How to fish the lift method for carp, tench and bream

This technique is brilliant for tackling the margins. It was made famous by John Wilson, who has used it extensively for carp on many of Britain's lakes to catch countless fish of all sizes. It works with almost all baits, including boilies.

A The lift method works best if the float rod is placed upon rod rests. This ensures that the rod tip and the line remains stationary, and subsequently the float isn't pulled off line.

B It's best to use large, unloaded floats that offer a lot of buoyancy. When set correctly the float tip should only just break the surface. When a fish takes the bait and therefore lifts the shot that lies on the bottom, the float will rise to indicate a bite.

C Use the bare minimum of shot to lock the float upon the line. Ideally the shot should not even make the float lay flat on the water's surface - that's how little this rig requires around the float.

D You will need to plumb the depth accurately when using this rig because all the float's shot loading needs to ble placed well down the line so that it sits on the bottom. This not only anchors the float, but if it is placed at the correct depth it will pull the float down so low that only the tiniest hint of the sight tip shows above the water's surface.