Carp Anglers - My Observations

In my brief time on the bankside I have come across a strange group of anglers who are a little obsessed by one species of fish and will go to almost any length to catch the biggest Carp in a particular pool or lake.  I had known that there were these strange creatures who targeted Carp, there is always some programme on Discovery Shed with some loud-mouth Cockney creeping around in some lakeside bush or a hyperactive Turkish bloke jumping around in someone's swim, so to be amongst them was, and continues to be, a bit of a revelation.  The thing I noticed about this group is that there are sub-groups amongst them and that two of these sub-groups could not be any more diametrically opposed to each other.

The Chav Angler

Typically attired Chav angler

You see this group at any commercial venue at some point throughout a session, but not for long as they usually only appear for around 2 or 3 hours before heading off somewhere else.  They arrive in a souped up Corsa or similar boy racer car, sometimes in their work mini van though, and usually have some young lady, who believes that she could make it as a model but will more than likely end up on a cheap Babe Station rip off or in a down market lap dancing club, in tow who will sit texting in the vehicle while he fishes.  Invariably he will be dressed in the latest offerings from Sports Direct, JD Sports or rip off Armani E7 clothing with the standard Nike or Adidas trainers on.  They don't carry huge amounts of kit usually a rod, landing net and a bucket of boillies, bag of dog mixers or a single loaf of cheap white bread, which is all they need and they always seem to time it just right to arrive and leave in between the times when the Bailiff does the rounds for the fees.

Even celebrity Chavs enjoy fishing

They fish the same way they try to live their lives, fast and loud, but annoyingly they never seem to blank and regularly catch fish in the double figures, much to the consternation of everyone else around the lake.  No one really knows where these people get their baits or equipment from because you never see them in an angling shop, but they do seem to have an understanding of the fish and their habits and, as mentioned earlier, very rarely blank before packing up and leaving as quickly as they arrived to go to some other venue, local McDonalds or wherever it is that they go.

Another venue where you will see this group will be on a local park boating lake, though the variety who fish there do differ slightly from the others and will have a bivvy set up and may even fish through the night.

The Regular Angler

A typical carpers swim set up

This group are possibly the most rounded and level headed of the three sub-groups and can be found on pretty much any commercial lake or pond though some do like to favour one particular venue and may be a member of a syndicate group.  This group are easily identified by their bivvy set-up which is invariably olive green in colour and includes a bed, camping stove, camping cooker, water container and, if they are planning a 24 or 48 hour session, a cooler box in which they will have bacon, sausage and the other usual ingredients required for a fry up in the mornings.  There will also be a back pack or holdall with tins of things like curry, chilli or soups for evening meals, though some are known to favour the local takeaways around the venue and the one thing that you can guarantee to be present will be a kettle with coffee or tea, milk and sugar for a brew up at a moments notice and/or the odd bottle of beer or three.  There may also be a Carp Chair outside of the bivvy set up facing the lake and within easy reach of the rod pod which will invariably have two or three rods set up on alarms but a lot of them will just sit on their bed in the bivvy.

The smelly spod mix

 They will also have three or four buckets (sometimes with a camo pattern on them) with a variety of baits for loose feeding and one will be a kind of messy semi dry mix for 'spodding' which usually stinks to high heaven thanks to the additives poured into it. (Damian's van is particularly ripe after some sessions)

This group will research each venue and find out as much info as possible about what bait works best, which swims are producing the biggest fish, which rigs work and which rigs don't, how other anglers have approached their sessions and which tactics work.  Part of the fun for this group is the researching and Damian is a prime example of this practice, looking at venue after venue and deciding on baits beforehand, choosing his rigs and tactics and then spending up to 47 hours (as he did at Farlows) just gazing out across the lake.  A hardy bunch who just want that 'big one' but this is often their downfall as they chase a new PB.

The Stealth Angler

Stealth Carper bivvy

This group are the ones that provide me with the most amusement being clad head to foot in camouflage patterns along with just about every bit of their kit.  They are very secretive and give little way about their rigs or baits and go to great lengths to keep any info to themselves, not daring to divulge anything to anyone just in case someone beats them to a big catch.  You see them at the bigger commercial venues like Cudmore or Makins where there are some huge fish, but less so at the smaller venues like Hunnington or Dayhouse Farm fisheries, where there are more pleasure anglers.  This lot are 'hardcore' Carpers and seemingly regard the pleasure angling venues as ones to be avoided but the capture of a 20lb plus Carp will get their interest.

The all important DPM pillow

The inside of the bivvy will reveal the extent of their love of DPM camouflage patterns.  Everything will be a blur of brown, green and black from the pillow on their bed-chair to their phone covers, bait buckets to rod pods,sleeping bag to socks...If there is an area void of DPM then they are not happy.  The funniest thing about these anglers is that if you were to ask them why so much camo, the reply is usually "Because the fish can't see me and get spooked".  Okay, fair point, but then they go and cast their lines about 70 to 80 yards out into the lake....Even I would struggle to see you from that distance let alone a fish.

These anglers do provide me with some amusement though, they'll arrive all cammo'd up, set up their hides (there is no way it can be called a bivvy), sneak around all very quiet....and then like a bloke I once saw at Weston Moat in Derbyshire, sit in his shelter, which has been strategically placed behind a bush, with 10, yes TEN, lines out, and put the radio on.  This group spend thousands each year on the latest 'must have' gadgets and manufacturers seem to know that as long as they finish their item off in DPM material then someone will buy it.

To be honest this post has been written with the tongue very firmly inside the cheek and I mean no malice or offence to anyone who recognises themselves in either group.  It's just a light hearted view on the world of Carpers.....Pleas don't send Danny Fairbrass round to bore me to death.

See you on the bankside.....