ups. I had ordered pop

I did do one session but there were three members down for the day fishing various swims and making far too much noise and when they had finally had gone two more guys turned up for the night. I settled for a swim near the car for convenience, rather than anything else, and not surprisingly not a bleep was received by any of us all night. I spent the rest of the week looking around other lakes and weighing up the pros and cons of each, already planning for next winter and the 2001 season. I am sure I will catch the last two carp I have left to catch from my current pit before the summer and autumn is out. Even if I don’t, the scenery has become boring and I can only take repeat captures so far, so when I drive out of the gate on 14th March next year it will be forever. Terry Hearn plans several seasons ahead targeting individual big fish he has seen photos of or heard rumours about. I have not as much time as him to target individual fish but I think it is a sound approach. so instead I have a list of waters I want to fish over the next few years. The trouble is I have a tendency to stay on a water a year too long. I think I may have done it again this season, but the 27lb 4oz common I had a couple of weeks ago was worth it. It may be of interest to talk about some of the useful bits and pieces I use to put my carp on the bank. I am a great user of all things PVA and my rigs are covered with all sorts when I cast out. I use Gardner Tackle PVA products mainly and have had no problems over the years with them. Their string is superb and dissolves at just the right rate, not so fast in summer that a shower of rain makes it useless, and not too slow in winter that it is still there an hour later. Apart from using it for stringers I also am obsessed with avoiding tangles and go to all sorts of lengths to do so – no matter how awkward, day and night. I only cast out once. It’s in the right spot, the next time I cast will be after a take from a fish, so I want it to be perfect on the bottom. Therefore I tie the hair to the bottom of the hook with PVA string every cast to ensure the bait cannot twist or tangle round the shank. I also sometimes tie the hooklink in a little bundle with PVA string when stalking if an awkward cast under a tree is required, for example. I love using PVA bags as well. These are an asset in all angling situations but thankfully under-utilised by the majority of carp anglers due to the ‘too much like hard work’ attitude of most. I use them for accuracy at distance, for holes in weed, for winter fishing, for margin stalking, in fact only if carp are actually seen in the swim and the disturbance of a PVA bag may spook them will I not put one on. I have been using a couple of variations put out by Gardner tackle lately, in fact all of my carp caught since June 1st have fallen to one or the other. First is their spools of ‘Continuous Fishnet PVA’. This is, as it suggests, just a 5 metre roll of PVA fishnet tube. This means any size of bag can be used for the situation I find myself in, and how much bait I want to introduce. Simply by tying a knot or using a tie of PVA string the bag is sealed at the bottom and by twisting and using the hookpoint as a tie, the top is sealed ready for casting. A good versatile well priced product. The other variation on the theme from Gardner that I am very impressed with is their ‘Flavoured PVA Bags’. I was bit sceptical at first but I obtained some Blue Spice flavoured ones which in theory complimented the boilies I use. I was a bit doubtful about their blue colouring but after testing them in the margins I could see the dissolve rate was fast, and no residue was left, so had no reservations. Certainly the last four carp I have caught, two over 25lb, have liked the idea. A great idea and hopefully a wide range of flavours will become available. For many years I struggled away rolling my own boilies, first of all by hand and then with the aid of a rolling table and gun. So when a mate of mine said he now got his bait rolled for him I asked if he could get me some as part of his next order. I was, to say the least, impressed with the result, even if they were a little softer than I would have made. Once I had the idea though, I tried a couple of other bait rolling companies over the next few months. Having tried the rest I then found the best, The Bait Company. My ordered bait turned up, within two days of phoning, in tightly sealed bags within a very secure cardboard box. The boilies were all uniformly round, mine were 14mm, and were nice and hard, as I had requested when I ordered. They smelled and looked just like the ones I rolled myself and the carp liked them as well. I had the carp going well on my hand rolled baits so was reluctant to try something different but I need not have worried, the bait rolled by The Bait Company obviously was made to just the right recipe I asked for.All orders are dispatched the evening they are rolled, to arrive early the following morning ready for the freezer, so you can be ready for them. If you want they will also do air-dried baits for holiday trips abroad or at home. These are dispatched in paper bags so they remain dry. Boilies can be rolled from 8 to 24mm size but if bigger ones are required then this can be arranged and in amounts of 2.5kg to 10kg or more. They also do chop bait and crumb from your ordered recipe, something not all companies will do and if you have tried producing these yourself then this is a big plus, it is a right pain! They also do glugged hook baits, dips, paste baits, boilie pellets and pop-ups. I had ordered pop-ups from other companies and had been very disappointed with the result as they were either like black bullets or were something else that did not resemble the bottom baits at all in sight or smell. So I was not hopeful with the product from The Bait Company either but I ordered some for the winter and was delighted with them. They were as near to the bottom baits as possible plus they were extremely buoyant, something I had never managed to achieve myself. I used them at my water last winter and caught a dozen carp during January, February and March on them including a 31lb common. The Bait Company will roll any recipe you want and always have the popular bait mixes in stock, which makes delivery even quicker, but they will acquire anything you ask for. So if you are looking for a new bait rolling company or are still to use one then save yourself a lot of grief and hard work and check The Bait Company out. Contact David and the boys on 01920 438338 or visit their website at baitcompany.co.uk, email: sales@thebaitcompany.co.uk, you will not be sorry. Next week I hope to get back amongst them and hopefully the lake will be a little quieter.

Have fun!