News From The Crafty Camp

[Craftycarper]

Good news!

The new Nash site is now live Nash Tackle - Home Page check that out

It's pretty damn good if I do say so myself

Also... I've just come back from a 48 hours session on Carthagena and banked 2 fish... 18lb common on single fake corn and then I stalked a fish out in the rain off top on a fake dog biscuit... both fish on a size 10 hook and both fish went a good 40ft into the lillys and took alot of presure on the rod to get them out... small hooks good hook holds!

23.10lb mirror - stunner

[Craftycarper]

Manages another 14.8lb mirror which was stunning!

I then had a 4.6lb crucian!!!! Result! only 3oz of the british record... thats if it's a true crucian

[Craftycarper]

Had a few recently from Carthegana Brooke Lake

The next session after catching the fish above

Fish by size order...

14lb



16lb



18lb (floppy tail) *STUNNER!*



19.15lb



21.10lb aka The Raging Bull



22.14lb



25.15lb



All taken on Double Scopex Squid Liver Red Robin

Also managed a 15lb simmo on fake corn... lost a big one the first night and lost another smaller fish the second night on the fake corn

[Craftycarper]

Then I went back 2 weeks later for a 48 hour session

I baited a marginal silt patch to my right with half a 750g bag of Scopex Squid Liver Red Robins and fished double scopex squid bottom baits as hookbait

I fished the second rod about 30 yards left into a cut out in lillys and baited it with the other half of the bag.... hookbait was the same as above

Early morning the right hand rod tore off and the fish went through all the weed, silt and pads. The lead dislodged from the clip (like they should do) and then the fight was up in the water... it wasn't to long before it was in the unhooking mat




23.8lb fish known as Hatchet due to a big scar along it's top when it was much smaller

It's been known to go up to 28lb... pitty it wasn't caught at that size but I'm not complaining! What a cracker!

Once the fish was released I went and had a little chat with my mate Joe when I returned to my swim I see a few fish cruising through the pads quite far to my left so I whipped the marker float out and found the perfect silt patch which I had been fishing to previously in winter ... 40 freebies there pulted very tightly to the marker and the rod positioned bang on first cast

Only a couple of hours I had another run which scrapped like a demon!

Netted and weighed in at 27.4lb... a fish known as "The Italian"





Managed a stunning 17lb common in the day aswell

[Craftycarper]

I did a quick 12 hours session and managed 2 fish, both being 13lb

Not a bad result

I returned to fish a 48 session with a few mates only to find out that moreless every swim was taken :-?

I was debating whether to go home but I see that one of my mates was fishing on the jetti and there was a swim next to him that was available so I jumped in there

I only saw one fish infront of me the first night and the confidence was at a all time low... The night resulted in a blank and when I wound in in the morning I found a fair bit of weed over my line so I must have been fishing a very weedy spot.

I spent all day with the lads and putting small amounts of baits on a few different spots... We all chipped in for pizza and stayed up chatting about everything and anything, putting the world to rights.. I returned back to my swim rather late and positioned my rods on a marginal spot with plastic corn and baited it with pellet and corn. The other rod was positioned on a silty patch just passed the pads at about 50 free offerings pulted around it

Me and my mate in the next swim were chatting when the corn rod screamed off. It put up a well spirited fight trying to get in all the pads and snags but a bit of gentle persuasions got him away luckily. I told my mate not to reel my other rod in because it was on a very sweet spot so he just made sure the clutch was lose and put it a bit out of the way until I landed the fish. The fish hit the spreader and we got her out to the mat and unhooked her. While my friend was seeing to the fish I put the rod back on the alarm and went back to the fish in the net which was already in the sling about to be weighed... 16lb not a bad mirror! Suddenly I see the light on the delk go and I said "Thats a run!" but the time my mate said "Nah I don't think so" line started peeling from the spool and I lifted into a fish.

The fish kited deep into some pads and went solid. I gave it some emence pressure which I have been moaned at for doing saying I will damage the lips on the fish but if the line it wrapped around pads and the fish isn't moving then your not connected directly to the fish but directly to the pads so you can give it lots of pressure but as soon as you get a inch of line back I dont put much pressure on it because I know I've probably cut through the pads and am now connected to the fish. When I got the fish out I was delighted to see there was not a single bit of damage on the lip apart from a tiny pin prick whole were the hook had been... result!

Once the long hard fight with the pads I could see the fish come to the surface because my mate had a headtourch on (something I never do because I don't like seeing fish until there in the net) I could see it was a lump. The fish behaved infront of me and was in the net reasonable quickly. The 16lber was also in the net so it wasn't out of the water for a long time.



Two in the net! That doesn't happen much!

My mate peared into the net and said "Thats Milly mate" - "Ohh god, not againnn" Joking of course!!!

We couldn't lift the fish out together because they might damage them selfs so we sacked the 16 in the water then lifted the other fish out in the net and unhooked her. Looking at it I could tell it was Milly for sure with the distinctive 1 black eye. I sacked her for a very sort period and ran round to wake my mate Matt.

I put the fish on the scaled and it whipped round to to 30lb 4oz but we took 4 oz off because the sling was filled with water because we was pooring water over the fish

What a mental session! I was fortunate to catch this fish last winter at a top weight of 31.2lb and to have it again at 30lb is crazy! A bit of skill and a shed load of luck thrown in!

16lb mirror



Milly at 30lb








Both fish swam off well and were full of life. Jobs A Gooden!

[Tom]

Mate, seriously nice hauls you've been getting there mate, good to see at least one of us is , I've had a completely awful year so far and havnt had the chance to even get out and wet a line since closed season finished

[Craftycarper]

Ouch

I had that last year... didn't fish for 3 months!

Hope you get behind the rods soon mate

Tight lines