Carp Tackle Box Pt2

Last time round I started to take a look through the Tackle Box I use for my carp fishing. As I said then, my tackle box is actually a storage container from B&Q and it looks exactly like a medium/large fox tackle box but costs a lot less!. I try to keep the amount of tackle I carry to a minimum but despite this the sheer amount of items I carry means that this simple look through my tackle box has spread to more than one diary entry and in all honesty its likely to go further than that as there’s a lot of bits and pieces.

My Carp Tackle Box and Tackle Bits and Pieces


Kryston Mantis
I’ll continue this look through my tackle box by looking at another hook length material, this time it's Kryston Mantis, a coated braid that comes in very handy for me in certain circumstances. If you’ve read any of my previous blog entries you’ll know Kryston Silkworm is my all time favourite hook length material. Silkworm is a very supple material and its not the best material for avoiding tangles at range. If I have to fish at any kind of range I generally change to Mantis. I leave most of the coating on and just strip back enough to make the hair and maybe an inch or two extra behind the hook to create a hinge. By using Kryston Mantis for my long range fishing rigs I find I can avoid tangles a lot more and you really need to know your rigs are sitting right at range. Mantis does this job really well and I’d recommend you give it a go on your long range setup, as with all Kryston products Mantis is very well made and completely reliable.

Kryston Mantis Coated Braid, my second choice after Silkworm


Kryston Heavy Metal Rig Putty
Whilst we are on the subject of Kryston products, I have to say I’m a big fan. I’ve been using Kryston fishing tackle for as long as I’ve been carp fishing. My next item in the tackle box is one of theirs too and that’s Heavy Metal Plus Putty. I tend to fish a lot with pop-ups and baits that are critically balanced so they sink very slowly and heavy metal putty is excellent for balancing out buoyant baits. Heavy metal grips braided lines like Silkworm and Mantis very well and it’s a pretty dense material compared to most rig putty on the market today so you don’t need to use as much of it, which is a bonus. I use pop-ups so much that I’d never not have a tub of heavy metal in my tackle box, it really is a great product.


Kryston Heavy Metal Plus Popup Rig Putty, excellent!


Carp Rig Tubing
Rig tubing is very much a personal thing and I tend to avoid branded names. As long as it sinks well and it's dark brown or khaki to blend in with the bottom I'm happy, usually I choose rig tubing that's unbranded or not from a very well known carp company as there's usually less carp tax on it.

Lead Weights
You’ll notice my tackle box doesn’t have many lead weights in it. When you’re travelling light ditching lead weights from your tackle box and rucksack is a real saver on weight. You can end up carrying round pounds and pounds of lead if you’re not careful and I’ve fallen into this trap myself in the past. These days I almost exclusively use Inline Leads and rig accessories like Rig Tubing, Carp Rig Swivels and Tail Rubbers. I used to make my own lead weights years ago and still do now and again. I still carry the odd one with me today. Making your own leads is actually quite easy to do but it can be messy and its not without its problems safety wise, if you‘d like to know more about making your own have a look at my Making Leads Blog Entry from a year or two ago.

Square Pear Lead, my favourite lead weight


I’ll have to stop this continuing look through my tackle box for now as this entry is starting to get a bit long, in the next few weeks I’ll continue looking at my tackle in detail as there are some other useful bits and pieces that I carry with me, I haven’t looked at hooks yet either and I’m wondering if that wouldn’t make a whole entry on its own!. Next time I sit down to write in a couple of weeks time I’ll see how things go and if I can keep my comments on hooks to a minimum I’ll include them in my tackle box series, otherwise a look at hooks will come as a separate entry at some point in the future.
Until next time, tight lines.
Mark.

Trakker Bait Bucket / Tackle Box

Tackle Box for Carp Pt1

One things all carp anglers have in common is their tackle box. I was fishing last weekend when one of my mates popped round for a chat and a brew. I’d not long finished setting up and my own tackle box was out in full view. As he sat down on my guest chair he commented that all anglers like routing through other peoples tackle boxes and promptly started routing through mine whilst I made a brew.

I’ve actually got no secrets as far as my carp Tackle Box goes, it’s a pretty standard tackle box that just contains the bare essentials and little else. I like to keep my fishing simple and my tackle box is reasonably small on purpose. There’s nothing worse than carting round a whole lot of tackle that you’ll never really use and by keeping my carp tackle box to a single layer medium size I can just carry the rig and end tackle bits I need without getting carried away!.

B&Q Storage Container is not unlike a System Fox Tackle Box!


My carp tackle box itself is one of those storage containers you get for nails and screws!. I’d really recommend anglers have a look in B&Q before you go and spend silly money on a system fox box or similar tackle box. My tackle box actually looks just like a medium fox box from the outside, the only real difference was the price!. Whilst a fox box will can set you back anything from £20-£50 depending which one you buy, my B&Q version was just £4.95!. That’s not a miss print, four pounds and ninety five pence was how much my tackle box cost!. I’m sure I’m not the only one that’s latched onto B&Q storage containers, I regularly see Tackle Boxes on ebay and they look just like mine, if you can’t be bothered heading for your local DIY store then the old faithful ebay is well worth a look if you're considering a new tackle box or you’re on a budget.

For the next couple of blog entries I’m going to be taking a look at exactly what’s in my tackle box and I’ll start with ESP PVA String. ESP have been around for quite a while now and they have built themselves an excellent reputation for quality PVA string and mesh. I always have a spool of ESP PVA knocking round in my tackle box, it’s ideal for making stringers and it’s cheaper than most other brands of PVA.

Kryston Greased Lightening Turbo Juice. Greased lightening is a cracking treatment for your mainline. If you ever find yourself in the position of needing every last single yard to reach the fish this stuff can help, it actually reconditions your mono and cuts down on friction as your line passes through your rod rings, the result is extra yards on your cast and this can mean the difference between success and failure. Greased lightening has certainly helped me put a few bonus fish on the bank over the years!.

Kryston Greased Lightening Turbo Juice for extra yards on the cast.


Korda Extenda Stops. Korda developments are probably the biggest tackle manufacturer in carp fishing today, despite this I’m not a big fan of korda tackle, it’s mainly their leaders I have a problem with but credit where it’s due, these extenda stops are a fantastic little invention. They allow you to change the size of baits on a hair rig without actually re-tying your rig. I doubt I’ll ever be without a couple of different sized packets of extenda stops in my tackle box, for once korda have got something absolutely right.

Korda Hybrid Extenda Stops, an excellent addition to your tackle box.


Kryston Silkworm Braided Hooklength. I’ve reviewed kryston silkworm before on this blog. There’s nothing more I can add to my origonal review of this hooklength material. It’s simply my favourite hooklength braid and has been for the last 15 years. My confidence in this material is absolute and despite many other hooklength products coming onto the market, silkworm has remained my number one hooklength braid.

Kryston Silkworm Hooklength Braid, total confidence for me!.


Sometimes it’s difficult to keep my blog entries to a reasonable size and trying to cover what’s in a carp tackle box in one go just isn’t possible so I’ll stop writing here and continue looking through my tackle box next time.
Tight Lines

Mark.

Trakker Bait Bucket / Tackle Box

Screaming Reels Pt3

Following on from Screaming Reels Pt2, I was so tired I couldn’t face putting a rig back in the water, as soon as I dropped in I’d barely get 5 minutes before a run would occur. After releasing that last 14lb mirror I left the rods out of the water and got my head down for a while. The peachskin Sleeping Bag was very comfy and I was soon snoring my head off. Unbeknown to me Barry started catching after I took my rods out and he started to experience the same prolific action I’d been having, he did come to wake me up to do some photo’s for him but when he heard me snoring he left me alone which was very good of him because I was knackered!.

I woke up at 3am to the sound of a car alarm, I couldn’t tell if it was coming from the car park or the local housing estate so I told Barry I was going to investigate, I grabbed my Head Torch and walked up to the car park in the dark just in case it was one of our cars. Fortunately it was coming from the housing estate and our cars where all safely locked up with no sign that anyone was around. I headed back to my swim and decided to start fishing again. Barry made another brew and I dropped the rods back on the same spots again and topped up the swim with bait just as I’d done before. Haiths red band pigeon conditioner and pellets on one rod and just Pellets over the other.

It was a good half an hour before anything happened, the right hand ‘pellet’ rod fished straight out in front of me rattled off and after a short fight I netted what turned out to be my smallest fish of the night, a common of 8lb 8oz which I didn’t bother photographing. I baited the Rod and under armed it into position again. Thankfully the next run felt like a decent fish and it gave me a decent fight in the margins before slipping into the landing net after 10 minutes or so. It was another common in the same weight range as the two 17’s I’d caught earlier and after hoisting the fish up on the Scales I settled on 17lb 2oz, my third 17lb+ fish of the night.

My red letter night continues with a 17lb 2oz common


After a third 17lber things went a little quiet for a while, I heard what sounded like a big fish crash along the margins to my left. In the still of the night it sounded like someone had thrown a pig into the water and I sat waiting for my next run hoping that some of the lakes bigger fish were finally moving in. Surprisingly it was a good half an hour before the right hand Delkim finally burst into life with another screaming run. The fish didn’t take a lot of Line, twice it kited to the right but some heavy side strain kept the fish from going into Barry’s swim. In front of me the fish just kept deep in the margins and it took a considerable time to bring this particular carp to the surface. Despite a long and protracted fight in the margins it still didn’t register that I might be attached to a big fish and it wasn’t until the carp went into the Net that I actually realised. I switched on my Head Torch to be greeted by a stunning looking common, it was a long fish with a girth that instantly said 20lb+!. I knew I had one of the fish I wanted and I quickly got to work setting up the Camera ready for some photo’s. When I actually lifted the fish from the water I knew it was well over 20lb and the scales gave me a weight of 23lb 14oz. I was delighted to have caught such a big fish for the water and it certainly made the trip worthwhile for me. Barry was on hand and a lot of photo’s followed before I returned my common to the water. As the fish went back I couldn’t help wondering if this fish was the carp I’d heard just along the margins half an hour earlier.

Another Big North West Carp weighing 23lb 14oz


That was it for me, I finally got the big fish I was hoping for in what was probably the last hour of darkness, I put a fresh pellet on and topped up my swim with freebies again but the desire to keep working and keep pulling fish in was gone now I’d got the result I wanted. I planned to be off the lake around 7am, I had a long drive home and I was tired so I decided 7am seemed a decent time to leave, there would be very little traffic on the road at that time which would be just as well as by now I was fighting to keep my eyes open again!.

As it got light the lake had one more surprise in store, this time it was the left hand Delkim that signalled another screamer, the fish hadn’t really gone for the red band pigeon conditioner in a big way, I was actually expecting this rod to do the most fish but this turned out not to be the case as the majority of fish came to the pellet rod. It was well away this time though and the spool on my Infinity Reel was whizzing round as the Line peeled off. I hit it and the rod hooped over as an angry carp tried to get under the tree in the margins. I quickly applied some heavy side strain to keep the fish away from a snag and once I had the carp in front of me I felt I’d gained control of the situation. A few minutes later I netted my 14th carp of the session. I quickly got the fish onto the Unhooking Mat and weighed it at 15lb exactly, a nice fish to round the session off with.

A nice 15lb Cheshire Carp to round off a fantastic session!


Bearing in mind I’d slept for 3 hours I‘d still had a red letter session, in that time Barry had racked up another 7 doubles to go with his earlier fish and I reckon I could have easily had that many again had I not had a few hours on the Bedchair. My other mate Steve who was further down the bank finished up with 11 doubles of his own. Between the 3 of us we’d had some superb fish but I’m not sure I could face another night on such a prolific water. I won’t return to this lake again until winter at the earliest, I find the lake is more of a challenge just fishing days through December and January so I’ll return then for another look at this prolific carp water.
Tight Lines
Mark.

Screaming Reels Pt2

Just picking up from Screaming Reels Pt1, I’d started fishing at 15.00pm on the afternoon of Saturday 1st August and by 19.45pm I’d racked up no fewer than 6 doubles. The carp were coming at a rate of more than 1 per hour, bearing in mind you have to play the fish in, weigh and photograph them before re-baiting and re-casting, you can understand just why I wanted a base camp set up!. After that sixth carp I wound the second rod in, packed everything away and lugged my gear a hundred yards further up the bank and dropped in next to my mate Barry who’d arrived a few hours previous.

The first thing I did was get the Aqua Brolly up, as I was doing this Barry shouted over to ask if I wanted a brew, what a star, I’d not had time to think about eating or having a drink so I gratefully accepted Barry’s offer and cracked on with getting my gear sorted out. Once the brolly was up I got my Bedchair and my Sleeping Bag set up then pushed them both under the brolly. The rods and pod were all quickly set up and within 5 minutes I was settled down and ready to start fishing again. Barry was literally 5 yards away from me as we were occupying adjacent swims and he popped his head round the brolly with a nice steaming cup of tea just as I was hair rigging a bait on my first rod. As I was fishing the margins casting and baiting was easy, the left hand rod went just off an overhanging tree in the margins and the right hand rod went straight out in front of me, the left rod had a small bed of red band pigeon conditioner with a few pellets fed over the top and a Pellet on the hook whilst the right hand rod was just pellets, one on the hook and 20-30 scattered around the carp rig itself.

I managed to eat a bit of food whilst I was having my brew and I stood chatting to Barry about our chances for the night ahead. As the light faded we were both expecting a sleepless night, it was just a case of how many we’d catch rather than would we catch anything at all!. Barry was in first, as we stood chatting one of his antique Super XL bite alarms burst into life and he began doing battle with a decent fish. Like me Barry was fishing the margins so his fish took off like a rocket and gave a really good account of itself. It was another common and a decent fish at 18lb plus a few ounces. The fish was documented and returned to the water and not long after my left hand Delkim gave a single bleep. This was the rod that was fished over the red band pigeon conditioner and I guessed it was a line bite. I didn’t have to wait long after that, just a few minutes later the left hand rod was away with a blistering take!. I was on it quickly and just like Barry’s fish a few minutes earlier, this one gave a really good account of itself as it bored up and down the margins for 5 minutes or so. With 15lb Big Game Line on my spools there was no way any of my fish were going to get away and it was just a case of wearing the fish down until it was ready for the landing net. There were no problems and I netted my seventh carp of the session. The move next to Barry was looking like a good one when it came to the size of the carp, along with Barry’s 18lber, I’d also caught my biggest of the session so far, a common weighing 17lb 6oz.

Cheshire carp fishing again, 17lb 6oz


An upper double each was a good start to the night ahead, my 17 had arrived at 21.30pm and I had to wait another hour for any more action. I could hear carp crashing all over the lake and I was literally sat on my hands waiting for another bite. It was the right hand Rod this time, this was the rod that was just a pellet fished over more pellets. There was no warning, the alarm just went off and the spool on my Infinity Baitrunner Reel just fizzed, I have my delkims on low so the sound of my spool ticking is as loud as the alarms themselves and under cover of darkness a full blooded run still sounded like it could wake the dead!. This fish played out just like the last one, it felt slightly heavier than the carp I’d caught during the afternoon and after a good scrap in the margins my thoughts were confirmed when I Weighed and photographed another 17lb fish, this one was slightly heavier than the last at 17lb 12oz.

17lb 12oz North West Common


I re-baited my rig and a gentle underarm cast had another pellet back in position, I topped up with another 20-30 pellets and sat back to await the next run. This was my plan for the night, keep the traps reasonably small and fish for them one at a time rather than bait heavily, I was only fishing the margins anyway so it was very easy to keep just a little bit of feed in the swim, enough to get them on the bait but not enough that I might have to wait long for a bite!.

After my second 17lber I didn’t have to wait very long for another fish, I think we knew things would most likely kick off big time and no sooner had I dropped my rig back in when it was away again!. Being out in the Cheshire countryside it would have been pitch black if it wasn’t for the moon which was just about giving enough light to land my fish. Like the two 17’s this fish fought really well in the margins and it was great to see these fish taking line off the spool rather than just wallowing into the net from long range. I eventually Netted this fish after playing knit one pearl one with my left hand rod. I’d positioned my Unhooking Mat at the back of my brolly and just left it there, I didn’t see the point in hanging it up to dry when I knew full well more fish were likely to follow so by now I had a system going and was able to get through weighing and photographing pretty quickly. I switched my Head Torch on to unhook my fish and noticed that I’d caught another mirror my third of the session in all, it weighed in at 14lb even which was the same kind of weight range as the previous two mirrors I’d had in the daytime.

14lb South Cheshire mirror carp


It was getting ridiculous, every time I dropped in I barely had chance to get in the sleeping bag before one of the alarms would start up and the reel would scream. Another common of 11lb 6oz quickly followed the mirror and after I returned it I felt like I was completely shot!. I couldn’t cope with any more runs and Barry was having a quiet time next door. It just seemed that I was intercepting the fish as they came along the margins and with my Bait being the first they came across I was getting most of the runs. Just before midnight I decided to wind in and have a bit of a kip, I was tired, my back was aching and I just felt like I really needed to close my eyes so I dived in the bag and settled down to a few hours sleep.

This story seems to be turning into an episode of war and peace (lol) so I’ve decided to split it into 3 as there’s more to come, until next time, tight lines everybody.
Tight Lines.
Mark.