The Carp Fishing Podcast

We're glad to be back, and we kick off our usual ramblings with a chat about digital burnout and the elephant in the room for many brands: the impact of content being produced en masse at public venues, and the consequences that come with it.
I float the idea of a Content Creators' Code of Conduct. I genuinely believe we need a better moral compass when it comes to venue exposure. Yes, it's a delicate subject, particularly when we also produce content from these places ourselves, but with a little more thought and consideration, we could all do our bit to reduce the pressure cycles and overexposure that's having an impact on so many European venues.
This month's guest is Del Shackleford from Reading & District Angling Association.
Del has spent many years working behind the scenes in fisheries management, helping protect and improve some of our most important fisheries and waterways. As Fisheries Manager at RDAA, he's been at the forefront of some hugely important conservation work, particularly on the River Kennet, where the challenges facing our rivers and native fish populations are becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.
But there's much more to Del's role than simply managing fisheries. It's about habitat, fish recruitment, conservation, balancing the needs of anglers with the wider environment and, ultimately, protecting the future of the sport we all love.
What a genuinely interesting guy Del is. I'm sure you'll really enjoy this one. As always thanks for the support and let us know what you think.

I've been really excited to get this podcast out for so many reasons.
Our guest this month is Jude Ashken, a name some of you may recognise. Jude won the BYCAC in his youth before going on to secure a full year of Korda sponsorship — a dream for many young anglers. But things didn't quite pan out as expected.
This is a thought-provoking conversation that takes us through Jude's early life, the loss of his dad and the profound impact that has had on his outlook on life. Jude's story, perspective and wisdom genuinely caught me by surprise. By the end of our conversation, I found myself reflecting on my own life in ways I could never have anticipated.
My biggest takeaway was actually very simple: be more like Jude.
I really hope you enjoy listening to this one as much as I enjoyed recording it.
As always, there's another Panthers Sermon, while Mark and I get stuck into the impact of early spawning, weight gains, records and what it takes to gain length....
Enjoy.

This month, I join Mark back on the bank to see if he can rectify — and ultimately avenge — the lost carp from last month. And, spoiler alert, we get a live take on the podcast… and this time, he actually lands it!
Mark has also been playing around with a new rig, which he's keeping very close to his chest, but let's just say it appears to be working a treat.
Alongside the live action, we chat about a recent family fishing session that came good, carp growth, and the fascinating hierarchy of stock ponds — particularly when it comes to those top-tier fish that seem to outgrow everything else in the lake. We also get into baiting patterns, and why sometimes doing things differently can give you a real edge.
As always, the wonderful Scandinavian God returns with this month's Panther's Sermon, and last but certainly not least, we have a proper treat of a guest joining us all the way from the USA — Joel Harber.
Joel moved to America in search of a new life, only to discover that he'd landed in a country full of untapped, uncaught carp. Of course, catching them comes with its own unique set of challenges. Having bears for company, for starters, is a rather different proposition to fishing a gravelled swim at Linear!
Thanks for the support as always. So, sit back, turn it up and enjoy another episode of The Carp Fishing Podcast.

Sorry for the delay! We hit a few technical gremlins this month, so we're a few days behind schedule, but we're back with another instalment of Carpy Ramblings.
Spoiler alert: Mark doesn't drop any tackle boxes, lose any fish, or cause any lakeside disasters this time. In fact, for a change, he doesn't even cast out.
Instead, we settle in by the lake and chat about the recent heatwave and its impact on fisheries, catch up on Mark's ADHD journey, and look back at The Wild Goose Chase—the latest film from Gaz and me. We also discuss how some of our bait photos mysteriously found their way onto another brand's social media in what can only be described as a rather questionable attempt to sell products.
The Panther returns with another slice of sermon magic, there's your chance to win a bait bundle, and, last but certainly not least, Jake "The Heron" joins us once again to talk about a huge change in his life. After leaving his full-time role at Prolite Explorer, he's taking the plunge into some exciting new ventures — and we find out exactly what's next. Enjoy.

This month Mark had a nightmare on the bank. We kicked off our usual podcast ramblings live in session. We only had a few hours to try and get a bite live on the podcast mic but lets just say it didn't go to plan. Mark hasn't been fishing for ages, he was rusty to say the least and everything he touched seemingly went wrong. That aside we eventually got to settle down and discuss our movements over the last four weeks, a trip to Holland in 38c sun, carp care and the recent paper that seems to point to it's lack of impact on the fish, we also discuss the benefits of handling carp in the water and how using Ai carp in bait adverts has begun! 
The Panther is back in full Sermon flow and our special guest this month is our good pal, the Welsh Choir Boy himself, Luke Kennard. I've been wanting to get Luke on for some time as he recently embarked on an adventure to track down and catch two carp that lived in a remote, Welsh mountain lake. This adventure was captured on his cameras on his YouTube channel - Kennards Reel Adventures, it's a must watch. Enjoy.