Hi Howie,

Just a quick note to say thank you for inviting myself and Adam along to go fly fishing for carp with the Sussex Fly Dressers Guild a few weeks back. It has put the spark of excitement back into fishing for me and I have had quite a few ‘carp days’ this summer now and am truly hooked. Especially during those hot summer days when trout fishing gets very difficult and often boring, watching a 10lb carp suck down your fly and then go off like a bullet train is truly amazing. The excitement and adrenaline make me feel like the 12 year old, over-enthusiastic little boy chasing tiddlers at the local park all over again and I am loving it. Just that now it’s not about catching tiddlers but fish that are bigger and much stronger than anything I have ever caught before. The best fish I have caught so far was a 14lb common carp that day at Jenny’s lake, here is the picture for your blog.

There are a few things I like about carp fishing and I never thought I would say that as I have always been quite a snob about carp fishing. Pound for pound they are by far the hardest fighting fish I have ever caught. My 7wt trout rod is no match to a fish over 10lb and I have been trawling the internet for a suitable 10wt rod which I can use on the river to better cast the huge bass flies.

The other thing I really like is how well carp fishermen treat their fish. Each fish is handled with so much care and set back into the lake to be caught again another day. I never knew you could buy carp antiseptic drops to promote healing of the little hole the hook leaves in the carp’s lip. Last but not least fly fishing for carp really trains your casting accuracy and reactions. In most situations you need to cast into the tightest little spots underneath bushes and right into the path of moving fish and the window for striking is very narrow and you have to be lighting fast to set the hook. The only thing I won’t mention here are the dog biscuits.. J

After an afternoon of 1-on-1 casting tuition with you in Shoreham, Adam’s fly fishing has truly taken off, it is great to see how quickly a few hours of good casting lesson can propel a total novice to a very accomplished fly caster. Looking back I wish I had started with tuition rather than years of struggling until I finally figured it out and will recommend your help to anyone who wants to hear it.. I should probably still book a lesson in at some point to iron out some of the mistakes I have picked up over the years.

I have been doing some more research into fly fishing and especially fly patterns for carp and have tied a variety of carp flies which I am keen to get wet before the summer is over. The next challenge is to catch one with wet fly or streamer which should be quite a challenge since carp don’t usually hook themselves like trout do.

I still have unfinished business with the river Adur as well as I have not been able to extract a single fish this year. The tides are looking great for this weekend so I assume I will see you down there over the next few days. I really want to catch a good size mullet down there before the summer is over as much as I want to catch another bass for the table, it’s been two years since I last caught anything down in Shoreham.

Fingers crossed for a fishy autumn, tight lines and see you on the river bank!

Julian