Metropolis Carp - DVD Review

Fiddling through the Internet, I stumbled upon a video teaser called "Metropolis Carp". I was hooked from the first second. At last I could watch 2 minutes of carp angling without any product placement! Whoa! The teaser was über-cool and you can watch it here...

After watching the teaser, it took about 15 seconds for me to go on to their website and order the DVD. You can do the same on http://www.digitalit.at/metropoliscarp/startenglish.html

The DVD itself is made with professional attitude for bigger audience, as you can also choose English subtitles on the DVD menu. It's super cool, as my German is a bit rusty, and Austrian German is way too hard for me. On the cover of the DVD is a text saying "No tackle, No Tips, No Tricks - Promised". I really like that, as considering my fishing, tips&tactics from other countries are as useful as a bucketful of snow to me. And we have more than plenty of snow here in Finland.

The film starts with nice scenic videos from Vienna, and it really gets you into the urban attitude. Later on Sebastian and Nick go fishing on the Danube. The guys really know what they are doing, and they  catch some really nice fish. But the film itself is not about the fish or the techniques used. It is about fishing your OWN way, and finding your own paths. I hope this will inspire some carpers to abandon the commercial lakes and finding true carp angling somewhere else.

I really liked the juxtaposition of the film. I mean there were parts of fishing, and just before you were getting a bit tired of seeing the fish/fishing, the film took you somewhere else. The editing on this film is really good. Thumbs up!

The soundtrack and all the audio work is done really well. Seriously, I could never imagine drum and bass going along so well with carp fishing... From what I saw, the film had its soundtrack from Vienna artists, which gives the film a more local feeling to it. The video material and the soundtrack go absolutely hand in hand. Besides, the music is actually really good. You don't get the "porn video" music which is very common in fishing films.

The dialogue and the monologues are really funny, and I can agree on many statements the guys said about urban angling. I won't spoil anything, but at least I can say the "problems" are so similar in Finland and Austria.

The Metropolis Carp - Urban Fishing Documentary  really is a documentary. It is a documentary of a shared passion for angling in urban Vienna. For the first time, I have seen it - fishing has finally been portrayed in street credible way.

Don't miss it. Go and order the DVD now!

One happy camper with the Metropolis Carp DVD. Winter is still quite strong here as you can see from the snowy background...

The Importance of Catch And Release

Dear Readers,

The upcoming season has got the grip on me. No hope of going ice-fishing, as I think only carp. A sad story, yes, but still it's nice to be obsessed. Obsession is way better than depression. A summer person can't be too happy in Finland, so just thinking of summer gets me going.

Anyways, I have something to say. Every now and then someone catches a carp by accident. I mean here in Finland, almost all of the carp are caught without intention. Sometimes by foul-hooking on lures, on gill-nets, etc. Way too many of these carp are killed, usually just to be photographed for a local newspaper. And that is a pity, as people should know better. Carp is not the best fish for consumption anyway. We have zander and perch for that.

My message is actually a competition. Carp Of The Thousand Lakes will give (to be precise, I will) a prize for the best Catch&Release Finnish carp for 2013. The best C&R is not determined merely by the carps weight. The "competition" will be called "COTTL Let It Go".

Just Let It Go...

One beautiful mirror carp on its way back home.

Carp Core Magazine

Dear Readers,

The rate of blog entries seems amazing now! Three within a week!

I would like you to go and check out a new carp magazine "Carp Core", which is completely free and you don't even need to register to read it. Oh- pay special attention to MY article "To Blank Or Not To Blank". I hope it will be a good read.

Carp Core Magazine

For no obvious reason, here's a picture of a red moon.

Thank you and best regards-
Henrik

Tench Ahoy!

Dear Readers,

I am now trying to make up for some times when I haven't been that active on writing. So, for the first time in COTTL history, a new blog entry on two successive days!

Spring is coming and I am getting anxious. There is nothing better than getting out fishing when the long winter is over. I just love the feeling when the world is coming to life. All the rivers flowing free and lakes glimmering with sunlight...

My fishing history is quite diverse, as I have been fishing with many techniques for a lot of species. At this moment I am going through the carp-crazy -phase. I have been fishing exclusively for carp for five years now (Yay!). Before carp my mind was on tench, which is a species that still haunts my mind. It is not as big as carp, but somehow it's more delicate and in some ways, even more mysterious than carp. 

The body shape of tench has real stopping power. The fish hasn't got any sharp edges. Its small red eyes and round fins totally complete the design. The fish is a work of art. Tench is probably the most beautiful fish I know, despite its humble coloring.

I used to fish tench on the pole, which in my opinion, is the best method. The presentation of the float is very delicate, and sometimes you can fool the tench to bite just playing your float. Considering all the methods where the bait is laying on the bottom, pole fishing is just über. It takes a lot more skill to handle a float and a pole than just using bolt-rigs. Besides playing a tench on the pole is a lot more fun than using rod and a reel. With strong pole elastics and a balanced rig, there is no problem in playing a 2-3 kg fish. That is the maximum size that tench grow here in Finland.

I promise myself to go fishing for tench with the pole (yes, the full monty, including a match angling seat). And at last, a picture of a fish! Here's a photo of my PB tench. It never went to the scales. Anyone having an idea about the weight of this fish?

Me and my PB tench. Don't know the numbers though...

Prologic Senzora 13 Hands-On Review

Dear readers,

I just received my new bite alarm system, Prologic Senzora 13 with 4 alarms +  1 remote alarm (wireless). I can't field test it yet (because of winter), and one time field-tests are useless anyway.

What are the most important things in alarm systems (reliability, endurance) usually can't be tested on a few trips. To say anything that could be considered as a fact, I must fish at least a one full season with these alarms. Anyway, I would like to review these on my dinner table, talking about the facts that can be said about the product at this time (ease of use, settings, etc).

The Prologic Senzora 13 alarm set.

The alarm system comes in a plastic case, which is foam-padded from the inside. Opening the box you can see 4 alarms + 1 remote with an attachable belt-clip. The overall construction of the alarms seems to be good, and the carbon-effect look on these is actually nice. The alarms itself are lightweight and you can attach the 9V batteries easily within seconds. Each alarm runs on  a regular 9 V battery, which is quite nice as these batteries can be found on every retailer. Usually the 9V battery easily lasts for an entire season, so I guess I don't have to keep any spare batteries with me. The remote alarm works with 3 x AAA batteries. I use rechargeable ones, so I always have my batteries fully loaded on the remote alarm.

The volume can be set really loud on the alarms, so you won't miss a bite. There's also a silent mode for the remote.

The sensitivity setting seems to be working perfect, one adjustment beep counts for about 1 cm, and the alarms have 5 sensitivity levels. So the alarm sensitivity can be set to beep from approximately 1 cm to 5 cm of line. That's enough adjustability for me.

There's nothing fancy about the tone settings. You can select from five different pitches, and the tones are quite different. You shouldn't have any problems distinguishing alarm sounds from each other.

There is a feature in this system which cannot be found on every alarm set out there. You can test the range of you remote alarm by pressing some buttons. It's nice to test the range if your tent is quite far away or there are some obstacles between your tent and the rods.

Oh, the best part is that the set is all ready to go. No hassle with programming the alarms. I will write a more comprehensive review after the carp season 2013.