Total Carp Staff

The Great Northern Fishing Show is set to be the biggest and best carp show in the UK! The Great Northern Fishing Show returns to Cudmore Fisheries, National Angling Centre, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, ST5 5HW and will once again run alongside the Sky –televised Fish ‘O’ Mania and Home International finals. A massive tackle village, live demonstrations, free coaching sessions plus Korda Carpfest and carp city zones there will be plenty on offer. Save money and buy your tickets in advance available to buy online or by calling 0800 997 8714. Adults £7/ Concessions £5 – unders 12s FREE.

Nash ace employs new zigs to fool 41 pounder on new venue. It's no wonder Nash ace Jerry Hammond has a smile on his face, at over 41lb there aren’t many better results for a first visit to a new water. The hefty 41lb 8oz mirror fell to Essex-based Jerry's tactics as he tackled Lee Valley Park’s Bowyer Lakes for the very first time. Fishing the new Nash Zig Bugs on two rods, Jerry spent a fish-less night at the venue before a switch of swim to target deeper water changed his fortunes.

Big Lakes The Steak hit's the bank during match for good cause. Boreham Wood angler Mick Richards made his first ever visit to Kent’s Darenth Big Lake count last weekend, taking this 46lb 14oz specimen during a two-day stint on the water. Known as The Steak, the carp provided the only action for the angler during a charity match at the venue, falling to Mick’s approach of spodding mixed particles over the back of a gravel bar. “I was targeting a gravel bar and didn’t have a touch, but then the bailiff said that over the back of the bar there was a silty gully where the carp are often found so I targeted that,” Mick told Total Carp.

I must start my first TC dairy piece by apologising to the editor! Marc asked me to start this a few weeks ago but with the barrage of winter Carp Shows, moving my business from one town to another and being snowed under with my work for Baitcraft I have hardly found time to breathe let alone write or even go fishing! Much of the drama seems to be over now for the time being at least so let the blog season commence. I decided to spend the vast majority of the winter with the family in order to earn a good few brownie points for the fast approaching spring season, good thinking eh? This thought process has seen me do little to no fishing at all since October and I have to admit the break has been nice. I did however manage to do a couple of nights on Fryerning Fisheries in sub zero conditions and managed a 34lb 8oz Koi from the Main Lake and a 12 fish haul up to 22lb from the Car Park Lake, both on quick overnighters so it wasn’t all doom and gloom. The only other trip I really had was just after the big freeze a few weeks ago when I made the trip with the Baitcraft camera guy up to the prolific Thorpe Lea fishery in Surrey for a twenty hour session and a spot of filming for the Baitcraft YouTube channel.