Mike Willmott - Essential Baits

Life and Carp Life Mike WillmottMike WillmottLIFE ANDCARP LIFEPART FIVEMike Willmott continues his look at running hisown fishery and the ups and downs it brings. Healso takes us on a journey around the lakes hefishes and logs his captures alongside tales fromthe lakeside and the people he meets.22

Life and Carp Life Mike WillmottLee with his 42.04 onmy rods! He was incharge of them, so goodluck to him, I say.A 40 ON MY RODS!Our annual trip to Belgium was the highlightof my autumn, although it was Lee whoonce again took the honours and once againdeprived me of my first river 40! We were setup next to each other so I asked him to lookafter my two rods whilst I popped to the localshops with Kelly and Dean for some muchneeded provisions. Well, I’m sure you all knowwhat’s coming next! I was just picking up thelast bits and pieces for the barbecue whenmy phone rang. Rosie’s name appeared andI instantly knew something significant hadhappened.“Mike, Lee’s just caught a big fish but it’s onyour rods,” she excitedly shouted!!We quickly made our way back to the riverto find Lee standing over the water with a biggrin on his face and a big fat mirror sulking inthe bottom of my net. It was an immaculate,deep-bodied specimen that pulled the scalesaround to 42lb 4oz, but the more we lookedat the fish, the more familiar it became. It was,indeed, the very same fish that Lee had caughta few years earlier on a surface-presented pieceof cork. Greedy bugger – and I’m not talkingabout the fish!CONSULTANCY TIMELater in the year I got a call from StephenMcCaveny of Daiwa enquiring if I stillwanted to be part of the Daiwa team ofconsultants. I’ve been using Daiwa gear forover 18 years and although we’ve always hadA familiar sight throughoutthe winter of 2008.a strong association, I never really consideredmyself as a consultant. I agreed to attend oneof their trade shows at Weston-super-Mareto have a chat with Robin Morley and listento some of their future plans. I must say, theyare a fantastically professional company andproduce an excellent range of cutting-edgeequipment, particularly their rods and reels,which are far in advance of anything else Ihave ever seen.Over the years I’ve turned down numerousopportunities for consultancy deals, simplydue to the fact that I didn’t want to putmyself in a position of using equipment thatI have no faith in just for the sake of a fewquid or some free tackle. I need to have 100%confidence in everything I use if I’m goingto recommend its use to someone else. Yousee so many anglers playing ‘musical chairs’with tackle and bait companies, but at theend of the day the only thing they’re reallyinterested in is filling their pockets! It doesn’treflect well on the company or the anglerand I could count the number of honestand reliable consultants on one hand, with acouple of fingers missing!I’ve been sponsored by Dymag Tacklefor at least 10 years now, simply becauseI honestly believe their range of carbonproducts is by far the best on the market.They are one of the few companies thatproduce all their products in the UK andthe workmanship is second to none. Anyonewho has used their gear will testify tothat. Likewise, with some of the terminaltackle I’ve used from E-S-P over the years,and more recently Gardner Tackle. Thesecompanies are highly professional and goto extreme lengths to produce the very bestproducts available, both in terms of design,manufacture, and effectiveness.After meeting Robin Morley at the Daiwatrade show and hearing what he had tosay, I accepted the new Daiwa consultancyrole and haven’t looked back since. Just toput the record straight, however, none ofmy consultancy roles include a financialincentive and never would, I’m just notinterested in that side of things. I must saythough, it has been extremely refreshingworking with a company like Daiwa and I’mvery much looking forward to the future.The autumn months soon merged intowinter and as I’m sure most of you willremember, the winter of 2008 was one ofthe coldest on record for many years andmost lakes were iced up for several weeks ata time. The spring of 2009 had never felt sowelcome, but fishing was temporarily put onhold due to the fact that we were extremelybusy at Essential Baits headquarters. For thevery first time in our business life we decidedto make our baits available to selectedEuropean outlets, and before long we weresupplying countries such as Romania, Serbia,Slovenia, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.The launch of our new B5 shelf lifes,together with the new Natural Squid freezerrange, also coincided with extending ourbusiness premises and we were workinginto the small hours seven days a week. Anyavailable time we did have was spent workingon our fishery at Springwood, but that hasalways been a labour of love.26Daiwa’s Caldia 4000 X reels, coupled with their 12ft2.75tc Linear rods are my first choice every time forclose- to medium-range work. Daiwa have definitely gotthe rod and reel market well sussed.My long-range kit consists of the ultra-light Basiair reels,coupled with the 12ft 3.75tc Infinity Magnums. Anawesome combination.My 9ft Dymag stalking rods, coupled with my ‘greenbeasts’, are brilliant for marginal stalking situations orvery tight swims.

Back on the river withour spots all primed up!Life and Carp Life Mike WillmottBACK ON THE RIVERBy the end of May we were itching to getback on the river from which Lee hadbanked the large scaled 37lb 8oz mirror lastsummer. However, with the otters seeminglydecimating the fish population and a few bigcarp carcasses having been found, we wereunsure just how many carp were left.It was three weeks prior to the season thatwe started to prime up our spots with bait. Myfirst choice is nearly always the Shellfish B5. Istill strongly believe it’s the best food bait everdeveloped, and has never let me down. It’s oneof the few baits that will compete side by sidewith their natural food and I can’t stress howimportant that is when fishing between themonths of March and November when thenatural food count is at its highest. If yourchosen bait has nutritional deficiencies itwill struggle to compete with the carp’snatural food, which is why some baitstend to lose their effectiveness over aperiod of time. This just doesn’t happen withthe B5 and I can therefore fish with 100%confidence wherever I go, which leaves me toconcentrate fully on location and presentationwithout having to worry about whether thebait is good enough. The fact that the B5 isalso a very instant bait makes it ideal whentargeting my long-distance waters whenI’m not in a position to introduce bait on aregular basis.I would be the first to admit that forobvious reasons I’m in a very privilegedposition when it comes to bait supply and I’mnot going to pretend otherwise. That said,I still have to pay for it of course, and don’tforget, there’s still the huge effort involvedwith making it, and driving to your chosenvenue and putting it in if a baiting campaignis decided upon, and without effort you veryrarely get any rewards. On this occasionwe baited up quite heavily on the river andintroduced about 25kg of boilies per weekduring the three weeks leading up to June16th, and there was no doubt whatsoever thatdue to the activity we witnessed, they wereBingo! My 37.02. Theywere on the bait big-style!Aggressive feeding! We safelyretrieved the rig, but the hook waslodged over nine inches back!gorging themselves heavily on the bait by thetime the season kicked off.The action came thick and fast, and onFather’s Day Lee banked a 28lb 12oz mirror,whilst I was rewarded with a 23lb mirror. Youhave to remember, this is river fishing, and evenThe fact that the baited hook was lodged nineinches back was proof indeed of just how wellthe bait was working and was no doubt the resultof aggressive feeding, achieved via the constantapplication of an extremely good food sourceLee finally subdues ahard-fighting river carp.a 20lb carp is considered a big fish compared totheir lake counterparts, and a 30lb+ fish fromthe river holds as much credibility as a 50lb lakefish, in my book.Virtually every fish we caught was excretingthe bait and we experienced some veryconsistent action. It therefore came as nosurprise when one of my target fish fell quiteearly. Another very big river mirror that went37lb 2oz and a different fish to Lee’s 37 fromlast summer. We had now caught the biggesttwo fish in the river in less than a dozen nights’fishing, but we felt there was more to come.The most amazing thing about the captureof my 37.02 was the fact that I had never seena fish hooked so far back. I can rememberlying it on the unhooking mat and seeingthe lead hanging just three inches from themouth. Nothing much unusual about thatyou might say – until you realise I was using a12ins hooklink!! I was using a Size 8 Muggahook, but this was nowhere to be seen, andall I could see was the Stealth-Skin hooklinkdisappearing into the soft fleshy part of thegullet about nine inches back!27

Life and Carp Life Mike Willmott28We cut the hooklink off next to the mouthbefore using a set of pike forceps to removethe hook, which fortunately we managed todo with no damage whatsoever. This cameas a huge relief to me because I don’t mindadmitting I was extremely concerned aboutit. The fact that the baited hook was lodgednine inches back was proof indeed of just howwell the bait was working and was no doubtthe result of aggressive feeding, achieved viathe constant application of an extremely goodfood source. I also suspect there was strongcompetition for the food because it’s very rareto see fish feeding so aggressively in isolationor in small social groups.With this in mind, we continued toapply the bait on a regular basis and the fishjust kept on coming. My next two sessionsproduced two of the most stunning carp Ihave ever seen. The first went 31lb 2oz andthe second 30lb 6oz. Both the fish were a verydeep chestnut-bronze colour and in absolutepristine condition with curtain membranesfully intact – a rare phenomenon these days!In all honesty, I just couldn’t believe myluck. Having said that, I’m a great believer thatyou make your own luck. As a famous golferonce said, “The harder I work, the luckier Iget!” So very true. You only get out of carpfishing as much as you are prepared to putin, and we had both worked extremely hardfor those river fish. Okay, itwasn’t Lee’s year this timearound, but I know his timeAs Gary Player once said, “Theharder I work, the luckier I get!”Well we worked very hard,and we got very lucky!This one went30lb 6oz.Another river stunner.This one went 31lb 2oz.will come – it always does.We had now caught four different 30s froma venue which, to our knowledge, had onlyever produced two different 30s in the past,yet we still felt confident the river had more tooffer. We planned to fish right through untilat least mid-September, but by mid-Augustthe river systems had taken so much water, dueto six weeks of consistent rain, that they werealmost at breaking point and were runningthrough so strongly that it was impossibleto hold the bottom, let alone expect thebait to stay in one place. This was extremelyfrustrating because it interrupted our baitingprogramme and we decided to pull off a fewweeks earlier than initially planned.Back where I belong at Frampton –without a doubt the king of all carp waters.RETURN TO FRAMPTONIn hindsight, this turned out to be quiteconvenient because it gave me a coupleof extra weeks to prepare for my next bigchallenge – let me explain. Earlier in the year Iwas invited to attend Frampton’s end of seasonbarbecue, which has always been one of myfavourite events. Out of all the waters I’vebeen fortunate enough to fish over theyears, Frampton undoubtedly standshead and shoulders aboveeverything else. It’s now 22years since I wasfortunate enoughto first set footon the banks ofthis marvellousestate lake, andmany friendships with fellow members stillexist to this very day. I’ve always made apoint of attending their annual barbecues,reunions and Christmas party bashes, and I’vesupported their social events with raffle prizes,etc. at every opportunity.I first joined the syndicate in 1988, but leftafter four brief years before rejoining in 1997.However, by 2001 the carp gods were onceagain calling elsewhere, and, being the rollingstone that I am, I decided it was once moretime to seek new challenges that lay ahead. Imust admit that my quest to reach out andtouch new horizons often frustrates the hellout of me! In fact, I would go as far as sayingthat my single biggest regret in my carp lifewas leaving such a fantastic syndicate on twoseparate occasions, but young hearts and allthat!Just to put the record straight, the truthof the matter was that I was halfway throughwriting a book, coupled with the fact that acertain Park Lake was calling me with a bigblack mirror not far behind on my ‘wish list’!I needed to focus 100% on each of those longtermambitions if I was to be successful in myquest, and I’m glad to say that each of thosegoals was successfully negotiated over theyears that followed.Even during those eight years of chasingdreams elsewhere, Frampton was rarely farfrom my thoughts. After all, some of myclosest friends were members and, furtherto this, Lee was fortunate enough to gainmembership last year. With this in mind, itwas somewhat inevitable that having achievedthose earlier mentioned targets, my thoughtswould turn back to Frampton and the dreamsit still holds.The following paragraph has been takenfrom my book, Carp Life, at the end of myFinal Farewell chapter about my last seasonon Frampton eight years ago, but pretty muchsums up exactly how I felt at the time ofleaving:The capture of Broken Pec was aparticularly significant and sentimentalmoment for me. I knew that she could well bethe last carp I would ever have the pleasureof holding at the magnificent estate lake. Mydecision to leave Frampton signalled the endof a long and distinguished chapter withinmy carp life, and was one of the most difficultdecisions I’ve ever had to make. Perhaps oneday it would be nice to think I could return– who knows? One thing I do know though,is that I feel extremely privileged to have beengiven the chance to walk its wonderful banks,to have held its magnificent fish, and to havetasted its magical atmosphere for so manyyears. When I look back through the wonderfulmemories that I’ve been so fortunate to beholdfrom such a majestic venue, I realise thatwhatever I try to put back into carp fishing,I could never, ever give back what I’ve taken.I therefore dedicate this chapter to Framptonand its members, both past and present, who,each in their own different way, have inspiredme more than they will ever know – thanks forthe memories lads.When I left the syndicate in 2001 I waspromised by a certain individual (you knowwho you are) that whenever, and if ever, I

Welcome back! Thisimmaculate 48lb 8ozmirror, known as KinkyTail, was part of my 40sbrace that greeted me onmy return.Life and Carp Life Mike Willmottwanted to return to the enigmatic estate lake Ijust had to say the word. Perhaps he knew mebetter than I did, but nevertheless, I respectpeople who keep to their word and fortunatelyfor me he did – thanks, Dave!Last month I finally returned to the waterI rate as the king of all carp waters, andlike a long-lost son returning to the foldsof his family, I was immediately rewardedwith a brace of 40s at 48lb 8oz and 41lb2oz, sandwiched either side by a couple ofstunning mirrors of 38lb and 35lb 10oz!There’s no doubt about it, Frampton alwaysseemed to have an uncanny knack of lookingafter those who respected it the most, but thetruth of the matter probably just lies in thefact that once again I just got lucky!FAREWELLAnd so the time has come to bid you allfarewell and wish you luck in your ownjourney through life. You know, I oftenChoptail at 41lb2oz. A remarkablefish and one thathadn’t seen thebank for three years!wonder just what it is that makes carp fishingso special, yet I’ve never really found theanswer. Perhaps there isn’t one, or perhapsmore significantly, there are many differentanswers. One thing I do know is that it meansso many different things to so many differentpeople, and perhaps that’s all we need to know.The last 10 years of my carp life, just like the20 years before that, have been an incrediblejourney. I’m hoping the road will never end,The last 10 years of my carp life, just likethe 20 years before that, have been anincredible journey. I’m hoping the road willnever end, yet I know one day it willyet I know one day it will. But the road willalways be open for others to follow their owndreams and achieve their own goals. You justhave to remember that everything is reachable,even the seemingly impossible dreams. Theyare all there, waiting – you just have to reachout and touch them.Be lucky. MWEverything is reachable,even the seeminglyimpossible dreams. Theyare all there waiting– you just have to reachout and touch them.ED’S NOTE: That brings us to the end of Mike’s seriesand I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Mike forputting pen to paper, so to speak, over the last five monthsbecause I know his time is very precious. I’m hoping thatMike will return to the pages of Carpworld in the not-toodistantfuture and I wish him and his family all the very bestfor Springwood and business in general… thanks Mike.29