Stock and shares.....oh and a few perch too!

Yes please!

Hi all...It's been a manic week at CBS Carp Bait Specialists this week. I've rolled a huge quantity of bait and sorted out masses of website work etc. I feel great for it though and it's a relief to get the burden off my heavy shoulders.

First proper Perch of the session

We now have the pleasure in being stockists of both Katran Fishing Lines and Saber Products as well.

This has given us a massive boost to our available range and what we can now offer you guys at exceptionally good prices! So if yo get 5 mins free take a look and pick yourself up some bargains!

http://www.carpbaitspecialists.com/apps/webstore/

A stunning winter mirror

On the fishing front I've managed two lovely sessions on my local club lake this week. The first session was on my own and consisted of a brief 3 hour afternoon stint float fishing the margins for the Perch again.

I targeted a lovely overhanging dead tree root and found a spot with around six feet of water just off the rod top. I baited this up with a combo of micro pellets, prawns, betain and halibut pellet groundbait, chopped lobs and red maggots.

A real old brute!

It was tough to start off with and took around an hour and a half before I received any sort of indication of fish activity in the swim. The sun started to fade away and so did all the other anglers. This left me in piece with my target fish. I managed a couple of nice low double figure carp just before dark and a string of small perch to about 12oz. I also caught a stunning pound and a quarter Roach, which was a real joy to catch.

A lovely last fish of the day!

As the light gave up the fishing got very tough but I managed a pair of nice perch to a pound and a half and another nice low double carp.

My next session was with my good friend Bob Wilcockson who came for a day visit from his home in Newbury. We got to the lake just after 10am filled with bacon sarnies and a few cups of filter coffee!

To our amazement the place was empty apart from 2 bailiffs. A great choice of swims but the wind was ferocious again and heavy rain spelt trouble ahead. Albeit we made the most of the time we had and cracked on with swim choice and getting set up.

We decided to sit together as it gave us a good chance to chin wag the day away. Bob opted to fish a pair of carp rods to both margins of the near bank and that of the island.

Bobs first fish was a cracker!

 I on the other hand opted to float fish and chase whatever came along! My swim kicked off from the word go and I managed a really decent haul of cracking sized bream to nearly 6lbs each!

There were plenty of quality roach and some beautiful small perch to about 12oz coming to the float.

Beautiful commons made a regular appearance

Bobs quiet start soon turned around and before he knew it he was playing a stubborn hard fighting common of around 14lbs. He was elated with the fish as it was his first fish of the year after a long break away from angling.

Thankfully he seems to now have the bug back in a veracious way! Thank god! He didn't stop at the one fish though and continued to bag up all day long with 6 stunning carp with an average weight each of 10lbs+. He also managed to catch his first ever fish on the Center Pin Reel! Well done BOB!

Bob Wilcockson with a stunning winter Common!

We fished up until darkness but failed to bag any really big Perch this time...they seem to be a little elusive this season?? We had a wonderful day out together and above all, left the lake with huge smiles on our faces and the pleasure of having made a great friendship! We both look forward intensely to our next chance to fish together! 

Epic prawns!

Joel caught some nice fish including his first carp of 2014

The weather has taken its toll on my winter fishing this year and although I really wanted to spend my colder months chasing river Pike and Chub its just not happened due to the endless floods that have occurred. Lets hope they subside soon and provide some respite for those poor individuals who've been worst hit with flooded homes and businesses.

The lakes have been fishing a little harder in the wet weather now too. I spent a long cold day down our club lake with my buddy Joel for just one small perch and a Carp each from the margins. All taken on glugged prawns.

A stunning winter common

I'm still after a big old stripey and I nearly caught one this week. I ventured down the club lake early on in the day to meet Gary and Colin there. We had a good chin wag before starting off and I chose to fish the float to my right, just off a small bed of reeds and Gary took the next swim along to do the same. Colin tried a swim near to the islands.

It was a sincerely tough old day out there and very few fish were caught during daylight hours. Gary and I were probably in one of the better spots for this time of year and despite the cold wind being off our backs, it was difficult to get any sort of really good bites. I started on a size 6 hook with a huge tiger prawn and ended up scaling right down to a size 20 and a single red maggot, just to get something that resembled a hittable bite!

Just a small one!

Lovely evening

Eventually this technique started to score and I started to grab a few nice bream to around 5lbs. These made up for the fact that pretty much nothing else was showing any interest in our baits. Gary started to find a few skimmers as well and it wasn't long before the pair of us had taken about 15 bream each.

Gary disappeared around 5pm and Colin left too. He managed a nice mirror of around 8lbs on surface fished bread of all things! In February! I stayed on a bit longer and fished into dark....

As the light faded I switched back up to a size 6 hook again and switched back over to a nice big tiger prawn glugged in our wonderful River Monster Amino compound with DMPT. I started to introduce a few loose prawns and some maggots around two spots I fancied might well hold a perch or two. I lost my first fish to a tree root and quickly tackled up with a replacement hook length. Within a few minutes I was cradling my first of the session at around a pound and a quarter. 

Glugged prawns did the trick

A bit better at a pound and a half!

After a couple more casts I decided to try my other spot further to the right of the swim. This prompted a very quick bite and I was hooked into a very large fish....It came straight to the surface to my right hand side and I could see it was a huge perch of well over 4lbs! I couldn't believe my eyes! What happened next brought me to tears....As I was playing the fish it became entangled in someones discarded strong mono that they hard broken off in the reeds. I just couldn't budge the fish and as she rolled around trying to shake the hook, my hook link parted company with me and the fish.

I fell back in disgust and felt absolutely sick in the pit of my stomach.....gutted! I retied a hook length and tried again near the hot spot. A few minutes passed by and I received another perch take on the prawns. This was no where near as big but another pound and a half fish made things seem a little less strained.

A nice 13lb common to end the day!

I decided it was time to pack up so I placed my float tight into the margin in front of me while I packed up the rest of my gear. With in seconds I was into another fish, this was a carp though. A good scrap ensued on my light weight kit and it took a few minutes before I subdued the fish. Around 13lbs and a nice common to end the session.

I'm really hoping that the weather subsides a little soon as I have the want to get out and catch a few nice Grayling on my Nymphing kit. I have a nice box full of nymphs ready to cast out on my gorgeous 9 foot 5 weight fly rod! Can't wait!

Wonderful weather!!!

No Perch.... but this little chunk made up for it!

I managed to get a few hours in briefly last Thursday afternoon on my club water after the Perch again. I met up with my good pal 'Taffy' for a good chin wag and hopefully a stripey or two. Things started slowly and none of us seemed to be near a fish whatsoever.

I decided to move a swim round and placed a rod on either side of my swim into the marginal shelf areas. I baited with CBS River Monster glugged Prawns and loose fed red maggots, prawns and CBS Pro Fish Groundbait.

Taffy was the only one to manage a Perch!

It took a little while before the fish came into the swim and the Perch seemed very distant and all bar impossible to catch this last week. I started to get a few odd twitches but after loosing a perch I felt I wasn't going to have much luck for the day.

Sitting it out as long as possible.....

A few moments later the left hand rod sprung into life and I found myself lent into another one of the lakes fine Mirror Carp. Not the intended species but hay-ho, it was a fish on a tough afternoon! A quick snap and she tipped the scales at 12lb 9oz. A nice Mirror and a blank saver. Taffy managed a little Perch around a pound but that was all the action we had with the perch for the evening.

Mid day sun!

My next session out was with good friends Cerri Jones and Joel Biddle up to the amazing Dolygaer Reservoir in Brecon. Needless to say we chose about the worst bloody weather conditions to go fishing in! The start of the day saw relentless heavy rain and severe strong winds blowing up the valley from the South. We opted to get behind some bankside cover on the West Bank and tucked ourselves away with 2 rods each out for the Pike.

The Hail was relentless and heavy!

We all chose different baits and techniques to find out what worked best on the day. There is a small river bed that seems to run across the area we fished and we targeted this area with a good mixture of deadbait and ledgering techniques.

Then the snow came too!

Things started off very slowly and it wasn't much before 11.30am before the first piece of action occured. This was on my left hand rod with a Mackerel presented hard on the bottom in about 12-15 feet of water.

All we could do was hide in the shelter!

The run started gently and built up to a slow spool spinner! I lent into a nice curve and it wasn't long before the first fish was in the bag. A nice Jack of about 6-7lbs. Not the intended monster female but at least a fish!

We sat it out all afternoon for little all else. Joel lost a fish on a Plug and Ceri pulled out of one on a deadbait as well.....I had a few gentle pulls that turned into nothing as well. We think possibly the Pike were biting very gently and were more than likely very small too.

Not much to talk about in size but intended species achieved!

The high light of the day though had to be the incredible changes in the weather throughout the day....Like I said it started very wet and windy from the South but the sun came out at around 1pm for an hour before the real change when the wind swapped round to the North...This brought with it the most incredible hail ive ever seen! This carried on for almost an hour before turning to snow!

The temperature dropped like a stone and with the road looking ever more impassable by the second, we opted to head home! I really fancy another go at the place though as it has some wonderful scenery and some cracking fish, if you can find them that is!

Perch PB!

It's been a few weeks since I got out on the bank last, mainly due to my continued bad health really. I've set my alarm early to get up and go fishing and next thing I know I'm sat drinking coffee at 5pm wondering how on earth I've managed to sleep all day! Not good.....Hopefully the doctors will be able to sort out the fatigue issue at my appointment, if it ever comes???

wet and bloody miserable...

I forced myself up at 9am this morning, despite setting the alarm for far earlier....and eventually headed out around midday. I decided to pay a trip to my local club water again in search of that elusive big Sergeant I've been wanting for so long. As some of you will know from a previous one or two blog posts, Ive had a couple of nice ones to low 2lbs but struggled to get among the really big girls.

With the continued wet and windy, but mild weather in tow, I guessed I may well be in with a bit of a chance as it was lovely and overcast. I decided to try a new swim as my regular ones have been slaughtered over the last 12 months and I think that

Everything you need for a big stripey!

the fish may well be wising up to this...It was a bit further to walk but with light weight, skimmed down tackle I didn't mind. I'd dug out my 1.75tc specimen rods and coupled them up to my centerpin reels with some 8lb main line. I've really wanted to catch a decent perch on a pin for as long as I can remember!

I set up two rods, both with the exact same set up on each. A small 1/3 oz square pear lead, freerunning up to a small CBS rubber bead and size 11 swivel. Then a short section of 6lb 12oz fluorocarbon hook length to a CBS Trident size 4 hook. This was swung down the margins either side of the swim into the deeper water just off the marginal shelf. Bait wise, I chose to give them a nice chunky Tiger Prawn glugged in CBS Carp Bait Specialists River Monster Dip with DMPT. This gave off a really pungent fishy smell and a lovely oily slick! Over the top of this I plopped a couple of handfuls of maggots, CBS Fishmeal Groundbait and prawns mashed up into a groundbait mush. I kept this going in every half hour or so until I started to get some interest.

Stunning winter common of 18lb 15oz!

My first bit of action was on the left hand rod around 3pm. A short sharp take signaled a hooked fish and a few seconds later a pretty little Perch was sat looking at me. Not the chunk I'd been after but very welcome all the same! The next hour was very frustrating as I had numerous very quick takes which ended in nothing other than a missed opportunity? I decided to make a change to the set up and swapped the hook set up over to a short hair rig with the prawn dangling just below the bend of the hook. This did the trick and a few minutes later the right hand rod whizzed off at a rate of knots! There was no way this was a Perch! Out towards the middle of the pool it went with me hanging on like a scalded child! What a scrap on the pin with lightweight gear! While I was playing the Carp I had a run on the other rod, which was distinctly more 'Perchy' in its development. The fish was off before I had the opportunity to engage it and I felt a little gutted to have been engrossed with the carp when it was the Perch I really wanted to catch! Still, this looked a decent enough fish!

another carp on perch tactics!

Eventually I sunk the net under the fish and I suddenly felt very privileged to have caught a beautiful dark golden winter common of 18lb 15oz!  I took a couple of nice pics with the remote and put her back for someone else to enjoy!

My next fish was on the left hand rod and I was again into yet another carp. I was starting to feel a little disappointed as it was really the Perch I so wanted! This one was a less pretty mirror of around 10lbs. I introduced a little more bait to both swims and almost instantly started to get liners and odd twitches.


There was no real signs of surface life in the swim and with the light fading fast and more torrential rain falling by the second, I felt my chances were quickly diminishing! Another quick take signaled yet another carp....this one only a small common at around 6lbs. I repositioned the bait and had a couple of missed opportunities come next as I was pouring a coffee and taking a pee! Not at the same time of course! Eventually the light got the better of my session and I had to start packing away. Under torch light from my head lamp, I loaded all my gear into its bags and just left the two rods laying on the floor at the front of the swim until last. You just never know when a rogue chunk may be sat waiting until the last minute to nail your hook bait!

Well worth the wait! 3lb 5oz New PB Perch!

Well, I got the brolly down and one rod packed away, when suddenly the right hand rod ratchet sounded and the tip of the rod wobbled violently. A good Perch take I was sure!.......A few seconds later and I was hooked into what I was sure was going to be my star fish for the evening! Suddenly a large spikey dorsal fin flashed on the surface and it then became apparent that I'd hooked one of the much bigger ones at last! I finally sunk the net under the fish, after a torrid couple of uncomfortable minutes and looked down at my prize!!!! Wow, this fish was going to no doubt break my 3lb 3oz PB!
The scales don't lie and she tickled them round to a magical 3lb 5oz! Wonderful......I couldn't believe my luck! At last I'd caught a nice big Stripey! A few pics taken with the self take remote and back she went.....What a result. So pleased. I'm off out on Sunday with Joel and Ceri for the day Pike Fishing in the Brecons, so I'll look back and tell you all how we get on then.

Tight lines
Keith
x

Wet but mild

Lovely day on the Wye
but crap fishing!

Happy New Year Guys & Girls!

Well, it's hear and by god has it bought with it some horrific weather conditions! We spent last summer screaming out for a bit of rain and now we've got far far too much!

Typical! Albeit it has meant that the weather has been unusually mild for the time of year. Even up here in the Welsh hills its been 8-10 deg C at night! Unheard of in late December and January.... I have unfortunately been too unwell to enjoy it for the best part though.

Tough fishing in wet and
cold conditions

Since late October my health has slowly deteriorated and I've found myself struggling to get by from day to day with immense chronic fatigue and many other health problems including stomach issues and a very low blood count.

Standard for the day...Under the brolly!

This has meant many doctors appointments and as we speak I'm awaiting a referral to the Hematology department to find out exactly whats causing the problems.

The Tench loved the CBS Micro Boilies!!!!!

Anyway, despite the crappy weather and even crappier health issues, I did manage to get out for the day with my mate Joel Biddle just before Christmas for a day on a low and clear River Wye, in search of Monster Snappers!

The day passed by with no action and apart from Joel loosing a big fish to a snapped wire trace, we came home empty handed!

 We decided we'd start the New Year with a day session on one of our club ponds with just lightweight match gear. The 1st came round quickly and we met up at in the morning around 8am.

Our first choice venue fished very hard and after 3 hours of sitting without a sniff....we decided to change venue and fish another small club pond. A short 15 min drive later and we were setting up next to each other and trying to stay dry under our brollies while the wind and rain had other ideas!

Winter Crucian fun!

JB started on the waggler and I started on the 8m pole. Chopped meat cubes were chosen as bait and a few quick small carp made for a good starter for six! Things then died off as quick as they'd started and despite plugging away at it and Joel loosing a good fish from the off, things turned very tough! All we could bag were a few odd skimmers, roach and perch.

A change over to CBS micro boilies and things again started to happen. Joel went on the straight lead and I opted for a pellet scoop feeder and we instantly started to get among some better fish again.

I managed a lovely Crucian of around a pound and a half and Joel started to find a few nice Tench. This carried on for about 2 hours until the light started to ebb away finally and just as we were thinking of calling it a day, I had a good pull round and a great scrap started. The fight lasted around 5-6 minutes and it was clear this was a slightly better fish than we'd been catching all day.

A lovely end to the day ... 11lb 6oz common on a
CBS Micro Pear drops boilie and 3lb hook length!

I finally sunk the net under a stunning common of 11lb 6oz. A great end to a very tough but thoroughly enjoyable day. We managed to catch no less than 7 different species of fish from a water with lots of fresh, cold water influx from the stream and rain fall. The day ended as it had started with an immense down pour that drenched us and all our kit! Lovely!

A quick chance of a fish?

free lined prawns were the winning
tactic for the carp today!

I had a couple of free hours this afternoon so I thought I'd go and have a try for one of the big Perch again at my local club water....I got down the pool around 2pm and set up 2 rods with freelined prawns dipped in CBS Krill and DMPT dip. I dropped the baits into a couple of likely spots and started to feed up the swims gently with a few handfuls of mixed maggots.

I fished these on one of our CBS Trident size 4 hooks. I sat for about 20 minutes before the first fish took the hook bait on the right hand rod. A good pull round and a quick fight saw a nice little half pound perch in the net. Send mummy or daddy back!

18lb 14oz of stonking mirror carp!

A few minutes later and the same rod was again torn around....I was really hoping it was a huge perch but to my surprise a large mirror had sucked up the bait meant for a stripey. I can't say I was disappointed with catching such a nice carp considering the cold weather. A really good scrap ensued as I was using only 6lb main line! A nice fish of 18lb 14oz ....I grabbed a few quick pics and put her back.

12lb 6oz bar of gold

Another take around half an hour later saw a 4lb bream in the net....It seemed that everything bar the perch liked my prawns! Amazing! I can almost imagine that had I gone out after the carp I probably wouldn't have caught one??? Typical! Next cast produced a missed take, but minutes later as the light was fading, a belting take on my left hand rod signaled.....yep, another carp!

This one a common, went 12lb 6oz. I couldn't believe my eyes. Everything other than perch! A few minutes later I was starting to pack away the odd and sods of kit ready to make a move home when the same rod belted off again. I knew it was a carp before I'd got hold of the rod. Off it went at silly miles an hour, leaving me hanging on for grim death! A few sharp lunges and a couple of minutes later and she was all mine. Another pristine common of 14lb 3oz.

It was starting to get quite dark and after a chat with another chap who was just leaving, I decided to call it a day. The perch hadn't showed like i'd hoped but the 3 carp, all doubles, had really made up for it! I went to pick up the left hand rod and as I grabbed the butt of the rod off she flew again with yet another chunky common on the end!

My final of the day at a tad over 16lbs!

This was really turning into a cracking little mini session, albeit not catching the intended species....but who cares when it goes off like this! A great scrap under the rod tip on lightweight kit and a feeder rod. The net was almost too small for the common. A brutish fish of 16lb 2oz!

Well, there you go.....Just goes to show that you don't need all the gear to catch some nice carp. You just need to be on the fish and use a bait they like....

Prawns wouldn't have been my first choice for catching winter carp by far, but it appears they rather like them.....A lot!

How Caple Court trip

Joel and I decided it was about time we met up again and did another one of our little adventures to pastures new! A quick decision was made on the phone on Thursday night and the next thing you know we're booked in on How Caple Court Fishery on the wonderful River Wye for Sunday!

The stunning Rock Pool Swim!

The days passed quickly and before you know it Sunday is upon us and Joel and I are making our way up the A48 towards Ross on Wye. We arrived there around 7am to find the river looking in perfect condition.

A little over 2 feet above it's summer levels, a touch of colour and relatively mild conditions. It looked spot on for a few chub and maybe even a barbel!

Keeping them peeled for a bite!

We settled for a large famous swim called the Rock Pool. A gorgeous old salmon pool that back eddies on itself at the tail end of a wide corner in the river.

All looked bang on but we sat there for a good 4 hours without so much as a tremble on the rod tips??? I scaled right down to a size 20 hook and lightweight fluorocarbon hook length but to no avail....The fish just didn't seem to be interested whatsoever...

We tried another swim at the opposite end of the beat from just after lunch time, but again 3 hours more of fruitless activity despite regular casts with the feeders. We felt the time was vast approaching to try out a new prototype oil we have been working on for our future predator range.

Joel's awesome PB Pike from the River Wye!

We placed the oil drenched dead baits into the swim and we sat back to await the results.....Joel decided he'd drop his rig out a little further into the flow and as he lifted the rig up in the water column, a big pike smashed the bait and came clear of the water! Joel looked so shocked that I thought he'd seen a ghost! After a spirited battle we netted the beauty and a few pics were taken. A new PB for Joel! Well done matey!

Even I managed s nice little snapper!

I was next to catch one and just as the day was coming to an end the float dropped away and I hung on feeling for the bite on my rod.....a couple of seconds passed and a few inches of line started to pull free of the spool. I struck and was met with a solid resistance! A good sized pike was netted and a fish each saved us from a very quiet day! Thank god the Pike took a liking to the new Oils!

This week should be fairly mild by the looks of it, so i'm going to try and grab a few hours at my local club water again in search of a big old stripey!