CARP-FISHING TIPS: CARAVAN CARPING
In the summer of 2024, I decided to site my touring caravan on a lake in Milton Keynes. I didn’t really know the stock, but had seen a few when walking around the lake. However, after speaking to a few other caravaners, they said it was hard going.
When the season opened on 1st April, I decided I was going to fish zigs at a range of around 130 yards. On my first session, just to see, I got my marker out and plumbed up: it was quite uniform of about 15ft, apart from a gravel bar at 21 wraps that went up to 8ft and was about a rod-length wide, which immediately stood out to me as a great spot for the future.
I had a small one on a zig that first night, but I felt it wasn’t right, so the next night I fished on the bar and hit it with particles, but that was the last time I used particles, as that night I had six double-figure bream!
I decided that boilies had to be the name of the game, so the next weekend I put out two kilos of Secret 7 soaked in S7 Hydro Spod Syrup. I had three bites, landing two of them and got cut off on the other, but at least it was progress.
Caravan life
The lake was starting to get weedy, so I decided to hit the bar with bait and keep my spot clean. I kept the bait going in over the coming weeks and the bar got cleaner and cleaner, but I wasn’t getting too many bites. Something had to change, so I opted to fish all three rods on the bar, one at 20 wraps, one at 21 wraps and the other at 22 wraps. My thinking was that with one on top of the bar and one either side of it in the softer silt, any bait that rolled down the bar would end up on one of my spots. I changed to solid bags on the shorter and longer rods, with a wafter and slip-D rig on the bar itself.
Solids at the ready
Well, it was like someone had flipped a switch! Over the next five months, I went on to receive 40 bites despite only fishing at night, with the biggest fish coming in at 34lb 12oz. I ended up using 50kg of Secret 7 all soaked in the Crayfish Hydro Spod Syrup and dusted in Insect Meal.
The next best angler was on 15 bites, so I must have been doing something right!
I had some great fishing once I unlocked the code
They couldn’t get enough of the bait!
I started getting through to the lake’s better fish
The better fish were mostly commons
