The annual, like father like son trip. (part 1)

Fishing story by Jordy Kyper: The hobby of fishing didn’t just fall out of the sky for me. It’s more like an acquired taste. Ever since I was a kid I went fishing for whitefish with my dad after dinner at our place on the canal. The whites became rags of bream and the bream became piglets of carp. For several years now my dad and I have been going on fishing vacations. Often we stay within the Netherlands and pick a different water each time. This year we went for a long weekend to the water De Ganzenkuil.

The Ganzenkuil is located in the province of Gelderland, right on the river Waal and under the smoke of Nijmegen. The water is a 19-acre sand mining pit with a depth of up to 22 meters. The size and depth of the water immediately appealed to me. Only with only 4 days, rising temperatures and a water completely unknown to us, it was going to be quite a challenge. Fortunately, we had a depth chart and after the necessary research on the Internet, confidence rose and we were ready for the annual, so father like son trip.

With a fully loaded Caddy, we set off from Amsterdam toward the town of Deest. In the car the tension begins to rise. More than once we heard questions like which swims of the water would still be available, if there would be more anglers or if we would have the water to ourselves. How do we handle it on arrival? Put the rods in immediately or feed them first?

Upon arrival from the water, it took a while to find where to report, but after a while an old man walked up to us. The old friendly man had almost forgotten about us and offered us his excuse. This excuse was very quickly accepted when he told us that there were no other fishermen present and so we had the place to ourselves. The old man is not the manager himself but in his absence he welcomes us. The old man tells us that just last week a carp of 38 pounds was caught. Or was it 38 pounds? This shows that there is little information about the water itself and that we must go into battle blank.

The gate is opened and the car drives onto the dirt road. Already immediately the mouths fall open because of the nature we found ourselves in. Besides fishing, we always find nature very pleasant during our vacations. The apartment buildings, cars and the hustle and bustle of the city we do not have to see for a while these days.

Like god in France, we drive around the water. Every 50 meters we get out and peer over the water. We soon notice the clarity of the water and the rapid decrease in depth. Arriving at half the water, despite the clarity and sunny weather, we have not yet managed to detect any carp presence. Due to the warm temperatures, all my hopes are focused on the back shallower part of the water. We decide to leave the car behind and continue our search on foot. Strolling through the woodshed with polaroid glasses on our heads, looking for carp.

Yes, finally! Between the branches of a sunken tree, two carp slide by very gingerly. They are not beakers of carp but the size does not matter for the moment. My father discovers them too and together we follow the two carp for several minutes. Soon several plans and strategies on how to tackle it are sounded. The gear is not immediately removed from the car but we decide to finish the round first. Finally, the shallow end we haven’t looked at yet. As we get closer and closer to the back shallows we both suddenly stand still. Do you see that, too? Is that what I think it is? Carp? All of them!

When we reach the back part and stand on top of the dike we find there the thing we were looking for. Carp! The shallow end is chock full of black broad backs. It falls silent and all you hear is the sound of two faster beating hearts. The tension rises.

The carp that we find are not from the old stock and are mainly released mirrors. Since we do not have many days at our disposal, we decide not to focus on the old stock but more on catching numbers in the hope that there is a big hit among them.

So the choice of which part of the water to fish is clear. Now comes the trickiest part and that is to keep the fish in this section as well. This is not easy since the shallow depth will make our presence be noticed faster. We decide to first unload the necessary gear at our leisure, rig everything up and set up the tents. The boat is supplied with air and a feed of particles, pellets and broken boilies is ready.

We keep a close eye on the carp present and as soon as we see less and less activity, the boat is launched. The shallow bay is very scattered with small bits of particles in hopes of giving the carp confidence in the feed. Line pressure is also minimized by fishing with four, rather than six, the first night and placing them below their own side.

It must have been around 4 o’clock in the night. A monotone sound of a bite alarm rings in my ear. As soon as I open my eyes I see my father’s rod being bent and yards of line shooting off the reel. From under my brolly I see my father shoot out of the tent and quickly pick up the rod. The carp is unstoppable and takes off like a male into the depths. Still half sleepy, we stand and watch helplessly as the carp takes meters of line. I decide to get the boat but as soon as I turn around it is already too late. Pats! The sound that will stay with us for days. A shame, a deadly shame. Positive as we try to stay, we see it as the beginning of an adventure.

We wander off again into the sleeping bag and try to catch a few more hours of sleep. In vain, one beep after another sounds from my bite alarms. As soon as the sun rises and the temperature quickly approaches 20 degrees, it becomes clear where the empty beeps are coming from. The shallow bay quickly fills again with the broad black backs. This time only not to chill among the weeds but to engage in the game of love. Like crazy they shoot under the rod tops through the lines. It doesn’t do anything for them and their attention to the feed is completely lost.

It is still in the morning as I watch the spawning game from my brolly like a voyeur. Thinking how I can convert their attention back to something more enticing. I decide to go for a walk and find out that not every carp is spawning yet. A change of tactics follows and the two rods which are in the shallow bay are brought in. The tackle-box is opened and a fluorocarbon leader is chosen. Also called Ronnie or Spinner-rig. A yellow colored 15mm pop-up in the flavor Toasted Almond is attached to the hook with a screw. Only this rod goes into the water. Just below the bank and placed against the edge of a plant-free area. Nothing is fed and after an hour this change in tactics proves to be a golden choice.

The rod with the Ronnie-rig attached is bouncing on the supports. Quickly I wade through the water and pick up the rod. Like wild the carp shoots through the weeds. After some maneuvers to get the carp out of the weeds again, my father can slide the net underneath. We are both standing in the water cheering, happy with the first Goose Pit carp in the net. Hoping for many more to come.

The advantage of the spawning carp is that we can study them well undetected. Even when I drive the boat into the shallow bay during the day, several carp cruise out from under the boat. Just as if I were in Curaçao among dolphins. Most of them are smaller mirrors, but some large carp catch my attention. What strikes me from the boat are the several clear strips of migratory routes between the plants. These strips are plant-free and the bottom consists of sand and gravel. Ideal, then, for placing mounts.

As you have read, every effort is made to get a carp on the side. It is clear that this is not easy. Would we still succeed in catching one of the old stock in addition to the stocked mirrors? You can read all this next week in part 2 of “The annual, like father like son trip” article.

• Experiences at the Goose Pit
• Fishing stories
• Pay water in the Netherlands
• Travelogue Goose Pit
• Vssen in Deest

Bert Altena

Van kinds af aan ben ik te vinden aan de waterkant. Vanaf een jaar of 12 heb ik het karpervissen geleerd. Wat het karpervissen voor mij leuk maakt is de ontspanning en de voorbereiding op de karpersessie in combinatie met een manier van vissen wat constant vernieuwing nodig heeft om de karper weer te kunnen verrassen!