Fox-sponsored up and coming carp fishing young star Harry Pratt kicks off his new blog with a look back a recent months…

Autumn 2016 was a very busy time of the year for me, with lots of work on in the run up to Christmas. I was very limited for time, however, I certainly didn't let that stop me from getting on the bank and tempting a few fish into my net! 

Above: Catching carp in winter is a great buzz.

Come the end of October when the filming of 'Carp Wars'  on Sky Sports reached completion, I was able to focus on my own angling, which for a few weeks didn't even involve me wetting a line. Having said this, I was still spending just as much time on the bank as I ever do! I'd managed to get myself a ticket on a new syndicate, which hadn't been fished for over 10 years and this was the perfect time of year to build a picture in my head of the lake and get bit of a feel for the exciting venue before winter struck.

However, in no time at all it seemed the cold weather was upon us and it was time for me to get my winter campaign up and running. It's this time of year I really love to fish day tickets, with less anglers on the bank and depending on the chosen venue, you can have a good head of fish to target. It’s always good to catch a few and keep morale high while most people are sat at home in the warmth.

Above: Making the effort when others are sat in their warm homes.

Fortunately just minutes away from my new syndicate venue, there is a very prolific day ticket lake that I was able to fish whilst still staying in touch which the syndicate, and I even managed a day or two pike fishing too. When the carp fishing gets slow, there's nothing I enjoy more than targeting a variety of other species, whether it be silver fish on light coarse fishing tackle, or these prehistoric looking predators, its great fun on a cold winters day. One morning that springs to mind was during the festive break when I bagged myself 5 gorgeous pike in the space of just 2 hours, including a personal best!

Above: Confidence in a packet!

Back to targeting the carp, I had a session where I was joined for a day by CC Moore media man Alex Grice to put a piece together for Total carp magazine. As with all winter trips, a copious amount of tea bags were used, and although I really had to work for them, I even managed a couple of fish for the camera.  The bites came on the ever-faithful Live System, which is a top bait all year round but one that comes into its own when water temperatures are low. From here on, I kept the bait going in and over the next few weeks the bites kept coming, making the effort on the overnighters, and the regular trips to watch the water and pre-bait well worthwhile!

Above: A very popular rig and for good reason!

So that brings me up to speed, it has been an enjoyable winter so far and with spring just around the corner I cannot wait to get on the bank more.

Below: More of the same for spring please :)