Dean Macey's top 10 carp fishing tips
Now's the perfect time to catch your personal best carp! And who better than The Big Fish Off’s Dean Macey to help you put a carpy bend in your rod this week? Here are his 10 top tips to spring carp success…
Be vigilant
First thing I would say is that I use my eyes. The fish are very active this time of year and will put themselves on show, so you should be able to find them.
Being cold-blooded, they will be looking for warmer water to get their metabolism running at full summer rate – nine times out of 10, when you find a shoal of fish, they will be there just to warm up. For fish-spotting, polarised glasses are essential.
Follow the sun and stay mobile
To find carp first thing in the morning the west bank will receive the morning sun and the fish are likely to be there – be prepared to move with the sun during the day, as the fish will likely follow it. Cut down your gear and travel light to keep you mobile.
Target areas
The shallow water of margins or near islands will be the warmest parts of the lake. I’d also say “follow a fresh wind” as often the fish will follow it too.
That said, on some venues they can be found on the back of it – particularly if it’s a cold wind.
Zigs can be deadly
Zig fishing can be deadly in the spring, and my favourite bait is black foam – however, don’t be afraid to chop and change colours. A good example of this was during my latest session.
I could see the carp swimming over my zigs, but I wasn’t getting any bites. A quick change to yellow led me to four or five fish.
I know people play around a lot with colours, but the bottom line is to use what you have confidence in – my favourite colours are white, pink and yellow.
Keep it simple and effective
Use a rig that you have full confidence in. I like a small inline lead and a supple braided hooklink. I can cast it virtually anywhere and it will be presented correctly, regardless of the bottom it’s lying over. I tend to use the lightest lead I can get away with – a 2oz square pear is ideal. It’s mega-simple, with good hooking properties, so why haven’t I seen any other anglers use this rig?
Don’t ignore the less obvious
On smaller venues especially, don’t ignore the neglected swims and quiet corners. On a quick day session I love fishing these areas, putting rigs where others can’t – whether this is up against an island or into an under-fished margin.
My baiting approach
This time of year I use 10mm baits a heck of a lot. On my latest session I out-fished everyone by feeding smaller baits little and often – everyone else just piled in a kilo of normal-sized boilies but I took a matchman’s approach, feeding five or six small boilies every few minutes – carp will respond to the splash.
I may well use a kilo over the course of the day, but never all at once – I’m fishing for one bite at a time. You don’t need a lot of bait to catch them. Hi-attract baits and small bait packages are best.
Hookbaits
Over the last five or six years I’ve been using hookbaits enhanced in some way. A favourite is a 12mm Mainline wafter glugged in Supa Sweet zig liquid. I really think a hi-attract hookbait catches me more fish, especially on commercials.
Whether or not colour makes a difference in the murky water I don’t know, but I do know that carp can definitely taste the bait – so why cast out a bland hookbait?
Floater fishing
I will always fish to opportunities, which sometimes means the surface. I will always use 6mm baits to get carp feeding.
Again I like to use a hi-attract hookbait, and pink is my favourite. Something that’s transformed my fishing is the Rasberry Plume Goo – I’ll add this to my hookbaits and loosefeed.
To add it to my floaters, I treat the neat liquid like orange squash, diluting it in the bottom of a bucket with some water. I then add my floaters before shaking the bucket like a madman to get them covered – this little edge can turn five fish into 50 fish. I don’t think I could go surface fishing without it!
Floater rigs
I like to use a braided mainline for instant contact, but a good floating mono is absolutely fine.
If you’re using a cigar-type controller I’d say you’ll need at least a 5ft hooklength – however, you can shorten this on my preferred bolt rig-type float. I go for around 3ft and don’t strike at bites. I wait for the controller to slide away as a fish hooks itself.