44 Carp-Talk Log on to http://www.carptalk-online.co.uk Shop at http://www.gifts4anglers.co.uk Weekly news FREE to your desktop http://www.carptalkxtra.co.ukKeen Keen Keen Keen Keen Keen
to get his angling to get his angling to get his angling
year started, Jack heads year started, Jack heads year started, Jack heads
over to Thorpe Lea to over to Thorpe Lea to over to Thorpe Lea to
sample some prolific sample some prolific sample some prolific
day-ticket action.day-ticket action.day-ticket action.day-ticket action.day-ticket action.day-ticket action.
FEATURE
I
f there’s one thing to give
your angling mind a lift it’s
the rst signs of spring.
It’s a time to look ahead
and look forward to some
longer, warmer days and
generally better conditions for
catching carp. I am really
excited, mainly because I’ve
gained a new ticket for this year
and, now that I’m getting my
head around the family
business, I should actually be
able to schedule in some regular
trips to this lake.
At this time of year, though, I
do like to get my season up and
running with a few bites, a bit of
action to keep the con dence levels
high. In the past, day trips to the
canal have done a good job of
ful lling this role, but this year I
fancied a change and headed over to
a lake I’d heard a lot about, but had
yet to visit. orpe Lea in Surrey is
around 18-acres, rammed full of sh
and available on a day-ticket – ideal!On arrival
As at any good day-ticket lake, the
baili s were quick and willing to
give me some information: where
the other anglers were bivvied up, a
rundown on the lake and, most
importantly, where the sh had
been coming from with a few swim
details. You’ve probably heard it
said before, but it really does pay to
listen to these guys when you bowl
up at a lake. ey know the score
and they want you to catch.
I’d soon learned that the
lakebed shelved up from depths of
around 13-15ft to a large central
plateau of around 5-6 feet at this
time of year when the water is
highest. is middle shallow area
seemed to be where the recent sh
captures had been coming from, so
after a quick look around, I settled
on a swim that had a good outlook
on to this part of the lake: peg 51.Tactics
e baili s weren’t kidding about
the bottom shelving-up steeply, and
it didn’t take long to nd this
obvious feature with a few casts of
the marker rod. I opted for a spot
just on to the plateau at around 80
yards. With a few drags of the lead I
could tell that the spot was much
cleaner than the surrounding area,
although the odd piece of silkweedUP AND RUNNING!
remained. Bearing this in mind, I
tied up my rigs a little longer at
around 12 inches. ey were pop-up
rigs with the counterbalance set to
sink the hookbait nice and slowly to
ensure they would sit above any of
the light weed.
I also like to scale things down a
little at this time of year, so I went
for the Mini Micro Fluoro pop-ups
from Mainline. Bright and 8mm insize, they were perfect for sitting
within the small mouthful of
PVA-wrapped pellets I nicked on to
the hook. It’s a highly visual and
highly attractive presentation that’s
worked for me at most well stocked
venues.
ese are typical day-ticket
tactics really, just like my baiting
approach, a mix of particles, corn,
Hybrid Response Pellets, plus someReady to start my
session in peg 51Always listen to the baili sAround a dozen
Spombs to start
the session and
get the sh
grubbing aboutBrown_CT1064.indd 44 20/03/2015 08:46:15