owns the motel is there in 20 seconds, luckily she could not sleep so I didn’t wake her. She was surprised, but opened my door with a big smile.
Photo; view from the motel.
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Murphy’s Law
A few days later I have an accident in the docks, in the middle of the night. My position is 10 feet above the water, this way I can play the biggest carp without the risk of snagging, but when the fish is close in I have to climb down, with the rod and use the net.
The boulders are granite; the water, heat and cold slowly crack these rocks . The jagged edges are razor-sharp. The ,big, carp is in my net as I hold the net and my rod in one hand , pointing to the sky, while I grab the mesh to lift the carp with the other hand. Only two steps to the unhooking mat, I slip but manage to remain standing, the carp looks bigger than anticipated...my heel starts aching , I take the hook out...the feeling in my heel gets worse ,like it’s on fire. I feel the backside of my winter boots and find a 1 inch hole...I kick the boot , to my horror my heel is bleeding like a pig. The big fish gets a push from the mat into the Seaway, this is more important. With a Mag-Lite it’s almost impossible to see exactly in what state the heel is, the adrenaline is pumping. The heel is wrapped in a new pair of socks as a bandage. No way I can get to sleep and what if I need stitches ?? After an hour or so I pack my stuff and drive back to civilization, in front of a Dunkin Donuts I spot a Highway Patrol car. I’m dressed in camo gear, smell like a skunk [3 days fishing] and on one boot while the other foot is covered in a bloody sock. Their reaction was not one of welcome , but eventually they get the picture and give me directions to the nearest hospital. I arrive there 03.30 in the morning, luckily no waiting...the female doctor confirms I’m lucky , half an inch higher and my Achilles tendon would have been cut! So they clean the wound , stitch it and give me a tetanus shot. I have to come back in 5 days. I don’t feel like losing another day of fishing so 5 days later I ask ‘doctor’ Rudy , who volunteered to remove them, to do the honors. <_<
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I'm going from one baiting spot to the other, this trip I used a 'rented wreck' to double as a camper. It's easy to load/unload ; plastic boxes, the coolers and corn containers make that simple, the air bed is already half inflated , so just needs the sleeping bag. Confortabel !
The first carp I land 30 min after breakfast and it's a 30+ too.
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The Seaway by sunset, and a good fish on...the two hand grip is standard. Despite that I have a problem with my right arm now, the 400 runs I had last May/June took their toll. Sept/Oct I reversed the handles.
Trouble in Paradise
in Pictures, Stories & Video
Posted
I was one of those bivvies in the Church swim. in a bivvy with no fishing in the rain is just pure torture, especially when they guy you are waiting to move is pulling fish out.
Yeah , tell me about it. As briefly mentioned, the second trip to that reservoir was almost worse than the first. Rain for 5 Days and nights ...a big 10X20ft tarp 'saved' us, but night 5 the water rose into out tents. With the tents almost 'up' the hill, there was no escape and in the middle of the night we had to break up camp. My buddy woke me , wearing my waders and pulling my zodiac. "You have to take the boat to get your rods he mumbled, your waders didn't make it !!"
Pitchblack,in the middle stretch of the lake and maybe 10 miles by boat to get to the car.
The [bad] picture shows us just before leaving camp in the middle of the night. <_<