‘It started off as just another normal session but what unfolded had to be seen to be believed. It was as if all of the carp gods and gathered together and decided to shine down on me.’ I had a really good year on farriers catching good numbers of fish throughout but the big fish avoided me all year. On my last trip I was fortunate to land an incredible […]
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When it all comes good – Alex Grice
‘Like many, I had been prepping my kit, bait and making plans for the season ahead during lockdown, uncertain as to when restrictions would be lifted, and we could hit the bank once again. I had the week booked off the week of the 18th May and luckily, restrictions were lifted the week before on the Wednesday, so as you can imagine, that weekend was all systems go thinking about […]
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Liquid loading your bait – Tom White
‘Running a bait company I get asked lots of questions day to day and a good percentage of them are centered around bait preparation of which our liquid and prep powder product range are focused around. This is not just an intentional ploy to get people buying additional products, it is genuinely an edge myself and my close friends have employed for a good number of years now. There is no better […]
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Watercraft: The whys and wherefores – Kev Hewitt
‘Watercraft’. A single diverse word that means so many different things to anglers and very little to non anglers. In fact if you looked up the word Watercraft in a carp dictionary there simply wouldn’t be enough pages to thoroughly explain the meaning. ‘Watercraft’ – a single, yet diverse word that means so many different things to anglers Anglers who begin to understand watercraft catch many fish. Anglers who are […]
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The Development of a Carp Hook – Dave Ellyatt
Back in early 2016 ESP launched its first range of Cryogen hooks. These were the culmination of nearly five years in development and due to the new manufacturing processes employed, were a genuine improvement on any hooks we had produced before. The new manufacturing and tempering resulted in hooks that were over 20% stronger in tensile strength and hardness, without having to increase wire gauge. The result was a range […]
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Phil Buckley – The final piece of the jigsaw
In a fascinating insight into the evolution of rigs, Phil Buckley talks to Jack Reid about how the release of ESP’s new Trig-Hammer hooks have solved a puzzle he has been working on for 15 years! We’re going to talk in depth about a rig that you’re using for nearly all your angling these days Phil, but the back story to arriving at this point has taken place over a […]
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Dave Robinson – It’s not what you know…
During the early part of the year, I’ve always found myself starting on small intimate waters rather than big pits. I’ve made the mistake before, whist friends of mine have caught their target in March and moved on before I’ve even seen my first show of the year. Those bigger venues seem to take longer to wake up, but autumn last until almost Christmas. I learnt the hard way! A […]
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Jack Reid – My own little slice of history
Back in April I found myself navigating the barrow through fallen deadwood and brambles in the inky twilight of THAT old estate lake. I had been given the green light for a spring session on this iconic slice of the English countryside and to put the cherry on the cake, I was sat on nearly a month of baiting. A barrow loaded with marker rod, boat and a lot of […]
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‘It always comes good in the end!’ – Daren ‘Tinpot’ Norman
‘Last July I decided it was time to have another crack at very special 40 acre pit I’d unsuccessfully dabbled on in the past. The pit still has a bit of mystery to it but is thought to hold around 40 fish including one very large mirror.’ I got off to a great start and managed to catch the Adidas fish at 42lb 10oz backed up by couple of nice […]
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Jack Reid – No boat, No buzz!
For the last year the use of a boat has been absolutely central to my fishing. Not a state of the art vessel destined for inland seas, but a budget dinghy with a couple of dodgy looking yellow paddles! A boat doesn’t have to cost a fortune! Initially the dinghy was purchased so that I had a vessel of my own on the low stocked pit I would be fishing […]
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