Mike Willmott - Essential Baits

Life and Carp Life Mike Willmott28We cut the hooklink off next to the mouthbefore using a set of pike forceps to removethe hook, which fortunately we managed todo with no damage whatsoever. This cameas a huge relief to me because I don’t mindadmitting I was extremely concerned aboutit. The fact that the baited hook was lodgednine inches back was proof indeed of just howwell the bait was working and was no doubtthe result of aggressive feeding, achieved viathe constant application of an extremely goodfood source. I also suspect there was strongcompetition for the food because it’s very rareto see fish feeding so aggressively in isolationor in small social groups.With this in mind, we continued toapply the bait on a regular basis and the fishjust kept on coming. My next two sessionsproduced two of the most stunning carp Ihave ever seen. The first went 31lb 2oz andthe second 30lb 6oz. Both the fish were a verydeep chestnut-bronze colour and in absolutepristine condition with curtain membranesfully intact – a rare phenomenon these days!In all honesty, I just couldn’t believe myluck. Having said that, I’m a great believer thatyou make your own luck. As a famous golferonce said, “The harder I work, the luckier Iget!” So very true. You only get out of carpfishing as much as you are prepared to putin, and we had both worked extremely hardfor those river fish. Okay, itwasn’t Lee’s year this timearound, but I know his timeAs Gary Player once said, “Theharder I work, the luckier I get!”Well we worked very hard,and we got very lucky!This one went30lb 6oz.Another river stunner.This one went 31lb 2oz.will come – it always does.We had now caught four different 30s froma venue which, to our knowledge, had onlyever produced two different 30s in the past,yet we still felt confident the river had more tooffer. We planned to fish right through untilat least mid-September, but by mid-Augustthe river systems had taken so much water, dueto six weeks of consistent rain, that they werealmost at breaking point and were runningthrough so strongly that it was impossibleto hold the bottom, let alone expect thebait to stay in one place. This was extremelyfrustrating because it interrupted our baitingprogramme and we decided to pull off a fewweeks earlier than initially planned.Back where I belong at Frampton –without a doubt the king of all carp waters.RETURN TO FRAMPTONIn hindsight, this turned out to be quiteconvenient because it gave me a coupleof extra weeks to prepare for my next bigchallenge – let me explain. Earlier in the year Iwas invited to attend Frampton’s end of seasonbarbecue, which has always been one of myfavourite events. Out of all the waters I’vebeen fortunate enough to fish over theyears, Frampton undoubtedly standshead and shoulders aboveeverything else. It’s now 22years since I wasfortunate enoughto first set footon the banks ofthis marvellousestate lake, andmany friendships with fellow members stillexist to this very day. I’ve always made apoint of attending their annual barbecues,reunions and Christmas party bashes, and I’vesupported their social events with raffle prizes,etc. at every opportunity.I first joined the syndicate in 1988, but leftafter four brief years before rejoining in 1997.However, by 2001 the carp gods were onceagain calling elsewhere, and, being the rollingstone that I am, I decided it was once moretime to seek new challenges that lay ahead. Imust admit that my quest to reach out andtouch new horizons often frustrates the hellout of me! In fact, I would go as far as sayingthat my single biggest regret in my carp lifewas leaving such a fantastic syndicate on twoseparate occasions, but young hearts and allthat!Just to put the record straight, the truthof the matter was that I was halfway throughwriting a book, coupled with the fact that acertain Park Lake was calling me with a bigblack mirror not far behind on my ‘wish list’!I needed to focus 100% on each of those longtermambitions if I was to be successful in myquest, and I’m glad to say that each of thosegoals was successfully negotiated over theyears that followed.Even during those eight years of chasingdreams elsewhere, Frampton was rarely farfrom my thoughts. After all, some of myclosest friends were members and, furtherto this, Lee was fortunate enough to gainmembership last year. With this in mind, itwas somewhat inevitable that having achievedthose earlier mentioned targets, my thoughtswould turn back to Frampton and the dreamsit still holds.The following paragraph has been takenfrom my book, Carp Life, at the end of myFinal Farewell chapter about my last seasonon Frampton eight years ago, but pretty muchsums up exactly how I felt at the time ofleaving:The capture of Broken Pec was aparticularly significant and sentimentalmoment for me. I knew that she could well bethe last carp I would ever have the pleasureof holding at the magnificent estate lake. Mydecision to leave Frampton signalled the endof a long and distinguished chapter withinmy carp life, and was one of the most difficultdecisions I’ve ever had to make. Perhaps oneday it would be nice to think I could return– who knows? One thing I do know though,is that I feel extremely privileged to have beengiven the chance to walk its wonderful banks,to have held its magnificent fish, and to havetasted its magical atmosphere for so manyyears. When I look back through the wonderfulmemories that I’ve been so fortunate to beholdfrom such a majestic venue, I realise thatwhatever I try to put back into carp fishing,I could never, ever give back what I’ve taken.I therefore dedicate this chapter to Framptonand its members, both past and present, who,each in their own different way, have inspiredme more than they will ever know – thanks forthe memories lads.When I left the syndicate in 2001 I waspromised by a certain individual (you knowwho you are) that whenever, and if ever, I