For the last couple of years some of the Pickled Carp Crew have taken a holiday together at Anglers Paradise. The idea came to fruition after I had treated Pop to a holiday for his 60th birthday. We had gone in April and had such a good time, I knew I would return. It was not just the fishing, which proved to be better than I could have imagined, but it was the atmosphere that Zyg and Rose Gregorek, the owners, created. The bar was packed every night with anglers from all walks of life sharing their fishing experiences and getting ever so pickled! I fished with Pop on the Tench and Orfe lakes most of the week and we caught a lot of fish, with Pop taking over 200lb of Tench in one day! Later in the week I fished the Main Carp Lake for half a day, had a lovely fish and fell in love with the place.

The following April the Pickled Carp Crew set off for their first visit. Phil Houghton and Rob Ellis were travelling together from Burton and I was going via Sailsbury to collect the fourth member Des Purdy. Des and myself arrived around mid-day to find that Phil and Rob had got there at some unearthly hour and had been wondering around the lakes, getting all excited because they could not fish until after check-in which started at 1pm. We still had an hour to go, so we went the pub!. The check-in consists of Zyg giving a run down on how the lakes are fishing whilst plying you with his very potent home-made wine. By the time we had got through the proceedings and moved all the gear into the accommodation we where slightly pickled to say the least.

Rather than rush to the Main Carp Lake and risk sitting behind static indicators we opted to spend the first few days fishing some of the other lakes. That first afternoon we went on Beginners Carp and caught a load of fish using float fished meat. It became a bit of a competition and has been a regular event since. The next few days were spent catching Golden Tench and Golden and Blue Orfe, small Carp and Koi.

The second half of the week and we started to put some time in on Main Carp Lake. The weather had been awful and it was getting worse. It was wet and very cold, but we were pickled and did not care. I started off quite well landing a couple of nice fish. Rob fished next to me and was catching also, but Phil and Des seemed to be struggling.

However Des was about to have a change in fortunes and after some negotiation with Phil, cast a bait towards the Island he was fishing. Soon his indicators were screaming and Des bent his rod into one of the Monsters from Paradise. The fish went over 23lb and was a new personal best for Des. I think Phil thought the fish should have been his, but he was pickled and was too pleased for his mate to care.

That was just about concluded our first visit, but Phil and myself booked to attend the Anglers Paradise netting party, to be held in the November. The idea behind this week is to spend three days helping Zyg net a couple of lakes, for fishery management purposes and then to spend the rest of the week, fishing for free.

The weather was much kinder when we returned for the netting, and we soon got stuck in to some hard graft dragging nets and moving fish to the holding ponds. The nice part about being involved in this process is seeing the fish in the lakes. When Zyg talks about the size and quantities of fish you sometimes have to question the accuracy, but he is never wrong. The lakes are so rich the fish breed very successfully and the stocks have to be managed.

Soon the work was complete and the fishing started. On the Main Carp Lake, as with many of the other lakes, Zyg has built pagodas for the disabled anglers, however these have also become known as the ultimate bivvy and soon Phil and myself occupied the one on Main. I caught almost straight away and Phil was feeling a little despondent, as he had not caught from this water yet. Being pickled helped relieve the pain and we returned the following day a little worse for having stopped late in the bar. However bad the hangover, Phil was more determined than ever and fished really hard, even in the heaviest of downpours he would be at his rods waiting to hit the slightest twitch. It paid off and later that day he put his first Main Lake fish on the bank and it was a good twenty. That was how our first year ended at Paradise and I vowed to return and catch one of those Monsters from Paradise.

That winter I was invited to join the Anglers Paradise 5C's (Crazy Crafty Cunning Carp Catchers) syndicate, which I willingly excepted and have not regretted in the slightest. A lot of waters these days are far too political, Anglers Paradise and the 5C's are a breath of fresh air, where fishing is about enjoying yourself, being sociable and putting a few well looked after and very pretty fish on the bank. The Pickled Carp Crew holiday party for the April 1999 trip has grown to six who all have cunning plans to outwit the Monsters of Paradise. Personally I will be having a go at the British Record Orfe. In November 1998 we netted the Specimen Tench and Orfe Lake, which had become full of small fish due to five years of very successful breeding. There we tons of fish. Now the lake has been re-filled and the bigger fish returned, a few of the Orfe went over 8lb (the BRFC stands at 7lbs 15.5oz) I know this to be true as I witnessed the weighing of a couple of them. I will update the site later in the year with a progress report. Wish me luck!

If you have any comments or suggestions email me at pickled.carp@btinternet.com