Stewart Bloor

Field Tester

0

For most football fans, the Champions League starts in the autumn. However, for those of us that are involved with the so-called smaller nations, our business gets underway in June. While the likes of Ronaldo and Messi are sunning it up on a beach somewhere, our players are hard at work, training and preparing themselves for the big stage.

In my case, my involvement is with the Welsh champions, The New Saints FC. With four games in the last month, including two extended stays in San Marino and Cyprus, my fishing time has been limited. Following the return from the latter nation though, I managed a short afternoon session on a carp lake that has featured regularly in my SBS blog.

I certainly fish places that are 'hard', the sort of venues where you measure fish the fish caught in days, rather than hours. I like the challenge that it brings. However, I also like the fact that there are venues I can head for where I know - well as much as angling allows anyway - that I will get a bend in my rod. This is one such place.

For me, bait is important, and that's why I am always giving SBS a plug to fellow anglers via my own personal blog. Having fished with the products for some years now, I have total confidence. I never have a back-up company 'just in case', and the only decision I have to make prior to a session, is what choice do I make from my bait cupboard at home, which is stocked with nothing but products bearing the familiar yellow and black colours of the company.

In this case it was strawberry jam pop-ups on the one rod and tutti frutti corn-shaped boilies on the other. Fished over pellets (the edge and attract betain tutti frutti respectively) and boilies, it didn't take long before the fish moved in. On this lake they give themselves away easily when they get their heads down. It's shallow and silty and that combination sees a lot of bubbles hit the surface.

In fact sometimes it's like a witch's cauldron as the bubbling becomes quite intense at times. I didn't bother with a pod, I just put the rods on the unhooking mat - baitrunner engaged of course. It's great when the rod pulls round and line starts to peel like there's no tomorrow. Even better when you lift into the fish and net it though.

I really enjoyed my outing and now that The New Saints FC are out of the Champions League, one thing it does mean is that I can get more of these type of sessions in, instead of the very short perch outings I've been making on my local canal. It's all fishing though and whether carp or cod, bream or barbel, I love it all. See you next month.