If you don’t like the weather wait ten minutes, it will change.
It was a beautiful fall day in Colorado. We were landing carp left and right. We were having so much fun that we didn’t notice that the storm predicted for the next day had begun to roll in. The next thing we knew the wind began to howl and abruptly dropped the temperature 30 degrees. Packing up while the fishing was on because we were unprepared was disheartening. That night I began my search for brolly.
Glad to have the Fox R-Series Brolly on this stormy day
There are several different types of bollies on the market and narrowing down my choice took a bit of time. After careful consideration I decided on the Fox International R-Series Brolly system. I was like a kid at Christmas opening the box as soon as it was delivered to my door.
The first thing I noticed as I set it up in my front yard was how easy it was to set up. It opens like a giant umbrella. A couple of camping chairs, rucksacks, bait, and all the gear fit inside. For extra comfort in the winter, I bring my portable heater.
The main reason I purchased this brolly was the door options. As the weather changes so can the door! In the summer when you just want shade you can take the front panel off. Zip the front panel in and this is where you can choose to have it wide open or zip in the Mozzy Mesh (I call it the screen door), the PVC Clear door, you can see out of it, but I recommend adding an anti-fog spray if it is wet and cold out. I have found this to be the best option in the snow or rain. The last door is the solid Khaki door. This is a great option for privacy when you feel the need to take a nap. I do recommend you practice switching out the doors at home to get familiar with the zipper system.
I did a quit set up in my front yard to show the doors I mentioned.
Mesh Door (screen door)Door offMozzy DoorPVC Door (Window door)
Overall, I am very pleased with my decision to purchase the Fox R-Series Brolly System. It is around 18 pounds when you have all the doors, floor, storm poles, etc. in the carry bag. The material is durable and gives me a great space to hide from the dreaded wind. The pegs (steaks) are corkscrewed at the ends and go into the ground quite easily and most importantly they stay put! For even more room there is an option to purchase an extension to convert it into a 2-man shelter.
You can follow the link below over to Big Carp Tackle to the Fox R-Series Brolly System and extention.
The Nitelife Bivvy Light Remote 200 is a feature-packed, compact unit that boasts six lighting options with up to 80hours of illumination, emergency power bank and remote control function. One press operation allows you to cycle through three brightnesses of white light, red light and Bug-Less amber light with 610 nanometers wavelength that is less attractive to mosquitoes and moths. A single long press will activate the torch light and four internal LEDs provide battery level indication and charge status. The Nitelife Bivvy Light Remote 200 can be easily positioned on the roof of your bivvy to illuminate your shelter at night thanks to the two powerful magnets in the back of the light, which is held in place with the supplied steel backing plate with Trakker embossed logo.
To buy and try the Trakker Nitelife Bivvy Light Remote 150 & 200, head over to Big Carp Tackle at the links below.
Based on the ever-popular, quick-erect walled unhooking mat design maintaining super-fast set up and pack down properties, the Sanctuary Insta-Mat offers total protection in a compact, lightweight and user-friendly package. The mat fully unzips to reveal the lightweight outer frame that once unfolded will simply assemble itself with the open base then positioned inside with the soft PVC material facing upwards and the mat is assembled and ready for use with pack down being just as simple. A twist of the outer frame so that it folds down into two neat circles, this is then placed inside the padded mat, folded in half and zipped up ready for transport. The 50mm thick soft padded base covered in fish-friendly PVC offers the utmost protection to fish with 30cm raised ends and reinforced raised side walls maintaining structure and eliminating the chance of fish sliding off the mat. There is also a full Velcro fastened top cover to keep lively fish calm and safe. Webbing straps at either end for pegging the mat down in windy conditions and hanging up to dry out at the end of a successful session.
The mat doubles up as a very handy stalking seat for the mobile roving angler and is perfectly at home for a week-long session on a big pit or just an evening on the river.
To buy and try the Trakker Sanctuary Insta-Mat follow this link to Big Carp Tackle.com:
The Armolife Multi-fuel Stove is most versatile of stoves, that can deliver peak performance even in the coldest of conditions. The solid construction offers a sturdy base for a wide range of cooking situations. The stove can burn a wide range of liquid fuels including regular gas, with instant flame control from simmer to max, the unit has an economical performance and is easily serviceable. Supplied with the stove comes a fuel pump, 500ml fuel bottle, gas canister regulator, gas valves, cleaning needle, spare o-rings, mesh gauze, tools and stuff sack.
To buy and try one for yourself, head over to big carp tackle at the link below.
I’ve always been one of those anglers that takes way too much gear with me. I’ve always liked to be prepared for any eventuality, which is fine for long sessions on the bank but most of my angling these days is short day trips and I found myself struggling with the mountain of tackle I invariably take with me, most of which went unused. This year I made the decision to scale back and focus on just what I need for a short-day trip and this is where the Thinking Anglers 600D rucksack comes into play.
Combining comfort with functionality, the Lounger Chair features a pair of moulded clips on the rear frame allowing the chair to be set at three preset angles removing the need for awkward cams. With arms for added comfort, this chair offers the excellent head and back support required, especially if you spend long periods sat down.
With It being nearly a year since I received My Solar P1 pod, and Global Conversion Kit I figured why wait on on showing the versatility of this pod! Not unlike the original Worldwide pod the new P1 has had some increased refining, and engineering as well as some aesthetic upgrades. If you have not used a Solar pod before you’ll appreciate it’s strength and versatility immediately. If you have owned the Worldwide pod You’ll enjoy the ease of the new buzzer bars as well as the rock solid setting the new 5 point Titanium knobs deliver. The P1 as well as the Worldwide are such solid and reliable fixtures in the carp world by now that a review is not entirely necessary!
Note: Product prices vary greatly on this range so I have deliberately not included them.
I have used a lot of hair needles over the course of my carp fishing career and I can easily say that the Gardner Braided Hair Needle (standard size) is my favorite. There are a few reasons for this but the biggest is that they are versatile. As my baiting needles seldom serve as only baiting needles but rather as multi-function rig tools, I find that the barb on this needle is perfect.
The Gardner Braided Hair Needle comes in two different colors. They both work great but the green one is easier to find in a black rig box.
Since it is not like the barb on a hook but rather more of an indent, it can be used for pulling line through various rig bits without snagging up while doing so. The sliding design is also surprisingly useful as it allows you to push the bait onto the hair just the right distance from the bait but it also keeps the it from snagging on stuff while being stored or in your pocket. While you might think that a needle without a barb might be at somewhat of a disadvantage when using monofilament, it really works just fine on just about all material.
This hair needle is not sharp and has a rounded end – which makes it much safer than the normal ones!
Unlike most baiting needles, this one does not have a super sharp point. I have found that this even works on really hard air-dried baits and had the added benefit of being much safer to use than a normal baiting needle as the lack of barb and sharp point really help to keep it from sticking in your hand!
The construction is durable and the only issue I have had is the two parts of the slider will separate if abused – however they can be easily snapped back together. The hole in one end can be used to put it on a key ring or to tighten knots which is what I often use it for.
There are always folk who will say that the use of various electronic aids detract from the nature and experience of fishing. The same could be said for the many developments and ingenious items of tackle that have contributed to modern carp fishing over the past 20-30 years. Just imagine where we would be without them!
All these tackle items are of little use unless we know where the fish are to be found and the best spot to place our baits. It can take a delicate feel and experience for ‘leading’ around to determine the nature of the lake or river bed while the use of a marker float to map out a swim or lake can take considerable time & effort especially on larger bodies of water. So a device that can do both should make things easier – right?
The clever folk at Deeper have managed to miniaturize the electronics for depth measurement and GPS positioning into a neat & easy to cast package weighing only 3.2 oz. This when combined with real time satellite mapping allows the angler the opportunity to map out swims quickly and easily.
Getting started…
After opening the package I found the instructions easy to follow and after downloading the Deeper App soon had my Deeper Pro + connected to my IPhone 5SE. As with any Wi-Fi set up the range that can be achieved will depend on any number of variables. Elevating your phone as high as possible will help maximize the range and switching to Aircraft mode and then switching on the Wi-Fi will also improve signal strength.
The App allows you to select a choice of Sonar Modes but for mapping select the Onshore GPS Mode. The screen then splits to show a Google map on one side and a sonar map on the other. It is then a matter of casting the Deeper unit out and slowly retrieving to build up a detailed map of your swim. The data can then be uploaded and retrieved on-line for more detailed analysis or simply scrolled through on your phone.
Once the map has been uploaded you can access your Deeper map account on-line to review it in either map or satellite view mode.
The sonar screen helps distinguish between hard and soft bottom structure as well as weed growth. There is also a ‘fish’ marker option that can help with location.
So how does it work in practice?
First of all I set off to map a small local pond of about 1/2 acre in size. Casting the 3.5 oz Deeper Pro + device was easily achieved on a 2.75 test curve 12′ carp rod and it took less than half and hour to map the whole pond.
I then set out for another water that I planned to fish. Once again it was a simple matter to pick up the wifi signal being broadcast by my Deeper Pro + and then set the App to record data in GPS mode. After casting and retrieving the Deeper unit around the swim and looking at the sonar image it didn’t take long to see a few areas of interest. Once the data is recorded it can be accessed bank side or better still uploaded to the secure Deeper Map ‘Library’ site and accessed (using your individual & secure account) in combination with online maps or satellite overlay. The latter provides a bathymetric type map that is easy to read. I did notice that my recorded data seemed noticeably ‘smaller’ in area than the displayed map but overall it provided good correlation.
As with any sounder interpreting the data presented on the screen is critical. Key aspects such as the nature of the bottom (silt, gravel, leaves etc), weed density, contours etc requires some interpretation but with a little practice you’ll soon build up a detailed picture of your swim. I already had a general idea of where I wanted to position my baits and the Deeper Pro + helped me find a clear area next to some dense weed. As you will see the narrowing down of this precise location would prove to have a very happy outcome!
The online map feature allows you to scroll through the sonar data to see key features like bottom structure, weed etc.
So how did the fishing work out? I learned from the sonar maps that there were a couple of areas in the swim that might be ideal places to position a bait. The bottom in some shallower areas had a thick covering of blanket weed and nearby depths to 6′ were some taller weeds that grew to withing a foot or so of the surface. As the depth of the silt increased (shown by the thicker bright orange layer) the tall weed growth decreased and allowed a pop-up to be positioned perfectly. After a few days baiting up with Spotted Fin Catalyst baits it was soon time to see if it would all come together as planned.
After setting up in the swim just after 2:30pm I made my first casts at 3:00pm, hooked up the bobbins and sat back to enjoy the warm afternoon sun. I did not expect any action until nearer 5 or even 6pm but at a little before 3:30pm the right hand rod rattled off. There was no screaming run but this fish set off steadily for about 50 yds before I could slow its progress. It began picking up strands of weed along the way and as I slowly gained line was forced to try and remove it as it threatened to jam the tip ring. After a solid battle & some nervous moments a large fish finally slid into the net. As I looked more closely it was clear that this was indeed a very large fish and after checking the scales a couple of times settled on a weight of 39.04. I was stunned and elated. After some photos and watching this exceptional fish swim off I recast and settled back behind the rods.
39.04 – I was stunned and elated!
The remainder of the session proved to be nothing less than sensational. A 27.08, 21 & low teen followed finally capped of by another beast that capped off an incredible 5 hours of fishing at 35.04.
Conclusions
My observations using an iPhone 5SE suggest that the typical working range is about 50 – 60 yds. This range also depends on how high the phone or other device can be held relative to the Deeper unit (so standing on top a bank instead of at water level will increase the range significantly). I had my iPhone attached to the rod above the reel which proved a little awkward but workable. I plan on using a tripod or tall bank stick to raise the device to eye level which might help the range and ease of use. An iPad or similar device with better wifi reception than a phone may well provide longer range up to the claimed 100 yd range. Overall I’m very impressed with the ease of use of the Deeper Pro + and it is now a key part of my gear for mapping swims and narrowing down those carpy looking hot spots!
