My Approach by Julian Cundiff
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Heads up....
When I visit a new water I do my research so that I'm able to combine what appears to work there with what I know works for me. Heck I have thirty five plus years of carp fishing experience to draw upon but there will always be some fine tuning from water to water. Check out the rules of the fishery so that you do bring what you need and don't bring that which is forbidden. James will always help you but you need to balance his advice with what you are confident in. The more experienced you are as an angler the more you will have your own starting points that you know WILL work and the less experience you have the more you will need to listen and learn.
Tactics....
The Back and Front Lake are pretty similar in design, lakebed and feature wise so whichever one you book onto you should be able to cope pretty well with a one size fits all approach.....with a bit of fine tuning of course... The fish tend to be very visual with the complex being pretty intimate but remember if you can see them then they can probably see you. The more noise you make the more on their guard they will be even on the best of days. Set up to the side of your swim, don't stand in front of it, dress drably and keep noise to a minimum. They do come close in but the less stressed they are the more likely they are to pick up the one with the hook attached. Think of, or watch where the carp come into your water and make sure your line does not spook them. Slack lines in the edge, tighter ones further out but make sure that your longer range rod does not affect your margin rod if you've one close and one to an island etc. Single banksticks give you more options and watching the water rather than the phone, TV or chatting to a mate is a big edge. Remember as this is a popular water the carp are being pressurised most days so are often on their guard ; don't make it harder than it needs to be.
Bait....
A variety of different boilies go into the water so no one brand dominates or has to be used. The key is to use what YOU are confident in so that's something you don't have to worry about. Nashbait Scopex Squid, Sticky Krill, Mainline Cell will catch you a lot of carp. With the waters being small rather than large you will never be too far from a carp so unless it's the best of feeding conditions don't overdo it. Fish for a bite at a time so less is more. A handful is better than a bucketfull believe me....you are not needing to draw them in but to get one or two to drop down and make a mistake with the hookbait. As a starting point half a kilo of feed over each rod maximum is what I'd advocate. Be it pellet or boily the trick is to deliver it accurately so you are focussing them to your hookbait rather than away from it. Be it hand, catapult, baiting pole or boat be accurate . The fishery is baited regularly with pellet so I'm sure I don't have to stress how daft you would be not to incorporate them into your tactics. They've eaten thousands of those pellets so a few around the hook makes complete sense.
Rigs....
As with bait a good starting point is to take what you know works for you on similar type waters. The bottom is pretty even and clean and firm so most presentations work well . I favour a lead clip with two to two and a half ounces of lead and a pop up just off the lakebed. With a low slung pop up on a multi rig your hook point is always free of detrius, weed or anything that could stop it sinking home. The sharper the hook the more pickups will be converted into runs. Check that hookpoint with an eye glass and unless it is pin sharp ( owch ) get a new rig on. With pop ups I'd favour a bright one on one rod say pink or white and on the other a darker one to match the colour of the feed you are putting in ( usually mid to dark brown ) . A small mesh bag of chopped boily, pellet, crumb is often a good tactic to start with before you start adding feed. With few nuisance fish present a smaller hookbait means the hook is more likely to find a hold. I'd go 11-15mm hookbait and a sharp size 5 hook. Whatever rig you tie up as long as you are not spooking carp in the margin lower it in to see how it behaves, how the tubing sits, how the hook sits and so on ...If it looks wrong to you then it probably won't Impress the carp either. With a bottom bait I like the hair length to be at least as long as the diameter of the boily so the hook can flip and find a hold . Remember carp don't have hands so the only way for them to sample food is to suck it in and that's when you need to have a sharp hook and a degree of separation of hook and hookbait .
The complex can be very productive and very moody so tactic wise and bait wise fish for a bite not a hit BUT be prepared for a hit if the stars align with perfect feeding conditions. Remember someone may have been in your swim hours earlier so could have made the carp wary, you could be fishing over their old bait and so on. Start quietly and minimally and see how things pan out weather wise, fish movement wise and so on.
Enjoy your stay
Julian Cundiff