Editors Comment Fish Welfare Top of the 2019 Agenda – Once again there is no shortage of articles & photographs submitted by members for Care for your carp..... inclusion in our 2019 edition. The Whilst the explosion in interest in carp fishing is no bad editing has been a challenge. thing what it has meant is that virtually anyone who Sadly our graphic designer’s wife wants to target carp irrespective of their experience and passed away recently so this year’s edition of the Waters ability can do. Watch a few clips on YouTube, pick up a News has been produced in-house. magazine or two, pop down to Chapmans and hey ho Contributors to this issue you're a carp angler. That’s all well and good but if you are not tooled up to care for them with the right gear Julian Cundiff, Wayne Morton, Bob Brown, Perry Phillips, and right procedures the carp will suffer. SYP lakes have Cameron Preece, Steve Foster, Alex Buckley, Graham great stocks of carp in them to around twenty pounds Mills, Dean Richards, Jerry Parkins, Matt Stringer, Robin but I have seen some very poor angling taking place. Aconley, Sam Booth, Lee Mellor & Clive Westlake. Some of it due to naivety, some down to lack of care but ALL can be prevented if you use some common sense In this Issue and follow these ten golden rules. Remember carp pull Fish Welfare far harder than bream, tench and roach but can be just as easily damaged. Hope this all helps and see you Best Days Fishing of My Life lakeside soon..... New Constable Joins SYPAC 1. As soon as you get to the lake look and read and follow the rules that are clearly displayed on the boards Worthy Winner of Prompt Renewal £25 Tackle Voucher at the car park entrance. There is no need for me to repeat them but to stress they are not there for fun they Chesterfield Canal at Ranby are there to protect our stock. Our neighbours at Predator Fishing Lakewood only yards away lost a lot of carp last summer and these rules are to do the very best we can do to stop Aspects of Club Waters it happening here. Fishing in Florida 2. Use good quality line. Your line is the connection between you and the carp, if it fails you lose and the carp Safe Angling Guide Lines could be in danger towing a rig around. Change your line Associate Special Offer at least once a year and never use a mainline under 12lb for fishing. Load it as the instructions describe, when you When two or more new associates join at the same wind in feel it between your fingers so that you can feel time the one off joining fee can be reduced to £75 each for damage. If in doubt change it. making it a total of £135 each to join. 3. Do not leave your rods. Yes we need to be realistic and we do need to answer the call of nature, get the camera out, grab a book etc. but there is no excuse for walking round the pond with your rods in. If you need to then wind in your rods, its only a small lake so it only takes a minute or two to get them out again. An unattended rod will allow the carp to get in the reeds which could cause it to get tethered and damaged. You will not be able to run quicker than a carp can take line from your spool and potentially drag your rod in......expensive and tragic for the carp. Cont……… 1 4. Get a decent unhooking mat. You must not lay carp of 8. Wet your hands. When you catch a carp before you any size on the ground be it touch it wet your hands thoroughly. Dry hands remove soft grass or otherwise. slime and slime is what protects the carp from infection. They flap, lose scales and it Take your watch off to ensure it does not scratch the can cause them serious carp. Never ever hold a carp in a towel either as it takes injury. An unhooking that slime off. Be careful when having your picture taken mat cushions the carp against the carp is kept wet and that when you hold it against this. Ones with sides are your body for photos it does not come into contact with even better as it prevents the zips or badges. carp from sliding off if your attention slips. The thicker the base the better. In all honesty the more you pay the 9. Occasionally when you have two rods out you can better the mat. When you get a mat have it out and catch two at once. Looking after one carp is hard enough prepared BEFORE you catch one. Keep it in the shade if never mind two. Don't try to do brace shots it can end in possible and wet before you lay the carp on it. disaster. Photograph one, put it back then do the other. 5. Purchase a pair or forceps and a disgorger to take 10. When in doubt ASK. No matter how experienced any hooks out. Sometimes you will be able to push the hook of us are we are all learning. Take your time, don't panic out, never ever wiggle it out. and seek help. Be it borrowing forceps or carp care liquid or asking for help doing pictures another pair of hands That causes the hook always helps. hold to enlarge which is not fair on the carp. If you are using small hooks a disgorger is perfect, standard carp hooks are best removed with forceps 6. Get yourself some carp care liquid. All the big firms sell them such as Nash, Korda, Kryston.... When you get the hook out add some liquid / gel to the hook mark . This Enjoy your fishing, be prepared and stops infection and restores the natural defences of the look after the beautiful carp we have on carp. the fishery. If anyone wants any more When you catch a carp check advice or help you can always contact the carp all over and if there are any marks on it treat them me via social media. with the liquid. At spawning Facebook Julian P Cundiff Twitter @juliancundiff time they can damage themselves so be prepared. The Best Days Fishing of my Life – 7. When a carp is hooked it usually panics and will rush off and try to strip line from the reel. It is vital the clutch ’ Hi Bob - had a day at on your reel is set correctly people. Too loose and the Westwoodside on st carp will be in the reeds or weed before you can control Wednesday 1 August it. Too stiff and the rod may be dragged in or your line best days fishing of my life - 36 carp, none under will break. When you cast out check it can just be taken 10lbs most around 12 to off the reel by hand. If you can do it then so can the 14lbs all out of the main carp.....if you can't....... lake (Mirlywn Lake). Thanks for a fantastic day.’ 2 New Constable & New SYPAC Member Wayne Morton’s First Experience of Woodsetts Pond Due to the barbless hook rule, I noticed I I have only joined SYPAC a few months back and from was dropping a few the word go I have met some nice people and fish due to the experienced some good fishing after my acceptance into nature of the chod the South Yorkshire police force I couldn’t wait to start a rig even when new career and also to get my teeth into some of the dropping the lead so clubs waters. I had to come up The main target being Woodsetts for the rest of the year with a new strategy. and into winter. I will never forget the first time I loaded I came to the conclusion the spinner rig with size four the car with my red membership card in hand wondering fang twister on a helicopter setup with a short boom of what this new adventure would bring. chod link around four inches long that cured the hook It was a very warm early autumn day getting to the gate pulls. seeing this little pool in the dip to the right of what I While all the way could only describe as a little piece of heaven as the lake feeling the may not be big. way in as session after session But it defiantly has character, loads of overhanging trees wild life running and flying all around then my heart passed I kept a note of how started to race as it always has since I was a small child. many fish I was It is still a good feeling that at 33 years of age fishing still catching on each gives you that rush, it’s important to understand that this bait and the sport is not just about catching fish of course that’s what areas caught from drives us as fishermen but it’s the simple things when and weights of fish. your sat there in what I could only describe as another It was very clear from quite early on that they preferred world. the scopex squid, although both baits would produce; Hearing the foxes calling in the distance, the magpie’s the scopex squid would double the amount of fish caught cackle in the trees, morning dew on a spiders web as if compared to the other and in half the wait time as well.