The Balancing Act

Although only in his early 30s, James Armstrong has one of the finest photo albums going: it’s full of old, gnarly, rarely-caught carp. But how does he combine finding and catching them with a family life, busy job and active social life?

Balancing a busy work and family life alongside fishing is one of the most important implications for most anglers out there today. James Armstrong is no different, with a hectic managerial role at CC Moore, alongside becoming a new Dad and having multiple sporting interests, but James somehow still manages to catch inspirational fish on limited time. We question his daily life and fishing ethos to get behind how the Milton Keynes-based big fish man does it…

Hi James, first and foremost, how much time do you get out actually fishing each week?
“Not enough! Currently, I get one night a week, which I have to fit in between work and family commitments, this is mainly down to the fact that I am now a Dad. I can hold out a couple of hours extra in the morning should it be looking good for a bite, but generally it’s overnighters. Consequently, it has changed the way I fish and where I fish. Time is, without doubt, one of the key aspects to successful carp fishing on certain waters, but with limited time, I certainly look forward to my weekly overnighter with the carp dog, Barley.”

Describe the typical day in the life of yourself?
“This varies, and I am guessing you mean a weekday. If so, it starts when the alarm clock cries, yep, baby Huxley’s wake up scream. This is generally around 6:15am, so I am up pretty early. I will feed him his bottle and play for 15 minutes or so, before walking the pooch. I’m starting work by around 7:30, so it’s laptop open. I have a very busy job day-to-day, I manage all of CC Moore’s media and marketing operations across UK and Europe. We have over 10 managers across Europe, so I am continually communicating with those guys, planning material, new ideas, alongside new product development; so it’s all go!

“I have a break around lunchtime which will often see me at the lake baiting up, or if I can squeeze it in, an hours floater fishing when the weather is good for it; again, on venues close to home. The afternoon will follow with more work before it’s time to wrap up for the day. The evenings will often see me out with Barley or relaxing about the house, now the weather is good a few hours stalking on local waters is often the ticket of the day!”

Regular baiting is all part of getting areas primed

You have an incredible album of great looking carp, but does targeting these type of fish work alongside a busy lifestyle?
“Yes, and no! It’s all about effort! I have always had a busy working life, but I have never shrugged a challenge. I place a huge amount of importance in pre-baiting and effort whilst you’re not actually fishing. That could be visiting the fishery at every spare moment, preparing bait, tying rigs etc. If you are on the ball, there is no reason why you can’t work and still target these sought-after specimens. Being in-tune with the lake no doubt leads to consistency, in the back of my mind I know that if I have done the prep work alongside my normal day-to-day life, when I come to actually fish, I am in a much better position of catching, especially on the lower stock trickier venues. Every angler would like to be at the lake for extended periods of time, but it is possible to target big fish on limited time.”

Angling is not your only interest, so how do you balance your week alongside other sporting interests?
“It’s tricky, but it’s a bit of give and take really. I am not a huge weekend angler, mainly because I am unsociable in my fishing. I can’t be doing with people around me when I am angling; I want solitude away from work and life. Therefore, the nights I do angling are mainly always midweek, with my other sporting interests which are golf and football taking shape at the weekends. I do think a balanced lifestyle goes a long way in helping to keep the fire burning, if I was out fishing during the week and at the weekend, the buzz may not be as strong.”

On your typical overnight session, do you generally know the areas you will need to be or is leg-work still important on the limited time?
“As I have mentioned, effort is key! I will have been harvesting my areas over a period of time. I apply this to most of my fishing. I can’t stand and never feel confident, just turning up to fish without any previous effort. Due to regular visits, and getting in-tune with the water and the carp’s characteristics and behaviours, I will build a good picture of where they like to frequent and visit to feed.

“I will concentrate on such areas to bait. I call it ‘harvesting’; it entails regular visits to the venue every two or three days to feed each spot, encouraging the carp to feed there more confidently with no angling pressure. It has worked on a number of venues, particularly well on an old estate lake I was fishing last year. Once I got it rocking, I don’t remember a blank session; the carp quite literally joined the party every time I baited. It was a dance floor of solid pea shingle by the end of it; they had quite literally polished it clean. This type of spot originally was fairly choddy, but with regular bait application, the carp had cleaned the spot to the firm underlying gravel, which meant presenting hookbaits effectively over the top was much easier.”

Are you pre-baiting areas in the hope to increase your chances on short sessions?
“100% I am, by pre-baiting a day before my session, it is the equivalent to fishing the second night of a 48hr trip when I do turn up to fish, if that makes sense. In the past, when I had more time, the second night was always the most successful anyway. I’m doing that now, kind of, but only fishing the more productive night. Especially on the trickier venues I have fished, the carp are much more aware of fresh bait, with older washed food items being taken more readily. I will often bait heavier the night before I fish, and then maybe top up with only a small amount of bait when I come to angle depending on how much I feel has been eaten. If you have access to a boat or a tree to view spots, you can soon build up a better picture of how much the fish are eating day to day. I have often done very well on singles fished over pre-baited areas with no bait being introduced whatsoever.”

Back home, is preparation key?
“Yep! Prep is everything, fail to prepare, prepare for failure. I apply this to baits, rigs, everything. I always have buckets of tiger nuts, hemp, peanuts etc. on the soak and the freezer is always stocked and full, ready to rock at the drop of a hat. In fact, I have some wonderful, golden tigers soaking in brown sugar and Liquid Betaine right now; they look wonderful, taste sweet as a nut and pack a crunch! I can’t wait to give them a go this week. The old carp van is always ready to go, which saves time when it comes to finishing work for the day; I simply chuck in the rods, some bait, food and we are away.”

I know you are always on the lookout for new waters, where do you look and how do you find out about these special carp?
“With great difficulty! I am lucky enough to have some good friends in angling and therefore I will often hear of waters for the future. I am also a sneaky git in that every time I hear of a water holding a special carp, I will write it in my phone. I have a huge list of waters in my phone notes to look at, which keeps me on the lookout for my next venue. I also use Google Earth a great deal, searching over areas of the country to look at, which often give me ideas of waters that may hold unknown carp. I guess finding those old, rare fish nowadays is as much of a challenge as catching them, you have to be on the ball and network with other anglers to pick up on those vital pieces of information.”

Is it possible to catch big, wary old carp on limited time?
“Yes, of course! I’ve done it and will continue to do so. I caught a mid-thirty mirror, old as the hills within 20 minutes of casting out last year. I’d learnt on previous trips that this wily old specimen loved feeding under an overhanging willow. I baited over a number of days, just a few handfuls of nuts each time. Then, on one visit, I arrived for a look and found her moving in and out of the willow. I had a 6ft rod in the motor and within 20 minutes she was on the end. So yes, with effort, you can consistently catch big, wary carp on limited time. Sure you might stumble across the odd fish and catch one on a whim, but you can stack the odds far more in your favour with extra effort!”

Are you looking to build and sustain areas with bait, or simply trying to nick the odd bite here and there with high attract baits?
“I am looking to sustain areas, harvest them and hope they provide long-term results once I have them going. I bait up with a mixture of nuts, seed, chopped boilies, Vitalin - anything small really that will keep the fish occupied for time, tearing up the bottom and keeping it clean. On the actual session, I may fish a single bright bait on its own over the spot. It depends on how much boilie I have been feeding. Boilie does play a big part in my angling, but I will often introduce more boilie as the baiting progresses; encouraging them to pick up larger items of food.”

How would you describe your angling approach in general?
“Short and sweet! I maximise every minute on the bank and having a six-month-old baby has taught me to get up early. No longer do I lay in the on the bank, I’m up and at ‘em at the best time. I have also cut my gear right down, so everything is set-up and packed down within minutes. The lightweight approach helps massively when keeping mobile, at some venues you no doubt have to keep on your toes.”

What are your views on full time angling, do they deserve the credit of captures when compared to your average ‘weekend angler’?
“I would never take captures away from anyone, each to their own. But, I do thoroughly respect weekend anglers who consistently catch sought-after carp. They’re doing it at the hardest of times. Full-timers are fortunate in that they can bore fish out at times, often when the venues are much quieter and angling pressure has been relieved from the weekend.”

What would you describe as your most memorable, hard-earnt capture on limited time?
“The Cambridge Linear by a long way. I was doing two nights a week, not in a row I might add. I would be arriving at the lake late afternoon after work, and leaving at around 9:30am. I would time my sessions so they coincided with feature photographing. I was an angling journo at the time so travelled across the country taking pictures. By arranging my days, I could hold off until bite time had passed and it worked! The fish was a truly spectacular, old linear with a real history behind it. It didn’t come easy, but with preparation and persistence, plus having the drive to catch it on limited time, certainly paid off when I have the net cord slipping under the old carp.”

How has your angling changed over the years and have you ever felt you have had to tailor your choice of venue around other life commitments?
“In the past, I have been lucky enough to fish some demanding venues, which required more time, say two or three nights a week. To be honest, this just isn’t feasible currently. If I go into a tricky campaign I need time, time to put in the effort and be at the lake; whether that’s pre-baiting, being there at feeding times etc. As a result, my goals have changed, particularly for this year.

“The reservoir I have just started fishing recently doesn’t hold anything huge compared to what I have caught in the past, at least I don’t think it does, but they are special fish. The venue has never been stocked, the fish have been naturally introduced into the water from surrounding venues in the floods of 2004, which means there could literally be anything in there. I have heard rumours of upper-thirties, but in all honesty, the thrill of not knowing and the fact the venue is very close to home is exactly what I need in my life right now to keep a good balance and the motivation going.

“I finished work the other night, had my dinner, and was still there before 7pm. As it is only ten minutes down the road, I can really put in the effort. In fact, as we tape this, I have just returned from my lunch break having baited up. Hopefully the reservoir will pay for the effort I have been doing, we will see…”

Rigs tied in advance of my sessions

How do you see your carp fishing evolving over the next five years, despite your work life becoming ever more manic?
“It will evolve, and I have some special venues lined up that are a little further away from home. Work will continue to get busier, but that’s life. I am a driven, ambitious person and so I want it to get busier, as I can progress and develop. I am hoping that as it grows, so will my department, which may free up a little more time. Whatever happens, my drive and determination to fish for special ones will continue and even if I can only get an extra night a week, the effort will still be there. So whether I am doing 12hr sessions, or a few hours in the day, it’s all about the prep and I will still be as successful regardless of the bank time.”

My most memorable fish: The Cambridge Linear - and by a long way