North West Carp

North West Carp forum
Any compulsive Carp angler with access to a computer and internet will be or have been,(at one time or another),a contributing member of a forum and by far the most popular forum for carp anglers we have encountered is the North West Carp forum.We here are both members and there's not many of our associates that aren't signed up with them.The North West Carp forum is a great platform for debate or general banter with your pals aswell as somewhere you can gain valuable knowledge due to the first class advice it's members are willing to share.The North West carp forum is a great asset to our angling discapline accomodating some great characters who are also an asset to our sport.
The moderators of the forum are always more than willing to help their members out,friendly,firm but fair your manners and respect towards fellow forum members will hold you in good stead with the site with a chance to build your forum status simply by contributing.Start your own threads or comment on others are a couple of ways you can enhance your forum status or simply read away.Remember though the forum is aimed at all ages male or female so any derogetory comments will quite rightly be removed and you may also lose your membership.
The quality and content of the forum are exellent and although it may sound regional please don't be put off. North West Carp are open to anglers nationwide,membership is free and only takes a minute.
Whatever your interest in carp fishing the North West Carp forum will have something of interest for you so if your looking to join a decent forum North West Carp are to be seriously considered.
CAUK

                                  www.northwestcarp.co.uk

UK Grass Carp Record Broken

Sorry about the pic guys it's the only one we can get for now

This is the first time a Grass carp has featured on Carp Anglers UK, as mentioned it's not the species that instantly pops into your head when you think of carp but we Carp Anglers UK pay homage to these fantastic looking creatures and to the man who has just broke the UK record,a common or mirror of this size would be the fish of a lifetime but a Grassie that size,well some anglers don't even manage to catch a Grass carp in their lives,the stuff dreams are made of!

The "Hair Rig" A Brief History

Prior to the development of the 'Hair Rig' it was common practice to mount the bait directly onto the hook.Although Carp were still being caught to some degree it was acknowledged through the observations of how Carp fed that a more effective method of hooking the fish could be developed.The development of the 'hair rig' was no accident,in the late 70's forward thinking anglers Len Middleton and Kevin Maddocks would be the one's to develop the 'hair rig'.Watching the way Carp fed in a fish tank would be instrumental in the design of this soon to be devastating method of bait presentation.
Taking it's name from the material used (a human hair) the new method was to increase catch rates dramaticaly.Seeing how Carp would eat food offerings freely whilst quickly learning to avoid those with monofilament or hook shanks protruding out of them was to be the logic behind the new methods development,by attaching the bait to the hook via the hair it would become apparent that the bait acted far more naturaly in the water thus not spooking the Carp who were wary of food items that did not act naturaly in the water simply because it was mounted directly onto the hook.
This new method of presenting the bait to the Carp would be a revolution,one that would send catch rates soaring,the 'Hair Rig' was born,the great leveler and as history has shown Carp angling was never the same again.

Using the knotless knot to acheive the Hair rig

CAUK

The Hair Rig

Got some new rods

My new rods arrived today a set of three Freespirit Hi S 13ft 3.5 TC carp rods and am very pleased.These rods are a serious bit of kit and a real upgrade from my previous wands,not that the Nash Entitys were bad or anything on the contrary they have been great rods but the Freespirits really leave them standing.50 mm butt rings which as with the other rings and reel seat are of a premium standard the feel of them in your hands just tells you that youv'e got holds of some quality sticks.They even have my name beautifuly applied just above the clip.As for playing fish on well i will have to get back to you on that as i only got them today,but my ongoing campaign at Keele hall lakes will now benefit from a change of rods and i should be able to post what it's like to play a fish on my new Freespirits.

Freespirit HI S

CAUK Canal Carp Challenge 2012 update

The CAUK Canal Carp Challenge 2012 got underway on Saturday 14th April but as yet no one has reported a single capture so if we can remind you to send your pictures and capture details to us for research purposes it would be much appreciated.The blog is getting over 100 hits a day and it's increasing,so if you send in your photos they will be looked at and as mentioned previously if the challenge is a success this year there will be prizes on offer for next years challenge,the prizes have already been pledged by 3 tackle shops so get your canal carp photos in to us so we can get some prizes out for the next challenge.
To report your canal carp captures send picture,as much detail as posible on how your fish was caught and most importantly the stretch of canal the capture took place.
Email to : sharpercarper@fishhoo.com

Carp fishing blog

Carp fishing blog,Carp anglers UK has only been online since February 2012 but has still managed to attract over 100 hits a day,a testament to the site itself.Well written reviews honest and unbiased,good advice on how to tie rigs and descriptive venue reports,The Carp anglers UK blog although young and still under construction is set to be a great resource and link to the UK carp fishing scene.

Canal Carp Challenge 2012

These places are stuffed with carp

Many carp anglers are put off when it comes to fishing on UK canals,carp are notoriously elusive the sheer size of the canals equate to a vast body of water.Some canals hold more carp than others and besides from the stretches that have produced recorded carp catches in the past there is not a lot known about what carp are in what canals overall.It is this lack of information and knowledge that has given us the idea of launching the Canal Carp Challenge 2012.Carp Anglers UK are asking England's carp fisherman to take pictures,weigh and record all the details of each carp caught from any of the canals in England.It's common knowledge that the canals hold carp but the numbers and sizes of carp in the different canals across our country are not specific,unlike that of the stillwaters.It is our intention to gather as much information on the canal carp as possible over the coming year and present our findings on the Carp Anglers UK blog aswell as to any other party the information may be relevant to.
For the Canal Carp Challenge 2012 to be a success we need as much data as possible so the pictures and catch records sent to us really are important.The title of our project may suggest that we are running a competition when in fact we are challenging you to go and catch carp of any size and report it back to us.There are no prizes for the challenge this year but the person who sends us details of the most catches (not heaviest) will be named Canal Carp Challenge champion 2012.There will be prizes for the 2013 canal carp challenge a number of retailers have pledged prizes but our first year must generate enough participants to gather the data required for us to make an analysis of the carp content in our canals.
The 2012 Canal Carp Challenge will officially begin on the 14th April 2012,this is when the logging of the information you sent us will begin.This initiative will benefit all anglers in the long run,knowing our target species and the waters they inhabit is one of the most valuable pieces of information we can use in the successful pursuit of the fish we love to catch,Carp!
So if your targeting carp on any of the canals that are situated in England regardless of their size and weight,we want to know about it.

(The Canal Carp Challenge will only be collecting details of catches from canals in England.)

For more information on Canal Carp Challenge 2012 or to report a catch Email: sharpercarper@fishhoo.com 

REMEMBER: Anglers logging catches must supply the following,Name,Email,Location of catch,weight,tactic,bait and a picture.
Good luck and thank you to all who are planning to take part,the information you send us will be very valuable,CAUK.

Fishing in beautiful surroundings,bonus!

That's it for another year,Closed season

River Severn at Montford bridge

If your going to go fishing on our rivers then you have probably one more day to do it legally,it's the end of the season and also time to renew our rod licenses.The tradition of closing our running waters is often a heavily debated one but there's no doubt in my mind that it is necessary.Pressure has to be taken off the rivers in order for our fish stocks to replenish and lets face it their up against it even in closed season with the chance of pollution and the increased predation problems some would argue if it made a difference at all.Yes it does and the people who call for the closed season to be abolished have either little understanding of the rivers Eco system or there after making money from a stretch of water they control or some piece of tackle designed to be used on a river,so if it does ever come to a vote on whether we should get rid of our closed season then the clever persons vote would be NO!

Be Prepared

Extended overnight fishing sessions,if your a serious specimen hunter whether it's Carp,Pike,Catfish or Barbel then the overnight session is an inevitable factor in the pursuit of your quarry.Last week myself and a friend decided to do our first overnighter of the year,i had checked the weather report on the internet for our region and it informed me that it was going to drop below freezing in the early hours.Taking note of this i equipped myself accordingly packing my bivvy over wrap and a season 4 sleeping bag aswell as the relevant clothing,ok the weight would be up on the barrow but to not have the correct gear can be damn right dangerous as i will explain.we arrived at Goldendale,our chosen venue and the weather  was really nice for the time of year.Starting to set up the first thing i did was to get my rods out i like to spend as much time fishing as possible and besides i can set up my base whilst waiting for a bite.This was also the case of my friend who also made getting his rods out a priority,this done we then proceeded to set up our bivvies,the first thing that struck me was how light my mates barrow was,i asked him if he had left some stuff on the van but he said he had brought everything.Anyway after making ourselves as comfy as possible we settled in for the night ahead and as predicted by the internet the temperature plummeted.Around midnight i shouted to see if my mate wanted a cuppa,there's nothing like a nice hot brew to lift your spirits in the freezing cold,i delivered his brew to him in his bivvy which had no overwrap and when i unzipped the door and looked inside he was shivering,there was also loads of condensation dripping down the inside walls of his shelter.I also noticed that the clothing he had on was completely inadequate for the temperatures we were going to have to endure.I did ask him if he thought he would be ok and he was adamant that he would be,i did in fact get on his case a little about how he wasn't really prepared for the session but he assured me that he would be ok.As the night wore on i had a couple of runs on culminating in the capture of a 26Lb 7oz common but the thing that struck me was the fact that he never once came out of his bivvy not to see my catch not even to tend to his rods,so i visited him in his bivvy again and this time when i saw him he was shivering uncontrollably he must have been at that stage of coldness for at least 3 hours.I told him to get the keys to the van and go turn on the heaters to warm himself up but he had got that cold he wasn't able to get up and do that.I got the stove from my bivvy and turned it on telling him to warm himself up enough to go and turn the heater on in the van and eventually he was able to do this.A little while later he was warm enough to be able to make it to the van where he remained for the rest of the session which was cut short because he had made himself really poorly through letting himself get to cold.It was that cold in the early hours of that morning that the condensation on the outside of my bivvy had turned to ice.The whole affair spoilt the session really,for myself it was the worry that my pal was freezing and for him that was a reality.If he had been well prepared and equipped we could have had quite a productive session,the fish where feeding.When i decided to cut the session short i had to pack my stuff up aswell as his,i even had to unload his tackle off the van when i dropped him off as he was unfit to help.He was actually bed ridden for 4 days after that,the cold had really got to him and it made him really poorly.Myself i could have quite happily stayed there for a couple of days not noticing the cold to any great extent and all because i had the foresight to be prepared.Freezing temperatures are a killer,it's a known fact and if extreme temperatures don't kill you then they will certainly make you very ill,it's always worth going that extra yard for comforts sake as this will keep your moral up after all if you lose your spirit whilst night fishing the session could become one big waste of time.Going on overnight sessions on a whim will almost certainly end with you at best going home with a runny nose and if your luggage weight has to go up a couple of kg's then so be it but for your own safety always be prepared,do a little research into the weather situation for the coming day or evening ahead this will help you to make an informed decision on what stuff you will need to take so you can fish comfortably for as long as your on the bank.Never go fishing overnight on a whim it's just a bad idea.CAUK. 

Tackle,venues,rigs and carp news galour

For such a young blog things sure are getting busy.Carp Anglers UK will be flat out over the coming weeks as we have been given loads of tackle to test and plenty of invites to different venues finding time to write the reviews will be a task in itself,looks like were gonna be taking our laptops fishing with us.If your a keen carp fisherman why not pop back and tell us what you've been up to and if you've got any photos of your recent catches email them to us so we can get them put on,don't forget to tell us where,when,how and what you caught your Carp on.
sharpercarper@fishhoo.com

Carp Anglers UK Tackle shop Directory

 Carp Anglers UK Tackle shop Directory
Our comprehensive fishing tackle shop directory will soon be complete,easy to view and listed alphabetically in regions wherever you are in the country you should always be able to find a tackle shop in your area.If you do use our directory to find a particular shop,please mention this blog as the source of your contact.Many thanks CAUK.