Urban VS Wild Waters – Part 1

This is probably a bit of a touchy subject amongst the big carp fraternity as some anglers prefer fishing at many of our smaller municipal dams and lakes, while others only target the bigger wild waters. Bank stick Buzz bar set up- compact and neat. Personally I enjoy a bit of both as I have been blessed with incredible results while spending time on both, and I firmly believe that they each have their own exciting challenges, and of course, rewards. Some anglers jokingly regard urban fishing as “canned lion hunting” where the carp don’t have much of a chance to escape a hook, but in my opinion no matter how small the water is, if that big carp has been caught before, it’s going to take something really special to put it on the bank again. My brother with a fine pre-spawn common. Of course there are a few exceptions to the rule as I have caught the same fish twice from an urban water, but this has also happened to a few anglers on our bigger waters (perhaps some carp enjoy a bit of publicity!). Anglers that spend most of their time on urban waters normally use compact tackle which is easy and light to carry, as well as quick to set up. Many use only two-rod set ups that play a huge role in eliminating line pressure, especially when margin fishing. A big advantage of urban fishing is that if the angler is fortunate enough to live close to the water, he is able to pre-feed his selected areas a day or two in advance and simply hit the water for a few hours, or spend a night to put a few fish on the bank. Unfortunately, many of our urban waters are unsafe which does make for a bit of uncomfortable fishing, especially if you are alone and unarmed - a very sad reality. My brother and I lived close to a beautiful small lake years ago, and although it wasn’t a popular fishing venue, it just looked too carpy to pass up. Locals believed that there were no carp in its shallow waters, but a simple climb up a pine tree one afternoon revealed a few secrets that are still embedded within me to this day. Schools of big carp took our breaths away, and the appearance of one or two huge lumps was more than enough for us to make it our target water for the next year or two. Make no mistake, we blanked for many sessions and although it frustrated us, we persevered and when the first big carp lay on the unhooking mat, all 37lbs of it, we knew that there would be a few more surprises. We had finally figured out the water, its carp and the areas they frequented for food. Over the next year we had an incredible journey on the banks of that little lake and caught some truly incredible fish from its mysterious shallows, including blessing me with my first forty. Looking back now, the use of 12ft rods and big pit reels were not necessary, and neither was a bulky sky type rod pod. In fact, there were many times that we simply fished our rods on single bank sticks spread out all over the show. It actually looked a bit untidy sometimes, but we didn’t really care. It worked for us and that was all that mattered at the time. In all honesty, I believe that we had too many lines in the water at times, and I think we would have done a lot better if we had limited ourselves to two rods each. It is definitely the approach I would use today if I decided to give that lake another go, or any other urban water for that matter. Perhaps if it was a bigger urban water I would consider a third rod, but only if there were very few other anglers on the bank. Too much line pressure is a definite cause of a dry landing net, and I would rather set my confidence on one or two rods in the right area, than four rods cramped up in the same area. The exciting part of my experience, failures and success on smaller urban waters, is that I believe I know what tackle and equipment the urban angler needs to ensure that his or her short sessions are going to be both comfortable and easy. Heading up the product development for Jackel has opened the doors to a world of opportunities and possibilities, where I am able to select various products for a variety of situations that will not only simplify the big carp anglers fishing, but add a lot more value to your time spent at the water in search of the carp of your dreams. Right now I am busy developing an urban range of products that are going to be light and compact to help you get set up quicker, and give you those extra few hours to concentrate on your fishing. Winter early morning common. When you are set up in your chosen area but the fishing is too quiet, it possibly means the fish are not there, and if you notice them swirling or feeding on another part of the lake out of casting range, the move to get closer to them should not be a mission that will take you hours to accomplish. In fact, it should be a confidence booster to know that you can get to those fish within a few minutes, instead of waiting the whole day and hoping that they will finally visit your swim. I think we sometimes make the crucial mistake of staying in our comfort zone even though the fish are not there, only for the simple reason that packing up and moving is a challenge that will take half the day. Part 2