Life On A Narrowboat

Jamie, I’m right in saying that in recent times you now live a slightly different life ‘afloat…’ 
“Yes, that’s correct! I have always been fascinated with water and boats. After splitting with my partner, I lost a fair old chunk of money when selling our house and didn’t fancy wasting money renting. I decided to take the plunge into the narrow boating world for a cheaper alternative and to have a less stressful life—away from the rat race and to spend more time by the water!”

Were there any other reasons why you wanted to ‘go off-grid’ and live a life less ordinary?
“Carp and people! There’s only so much time I can spend around folk! We live in a world now where everyone is going 100mph, faking it or pretending to look a certain way, like they’re doing a lot better than they actually are! Everyone needs to chill out, have some fun and make some memories. We only get one shot at this so I wanted to try and create a little world for me and my dog, away from all this madness. And it seems to be working a treat, to be honest! I still go to work but then I come back to peace and quiet. I stick the rods out and take in the surroundings and unwind from it all.”

Where are you currently moored up and do you move around much?
“I’d rather not say too much about where I’m currently moored as the fish have had enough abuse over the years of people poaching the marina. I’m guilty of that myself, before buying the boat. Some people will know from the pictures but we’ll just say I’m moored up in a lovely picturesque Staffordshire village. 

“As for moving about, I’m still figuring it all out but I have ventured off to a few spots on the Trent and Mersey. To be honest though, most of the big canal carp have ended up in a marina, and once they are in, I find they tend to stay put as they’re fed like Kings all year round from people throwing leftover food into the water. That said, I did find during lockdown—when the boats couldn’t move up and down the canals so much—the carp soon moved back out of the marinas and were being caught up and down the local stretches.”

Does living on a boat make you more eager to fish on a regular basis?
“Yes, definitely. The first six months of having the boat I was constantly fishing and baiting spots around my mooring. I was even going back to the boat on my breaks at work as I found the bigger carp would be on my spots during the days. It paid off as the biggest carp I’ve had from the marina came during my lunch break! I’ve now had to take a step back and slow the fishing down as I was getting behind with everyday things on the boat and constantly eating kebabs and pizza. There’s a lot that comes with owning a boat—it’s not always sunsets and fishing. I’ve got a nice balance now and tend to cast a few rods out while I’m making food or doing the chores.” 

It must be difficult at times, particularly in the depths of winter?
“When it’s good, it’s amazing, but when it’s bad, it’s really bad! I’ve never been one to be bothered by the cold—you just have another tea and keep yourself warm—but yeah, sleeping over freezing cold water has been absolutely terrible at times. You have to keep the wood stove going 24/7. As soon as the fire goes out you really do start to feel the cold!”

What are the best parts of living afloat? You must see some amazing sights—sunsets, wildlife and the like?
“The best part, by far, is the peace and quiet, even moored up at a marina I can go days without bumping into someone! When you do see fellow boaters, it’s always a happy and friendly conversation, and if you ever have a problem or something has broken on the boat they are always happy to help or pass information on how to fix it. I can also just move my home whenever I feel like it for a change of scenery, so that’s a bonus.

“The wildlife in the marina I’m currently moored at is on steroids—everything is huge! The swans have got necks like Mike Tyson—they would definitely do you in a scrap! There’s kingfishers with the fattest of bellies and a couple of humongous cormorants that feast all year round on the ridiculously big shoals of roach and rudd. It feels like I’m living with nature, if that makes sense, like I’m living in their world. You don’t get that feeling in a house. People get excited when a duck lands in their back garden, or they see geese fly over, but for me that’s everyday life.”

And what about the characters you meet along the waterways? Have you got any interesting stories to tell?! 
“I think I could potentially be one of those characters! Everyone’s got to be slightly crazy, or have a certain view on life, to live on a boat.” 

Rewinding the clock, where did your angling journey begin?
“The area I grew up in is very rural, with little villages dotted about everywhere and surrounded by lots of different water. Canals, rivers, gravel pits, farm ponds, park lakes, it’s all there. Everyone around there is a fisherman, a farmer or hunter of some sort, so it was inevitable I was going to get into one of them at some point in my life.

“My uncle was the one who took me fishing for the first time as a kid, at a little lake called Old Joe’s, catching small roach, and I’ve been hooked ever since. Conveniently it was bang opposite my nan’s house, so I was constantly there, fishing at any chance I got. My uncle was more of a match style angler but he taught me everything, from knots to watercraft. The stand out memory that’s always stuck with me is, ‘if you want to catch many fish, have your rigs ready. If you want to catch a few, that’ll do’.”

“Looking back at it now, the fishing at Joe’s was something else and the old guy was a right character and knew many dodgy men in the area! He would always be getting new 20lb plus carp for the lake! At the time I thought it was brilliant, as ole Joe was spending his money to make the fishing at his place the best it could be. It wasn’t until I got into my teenage years that I realised all these new carp were being pinched from canals in the surrounding area by his dodgy mates! Not cool, but fishing there and learning how to fish for these monster carp in such a small snag-infested pond did me wonders, as when I ventured off onto bigger waters it made things a lot easier. Maybe not so easy to catch the carp, but big open sheets of water with plenty of room to swing a lead about in.

“As for the canals, that’s where me and my friends spent a lot of our early ‘serious’ carp fishing years. After seeing so many big fish come from them (and unfortunately put them into other lakes around the area) we wanted to catch a few ourselves.”

You’ve fished a variety of venues from club lakes and tricky syndicates to canals to farm ponds, but does your approach pretty much stay the same? Does pre-baiting play a big part in your approach?
“As far as rigs and tackle go, yeah, it stays the same. I may change from a lead clip to a heli set-up or the size of the lead depending on the type of lakebed I’m fishing over, but it’s either a Chod/Hinge for a pop-up or a blowback style rig for bottom baits—it’s a not-broken-don’t-fix-it kinda thing. But my approach to catching carp will change depending on what kind of water I’m fishing. 

“A little farm pond I’m not supposed to be on isn’t going to get a big hit of prebait—I’d just time it right on a hot summer’s day and stalk a few out while farmer John isn’t about. But something like a big old gravel pit would get baited for weeks, even months before I’d fish it. I’ve found that these big pit carp can be right mugs if you build up their confidence with prebaiting for a few weeks. Then it’s just a case of timing it right with the weather etc., and it’s game on. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a case of just smashing in a load of free boilies and then catching them all, but with a bit of searching and watercraft you’ll find the spots/places they like to be and then introduce the bait and build from that. 

“A lot of my fishing involves prebaiting spots and trying to create a new safe feeding area. Then, once the carp are visiting the spots regularly, expecting a free meal, they are easy to catch. I’ve only found that with these more wild pit carp though—if they’ve had any sort of angling pressure it’s a completely different game.” 

When you set out on a venue, do you normally have a target fish in mind?
“No, not really! It’s all about the unknown and mystery to a venue that gives me the buzz. You just never know what can turn up. There’s been a few over the years that once I’ve seen a photo I’ve had to catch it, but I tend to just get out there and enjoy the fishing and see what turns up. I’d rather catch a few, get some enjoyment and vibes out of a venue and then move on to something new. There’s so much fishing to be had out there I don’t see the point in dragging it out or not enjoying being somewhere for the sake of boring out a particular fish. It’s all about the adventures and mission for me—as soon as a place doesn’t give me a buzz anymore I’m off to find pastures new.”

Tell us about some of your adventures on these big, unknown Midlands pits… some of those carp are incredible! 
“Some of them are old club waters or places that have just been neglected, but for some of these big pits, or waters I shouldn’t necessarily be on, it normally involves a lot of walking and hiding in bushes or pretending to be a bird watcher! The carp that pop up in these waters can be ridiculous and will probably never be seen on Instagram or in a book etc. And I kinda like that! It’s all a myth and mystery. People will talk about them, write about them, but nobody will see pictures of the carp unless you’re putting the graft in yourself. These mega carp and pits are everywhere. It’s out there for everyone, you just need some balls and a sense of adventure.”

Do you fish overseas much? I’m guessing if you do, your buzz comes from chasing those unknowns, from the large rivers and reservoirs?
“I had a dabble in Europe a few years ago and really got the buzz! It’s different gravy for the unknown and vibes, but the sh*t hit the fan with Covid and put a stop to that. It seems like it’s pretty much back to normal now, so I’m definitely planning a few trips over this year. The fishing in Europe thing, for me, is like going fishing for the first time again. It’s all new sights, adventures and new challenges. The urban canals out there are a big buzz for me, it’s completely different to our intricate little canals!” 

What does the rest of the year have in-store for you?
“Like I just mentioned, I’ve got some Euro missions to do and meet up with some friends in Belgium for a long overdue social, so I’m pretty excited for that one. There’s a park lake close to me that holds some really old carp and a few I’ve not had the chance to catch yet so I intend on having a few of them before they pass away. But it’s one of those places, like I said earlier, I struggle to bond with. It doesn’t give me a massive buzz so we’ll just see what happens with that. 

“I’ve also been put onto a new place recently—it’s a water that was dug in the 1800s with some incredible scenery, vibes and the most ridiculous strain of carp. It’s hiding in bushes and dodging patrol dogs so it’s not everyone’s cuppa but that’s what gives me the buzz, especially when the carp are as unique as they are! 

“I’m planning on moving the boat into a new mooring in the autumn, to a bigger marina that joins onto the river Trent, so hopefully I get a few river carp on the old tugboat. Other than that, I’ll be sneaking around the Midlands, searching for new pits and tranquility, hoping to find more mega unknown carp!”