All Fish Are Equal

Every now and then, I find pictures on the Internet where people are abusing/disrespecting their unwanted fish species or a fish below target/specimen size. I find this attitude disturbing. 

A fish, no matter its size or species, is still a fish. A fisherman should ALWAYS respect their catches, no matter what they catch. 

I always treat the fish I catch with the same procedure (of course I don't use unhooking mats for 20 gram roach, you silly). Fish welfare is a priority, even when I catch a small gudgeon while barbel fishing or a 600 gram ide while targeting carp.

Naturally, I oppose using livebaits. I don't know how many pike anglers would like me to hook a 10 kg pike from it's mouth and back ... just to "have a big bait". It is not just disrespectful and inhumane thing to do for the fish, but it is more like being in the stone age of fishing culture. It doesn't matter whether the live fish struggling in the hook is a 10 kg pike or a 100 g perch - it's still a barbaric thing to do. (Don't even get me started on the ethics of C&R predator fishing with livebaits. There is absolutely no point there.)

A true modern fisherman has a strong respect for every fish. All fish are equal.

Bream might be a nuisance fish while carp fishing. How we treat the unwanted catches define us as fishermen.

Middle of Nowhere

So, the season is just about to start. We had a spell of warm weather this year and we got rid of the ice cover a bit early (at least in Southern Finland). So this actually means two things: 

1) I must start making my boilies and rigs quite soon

2) I must plan what lakes to fish

Part 1 of my plans will probably fail miserably, and I will be tying the rigs just before my first session. Also, probably no self-made boilies either. But anyway, that's life. Considering how much you need to be organized to fully function in todays world, I prefer a bit of chaos in my fishing and preparations. Besides, a lot of people think that only the simple people need to have their surroundings organized. I must be very smart then :)

OK. Now to the second part of my "What to do"-list. Planning. More or less, I will be fishing a few of my already-familiar lakes and maybe doing some discoveries (if I have the time or motivation). A lot of the time my "discoveries" have been... well... more like disasters. I remember one time I was checking out a remote forest lake, which had very swampy banks. When actually getting to the bank (walking 1 km in very rough terrain and bitten by around 200 mosquitoes) I found out that a big animal had visited my swim as well. Checking the huge footprints and big piles of soft poo, I had a gut feeling, that it wouldn't be wise to fish this swim at all. The only reasonable thing I could do then was to walk back to my car and drive away. Of course, the markings were made by a bear. I am not afraid of bears, but considering all the goodies in my bait-bag, I am really not keen on fishing with bears. :)

Fishing in the middle of nowhere (around 2009). The place was actually quite nice (if you like deer flies)

Still, sometimes I have been very lucky, as some places I've discovered have been really kind to me (like catching carp on the first night on a new lake). Going to new lakes can be frustrating, but sometimes it is like getting to know a new friend. 

No matter the size of the carp, getting the first carp from a new lake is always happy time!

Pointless Ramblings - vol. 23

So days are getting longer here and I am reading fishing reports from my friends in Southern Europe... It gets me a bit jealous as it still takes some time before our season really starts. Weeks feel like years at this point - still eventually we will get rid of the ice cover on the lakes.

As some readers probably know, I have some experience in different fishing styles. (Two days ago I was fishing for zander on dropshot-lures, and I actually DID catch a nice zander!) Of course I always prefer carp fishing to other types of fishing, but every now and then I get distracted :) I can say that I started fishing probably at the same time I was learning how to walk. So being a fisherman instead of a carp angler has a time advantage of 25 years or something. 

What I will always do in the future is that I will try different fishing styles, approaches and target species. I will never be a 100% carp angler (I'm probably 95%), as life is too short to be narrow-minded. There is always new things to discover and fish to be caught. It's not just about aligning your 720 degree semi-stiff chod-roundabout rig. But trust me, carp is still my no. 1 species, and you will see this also in my future blog updates.

A small linear carp caught while doing some stalking somewhere around 2010. I remember catching this with Okuma Sheffield -centerpin reel and Prologic MP Specialist 12'. It was pure joy, even the fish was small.

If I remember my catches right, I have never caught this linear carp before. A nice catch in the autumn 2014 darkness. Here the setup was Okuma Trio 55 baifeeder and Prologic Fastwater 9'6" 3,5 lbs.

So my pointless rambling is coming to an end (this time). Maybe on my next blog I will have some interesting things to tell about my boilies or rigs. OR maybe I keep on talking b-shit. :)

Best regards-

Henrik

Fishing Plans For Season 2015

Hi all!

What is different this year is that I probably start making some of my own boilies. I experimented on some boilies a few years ago, but as I was fishing successfully with Prologic baits, I had no interest to go on with my bait production. Now the time is different, and I will start the long and winding road of baitmaking. Of course I have some ready ideas, mixes and flavours, so this will help me a lot. Luckily I still have some of my trusty old bait, so I don't have to depend totally on my own recipes. 

On another perspective, I am not totally sure how I will enjoy my long hours of boilie making, but I don't think I have an option. So this year you can expect some reports on my boilie development and possible catches. I hope it will be fun despite all the hard work.

One of the few carp I have caught from Finland that I can call fat. Most of the fish are long and lean. This fish is also in the photo below. (The net looks dry, but it isn't. Polarizing filter does wonders to reflections)

This beautiful common carp was really loving boilies (as you can see). Let's hope she will get obsessed with my own boilie recipes and I will catch her a few kilos heavier.

Wind(blade) of change

I have usually changed a lot of my set-up between seasons. It's a long time from November to May, so it's too easy to start changing all of my tackle when you have nothing else to do (I am not into ice fishing at all). 

The biggest change will probably be just that I am starting to use the Prologic Windblade swingers. They are really good looking - than not being the main reason for my change. I have been looking for hangers/swingers that really are not prone to hard wind. Getting beeps all night long due to the wind is something I hate. Turning alarm sensitivity down isn't a good option either. You might miss cautious bites and dropback bites.

Last spring I was fishing with a friend, David. I noticed how nicely the windblades worked. (Photo from Smartinsko lake)

One thing I am definitely NOT going to change is my rods. Prologic Fastwater 9'6" 3,5lbs are the best rods I could be fishing with. I am going to stick with them for years to come. Last summer I was playing a carp with one hand, easily controlling the rod lifted high. It couldn't have been possible with longer rods. Also the short butt-section of the rod gives me freedom to play the fish as I want. (Of course I still have my 12' rods for lakes that require longer casting distances). Rods are forgiving while playing the fish, yet you still have total control.

A blog update usually requires a photo of a carp and its captor. Well here you go! This one was caught from Slovenia.

Indoor Carp Fishing

Hi all!

I might not be a big surprise that I am a keen gamer as I am a carp angler. So when I was approached by guys who are combining them, I was really interested in cooperation. Some of my blogs are on Dovetail Games Fishing -website. It is a fishing simulation, and at its current situation it is in development. It's on Steam early access, so enthusiastic gamers can go and check it out (link to my latest blog entry there).

http://dtgfishing.com/freedom-of-the-true-wild-arctic-fishing/

I have used some old texts, but will also publish something new there.

Best regards-

Henrik

Just Another Blog Update - With a Belly Rub!

Dear Readers,

It's been too long since my last update. Sometimes writing is easy, sometimes it isn't. Well, just to summarize my season - it was nice. Especially as I didn't have so many nights out on the bank. My fishing notes regarding this year however were quite good considering the seasons to come. I learned a lot of new things. I even managed to pull off a 4 carp night fishing alone. Considering the low number of carp in our lakes, it's more or less an achievement here.

Hopefully you will enjoy this picture of a very concentrated belly rub!

Sometimes it's good to have a landing mat with walls. Carp can get veeery active when you don't expect it.

Some product talk here. I started using the Prologic C.O.M. pod this season. It is really nice on tight swims, and its low profile is really stealthy, so you can stay below radar on waters where you don't want to be seen. The light attached to the pod is just to humor me, and to give me an indication where the pod is (in pitch black conditions).

My current set-up (Switching hangers to Prologic Windblades for 2015)

Rocky swims and RIGHT lines

Dear Readers,

It's been a while since my last blog entry. I managed to do some fishing since, and had some good experiences with new tackle.

As I have told earlier, the carp swims here in Finland can be rocky and weedy (a lot of these lakes formed during the last ice age, hence the rough banks). Normal monofilament usually ends up in the bin after a few fights with a carp, as the line gets "the rash" from the rocks. Braided line would just break almost in an instant. 

Now my issues with line have been solved with the Prologic Interceptor Fluoro Carbon Coated mono. It performs like a mono, with good breaking strain. It really doesn't get any scratches (because of the fluorocarbon coating) and after a trip it is as good as new. I am using 0,40 mm and it suits my needs perfectly. I can recommend this line to anyone who is fishing on rocky & weedy swims.

Ah - that will be it for my tackle related talk. 

The last trip I did was a nice two-night session fishing alone. I managed to catch a nice brace of carp, and I was more than happy being on the bank. I still had my fair share of misfortune, as my cameras remote controller died on a critical moment. Few good photos anyway, and here's a pic of my first carp of the session.