F C A FAMILY MAN - WordPress.com · Whilst I fully expected my angling to fall apart after this, ... the carp with other things on their minds, ... You always fear bad presentation

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ou know you are getting old when ten years seems like fi ve minutes. CARPology is ten-years-old and sitting here in my study is every single issue ever printed, still all shiny and

new. From issue one Joe and Rob have continued to buck the trend and produce a magazine that ticks all the boxes, so congratulations to all at the ‘Ology towers on a superb achievement. The title of my series over the last few months has been ‘The Family Man’ and the last ten years for me, has been based around this general style of angling that I have written about. I have enjoyed some simply wonderful times on the bank, at home and even at work! I thought as this is an anniversary issue I would talk a little about my last ten years angling as a family man, like most of us real world guys have to. Looking back ten years, as issue one of this magazine was going to print, my wife was pregnant with our lovely daughter Elyssia. With a twelve-year-old stepson and another member of the clan soon due, this meant only one thing: to get out fi shing whilst I could! I’ll be the fi rst to admit that I milked it during those nine months, actually managing fi fty-three overnighters until our daughter arrived! I enjoyed some of my favourite times fi shing during those nights. Whilst I fully expected my angling to fall apart after this, nothing could be further from the truth. My wife has been truly wonderful and I soon established the routine that I still follow today. Monday to Wednesday at work, Wednesday night 8pm fi shing until 6am Friday morning, work Friday and Saturday and then have a

family day together Sunday. I know I have said it before but setting a routine from day one and sticking to it means that our better (?) halves never get used to us being there on the days that we don’t want to be! Give them up and they get used to you being there; that’s not the one! So ten years ago I was settled into my angling at DDAPS Sutton-at-Hone fi shery, I had been on there a while, splitting my time between both the Big and Little lakes. One of my fi nal and best sessions came at the end of the winter when a day session fi shing on The Big Lake brought me the result I had been craving for a number of years: a winter brace of two of the lake’s biggest carp at just under thirty-pounds – carp I had wanted for so long made my year and also seeing me in CARPology for the fi rst time. I had those two fi sh over 5kgs of boilies in very cold weather and this opened my eyes to what baiting levels could be used in the cold given the right

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TO MARK OUR TENTH ANNIVERSARY, SPENCER HUMBLE LOOKS BACK AT TEN YEARS OF OF BEING A FAMILY/CAREER MAN CARPER…

circumstances and the right bait. I now felt ready to mix it with the big boys, Essex was calling, the land of the giants and I was Essex Manor bound. After doing as many one-night sessions as possible in the fi rst two months of 2006, I fi nally managed to blag a whole week o� from work; a week on The Manor! My session started on a Sunday with temperatures in the 80’s. I arrived as the weekend boys were packing up so managed a good walk around and chat with the guys. Eventually, with a bit of knowledge, I settled on the swim known as The One. I’d not fi shed the swim before so had to have a bit of a lead about, but knew I wanted baits down by the snag to the right, one in front of the old swim and one to the left of the pads. What I didn’t know was that you needed waders in here to make the cast to the snag. After dunking bits of my body that shouldn’t be dunked, baits were placed to spots I was happy with. That night my location proved spot-on, but unfortunately the fi sh had other things on their minds and started to spawn right over my baits. I did the courteous thing and reeled in, just watching these massive carp enjoying their annual orgy. There were very few fi sh at it so I decided to stay on but move from the area. The next morning I went looking for fi sh that looked settled and acting normally. I didn’t want to be angling for spawning fi sh but I also didn’t want to waste a rare chance to fi sh for a whole week unless I had to. I decided to set-up in a swim known as The Slope which was well away from the carp with other things on their minds, feeling comfortable that I wasn’t putting unnecessary pressure on the fi sh. Baited areas were literally a rod length along the

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reeds with the leader backleaded right under the tip. I was using the famous Scopex Squid at the time as I knew The Manor was dominated by this particular bait so the decision had been easy. The day was again more suited to an Indian Ocean holiday and after moving all my kit I was knackered. The weather changed later that night though, with both air pressure and temperatures dropping but the next morning at dawn I started to get liners. Bearing in mind I only had about fi fteen-feet of line in the water, which was pinned down as best I could in the weed, I knew the carp must have been feeding around my hookbait. Liners continued, proper ones, until eventually I had my fi rst Manor bite. At 32lb this lovely mirror gave me the confi dence that I could actually catch these fi sh and that I wasn’t out of my depth fi shing here. By now it was hammering it down with rain which was actually more than welcome

“ I ’ L L N E V E R F O R G E T H I S W O R D S … “ Y O U K N O W W H AT F I S H T H AT I S D O N ’ T Y O U M AT E ?   I T ’ S T H E A N N I E ! ”

after the last two days on the bank. It wasn’t long before I received another take though; this fi sh was an absolute animal which I just couldn’t control, especially as I had fallen arse over tit getting to the rod! After a few seconds the fi sh took me deep into the reeds and was gone. I was of course very disappointed and was in fact later to learn that the fi sh lost was the one I had, in actual fact, joined The Manor

to catch: Stella. She was caught two weeks later still with my hooklink in her mouth. Whether she had spawned when I hooked her is unknown but unlikely, if she hadn’t she would have been a mid-forty! I stayed in the swim for another night until the next morning when I had another belter of a take, however after a repeat of last time, falling down the steep wet bank again, I was just too late on the rod and the fi sh already gone. A move was on the cards as I now had a very sore back and the major hump. Maybe I wasn’t ready for this? I’d fancied The Flat swim since I’d been down but hadn’t been able to get in there. It was however now free, so I sat in there for an hour to see if the carp were evident. They were and showed no signs of spawning or chasing each other. Once settled I put some baits and hemp down the margins. That evening one of the spots proved its worth as I had an absolute beast of a take, scrap and general tear up

with a 17lb carp. Once returned I ‘foamed up’ another hookbait and fl icked it back on the spot. Now believe it or not, the rod was nearly taken out of my hands before the lead had hit bottom! Fifteen minutes later a lip hooked 33lb mirror was in the net, taken on the drop and I’m sure on a piece of dissolving foam! What a week this was turning into – and I still had until Sunday too!

The night was peaceful again, as usual at The Manor but I was hopeful of a morning take. The usual feeding time passed with liners but no take. You always fear bad presentation in this instance; they were obviously feeding. I’m always mindful when using hemp, as I was this time, to also use an equal amount of boilies so I didn’t think it was that they were preoccupied with just small feed; I feared that I had fudged it. 10:00am and my fears were proved unfounded as the now familiar tone of a buzzer rang through the air. A tussle along the reeds which eventually ended in another big fat carp for little old me. Believe it or not, it was another 30 at 36lb on the nose and a new PB at the time. I only had one night left so didn’t change anything. I baited again,

a kilo of hemp, a few kilos of Scopex Squid and matching pellets. That night I had a few cans, eventually needing my bed. Before retiring I touched the left-hand rod butt and whispered, “Come on Annie”. Stupid wishful thinking from an angler who had just come o� an everyday club water! I awoke early. My bivvy was in e� ect only yards from my hookbait but the other side of the reeds. It soon became evident that what had woken me was crashing carp, as they could be heard hauling themselves into the air. An hour or so later the left-hand rod tip curled around and the clutch sang. Game on. The fi ght was good, heavy and slow and I got the fi sh into my little reed cutting of a swim and by now I’d seen it was another good one and luckily she went in the net fi rst time. I had a quick look – it looked bigger than anything I had ever seen and now I was shaking like a leaf. Neil who was a few swims up looked in the net and his words I’ll never forget. “You know what fi sh that is don’t you mate? It’s the Annie!” After a few dizzy seconds, much jumping and hollering ensued. Was this really happening? As I was defi nitely awake I guessed it must be! On the mat she was gorgeous, a true lump, a hippo of a carp and breathtaking. Neil and Stuart weighed her for me; I was in no fi t state to and the scales read 55lb 12oz. Oh, my days! It was time for photos and being honest I struggled to lift her, however we managed as many as my body could handle. I climbed into the water with her; you simply don’t want to let them go at moments like this. It was Father’s Day and I had to get home to see the family, so I packed up a happy man. I went on to do well on The Manor over the next few years but in 2008 I caught The Annie again and red carded myself. I couldn’t take the chance of catching this lovely fi sh away from somebody else, so decided to move on. I couldn’t fi sh for bigger carp locally and given my limited time I decided that I would fi nd somewhere that could o� er something special. Stunning English fi sh in an equally stunning setting, where you could wear trainers all year! A small syndicate of fi ne carpers that was o� of the radar to the carping world. The next season I was to be fi shing in paradise.

A VERY BRITISH CARP POOLThe lake itself is probably about six-acres in size. It is heavily surrounded by foliage including beautiful willow trees and even the odd rose bush. Each swim is manicured with bark chippings and wood fi nishing, however very sympathetically; it doesn’t look fake in anyway. Some swims have small platforms just to stop the tall reeds from completely blocking access for your rods to poke through. And these reeds form the ideal marginal cover, meaning most swims are very well secluded. The swims are well spaced and although the syndicate is small, this means that you can fi sh properly without fear of upsetting other anglers or the carp. That said, of course these carp know that you are there, this is their domain and they are far from stupid, their natural guard is always up. The water is on average around 8ft deep with a few deeper areas and of course some lovely shallow margins and stalking spots. There are a few snags but nothing major, even the margins are raked here at working parties! There are two syndicate huts, both with comfy chairs. This is carp angling at its fi nest! And every single carp in here is a special one. From stunning Redmire look-alike linears, dark and golden commons, true warrior looking mirrors and of course some rather large ones and one in particular, a 40lb common. All stunning true Brit home-grown carp. If ever there was a ‘British’ carp pool, then surely this is

it. I enjoyed two fantastic seasons fi shing here, eventually landing what can only

be described as my personal best carp, not personal biggest but

certainly the best. The notes from

TEN YEARS OF OLOGY1 THE UNDERWATER SERIES“I can’t single out any one edition from this truly awe-inspiring series. It has been eye-opening to see just how di� erent all of the participants have presented their baits and approached the water. It has to be said there has been some epic fails too! Line lay, stopping the cast and feeling the lead down (avoiding a crowbar!), Milky’s Hair stop problem, rigs not laying anything or anywhere like what the angler has expected, baiting, the sound of baits hitting the water… it’s all been covered and I doubt any of us haven’t picked up something from this.”

2 TACKLE REVIEWS“CARPology moved things on a gear here from their breakdown series to what we see today and have yet to be rivalled. They seem to show preference to only the best rather than who advertises the most.”

3 PETE REGAN“How can you pick one article from him in the series he wrote for so long whilst at sea? If you could read between the jokes and wind-ups the man talked real sense, a gifted angler whose wife I feel very sorry for. And Pete didn’t mention catching a fi sh until his eighth article!”

4 THE A5 MAGS “Going back to one of the early ‘dinky mags’ was Cockles article on Conningbrook. Awe-inspiring stu� from a guy who seemed to angle that bit di� erently and very successfully. Another under-the-radar angler in the magazine breaking the mould.”

5 THE ROTARY LETTER“Rotary letters have been done to death but somehow CARPology kept it fresh, even producing a fabulous cartoon sketch of the Rotarians sitting around a meeting table! For me Shaun Harrison talks the most sense; a gentleman of the sport with a gift for carp sense.”

6 BAIT TANK TESTS These always make a great read and James Andersons series was again moving the goal posts in editorial. Okay, these were tank fi sh but it is defi nitely worth noting the carp’s response to certain baits and additives. Again di� erent from the other mags out there.”

7 CRICKET FISHING“Remember that? The editor vs. a superstar angler. Someone would catch a carp and the other angler had to give up a rod. There were some great little battles in this series and some rather embarrassed stars. All in good fun of course, bring it back Joe!” (It’s coming back from the May edition mate! Ed.)

8 FITTY OF THE MONTH“Lastly, we can’t leave ‘Ology’s ten year anniversary without mentioning the fi tties! Lots of stunning ladies in a carp magazine! I’m sure many of us have ‘appreciated’ these pages when lonely on the bank! Keep them coming, Joe.”

M A N O R DAY S

T H I N G S W E R E G O I N G W E L L AT W O R K

fi sh for bigger carp locally and given my limited time I decided that I would fi nd somewhere that could o� er something special. Stunning English fi sh in an equally stunning setting, where you could wear trainers all year! A small syndicate of fi ne carpers that was o� of the radar to the carping world. The next season I was to be fi shing in paradise.

true Brit home-grown carp. If ever there was a ‘British’ carp pool, then surely this is

it. I enjoyed two fantastic seasons fi shing here, eventually landing what can only

be described as my personal best carp, not personal biggest but

certainly the best. The notes from

edition mate! Ed.)

8 FITTY OF THE MONTH“Lastly, we can’t leave ‘Ology’s ten year anniversary without mentioning the fi tties! Lots of stunning ladies in a carp magazine! I’m sure many of us have ‘appreciated’ these pages when lonely on the bank! Keep them coming, Joe.”S U T TO N DAY S

B E F O R E I M O V E D O N TO T H E M A N O R

A M A N O R S T U N N E R

O N E O F M Y F I R S T F R O M T H E M A N O R

A N N I E : W H AT A C R E AT U R E

A P E R S O N A L B E S T

angler. Someone would catch a carp and the other angler had to give up a rod. There were some great little battles in this series and

March 2014

some rather embarrassed stars. All in good fun of course, bring it back Joe!” (It’s coming back from the May

THE MONTH“Lastly, we can’t leave ‘Ology’s ten year anniversary without mentioning the fi tties! Lots of stunning ladies in a carp magazine! I’m sure many of us have ‘appreciated’ these pages when lonely on the bank! Keep them coming, Joe.”

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my diary that night read like this… ‘Thursday dragged at work. I phoned Dan who still hadn’t been home; he had been working but had stayed on at the lake Thursday. He kept me in-tune and eager to get back to the lake. I burst at 5:30pm and escaped work early. Dan told me that the two swims I’d been fi shing that week were free. I couldn’t get there quick enough; my pants were on fi re! I’d been on the fi sh and had kept the bait trickling in. I screamed through the lanes hoping the swims would still be free. I was mindful that the fi sh had been showing in between the two swims the previous night and also that Dan had been watching them in close further down the bank in his swim. If I went in the left-hand one then I could cover the showing fi sh and my favourite margin spot for patrolling carp as they moved up the lake under the cover of darkness. I got set-up double quickly but waited until darkness to cast. You seem to get away with it more after dark. My bait had now been in my cool bag since Sunday night; it had a lovely sticky coating at this stage, something I used to avoid but had been educated not to. I baited the spots with probably only 30 baits each. As darkness fell I saw a big carp roll down my margin to the right. I don’t know why but I decided to let the spot have a few more baits; it just felt

right. By this stage of the week I was shot to pieces. It was nice doing this much time but really challenging. I buried my tired body into the sleeping bag at about 10pm.  1.00am saw me up for a call of nature into the cool air. The atmosphere felt electric and it was another big moon night just like that night last year when I landed the 29lb. Back in the bag and back into the land of all women looking like Cheryl Cole and beer being free, I was soon asleep. The buzzer didn’t stand a chance as it let out a shrill cry just after 2am. The right-hand rod was in meltdown. Hitting it didn’t halt proceedings as the unstoppable force kept going out into the lake. You know that

feeling, the feeling of a big fi sh plodding away. Many a time in your angling career you think you may be playing a leviathan, but when you are you just know it. Slow and fi rm the carp led me a merry dance. Up, down, left, right, until eventually it rolled in my margin. I could see it was a common and my knees were knocking. I knew what it was and luckily she obligingly went into the net fi rst time. Head torch on, I peered nervously into the net. There she was, the

moonlight glimmering o� her gorgeous scales. Somehow I got her out, weighed her and secured the recovery sling in the margin. I had two minutes to myself, just gently talking to the secured fi sh and then went and woke Dan. We gazed and gasped at her in the moonlight. Holding her for photos was a pleasure and then I held her in the margin for just one last look and released her back into the depths of the lake. So again I had caught the biggest carp in the lake and felt I had to move on. The Annie had sadly perished at The Manor which, whilst upsetting,

“ H E A D T O R C H O N , I P E E R E D N E R V O U S LY I N T O T H E N E T A N D T H E R E S H E WA S , T H E M O O N L I G H T G L I M M E R I N G O F F H E R G O R G E O U S S C A L E S .”

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T H E PA R A D I S E S Y N D I C AT E T H E

F I R S T Y E A R

M A N O R W AT E R L E V E L S H A D C H A N G E D A B I T !

did give me the chance to return for the now new queen of the pond: The Northern Linear. So once again I was Manor bound in search of another 50lb carp. The next two years saw me sticking with the routine, fi shing in between, of course, great family moments. The Manor is a constantly evolving lake. Water levels were now really low, at times it was like fi shing a deep canal, wading through mud, wrestling with carp just o� the shelf in the now deep drop o� . Whilst I enjoyed my fi shing immensely, landing a string of big carp over 40lbs I couldn’t get my head around not fi shing in idyllic surroundings. Going back though hadn’t been a mistake. I had caught some stunning carp with the highlight being the much desired and rarely caught Heart Tail. I never managed to catch The Northern Lin though, but maybe one day I’ll go back. By now my daughter Elyssia was growing fast, family life was hectic and work was very stressful. I’d been made a partner at my company which brought the inevitable pleasure and pain. I was working major hours, from seven in the morning until eight at night with e-mails never stopping. Still, I kept the routine going and moved back to the paradise syndicate. The fi sh by now had all grown on, some had made massive weight gains and the heavily scaled stockies were now in the thirties. It was pure heaven to be back at the lake that just feels like home. Hopefully you have been following some of my series over the last few months, reading some of my exploits at this tough little pool. It certainly has me by the scru� of the neck and I still

drive from work like my hair’s on fi re in search of mysteriously di� cult

scaly wonders. Of course I will move on, but not yet, for now I am

enjoying my fi shing, enjoying my work and loving my family. Here’s to the next ten years.

SPENCER HUMBLE

her in the moonlight. Holding her for photos was a pleasure and then I held her in the margin for just one last look and released her back into the depths of

So again I had caught the biggest carp in the lake and felt I had to move on. The Annie had sadly perished at The Manor which, whilst upsetting,

me by the scru� of the neck and I still drive from work like my hair’s on fi re

in search of mysteriously di� cult scaly wonders. Of course I will move on, but not yet, for now I am

enjoying my fi shing, enjoying my work and loving my family. Here’s to the next ten years.

T H E B I G C O M M O N :

S I M P LY A W E S O M E

K E E P S M I L I N G