Christmas at Cassien

It was so good to be back on the banks of Cassien for the Christmas period once again. You see the last couple of years have been a bit hit-and-miss and I was determined to make it back there for the end of 2009. It wasn't particularly straight forward as with the release of the book this year I have to attend most of the shows, including the VBK show in Belgium, but what a great show that turned out to be! It really feels like one big get-together of friends and of course Martin and the Solar team were there too so a great time was had by all - thanks to all the VBK team for making us so welcome.
It was straight after the VBK show that Joan and I left for Cassien, it was during the start of the cold spell and we drove through snow and sleet but we made it in good time. The news was that the lake had been fishing quite well with the water level rising after heavy rains, but the sudden drop in temperature had halted things somewhat. I expected a tough time to be honest, but was just glad to be back at the place which means so much to me.
It was all very quiet for a few days. Not many anglers were on but there were no signs of carp and it was very cold, but finally, five days after arriving my Club Mix boily was picked up in the early hours and it was like I'd never been away. After a tough battle in the freezing darkness I landed a nice mirror of 44lb 8oz and to be honest that made the trip - I didn't need another fish.
A change came in the weather - it turned much warmer, but with it came the rain - lots of it! It rained for almost five days solid and I was so glad for the South Westerly clothing which meant that we could carry on with things and remain dry! The warm spell did bring with it a bit of action and two more cracking mirrors of 41lb and 47lb 8oz followed. From a tough start with limited time it was actually turning out to be a great trip.
Christmas Day started in the best way possible - I was dragged out of bed at 6am by a screaming run! I always hope to get a fish on Christmas Day but I hadn't actually achieved that since 2005 so this was quite a special moment and the 26lb common which was on the end was most gratefully received. Needless to say the rest of the day was spent eating, drinking and just smiling really!
The only problem with the Christmas period now at Cassien is that you know the crowds are going to arrive and they did from the 26th onwards up to the point where it really became packed-out. We were due to leave on the 28th so it didn't matter too much. I wasn't expecting any more action as the fish often turn off when it's busy but as we were packing up with the just the rods and the bivvy to go, one of the rods roared off but unfortunately the fish got around a snag and I retreived the rig minus the carp. It was a shame to end that way but I couldn't complain with the fish I'd already caught and after all it was just nice to get back and spend some time at my favourite lake.
Happy New Year - Briggsy

Autumn beauties in deepest France

I suppose autumn didn't really happen this year - summer turned in to winter almost overnight and I was able to witness it at first hand whilst fishing at a lovely French lake just recently. The weather was lovely when I arrived and even at 2am in the morning I was comfortable in just a tee shirt, but within a few days I was wearing all the clothes I had with me and thick frost was covering the ground at first light!

Thankfully the fish seemed to sense that the weather was turning and they fed most days, except for the very coldest. It wasn't an easy trip and for the first couple of days I had no action even though fish were showing over the areas. It took a bit of working out but that always makes it more rewarding when you do bank a fish or two. In the end the answer came from fishing areas which were rock hard on the bottom in depths between two and three metres and switching over to the Quench boilies which thankfully I'd picked up from Christian at Solar on the way down. I was just fishing small areas next to snags or close to the dam wall at the end of the lake and not baiting too heavily, just twenty or thirty whole and broken boilies with a sprinkling of 365 pellets seemed to be what the fish wanted and on the third morning I got things underway with a 37lb mirror. hook baits were fished snowman style with the pop ups being either Quench or Bunspice and Aniseed. The other thing which really made a difference was fishing very slack lines as I'd sussed out that they were very line shy. To combat that, I used long seven metre lengths of lead core - just two from every spool, but it really helped to pin everything down. Two good fish of 41lb and 40lb 4oz came during the following nights along with some smaller fish, but it was 3pm on Wednesday afternoon when I latched in to something which felt much heavier, and after quite a battle I slipped the net under a 54lb 8oz mirror which was enough to make the trip a good 'un!
A few fish followed the next day but then the temperature really dropped and the action stopped and I thought that would be the end of it, but on the final morning it just lifted a little and the fish responded immediately. A final flurry brought three more fish to the bank, two commons of around 20lb apiece and another cracking mirror of 50lb 4oz which looked lovely in the early morning sun. It was a great trip on a water which I hadn't fished before and although it wasn't easy fishing the rewards were certainly there. It took a little bit of thought and the help of the right bait to get things going and it turned out fine - but it looks as though summer is definitely over for 2009!

Clubbing 'em at Rainbow!!

Most people know that when Rainbow Lake fishes well that something special is always on the cards, but the last trip there was just incredible. For me this trip was special as it was the first time that I'd had the chance to fish from the Island Swim which controls the central area of the lake. I just hoped that when I finally got there that it wouldn't be a disappointment - well it was far from that, in fact it was one of my best sessions ever!

There's no doubt that the Club Mix is the number one summer bait at Rainbow and no matter how much the carp see of it through the year, they always come back for more. So needless to say the Club Mix formed the main part of my baiting attack along with Red Herring and BYT Pellets and a few bags of the Up and Down Mix. Hook baits were all fished snowman style with an 18mm Club Mix bottom bait along with a 14mm Quench pop up.

It all started well enough when I landed a 46lb mirror a great start but my only fish of the first day. But after what was quite a slow start it just got better and better! From then on for the next 13 days I always had between five and seven runs per day. The great thing with the Islands water is that there is room to spread the baits around and there is always a chance of a run at any time without putting too much pressure in one area. Baiting spots consistently really paid off and the fish kept coming back for more of their favourite food! During the first few days the fish were all very much in the same weight bracket, between 25lb and 35lb - nice fish but not huge by Rainbow standards. But then on the Thursday morning a cracking mirror of 57lb 8oz slipped up and that signalled the start of an incredible run of action. Over the next seven days I managed to land at least one fish over 50lb every single day. Fish of 53lb, 53lb 8oz, 51lb 8oz, 53lb, 52lb 4oz and 59lb 2oz soon followed amongst a whole host of other fish up to 49lb 4oz. With all that action I thought that a 60 couldn't be far away and on the Tuesday morning of the second week I finally managed that with a cracking mirror of 64lb 8oz!

It was a session that I've dreamed of having for a long time now - everything was working perfectly, not just the bait but the rest of the gear too. The size 4 Stronghold Longshank hooks have always been great and they were really being put to the test this time but there was no worry - they did the job well as did the lead release clips which discharged the lead every time in the snaggy conditions.
One more great fish followed the next day, a cracking common of 57lb and then the spell was broken. I carried on catching fish just the same but the big ones were gone and the best after that weighed in at 36lb 8oz. It was just incredible, the final tally was 59 carp with nine fish over 50lb and a further nine over 40lb. Everything has to be right for the action to stay that consistent and I knew that I had the right bait and the right gear for the job and thankfully I was also in the right place at just the right time. Get on the Clubs!!

Almost autumn

The need for plumbing and searching out the ‘hot spots’ becomes more obvious in early autumn than at any other time of the year. Generally speaking, results can be a bit hit and miss in September because the fish in your target venue are likely to have been bombarded with hoards of baited rigs in the preceding months. Yet if you track down the spots they visit regularly, you can certainly sneak a few chances before they really get their heads down when the big winds of Autumn arrive.

Obviously a well planned pre-baiting campaign will help overcome any shyness built-up by the carp, but a good plumb around now will uncover all sorts of otherwise hidden areas, especially those which are generally termed by the carp angling fraternity as ‘cleaned areas’. These areas of the lakebed may only be a few feet across, but as the weed density drops off with the cooler water, such ’hot spots’ can be uncovered fairly easily.

Some weeds take much longer to die off than others, but one type which tends to go much quicker than most is the cotton wool algae. Algae is present in all fisheries, but come the end of September/early part of October, blooms tend to lose their green colour and die back taking on a darker appearance, making lakebed examination a lot easier. Where cotton wool blooms have been present during the summer, you tend to get a light coating of black fluff that resembles hair which can easily be picked up by the marker rod or lead. A smooth ‘cleaned’ piece of bottom is what I look for, and usually one which is at least a yard or so across and surrounded by black fluffy algae.

One of the best ways of uncovering ‘cleaned areas’ is with a boat and some sort of looking glass, but not all venues allow anglers to do this so it is necessary to have a good cast around. I use two rods to do it thoroughly, the first armed with a simple marker float set up, and the second loaded with a baited rig. I’ll simply cast the marker out to the area I want to check, and then follow it with the rigged rod, taking note of anything I bring back on the hook. I’ll cast all around the marker, giving the rig plenty of time to settle on the bottom, before retrieving it and moving my attention to another area.

Marking territory
Obviously a ‘cleaned area’ may well have been created by the feeding activities of the fish, in which case, should I uncover one, I will have hit onto a sure winner, but another suggestion offered by anglers is that they are ‘cleaning spots’ – areas where the carp have rubbed themselves to rid any unwanted parasites and ‘cling-ons’ they may have picked up during the warmer weather. I tend to think that the later suggestion is a little bit misleading because I follow the line of thought that carp ‘clean’ themselves on the bottom in the early part of spring ridding themselves of the parasites that have taken hold in the winter. Their day to day activity in the warmer weather tends to keep most parasites at bay, with any rubbing on the bottom in the early part of autumn being done as a form of marking territory more than anything else.

As the food stocks deplete, the fish get more aggressive amongst themselves, and their marking of territory is a natural instinct. A lot of animals do it, the most notable being dogs when they rub themselves on the ground marking their smell after they’ve just had a good sniff. Like in the spring, this time of the year usually sees carp covered in red marks caused by such rubbing, or in the case of clay pits, covered with clay markings down the side. The marks won’t be as pronounced as they are after spawning, but nevertheless they will be obvious to the angler. Despite the fish all thinking that ‘cleaned’ spots are their own, it isn’t unusual for multiple captures to come your way from one if you get things right. Your presentation will usually be spot on because the bottom is clean, with the next important part of the equation being the choice of the right tactics.

Agitated and competitive
I can only speak about my own experiences here, and these very much point towards first tracking down the ‘hot spots’ and then keeping the baiting levels fairly light. Half a dozen or so freebies on a stringer alongside the hookbait would be my first choice in September, perhaps with a light coating of pellet just to increase the attraction. I always find mimicking nature is the best option, which is why I like to keep everything as tight as possible (e.g. similar to how the fish would find bloodworm beds). Early Autumn ‘hot spots’ tend to be quite isolated, so there’s no need for heavy or broad scatterings of bait just yet: these will come into their own towards the end of October, perhaps leading into November, when the weather will take a grip and the fish get into their pre-winter feeding mode.

If you’ve been targeting a venue with the same bait throughout the season then no doubt you will have lost a bit of faith with it during August as the catches dropped off. That is usually the nature of carp fishing, but my advice is to have confidence in your hard efforts because now is the time that they will really show through. The carp will recognise an established bait now more so than at any other time of the year.

Early autumn is a time when the carp begin to group up. They start to get agitated and competitive amongst themselves. They know winter is on its way and they head towards the areas they mark as their own and know there will be food. Such ‘hot spots’ are there waiting to be found by the angler. They may take some time to uncover, and they may be very isolated when you discover them, but early autumn is a transition time when the results generally only come to those who get each piece of the jigsaw right.
Crowy

Pre-baiting with Clubs pays off

The last week I’ve been down at Chad Lakes’ Home Pool, home of the famous Black Eye. As always, it’s been a mad rush style of fishing for myself, venturing down for two days, then coming back up north to work for two days, and then heading off back down for the remainder of the week (an all round trip of 800 miles). The first two days I was lucky enough to have the lake to myself, and what a lake it is. At all of two acres, it’s just amazing how somewhere so small can produce a home-grown UK fifty-pounder, as well as several great back-up fish to almost 43lb. Everywhere I walked on the banks there were lovely fish looking back at me, but straight away I noticed how spooky they were of me when I moved.


A quick glance through the catches book showed that the lake responded better during the day, with the nights being almost fishless. I therefore spent the first two days close quarter stalking on the top and bottom. Straight away the fish were responsive to surface baits and it wasn’t long before I tempted my first fish, a nice scaley mirror known as CP’s, the same fish Terry Hearn is holding on the cover of his Quest for Black Eye DVD. The next day wasn’t so brilliant on the top, probably due to the weather being so hot, but just as the light was fading I managed a lovely 28lb common over a bed of 18mm Club Mix freebies and hemp.
The next day I was off early to go to work so scattered a healthy supply of Clubs over three areas that took my fancy. I was due back in two days time so I gave each of the spots a couple of kilos which would hopefully entice them to feed with confidence when I returned.


When I arrived back, out went the rods to the baited spots – one tight to the far bank which is out of bounds, another on a clear area half way across the lake, and the third close to the corner of an island which looked a perfect passing point. Unfortunately the fish were all down at the opposite end of the lake where my mate Adam was fishing, but at least the rods were in place for when they decided to venture down my way which wouldn’t take long being such a small water. We’d agreed to split the lake in half, with Adam having one side and me the other, and neither of us allowed in each other’s half.


I kept the bait steadily going out, topping it up every few hours with half a dozen Clubs and some matching 365 pellets. The next day turned out to be a blank, although I remained confident because Adam had landed five fish which would sooner or later spook the rest down towards me – which was what happened the next day. Just as it was going dark I found myself in battle with a nice double from the corner of the island. That night I then chipped in with a lovely 24lb 12oz mirror from the clear spot half way over, and then the very next morning at 11am the venue’s second biggest resident known as The Red One took a liking to the Clubs on the clear spot half way over and pulled the needle round to 42lb 10oz. A lovely fish, and my second UK forty of the season on the Clubs, yet again proving its big fish capabilities on the pressured venues.


Hookbaits were offered on size 6 X-Wide Gape hooks with eight-inch hooklinks, and 3oz leads to help drive the hook home. This was the first time I’d fished the lake, and once again The Clubs had come up trumps, certainly an all time classic instant carp bait. My thanks to Dave & Gay Ayres for inviting me to fish their lovely lake, and thanks to Locky and the boys for putting together an awesome bait.
Simon Crow

Tour de France

Hi mates,
I recently got back from 3 sessions in france on 3 different lakes. All on public lakes. Not all the sessions where great, but i've managed to catch some nice lookin' mirrors. Eventually that's where i'm going for, lovely french mirrors on hard public lakes.
The main bait i've used was a mix of the squid and octopus mix and the fish force 5.
enjoy the pictures!


linear 26 lbs 11,8kg


30,6lbs 13,9kg


30,9lbs 14kg


pre baiting on madine


particle mix


two tone 32lbs 14,6kg


34,8lbs 15,8kg


two tone 36,1lbs 16,4kg


36,4lbs 16,5kg


39lbs 17,7kg


41,4lbs 18,8kg


41,9lbs 19kg


42,5lbs 19,3kg


44,8lbs 20,3kg


45lbs 20,4kg

'till next time!


Gunther Poelmans

Getting hairy!

Probably one of the fiddliest things about tying your rigs up is getting the length of your hair exactly as you like it. I use the knotless knot attachment for all of my rigs these days, so the hair is pretty easy to attach to the hook. The difficult part is tying the loop in the hair so that it’s just the right length for the size of bait I want to use and the pattern of hook I use, which is usually Solar‘s Stronghold X-Wide Gape.



For this set-up, a lot of lads favour tying the loop first, then attaching the bait, and forming the knotless knot attachment. Well, personally I find this method awkward, and once I tie the knotless knot to the shank of the hook, the length of the hair slips as the knot tightens, meaning the length isn’t exactly how I want it: it ends up either too short or too long, meaning I either have to tie a Granny knot into the hair to shorten it or attach a smaller loop of line to lengthen it.

I like the top of the hook bait to just touch the base of the hook so to prevent the slippage mentioned, I used to tie the knotless knot to the hook, leaving the length for the hair until last. I’d then take a bait and basically try to estimate how long the hair needed to be by comparing the two, and then tie the loop. I say that in the past tense there because Solar have now invented a fabulous new gadget which is a ‘must have’ item for all tackle boxes which makes this job so much easier.

Known as the Hair Gauge, it’s perfect for getting the length of the hair exactly right, if you fish with the knotless knot like I do. It helps you perfect your hair length down to a fine millimetre, whether it’s a 10mm or 40mm hook bait you’re going to be using. The photo included herewith is self explanatory on how you use it, and it really is perfect for helping you get those hairs exactly as you want them.



Check them out at all Solar stockists as they’re in stock now!

Yorkshire forty on the Clubs

Big northern UK carp don't get any better than this one! Our very own Simon Crow has notched up his second Yorkshire forty in the shape of this 43lb 6oz biggie. The giant was landed from a tough day-only venue which Crowy has been targetting for the last two springs and summers. It is also the biggest known carp currently living in the county, and fell to a single 18mm Club Mix boilie.

Crowy revealed: “This is a real history fish for the north, a home-grown warrior that’s been around for years. The 20-acre lake has a very low stock of around twenty carp and has been my main focus for the last couple of seasons. It is 50 miles from my home, and I’ve spent the last two summers and springs making the 100-mile round trip to walk and fish it for short trips before and after work, sometimes twice a day.
“On this occasion I’d walked the lake the day before and seen no signs of fish. When I arrived at 6.30am to set up I had it in my mind I’d try a swim called The Lawn which offers some good water. It was a drizzly morning and my gear was soaked from having fished at Eric’s Angling Centre’s Willows syndicate during the night. Just as I put the last peg in my Razorback I turned and saw a fish roll three swims to my right. The fish very rarely do this so I shot round and got a mark on it, and packed down in a frantic rush because other anglers were arriving for the start.
“Ten minutes later I was in the new swim, and I put my left-hander bang on where the fish had rolled at 30 yards range, and then just as I was doing the middle rod I saw a smaller ring and some fizz 50 yards out so put this rod bang on that mark. The right-hander went closer. I was buzzing with confidence, and less than an hour later my middle rod produced a fish known as The Little Linear; frustratingly my third capture of it so you can probably understand that at times I was wondering if I’d ever catch the Big ’Un.
“I was intending to leave for work at 12pm, and at 11am I began tidying some of my gear away when my middle rod dropped back to the floor. Thinking it might be a bream, I was pleased to have the rod almost wrenched from my hands as I tightened up to the fish. Most of them hardly fight in this lake so I was confident which fish it was because it ripped 50 yards of line off me before it stopped and made a loud ‘slap’ on the surface well out in the middle. It then plodded its way towards me, went through my left-hander before I netted it a short while later to the left of my swim.
“As I stood there and peered over the net it didn’t quite sink in that I’d got the Big ’Un. There’d been all sorts of rumours surrounding its whereabouts but I knew it was still in there after seeing it on several occasions last year. My thanks to Vince for the photos and the weighing, and also to my mate Wonky Pod who’s been as addicted to this fish as I have.”

The biggie fell for a single 18mm Solar Club Mix readymade fished alongside six similar sized baits, three of which were BYT and three Club Mix. Crowy’s hookbait was offered on a size 6 Solar X-Wide Gape hook and Solar lead clip loaded with a 3oz lead. He completed his set up with a Venture VXR2 rod.

BYT strikes again!

Solar consultant Simon Crow chalked up his first Yorkshire thirty of 2009 when he slipped the net under this 30lb 6oz old warrior. The 38-year-old from Brough in East Yorkshire (a northern region of the UK) tempted the scaley mirror using his ever-faithful BYT ready-mades.

He revealed: “Fish of this calibre are great targets for northern UK carpers as they're quite rare up here, and it was a wonderful memory catching it. I watched it chugging along at 30 yards range only moments before it went down and picked up my hookbait. I’d baited a silty depression with a dozen 24mm baits, offering my hookbait on a size 6 X-Wide Gape hook and Flexi-Ring Swivel.”

The mirror came during a very short early morning three hour trip from a difficult estate lake which contains no more than 20 carp. Crowy had spent a lot of time watching the fish in the build up to the trip, and put his result down to perseverance and quality bait.

First time out with Spikers

I’ve not done much fishing this winter, but I took advantage of a nice mild spell this weekend and set off down to Birchwood Pool in Shropshire for three days. Temperatures had been very cold leading up to the trip, with Friday showing a great increase to almost 10-degrees. It stayed mild throughout the trip, and several other members also saw a good reason to get out onto the banks and have a go which made it quite tight with only 2½ acres to go at.


Luckily for me, I picked the right area to fish, as well as the right tactics too. Using Dayglo Yellow Juicy Pineapple 14mm pops dipped in the ever-awesome Esterblend 12 I kicked off my trip with a nice plump mirror known as Lumpy at 4pm on the Saturday afternoon. The sun had been very high in the sky and was shining directly onto a nice set of reeds which I had a feeling the carp would be patrolling.

The next day wasn’t so productive or warm, but a day later on the Monday I was into another fish named Flid from the same spot at roughly the same time of the day. It was the same tactics that produced the fish too, offering pops on Spikers connected to size 6 Stronghold’s alongside the PVA Bag Clip System filled with a few broken BYT boilies. This was the first time I’d used the Spikers, and although I lost another fish shortly after landing my second, two on the bank in February proved to be a good first time test for them.
Crowy

IJSVISSEN

Voor het eerst sinds lange tijd hebben we te maken met een echte winter. Met sneeuw, ijs en vrieskou. We zijn afgelopen jaren flink verwend geweest want op de meeste plaatsen viel er het ganse jaar door (ook tijdens de wintermaanden) vis te vangen. Het milde weer lokte meer dan anders vissers naar het water. Datzelfde milde weer deed ook de karpers actiever blijven. De combinatie van meer vissers en actievere karpers resulteerde in nog actievere karpers. Want karpers die voedsel vinden blijven eten, ongeacht de temperatuur.

Echter niet zo dit jaar. Koning Winter is terug van lang weggeweest en dat zullen we geweten hebben. Hij laat zich gelden, strooit met witte vlokken, doet slecht geïsoleerde waterleidingen springen, gijzelt automobilisten en jaagt het energieverbruik de hoogte in. Hij heeft ongetwijfeld aandelen in de petroleumsector en speelt onder één hoedje met de olieindustrie, dat is duidelijk.
De vrieskou houdt Europa nu al sinds december in haar greep. Wateren zitten ingepakt in een ijskleed dat elke confrontatie met de karper verhindert. Deze temperaturen zullen er trouwens voor zorgen dat het een flink stuk langer zal duren alvorens de vissen in beweging komen. Fluitende beetverklikkers zijn in deze contreien dus nog niet voor meteen.

Met al deze wetenswaardigheden in het achterhoofd besloot ik om mijn geluk zuidelijker te gaan beproeven. Rainbow blijft doorgaans gespaard van extreme koude en uit ervaring weet ik dat je er elk moment van het jaar, zelfs in januari, een kans (hoe klein ook) hebt op karper. Martin Locke had tijdens de eerste week van januari drie stekken geboekt en door het uitvallen van iemand met griep rees plots de kans om de Belgische winterse koude voor even achter me te laten en misschien al de eerste karper(s) van 2009 op kant te trekken. Het vooruitzicht aan kromme hengels, een vleugje zon en op zijn minst wat milder weer was te aanlokkelijk om naast me neer te leggen. En zo vertrok ik samen met Dirk van UCP op 2 januari richting Bordeaux.

Januariveertiger
Het is al enige tijd een ambitie om in elke maand van het jaar een veertiger te hebben gevangen. Tot op heden ontbrak enkel nog de eerste maand van het jaar in het lijstje. Nu vis ik weinig tot niet in januari. Eigenlijk is het pas mijn derde januarisessie ooit, dus het is niet onlogisch dat net daar het hiaat zit. Maar deze sessie biedt de mogelijkheid om er verandering in te brengen.

Toen we op 3 januari vanuit de hotelkamer naar buiten staarden en het landschap in een winterse tooi aanschouwden, zakte ook onze innerlijke thermometer een paar graden… Min 7°C…
Echter van zodra we een half uur aan het rijden waren om de laatste 100 km naar het water af te leggen, zagen we het witte, winterse landschap veranderen in een groene versie en klom de temperatuur gestaag. Het is me vaker overkomen. Ondanks het feit dat het slechts een uurtje rijden verwijderd is van Bordeaux, toch heeft Rainbow vaak een ander weertype. Ook nu was het er gemiddeld 10°C graden warmer, dus dat was een meevaller. Al is 3 à 4°C nu ook weer niet meteen van die aard om de zonnebrandolie en de zwembroek uit de reistas te halen.

Er waren in de week voordien 13 vissen gevangen verdeeld over 20 vissers. Geen vetpot, maar er was tenminste kans op vis. De Duitsers die op stek 12 hadden gezeten (de stek die ook wij zouden bevissen) hadden tijdens hun 2 weken durende trip 4 vissen gevangen. Drie 20-ponders en een 21 kg spiegel. Dat is 1 vis/man/week…

De watertemperatuur bedroeg 5°C. Niet meteen van die aard om een massa boilies overboord te kieperen. Ik strooide spaarzaam een tiental Solar mini Secret boilies. Ik kende de stek van eerdere sessies en had een vrij goed beeld in mijn achterhoofd waar ik al dan niet kans maakte op een aanbeet. Ik had het volste vertrouwen in mijn aas. Zeker met deze koude is The Secret een absolute aanrader. Dat bleek trouwens al snel want op zondagmiddag lag de eerste vis al op de mat. Een amper vechtende 17 kg schub werd mijn eerste karper van 2009. Mooie binnenkomer!
Een paar uur later kreeg ik alweer een aanbeet. Dit keer op een hengel in een totaal andere zone. Ook deze vis bood, ondanks zijn gewicht van 18 kg, weinig weerwerk. Niet dat ik daar om maalde. Hoe sneller ze in het net belanden, hoe liever het me is. Het is trouwens typisch dat ze bij dergelijke temperaturen minder vechten, door de koude staat hun metabolisme op een lager pitje. Even later kreeg ook Dirk een aanbeet maar de vis kwam nagenoeg meteen los. Dit ging onverhoopt goed.
De start mocht er alleszins zijn, dat beloofde voor de rest van de week.





Op maandag, iets na de klok van 13h, kwam karper nr 3 aanbellen. Enkele korte bliepen van mijn meest rechtse muziekdoos deed ons luttele ogenblikken later alweer het ruime sop kiezen. Dirk stuurt de boot richting verdwijnpunt van de lijn en ik draai in opperste concentratie strak. Het is dezelfde hengel die gisteren een 17 kg opbracht. Een gerenommeerde stek, zowel ‘s winters als ‘s zomers. Het betreft een opening tussen een strook land die de eilandstek van stek 12/11 afsluit.
De vis zat in eerste instantie schijnbaar ergens achter vast, maar van zodra ik de druk opvoerde kwam ook januarischub nr 3 gezwind naar het net. Een langgerekte torpedoschub van 18,2 kg. Onvoorstelbaar! Er zijn voorlopig slechts vier vissen op het ganse water gevangen. Een Italiaan op stek 8 heeft de jackpot beet in de vorm van een 27 kg schub. Het zal zijn enige vis worden deze week, maar ik had beslist mijn drie willen inruilen voor die van hem, er valt best te leven met één zo’n vis/week, niet?





Gerard en Eino, enkele Nederlanders die op stek 14 zitten, vangen hun eerste Rainbowkarper. Een schub van om en bij de 13,5 kg. Heel opvallend, het zijn weer nagenoeg allemaal schubs. Er zouden gedurende de rest van de week alles samen 11 vissen op kant komen en 9 ervan zouden schubs zijn. En dat terwijl de verhouding schub/spiegel toch 50/50 is. Ik heb het hier ‘s winters eerder meegemaakt. Vermoedelijk zijn schubs ‘s winters toch actiever dan spiegels. Is hun metabolisme net wat anders en heeft koude er net wat minder vat op?

Sneeuwtapijt
Even later vallen ook hier de eerste sneeuwvlokken en ziet het er naar uit dat ook dit meest zuidwestelijk stukje van Frankrijk door de winter wordt ingehaald…

Dinsdagmiddag, alles is wit. Het is koud of wat dacht je? Het levert mooie plaatjes op dat wel, maar we hangen meer boven de kachel in de bivvy dan we achter de hengels zitten. Ik denk dat ik hallucineer van de koude als even na de middag het geluid van een fluitende Delkim over het water klinkt. Mijn Delkim dan nog! Deze jongen vecht in tegenstelling tot zijn voorgangers wel naar behoren en het duurt een volle tien minuten alvorens hij het opgeeft. Een schub (jawel, wat had u anders gedacht?) van net geen 12 kg zal zo meteen voor schitterende sneeuwplaatjes zorgen.





De watertemperatuur is intussen gezakt to 4°C. Denk niet dat ik al ooit een karper heb gevangen bij een dergelijke temperatuur.

Ook Martin en zijn maat vingen vandaag elk een vis. Een twintigponds spiegel en schub. En dat binnen hetzelfde kwartier! Daar zal en zou het voor hen bij blijven, maar dat wisten we toen nog niet.

Het is intussen woensdag en het heeft flink gevroren. Er is ijsvorming in de kant en hier en daar ligt al een baai onder een laagje ijs. Dat belooft weinig goeds. Vanavond draaien we de hengels binnen en worden we door Pascal, de eigenaar, getracteerd op een post nieuwjaarsmaaltijd. Een vast ritueel voor en na nieuwjaar. Pascal geeft drie weken op rij een banket voor zijn vissers. Spijtig genoeg wordt de gezellige avond wat ontsierd door enkele Italianen die het nodig vinden om hun hengels onbeheerd in het water achter te laten. Pascal komt er achter en gooit hen stande pede van het water. Ze druipen met de staart tussen de benen af.

We herbeginnen pas op donderdagochtend met vissen. Door de vrieskou van vannacht was het weinig opportuun om na middernacht nog vier hengels uit te varen. De watertemperatuur bedraagt intussen nog 3°C. Het blijft de ganse dag stil.

Op vrijdagochtend worden we wakker onder een pak ijs. Het water ligt voor 90% dichtgevroren. Al onze lijnen zitten vastgevroren in het ijs. Tot mijn verbazing zie ik dat één van mijn polyballen weg is. De andere drie liggen vast in het ijs. Ik moet dus een aanbeet hebben gehad vannacht. Echter doordat mijn draad vooraan vast zit in het verglaasde water kon ik onmogelijk een beetindicatie krijgen. We doen er zowat 40 minuten over alvorens we genoeg ijs hebben gebroken (met behulp van onze beider boten varen we het ijs in een min of meer rechte lijn stuk) om bij de vastzittende vis te komen. De vogel is helaas al gaan vliegen en zo is de laatste kans op nog een extra vis verspeeld. Aangezien er onder deze omstandigheden niet verder te vissen valt besluiten we maar om in te pakken. Het duurt nog 4h alvorens we alle hengels hebben bevrijd uit hun ijsgevangenis en we vervroegd huiswaarts keren.

Ik heb dan wel geen januariveertiger gevangen, maar ik ben ontzettend tevreden met het resultaat en met de al bij al aparte belevenis!





Alijn Danau