Stewart Bloor

Field Tester

0

I would guess that for most anglers, when they think of SBS it's usually carp that enters their mind, and in this month's blog that's the species I am focusing on. As a passionate all-rounder I target all fish and this time round carp rise to the top of the pile. The cream of the crop you might say, especially if you are a dedicated and focused carp angler yourself. To start the blog off, I'm going to introduce the tackle that I fished with. As well as bait I find people are always asking me questions about the gear I use.

The waiting game begins

As you can see in the photograph above, I've cast out and waiting for some action. Although it's only a means to an end (as indeed is all tackle), the pod (or banksticks) is a pretty important item of kit. In years gone by I have fished with cheap pods and they're great when the weather is likewise. But as soon as you get some wind they topple. Having used the Nash top-of-the-range one for a while now I find it copes so much better in adverse conditions. Of course, the main item though that we like to get right is the rod - particularly if you're a 'tackle tart'.

Well I'm not in that category, I see tackle as a means to an end, not the end itself. Invariably though, if you do want quality stuff you do find yourself at least looking like a 'tackle tart'. My rods do get a lot of attention and interest due to the slim blank and the cork handle. They're from a company called Rock Tackle and while they do look good, the most important thing for me is that they fish well. They're 2.75 test curve by the way and cope with a wide range of situations. My line is Ultima Power Carp 16lb. I've been using it for about a year now and have been happy.

Waiting for the screamer!

My reels, as you can see above, are Shimano 400D. They look nice and shiny, and they are because they're relatively new. Given a few months though they will have the worn-in look about them. Not that I set out to abuse my tackle but it does get put through its paces for sure. And to complete the gear introduction, I fish with ATT alarms and although they're hidden behind the rods on the first photograph, Korda Stow indicators.

The rig - nice and simple

You can also see the rig I fished with above. It's nice and simple but above all it worked. I'm a great believer that while we do need to think our angling through, we start simple and then develop and tweak from there if necessary. On most of the venues I fish the approach is pretty basic, maybe just a few adjustments along the way. Sometimes you see anglers, greatly influenced by the magazine writers, go straight in at such a complicated level that they are confused and not fishing effectively.

One thing I would say about rigs though is we need to keep them safe. In particular if we do use a lead clip as in the photograph, don't pull the tail rubber so tight that in the event of a break the fish can't eject. I know that losing leads can be expensive but if we are worried about that then we need to take up another hobby. I'm not being judgmental or attacking anyone in particular, I'm sure you get the point I'm making.

Not big, but they're all welcome

Anyway, what about the fishing I did during August? I did a few sessions on a venue I have 'discovered' this summer and enjoyed fishing. For me, that has to be a 'tick box' as far as choosing a place to fish is concerned. It's no good being somewhere if you don't like it. There's more to fishing than just catching fish! The venue is a decent size as you can see from some of the photographs, and like all big waters, presents a challenge. There aren't any 'monsters' in there, in fact a 20lb fish would be an excellent catch, but that's another thing about carp fishing (and fishing in general) - you can only catch what's in front of you. Plus, they don't have to be big to be beautiful.

They don't have to be big to be beautiful

I did catch a few fish on my visits and you can see a selection of them in this month's blog entry. They're not going to make any front pages of carp magazines but they're decent enough fish from the venue. As far as bait was concerned I fished with pop-ups on each visit over a variety of attractors depending on the bait used. For example, when I presented M2 I put out a few of the same boilies in the general area to keep the feeding fish focused on the one bait. And of course, a few sessions featured my favourite - the corn poppers. If you're reading this and haven't tried them, then definitely get yourself a tub. You won't be disappointed.

Another nice looking carp

I use them for species other than carp such as big bream and tench and they're brilliant. I first started them using them a few years back when Des Taylor introduced me to them - and I haven't looked back since. On so many waters pleasure anglers fish with sweetcorn and carp get used to the it, mopping it up in great numbers as so many throw their left-over bait in the margins at the end of the day. And while they may be wary of boilies, the corn poppers aren't something they feel cautious about. Do I sound like I'm on a salesman's pitch? Well I make no apologies for that, they're great baits and the proof is I fish with them myself.

And when fishing with poppers you can put out sweetcorn as well, so it becomes even more of a scenario that the carp are used to. I'm sure that on many venues, there are that many anglers' baits going in (of all types) that the fish actually see them as 'naturals'. If a carp has grown on in a water and it's come across boilies every day of the week, in many ways the boilie is as natural as a shrimp or a water snail. Another boilie I fished with during was my sessions was the Soluble Flumino pop-up. I used a variety of flavours - pineapple, cranberry and black squid and although early days in my own use, I am already a great fan and can see them featuring very much in my angling in the future.

Another August carp

Now that the summer begins to merge into autumn, what's on my angling agenda? I've certainly got some barbel fishing lined up so that means the Barbel Stix and M2 boilies will get an outing. I am fortunate in that I live reasonably close to the River Severn. Anglers travel from all over the country to fish there for barbel and it's on my doorstep so to speak. So it would be rude to ignore it... Anyway, I'll be back at the end of September to share my adventures and one thing I am confident of is that SBS will do the business! Tight lines!

By: Stewart Bloor