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Well, what a crazy journey 2020 was, both in life and angling! Something none of us saw coming, that’s for sure!

Late Winter and early spring is often the time many carp anglers begin thinking about preparing their tackle for the season ahead. As the weather begins to improve and the daytime temperatures creep over the 10-degree mark consistently, angling opportunities often improve as the carp begin moving about in readiness for their spring rituals.

We are pleased to announce that Mark Bartlett has joined Avid Carp! Mark will be joining us as a UK consultant, offering his years of fishing expertise to help further develop future products. Mark will also be regularly appearing in front of the camera on future Avid videos, showing you his very own tactics and tips which have helped him capture a number of incredible carp to over 82lb!

The story I'm about to pen started many moons ago when the water, in particular, was run by a small local angling club. The lake in question at the time was stuffed full to the brim with bream and had a very small population of carp. The stock mainly consisted of commons around the low 20-pound mark.  If I was to hazard a guess, I would say at the time there was around 15-20 carp in around 10 acres of water.

Winter usually brings about a decrease in both angler pressure and sometimes catch rates. However, by choosing the correct venues and applying your abilities efficiently, bites are there to be had and in fact, winter is one of my favourite times to be on the bank. Comfort and warmth are of course paramount and by staying both that, as well as light on the gear front, you can be just as mobile as you would be at any other time of year.

Every now and then a carp comes into our lives that we dream of catching. I’ve had a few in the almost fifty years I’ve been alive, with the most recent being the Wood Common. The moment I first saw pictures of this great carp in Rich Wilby’s hands, I wanted to catch it. It wasn’t just its looks, but the whole story of Spitfire Pool and how this carp came about was something very special.

Every Autumn I find myself being drawn to the banks of the river. Autumn is often the best time in my region in Germany to catch one of the highly sought-after river carp. Autumn at the river is simply magical. As the fog rolls over the surrounding fields, the carp are preparing for the winter, often feeding regularly in anticipation of the cold months ahead.

In the late summer and autumn of 2019, I had a little bit more fishing time on my hands than I usually would have. Having been off work after a vehicle accident, I was finally back on my feet and more than ready to do some angling once again.

When I joined Avid in 2018 I was asked to fish as far and wide as I could to help promote the brand. Travelling was something I was used to, having caught carp from plenty of destinations around the world. I was excited for the year ahead and planned lots of adventures both at home and away.