Mike Willmott - Essential Baits

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here does all the time go? I seem to be asking this question more and more with each passing year, a sure sign of getting old, some might say, and I couldn’t argue with that! It does seem, however, that the more you try to squeeze into your life, the quicker it fl ies by – it seems we can’t win! The summer of 2004 was a classic example of this, in fact it flew by so quickly, I never even kept a detailed account of the few times I fi shed, which is very unlike me because I’ve got detailed diaries stretching right back to the early-’70s. The whole year just passed me by so quickly, but I did manage to squeeze in a handful of nights on my own Springwood Pool Fishery, during which time I banked a new lake record common, shortly followed by a lake record mirror at 29lb 4oz and 29lb 8oz respectively, proof indeed that our Springwood fish were moving in the right direction. It was surely only a matter of time before someone banked Springwood’s first 30! We keep a syndicate logbook at the fi shery and one of the rules is that each member must make an entry into the logbook before leaving. This is an excellent rule because it gives arriving anglers up-to-date information about what’s been caught and what swims have been fi shed. Fortunately for me, I was able to use this diary to track down my own movements that year, which was proof in itself that I wasn’t fi shing anywhere else, although I was preparing for a long-range assault on a very difficult Berkshire water, for what I believe was the ‘ultimate challenge’, but more of that later. W Lee with a stunning river mirror from our favourite venue. A beautifully proportioned river common. Life and Carp Life Mike Willmott BRIEF RIVER ENCOUNTER I did, however, manage to find a few days spare that enabled Lee and me to embark on our annual pilgrimage to our favourite stretch of river in Belgium. In last month’s issue you may have read about Lee’s encounter with a stunning 40 that he caught on the surface from this stretch of river, and because of its unpredictability, coupled with the fact that most of the fi sh are uncaught specimens, we’ve fallen in love with the place. I can honestly say that this type of fi shing appeals to me more than any other. I would much rather be on the river catching unknown 20s and 30s than on a commercial venue fi shing for huge carp with names. I’ve always liked a challenge and the river is certainly that! You have to learn to cope with so many different facets of angling and the old grey matter is constantly ticking over. Some of the fish are just beautiful, and that’s far more important to me these days than the size factor, which so many carp anglers seem to have become so obsessed with in recent years. Following a very busy summer, the winter months were now fast approaching and I was able to find a little more space from the dayto-day activities and work pressures involved with running a bait company, operating a fishery, dealing with various planning applications, and spending time with the family, although it has to be said that as I’ve got older I no longer have the desire to fish long hours during the freezing cold The really cold snaps would quite often fi nd me breaking through the ice to reel in at 4.00 a.m. so that I could pack up and be at work for 5.00 a.m.! and often unproductive months of January and February. In fact, I often look back to my younger days as a postman and find it hard to imagine where on earth I ever found the endless enthusiasm to fish the countless number of hours I did during these months. The really cold snaps would quite often find me breaking through the ice to reel in at 4.00 a.m. so that I could pack up and be at work for 5.00 a.m.! Yes, I’ve endured the hard times over the years and enjoyed every moment of them, but I’m not sorry to say I’ve endured the hard times over the years, but they catch up with you eventually! that those days are long behind me now! After countless blanks and several close encounters with hypothermia, you begin to realise that perhaps fishing isn’t the most important thing in your life after all. That’s usually the first sign of an angler reaching maturity! These days I have a much more laid-back attitude. Basically, I sit at home with a big mug of coffee waiting for the weatherman to tell me when to go! Some people would call it the lazy approach – I call it the sensible approach! 23 022-029_CarpLife_CW228.indd 2 20/8/09 14:54:54
Life and Carp Life Mike Willmott BIG-FISH TIME However, it doesn’t take a genius to work out the type of weather patterns you need to be looking for during these months, and on January 10th 2005, the weatherman promised dropping air pressure coupled with mild air from the south and temperatures reaching double fi gures. A moderate to strong southerly wind was due to be gusting in at 30mph and if all that wasn’t enough, the new weather pattern coincided with a new moon – time to get the rods out! I was still flirting, albeit very sporadically, with the Swindon Park Lake, and on this occasion I’d arranged to meet Frank Warwick down there for a look around. Frank was Welcome to hell! The infamous old concrete diving board, one of the fi rst sights that greeted you on arrival at the notorious Park Lake. interested in fishing the Park during the coming year and was keen to see the place and have a chat with me about it first. To be honest, I wasn’t too sure it would be his cup of tea because it can be a bit of a rat race on there at times, but that was for him to decide, not me. Having said that, despite the favourable conditions the Park was fairly quiet, although most anglers would find it hard to associate the word ‘quiet’ with the Park Lake! I arrived during the small hours, in fact it was 1.30 a.m. to be precise. This is my favourite time to arrive at most venues and I very rarely arrive anywhere during daylight hours these days. Most anglers are usually tucked up in their bags at this time, and with the lake being much quieter, it can be a good time to hear a fi sh or two bosh out and give their game away. You can also be on your toes at first light and in ‘pole position’ should a fi sh show its whereabouts. I’ve almost frightened the life out of some anglers in the past by stalking the banks at these times, so please accept my apologies, both belatedly and in advance! On this occasion however, I couldn’t believe no one was fishing and I began to wonder if the weatherman had got it all wrong; after all, it wouldn’t be for the first time would it? I don’t know how many of you read my article in last month’s issue, but those who did may recall that I visited the lake the previous February (after not having fished it for six months) and managed to bank a cracking 38lb mirror. Well, on this occasion there were lots of similarities, not least the fact that just like then I hadn’t fished the park for six months, and I was hoping that a little bit of history might just be about to repeat itself ! On the bigger, deeper pits, the only time I tend to fi sh on the end of the wind in the winter is when it’s either a mild wind or a new wind 24 By first light I hadn’t heard or seen any signs of fi sh. The wind was now blowing a moderate southwesterly and temperatures were into double fi gures, which is about the most you can expect in the middle of January. Eventually, I decided to set up in a swim known as The Rats (as was the case last year), which was situated at the infamous ‘concrete bowl’ end of the lake into which the wind was blowing. On the bigger, deeper pits, the only time I tend to fi sh on the end of the wind in the winter is when it’s either a mild wind or a new wind. Once it becomes stale, I prefer to move further back from it, and if it’s a cold wind, I prefer to fi sh on the back of it where the water temperatures are generally more stable. Shallower pits or small lakes will often call for a different approach, but this was a big, open pit with depths of over 12ft. I positioned all three rods out into the deeper silty areas of the lake at ranges of between 60 and 80yds, with depths averaging about 11ft. I stayed away from the pop-ups on this occasion in favour of B5 balanced bottom bait presentations (wafters) with a layer of B5 paste around each hookbait. Conditions were good and I wanted to fi sh over a bit of bait to pull the carp down and get them searching, but didn’t want to risk overfeeding ’em at this time of year. I therefore scattered about 30 x 16mm B5 freebies over each rig, not too tight, and well spaced out, to hopefully keep the fi sh on the move. Nothing occurred during daylight hours but I decided to keep the baited rigs in position for the night ahead, but cleaned off the lines by tightening up to the lead and 022-029_CarpLife_CW228.indd 3 20/8/09 14:55:19
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Mike Willmott - Essential Baits

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