The Hidden Files of The X-Files

Carp fishing is shrouded in a veil of mystery, at least here in Finland. The carp fishermen are few in numbers and some like it that way. I haven't quite made up my mind if there should be more carp anglers or not.

Getting started with carp fishing is more of an journey than just chucking the rods out and reeling in the big ones. It really can take a few years before you find at least a few good carp lakes. That journey will teach you to appreciate the fish even more. You just cannot compare the fish caught from a big natural lake to the ones caught from day-ticket ponds. The difficulty factor is quite different. I hope I don't sound offensive because of my opinion, but it's the way I feel about carping. The places you find will probably become your secrets.

I hope my "secret spots" will stay secret. There is absolutely no point in telling the secret places to other fishermen. Then they would miss the essence of true carp angling, the journey into becoming one. That is absolutely the most rewarding thing in fishing. The fish, after all, are just fish. Nothing else. All you will truly experience in your lifetime is you. Remember, you will catch you first carp only once in your life. It should be a memorable moment, not just a quick guided trip into run-happy carp waters.

So most of the carp lakes in Finland are the Hidden Files of the X-files. For all the ones who think the truth is out there (and want to catch something instead of searching), should start with a Finnish day-ticket lake. A fishing licence for one year is 25 euros. You got it right. 25 euros... VERY cheap!   http://www.jokamieskalastajat.fi/index.php?p=7&yl=2

Last, but not least, is a horrifying photo of my possessed recliner chair.

The missing episode of "Possessed recliner chair", didn't see that on the X-Files.

1st Anniversary For "Carp Of The Thousand Lakes"

Dear readers,

My blog "Carp Of The Thousand Lakes" had its first anniversary. It's time for me for some celebration, as the reader number has exceeded my expectations. I even had some offers of getting money from writing this blog (!) I had to let these offers down, as I want to keep the commercial aspect as far away as I can. I think you, as well as I, are fed up with the UK-style buy this, buy that, don't buy that (it's the last years model, and because of that, it's crappy).

I really would love you to subscribe to my blog or leave comments. It's the fuel that keeps me writing this blog. Also, all the contacts I have received via email have been very interesting and I am very pleased receiving them.

Now some talk about carp fishing... I have learned about carp fishing a lot this year. The most interesting part was to have Enrico Parmeggiani (Italian carp angler) visiting Finland. We had some good debate about the behavior of carp. The conclusions were quite different, and there are some very big differences in Italian and Finnish carp. Like the biggest disturbance by the lake we fished was a woodpigeon cooeing 1 km away...  So at least the acceptable disturbance levels in carp fishing are quite different here and in more urban waters. Carp fishing is always a learning game for even the most experienced carp angler. And in my opinion that is the biggest reason I will keep on fishing for carp. It's not the record carp, it's not being famous, just the idea of something I will never master even how good I will be.

This Northern Beauty missed a scale.

Doing Good Deeds... Lifetime Patron of The Wye

Dear readers,

I FINALLY had the chance of repaying the hospitality of the Wye & Usk Foundation, Mr. Martin Bowler for giving a day of his time and Mr. Peter Drennan for letting us fish on his private waters.

I recently had my barbel fishing article published in a Finnish fishing magazine Metsästys & Kalastus (issue 6/2012). The magazine has around 40 000 subscribers and 400 000 readers. The article itself was 5 pages, with a full double page trophy shot of a barbel and me. :)

Anyhow, I donated the money from the article to Wye & Usk foundation. The sum was 500 GBP, which makes me Lifetime Patron of The Wye. Now send me the crown and I'll wear it every time I go fishing :) Don't get me wrong, I am not rich. I just wanted to do something to repay the hospitality.

Mr. Martin Bowler guided us to several barbel on the Wye. He is a true ambassador for fishing.

The Night Of The Living Mosquitoes

I had been prebaiting my swim for a week with DD Bait Feedermix and boilies. A few kilos of Freshwater Snail Feedermix and about 2-3 kg of boilies every other day. The boilies I choose for prebaiting were the Banana&Crustacean and Red Bull Guana. I was really looking forward to fishing the spot, as I have succeeded there almost every time.

The night of fishing came, but it was actually a night of terror, as mosquitoes were trying to take over the world. Literally, there were hundreds of them just waiting to feed on me. Taking some pain and around hundred mosquito bites, I managed to set my rods and my bivvie. So it was just a waiting game then. I managed to get some sleep, and around 4 am, I woke up to my alarm going off!

I hurried to my rods and saw the right rod going off in a good speed. But I also found out that my left rod had lost 100 m of line and it was pointing to another direction I cast it to… I took the rod on the right and landed a beautiful mirror carp. It was in really good condition after spawning, and by the looks of her, the boilies had been very tasty…

After that I started to work with my left rod. The rig was probably stuck in tens of waterlilies, so I pulled the line to cut off the lilies. One by one, I managed to get the rig closer. It took around 15 minutes, and I put very heavy strain on the Prologic XLNT Camo monofilament. Suddenly the rig was loose of the weeds, but I also realized that the fish was still on! My situation was quite tricky, as I had my landing net occupied with the previous carp… After some hectic (and not so educational) close quarters battle with the carp, I managed to get her also in my landing net. A landing net can get crowded… But to cut a story short, the lean and mean fighting machine common carp was 12,3 kg. Both of the fish were caught with a combination of DD Bait Red Bull Guana and Banana Crustacean boilie.

Bait Masters and Masterbaiters...

Dear Readers,

If I got an euro for every "Master Baiter"-related joke, I think I wouldn't have to work anymore. Carp angling related jokes aside, the season for me is really about to start. I have been way too busy with other matters to go angling. I think that's a lame excuse, but it's an excuse anyway!

My article just appeared on a Finnish magazine called "Metsästys & Kalastus" (Issue 6/2012). The magazine itself has around 40 000 subscribers and about 400 000 readers. So it's really nice to have a bigger public once in a while. My article was about barbel fishing with Martin Bowler on the Wye. Even being critical to my own work, I liked the article. Hopefully I will get to write more articles... 

Barbel fishing is something I wish to do also in the future. It's such a beautiful fish, and the rivers are really enchanting. I have seen the laid-back approach for barbel (see my earlier Waterlog Weekend blog entry), so I must reveal you my best kept secret - the floodwater rod rest...

The utterly cunning idea of a floodwater rod rest! Behold! I caught a 10 cm dace from that swim!

Anyway, I will keep this blog entry short (and quite pointless), because I am too busy going carp fishing. I just air dried another 2,5 kg of boilies... Does all that fiddling with bait make me a Bait Master or a Masterbaiter?

Blank streak's back, alright!

So the third session of the season is over. A nice 24 hour trip with fair weather and good company (fishing alone). Too bad the fish weren't there, or at least not feeding. Cutting it short, I blanked.

"Mind games" is the word that comes into mind. This blanking streak is just around 48 hours now, so I am not even halfway frustrated. If I want a fish, I can go get it from a fish-per-night -lake. But it's something I refuse to do now. I have set my goal into making this new lake produce a fish for me. And that is what I am going to do.

As I always say, I am not fishing for the fish. I want to be a better angler, and getting the fish from the fish-per-night -lake would not make me a better angler. Let's hope and see if I catch a fish from the new lake - or will I fail and go get the "100% sure fish"...

Anyway, my new Okuma Trio BF 55 were on their second night out. Nice reels, have to say. I reckon they are by far the best Baitfeeder reels Okuma has made. And besides, they are good looking :)

My new Okuma Trio BF 55 -reels. Like reels in a pod.

Okuma Trio BF 55 reels, Prologic CC30 3,0 LBS rods, Prologic Tripod.

First Trip of the Season

The time had come for the first trip of the season. I didn't keep my hopes up, as the time was quite early and I am yet again searching for a new lake. The odds were strongly against me, and despite my hard effort, (and reading Chris Yates' magnificent book "Nightwalk") I managed to blank 100%. 

Remember, dear readers, blanking is good. I actually cherish blanking sessions (if they remain on blanking streaks less than 300 hours). What I learned from the first trip of the season: it's never too early to start a season. I am not on the bank for the fish... I am there because of me.

The Prologic WUSB alarms worked nicely and they are actually quite durable. I didn't get my alarm song of "Ice, Ice, Baby" though. Yet it's worth every minute on the bank waiting for Vanilla Ice to start singing/rapping "Yo, VIP, Let's Kick It!". And on that moment, I'm definitely going to kick it VIP Style!

My Prologic WUSB 3+1 alarms with fender kits and QR hangers attached. Some might say snag bars are useless on tripods, but I reckon they are quite handy if the rigs are cast to either side of the tripod. They prevent rods falling off the pod on a screaming run.

The Fear Of The Monster

All anglers, like I want to catch a big fish. I mean such a fish, that is not just big but monstrous! Imagine all the hype and photographs of the fish and you, the angler. Likely you just could net it and put it back without putting a number on it. But anyway, catching such a monster fish ultimately has consequences.

There is a saying that goes "Be careful what you wish for". Sometimes you can be better off just dreaming and not getting what you think you want. What is there left if you break the record? You can't keep on fishing for the record fish, because you've already caught it! I don't actually know what it feels like, but I know some anglers who have caught the record fish and suffered somewhat of a motivational breakdown. Usually the fisherman changes the fishing style or the species they are fishing for. Some people turn to playing golf. 

I lost a lot of my match angling appetite after winning the Finnish team championship twice in a row. Winning that contest had been my motivation in practicing and competing. When I had what I wanted, my match angling days were over.

I love fishing for carp so much that I don't want to catch the record carp. I fear monster carp because they can take from me what I treasure the most.

Not a monster carp, luckily.