Hooked On Carp Fishing
What is carp fishing all about? Why do people, me included, spend days (and nights) on end on the lakeside, often ending up without having caught a thing?
I’ve often wondered, when soaked to the skin on the lakeside, “What am I doing here”. But I realise that carp fishing is not just about catching a few fish and putting them back.
Carp are special fish. Many are even given names. Some are legendary, like “Mary” the former britich record carp that used to grace the occasional landing net from Wraysbury.
Of course, part of the lure is that, other than the occasional catfish, no british freshwater fish grows as large as the carp. There are several carp in UK lakes over the magical 50 pound mark, and if you venture across the English Channel to France, carp of this size are almost common place, with 60 and 70lb fish regularly caught - often by British anglers on a carp fishing holiday.
Carp are clever fish too. One of the reasons that we try out so many different rigs and tactis is that we know that the carp have learned to be wary of certain types of baits and presentations. That makes it a battle of wills between you and the fish. I know of guys who have targetted a particular carp and not been satisfied until they have had it on the bank. Often they have spent a whole season (in the old days when there was such a thing) pursuing that one fish.
And of course, when you are lucky enough to hook into a decent sized carp, they fight all the way to the net.
But carp fishing is even more than that. The social side of things can be great fun too. A couple of lads in a bivvy, chatting over a brew. A fry up by the lake on a cold winter morning with a few mates. It all adds up to make carp fishing a great way of making friends for life.
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