A CRUCIAN CONUNDRUM

Lovely creatures aren’t they, living their lives in the quietest corners of our countryside, unassuming and discrete in both character and nature but still able to drive us anglers mad.

It’s become something of a tradition these past few years for me to start the season trying to fill the 16^th with bars of gold. They seem the perfect creature to catch on a midsummer dawn and this year was no exception, so as the light increased from a starlit sky, my friend Chris Wild and I crept into our swims full of anticipation.

Isn’t it wonderful that the same feeling of excitement and sleepless nights arises before the glorious 16th every year, even after nearly seventy years of angling adventures. There is a whole season of fishing ahead, new or familiar challenges to look forward to and a world of mystery to explore. Variety of quarry and waters is the key but there’s no harm in starting with those that are close to your heart.

I love crucians for the conundrums that they throw up. Will they be in the swim you have chosen? Will they bite and on what bait? Will you even see the bites and if so, will you be able to strike at the right moment? These and many other questions are the essence and charm of crucian fishing and solving the riddles are where the rewards are won.

Trying to win a few bites, I had raked and lightly baited the swim the evening before, so I hoped to see tell-tale bubbles when dawn started to illuminate the pool … and my hopes were fulfilled but … there were too many bubbles and they were too big. I feared the worse, king carp, otherwise known as ‘nuisance fish’. I pulled my delicate pole rig out in fear that it would be trashed but eventually I became impatient at not being able to fish for crucians and dropped in again.

I’m guessing you have already decided the outcome and the bite when it came resulted in a violent explosion of water, an instant stretching of elastic, the nearby bed of lilies smashed and a sad goodbye to my float.

Trying to calm down, I added a little more soft pellet groundbait to the now muddy swim, picked up my slightly stronger rig and dropped in again. More bubbles rose and I hoped for a tench but an hour later the chaos resumed. What I assumed was the same carp had returned for more breakfast and it proceeded to give me a tour of all the surrounding lilies, trashing the swim in the process. It was an exciting battle and I was grateful that I’d invested in a Drennan Acolyte Margin Pole, for I was able to pull like hell without fearing it would break. It’s also armed with an elastic puller so I eventually subdued the carp’s enthusiasm for war and led it to my too small crucian landing net.

It was a splendid looking mirror carp with large scales and weighed 12lbs14ozs, not quite the peaceful start that I’d imagined but an entertaining way to celebrate the season’s opening. My swim needed an hour to recover from the wreckage before I managed a first crucian of the season, so I decided to start again, rake and bait it and wait some more.

Chris was fishing in what we call the Vole Swim opposite [because that’s where they live] and had already made me jealous by catching a tench of about 3lbs – I love tench … but don’t we all … and was now busy pulling his hair out in his attempt to induce and hit the crucian bites. I had prepared his swim the night before by raking and baiting and it certainly resulted in crucians being attracted to his swim for he eventually succeeded in landing a beauty of over two pounds.

Meanwhile, my swim was recovering, bubbles rising and by the delicate lowering of soft 6mm pellets below a tiny float, I began to catch some cracking crucians. The weather warmed up and I became engrossed in seeing just how close to my feet I could attract them. After an intriguing few hours I had up to ten big crucians so close that they were alongside the bank-side vegetation in just inches of water.

Fixing up the top two of my pole with an inch long broken top of a pole float, I freelined a pellet amongst them and tried to watch them take the bait. They had stirred up the silt but when I was able to see them make the pick up, all that happened was the slightest nod of the sliver of my indicator. They sat stationary with the bait and it’s no wonder they make us pull our hair out as most of the time the bait was surrounded by half a dozen crucians and absolutely nothing happened to indicate I had a bite … and most of the time I hadn’t!

No wonder we love fishing for them, so subtle are they in their feeding … but eventually I got the hang of knowing what they were doing and ended the session with sixteen crucians to a best of 2lbs5ozs and with an average weight of 2lbs1oz. … and delightfully, most of them were tricked at my feet.

I even managed two small tench so the hours flew by and were totally rewarding, especially as Chris had caught well too, in spite of being taken apart a couple of times by carp. He ended up with about ten splendid crucians so for both of us, the day certainly proved to be a glorious 16^th.

CRUCIAN GOLD

There’s something undeniably beautiful about crucians, not just the way they look but the places they choose to live, even the tentative way they bite.

perfect crucian country - one of Peter Rolfe's delightful Saxon Ponds

waiting for a tiny nudge

These golden creatures provide anglers with so many rewards that it’s heartening to see all the efforts being made to save them. Many clubs are even creating new fisheries to ensure our grandchildren can enjoy crucian fishing too.

crucian catching always makes for happy anglers

a perfect crucian swim

June 1^st marks the start of ‘Crucian Fishing Month’ and the Angling Trust have once again organised a crucian photography contest to raise awareness of their beauty and their plight. I’m honoured to be a judge once again and there are prizes for the winners, so enjoy some thoughtful snapping. 

Here's where to enter :
www.catchacrucian.wordpress.com

keeping up the traditions of angling

I guess when judging last years contest I was looking for photographs that captured the essence of the qualities that make crucians special and there were certainly some excellent entries … but as my school report kept saying, “must try harder”.

telling the story of a puma in the Andes Mountains

I’m no stills photographer but I did try harder and that earned me the privilege of making more than sixty wildlife films all around the world. I guess the principles of a good picture are the same whether moving or still so for what it’s worth, I’ll list a few tips that I’ve found useful.

If you are entering the ‘film category’ – new this year – then just make sure you tell a story. Try to shoot it in a way that gives your audience a sense of actually ‘being there’, sharing the excitement with the angler. That often means getting off the tripod and with a wide angle lens, moving right in amongst the action. 

elastic stretcher

You’ll also need ‘cut-aways’ such as angler reactions, the bite, splashes of fish, bent rod and spinning reel, all shot so you are telling the audience what is happening in a dynamic way. This attention to detail really does make for engaging viewing.

a dignified surrender

Remember continuity too. Decide before you even start fishing where the angler is in relation to the lake. If he or she is on the left and the water on the right then stick with it so as not to confuse your audience. In the business we call this ‘crossing the line’.

Making the decision where 'the line' is can be crucial, whether in stills or film for it dictates where the light is coming from and that is vital for good photography. Back-light [sun shining towards the camera] can be wonderfully evocative, graphic too, which makes for more dramatic images and you can always use fill in flash if the sunshine is too severe.

my attempt to do justice to a splendid creature - no, not Chris

Pay lots of attention to the background. Always avoid clutter such as ugly buildings, parked vehicles, telegraph poles and even bits of tackle. In fact, anything that spoils the illusion of being deep in the countryside and when it comes to fish portraits, all the above is vital.

Try to angle the light on the crucian so those beautiful golden scales are etched and glow. Try also to use the lake as a background so the fishes home becomes a part of the photo. Water provides a lovely soft background for the fish too. I suggested this last year but I don’t think you were paying attention!

glistening gold and big too

If you have a fancy camera you could even crank up the shutter speed so the resultant wide aperture makes for an out of focus background. This is always good as it draws more attention to the fish … and don’t forget to check round the edges of the frame so that you can leave out any irrelevant details.

happy days with friends and a first crucian for Annabelle

Do enjoy photographing your golden gems and do try harder this time so as to enhance the crucians’ reputation as one of our most beautiful fish … but above all else, never forget that fish live in water, so be quick.

This is the link to the Angling Trust's details about the Photo Contest and how to enter : www.catchacrucian.wordpress.com

Peter Rolfe's book, 'Crock of Gold' is essential reading for all crucian enthusiasts.

full of anticipation when dusk falls on June 15th

                         

CRUCIAN GOLD

Crucians. Magical aren’t they, these little golden beauties that live in such glorious corners of our most peaceful spots of the countryside. No wonder we love all the challenges of fishing for crucian carp so much.

a tranquil pool in Southern England - crucian and tench heaven

The first challenge is to find a water that contains true crus, ones that are unsullied by cross breeding with various forms of king carp. Fortunately, we are blessed with a campaign to raise the profile of these special fish. The Angling Trust and crucian enthusiasts have got together to form the ‘National Crucian Conservation Project’ to encourage clubs to create waters where they have a chance to thrive. They have even made a film to highlight the need to do so which is presented by my fishing pal, Martin Salter. View at : http://youtu.be/XAWOzJ6SF-0

an old warrior that's survived a cormorant attack or two

I’m happy to say that my local Christchurch Angling Club, encouraged by it’s members, are creating crucian waters from three pools that were once ‘ordinary’ carp waters … and we’ve got more than enough of those around the country haven’t we. The club have removed all the king carp from the three pools at Holtwood and are stocking two of them with crucians and tench, happy swim mates everywhere they live together. I’m excited at the prospect of fishing them when stocks have settled down … and I know I’m not alone.

Mr.Yates battling a crucian in this classic pond [from the book of the series]

How will we know the crucians are pure I hear you ask and the answer is simple. Peter Rolfe, The Godfather of all things crucian has supplied the stock from one of his fisheries, the one which I filmed with Chris Yates and Martin Bowler for our Ch 4 series “Catching the Impossible”.

It’s the smallest of four pools which Peter manages as crucian breeding ponds [before retiring from the two biggest]. The stocks are moved from the smallest to biggest as necessary and surplus stock sold to angling clubs, including Christchurch in order to fund the work. The smallest pond was emptied and dredged recently and you can read all about it and see the mud! on Peter’s website : http://www.crucians.org/

my well thumbed copy of Peter's excellent book

Peter has written a delightful ‘bible’ - “Crock of Gold” –  ‘seeking the crucian carp’ - and I can highly recommend it if you want to learn everything about crucians and even how to catch them. It’s available from Calm Productions and also recently from Amazon. 

... and some more good news.

Peter is just adding the finishing touches to a book about his creation of one of his Victorian Estate Lakes called “Reflections on Still Water’. I was privileged to have a sneak preview of some of the words and have fished this beautiful water a lot, so get your credit cards ready. It’ll be worth it.

perfect sunrise reflections on this delightful pool

And he’s not finished yet, for he has six more small ponds which he is restoring so he can supply even more true crus to clubs with the good sense to stock waters for their members. No wonder Peter is nicknamed ‘The Crucian Crusader”.

Chris Yates battling a tench amongst the lilies

a crucian rolling by my float - exciting ... but why do they do it?

I realised that if I was going to bang on about crucians I’d better go and catch one or two and so earlier this week I had a session at the syndicate's prime crucian water, Eelstage. To say I was surprised by the result is an understatement as I caught thirty four crucians averaging exactly two pounds to a best of 2/10.

elastic stretching tension

Sixty eight pounds of gold, all on pellet and pole and in one of the most peaceful corners of Southern Britain. Surrounded by wildlife, the warm air filled with blue sky and bird song, it’s difficult to imagine enjoying fishing more – ever.

who could ever tire of catching immaculate beauties like this

THE GLORIOUS 16TH - 2014

this is one it eat earlier

It’s 04.30 in the morning of 23^rd June and time to reflect on my golden opening … and I’m up at this lovely time of day, not because I’m about to cast but because there is a ‘playful’ otter just outside the window, trying to eat the last of our minnows. Bless!

waiting for the glorious 16th

It reminds me of my opening day at a lovely little crucian lake up near Shaftesbury where an otter visited during the early hours of the 16^th, trying to catch before I had even cast in. Luckily the lake I was fishing has an electric fence round it but the lake next door has been drained for dredging and there were the tracks, leading through the mud to the last remaining carp in the puddles that are left before passing my swim by the lilies - but on the other side of the fence. What a shame we have to fence off bits of the countryside to protect our precious fish.

             

not long to midnight now

I arrived at the lake on the 15^th and after a careful walk round to assess where the fish might be, I set up in the ‘Vole Swim’, named for obvious reasons and with lilies on the left and overhanging willows on the right. I raked a narrow channel in the thick weed and noted that there was very dense potamogeton at pole lengths end … tough weed and trouble with a capital “T’ if I hooked a tench!

A little bit of groundbait  and small pellets were offered as a gift to the fish gods, along with a few casters and dead maggots and by dusk there were encouraging signs of activity in the depths below. Anticipation was mounting and as if to celebrate the start to the season, a barn owl flew at head height past the window of my VW camper as I brewed a cuppa. It was so close I could have almost touched it as it looked at me carefully as it passed, a moment indelibly printed into my brain for life.

I sat by my swim at midnight but decided to delay that magical first cast until dawn when all the senses are alert and the world is waking up. I just love that first light when all the birds start singing and the sky begins to shape the lake with it’s reflections … and I didn’t have long to wait for a bite, for as I was easing out my knob of paste, a small rudd grabbed it. Several more of a reasonable size slid over the net and with the water being crystal clear, their glorious colours made sure it was a golden start.

aren't rudd beautiful

Bubbles were rising frequently from the mud, so I knew something bigger was on the cards, hopefully a crucian  and when the float slid under and the fish was hooked, it circled for a second or two, as crucians do but then it woke up and tore off into the dense weed. Obviously a hefty tench … but I will never know for the hook pulled. The same thing happened again a few minutes later so I selected a new top kit with stronger elastic.

I was getting tiny bites which I felt sure were crucians and after a winter trotting a flooded Avon for roach, I’d forgotten just how sneaky crucians can be. I adjusted my tiny pole float to hang in the surface tension, with a No10 stots just off bottom for a tell-tale and felt sure that would result in the first crucian of the season but when it finally disappeared, yet another tench tore off and completely trashed my carefully assembled rig. Curses.

stretched elastic and nerves

Twenty minutes later, and with even stronger elastic, I had a new rig with the bait just touching bottom and hoped that by edging under the overhanging tree to an area that had received no bait, my soft hooker pellet would avoid the tackle wrecking tench and find a hungry crucian – and it worked.

During the next two hours I managed to miss several tiny bites but also landed six lovely plump crucians, four over two pounds with a best of two pounds six ounces. What a lovely way to start the season.

a perfect golden start

I had several small rudd and another crucian over two and had already lifted my rig out once when in the clear water I saw a large golden tench enter the swim. When it came into the swim again I couldn't resist seeing if I could land it and it promptly broke my pole! I knew this fish from the past when it had broken a rod ... they do go a bit these golden ones ... and realised my stupidity even before I hooked it, so it was time to pack up and lick my wounds. It had been an enjoyable start to the season, even if I was left wishing that I could have landed one of those tench.

the tackle breaking terror

Anyway, I had work to do because I had foolishly volunteered to make a film with Trevor Harrop for the Angling Trust about Avon Roach and their predation by cormorants. Trevor had given a very successful introductory talk at one of the Trust’s Fishery Management Advisors meetings about the Roach Project and Trust roles in changing the cormorant protection laws and the suggestion was for Trevor to appear at every meeting. This not being practical, the next best thing would be a film of him giving the talk so I stepped up to do the honours.

how many takes?!

Several takes later the filming at Britford was complete but as Trev said, we were both suffering from sun stroke by the time it was in the can. What with his fluffs, plane noise, dog’s barking, wind gusts and clouds obscuring his face it’s no wonder I want to give up filming. It drives you mad! After making more than sixty wildlife films ‘Repetitive Strain Syndrome’ is getting to me.

still smiling - or relieved it's in the can?

Three days editing followed before the film was finished … and if you visit the Avon Roach Project or Angling Trust’s websites you can decide if it’s a job well done. Roach certainly need all the help they can get if they’re to recover in our rivers and lakes. The Angling Trust is doing a great job now and I believe all anglers should support their work. In the meantime, catch one for me … I'd better go and check the otter damage, then do some gardening.

pretty but only a few minnows left

 

roses round the door

 

beautiful - and they smell good too