Crushing the Barb

I saw a post by Henry Gilbey on his fishing blog about crushing barbs while sea fishing for bass. Now I know that he is using trebles and we don’t in carp angling, but the question of crushed barbs is an interesting one.
I remember when we did the Remy video that they insisted we use barbless hooks only. I have previously written about “Barbed vs Barbless”, so I won’t go over that again. But are crushed barbs not a better way to go than either barbed or barbless. Barbed vs Barbles
I have been doing this for a long as I can remember, for the simple reason that, while I didn’t want to use a barbed hook, I couldn’t find the barbless version of the model I like…ie. Drennan Continental Boilie hook. So for years I’ve been crushing the barbs on these hooks.
I think it was Tim Paisley who wrote about the advantages of a crushed barb, as it leaves a small bump on the hook, that helps avoids the movement and sewing machine effect that can happen with a barbless hook. It remains however far easier to remove, and more importantly give the fish a chance to shed the hook if it breaks you off or gets snagged. The penetration is better than a barbed hook but it does stay in better than a pure barbless.

Maps,Navigation and GPS

Not really a fishing topic this, but one about something that I find useful when travelling to a new venue.

I’ve already written on a couple of occasions about GPS units and how much I like them as navigational aids in France. In fact I’ve used the Tomtom One now for a number of years and would be lost without it. Most of the units on the market are of the street navigator type, which are perfect for getting from A to B and finding ones way around a city, but they give very little  or no information about the type of terrain one is on and many don’t have any info at all on lakes, tracks to lakes etc. For this an Ordinance Survey topographical map is the best tool.

Now topographical GPS devices do exit also, aimed at hikers and offroaders they are like an electronic geo-referenced Ordinance Survey map. They give you your exact position and allow you to install very detailed maps of your chosen area. But, and this is a big BUT, they are extremely dear for the best ones. The Garmin Dakota 20 or Twonav Aventura are in the 400-600€ bracket and that is without the 25:000 scale  maps that cost over 100€ each. This for me was a real deal breaker…I just can’t afford that amount on a gadget.
However recently I have found a great plugin on a French GPS site that allows you to turn your Tomtom into a great off road/fishing tool. The plugin is called “ttmaps”.

500,000 Views on Youtube

Bit of a landmark passed this week with over 500,000 views on my Gwenllyn Productions Youtube Channel. I started the Channle as a way of grouping all the best videos I shot over the years for companies like Quest baits etc, as well as more recent productions with anglers like Ron Woodward at my own Croix Blanche venue.
The channel was started in 2007 and now has over 660 subscribers and gests over 1000 hits per day.

If you’d like to see some of the clips check out the clips

Angling – What does it mean to you?

I saw a really nice thought provoking article by UK angler Pat Gillett on the Quest Baits blog. Pat is a long time specimen hunter often turning his attentions to the rivers in his region and their large barbel.

I too think angling and carp angling gin particular has lost its way. Ok I make a living out of fishing, but I’m sure those of us who have been fishing for over 20 years will remember the days when carp fishing had a mythical magic about it.

Fortunately the wonders of nature have not changed and a kingfisher alighting on ones rods is still a marvelous sight.

See the original article here:

“ ….I was talking to a mate of mine the other day (a good match angler) and it brought home to me how we all derive different pleasures from angling. To him it was all about the competition and the sheer numbers and weights of fish, obvious really, has this is what is needed to win matches. To me angling pleasure comes from something totally different. After being an angler for over 35 years the need to equate everything to numbers has long since gone. It’s more about ‘just being there’. It’ easy to get drawn into the numbers game and easy to lose sight of why we actually go fishing.

I do like to fish for larger than average fish (for my area) but that only comes from the many years of fishing and thus building my way up from catching smaller fish. To get the most enjoyment I need to be on the right venue and to be catching ‘on my own terms’.

One thing I try to avoid is ‘over pressured’ stretches of river or lakes, unfortunately the presence of bigger than average size fish tends to bring with it loads of fish chasers and swim jumpers and at times a total lack of angling etiquette. I fished one of these stretches (on a small river) a couple of times about a month ago.

Croix Blanche Catch Report : Festival of Thirties!

Belgain carper Rudy Coussens enjoyed a successful visit to the Croix Blanche lakes on the first week of September.

Fishing on the Tortue lake on the now famous peg 13, he banked fifteen carp and a giant catfish. His average was very good with most of his carp going over the 30lb mark with a top fish weighing in at 35lb. Eleven of his carp were over the thirty pound mark.

To top of his haul of fish he also banked a large catfish that tipped the scales at 54.8lb.

His successful tactic was to use his homemade Mexican Onion flavoured boiles fished with a bait boat to ensure spot on presentation in 3.5 metres of water. These baits were introduced on his arrival and left for 24 hours. The fish soon began to roll on the spot.

Rudy said “…..the first day ( saturday ) I threw my boilies and waited till sunday to fish on it. The first day the carp started to roll like crazy, but I waited….” In all 13 fish fell to this tactic.

Well done Rudy!!

Check out the photos on the website!!

Also see Rudy’s video from his visit:  Big carp and catfish at Croix Blanche/Tortue

Cracking week on the Croix Blanche for young Dutch anglers

Young Dutch anglers Bob & Kaz Van Leeuwen proved this week that you don’t need to have years of experience to get amongst the fish. They lads aged sixteen & eleven banked 27 carp to over 34lb during their weeklong stay on peg 6.

The family had booked the mobile home so that the parents could share their week in comfort while the boys set up on the peg number 6. Fishing with their home made boilies they immediately got amongst the carp taking four fish the first night.

They continued in the same vein taking a mixture of carp and catfish too to over 40lb. The palm though for the week went to the young brother Kaz aged just eleven with a lovely mirror of over 34lb and a catfish of 41lb 8oz. Another fish of note was a fabulous 20lb plus linear also the the rods of young Kaz.

Top angling guys!!

See the Photos Gallery

Spring Clean

Well it’s Spring again and the fish are moving. Its time now the weather is better to get all those jobs done that improve the fishery and could not be done during the colder weather.

1. Strimming:  The first major task was to cut back the vegetation that has grown profusely around each peg. Armed with a chainsaw, and a petrol strimmer, I’ve been attacking the wild plants of the Croix Blanche. What amazes me though is that virtually every shrub I want to eliminate is armed with absolutely vicious spikes and spines!
   Well most pegs have been opened out and cleaned. This has made the lake generally look tidier and well kept. Add to this a large number of trees that came down in end of winter storms and I’ve had my work cut out removing huge quantities of wood.

Why France for Carp?

by Gareth Watkins

Carp fishing as we all know is  immensely popular now, with more and more people coming into the sport every year. This puts a huge pressure on the ticket lakes, club lakes and syndicates across the UK. Most anglers outside the ‘A’ list are faced with long waiting lists and the slim chances of getting on a water with big fish. Ticket lakes are often crowded and fish sizes modest.
For a number of years carpers have been looking towards France.

But is it the Carpfishers ‘Eldorado?’   What does France have to offer?

1) Access to bigger fish: Well firstly in the majority of cases there are no syndicates or waiting lists to fish the top waters. You can simply book up with a lake  or go it alone to a ticket or public lake.
Whatever you choose you’ll have access to bigger fish than the majority of lakes in the UK.
The continental climate in France gives us just that few degrees extra average temperatures, which is enough to get the carp feeding longer throughout the year. You gain on average one degree for every 100 km you travel south. Also the strains of carp stocked into France have generally been fast growing mirrors and they can reach 30lb in just 5-7 years.

Carp Hooks – Barbed V Barbless?

By Jon Perkins

This is a subject which has been debated for many years and both barbed and barbless hooks certainly have their place in modern carp fishing.I beleive that on the majority of waters and in the majority of angling situations, barbless hooks are better for the carp.
Most fisheries these days have a rule governing the type of hooks that are allowed, I would say that the majority of waters have a barbless only rule, but some still rule in favour of barbed hooks – which is correct ?
There are several factors involved in why these rules are made, some of which are fact and some of which are speculative.
There is little doubt that more fish will be lost during the fight when a barbless hook is used. With a barbless hook there is nothing to prevent the hook “falling out” of a carps mouth, in fact the only thing keeping the hook in, is the presuure on the hook via the tension on it through the line. Carp can very quickly “learn” that by twisting around during the fight and thus making as many different angles between itself and the line in its mouth they can often shed the hook. Be in no doubt that from the moment the hook catches in the carps mouth, its sole objective is to get rid of it ! This has been shown on the Korda DVD’s with very pressured fish even trying to get rid of the hook before running off, which is their primary instinct.When a carp reaches a weedbed it can shed a barbless hook in seconds because it has something to use to create an angle and a slack line. I have experienced this many times myself and watched it happen countless times. I’m not saying it happens every time because sometimes the hook has such a good hold in the mouth “that was never going to come off” !

Six Tips for Big French Carp Waters

by Gareth Watkins

As more and more UK carp anglers venture abroad to France they are confronted with a huge choice of waters and fishing conditions. The giant fish we read about in the magazines, the success stories of leviathan carp all sound very attractive. These fish do exist and the potential of some large waters is outstanding. For this very reason, France has been the number one destination for the travelling angler for a number of years.
Smaller pits and lakes don’t usually pose too much of a problem for anyone who has the usual armoury of techniques and tactics at his disposal, and the usual UK approach will cope without any problem. Those who fancy having a go at one of the big French waters should only do so if they have done their home work and are well prepared for such a venue.

Lakes like the Der Chantecoq, the Foret de l’Orient, Salagou and Madine all hold massive fish, but all are, by English standards very big waters.