Early Spring on the Chods - Jensen Mannings

‘It was early spring, and the lake was just starting to come back to life. Zigs were out of the question as there were too many crayfish, and any bait suspended in the water wouldn’t last more than five minutes. So, I reverted to the tried and tested bright pop-ups placed in the right place with a light scattering of bait.

As the fish began to show in the area, strands of weed drifted across the surface, clear signs that the carp were feeding hard and tearing up the bottom – I knew I was on them. After a few trips, I managed to land some of the stockies, building confidence with each session. Then, one of the lake’s biggest and most sought-after carp slipped up. A size 4 Choddy rigged up on a conventional chod rig, a devastating tactic in the early spring’.