Scale Perfect Commons at Brie

Here’s the latest feedback from Brie. The first week in March turned out to be extremely testing conditions for Ron Key and Dean Randle, who still managed some absolutely stunning carp by the end of the week… Holiday date: Sat 28th Feb to Sat 7th Mar 2015 Name of customer: Ron Key & Dean Randle Number of […]

Float Fishing For Carp Is For Tiddlers, Isn’t It?

Every now and then the going gets tough you need to rethink your strategy or even just take a break and rest your swim. Sometimes when nothing else is working I return to one of my first loves, float fishing.   Often improvising with what I can find in my tackle box; my set up is […]

Brocard Large – I’ll be back!

Normally when travelling to France on a field test trip I write my article as soon as I return. It’s straight into my notes and then onto the PC to write and to download and pore over hundreds of photographs of the carp, swims and facilities.  This trip shouldn’t have been any different but I […]

The Secret Life of an Angling Lines Field Tester

2013 has be a very busy year for me and apart from some Angling Lines field testing trips; angling has taken a backseat.  I’m a member of the British Carp Study Group and over the years have carried out most jobs helping to run the group. At the end of last year I was the […]

Boilie Paste – An Essential Item

One of the essential items in my bait bag is boilie paste. This method is extremely effective at any time of the year but becomes even more important as temperatures fall and the fish become less inclined to feed. Anything I can do to attract carp and stimulate a feeding response has got to be […]

Safe Carp Rigs – Lead Ejection

Leads must eject safely from a carp fishing rig in the event of a break-off or a carp becoming snagged – if they don’t it can result in death for a tethered carp…   In this video Ron Key, Chairman of the British Carp Study Group, explains how to construct a rig from which the […]

Great Carp Fishing Photos

A few weeks back we published some fabulous photos sent in by Margot anglers.  The subject matter was not important… they are just great photos Well, here’s one more.  This was taken by Ron Key & the camera used was SLR Canon EOS 40d with a Canon EF17-40mm f/4L. Do you have any carpy photos you’re […]

Too Much Bait Left in Swim – What Would You Do?

Readers Question; ‘If you arrived at a lake and found that the previous anglers, for whatever reason, had either dumped lots of particle because they had it left over, or just used an enormous amount of pellet or particle as their tactics – what would you do?’ Jim Kelly replies; It is always difficult to […]

Spring at Boomerang Carp Lake

Jean Francois is a very lucky man. Every morning as he opens his front door he is greeted by the sight of his own carp lake and the beautiful rolling countryside of the Poitou-Charentes region of Western France.  For one week only Ken and I had the same treat every day, whether it was from […]

How Do I Combat Weed in a Carp Lake?

Eddie asks; I have booked a lake with a party of friends on the 19th of March.  I recently had a tour of the lake and was disappointed to find it was thick with weed.  I would be grateful if you can give me some advice on the best method & rig to use? Hi […]

How to Tackle Sapphire Carp Lake – Field Testing Tales

Carp Lakes are strange places, some you enjoy but know you will not return, and others grab your imagination and keep you going back for more.  Sapphire is like that, I‘ve just returned from my third visit in twelve months and the magic is still there.  To me it represents what a French fishery should […]

10 tips to make your French carp trip a success

I’ve been travelling to France to fish for carp and catfish for over twenty years.  One thing that I have learned to my cost is that you cannot do too much preparation. When you visit France, you are often trying to achieve in a week what you would not do in a season, or perhaps […]

Early Season Carping – Try the Shallows and Mid Water

France has had a hard winter this year, many lakes were frozen for a number of weeks at the start of 2009 and even now in the first week of April we are still getting frosts. This has naturally had its effect on water temperatures. Water temperatures are the key to fish moving and feeding […]