Fishing For Wild Carp In Perfect Conditions
‘As the fish boiled on the surface some twenty feet from the reeds, thankfully it turned towards the centre of the lake heading for a large areas of lilies’
For some time I have wanted to try and catch a wild carp. Back in the 1950s I had several waters where such fish were present but not always catchable. Though I and my friends caught our share of these wonderful fish from various small pools in Sussex and Kent, what ignited my interest in these fish over the past few years, was the book Fennel’s Journal No. 4: Wild Carp published by Fennel Hudson. I quote the following:
Fishing for wild carp is about adventure, history, atmosphere, mystery and emotion: searching for and discovering secret waters and forgotten strains of ancient fish. Wild Carp captures this aplenty, describing Fennel’s twenty-year quest to find the oldest strains of carp in the UK. But it’s also about nature connection and a desire to uncover the seemingly impossible – a place where we can discover and live out our dreams, to completely indulge the mantra of ‘Stop – Unplug – Escape – Enjoy’.
At last, a wild carp
Two days after capturing what I reckon was a good wild carp, the picture turned out to be rubbish; I had taken the photograph on a new camera, where I gently pressed the motion-picture button and not the shutter button, so I discounted this fish.
I’m back today on the same water, no longer able to drive so my daughter Sharon dropped me off at 0900 hrs and everything looked good; all I had to do was negotiate a long walk of around two miles, often over rough ground, including chest-high brambles and nettles. Eventually, I arrived at the waterside to find the wind pushing into the top bay, an area I had in mind to fish. The strong wind confirmed my idea, as I could see a few carp moving.
Within half an hour the rain started to sheet down, more like a monsoon conditions, the wind increasing in strength all the time, often gusting to gale force (I learnt later there were gusts of 52 mph. The average wind speed during the day was 40 mph plus). It’s not often I find myself angling in July, under such conditions, more like an Autumn gale with trees swaying in all directions, some losing their branches. One treeon the far bank crashed down into the water, the crack as it went sounded like thunder as storm clouds increased. I quickly pulled on my waterproofs, then scouted around to find a sheltered area. Eventually I chose a swim with a dense reed bed that offered a little shelter from the wind. Looking across the lake, all I could see was a curtain of rain sweeping across the water from right to left.
In the shelter of some bushes, way back from the water’s edge, I put together two rods, a twelve-foot float rod with centre-pin reel holding fifty yards of four-pound breaking strain line. I then attaching a float to take three AAA shot, then a size ten hook completed the tackle set up. I would use this, hopefully, to catch some roach, rudd or perch. My other rod was an adapted Sharpe’s thirteen-foot, double-handed salmon rod I’d been given in the 1950s by my Grandad. It is now eleven feet, adapted for me by Dave Crain who, as he passed it over said, “I would like first offer if you sell it.” (David, it will be handed over to you by my son when I pass on from the sport I love…).
Constables Of Bromley – Forty Fore matched with centreline, the landing net handle is 90 years old having been made by my grandfather in the 1930’s
The rod was matched with a centre-pin reel holding 50 yards of twelve-pound b.s. line. Having threaded the line through the guides, I tied on a size four barbless hook; this outfit would be used if I spotted a wild carp. Under the difficult weather conditions, I reckoned it would be difficult to spot a wild carp. The rain was now making its way down my backand occasionally I would shiver. My baits for the wild carp are either a lobworm, a king-size prawn or piece of crust or flake. Thankfully, I’d got two large bin-liners with me, one to put my tackle bag in, the other for rubbish, usually left by walkers, and thankfully not by anglers. From past experience I have found the twenty acre water contains some good roach and rudd.
After making up a bowl of ground bait containing 50% brown and white bread crumb, I added chopped worms and prawns, also some corn. Fifteen minutes later, I put four cricket-ballsized of this mix in a diamond formation about ten feet out from the bank, where I had a depth of around four feet of water. My thinking was: ‘It doesn’t matter what direction the fish travel, I hope they would come across the food table.’
My Jetboiler is ideal for tea making
I then set up my jet-boiler for a brew and five minutes later,under the shelter of a big oak tree, I enjoyed my tea, with two digestive biscuits, despite feeling quite damp from the rain, which hadn’t eased. My advice is always rest your swim to give the fish a chance to get over all the disturbance of putting in the groundbait. It was now time to cast out so I baited the size ten hook with a small cube of crust.
Within a few minutes of casting out, the float lifted, then dropped flat before disappearing. Striking, I hooked what felt like a ‘goer’ sizedfish and, after a brief struggle, I netted a roach around the twelve ounces. I was more than pleased and during the next two hours I must have had twenty or more rudd and roach; not as big as the first fish, the average was around eight to ten ounces. Despite the horrid conditions, it was a most enjoyable session in a long time.
The heavy rain and gale force wind wasn’t showing any sign of abating so, as there was no sign of a let up in the weather, it was time for another brew. Having put in some more groundbait, I set the jet-boiler going. Three minutes later, I’d got my brew and returned to float fishing.
This time I chose to fish a cocktail bait of lobworm and corn and, casting out, I was soon in action, this time with perch. In a dozen casts I caught nine perch, the best probably around 1lb 8oz. I also had three nice roach, also another good rudd. It was a pity the rain was still sheeting down, as I wanted to use my new camera but, in these wet conditions, it wasn’t possible. In fact,so heavy was the rain, it created bubbles all over the bay. I was feeling very damp, especially around my shoulders and wrists, and the rain was so intense that within another hour, the rain was getting through my waterproofs.
At last, a fish to brighten my day
It was around 1500 hrs when I spotted my first carp of the day, it was close to some bulrushes. I baited the carp set-up with a Waitrose king-size prawn (they might cost a bit more than Tesco’s do, but the quality is excellent). I made a cast along the bank to my left and the bait gently entered the water alongside the bulrushes. I then attached a piece of silver paper as an indicator, using a small stone to hold it in place.
I suppose it was about half an hour later, when suddenly the silver paper shot up to the butt ring. Striking, I set the hook into an angry fish that really did know how to take line off the reel at a fast pace. I switched on the check and the reel screeched as more line was taken. Thirty yards away, the fish briefly rolled on the surface, then kited into my right. It tried to get in a dense reed bed and all I could do was to hold the rod high and pull with as much force to my left as possible, in the hope I could turn the carp. It worked, as the fish boiled on the surface some twenty feet from the reeds, thankfully it turned towards the centre of the lake heading for a large areas of lilies. More pressure was exerted and grudgingly the fish started to come in my direction. After what seemed ages but was only about seven or eight minutes, I got several glances at the fish; long and slender with some distinct bronze colouration.
Hopefully, this was a true wild carp and from the way it was fighting, it had the quality to be one. The runs were becoming shorter until I had the fish on the surface coming toward the net. It still had some fight and as it dived a few feet of line was taken but, lifting the rod high with my right arm and holding the net in my left, I heaved the fish across the surface into the net. The water literally boiled as it tried to escape. After a couple of minutes waiting for it to calm down, I was able to take out the hook from its bottom lip, then put the net back in the water. Estimating the fish to be around seven pounds, to make sure the fish couldn’t drag the net into the water, I put a rod rest in the V of the net.
My first wildie since 1958
I then looked around for a sheltered area from the heavy rain and found a spot under a large alder tree covered in ivy with a mass of reeds which helped break the wind and rain. Here, I reckoned it would be a safe bet for a quick picture. Laying out the weigh mat, I switched on the camera, checking the settings for the low light conditions. I didn’t want to use a flash and with everything set up, the camera was put inside a large pocket of my coat.
Back in my swim, I removed the rod rest, then lifted the net and fish, moving quickly to the cover of the alder tree. I laid the net on the mat and moved the mesh away from the fish, getting two shots and switching off camera which went back in my pocket. I then got the fish back in the water. When everything was sorted, including getting the camera was back in its case, it was time to celebrate. On went the jetboiler, then, with a fresh brew along with a slice of fruit cake, I grabbed my chair and sat under the alder trees to enjoy a well earned break from the strong wind and heavy rain.
Fast and furious
After my break I went back to my swim and after a while I noticed a lot of movement from the carp and this didn’t surprise me. As we know, carp follow the wind so, putting away my float fishing gear. I chose to concentrate on the carp. Using a catapult I put out a dozen bits of crust and flake and within minutes the odd fish was attacking the bread. Soon, two or three carp were fighting over one piece of bread and things were certainly looking good. In about three hours I caught eleven carp, both mirrors and commons. These were unweighed but were between 8 and 14lbs; not big fish, but very good fun, despite the atrocious weather conditions.
There was no reason to end my session, as my daughter wouldn’t be picking me up until around 8 p.m. I was in an area with no mobile signal so it wasn’t possible to call Sharon even if I’d wanted to leave. When I did eventually get home, I felt I’d been under a cold shower for an hour. I wasn’t just damp but wet through and cold. But it had been well worth the effort.
I had a total of seven wild carp, all of similar size during my four sessions. If you want to catch a wild carp, one water that will give you a good chance is Chiddingstone Castle lake,where you can purchase a day permit. If you’d like to join, donate, or volunteer to help the Wild Carp Trust, you can do so here:
The charity would especially like to meet anyone who could help to source or care for conservation ponds, or supply fish rearing or transportation equipment. As a member of the WCT you get the chance to fish some wild carp waters where the Trust is involved. I feel there is something special in catching a wild carp, a fish that has been around since Roman times, as they were needed in the monasteries for a food source on Fridays.
A book that I strongly recommend is Fennels Journal no. 4 Wild Carp by Fennel Hudson. This is an inspiring book that will have you going through the Ordnance Survey maps covering your area looking for a secluded pond that might just hold some of these special bronze carp.
Writing & Images Martin James MBE – Summer 2025
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