Big-Pit Dreams

We catch up with dedicated big-carp angler Jim Wilson at one of his all-time favourite venues. This big pit spans in excess of 100 acres with very few carp lurking beneath the crystal-clear depths.

- Jim Wilson

Despite the large size and lack of fish numbers, the situation doesn’t faze Jim; over the years he has fined down his approach to give him 100 per cent confidence on the bank. Here he runs us through a few of the more technical aspects of tackling a bit pit, highlighting some of the key parts that help him string together a number of captures during a tricky campaign.

FISH LOCATION

Fish location is without doubt key on any water, and you’ve probably heard it many times, but on a big pit it is even more vital because at any one time you could be some distance from the nearest carp. Jim certainly doesn’t take finding the fish lightly and puts maximum effort in all the time while out on the bank, in the hope of getting onto them at some point during his trip.

To make looking that much easier, Jim relies heavily on his Fox FX200 boat, which he combines with a small outboard motor to get him around the pit. Using the boat to find the fish has many advantages: it allows you to access hard-to-reach areas, gives you a bird’s-eye view of the water and, especially in clear-water situations, allows you to potentially spot fish from the boat.

In some circumstances the boat may not be viable, so Jim spends hours walking the pit and viewing different areas of the lake from as many vantage points as possible. To make this easier, he carries a pair of binoculars and a good pair of polarised sunglasses, which makes spotting fish far easier than with the naked eye.