We join Ian ‘Chilly’ Chillcott in session as he tackles a very silty old estate lake…

This month’s assignment is to pick the brains of long-time carp catcher Ian Chillcott, currently mid-campaign on a Bedfordshire estate lake, notorious for its silty nature. With this in mind we meet Chilly  on the second day of his latest trip, one which sees him excited at the prospect of a bite or two. He’s been spying the lake’s resident roach and bream spawning, which can often trigger the carp into a feeding frenzy.

As we stand at the narrow end of the historic venue, he spots a bit of a commotion beneath an overhanging tree just along the margin. It dies down and our man is convinced it’s the spawning roach activity. Then, moments later, it’s noticeable that a pair of ducks have been spooked from the same spot, before an all together different disturbance takes place. “That’s a carp,” Chilly whispers excitedly as we creep towards the spot for a closer look. There’s definitely been some disturbance beneath the branches and as we scan the rest of the water in the narrow channel, we spot upwards of a dozen plumes of clay and silt rising from the lakebed. There are definitely carp here, and it looks like they are here in numbers. There’s only one thing for it: time to hatch a plan!

Above: Chilly found some carp feeding away in the silt...