Hello and welcome to Issue 15 of Think Fishing… and warmer weather is finally here! In the run-up to filming this issue the weather had still been cold but a couple of days before we visited Larford Lakes, temperatures suddenly rose and were more typical for the time of year. But that presents anglers with problems as the fishing suddenly becomes difficult, because the water temperatures are still low, but the air temperature is warm and as soon as the fish feel that heat they turn their attention to spawning.

However, there are still fish to catch but you have to be prepared and have the mindset that even though you think conditions are perfect, the fish generally aren’t going to be all that interested in feeding. That’s exactly what happened during this session at Larford but because the Specimen Lake is a large lake with a good depth, I still believe the best way to tackle this type of venue is by being positive, even when bites are hard to come by.

The other lesson to learn at this time of year is that you should never give up. The Specimen Lake is called that for a reason and it’s possible to catch 100b of carp in an hour if you prime the swim correctly and know what signs to look out for when you need to step up a gear. Hope you enjoy the issue, there’s plenty to learn from what proved to be a difficult day’s fishing and if there’s something you’d like me to cover in future issues drop us a line or leave a comment on the Think Fishing Facebook page.

Des Shipp