On The Bank

With

Ed Betteridge

Name: Ed Betteridge
Sponsors: Chub/Greys, aqua dynamix & Korda
Age: 35
Occupation: brewery technician
Marital Status: co-habiting
Children?: little boy 6 weeks old
How Long Have You Fished For?: 24 years
When Did You Start Fishing For Carp?: 22 years or so. Caught first carp when I was 13
Biggest Influences In Angling: inspired by books that I had read but John Wilson got me hooked with his tv series
Favourite Rod Of All Time?: daiwa vcc for fish playing action but the greys torsion 13' 3.5lb are the dogs for distance work
Favourite Reel Of All Time?: daiwa tournament 5000ts
First Tackle Owned: can't remember that far back other than fathers split cane rods
Your PB: 49:12 choco from stoneacres
Highlights Of Your Angling Career: catching choco after a 3 year campaign covering about 15000 miles for that fish.
Most Enjoyable Thing About Carp Fishing: ambience of just being there sits highly up with catching that special fish
Most Annoying Thing About Carp Fishing: poor angling etiquette & punishers!!!

Top Three (Four) Tips:

1. Set your shelter up so you can see as much of the water as possible. This gives you the best chance of seeing fish that show themselves even if you are laying on the bedchair out of the elements etc. Having the front of the shelter close to the front of the swim allows you to look at the water when cooking or having a brew.
2. Make sure that you stand the best chance of landing the fish by using a drop off lead system such as a safety lead clip, drop off inline leads or chopper dropper for rotary rigs. Don't be afraid of placing your banksticks in the water if marginal plants could cause problems on the take. Obviously keep a set of waders close to hand for quick access.
3. Make sure that you have complete confidence in your rigs and baits, and don't be afraid to put a fair bit of bait out when others are trickling in small amounts. The larger amounts of bait may be what the fish are looking for and home in on if everybody else is using small amounts.
4. Had to sneak a fourth one in as it is important. Make sure that you have plenty of coffee supplies if out on the bank with the ukmatchangler chaps as they will drink you dry!!! Seriously though, having a guest cup & offering other anglers who visit you a brew (or a beer) can get you information that may be important to bring successful on the water.
   

When out on the bank with Ed, we took the time to ask him about the new bait he has been working on with Aqua Dynamix.

"The Edge is a bait that I have been working on for a while and using alongside other baits I was using at the time. I wanted a bait that was highly digestible to the fish at all temperatures as well as being made up of natural ingredients rather than synthetic additives. The Edge includes a good percentage of green lipped mussel extract along with 6 other natural ingredients. The bait smells very sweet with a very sweet dairy aroma with undertones of a fish/shellfish nature and is left the natural brown colour of the blended ingredients. One of the major factors of the bait is that it is also firm enough to be put out by throwing stick but still able to be used on the hair without being like marbles. When I gave the recipe for the Edge to Rob at Aqua Dynamix, he almost said no to it due to the ingredient costs, but being the bait magician that he is, he has managed to bring the cost down to a sensible level without scrimping on quality or changing any of the natural ingredients by buying in major bulk amounts."

When ukmatchangler took a look at the bait on the bank, our first impressions were that it is going to be a winner without any shadow of a doubt. Ed knows a good bait when he sees one and has obviously come up with a combination if ingredients that compliment each other. With the way Ed has a habit of catching the larger inhabitants of the venues fished, a lot of the success can be attributed to good watercraft but having that bait which you have full confidence in completes the jigsaw. This session was Ed's 4th on the lake and already he has had 3 fish & lost 3 on the tricky water. Other anglers have had fish but spent more time on the bank than Ed.

No doubt in the 48 hours that Ed is on the bank for, he will have some fish on the bank.