Need some advice

[caenmatt]

Hi all
Need some advice.
Missus is about to drop in may, only been back carping a year now but don’t want to give it up complete. Looking for a water or club to join that will give me a bit of fun on a 24 hour session as and when I can grab one (build the confidence up a bit), then when I get the time for a longer session hit a lake that is a bit more of a challenge. I live in Rochdale but don’t mind travelling about an hour. How about SOTAS? Or Excalibur AC? What’s the score with membership etc. or should I stick to day ticket waters? Any help would be appreciated

[MCFC]

Depends what your after mate i can tell you about a relatively unknown club, Disley and New Mills Angling Club, with a good runs water on the ticket, and no waiting list, you can also fish nights. With a couple of good waters with a few 20's in. Let me know what your after as this might not be the right club for you if your after 30's and a shedload of 20's.

[Julian Grattidge]

I was in the same boat as you this time last year; my wife gave birth to our firstborn on April 2nd.

It certainly changed my fishing and to be honest, unless your wife is very understanding, you might need to change your approach as 24hr sessions could be extremely few and far between once your new arrival comes along – at least for a while. Also on the distance side, my wife had a bit of a scare late on in the pregnancy and I was quite a distance away fishing, so the time it took me to get back and then get them up to the hospital made me realise I’d be better off targeting waters close to home for a while in case I needed to get back in a hurry!

Basically I took a break from the specimen waters as I could not find the time needed to fish them effectively. I decided to fish a number of small waters close to home for a while just to keep my hand in. Most sessions were just two or three hours long, but I was able to enjoy it – if I’d have waited for the chance of a 24hr session I would never have left the house – there was always some ‘dad’ job that needed doing! That said, the short-sessions really honed my skills so that on the rare opportunity I was able to have a night or a couple of nights fishing, I was really able to take advantage as I’d kept my hand in.

I wrote the piece below for Northern Angler when Izaak was about 12 weeks old; it’s about short session angling and aimed at the novice but gives an idea of how I tackled my fishing during that period with very limited time on my hands – may be of use.

All the best for the big day!

J

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Short Session Carping
By Julian Grattidge

I was reading an article the other day where the author described his approach on a venue where he was spending quite a bit of time. He intimated that his usual tactic on lunchtime arrival involved putting rods out on a whim for the first night before assessing the situation ‘properly’ the next morning. To me this seemed ludicrous, as not only was he failing to adopt any kind of strategy on arrival, but he seemed quite happy to waste the best part of twenty hours of fishing before deciding to do anything about it! The irony was that by his own admission, his results were pretty dire – I should think so!
Twenty hours fishing before forming a plan!? I should be so lucky! Since my wife gave birth to our first child some twelve weeks ago I’ve been lucky to get more than three hours fishing in at a time; yet by adopting some basic short session tactics I’ve been able to get amongst the fish on most occasions, often banking more than anglers who have already been there for hours, or in some instances, days!
Unless I’m fishing purely to relax and unwind, I hate to waste valuable time. I prefer to make every minute count, and in doing so, I can often bring about a result quicker than the angler who is happy to sit back and let things take their course.
Many people think that to succeed in short session carping you have to be gifted in watercraft, and whilst this is undoubtedly a factor (as it is with all types of fishing) it’s by no means the overriding ingredient to success. So if like me, you currently have very little time at your disposal, here’s my five point plan to short session success.

Plan in Advance
The first weapon in the short session angler’s armoury is planning. Work out how much time you are likely to have to spare and select venues that will suit. I draw the line at anything under two hours fishing time, but on top of that you obviously have to factor in travelling – so if you only have a couple of hours at your disposal, then fishing a water with an hours return journey is a bit pointless.
Knowing in advance that my own time was going to get limited, I dug out Ordinance Survey maps and marked all the waters that were within a fifteen minute drive of home, thus travelling would never equate to more than half an hour. There were loads of waters that in the past I had discounted for one reason or another, but looking at them purely in terms of distance put a new slant on things. I marked everything; club waters, day ticket, stillwaters, rivers and canals – all of which will contain carp.
Next comes the research and reconnaissance – find the waters that best suit your needs. If it’s numbers that are important, pick the ones with the biggeer fish, if it’s the challenge you are after then get out on the rivers or canals, or even better, pick a few different venues for your campaign so that you always have a choice.
Before the season started I did my research and selected two still waters; one a three-acre club water, and the other a small one-acre pool. In addition I selected two virtually unknown canal stretches, giving myself the challenge of finding and catching some wily old canal carp.
I then started doing reccy’s whenever time allowed; and with the return journey being half an hour or less, I could literally go when I just an hour available and would still have at least thirty minutes to look around and get a feel for swims and tactics. I would even take our newborn, Izaak, with me – not only was I giving him his first taste of angling at just a few weeks old, but I was getting brownie points of mum for taking him off her hands for a few hours – walking around a lake with your son, hardly a chore! As I say, it’s all about the planning.

Who wouldn’t be happy with one of these for an hours work?

Be Ready
The second thing to do is ensure you have tackle and equipment pre-sorted and ready to go at a moments notice. This way, when the opportunity presents itself for a few hours fishing, you don’t then have to spend half of it getting your gear ready.
I always have my short session tackle pre-sorted and ready to go; a shoulder bag with a few odds and ends of tackle, scales, camera, and rigs. Then I have my unhooking mat rolled up with a weigh sling and landing net within. I then have two bait bags; one containing dog biscuits, and the other empty, ready to have various freezer baits chucked into it before leaving the house – I then just pick the one I need before leaving. Do remember though; as it’s your aim to have baits in the water within twenty minutes of leaving the house, any freezer baits will need a quick blast in the microwave on defrost! Last but not least are my rods. I have various rods already made up, each set up for a different purpose; stalking rod, surface fishing rod, etc. It’s then just a case of selecting which one I need for the moment at hand, securing it to the landing net handle and I’m away. When I decide to go fishing I can be out of the house in less than five minutes – how long does it take you to prepare for a session?

Travel Light
I only tend to fish one rod when short session carping. I find that by putting all my time and effort into one rod I can really maximise its potential, and find that I will often out-fish others who maybe using two or more rods – strange but true. In any case, the time available dictates that a stalking approach is favourable, and you can’t really do this with two rods as you will find you keep getting bogged down having to do everything twice if using two rods. In essence you are actually looking to find a fish then present a bait to it, rather than setting a trap and waiting for the fish to come to you.

Seize the Moment
When the opportunity arises – go for it! I speak to friends at the moment who moan they can’t get out fishing but then in their next breath say words to the effect ‘I had a few hours the other night but couldn’t be bothered’. The second I think I have an opportunity I’m gone!

A nice Blackwood linear I banked a few weeks ago during a short evening session

Also, give thought to the best venue to fish at the time at which you have the opportunity. Often in an evening my Stillwater selections will have a few on, so I might instead prefer to do a few hours on the canal. Likewise, the two stillwaters are empty very early on midweek mornings, so when targeting those I’ve been doing a bit anytime between 4am and 9am, before coming home and starting work – it’s all a case of maximising your chances – pick the venue that gives you the best chance of banking a fish at the time when you can do a bit. One of my Stillwater selections opened upon June 16th. Knowing that this fell on a work day, and having done a bit of homework on the membership, I figured not many would be down before mid-morning. As such I went down first thing and banked three decent carp off the top before anybody else had even arrived before shooting off back home to work!

Move It!
Be prepared to move at the slightest sign of fish. A stalking approach with one rod will allow you to cover great distances and you should not be afraid of moving at the slightest sign of something ‘carpy’ somewhere else. Go and have a look, drop a bait in, or on, and give it five. If nothing develops keep moving. It’s often the case that when I spot a fish I’ve caught it within moments of offering a bait, so the more you move, the more you are likely to spot, and hopefully, catch. Remember, you only have a few hours so make the most of it - I have tried the static approach but it’s not half as effective, even when pre-baiting.
Also, don’t be afraid to change venues. I know how daft that sounds in the context of the article, but believe me, it can work. The other night I had a few hours free, and with the sun beaming down decided for a floater session on one of the stillwaters. On arrival I found a bit of an unexpected rip on the water and more than a few other anglers on. I did one lap of the lake, and as I did not spot anything that took my fancy, immediately decided to head to my other Stillwater. On arrival there was a few others fishing, but by keeping on the move I found a group of fish nobody else had spotted before I’d even done a lap, and within ten minutes had a nice double figure common on the bank, followed by a further three doubles before I had to go home – none of the other carp anglers that night caught anything!

In Summary
Don’t be fooled into thinking that you have to have days and nights at your disposal in order to catch carp. Bivvies, bedchairs and rod pods are all great, and I’ve got them myself – but they are not essential items when in the business of catching carp. Furthermore, by adopting some of the above principles on longer sessions you will more than likely find your catch rate will improve. I’ve been fishing this way for the best part of a year now and my ratio for time fishing verses fish banked has never been better, and I’ve even banked some target fish along the way – so what’s stopping you - why not give it a try!?

[inny]

My Advice would be to stay as close to home as possible until the baby is born. My wife went into labour when I was night fishing. She rang me at 1 in the morning. Fortunately I had a mate with me who helped me to pack up and race home, and that was only 12 miles away. I picked up my wife and we got to the hospital 14 minutes before my daughter was born.... 5 weeks early!!

my advice would be to carry on as you would of done before you tubbed her fella,at the end of the day thats what her mum and sisters are there for you only live once carry on putting the hours on.your not gonna be putting any lumps at the bank at home changing dirty nappies are you my friend
i know what women can be like once you stop fishing for a few days at a time they will not want you to start again nip it in the bud and infact i would start doing an extra night a week and get that new £400 bivvy you have always wanted.
if you dont put your foot down fella yould will end up pussy whipped beyond your wildest dreams

sts

[tomo13]

Originally Posted by sid the sexist

my advice would be to carry on as you would of done before you tubbed her fella,at the end of the day thats what her mum and sisters are there for you only live once carry on putting the hours on.your not gonna be putting any lumps at the bank at home changing dirty nappies my friend

[staffordjonny]

Originally Posted by sid the sexist

my advice would be to carry on as you would of done before you tubbed her fella,at the end of the day thats what her mum and sisters are there for you only live once carry on putting the hours on.your not gonna be putting any lumps at the bank at home changing dirty nappies my friend

Hence the name SID THE SEXIST

Originally Posted by staffordjonny

Hence the name SID THE SEXIST

nothing to do with being sexist my friend,i know from experience that once they start busting your chops about fishing its the beging of the end i know i have worn the t shirt.i put my foot down and usually do 4 nights a week and my trouble and strife manages our 5 kids no problem apart from her mum who takes them to school and her dad picks them up when she is at work.

[russ]

Originally Posted by sid the sexist

nothing to do with being sexist my friend,i know from experience that once they start busting your chops about fishing its the beging of the end i know i have worn the t shirt.i put my foot down and usually do 4 nights a week and my trouble and strife manages our 5 kids no problem apart from her mum who takes them to school and her dad picks them up when she is at work.

wow !

[staffordjonny]

your blessed!

Originally Posted by staffordjonny

your blessed!

yeah i do have the knack of catching my fair share

[tomo13]

It is all about finding a balance between familly and fishing.
In my humble opinion, familly comes well before fishing.You have to get your priorities right.
When a new baby comes along it should be the happiest time of your life.Catching a carp suddenly becomes the last thing to worry about.
It seems that some peoples priorities are different

[the great cornholio]

Obviously your priorities will, or may change.
But, when my missus was pregnant with our first I went throught the same concerns.
But, a friend of mine, a non-fisherman, said that the following: -
You have been on the earth far longer that his child, and have a life aswell.
The worst thing you can possibly do is allow the child to change you life completely.
Once you stop doing things because of your newborn, then you may aswell forget having a bit of a life of your own.
I know people, very close, who have played football, bowling, etc etc and have never giving up their pastimes. Why should fishing be any different?

It is just about getting the balance right.
Change a few nappies, stay in the odd night when your missus wants to go out on the 'razz' and everything will fall in to place.

A 24hr, 48hr or a week then will not need be just a dream.

Just my view of life, I hasten to add.

[keffus]

Originally Posted by the great cornholio

Obviously your priorities will, or may change.
But, when my missus was pregnant with our first I went throught the same concerns.
But, a friend of mine, a non-fisherman, said that the following: -
You have been on the earth far longer that his child, and have a life aswell.
The worst thing you can possibly do is allow the child to change you life completely.
Once you stop doing things because of your newborn, then you may aswell forget having a bit of a life of your own.
I know people, very close, who have played football, bowling, etc etc and have never giving up their pastimes. Why should fishing be any different?

It is just about getting the balance right.
Change a few nappies, stay in the odd night when your missus wants to go out on the 'razz' and everything will fall in to place.

A 24hr, 48hr or a week then will not need be just a dream.

Just my view of life, I hasten to add.

spot on mate .. its about give and take.. and not givin up all of your own life..tho it does take a chunk... dads taxi rank, here i come lol

[caenmatt]

cheers lads for the advice, gonna try and get down to sale for the 30th. that will be it then untill the sprog is here.