Know your stuff | Big carp edition!
Question 1. What are the advantages of a braided hooklink over mono?
Dozens of hooklink materials are available these days, but broadly they fall into two categories – stiff or supple.
Traditional braided hooklinks are strong for their diameter, and limp. They’re perfect for use inside PVA bags where you want a hooklink that can be stuffed easily into a tight space, and their suppleness also means they can present a bait ‘naturally’, allowing it to move freely.
Unfortunately they’re prone to tangling and despite their low diameter can be quite conspicuous.Mono or fluorocarbon hooklinks are much harder to see underwater and are far stiffer. This makes them difficult for the carp to eject once they have picked up your hookbait. On the flipside, they won’t follow the lakebed’s contours as well as braid so they may sit unnaturally.
A hybrid of the two is coated braid, with a supple braided inner section and a stiffer outer coating that can be peeled back to create hinges and supple sections. Available in a range of stiffness ratings, they are great all-round hooklinks.
Question 2. What’s the safest carp rig I can use?
A safe carp rig is one that the fish can get rid of in the event of your mainline snapping (either during the fight or as you cast). Any rig with a barbless hook is safer in this respect because without pressure from the angler’s end these hooks tend to fall out of a fish’s mouth quite easily. However, most carpers consider the lead and any leaders to be the most dangerous part of a set-up, if the carp can get rid of these it is unlikely to become tethered.
A free-running lead, attached to the line via some form of ring, will slide off the broken end of the mainline in the event of a breakage. If you wish to fish a ‘semi-fixed’ lead then a lead clip, which holds the lead on a plastic arm, can also discharge it.
Helicopter rigs work on the reverse principle, whereby the hooklink is discharged from the lead. Most manufacturers offer ready-made versions of these set-ups, with detailed instructions on how to use them safely.
Question 3. I’m confused about the various types of carp hooks. Surely a standard pattern would do?
Just as in match fishing, there is a wide range of hooks to pick from for carping and they all achieve different tasks on their day. The long shank hook comes into play when fishing a blowback rig, allowing the hookbait to move when a fish takes the bait but leaving the hook in place to ensure a firm hookhold when using bottom baits. Adding some shrink tube to the shank further enhances the set-up.
Wide gape hooks are unbeatable when fishing with short hooklinks, a large lead and PVA bags with either pop-ups or bottom baits. You may also come across hooks with an out-turned eye that are great for fishing with rigs made from stiff materials (mono or fluorocarbon). These help keep the gape of the hook at its maximum, encouraging a better hook-up and subsequent hookhold during the fight.
Then there are curved shank hooks with a swept gape that work well with blowback rigs or pop-ups. These hooks allow the rig to re-set themselves if a carp picks up the bait and blows it back out, which means the rig is still fishing effectively without the need to reel in again. Of all the hooks available, the wide gape is the most commonly-used and versatile, so this would be the one to pick in the tackle shop if you are restricting yourself to one type.
Know your stuff | Big perch and when to use paste!
Question 1. Paste has worked well at my local commercial recently, but is it still effective at this time of year?
Paste traditionally scores best in the hottest months of the year, but if you play with the consistency of it you can still get plenty of bites in autumn. Make sure your paste is stiffer than you are used to. You’ll have to wait longer for bites, and a sloppy paste will fall off the hook in the meantime.
You can also add dampened micro pellets and hemp to your paste so it provides the one mouthful of food that the fish are craving.
Question 2. I have started fishing for big perch on the pole but seem to be losing a lot of fish so what’s going wrong?
One of the most common mistakes anglers make when targeting big perch is to fish too light. A big perch has a very bony mouth, and penetrating that with the hook can be tricky. But by using a fairly heavy elastic and a big hook this can still be achieved, and you can land every fish you hook. Use a Preston Innovations 12 or 14 Dura Hollo elastic and a medium-wire size 12 hook and your fortunes will soon be transformed.
Question 3. Experts at my favourite fishery catch lots of carp on the waggler close to an island but don’t feed a thing – how does this work?
Right now fish will start to shoal up and you need to place the bait in front of them rather than drawn them in.
Cast a loaded waggler with no shot close to the island and allow the hookbait 20-30 seconds to sink. If you get no response, quickly twitch the bait and if the float still doesn’t move, recast. Make sure you feed absolutely nothing or you’ll reduce your chances of your hookbait being taken.
The idea is to put the hookbait directly in front of the mouth of a carp, and if you are on a large shoal, this won’t take long at all.
Question 4. What are the differences between braid, mono and fluorocarbon lines, and when would I use each one?
The three lines you mention are all very different and will achieve specific aims. Mono is widely used for mainline and hooklinks on feeder, pole, float and big-fish rigs. Fluorocarbon is a new generation of line that tends only to be used as a hooklink, while braid, looking and feeling almost like cotton, is popular with feeder anglers after bream, or as carp anglers’ hooklengths.
See below for more detailed descriptions of each one...
Braid
Braid is made from six or eight strands of woven Dyneema. It has no stretch at all, which is why using a strong mono shockleader is a must to stop crack-offs. It’s tough and hard to cut through, and has a very fine diameter in relation to its breaking strain, making it a great line for distance casting.
Mono
Taking in famous names such as Maxima and Bayer Perlon, nylon monofilament is available stretched or unstretched. When pulled hard, mono has some ‘give’ in it, useful when striking hard or playing fish. In a range of breaking strains and diameters, mono is used for mainlines and hooklengths.
fluorocarbon
A type of nylon, fluoro is heavier and slightly thicker than normal mono, and underwater it’s almost invisible to fish. It does have less stretch than standard mono, but sinks rapidly and so is used by some carp and feeder anglers as a mainline. Drop shot lure anglers also use fluorocarbon for their leader material.
Question 5. When should I begin to fish casters for river roach?
It often takes a while for the fish to turn on to casters. You’ll need to feed them for a while before slipping one on the hook – this change can result in fewer bites but better quality fish when they come.
A general rule of thumb would be to start on maggots or pinkies but loosefeed casters. Once you are catching regularly, put a caster on the hook and judge the response – if you catch, carry on bagging, if not, change back to maggots, keep feeding and try again half an hour later.
