Nash Tackle Carp Care

Large Flat Mat

Throughout the Carp world there are people screaming that there needs to be more educated and make more information available to new anglers based around carp care and carp welfare. With many anglers now taking up carp angling with no prior experience in fish handling skills, the leading companies in the industry must pick up the baton and lead the way by educating and supply the right type of equipment to ensure that the fish are kept in a safe environment when out of the water. For many year Nash tackle have been one of the major trend setters when it comes to top quality fish care products, especially when it comes their fish friendly unhooking mats. So it comes as no surprise to the team at UKMA that Nash Tackle has released the superb Carp Care Large Flat Mat that has radically continued their reliable pedigree and produced another unhooking mat that oozes class and functional features. Read on to find out what makes the all new for 2011 Large Flat Mat a must have piece of kit.

Vital Statistics

The Large Flat Mat has a firm 5cm thick padded area for the fish to be place on that is 108cm long by 75 cm wide or 42.5 inches by 29.5 inches for those of you who still like it old school. On each corner of the mat you have a plastic pegging point attached to the matt by machined heavy duty webbing. There are four small stainless steel pegs supplied with the matt and once these are in place, the mat won’t move an inch. The Large Flat Mat has a more than adequate padded area is more than big enough to accommodate even the largest of carp you are likely to encounter from any British water. To ensure the fishes safety once on the mat there is a three sided Velcro fastened fold over cover. Once this is in place and the Velcro is secured on all three sides, this will stop even the most energetic of fish from flipping of the matt and potentially causing itself damage.

Right, you’ve got the fish on the mat and it’s under control and relaxed under the fold over cover. To make working on the fish slightly more comfortable on your knees a fold out kneeling pad has been fitted which has a retaining pocket on the upper left hand side of the pad.  This pocket serves two function, one is when you have packed the mat away, it is the perfect home for the four small pegs that anchor the everything down and when the mat in use it is the perfect size for storing your Medi Care, cotton buds and all other essentials carp care equipment in so that it can be found at very short notice even in the dark of night. Now the fish is unhooked and any wounds have been cleaned and treated, the next job is returning the fish safely back to the water. To make this task a safe and simple one, those clever chaps at Nash have placed a carry handle on each corner of the mat’s long edges to enable 1 or 2 anglers to carry the fish back to the waters edge and return the fish safely.

TOP FEATURE – Along either end of the Large Flat Mat you have a chunky easy to use zip that is in place to make it possible for a single angler to lift and carry even the biggest of fish on their own with out the risk of causing the fish any damage when lifting or moving the mat. So for those of you who are new to the sport or never used this type of unhooking matt before here’s how it works;

1, When you are ready to return your fish, ensure that the fish is in a safe position for moving, ensuring all fins are pointing towards the fish’s tail and flat to the body and position the fish so that its stomach is roughly in the centre of the mat, and then fold the lower half of the mat over the fish and zip up both ends securely.

2, Once both of the end zips are fastened, take hold of all four carry handles (two in each hand) and gently lift the mat and fish, then steadily carry the mat towards the water, whilst taking care at all times and keeping everything as level as possible.

3, Once you have the mat in or next to the water, simply un-zip at the end where the fish’s head is pointing and then release the Velcro and pull the fold over cover back to allow the mat to fill with water and repeat this process at the tail end until the fish is fully submerged and the fish can get water moving through its gills without restriction of any type (there is no rush at this point, let the fish recover at its own pace) Once you feel the fish kick, then simply let the fish swim off at its pleasure, Job Done!

VERY IMPORTANT - Whilst the fish is on the unhooking mat ensure that it is regularly covered in water, by simply having a bucket at hand at all time with fresh lake water in you can keep the fish calm and comfortable, ensuring a healthy return to the water. NEVER put a fish on a dry unhooking mat especially in hot weather. I highly recommend that you always wet your unhooking mat before you lift a fish out of the water to ensure that the mat is as close to lake temperature as you can possibly get it. Always think about the fish and make sure you have everything required for unhooking and weighing ready before you remove the fish from the lake.

Final Thoughts

If you are looking for a top quality unhooking mat that is compact, light and easy to carry around but big enough to totally protect your capture once it’s on the bank, then look no further. The large Flat Mat from Nash Tackle has pretty much every feature you will require to ensure total carp care when it used correctly.

This latest offering in the Nash Carp Care range will set you back £70.99 but I’m pretty sure if you shop around on-line you will find a deal that will suit your budget. UKMA highly recommend this unhooking mat to any angler who takes carp care seriously, a great product!!

For further information on any of the products from Nash Tackle, please click the image below.