DEADLY Big Carp Rig – Mark Bryant’s Mechano Rig

Nearly 30 years after they first fished it, Mark Bryant and his fishing partner return to the famous Horseshoe Lake in the Cotswold Water Park for 24 hours. In this film they walk old banks, talk tackle and location, and Mark shares the short hook-link lead-clip setup he calls the Mechano Rig, the same method that caught here two decades ago. Full transcript below.

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Looking back: 30 years of Horseshoe memories

Mark: This is going back a long time. All through this you can see me in my old football kit, so I’ve got my Umbro top on there. I was training a lot back then, then various jumpers. But look at the fish, look at the fish here. There’s loads of old Horseshoe relics in here, some beautiful carp, typically what the lake was known for back then. Just loads of scaly fish. A lot of memories there, a lot of memories.

This was all up around the Whitley Bank one winter. This particular folder, I found the fish right at the top end, almost, fishing out long over silkweed, and they just kept on coming. I was mega keen back then, playing football and training twice a week, and in between that I was fishing. I’d go straight from the lake to training, then back home for the weekends to play a game, then back up Sunday night. But yeah, there’s loads on here. It’s nice. How does time go so fast.

Narrator (voiceover): In fact, looking through our old pictures of Horseshoe Lake carp, we suddenly realised the memories captured here were nearly 30 years old, yet we both agreed it only seemed like yesterday. This is something we’d been meaning to do for some time: make a return to our roots, so to speak, and actually go and fish the wonderful Horseshoe Lake once again. We only had 24 hours at our disposal, but we couldn’t wait to see this magnificent venue. It was time to take a walk down memory lane.

First impressions: how the venue (and we) have changed

Mike: First impressions, Mark?

Mark: Oh, wow. It’s lovely to be back. It’s been a long, long time since I set foot on this place and walked these banks. It’s lovely. Beautiful, isn’t it. Everything’s grown.

Mike: Hopefully I’ve grown.

Mark: I was going to say, you haven’t grown, you’ve shrunk.

Mike: I’m going the other way at the moment. What are you measuring these days?

Mark: I think I’m 5’9 now, maybe even 5’8. I’m getting smaller.

Mike: It’s your posture.

Mark: I don’t think it’ll impact the spodding or the ability to cast, will it. We’ll see. That’s my excuse anyway.

Mike: I tell you what though, Mark, first impressions for me — we were kids really when we were fishing up here — it feels a lot smaller than I remember it.

Mark: Maybe you just grow up and you’re used to fishing these sorts of waters over the years, and everything feels within reach. I just remember thinking, look at the size of all that expansive water. When I turned up on that swim over there, the disabled point, there was a big westerly blowing in and I just felt so daunted. A sick feeling in your stomach, totally out of my depth.

How tackle has moved on since the 90s

Mark: I think it boils down to the tackle we had. I was using baitrunners at the time, 6410s, spods made out of shampoo bottles, rods that were two-and-a-quarter test curve.

Mike: That’s it, same. I just don’t think the tackle had advanced, and maybe everything felt like a struggle. Now, with all the tackle that’s available, everything feels that much easier to fish these venues, doesn’t it.

Mark: Exactly that. It’s nice and weedy though. Well, I say nice and weedy, it’s very weedy. Loads of weed about. So far we haven’t seen any fish, but we’re going to have a good walk around and hopefully bump into a forty, even one of the eight hundred or so carp in here, somewhere with its dorsal out waving at me. Right, come on, let’s continue the walk.

Finding the fish: location is everything

Narrator (voiceover): Horseshoe was a great learning curve back in the 90s, and it always taught us the importance of location. Today was no different. We wanted to find them before setting up. However, we’d forgotten just how long it took to walk around, looking in all the nooks and crannies, and a few hours passed in the blink of an eye.

Mike: If you were fishing here all season, Mark, how tempted would you be to get an electric barrow?

Mark: Oh, I’d be very tempted, mate. Pushing your barrow around here for a season, when you’re on your toes chasing them, that’d strip the weight off you. I remember doing it in my prime fitness, football training, pushing a barrow up the Whitley Bank.

Mike: Was that a builder’s wheelbarrow at the time?

Mark: It would have been. There was no such thing as a Carp Porter back then.

Narrator (voiceover): Eventually we found them, right where we started, on the end of the wind, right down in the bottom of Winter Bay. Only a handful of subtle head-pokes in the chop gave the game away, but that’s all we needed to see.

Choosing the swims

Mike: Suddenly things have got a bit serious. Come on, we’ve deliberated for so long. Do you want that swim?

Mark: I’ll have it. But most importantly, we’ve found some fish, haven’t we. They’re out here on the road bank at Horseshoe, just out where these weed beds are. There’s a swim down here and there’s this big old swim.

Mike: It’s now a case of who goes where. Is this a pick-of-stone? Pick a hand.

(The two settle the swims with a good-natured “which hand is the stone in” draw, complete with accusations of stitching each other up, before agreeing it makes no real difference.)

Mark: Go on, do what you want.

Mike: Don’t think it makes any difference, to be fair.

The cheese sandwich

Mike: Well, like I said this morning when I visited the shop, one thing Mark desperately needs is food. So what have you got prepared?

Mark: I’ve had to buy a cheese sandwich and a banana. Not happy with the cheese sandwich though, it’s pretty grim.

Mike: What sandwich have you got me?

Mark: They’d run out. When I went in there were only a couple left, so I could only get myself one. But I know you like fruit.

Mike: So selfish. You didn’t even think of me. Well, that’s fine. I know my place in this duo.

(Mike then reveals bags of proper bait “food for Mark”, while Mark makes do with his cheese sandwich.)

Mark’s lead collection and the old Horseshoe method lead

Mike: That’s the biggest lead bucket I’ve ever seen on any angler known to man.

Mark: You can never have enough leads, and they sit in the back of the van. We collect leads as anglers, like pots of pop-ups. There are some relics in there.

Mike: Give me your oldest lead, get the antique one out.

Mark: Look at this. That’s a lead that was designed specifically for this place, Horseshoe. I think John made these leads, if I remember rightly. I used to buy them up here. I remember fishing this as a method ball, because you’ve got these little ridges. A little method ball, a little short hook link, cast onto the gravel patches. Caught loads of fish. I think there are one or two of them still knocking about.

Mike: You’re not going to fish the method this session, are you?

Mark: If the fish were closer, but I think we’re going to be fishing at range from what we’ve seen. If they were closer I could always knock up a method ball for old time’s sake. It gets really messy though, it’s like casting a Christmas pudding.

Battling the weed: finding presentable spots

Narrator (voiceover): In typical weedy-water fashion, it’s the height of summer and the weed growth is probably at its most prolific. Me and Mark have spent the last half an hour to 40 minutes trying to find some areas.

Mike: We’ve got drops in the areas where there’s least weed. I’m feeling the lead down, only getting a little pull on it. Presentable, probably, but it’s bloody weedy, so that’ll have to do. I don’t think we want to thrash it to a foam. That’s 18-and-a-half wraps, a manageable distance, but it’s incredibly weedy, all different types, some of it floating, which may cause a problem. The fish were here, and I think we’ve done a great job of probably scaring them off, but we have to find areas that are presentable. We can’t just chuck it and chance it. We want to be presenting when the fish hopefully move back in. So I’m not hitting any strands of weed on the descent. Bang. That’s as good a spot as I’m going to find.

Mike: Big question is, are we staying here? We’ve seen fish, so we’ve got to try and make it work. We’ve led about for the best part of an hour to find presentable areas, and the ones we’ve found aren’t great, but they’re just about presentable with the right rig on. I think it’s got to be worth a night, because we’ve seen fish, haven’t we.

Mark: Although a couple of swims are coming free — the White Post, the big double, those who know Horseshoe will know exactly what I’m talking about — I sometimes feel a bit weird going in straight after somebody else, because you’re fishing the same areas and you’re on the roundabout of luck.

Mike: You’re right, that’s the nature of the beast on these busy waters. Our plans may change tomorrow. If those swims are free and we see fish, we’ll move into them. Simple as that, no shame in that. For tonight, we’ve seen enough fish to put roots down here for 24 hours, or at least a night, and see what happens in the morning. The general consensus from the anglers we’ve spoken to is it’s all day bites, so we’ll have to sit here at least until lunchtime tomorrow to see if anything occurs. But we’re on fish, that’s the main thing. Could be a lot worse. Right, I’m going to get set up.

Bait and tactics: pellet, boilies and hot fish oil

Mike: I’ve put in not loads, probably eight to ten spombs of pellet and a little bit of boilie as well. Kept it really simple using Royal Marine pellet, because a lot of these fish see pellet all the time through anglers and the fishery’s supplementary feed. I’ve kept everything quite small. I’ve also put in some 12mm Royal Marine boilies to give me the option to fish them as hook baits, and I’ve got some Edge pellets here too, some Edge hook baits, which I really like. So I might fish them over the top of the pellet and the boilie, to make sure the fish don’t get preoccupied just on the pellet.

The pellet I’ve soaked in our hot fish oil as well. I’ve got great faith in it. It drags fish in, sometimes from the next swim or from a little way away. I can see my slick starting in my swim and going all the way through, all the way down to the far bank. That’ll be releasing little food signals, popping down. Any fish going through will hopefully follow that chum line into this area.

Mark: So you mean you’re stealing my fish.

Mike: I’m trying to steal a few off Mark, because I’ve seen far more over there than in front of me. Actually, we’ve just seen one show not too far away from me. But we’ve seen more down Mark’s, so I’ve put more oil on my pellets to drag the fish this way.

Mark: Look at the slick out in front of your swim.

Mike: I know, there’s quite a bit there. But it’s a tried-and-trusted plan, it always pulls a few in. And if anything happens over the baited area, I’ll get a big plume come up as well, so it’s a good visual thing. That’s the plan. Going to get some rods out, dotted about. We’ve been told there’s a lot of day action, so we’re missing the day at the moment, unfortunately, but we’ll get set up and see what tonight brings.

(Mike then discovers Mark has stuffed his cheese-sandwich wrapper into Mike’s bait bucket, and vows revenge.)

Does the old method still produce? The Mechano Rig

Narrator (voiceover): Horseshoe was looking great these days: 60-odd acres of gin-clear water, approximately 800 carp to over 40lb, clean toilets, hot showers, fantastic security, and of course you could even fish it on a day ticket if you were a Carp Society member. Now, would our old method still produce the goods? It was time to put it to the test.

Mark: One thing I remember from Horseshoe back in the day is it used to do really well on really short hook links. So, for old time’s sake — and I think it’s very apt for the way we’re going to be fishing — there are lots of pellets gone out, the fish are going to be clamping down, moving very slowly between the little parcels of food. This is presented on a lead clip with a two-and-a-half to three-inch hook link, pulled into the bag, and I can just drop that out onto the zones. That’s about as simple as it gets.

I’ve put a bit of Edge pellet in first, some small micro pellets to impede the hook point, then some bigger pellets at the end. Hopefully that’s going to catch us a fish.

Mike: You’re going to put that hook link just clipped onto a quick-change swivel on the lead clip, Mark, is that how it works?

Mark: Exactly. I’ve got a quick-change swivel on there so I can just clip it on. I’ll put a little bead on there to stop any danger of it coming off. Little lead clip, and then I can fish a nice four-ounce heavy lead out there. When the fish picks up and shakes the rig, the lead comes off and I’m then free to play the carp, which is really important with all this weed about. You want to dump the lead straight away. It’s a real nice, neat way of fishing, effectively like a little PVA bag rig but with a lead-clip system.

Birds on the spot: do they scare or attract carp?

Narrator (voiceover): Those coots are having an absolute field day on Mark’s spot. I’ve often wondered how much they can eat.

Mike: There is a plus point to using pellet, because over time it breaks down and gets into the sediment. The oils, the appetite stimulators, all the attraction sinks into the sediment, so the birds aren’t picking up solid food items over a period, they’re just disturbing the sediment with the pellet remnants in it. But they’re having a right good go.

Mark: I’ve caught carp at Horseshoe when the birds are all over your spot. You think, oh, the birds are there. But at times they can actually be quite attractive to carp. All that noise underwater, them pecking around on the bottom. Carp must be so tuned in to understanding that if the birds find the food, the carp aren’t too far away.

First fish: a 32lb linear

Mike: Oh, this is good news. Look, Mark’s into one.

Mark: It’s really strange, I had the take when all the birds were on top of me. You know when you think you’re never going to get a take because the birds are all over you. A typical take on mono as well, it just pulls up and takes a stretch out. I actually looked out to have a look at the birds and thought, there’s loads of birds on me.

Mike: It’s good, it proves the pellets are still fishing after a few hours, even with the birds on top of us.

Mark: Lovely. Just keep him moving, isn’t it.

Mike: Keep them coming. Yes, well done mate. You’ve got him. Fantastic, a nice one. Nice linear.

Mark: Better get back and have a quick look. Time’s ticking on, it’s getting well into the evening now. Typical — everything happens when the light’s fading.

Mike: It’s certainly not one of the original carp, is it, it doesn’t look like it. The new ones coming through. All the fins are flat, everything’s nice on the fish. Look at that, perfect zip linear. We’ve just weighed it and it’s 32lb. What a welcome-back present. Horseshoe was famed for its linear carp, and this is fully scaled — in keeping with exactly what Horseshoe was always famous for. And you can fish it on a day ticket. A lovely carp, really dark.

Mark: Right, let’s get you back, I need to get these rods out.

Overnight: why weedy waters fish better in daylight

Mark: Everything’s a bit of a rush, as it normally is. Last light. I’m just going to put four or five more spombs of the Royal Marine pellet out. I’ve soaked them in the hot fish oil so it’s all nice and oily. Simple case of getting it out roughly on the spot, 18-and-a-half wraps, just by the bole of that tree. Lovely, absolutely spot on, that’s on the money.

(An evening of good-natured ribbing follows over Mike’s mosquito screen. The night, though, is quiet.)

Mike: Good morning. I must admit, it’s a bit of an anticlimax. I’m just redoing the rods now because I haven’t had a single bleep all night. I don’t think Mark has either.

Mark: No, very quiet, unfortunately, apart from a huge group of birds on me this morning.

Mike: Same as me, they just literally have not left the spot. I’m fishing slightly different to Mark. I like to tie the PVA bags to the lead clip, or to the lead, and I find drying it off with the Pure Mussel works well, because the powder is so fine it sticks to the lead really quickly. Not only does it give an immediate dry surface to tie the PVA bag to, there’s a bit of added attraction too, because it clings to the lead almost like a little paste.

One thing I’ve found, fishing weedy waters especially, is it’s never that productive during the night. When you look at the cycle of weed, it’s drawing oxygen in at night, so it’s sucking the lake of oxygen. The carp know that, and they don’t feel quite comfortable when the lake’s depleted of oxygen. It affects their ability to digest food, it affects their everyday life. Their currency in that world is oxygen. But when it gets light and photosynthesis starts to happen, the weed starts to pump oxygen back into the lake. It’s no surprise on weedy waters that as soon as it gets light and that oxygen cycle changes, things start to happen. The guys yesterday all said it’s day bites, so that’s possibly no coincidence.

Mark: So I think it’s an opportunity to freshen up the spots, get a couple of spombs back out, get some bags tied to the lead, and hopefully catch. We’ve got the whole day, and this is our best chance coming into it now. I’m not too disheartened about those birds, because as we saw yesterday, when they’re all over the spot we still had a take.

Morning tea and a gift in the post

(Over a fine selection of teas at breakfast, the pair read a letter from a listener, Adam, thanking them for the podcast, gently mocking Mark’s tea selection and cardigan, and sending up a “Lakeland Blend” to wean Mark off the Earl Grey.)

Mike: Adam has worked, because Mark’s ditched the Earl Grey and gone for an English breakfast. We’ll sit and have some coffees and teas, and hopefully that’s just the tonic we need to catch.

Breakfast interrupted: a 26lb linear

Narrator (voiceover): We started the day with a lovely brew, some poached eggs, salmon and toasted muffins. But it was rudely interrupted as one of Mark’s rods went into total meltdown.

Mike: Well, that interrupted our breakfast tea. He’s still pulling at range as well, isn’t he. He does like getting interrupted for breakfast.

Narrator (voiceover): Mark’s steadily walking back, pumping the fish to the front of the swim, then peddling back to keep the fish moving, so it stays out of the weed. Once the fish is moving, keep it moving, it just wallows itself away and keeps the weed off it.

Mike: Easy does it. Yes. That was a battle royale, wasn’t it. It towed you everywhere.

Mark: Everywhere. So happy to get that one in, and it snagged me down in the corner as well. I thought, oh no, game over with barbless hooks, but luckily he stayed on. Another nice fish, another linear.

Mike: Brilliant. What a great way to start the morning. Very blessed. This one led me a right merry dance. It’s 26lb 10oz. That is what they call a very welcome return.

One last cast: a 30lb mirror to finish

Narrator (voiceover): Sadly, my area looked void of carp that morning. They’d moved over to the right of Mark, it seemed, which was great, as we’d now each managed to catch a lovely linear from a lake that held so many fond memories for us both. It was great to be back, but we decided to wrap it up slowly. Our 24 hours at Horseshoe was nearly up. But Mark being Mark, he couldn’t resist one more cast. With a fresh bag slid down the hook link, it didn’t take long before he was into his second carp of the day.

Mark: That was a turn-up. I didn’t think anything was going to happen, and this one’s torn off. We were just thinking about wrapping it up, weren’t we.

Mike: Is he in close already? He’s gone past all my rods, which is nice. Very squinty face, very sensitive eyes. A face of pure focus. That looks a very chunky mirror, Mark.

Mark: Hard to say weight-wise. They’re post-spawning, they spawned a few months ago, so they’re on their way back up, but there’s a good average stamp.

Mike: What’s that, 30lb 1oz. A nice one to finish the trip off. Those little bags on the short hook links are doing the trick, aren’t they.

Mark: He was nailed, this one, to be fair. I think they’re hitting that silkweed and almost laying out on it, unfolding. But it’s hot, we’d better get him back, only literally seconds out of the water this time of year. What a lovely stamp.

Reflections: same lake, same method, 20 years on

Mark: Kudos to the Carp Society and Horseshoe, because they’ve retained that old feel of the lake we used to fish 20 years ago. A lot of memories here. Nothing’s changed. The swims are still the same, the water’s still the same, and you’ve still caught them how you caught them 20 years ago.

Mike: It was on the same method, mate. It’s quite nice to catch them that way.

Mark: We must come back. Because of the stamp of fish — they spawned a few weeks ago, so they’re at their lowest weight, which means there are some massive fish in here. Right, mate, adios. Lovely to catch a couple. It’s raining now, so I haven’t even attempted to pack away. Until next time.