Peter, who was from the UK, introduced him to Carp Angling “European
Style” which was not that common in those days. “Most people in this
country didn’t know what a ‘boilie’ was (a mixture of crushed maize, hemp
seed, Tiger nuts and flour - mixed into small dough balls) – so I learned
many tricks of the trade from Peter.” He said.
For the next few years Gilbert spent endless hours targeting venues
known for big Carp. During this period, he caught five 50lb+ Carp, 47
x 40lb+, 1500 x 30lb+ and countless more under these marks. He also
took part in the World Carp Classic in Rumania in 2001 where he caught
the 3rd biggest fish of the event at 19.1kg.
That same year he caught his biggest Carp ever of 26,9kg – fishing at
Donaldson Dam near Randfontein. (His current Personal Best is a 59lb
06oz Mirror also caught there).
This seems to have
been his place of
firsts. Donaldson Dam
is where Gilbert first
came in contact with
Lowrance fishfinders.
“In those days we
fished off canoes and
mine was fitted with
a very old Lowrance
echo sounder. There
was a small cavity
between the top of the canoe and the bottom and after putting a bit of
water in there, I fixed my transducer into the hull - creating a through-hull
effect. It was great because I could row wherever I wanted to and over
whatever was underneath and still see the contours (which is all we could
see) and I got some good results fishing for Carp.”
Fourteen years ago, Gilbert changed his boat to an Ark Inflatable, and
initially he was content with a simple sounder which could help him
identify basic structure, drop-offs and gulleys. (More recently, he decided
that having an up-to-date, sophisticated unit would add much value to
his fishing).