Monthly Thoughts

Ian Chillcott with gems of carp fishing wisdom. 

It's late October and Jerry has popped over to Etang le Fays in France. Set in an ancient forrest this stunning fishery was created by Jerry's old mate Mark Eldrich and hosts some monster fish to over 70lbs. The conditions are tricky though, with warm sunny days followed by frosty nights. Will Jerry be able to pull off his dream of a new PB?    

In this episode of Chilly On Carp, Ian ‘Chilly’ Chillcott heads across the channel to Abbey Lakes in Picardie, France for some gigantic Carp fishing. While Chillies French may leave something to be desired, the venue certainly does not. Located just north of Paris, Abbey lakes is a mainstay in French Carp fishing, a country unanimously considered the best in the world for the species. Fox lake in particular has Chilly very excited. With a lake record of over 70 pounds and an average size of between 30 and 45 pounds, it’s clear why thousands of Carp-hungry brits flock over every year. With this in mind, our host needs to bring out the big guns and employ every tactic he has in his back pocket to get one of these monsters to the bank.

Autumn may be the time you start thinking about buying a bivvy heater or perhaps a warm sleeping bag, but Ian Chillcott reckons it’s the time to get on the move and stalk some carp.  

Ian Chillcott completes his cold weather carp stalking quest on a day ticket lake and the one he first used a hair rig on.  

In this special episode of Chill on Carp, Ian ‘Chilly’ Chillcott returns to an old stomping ground of his youth, the Basingstoke Canal, to try and catch its illusive wild canal Carp. It’s 36 years since Chilly came to the canal for the first time and things are looking a lot more promising. It’s a far cry from the usual well-stocked syndicate lake, but he fancies a spot where some water flows into canal from the nearby nature reserve. Chilly really is up against it. Fishing through line jamming weed, bait stealing ducks and some classic, never-ending English drizzle, some good-sized Carp finally move in on Chilly’s baits...