Keeping a lid on it. 

For most people the holiday blues kick in at the end of your two weeks away. For the carp angler it starts the moment you leave the UK. 

Whether you just miss your angling or the fear that your target fish will come out whilst away, those two weeks in the sun with the family can be a fraught time.

Holidays naturally come with stresses and strains – airport queues, finding somewhere [nice] to eat, sand on your towel, a noisy swimming pool, a disco next door at 3am, the list is endless. But for us carp anglers not fishing only adds to this.

You may forget for a moment or two as you relax and find some peace and quiet but then something will jog your mind into action; the kid in those camo swimmers, sweetcorn in your salad (only in Spain), mobiles that sound like buzzers, Neil Spooner’s hat in a gift shop, beach shelters that look like bivvies, and that fella reading Total Carp in his carpy green crocs!!

Coping with this sensory bombardment is difficult, and more so with social media keeping you in touch with catch reports. It’s enough to drive you crazy.

I’m not a hardcore carper but a generalist and a novice to boot, so holidays are a pleasure. This could all change as I delve deeper in to carplife.

In this occasion Carppuzzle is treating the holiday like the old closed season (if shorter), or the weeks before the footie kicks off again. I’ll be starting a new campaign on a new water upon my return. Watch this space.

Tightlines and tan lines!!