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May 2016 | Issue 225 | £4.25
INSIDE
On sale 20th April –17th May 2016
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DARREN BELTON~
DAVE LANE~
IAIN MACMILLAN~
TOM MAKER~
JOE TURNBULL~
DAVE LEVY
HOW TO TIE YOUR OWN UNIQUE ZIG >>
craftycarper.co PLUS — A CARP’S EYE VIEW OF THE UNDERWATER WORLD —
HOW TO
WINA F R E N C H
F I S HI N
G
H O L I D A Y
5 0S
THE RIG - THAT -
HELPED TO CATCH
F I V E
PIECING IT TOGETHER
TO ACHIEVECROWY
SUCCESS
>>
No.2
25
May 2
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et Crafty... GET
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ING
!
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Crafty Carper /// Issue 225 /// May 2016 /// www.craftycarper.co
May 2016 | Issue 225 | £4.25
INSIDE
On sale 20th April –17th May 2016
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tyca
rper
.co
DARREN BELTON~
DAVE LANE~
IAIN MACMILLAN~
TOM MAKER~
JOE TURNBULL~
DAVE LEVY
HOW TO TIE YOUR OWN UNIQUE ZIG >>
craftycarper.co PLUS — A CARP’S EYE VIEW OF THE UNDERWATER WORLD —
HOW TO
WINA F
R E N C H
F I S HI N
G
HO L I D A Y
5 0S
THE RIG - THAT -
HELPED TO CATCH
F I V E
PIECING IT TOGETHER
TO ACHIEVECROWY
SUCCESS
>>
No.2
25
May 2
01
6G
et Crafty... GET
CATCH
ING
!
001_Cover_CC225.indd 1
11/04/2016 15:28
On the cover: Crafty regular, Simon Crow, with the stunning Floppy Tail.
4 Crafty Carper
39 Putting The Pieces Together – Simon Crow
By getting lots of information about
the two lakes he was going to fish,
Simon pieced it all together to catch
his target fish – Floppy Tail.
— A CARP’S EYE VIEW OF THE UNDERWATER WORLD —
23 Under Pressure – Andrew Gardner Amphibious angler Andrew Gardner
has dived many waters across the UK, and
has seen many things which, for many of
us, would be hard to believe. Have you ever
thought that depth could affect the buoyancy
of your bait? Here, Andrew sheds some light
on what’s really happening in deeper water.
102 Give ’Em Enough Rope – Ian Stott To catch one 50lb+ carp is a
huge achievement, but Ian Stott aced that
when he recently banked his fifth 50 in 5
months, a truly outstanding achievement.
Here is the rig that helped him do it.
14 Brocard Competition This is your chance to win a superb
holiday for two, worth £500, on the 39-
acre Brocard Large Lake, which is nestled
in the heart of the Champagne region of
France, just 4 hours’ drive from Calais.
7 Editorial – Steve Broad After planning more time
on the bank this month, Steve
reveals how it didn’t quite
happen after grabbing just a
couple of short sessions.
10 Getting Ziggy On Wraysbury –
Tom Oliver
Ringing the changes when nothing
is working can often get you that all-
important bite. Here, Tom proves the
point when he swapped to a Zig on
RK Leisure’s historic Wraysbury, and
it really did make all the difference.
18 Building Blocks – Darren Belton
How much bait to feed, and how
often, is an essential skill to learn
to achieve consistent success. Here,
Darren reveals some of the tricks
he uses to help build a swim.
28 The Rig Mechanic – Ellis Brazier
Zig bugs are all the rage at the
moment, and are deadly at this
time of year. Here, Ellis reveals how
to tie his unique pattern which
really does do the business.
32 New Horizons – Tom Morrison
Crafty Carper editorial staff writer,
Tom Morrison, is familiar with
tackling silty and shallow waters,
having caught fish from all over
the country. Here he ventures to
a water new to him, so let’s see
how he dealt with the challenge.
46 Late Spring – Dave Lane This season is definitely
one of two halves, and this month,
Dave looks at the second part
of spring, when the carp behave
differently to how they do in March.
54 Hitting The Bar – Tom Maker
Tom has been successfully tackling
gravel pits for a number of years,
and knows the importance of
understanding the lakebed in front
of him. Here’s how he finds the right
places to position his rigs in order
to consistently catch big carp.
60 The Question IsEllis Brazier, John
Kneebone, Mick Tuck, Mitch Smith,
Simon Crow, and Rich Adams
answer questions sent in by Crafty
readers, ranging from information
on particles, to dumping a lead.
004-005_Contents_CC225.indd 1 11/04/2016 15:32
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110 Crafty Carper Crafty Carper 111
May 2016 | Issue 225 | £4.25
INSIDE
On sale 20th April –17th May 2016
craf
tyca
rper
.co
DARREN BELTON~
DAVE LANE~
IAIN MACMILLAN~
TOM MAKER~
JOE TURNBULL~
DAVE LEVY
HOW TO TIE YOUR OWN UNIQUE ZIG >>
craftycarper.co PLUS — A CARP’S EYE VIEW OF THE UNDERWATER WORLD —
HOW TO
WINA F R E N C H
F I S H I N G
H O L I D A Y
5 0S
THE RIG - THAT -
HELPED TO CATCH
F I V E
PIECING IT TOGETHER
TO ACHIEVECROWY
SUCCESS
>>
No.225 May 2016Get Crafty... GET CATCHING!
001_Cover_CC225.indd 1 08/04/2016 17:01
110-111_RGSubOffer_CC224.indd 1-2 11/04/2016 14:35
Contents /// May 2016
Crafty Carper 5
32
67 CC Under-21s Blog – Dan Price
With a bit of time off from sixth
form, Dan decided to make
the most of it by cramming in
as much fishing as possible,
and he was lucky enough to
bag one or two as well.
69 Carp FoodThis month, editor
Steve Broad takes a look RG Baits’
365, what’s new in carp food,
Baitology Breakdown Pellets,
the new Kiana Goo, DNA Baits’
The Switch, and the King Prawn
freezer bait from Crafty Catcher.
77 Changing the Guard – Simon Crow
Crowy looks back over 13
fantastic years of BYCAC,
and looks to the future
of this great event.
83 Carpers’ KitThis month, we take a
look at what’s new in the world
of tackle, including new reels from
Nash, clothing from Phat Fish, and
products from JRC and many more.
91 The Importance Of Applying It
Right – Dave Levy
We headed south (to Essex)
to catch up with the author of
Fallen Kings, Dave Levy, to talk
all things bait application. There
are several forms of bait, and
various ways to get bait out. Dave
reveals exactly what he does to
make sure his bait is applied in the
right way, and at the right time.
97 The Art Of Boilie Fishing – Iain Macmillan
We joined Iain Macmillan at Baden
Hall’s Quarry Lake to give us the ins
and outs of his very successful and
preferred style of angling – boilie
fishing. Are you doing it right?
106 The Great Crafty Carper Debate
We ask our experts: At this time
of year, what is the most common
mistake you see other anglers make,
when a small change could make a
big difference to their catch results?
110 Subscription OfferGet your copy of
Crafty Carper delivered to your
door each month, and save
yourself the hassle of trekking
down to your local newsagents.
113 Catch Column Sponsored
by Sticky Baits
This is the place to get your catch
picture published, so send them in to
us, and you’re in with the chance of a
great prize, courtesy of Sticky Baits.
121 Rig Special – Julian Cundiff
To finish off Julian’s run of all
things riggy, it’s time to put
the final touches to his very
successful setup, which is simple
to use and works great in a whole
range of angling scenarios.
126 The TicketMasterThis month we
feature two venues: the famous
Linear complex, and East
Delph Lakes in Peterborough.
Be sure to take advantage of
the free fishing on offer in
this issue of TicketMaster.
128 InboxKeep up to date
with all the latest news and views
from around the carp-angling
scene, along with JRC’s Every
Picture Tells A Story competition.
130 Mega DealsThere’s always a
bargain to be had in Mega Deals,
from some of the leading retailers
in the industry, so check it out
and pick up some great offers.
110
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004-005_Contents_CC225.indd 2 11/04/2016 15:33
Crafty Carper 39
PUTTING THE E SC
S i m o n C r o w
ToGETHEr
P
By getting lots of information about the two lakes he was going to fish,
Simon pieced it all together to catch his target fish – Floppy Tail.
I E
039-043_Crowy_CC225.indd 1 05/04/2016 11:01
40 Crafty Carper
Once spring is on its way, i
always itch to get the rods
out because i’m very much a
weather watcher during the winter. my
fishing time is precious and i want to
make the most of my available time,
so as winter turns to spring, i will have
sorted all my tickets well in advance. i
rarely settle for just one ticket a year.
i usually have my sights set on two
or three different waters, and switch
from one to the other depending on
the state of play. if one of the lakes
is busy or the biggie has been out,
or one isn’t fishing particularly well,
it ensures i have something to fall
back on. This is standard procedure
in my carping approach, and one
of the best examples i can give to
demonstrate this was back in 2013.
i had a great season’s fishing that
year, all based in north Lincolnshire,
which is about 40 minutes from my East
Yorkshire home. The two lakes i chose
to fish were ideal for my overnighters
in between work, and both contained
some terrific fish. my main target was
an old 40lb mirror known as Floppy
Tail from woldview, with the other
being a real brute of a fish called one
Pec from the mesters syndicate.
The year started very differently
from the previous one because spring
was late in arriving. There were heavy
frosts well into April, and neither
water switched on until mid-may.
They were so slow turning on that i
was actually scratching my head at
the start of my campaigns, wondering
if i was doing something wrong.
i’d heard from the regulars on
mesters that the angler numbers
usually dwindled away once the weed
came up in may, so i started the year
on woldview. However, i was soon
switching between the two when
hardly anything came out. i couldn’t
seem to get settled, which did worry me
a little, because target fishing always
involves a certain amount of tunnel
vision if you are to succeed. Eventually,
a pattern began to emerge on mesters,
which i needed to capitalise on. A few
fish started to be caught from a large
bay which was known to be the early
season hot spot. The bay was roughly
a couple of acres in size, and
there were no night-fishing
swims which had access to
it, other than a couple
on the far
bank known as Cabin and
Second out of The woods.
The lake was quite busy into may but
angler pressure began to drop off as we
entered the third week of the month,
and i found myself setting up in Cabin.
Conditions were absolutely spot on for
carp and i spent a lot of time looking
for fish. There were loads on show
and i was brimming with confidence
as i set up the Titan, because none of
the biggies had yet been out. it was
obvious where my three rods needed
to be. Directly opposite the swim was
a thick band of reeds, which led into
the bay where the fish were. There
was an opening in the reeds leading
to the bay, and i dropped all three
rods nice and tight to the reedline.
while having a walk around earlier in
the day, i’d spread 100 or so boilies
right on the edge of the reeds.
Everything felt right for the night
ahead, and i just knew this was the time
when things were going to happen for
me. i was dead right too, as just before
first light i got lucky and netted one of
the A-Team members known as Drop
Tail Linear, at just short of 30lb. That
same week i added several other fish
to my tally, including some nice 20s,
topped by another A-Team fish called
Blind Eye. i was absolutely buzzing.
A week later, i was back again for
an overnighter in between work. The
odd fish had been out since i was last
down, and it was just what i wanted
to see when i arrived because
the Cabin Swim was free.
i was all set up in a
flash to claim my spot,
before setting off on
a walk round to go
carp spotting and
spread a bit of
bait down
Putting The Pieces TogetherSimon Crow
The Beast at 34lb 8oz, caught off the top.
Job done – One Pec at 35lb 2oz.
We did some of the early testing with Key boilies
on Woldview during 2013.
039-043_Crowy_CC225.indd 2 05/04/2016 11:01
Crafty Carper 41
Putting The Pieces TogetherSimon Crow
The left-hander was my prime rod, and
i put this in the spot from where i’d
landed Drop Tail Linear the week before.
At first light, i woke to the sound
of the rain tapping on the bivvy. i had
one eye on the lake and another closed
as i dozed in the magical moment. it
felt perfect for a biggie. i drifted in and
out of sleep, waiting for something to
happen. An hour must have passed as i
half-slept and wished for something to
break the silence. i don’t know why, but
for some reason i sat up on the bedchair
and had a good look out over my spots.
As i did so, right on cue, a large fish
head and shouldered to the left of
where my left-hander was positioned.
i sat and watched, with my eyes
fixed on where it showed for what must
have been 10 minutes, contemplating
whether to recast or sit tight. From
the direction the fish surfaced, it was
likely to be heading towards the bay
and over my left-hander, so i laid back
down, patiently hoping something
would break. The next thing i remember
is getting out of the bag and into my
shoes as the left-hander tightened up.
The Siren gave only a couple of bleeps,
because i was fishing locked up to
prevent the fish from making the reeds.
i gently eased it towards me and out
into open water, where it came to life.
it didn’t feel like a biggie until i had it
in the margins, where it ploughed
up and down the deep
and weedless margin
for the next 5
minutes. i could
just make out a
large pale flank
as it turned
and tried to
flick the line
with its tail. it
was then when
i realised i had
a very decent fish
on the end, before i
scooped it up with the net. i
drew it towards me, and there was
no mistaking which one it was. i had
the most sought-after fish in the lake,
one Pec, at a very healthy 35lb 2oz.
The Legendary Floppy Tail
with one Pec in the bag, i turned my
sights back towards woldview, where
i’d heard things were beginning to
kick off. i was really looking forward
to getting my teeth into this water.
it is simply stunning, surrounded by
open countryside set at the foot of
the Lincolnshire wolds, and it also
contains some terrific fish. Floppy Tail
is its most prized resident, a really old
carp steeped in carping history dating
back over 25 years. There are said to
be around 70-odd carp in the water,
including three or four 30s at the right
time of year. Backing up Floppy is a very
angry carp known as The Beast, which
hovers around the mid-30s bracket.
By the time i returned to woldview,
Floppy Tail had already graced the
banks. The carp had clearly come to
life and i was looking at a completely
different lake to the one i had visited
earlier in the year. Everywhere i looked
was lush green, and there were carp
on show up and down the
8 acres of water.
if i’m honest, i
hadn’t really got
to grips with
the water at
the beginning
of spring.
Although
i landed a
few fish, i was
receiving a lot of
aborted takes and lifts,
which i knew were fish
‘doing me’. i’d been using 20mm
boilies and fairly short 10ins rigs, so i
went back with a fresh approach. i was
convinced that i needed to lengthen my
links to 12ins, as well as drop down a
size in bait to 16mm. The other big thing
on my mind was that a lot of the bigger
fish were coming out in the day. with me
being an overnight man, i knew i had to
sort things out to put me in with a good
chance of getting amongst the bigger
fish. i made plans to stay a bit longer
to see if i ended up any better off.
my fresh approach
seemed to do the trick,
“My main target was an old 40lb mirror known as
Floppy Tail from Woldview, with the other being a real
brute of a fish called One Pec from the Mesters syndicate”
Early spring, and all set up for an overnighter.
You won’t find a more mature lake than Mesters in the north.
the reedline. An hour later i’d seen what
i wanted, because there were carp all
over the bay, going in and out of the
area via the opening in the reeds.
i fired my middle rod towards the
middle, with my right-hander going
where the reeds trickled off
and a set of pads started to
emerge. i’d seen a fish poke
its head out in this area,
and was quite confident of
something coming from there.
039-043_Crowy_CC225.indd 3 05/04/2016 11:01
Putting The Pieces TogetherSimon Crow
42 Crafty Carper
and within no time i started to put
the pieces of the jigsaw together. i
began with a really good catch from
an area known as Bald Corner, where
i stumbled across the entire stock one
evening. i’d certainly sorted things
out because all my takes were now
full-blooded one-toners. i also had a
few off the top, including the second
biggest in the lake, The Beast, at
a cracking weight of 34lb 8oz.
As summer faded into autumn, i was
stacking up the carp. i had a baiting
campaign going really well in one
particular area, and was catching carp
from there almost every trip, including
quite a few in the hours of darkness. i
kept up the work of baiting and baiting,
hoping that sooner or later i would
bump into the one i most wanted. i
knew i wasn’t far off because i was
beginning to repeat on some of the fish.
Floppy Tail was well overdue, as he’d
hardly been caught during the season.
By mid-September i found myself
in a swim known as willow, doing an
overnighter. The lake was really busy
with anglers and i was full of cold, and
didn’t really want to be out fishing.
Something kept driving
me on though, so
i dropped the
rods onto the
spots i’d been
targeting. i was
baiting the area
with all sorts
of seeds, nuts
and boilies. it
was actually during
this season when
i started using the first
test batches of the now famous
Key boilies from nash Bait. it was
known as Key 6 back in those days.
Something felt good about the
night, and just an hour into dark i had
a 21lb common. when i hit the sack
a short while later, i never heard a
sound until 5.00 a.m., when my left-
hand rod signalled two bleeps. The
line tightened up and the indicator
was touching the butt, and i just
knew i had a good fish on the end.
it was very slowly kiting on a tight
line around to my left, leaving a niggling
little voice in the back of my head that
it could be Floppy. i did my best to lean
into it but it didn’t work,
and the next thing i heard was the
reeds in the margin to my left bending
away. it was almost in the next-door
swim by the sound of it, and i had no
alternative other than to stick my chest
waders on and go for a look. Keeping
the line tight, i stepped into the water
and reeled my way to it. it was only
just into the reeds, so i placed the net
in a safe position, lifted the rod tip
high, and turned on my headtorch to
sort it. i caught a very quick glimpse
of what was most definitely a carp
as i flicked the line off a stem. it
looked clear of the obstruction, and
knowing it was free, i guided the
fish towards the safety of my net.
There was no mistaking which one it
was. Having been uncaught for almost
3 months, and looking down in weight
at 38lb 8oz in June, Floppy Tail had
clearly bulked out since then. it looked
a heck of a lot better, with some great
colour to its flanks. i hoisted it up and
watched the needle go past 40, to settle
on a fantastic weight of 40lb 10oz!
i had a big smile on my face, and i took
in the moment and thought of the great
memories i had from the season just gone.
mesters and woldview had been very kind
to me. it had started off quite tough, but
in the end everything had come together
nicely, making it a season to remember. CC
The Mesters carp were some of the most hard-fighting fish I’ve come across.
“I had a big smile on my face, and I took in the
moment and thought of the great memories I had from
the season just gone”
Putting the pieces together. A gorgeous scaly mirror.
One of eight in a day.
039-043_Crowy_CC225.indd 4 05/04/2016 11:01
28 Crafty Carper
For some, rigs are the be-all
and end-all in their pursuit
of carp, but for me, as I have
expressed many times in the past,
they are just a vehicle that helps
me achieve my aims. In saying this
though, I do try to apply experiences
gained in all the forms of fishing I
have encountered over the years. This
month I am taking a look at Zigs.
I used to write for this publication,
which saw me fish a different public
access water each month, and Zigs
were responsible for the greatest
catch of the entire series. We had over
60 carp in 24hrs, between two of us,
with just one rod each because it was
impossible to fish two. It was the right
method for the right conditions; the
true ingredients for success, no matter
where you fish or what you fish for. It is
this desire to create something in which
I have more confidence while angling
up in the water that has led to the
presentation I am writing about today.
For me, the static piece of foam
fished in isolation has been the hardest
thing about Zigs to get my head around.
Don’t get me wrong, I fish lures for
many different species, so the concept
is nothing new. As more and more Zig
bugs hit the market, I became a little
more interested, but when most were
tried, I soon seemed to lose confidence
in my approach. If I wanted to fish this
method more often, I needed to go back
to basics. I had to start from scratch and
develop an approach I was happy with.
Zig bugs are all the rage at the moment and are deadly at this time of year. Here, Ellis reveals how to tie his unique pattern which adds a little movement to a standard version.
TheRigMechanic
ELLIS BRAZIER
028-030_RigMechanic_CC225.indd 1 06/04/2016 12:46
Crafty Carper 29
“For me, the static piece oF Foam Fished in
isolation has been the hardest thing
about Zigs to get my head around”
028-030_RigMechanic_CC225.indd 2 06/04/2016 12:46
30 Crafty Carper
the rig mechanicEllis Brazier
To create a cracking multi-coloured effect, which makes it more visual, I use two different types of marabou fibres before gluing them.
I take a Size 4 Aberdeen worm hook which has purpose-designed bait retention barbs on the shank, and clamp it firmly in my fly-tying vice.
After cutting off the bend of the hook to create a spike, it can then be pushed into an Avid Zig Lite to create a perfect Zig bug.
To start with, I whip from the eye to the first barb on the shank of the hook. This acts as the base that the marabou fibres grip to.
Here is a variety of different colour options. All you have to do is part the marabou and tie the Hair to the exposed hookeye.
The first batch of black marabou is carefully whipped in the middle, ready to fold over to give it more body when it is fixed in place.
How To TIE youR own unIQuE ZIG BuG
1
4
2
5
3
6
or real bait. The main advantage with
them though, is that they have given
me the confidence to fish them for
longer and in more situations, which
in turn has given me more chance of
carp which I wouldn’t have caught by
fishing on the bottom. I hope that if
you try them, they work for you. CC
inset: My preferred lead arrangement for Zigs. One of the very first fish I caught on this presentation.
“my conclusion was that i
merely try to pick something that
vaguely suits the situation but gives the representation
oF being alive”
The concept of not flavouring a
Zig is understandable. If a carp has
no way of knowing through scent/
taste that an object is food, then the
only other way to decide is to eat
it. Next came the problem of how
static a piece of foam or rubber fished
suspended in midwater could be. I can
accept that we are trying to mimic
an object which could be food, such
as a snail or water beetle, but I find
a static lump of foam just does not
cut it for me. The many different Zig
bugs available go some way to solving
the problem, but for me, the absence
of a Hair, as most, if not all, are tied
directly to a hook, is a major negative
point. I appreciate that flies, which are
tied in the same way (directly to the
hook), catch fish because I have fly-
fished for most of my life. However,
most flies are moving, either by the
angler, the current or the wind, and I
believe this movement helps with the
illusion of life and with the hooking
properties. The other thing with flies
and lures is that when the bait is
tested by the fish, the angler strikes,
which is a luxury we don’t have with
a static Zig. We have to rely on the
lead’s resistance for a strike, and
over the years this has been
proved to not be 100%
effective, even with
short hooklengths
and complex Hair Rigs.
I feel that given the
fact that the hooklink
could be several feet long,
the best we can do is give the lead
a fighting chance and put a Hair on
the rig. I needed a Hair Rig Zig bug
that had some form of movement.
I again dissected my fly-fishing,
and questioned just what I wanted
to achieve when picking a fly to
match an angling situation. My
conclusion was that I merely try
to pick something that vaguely
suits the situation but gives the
representation of being alive. For
me, there was only one material that
would provide movement and life to
the degree I required underwater,
and this was marabou feather fibres.
The effectiveness of these Zigs,
as compared to just a standard piece
of foam, is hard to quantify, but if
you take the trouble to tie one and
then check it out in a glass of water,
you will see the life-imitating
properties
it exhibits.
For me, they are working just fine so
far, and have produced carp on waters
where Zigs are not rated. I have even
caught other species, such as perch,
which I see as a positive aspect
because I have only caught these
before on moving
flies, lures,
028-030_RigMechanic_CC225.indd 3 06/04/2016 12:46
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rper
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