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António Lopes Nunes – a carp angler!
Hi everybody, after some time in IF / IB Team, I decide to write my presentation to all of you can know me better.
My name is António F.L. Nunes; I am forty-two years old. I live in a small village in south Ribatejo. I have family and I am the father of a seven-year-old boy. I work in cork Industry since 2002; actually, I am in charge of two sectors, one with forty-two people, and the other with twelve.
Fishing has always been part of my life as you can read in the next lines…
Since I was a little boy, fishing is my passion!
I start fishing in the river and I remember to participate in local events, which happen in the summer party of my village. Always making nonsense, I spend the time throwing things to the water with the catapult….those was my first steeps, probably around seven years old!
At the time I am growing, the passion for fishing also was growing! At fifteen years old, I went to the fishing club of my village and start to go every Sunday’s competitions. In the eighties, there was many people fishing on every Sundays, and every competition get around four hundred persons!
The second year on the club, I decide to make the official competitions into FPPD (National Federation Sport Fishing). The year after, and the last of “junior”, and get the tittle of vice-champion of 1ª ARPDR, and fourth place in the national championship of FPPD!
After that, time to compete with the grown up. I start in the second division of 1ªARPD, get qualify to the first division and reach the second place, again vice champion! The championship in this year was wining by my biggest friend of all time, Mr. Joaquim Miguel (actually he represent the Italian brand named COLMIC in Portugal).
These were great times… In addition, in the club we build a five person’s team and we start compete with great success! In a small club with fewer resources, we achieved good results, we never give up, and we were very good in fishing! A great team…
By that time, I was around twenty years old…
Meanwhile, girlfriends came up and less time for fishing… competition need much free time, need time to prepare materials, need time to training, many free time is needed for everything. In addition, the girls need time 😉
With less free time, competition over… but I do not stop fishing! I moved to the fishing for predators, black bass! Sometimes after work there, I go to some place with water trying my luck!
After, I try to fish in salt water. I try the float fishing and surfcasting… twice a month at Friday night, here we go (my big friend Joaquim and me)!
Around the year 1989/90, I try my first “hair rig” with three pieces of maize.
In the year 2002, I remember very well, my first catch with two digits catch -a common carp with 11kg!
How I discover the “hair rig”?
One of my former fishing partner in the fishing club moved to carp fishing and gets the first golden medal in Carp Fishing Championship FIPS (in Italy). Moreover, we talk about that and I went to watch a round of the national championship of carp fishing in Portugal. That captivated my attention!
2007 / 2008 – the big start in carp fishing
I remember my friend “Marco” appears with a bite alarm, something very difficult to found in that time…
Internet market, online stores, physical stores was nothing compared what exist today! Everything was very hard to find, buying a simple needle and stoppers was not easy!
In the way from work to home, I find a quiet lake, around six hectares. Therefore, I start to pre bait after work during three days, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday with four kg of seeds and one kg of boilies. In Friday afternoon after work, I go there and check if carps are eating the boilies. I put two rods fishing. One around the seeds, and the other in the boilies area. Bingo, after thirty minutes in water, the rod in the boilies area gets a run! A lovely common carp! This was the beginning of many sessions, almost every weekend I go there, alone or with friends. Always, catch & release!
At this time, we cannot fish at night and only two rods are allowed.
Marco, and myself we have a great time, many fun and good catches! Internet start to be more accessible, and these were the years of fishing blogs and forums. Social network, like FB or Instagram are not in the top of peoples preferences. Information start to move more quickly! We can learn and watch videos on YouTube about carpfishing.
In 2010, my big friend Joaquim Miguel (we are like brothers) wants to try to import some fishing baits, and after some time searching, he decides for the Hungarian brand Top Mix, and the Polish brand Tanden Baits. During the following years, I start to use both brands in my fishing sessions, ground bait and pellets from Top Mix, and all carp gear from Tandem Baits.
I get a new partner with a lot of experience in carpfishing (also world champion for Portugal) and I star to compete in the national championship of carpfishing in Portugal.
In the years 2013 to 2015, I have the pleasure to belong to one digital publication dedicate to carpfishing in Portugal – “Digital Carp Magazine“
October 2017…
When I start do prepare each session, the first thing is where I go, what´s in the water, where I will put my rods, which baits should I use, how I am gone fishing. That´s the base for every session. In before I go, many things will be prepare in home. In October 2017, after choosing the lake, knowing that in this season crawfish are active, I realise I need some different baits, maybe tigers…maybe fake baits…maybe plastic´s? To be honesty, I do not like to fish with anything of that! My preference is to fish all time with boilies.
Therefore, I search and find in the web “Chronocarp” some baits of a brand I did not know called “Imperial Baits Hookbaits – RAMBO” (. The manufactory says they are strong enough to resist crawfish attack! Well well well, this is what I need! Therefore, I buy Scopana.Love, Banana, Crawfish and Osmiotic Spice and the correspondence dip´s.
In that session, I capture some carps with three of “Imperial Baits Hookbaits – RAMBO”, the only did not catch was “Osmiotic Spice” (my partner did not catch anything).
This is a much-pressured lake, all months is visit by hundreds of anglers trying their luck. Is not easy to produce captures; carps are very suspicious with the baits. My first experience with Imperial Baits, using four different baits and three are able to catch in the lake! Very good, this make me thinking about the brand and searching more info.
Since then until my contact with Imperial Fishing was a little step! I remember very well, the first contact was in the Facebook page, and then via email…
In February 2018, I am officially member of that great brand and team!
To Imperial Fishing my propose was to fish and promote the brand in Portugal. Still is and will be!
Unfortunately, In Portugal we do not have many carps over 20kg. Few locations have some carps over 20kg…most regulars catches are around 15kg.
Before IF / IB, I have some good catches around the 15kg that was my PB since 2010…
May 2018 I get a new PB, just three months after be in Imperial Fishing / Imperial Baits Team – 18,1kg – the bait: Imperial Fishing hookbait “BIG FISH RAMBO” 20mm!
To achieve that new PB, Max gave me on important help (beside the quality of his baits, of course)
Along the years I am practice carp fishing, I always try to get my rigs perfect; I did not like to have the sound of bite alarms if the carp are not running! For me, “bip-bip-bip” tell me that I have something wrong, needs to be change.
I just like, and want to get only runnings „bipppppppppppppppp“
When I passed from “casting the rods” to “bait boat” approach, I had great difficulties to get carps hooked! I almost got crazy!
“Bip-bip-bipppppp” and when I picked the rod, no fish hooked! What a hell?
Therefore, I expose that problem to Max. In addition, Max told what the problem might be. I changed from “casting rod” to “bait boat” with everything equal. The problem, Max told me, was the in weight of the leads. Those explanations make change the leads to more weight, so I passed from 100/120 grams to 150 grams.
That´s all I did and problem solved! Thanks once more for the tip Max 😉
This year, I decide not participate in the national championship carp fishing in Portugal. I have to increase my PB and land a +20kg carp!
Moreover, in February, I did it!
Again the same bait, Imperial Fishing hookbait “BIG FISH RAMBO” 20mm! A lovely mirror over 21,3kg!
The year is not over, and now is a great time to fish, and I want more!
Until the end of the year, I plan at least four trips, including one to Spain, Sierra Brava.
I cannot go fishing as much time as I wanted, I have a job, a family and for everything be right, I need balance between family, job and fishing! Fishing is my only hobby, always made part of my life and I cannot imagine my life with no fishing…
I Love To Fish! We Love To Fish!
António Lopes Nunes, Imperial Baits Team Portugal – www.imperial-baits.pt
Click here to read the article in which António Lopes celebrate his 1-year at IB. „Celebrate one year Imperial Beits with my new PB!“
Look forward to our update on Friday, here you can take part in an exciting autumn experience of António Lopes.
Our iBoat promotion 10 % + 10 % discount still runs for a short time. Be there and secure your iBoat as ceap as never before!
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. . . already packed and on the way to the long WE?
At leats in Germany we have a long WE due to reunification 30 years ago.
Show us your pack monsters (to info@imperial-fishing.de) and we will show them our community in the iBlog.
Good carping and tight lines!
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