My first carp.Ledger stops and fairy liquid bottle tops.

Although it was a Sunday. I have always been an early riser. so the need for an alarm clock was limited. Especially on this day, as it was my first foray into the carp fishing world. I was so excited i don't think i slept at all (Still the same to this day!).The sole reason for my mother being up with me was so that she could make my sandwiches fresh for me. Now if you knew my mother that would completely make sense, as she loved to make sure everyone was always fed and watered whatever time of day.  I was going carp fishing with Ollie Butler our next door neighbour and his two twin boys, David and Paul. My fishing had been limited to the odd trip to the river medway at Barming where we lived and one or two sessions fishing for pike at Johnsons lakes in Larkfield. This is where I first caught sight of the serious carp anglers cocooned in their bivvies dotted around the lake. It wasn't till recently that I found out that these anglers were the likes of Chris Haswell and Rod Hutchinson etc.  






                                                   





Dressed in mainly army surplus which in those days was standard dress for most anglers.  I made my way next door just in time to see Ollie opening his garage door to reveal not a car (that was an escort van on the drive) but a fishing store come laboratory for bait making. After marvelling at the myriad of smells coming from the various bottles of flavouring and buckets of mixes. I leant my gear on the wall next to the van.  Ollie wasted no time packing all the equipment needed plus us three boys into the escort. last job for Ollie was to fill the massive tartan thermos with coffee, and with a quick glimpse of mum waving from the front window, (not knowing i had stolen her fairy liquid top for a bobbin!) we were off to our destination which was to be Horton kirby in Dartford. After a quick stop at the corner shop for ollie to get 40 No,6 king size and a mars bar for each of us, we were off.

Upon arrival at the car park it was still dark and the condensation in the cars told me that most of them have been there all night if not all weekend. Armed with my two Gerry Savage carp rods, brolly and various bags of tackle i followed Ollie and the twins as they quietly made there way round the lake to find a swim. As busy as the lake was Ollie and the boys found the only double swim free, while i opted to fish a small swim right in the corner of the lake in a really tight spot. My camping gaz light lit, i set up my chair and brolly and proceeded to tackle up. I slid an ayrsley bomb up the line, and after dropping  4 or 5 i managed to get one of my tiny green and white ledger stops in place. Next i tied (On Ollies recommendation) a size 8 Au lion d'or hook. Bait choice was easy as i had already decided to fish a large cube of luncheon meat on each rod. Notorious for falling off i had used a small piece of rubber tube under the hook to avoid the luncheon meat from falling off on the cast. luncheon meat on  i put the first rod on the rest while i set up the second rod. whilst fiddling around with the small plastic bag of ledger stops to put on the second rod i noticed in the semi dark my rod tip on the first rod was bending to the left in a massive arc and in danger of being pulled off the rest!. I would have had a better indication of the bite but i had not switched my heron bite alarm on!. Blind panic then took over as i dropped everything and picked the rod up.

The tight swim combined with excitement and not being able to reach my net provided me with a very interesting next few minutes. Once a semi calm had ensued and with the fish still providing a very healthy bend in the rod, Ollie appeared out of the semi dark to see what all the commotion was about. He made some room in my somewhat cluttered swim and calmly slid the net in front of me. After what seemed like forever (probably 10 mins),  i finally saw the fish as it turned and as if with a show of defiance it nonchalantly flicked its tail in the air and then surged off up the margin. I applied as much pressure as i dared and managed to turn the fish just before it wiped out a sleeping anglers rods in the next swim.  My arms weren't used to this amount of effort at this hour of the morning and were feeling the strain.  After one more laboured turn on the surface from the now tired fish, Ollie moved in front of me and sank the net in water. With the fish now on its side and coming towards me Ollie wasted no time in scooping in into the vast net. On passing me the net I was thinking what happens next as ollie ran to his swim to get a mat to put the fish on. Ollie returned with the twins just as i was peering into the green mesh at my trophy. Which was a beautifully scalled mirror carp.  After carefully placing the fish on the mat and instructing one of the twins to get some water, Ollie weighed the fish on some avon scales. The fish weighed 14lb but that meant nothing to me as i was still in shock as to the beauty of this majestic creature and the fight it had given me. Then as the early morning mist was sweeping across the lake we returned the fish to its home and rebaited the rods and although nothing else was caught that day (by anyone in fact!). You couldn't have got the smile off my face. Ollie came round to my swim with his massive thermos flask and poured me a coffee, "well done" he said And while Sitting in my chair eating my mars bar and sipping my ballistically hot coffee (healthy fishing breakfast) i thought to myself  "I never got a picture of my first carp", but i did not need one as the sight of that first carp will be etched in my mind forever more.

Solar P1 Review

ABOUT THIS POST

HI EVERYBODY. JUST TO INFORM YOU ALL THAT I AM IN NO WAY SHAPE OR FORM ATTACHED TO OR SPONSORED BY ANYONE. I PAY FOR ALL MY BAIT AND EQUIPMENT AND JUST WANT TO RELAY AN HONEST OPINION ON THE PRODUCTS I BUY. SO THESE ARE MY VIEWS ON MY LATEST ACQUISITION. IN THIS INSTANT I WENT AND BOUGHT THE NEW P1 POD FROM SOLAR.

MY STORY

WHILST ON OUR LIFELONG FISHING JOURNEY, WE ARE OFTEN PRONE TO MAKING THE FUTILE GESTURE OF TRYING TO SCALE DOWN OUR EQUIPMENT. NOW ONLY A TRUE FISHERMAN WOULD UNDERSTAND THE MAGNITUDE OF THIS TASK. I AM GUESSING ITS AKIN TO ASKING A TOP MUSICIAN TO LEAVE A FEW SONGS Off HIS BEST SELLING ALBUM !. NOW MY RODS ARE SORTED AND I AM PERFECTLY HAPPY WITH MY REELS SO NEXT STOP IS ROD POD. I APPRECIATE THAT HAVING A POD IN YOUR FISHING ARMOURY IS A MATTER OF PREFERENCE AS EACH FISHING L0CATION IS DIFFERENT AND PROVIDES VARYING CHALLENGES. SO FIRST AND FOREMOST I WAS LOOKING FOR A SET UP THAT IS AS VERSATILE AND COMPACT AS POSSIBLE. SOLAR HAVE HAD RECENTLY INTRODUCED THEIR NEW GENERATION OF BANK WARE ONTO THE MARKET IN THE FORM OF THE CAD DESIGNED PRECISION ENGINEERED P1 RANGE. UPON PURCHASING THE P1 MY FIRST IMPRESSION ON PICKING UP MY GREEN CANVAS BAG EMBLAZONED WITH THE P1 LOGO WAS JUST HOW SMALL THE BAG WAS. SO THAT AUTOMATICALLY TICKED A BOX WITH ME AS THIS WAS THE MAIN POINT OF THE SCALING DOWN THING.

THE SET UP

SETTING UP THE P1 WAS  SELF EXPLANATORY AND MOST OF THE CAD DESIGNED PARTS, ALTHOUGH SOME BEING TIGHT (WE WILL PUT THAT DOWN TO BEING NEW) ALL SLOTTED IN JUST FINE. THE TAPER - LOC FEATURE ON THE P1 WORKS LIKE A DREAM ENSURING THAT ALL THE ALARMS, HOCKEY STICKS ETC ALL LINE UP PERFECTLY WITH MINIMAL ADJUSTMENT. THIS IS A GREAT PLUS AS I AM PROBABLY NOT ALONE IN SPENDING MANY A FRUSTRATING TIME TRYING TO LINE UP ALARMS USING VARIOUS WASHERS ETC JUST TO GET IT RIGHT. WHILE SETTING THE P1 UP YOU OFTEN CATCH A GLIMPSE OF THE SUBTLE CARBON DETAILING THAT GIVES IT A NEW AND UNIQUE LOOK COMPARED TO PAST SOLAR PODS. THE UPRIGHTS WHERE THE BUZZ BARS SIT SCREW IN WITH MINIMAL FUSS, BUT MINE DID HAVE A COUPLE OF VERY SHARP EDGES (AS IN CUT YOUR FINGER SHARP) WHICH MAY SEEM LIKE A SMALL DETAIL TO SOME, BUT WHEN YOU ARE PAYING TOP OF THE RANGE PRICES I WOULD EXPECT A TOP OF THE RANGE FINISH.. THE POD ITSELF COMES WITH THE CENTER BAR AND TWO UPRIGHT BRIDGE SECTIONS AND 4 X 9” LEGS AND PADDED STORAGE BAG. BUZZ BARS, STAGE STANDS, STABILIZERS AND VARIOUS SIZE BANK STICKS ARE ALL AVAILABLE AT EXTRA COST.

NOW ANOTHER FACTOR THAT TICKS A BOX ON THE P1 IS THE FACT THAT I CAN LEAVE MY ALARMS AND HOCKEY STICKS ATTACHED TO THE P1 BUZZ BAR AND WITH A SLIGHT TURN OF THE SUPER GRIP COLLARS IT FOLDS DOWN. ENABELLING THE WHOLE SET UP TO SLOT NICELY INTO THE BAG SUPPLIED. THUS PROVIDING ME WITH A VERY QUICK SET UP TIME. NOW I USE ATT ALARMS AND THIS WORKS A DREAM. BUT I CANNOT VOUCH FOR THIS WORKING WITH ANY OTHER MAKE OF ALARM!.

IS IT EXPENSIVE ?

COST OF THE P1 IS £299 FOR THE BASIC SET UP WHICH
INCLUDES CENTER BAR, TWO UPRIGHTS AND 4 X 9 INCH LEGS PLUS CARRY BAG. THE BUZZ BARS ARE £45 EACH. SO IS IT EXPENSIVE ?. YOU REALLY CANT SAY, AS SOME PEOPLE PAY A FORTUNE FOR A PAIR OF SHOES AND ONLY WEAR THEM ONCE. ALL I CAN SAY IS THAT I DON’T THINK I WILL EVER NEED ANOTHER ROD POD ! 







SUMMING UP

I USED THE P1 IN VARIOUS FISHING CONDITIONS AT VARIOUS LOCATIONS AND OVERALL I CAN HONESTLY SAY THAT THE P1 OUT PERFORMED ANY POD I HAVE HAVE PREVIOUSLY OWNED. THAT IS NOT TO SAY THE P1 WILL SUIT EVERYBODY AS WE ALL FISH DIFFERENTLY AND THAT IS THE BEAUTY OF THIS THING CALLED FISHING WE ALL LOVE. BUT AS FAR AS MY FISHING GOES IT TICKED MOST OF MY ESSENTIAL BOXES BEING COMPACT, VERSATILE, EASY AND QUICK TO ASSEMBLE, AND YES IN MY EYES IT LOOKS THE NUTS !!

The P1 proved solid on all surfaces.

looking good to go.