Andy Spreadbury's Fishing Blog

I’m one of those anglers who goes more on instinct than common sense and rational thought. I’ll think through how I should fish - and then execute it instinctively, which is usually completely different! I’m gullible; easily persuaded. I’m a retailer’s dream - I’ll see something in the (fishing) shop and I’ve GOT to have it! Today I’m back at the lake intending to fish a one-nighter. The fishery is extremely busy. There are only a limited number of swims and they seem to be well-filled with those out to catch their first carp of the year. Although the sun is shining and it is warm inside the bivvy, a cold wind blowing from the east tells a different story and I’m grateful for my fleece. I’m presented with a swim I haven’t fished before although I have ‘scoped it out previously. Away over on the far side there are some tall trees, the branches hang out over the water; this looks a good spot on what is an un-fished bank. I’m thinking the fish must at some point patrol this b...

Why do I take so much gear with me? It takes two trips with the barrow to get the damn stuff to the swim - which incidentally always seems to be the furthest from the car park. I have often read that the swims nearest car parking are the ones most frequently fished. Not by me they’re not! So here I am fishing my first session on another Mid-Kent Fisheries Gold Ticket venue. Although it is still only April, one or two fish have been out and the weather has been so mild the fish have been stirring from their winter sojourn. Sojourn; what a lovely word that is. Why don’t we just say ‘sleep’. It kinda sounds scandinavian. I can hear the Swedish Chef from ‘The Muppets’ saying “sojourn, sojourn, di sodi sodi journ”…. I’m fishing here not because I have used the principals of Fish Location, but because I just fancy it for a bite. How many times do we go fishing with the full intention of doing circuits of the lake, intently scanning the water for the slightest sign of a fish before...

How to Tie a Helicopter Rig and Comply with Leader Bans Leader Bans on fisheries are intended to impose limits on the use of unsafe rigs - to prevent carp from towing around so-called ‘Death Rigs’ which are arrangements that do not allow the fish to part company with the lead or lead system. Since all leaders have some sort of junction with the mainline, this creates a ‘lump’ over which the top bead of the helicopter system can not pass. Loops are the worst since the thickness of the mainline and/or leader material (Leadcore, Leadless core, Safezone etc.) doubles the thickness of the material creating an unintended ‘stop’. This assumes that the top bead actually gets as far as the end of the leader; some branded ‘Naked Chod Beads’ are so difficult to separate from their partner components, they constitute a danger to the fish - yet they are sold as ‘safe’ alternatives! This is how I do mine: I buy 1m long ESP Leadcore leaders which come on a card. This is a kind of ‘...

My first session of the year after carp. I’m planning on fishing two waters this year: A Mid-Kent Fisheries Gold Ticket Venue, and Another Mid-Kent Fisheries Gold Ticket Venue. I want to make sure I’m totally happy with my baits and rigs before approaching the ‘Another’ venue so I am trialling various ideas and baits before going on there. There is a leader ban on virtually every carp water in this area, this means no leadcore, no Safe Zone leaders etc. But when is a leader not a leader? Presumably, these bans are intended to stop anglers from using rigs which are potentially harmful to fish - I’m thinking of the lead wire on leadcore leaders coming through the outer sheath and scraping the sides of the fish here. Principally though, I think it’s the splice on the join between the leader and the mainline that is of concern. Helicopter rigs require some sort of top bead and the worry is this will not be able to slide over the splice or knot. For this reason there are only two vi...

Once again there is a mighty wind a-blowin’. Although it is from the south-west it’s still chilly and although the thermometer says 14° it feels more like 8! My plan is to fish with the wind behind me again; this gives assistance in casting the long range bait as well as being more comfortable to fish. Unfortunately, when I get to the lake there is someone in the swim and I have to look elsewhere and I choose a spot with a left to right blow. Casting is more difficult but I can still get a reasonable distance. Because of the ‘bow’ in the line though, I cannot fish tight to the feeder until the line sinks well down. Could be missing bites. Oh well. It is a quiet start. A good half hour goes by before I get the first fish. A small Roach of four ounces or so. Gradually, introduction of bait on the ‘short’ line yields more action and a series of Roach and Rudd come to the net. Things start to pick up when I get the best Roach of the day - 1lbs. 12ozs. For the third session in a row I...

I get some news during the week. My good friend Ray Harris has had a Roach. Not just a Roach - but a ROACH! This magnificent creature (and I’m talking about the fish, not Ray!) turned the scales at over three pounds! Three Oh Four to be exact. For me (and I suspect for most anglers) this is not only the fish of a lifetime but a monster of unimaginable proportions. I have never seen a creature of this size and I am moved to get the rods out and get down the lake to try and catch one of this size for myself. With a ‘Pass Out’ from Mrs. S. I’m off! Once again the weather is rough; there is a cold easterly blowing and I elect to fish it with the wind behind me. I have no stomach to fish straight into it and prefer the comfortable peg to the skin-tingling, freeze-your-face-off one any day. This is a platform swim and I try out the Stage Stands for the first time. Perfect on paper, but do not account for the hardness of the railway sleepers the screw must penetrate nor the unevenness of t...

So we enter the next Phase of the Fishing Year. With the rivers closed, it is time to put Phase Two into action which this year is trying to catch a big Roach or Rudd from The Bird Lake at Faversham. There are plenty of big ones in there; it’s all about catching them. I have a plan however! My chosen rig is a 40g Drennan block-end feeder fished helicopter style with a short 3 inch length of ‘twizzled’ fluorocarbon to a size fourteen hook. Bait is a couple of white maggots. On reflection. I think I could have gone down to at least a sixteen and possibly an eighteen but the fish in here are not much fished for and I anticipate they are not ‘rig-shy’ at all. It’s a blustery day at the lake. Rain is forecast for later so it might be short session! I hurry round to favoured swim where my good friends Richard and Ray have done well in the past and I set up three rods: one to fish at ten yards, one to fish at thirty yards, and the third rod, as far as I can cast at about seventy yards....