Colin the Carp

Where to Go

Find the fish first. Baiting an empty swim is a long wait for nothing. Look for shows, bubbles, dark shapes in the edge, or birds over a patch of silkweed.

Open Catch Map — see where members are catching, then pin your own.

Margins and islands

Overhanging trees, reed lines, the first shelf. Islands and bars. The windward bank after a blow often holds him. Don’t cast to the horizon because a magazine did.

Silt, gravel, weed

Gravel for a wafter. Silt for a balanced bait that doesn’t plug. Weed: a bag that sits in a hole, or a zig over the top. If you can’t feel a clean donk, don’t guess — feel again.

Day tickets

Club lakes, commercials, syndicate pits. EA rod licence. Two rods is typical; three where the ticket says. Don’t make up swims or cut trees.