French Carp - Ade Kiddell

This entry was posted on 14th October, 2016

A few weeks ago I told you about the visit of Hayden Cook, Angling Directs Customer Services Manager, who had been over for a spot of fishing with us. If you can remember, all his best plans to catch a big river carp were thwarted by a Frenchman and his swimming rottweilers! I knew at the time it wouldn't belong before Hayden returned, and return he did - this time with his bedchair, bivvy and best mate Seb. Their plan was to fish at night but help me with some building work during the day, that is, of course, if they managed to get any sleep overnight.

They arrived late evening, none the worse for the trip from Norwich, and, after a quick catch up, the bivvies were up and rods out. They hadn't long been tucked up for the night when the noise of an angry alarm signaled a hooked fish and a greedy barbel soon came to the net. The rest of the night was uneventful, other than a chub just as dawn broke.



I enlisted the help of Steve, my friendly French mate, and we found the guys a carp spot just a couple of hundred metres from my house. A couple of trees had fallen in the water and created a nice bit of cover in an area where the river is slightly wider; perfect river carp territory. Armed with throwing stick and spod, Hayden and Seb set about building a swim. River carping often requires a bit of effort feeding wise, as swims can often be far bank and the fish can be very nomadic, so a steady stream of bait is needed and plenty of it.

After a hard day’s graft laying some drainage channels around the house, the guys sat down to a slap up meal before the night’s fishing ahead. The rods were first out and, before the bivvies were even out of the car, the alarms were singing. It wasn’t a carpy tune but more ‘nuisance’ barbel, bream and chub. I left them to it around 10pm and retired to a cold beer before bed.

I was down with them the next morning just after 7am and found both of them in a deep sleep. The tell-tale signs of a retention sling cord and a wet unhooking mat were left out, so I suspected some carp action had occurred during the night. Hayden was first to rouse and told me Seb had been plagued most of the night by barbel up to 8lb but had done the business with a big carp around 4am. When Seb finally came to he looked shattered but elated and, with a stunning looking common plunging the needle on the scales to over 36lb, who wouldn't be. Before returning to the house for breakfast and a freshen up, the boys ensured that a hefty session with the stick and spod had the swim primed for another nights action.



To avoid the ‘nuisance fish’ the plan was to fish bigger baits with a decent sized pop-up to counter the weight, so on the hair went a couple of 25mm boilies along with a bright coloured 14mm pop-up. A small bag of crushed pellet or a stringer of split boilies completed the set up. The change to bigger baits had at least cut out some of the ‘nuisance fish’ and it wasn't long after casting for the first time that evening and just into darkness when Seb was in again, this time a plump mid twenties mirror. Whilst helping weigh and photographing the fish Hayden’s rod signaled a single bleep and, like an Olympic sprinter, Hayden was at his rod and playing a hefty fish. The unseen fish found sanctuary among the underwater debris and, despite all his efforts, Hayden suffered a hook pull and a lost fish.



Around 10pm I decided to leave the guys to it and hadn't even got back to the house when I was asked to return with the camera – again Seb had landed another River Meuse stunner, and a huge mint condition common at that. I could sense mixed emotions, elation at the fish and the disappointment of Hayden having just lost a good fish. The good thing these guys have been long term friends and whoever was up or down these two were still working as a team.



Around six ‘o’ clock the next morning I was awoken by a text message from Seb which simply read “bring your camera”. Unless the guys had suddenly taken up photography as a hobby it could only mean one thing; another chunk on the bank! Arriving at the peg I was well pleased to find out Hayden had finally broken his luck with a nice common well into its twenties. Fish sorted and returned, I learnt Hayden had also lost another fish which had single bleeped and cut his heavy shock leader straight through.

As they packed the final items into the car the two of them were already planning their next trip to Kingfisher Maison to tackle the Meuse carp. River carping is a much different game to that of carping on a lake. It needs determination and commitment, as well as also good watercraft, hard work and strong sturdy tackle. Hayden and Seb had all of that, and much more, and got the rewards they deserved. I know they can’t wait to get back and I am also awaiting their return with interest, the first Kingfisher Maison forty can’t be far away!

The bonus for me was the brilliant job they did on the drainage channel around the house, a major job I had been avoiding had been completed in style by them in three days. As they left for the channel tunnel and return home they did look shattered! A quick message from Hayden around three o'clock that afternoon told me of their safe arrival back in Norwich, not much more than nine hours after our “au revoir" in France.