Tom Stokes: Catcher Of Big Carp
Tom talks us through his best purchase of the year, his most-prized possessions and what you’ll always find in his bait bag...
The last thing I bought and loved was the Ridgemonkey Boilie Crusher. Now I know I’m probably a bit late to the party here, as most people I know already own one, but up until very recently I was yet to see the light! Over the years I’ve crumbed up a hell of a lot of boilies by hand with a Korda Krusha, and as great as these are, when it comes to crushing large volumes of bait, there is just no comparison to the efficiency of the Ridgemonkey Crusher. An absolute game-changing piece of kit, and I just wish now that I had brought one sooner!
With time on my hands I’d go fishing! Genuinely though, any free time I do have, I generally spend it down the lake. That said, one thing I would like to do if I did have the time, would be to visit my mum over in New Zealand. She’s lived over there for almost ten years now and unfortunately I’ve still not been out there to visit her. Travelling to the other side of the world for just a few days, or even a week, just isn’t practical. Ideally you would want a few weeks, and during that time I just haven’t had a few weeks spare.
I have a collection of the rigs which I caught the four Reading big ‘uns on: the Brute, Burghfield Common, Baby Black and the Pristine Common. I don’t keep all the rigs which have caught me big ‘uns, but for whatever reason I decided to keep those four. They’re a nice little memento of my time spent fishing in that area I suppose.
I’ve recently discovered how much of an edge casters can be, especially during the autumn. In recent years casters have become increasingly popular, notably so since the release of the Terry Hearn ‘Little Grey’ film a couple of years ago. Up until this autumn though, I had never tried them myself, but following some mega results I am now well and truly on the bandwagon!
My favourite lake and swim is Burghfield, and Speedboat Point. During my final couple of years on the lake I did a lot of time in that particular swim, and experienced some of the most incredible fishing I am ever likely to experience in the UK. Catching most of the lake’s biggest and most sought-after carp from there, topped off by the Burghfield Common itself.
In my bait bag you’ll always find plenty of rock salt. It’s a great addition to virtually any bait; it’s highly attractive to the carp, and is also a great preservative when added to particles or boilies. It’s very rare that I’m not using rock salt in one form or another, usually a finer grain to coat my boilies and hookbaits, and then a coarser grain to add to particles or pellets etc.
The game-changing moment which altered everything for me was being asked to do a podcast by a lovely chap called Dom, who ran the Spodcast. At the time I was a little unsure as to whether I should/could do it or not, but in the end I went for it. The podcast was on Burghfield, and
the unexpected stir it caused ultimately changed my life forever.
The podcast I’m listening to at the moment is Mark Simmonds on the Korda podcast. I’m probably only around halfway through, but listening to Mark talk about the origins of the Simmo, and the reasons for some of their more recognisable traits, is actually really interesting and a bit of an eye-opener. Love or hate Simmos, this is definitely worth a listen.
The lake I can’t wait to go back to is the syndicate I’m currently fishing. It’s a relatively small, deep lake in Reading, and the fish have been really active in the deeper water in recent weeks. I caught one of the big ‘uns last week at over fifty-two-pounds, and there’s another one that I’ve not caught which is well due. I’ve baited, I feel like I’m on them, but I can’t get back down there until next week… I cannot wait!
The one angler I’d love to fish with (dead or alive) if I could, is my old mate Tom Fellows. We have been mates for years and used to fish together all the time, but over the years our fishing took us in different directions. He’s not fished for quite a while now, and has sold a lot of his kit as far as I am aware. I know he has had a bit of a rubbish time lately, so I’d love nothing more than to do a few nights with him again… as I know he still loves it!
The tech I couldn’t do without is my bite alarms, as without them I couldn’t sleep when I was fishing! No, in all seriousness, it would have to be my phone. I’m not really a techy type of guy, in fact I’m probably more of a technophobe if I’m honest, but even so, I couldn’t live without my smartphone.
An indulgence I would never forgo is a few cold beers on a hot summer’s day.
A recent “find” is Swan Valley Lakes in Yateley. I never really knew anything about the place until recently. But after a couple of trips there this summer, I must say I have really enjoyed it over there. It’s basically an intimate little lake, in Yateley, with loads of big ‘uns in; I’m sure there is something ridiculous like 15 or 16 forties in about 6-acres, plus a load of others! It’s not somewhere I could see myself spending loads of time, but for a couple of nights every now and again it is great fun.
My favourite apps are BBC Weather, Facebook, and Instagram… as they’re the only apps I ever use!
If I wasn’t doing what I do, I would be living a very boring life, I’m sure…
