Carp Fishing Tips | Go carping on a budget! - Chris Haydon

CARP fishing can be a seriously expensive business at times.

Buying a decent amount of boilies, a ticket for your local bag-up water and all the components to tie the latest rig – it all soon adds up. Fear not, though, as there are numerous things you can do to save a few bob, without compromising your catch rate.

Here’s how to do it...

Going carp fishing doesn’t always have to mean spending lots of money

Get on a club water (£30-£150 per year)

Day-ticket venues may hold some giant carp but they’re often busy, and if you fish them regularly you’ll end up spending a small fortune on tickets. So, why not check out the quieter club waters?

Many annual club books will only set you back the price of a long session on a day-ticket water, and they often hold carp of equal quality. The banks will be a lot quieter too!

Use the ‘golden grains’... (As little as £1 per kilo frozen)

When used correctly, sweetcorn can out-fish all other baits. It’s widely used in spod mixes, but not on the hook for some reason, making it a bit of an ‘edge’. You can feed a lot of it too and it won’t fill the carp up. In fact, the more the better – they love it!

Sweetcorn is a deadly bait for carp. It’s cheap, highly visible and easily digestible

Ready, set, GO! (£1.99 per rig - cheaper options available too)

We all have shedloads of end tackle in our bag which, if we are honest, we hardly use.

If you are going to try a new rig, buy a ready-tied version first to test it out. All the major brands make ready-rigs now and it not only saves time, but also money on components you may never use again.

Ready-rigs are a quick and easy solution to test the latest wonder rig, without forking out on expensive components

Make a little go a long way (1kg of boilies = £9.99 - £12.99)

There is no denying that some of the boilies on the market are phenomenal fish-catchers, but that doesn’t mean you need to pile in kilos of them. Make your boilies go further by using halved baits. Simple!

Chop those boilies to put more baits out in the swim and let their attraction leach off quicker

Cook your own particles (£30 for £25kg from most pet food suppliers)

Bulk-buying raw particles such as hemp, pigeon conditioner or maize is an excellent way to save money. The baits must be soaked for at least 24 hours and then cooked until they split, so they are safe for the carp to eat. You can also add all kinds of ingredients to spice them up. A real no-brainer in the cost-cutting stakes.

When done correctly, cooking your own particles is a real money saver

Lavish TLC on your hooks (Hook file from £4.99)

Just because a hook on a rig has gone blunt, that doesn’t mean it deserves the bin. A little TLC with a hook sharpener should bring it back to life, saving you cash in the process.

Hooks can be brought back to life with a little touch up

Try bread bags (£1 a loaf, will last you a session)

Breadcrumbs in a mesh bag make a great alternative to pellets or boilie crumb. Combine them with a bright pop-up for a real cost-effective winner in the colder months.

Bread crumb in PVA bags is a deadly winter tactic, when minimal feed is required to get a bite (Photo - Mark Parker)

Use fantastic foam! (From £3.99)

When the air pressure is high and carp are up off the bottom, zig rigs can be deadly.

Other than a hook and hooklink, the only thing you need to get a bite is coloured foam. You can flavour it if you wish, but unflavoured foam has taken some of the biggest and best carp in the country, crazy as it may sound.

Foam has caught some on the country’s biggest carp (Photo - Matt Woods)

Recycle your old rigs (FREE)

At the end of a session, don’t just cut off your rig and dump it in the box. Snip off the hooks, swivels and rig sleeves and use them again.

Reverse your mainline (FREE)

Instead of respooling each season just reverse the line on your reels by loading it onto a spare spool, and then pop the spare spool back onto your reel. The used line will then be on the bottom, and fresh stuff on top.

No need to throw away fresh line, just reverse it onto your spare spools

Fish dawn to dusk (FREE)

Night fishing means buying a bivvy, bedchair and sleeping bag. Instead, get up early and to the lake before first light. The fish generally will be showing, and you can jump right on them while everyone else is snoring!

Night fishing can often be unproductive on some waters, just get up early and stay late

Buy cheap, buy twice! (PRICELESS)

Make savings elsewhere, but it’s vital your rods and reels are up to the job. See if your local tackle shop will do you a deal. You only need two rods. You will then only need two alarms, two sets of sticks and a two-rod licence too. Big savings!

Having good quality rods and reels will ensure you land more fish. You only need TWO!