What A Session Catching Carp At Catch 22 Lakes - Getting That Buzz Back Carp Fishing - Carp Chapters

This entry was posted on 24th August, 2025 by Chris Ansell

For this episode of Carp Chapters, the plan was to re-ignite a passion for carp fishing. My best friend Craig and I have known each other for over 40 years. His work and family responsibilities have had a habit of getting in the way of his angling, wich I'm sure many of you can relate to, so this felt like the perfect opportunity to get him out on the bank again.

Craig hadn’t fished properly in over two years. He’d been a regular before, as a young lad fishing with me and especially when his son Oscar first got into it, but as kids grow up and priorities shift, the rods had been packed away. Join us as we visit Catch 22 Lakes with floater tactics, this session was about more than just catching, it was about reigniting that passion we both grew up with.

Off the mark straight away.

The session couldn't have started better. Right as I started putting Craig on the spot to introduce himself and his fishing background for the camera, he hooked into a fish on his first cast in two years. Muscle memroy kicked in and after a perfectly timed strike, he was in! The result was a cracking common just over 20lb, and the grin on his face said it all.

I then flicked the controller float rod back onto the same spot and, only 76 seconds later I was into one myself. We got a great photo of ourselves holding up an awesome brace of commons one just over and one just under the 20lb mark.

Drama in the Lilies

We could see plenty more carp rishing for the mixers we had put out and it didn’t take long before Craig was in again, this time with a fish that carreered off to the right and snagged itself in the lilies. We tried giving it slack, hoping it would free itself, but not this time. So, I jumped in the boat to try and get it free. By the time I got there, the fish had already escaped.

Worried that all the commotion might have spooked the rest, I catapulted a few more mixers into the swim and gave it a rest for a few minutes. Once the carp were confidently taking again Craig hooked another, and dispite not feeling as big as the one we had lost this one was a special old Catch 22 original, pushing 25lb, with an unusual grey grey color.

Changing our approach

Floater fishing can be very demanding, you need to be on the ball all the time. So later that afternoon we swapped over to bottom baits and settled in for the evening. Using a marker float, we found a couple of likely-looking areas and didn’t have to wait long for action. A young, recently stocked carp was first to the net, followed by a handfull of bream. At least we knew there were fish on the spots.

As the late summer evening fell, and the winged ants were dropping out of the trees onto our barbecue, we decided not to fish overnight. Instead, we sat back, and had a long overdue catchup. We planed to be up nice and early to see if we could pick up one of the really big specimens in the lake.

Morning Madness

At first light we were back at it, and Craig was quickly into another fish. At first, it didn’t put up much of a fight, we actually assumed it was a tench at first. But as it slid over the net, we realised it was another really good carp.

Before we even had a chance to weigh or photograph it, his other rod screamed off and suddenly he was playing one that was a bit more angry. The second was a lean, powerful mid-double, but the first one was a true Catch 22 gem one of the old originals, weighing in at 28lb on the nose.

Getting that buzz back

That final carp really summed up the session. It wasn’t just about the size of the fish though they were brilliant it was about Craig finding that spark again. After an exceptional dad-dance in the peg, he sent a message to all those who may have drifted away from the sport over the last few years.

“Get out and go fishing. You’ll remember how much you loved it before.”

Check out the Video below and we’ll catch you for the next episode of Carp Chapters. Tight Lines!