CarpFever 2015

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freebies. And too little time. We had to change our tactics. But in life (as in fishing) you learn through experience. And even though fishing was tough going (landing the occasional carp here and there); we knew we had to be persistent and put our time in next to the water to start unlocking its secrets. Every chance my friend and I got we went fishing; dreaming that one day we’ll be fortunate enough to catch one of the venue’s gems. I started keeping a logbook; detailing information about our sessions in the hope that it’ll help us identify patterns, patrol routes and how the venue operates. For me it almost became like a puzzle that I wanted to figure out. I included information about the weather, the different spots we fished, the amount of runs we had, the size of fish we caught, what bait we used, time of captures, etc and soon started reaping the rewards. In 2012 we put a good run of sessions together where we were catching about six carp on average a day between the two of us (but all being between 2 to 8kgs). Don’t get me wrong, I love catching fish of all sizes, but when you’re trying to catch a specimen and don’t know if you’re searching for something that doesn’t even exist; it will result in some serious introspection. The question remained: “how do you go about catching one of the biggest carp at a day-ticket venue; when it’s filled with loads of nuisance sized fish?”. We weren’t disheartened. In actual fact it had the opposite effect; as it made us want to try harder, spend more time on the bank, refine our rigs and tweak our tactics. Because in the back of our heads we knew the effort we put in had to pay off eventually. I normally fish with three rods. Two targeting spots I feel confident about or caught fish out of before, and have one maverick rod. When I say, “maverick” I mean unorthodox, different, targeting spots other anglers might have overlooked. This approach has served me well over the years; producing quality fish from some unusual places. In 2013 I fished the venue with a friend and decided to target a spot I haven’t fished before. My maverick rod for the day. I remember getting action on my other two rods (catching about five carp throughout the morning), but my maverick rod wasn’t Above: Peach, caught by Pieter Grobler weighing, in at 12,9kg. moving an inch. Seeing that I was only allowed to fish for another few hours, I decided to leave it out for the rest of the day. And in hindsight I’m really glad I did! Just after 2pm my maverick rod tarred off. The result. My first 20lb fish from this venue; an uncaught, pristine 9,5kg common. I could start to hear the specimen calling and knew it was only a matter of time. Later that year I had the privilege of meeting Pieter through a mutual friend. And after targeting the venue together for about a year (catching loads of nuisance fish); we both managed to finally catch our first specimen from this difficult venue. Pieter caught a 10,3kg common and I caught an 11,2kg common. Proud angling moments. To put things into perspective. Over the past five years I’ve fished the venue more than 50 times, catching 202 carp (196 commons and just six mirrors) and managed to land carp over 10kgs on only three occasions. But just as we thought we were starting to unlock the venue’s potential; the unthinkable happened. Three times. 18 | December <strong>2015</strong> www.carpfever.co.za
FISHING TAILS I remember looking at Pieter and saying: “it’s a beast”. 1ST CAPTURE Pieter was eager to try out a spot none of us had ever fished before. Two hours after putting our rods out, Pieter’s one alarm let out a few single bleeps; the bobbin dropped and he was in! To our surprise the fish swam straight towards us and didn’t put up much of a fight. All of a sudden we saw the scaly shoulders rise out of the water and I immediately slipped the net under the fish. It all happened so fast and it’s only once upon looking inside the net that we realised the true size of the fish. A 12,9kg mint mirror! Which Pieter named Peach. Standing holding the net in utter amazement and disbelief; I remember looking at Pieter and saying: “it’s a beast”. * 8 March 2014 – Peach (12,9kg) www.carpfever.co.za December <strong>2015</strong> | 19
Page 1 and 2: SOUTH AFRICAN SPECIMEN CARP FISHING
Page 3 and 4: MEET OUR CONTRIBUTORS Jaco Jacobs R
Page 5 and 6: Editor: Pieter Grobler Proofreaders
Page 7 and 8: UPFRONT RECOMMENDED READS know how
Page 9 and 10: OPINION Razvan Vlad But, it has nev
Page 11 and 12: Q&A WITH MARK PITCHERS Mark’s fav
Page 13 and 14: Q&A What does a busy day look like
Page 15 and 16: Q&A If you had the choice, which wo
Page 17 and 18: Q&A I’m in the process of writing
Page 19: FISHING TAILS TWO FRIENDS, TWO YEAR
Page 23 and 24: FISHING TAILS fish; but isn’t it
Page 25 and 26: TACTICS COMPOSITION OF A GLUG It is
Page 27 and 28: FISHOGRAPHY HEADING NEEDED FOR THIS
Page 29 and 30: FISHOGRAPHY shining on the fish and
Page 31 and 32: 2015 in pictures.
Page 34: TIGHT LINES FOR 2016
Page 37 and 38: FISHOGRAPHY 6 EASY TIPS * Read the
Page 39: BANKSIDE GRUB Christelle Grobler SP

CarpFever 2015

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