7 November, 2023 | Carp | Angler Blogs | Articles | News

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Ian Russell’s Diary October 2023

All the shenanigans from Ian Russell’s October on the bank. Read below to see how he got on…

Ian says…

As I have made the decision to move on from RK Leisure venues next year, i’ve been looking at possible venue choices so when my ole mate Paul Worstencroft offered me a 24-hour guest on Farnham Angling’s Mill Lane I jumped at it.

Fishing with Paul is always a scream anyway so arrangements were made and we met in the local café as my guest ticket didn’t start until midday. On arrival at the lake we had a good look round and opted for pegs 1 and 2 as there were a few subtle signs of carp present.

As I was in peg 1, this had access to a nice margin to my left so I wandered along it and fed a Kilo of 12mm CompleX-T and a tin of Dynamite’s XL Sweetcorn and fished one of my new 12mm Choccy Malt pop-ups over the top of it.

The other rod I put on a showing fish a few yards from the bank and this was a solid bag filled with 3mm Halibut Pellets and again a 12mm Choccy Malt pop up.

As evening drew in we shared a big ole Meat Feast pizza and at 10pm my margin rod took off. After a short battle a lovely 19lb fully was photographed and returned. Happy days, although the rest of the trip produced no more action. I did however see everything about the stock to know I shall be joining Farnham Angling in 2024!

Next up, I had received an invite from friends Jack Lamb and Scoey to take part in their North vs South Dividing Lines Competition at Berners Hall Fishery so myself and Dynamite Baits friend Steve Coe eagerly accepted and duly arrived on the said morning.

The Banter at these events has to be heard to be believed. Dean Macey was Southern team captain and the draw saw myself and Steve first out of the southern draw bag and we were given a swim halfway along the first bank where ironically lots of carp could be seen – nice one lads.

There was a gale force wind smashing into this bank and it was bloody cold but there were carp in numbers to be seen. This comp is won on your 3x biggest carp and not numbers so when Steve quite quickly banked a 36 and a 31 we were obviously flying high but eventually our third carp of 27lb was to cost us first place.

We held the lead until about 4am on Sunday morning when we then needed a 33-pounder to push the 27-pounder off of the sheet to retain the lead but all our others were under 27lb.

The final whistle ultimately saw us take second place but what a great, funny weekend amongst friends we had. Watching The 2 team leaders have a wrap covered in Mayonnaise fight will tell you why I declined the request to be Southern Captain!

Overall the South smashed the North for the second year running. Are we gonna have a go next year? Damn right we are!

My next work commitment was filming with Dan Murrel and Alex Lister of Go Catch and we were to be on my good friend Neal’s Johnsland Fishery.

If ever a fishery was created to appeal to families then this is it. Check it out online it really is amazing.

So we had 3 x days at our disposal to catch a few and to film around the fishery. The first couple of days were uneventful as we endured a nasty Easterly wind but then the weather changed and the carp began to play with both myself and Dan getting in on the action.

In the final 24-hours I managed 5 x takes to low 30’s and our work came to an end. CompleX-T and sweetcorn with a few handfuls of red maggots was again the key.

 

This then bought me back to venue selection for 2024 where I was due a place on Frimley Pit’s pit 4 from next June anyway. I called the owner Mark up and he said start immediately if you want to. I had not seen pit 4 for many many years so popped over early this week for a looksie and ended up doing a couple of days.

After a wander round and blagging a tea from venue regulars Shaky Jay and Rich, I settled into a corner swim where I saw a carp show. Applying some of my usual CompleX-T and sweetcorn, I felt right at home and some of my new Choccy Malt and Sweet Spice pop-ups were fished over the top. At 6am the next morning, the RH rod was away but alas after a few seconds, it came adrift in the thick weed.

I saw another couple of carp just behind my area at first light and thought maybe another chance would be on the cards, however, another new member took to leading the next swim to me for about 30 minutes and the carp faded away into the distance.

With this in mind, I fed a fair bit more bait onto the area and reeled in then spent the morning and pub lunchtime with my very good friend Dave Levy who was next door on Pit 3.

The evening saw me replace the rods in the hope that they may return in darkness for some free grub but it was not to be.

I have been warned that pit 4 can be a bit of a ball breaker but you gotta be in it to win it and it has 2 commons that could well beat my English PB common of 48lb 10oz. So the wait will be worth it – only time will tell.

Till next month – tight lines folks!

Ian Russell