Simple Fishing - Ade Kiddell

This entry was posted on 26th July, 2017

Unfortunately, I haven't had much time to fish over the last few weeks, with a busy guesthouse to run and part of that being an old French house that’s being renovated, guests and cement have had to come before fishing. That isn't to say I haven't had a few short sessions though, and of course our guests have been catching plenty.

A few weeks ago, it was great to welcome a couple of old work colleagues from my days at Angling Direct, Hayden and Seb, who have been before, and warehouse supervisor Scott, who was visiting for the first time. The purpose of their visit was, hopefully, a big river carp or two.

The trip started well when Scott had a cracking fish on the first morning, but other than a couple of lost fish, that was it carp-wise. However, between them, they had plenty of barbel, chub and bream, plus a couple of catfish. I’m sure the guys will be back; we’ve had some very high temperatures over the last few weeks and I think it’ll be September when they return as the nights start to lengthen, the water temperatures fall and hopefully the carp will be feeding up for winter.





Last year I remember writing about fishing being an international language, and this year we have continued to welcome visitors from European countries - Jersey, Holland, Belgium and Switzerland, to name just four. It’s great to see anglers meeting for the first time and the conversation immediately turning to fish and fishing.

Although lots of anglers enjoy the peace and solitude solo sessions offer, fishing holidays are all about the craic of being part of a group and the fun that comes with the unofficial competitions constantly taking place. I visit most of our anglers throughout the day to deliver refreshments and offer advice and encouragement, as well as to take photos of some of the great fish they catch.

As I said, we have had some very hot weather as well as very little rain, so the river has been running slow, low and clear. Fishing in the heat of the day isn’t ideal, but the early and late sessions have been producing. When conditions are like that, good fish care is essential; keeping fish out of the water for as short a period as possible and making sure they swim away strongly when returned are key.



One of my favourite methods of catching any type of fish is to find an area where I can watch them feed, then introduce some feed to get them going and then, once they are feeding confidently, introduce a hookbait and hold tight! A few evenings ago, I went to a spot close to the weir pool by the house. Normally, a few pellets or crushed boilies will soon see a shoal of hungry barbel rooting around for every morsel. I couldn't believe my eyes when the first fish on the scene was a carp, easily 30lb, with a smaller fish for company. My free offerings of Code Red Boilies were soon hoovered up and off the carp went.

My next move was to introduce a few more boilies alongside my single boilie hookbait. The carp was soon back, head down and picking up the boilies one by one, working towards the hookbait. The line over my finger tightened and wallop, the fish was hooked and screamed off. I was in a hit-and-hold situation - if I let the fish go it would have quickly got into the main flow of a powerful weir and, in that situation, I wasn't going to win. I applied maximum pressure and, with a zing, the hook pulled and the lead flew perilously close by as the hook hold failed. One strong carp hook slightly misshapen by a big fish set on freedom and a lesson learned for me.

I think many anglers make their rigs far too complicated; every knot, link or swivel in a rig is a potential weak spot. I’m a big believer in simple fishing; don't over complicate things, there’s no need - tie basic knots, use the best-quality tackle you can afford and, most importantly, be confident in what you do. This approach will catch you more fish in the end, that I can guarantee.



Talking about simple fishing, last weekend, with a couple of days without guests, I decided to visit my favourite little commercial a few miles away from the house. With plenty of bream, carp and tench, it responds well to most methods, but as most of the French anglers there use poles or wagglers, I like to be different, so usually use a small method feeder and fish tight to features around the lake.

The introduction of the flat method feeder and mould system has revolutionised this type of fishing, making it easy, but I find the moulds a bit awkward and if the mix isn't spot on it either falls off the feeder or sticks in the mould. If you’re having the same problem or want to make things easier, look no further than the Korum Easy Method Feeder, which doesn’t require a mould and is designed to allows even the worst bait mix to hold; it works so well it’s fishing made easy.

After a few hours fishing, I managed a decent mixed bag, including my first ever French tench as well as crucians, bream and carp pushing double figures - not bad for an afternoon with a couple of tins of corn and a bag of groundbait. Using corn on the 4in hooklink and adding a few grains to the feed mix, I caught steady and had a very enjoyable afternoon.