Carp Fishing Tips | Baits and Rigs to get started - Hassan Khan
"I have just started getting into carp fishing, there are so many rigs and boilies out there, is there a basic set-up to get me started?"
With the amount of information available out there via magazine and the internet, I can see how things can be confusing but here's my simple recommendations.
In terms of rigs, a great starting point would be a simple knotless knot/hair rig. Have the bait (boilie) on the hair rig, so that it just brushes the bend of the hook. Have the rig around 7-inches in length and use it in congestion with a simple lead clip system.
A simple hair rig is adaptable and will catch plenty of carp. You can attach as many baits as you like. Fish with PVA bags or mould some paste around the hookbait.
A lead clip system is reliable and safe for the fish
When it comes to bait, we are very fortunate in that all boilies that are produced by the major bait manufacturers nowadays are proven fish catchers.
As a guide rule, there’s two types of boilie…
Fishmeal boilies (e.g. Sticky Baits The Krill), are rich nutritional meaty/fishy/savoury smelling baits, which are often preferred in warmer water temperatures, but can be used in cold water in smaller quantities.
Fishmeal boils are often preferred in warmer temperatures
Birdfood based boilies, (e.g. Mainline Cell), these are often sweet/nutty in flavour and can be used all year round.
Birdfood/milk protein based boilies can be used all year-round but are favoured in the winter months
My advice would be to pick one based on your preference or what’s catching on your water and stick with it, don't fall into the trap of continually changing.
Get out there and try carp fishing!
Carp Fishing Tips | Do chod rigs work better with light leads? - Dave Magalhaes
I do prefer using small leads with chod rigs and don’t feel that they hinder the hooking properties of the rig.
Smaller leads work well with chod rigs
I want the lead to lay down gently on top of whatever it is that I am fishing over. I also want to cause as little disturbance as I can.
Fishing in this style often means being mobile and reacting to what the fish do.
The last thing you want is to crash three big leads into an area that the fish are happy feeding in.
Chod rig diagram
A large lead will give you more hook pulls too, in my opinion.
That large weight around the carp’s mouth has a tendency to pull the hook out, while a smaller lead, doesn’t apply so much pressure and is much better for landing fish.
They certainly catch fish!
Carp Fishing Tips | Bait for post-spawning carp - Simon Scott
Spawning is a highly energetic and physically demanding event for the carp. Females will have been through an incredibly stressful few days, as their ovaries go through the last stages of preparation for ovulation and then they actually spawn, releasing their eggs. It is common for both male and female fish to lose scales along their flanks and to scratch themselves during the rough and tumble of spawning.
Spawning is a highly energetic and physically demanding event for the carp
These physical injuries mean that their ability to regulate their internal salt/water balance may be compromised. The injuries also create holes in their bodies, which could become infected.
So spawning is a potentially dangerous time for carp and after they have finished they will need to rebuild their strength and heal any damage. Because of this they are often really hungry, and they commonly feed hard in the weeks following spawning in order to regain strength.
After spawning carp will be very hungry!
To capitalise upon this big feed-up it’s best to use a high-quality bait to give the fish lots of nutrients – for example, high-quality fishmeal boilies or pellets. These will be very popular with the fish which will, of course, all benefit from the quality of the feed.
If the weather is not too hot and the fish are clearly feeding hard, don’t be afraid to give them a fair bit of bait – they will thank you for it, and you might just catch a fair few along the way.
High-quality fishmeal boilies are best post-spawning
Carp Fishing Tips - Catch more off the top!
SURFACE fishing is one of the most exciting methods of catching carp in the summer months.
Watching a fish rise slowly through the upper layers before engulfing your hookbait never fails to get your heart pounding.
However, it can also be incredibly frustrating when you witness the fish spooking off your end tackle or rejecting your bait at the last moment. There’s certainly a fine line between success and failure!
It’s a common misconception that all surface fishing is done with a controller float. While a controller float does give a casting advantage, it can actually be a hindrance in terms of causing excess disturbance and limiting manoeuvrability of the hookbait.
The old-fashioned method of free-lining with surface baits is still as deadly today as it ever was. Whether you side hook a pop-up, bury the hook in a piece of bread or band on a couple of mixers, free-lining is a precise and spook-free method to present a floater to a carp feeding off the top.
Try to get the fish feeding on your floating offerings as close to the bank as possible. This should limit the need for a controller float, which can sometimes spook fish, especially on small venues.
The great thing about using a simple free-lined set-up is that if you see a fish moving or feeding in a different area of the swim, even tight to features, you can quickly cast on its head with little chance of it spooking. This will also help you pick out the larger fish.
Surface fishing is one of the most exciting methods to catch carp
Be patient...
Feeding with surface baits can be a long process. Sometimes it takes hours before the fish are confident, but waiting until multiple fish are taking confidently is a more effective than casting in straight away.
With all this feeding going on, birds can be infuriating when they’re eating your freebies, but they can be avoided.
Try piling some bait in from the start to feed off the birds. This won’t hurt them, as they will only eat what they want. On some waters, the commotion of the birds feeding will even draw in the carp to investigate. If the birds have left anything, the carp will clear up and you can begin the surface fishing process.
If this doesn’t work, it’s worth considering feeding the birds in another area of the lake to keep your intended spot quiet.
Wait for as long as you can before casting out to get multiple fish confidently taking.
Vary your feed
Many top carpers talk about the importance of providing a banquet for the carp on the bottom with varied food items. The same applies to feeding carp on the surface. If you put out a selection of surface baits the carp have less chance of picking out your hookbait.
Great floating baits are Chum mixer dog biscuits, floating pellets and breadcrust. Having a selection of these can really make a difference to catching consistently off the surface.
Fish can be more readily lured into surface feeding through smaller food items, such as Nash Riser pellets. Start by introducing these smaller feeds and gradually wean them on to the bigger baits.
Carp can be exceptionally wary of feeding off the surface on some venues. The best advice is to spend time feeding the fish little and often. By only putting a handful of offerings in at a time, they have no choice but to compete for every last one. If you pile in loads from the off and litter the surface with baits, the fish can be more selective.
Feed a mix of bait sizes, colours and flavours
Concealment is key
One of the biggest factors that will lead to more takes off the surface is effective concealment of your end tackle. As carp are approaching your hookbait from underneath, it’s vital to ensure your line is floating and everything looks natural.
Use a good floating hooklink, preferably one designed for surface fishing. Dropping the strength and diameter of this hooklink will lead to more takes. If your hooklink begins to sink during the session, grease it up with Vaseline.
Using a specialist floater style hook is also important. A hook pattern that is too heavy will cause your hookbait to sit unnaturally in the water. Dropping the hook size will help avoid this, but don’t go too light because when a carp is hooked the action is explosive!
Use a floating hooklink and as small a hook you can get away with.
Commercial Fishing Tips | Six tips to exploit far-bank shallows - Tom Edwards
Have you ever plumbed up your peg and thought that in places it’s just too shallow to catch fish from?
Let’s face it, a mere foot of water doesn’t seem enough to hold fish consistently throughout the day, let alone give you the chance of catching them without suffering the trials and tribulations of them being hooked everywhere except in their mouths.
It makes sense to fish in deeper water where you’ll be a lot more comfortable and confident of catching. Do this, though, and you’ll be missing out on one of the very best parts of your peg on a narrow snake lake, the water tight against the far bank known as the mudline.
Yes, there’s only 12ins or so to work with, but fed correctly, this is enough to catch from all day long. Done right, foul hooked fish and line bites can be totally eliminated.
Float sizes
In mudline fishing, a heavy float will sit properly for longer. A rig based around a Carpa Ape pattern is as stable as you could wish for.
Short hooklengths
A 3ins hooklength lets you put all your shot close to the hook. Fish 0.18mm mainline to a 0.14mm hooklength and a size 16 Guru Super LWG hook.
Which pot?
I start with a medium-sized pot, tapping the pole butt to release the pellets. The biggest pot will put too many pellets in and whip the fish into a frenzy.
Find the depth
Find the mudline at around 12ins. Any deeper, you’ll have trouble with fish coming off the bottom, any shallower, it’s hard to get fish into the peg.
The bait
Dampened micro pellet feed and a 4mm expander hookbait is my combo. Light expanders work well in shallow water.
Pick a light elastic
White Hydrolastic is perfect, soft enough to allow the fish to bolt out of the swim without making too much noise.
Commercial Fishing Tips | Time to get down the margins! - Steve Ringer
As much as I love my feeder fishing, there’s something unique about doing battle at close range with massive fish.
Often these can be located just inches away from the bank, where you can see them swim into the area and upend to feed, sending clouds of mud from the lakebed billowing upwards before your float vanishes and the fight kicks off.
If you’re on the lookout to up your personal best, there really is no better way to do it than from in the margins.
Because this is a method that works later in the day, it’s ideal for after-work or evening sessions when a couple of hours is often ample to catch a string of fish.
So why not get up close and personal with the fish? It’s a really satisfying way to fish.
Get up close and personal with the fish
The right floats
A margin swim is typically 12ins-18ins deep, calling for a 0.3g or 0.4g float. In deeper water you’re better off trying to catch shallow with a 0.2g float. In any case you must always get the float as close to the bank as possible to eliminate line bites.
Get the float as close as possible to the bank
Big baits
For carp, double corn, double expander pellet, two worms or eight or nine dead maggots is perfect. For F1s, double maggot or caster rules on a size 16 hook. Red-dyed meat or pellets work really well in heavily coloured water.
Dyed meat works brilliantly in coloured water
Find the flat spot
If I can’t find a flat area, I will fish on the slope and set my rig to 14ins, plumb up and find where this is on the slope. I then lay the rig in with the float closest to the bank and drag it into position so that the bait is resting on the bottom.
It is essential to plumb the depth
Try the feeder
A big Hybrid or Method feeder fished on an underarm cast tight to the bank is an easier way to fish than the pole. If you are getting line bites on the pole, a change to a feeder will give unmissable bites and properly hooked fish.
The feeder will give unmissable bites down the margins
Carp Fishing Tips | Slack line or backlead for carp? - Rob Hughes
Backleads affect sensitivity and bite indication and I avoid them unless absolutely necessary. As soon as the lead is on the deck you have a hinge point, and that means a decrease in indication. Slack lines are much better for indication at shorter ranges (up to 30 yards) but at longer ranges they, too, are not that great.
Think about bite indication when deciding how to hide your line.
For almost all of my fishing I go semi-tight. As long as you use heavy lines or even drop a bit of putty on the last 12ft or so, they should sink well enough to fish effectively but not too slack.
Have a think about why you need a backlead at all. In the edge slack is better, at medium range fish semi-slack with putty, and at longer range you don’t really need them as the line is near the deck anyway.
Putty isn’t just useful for hooklinks, blob some above the lead too
If it’s purely to avoid boats, get your backlead as far out as you safely can, fish a tight line between the leads, use a heavy old bolt rig and hit any single bleeps you get.
Backleads are a must to avoid boats but use a heavy bolt rig and hit any indications!
Carp Fishing Tips - Is there an optimum depth carp are most comfortable feeding at? - Simon Scott
From my experience at the VS Fisheries carp farm and over a fair few years of specifically targeting carp, I have found that they will vary their feeding depth according to water temperature and quality and the location of food.
Carp love spending time off the bottom
I have caught carp in large gravel pits at depths of between 25ft and 30ft, particularly in autumn as the water cools.
That said, on a typical gravel pit I would probably start by targeting the shallower areas of 10ft and also regularly try at least one rod a bit further down the slope.
If the water is cold, then try fishing in the deeper areas. Additionally, don’t be afraid to try fishing with zig rigs using an adjustable zig float, which makes it possible to fish a few feet beneath the surface even if the water is really deep.
Zig rigs may be a bit daunting to start with, particularly in really deep water, but take my word for it, they can be hugely effective!
The adjustable zig rig is perfect for fishing really deep water
Carp Fishing Tips - Tackle challenging canals
IF YOU can get off the hustle and bustle of the towpath, the country’s canals offer miles and miles of often untapped carping potential.
As a starting point, snags or cover can be good hotspots. One thing to remember is that canal carp can be very nomadic so a spot may be prime one day and fishless the next.
There are several things to take into consideration when fishing canals, the first being bait. In a lot of our canals the carp are relatively opportunistic, making the most of food thrown off the side of boats or in bird feeding areas.
If you aren’t the sort of person who is going to spend a lot of time prebaiting, these areas of free feed are certainly worth investigating.
If you want to be more selective with your bait, you need to fish with boilies, big ones at that. Part of the challenge of canal fishing is the host of other species you will have to contend with and even an 18mm boilie won’t deter a greedy bream.
Boats provide great cover for carp
Three top tips for canal carping
1. To avoid complications with boats when fishing from the bank, pin your lines to the bottom with a backlead. Do not plot up next to a mooring area or too close to a lock which may get a lot of use.
Backloads are essential kit for fishing canals
2. Canal carp can be very nomadic. Try concentrating your feed by pre-baiting likely looking spots. If you aren’t able to do this, make the most of natural feed areas such as bird feeding spots.
Try pre-baiting some likely looking spots
3.Try fishing a snowman hookbait with a bottom bait of at least 18mm topped with a 12mm or even a 15mm pop-up. This should help deter unwanted bream.
A snowman hook bait is good for avoiding bream
Carp Fishing Tips | Do fish see colour like we do? - Simon Scott
Yes, but it’s a completely different spectrum.
Pink is the last colour that they see fade out in deep water so, in very clear water, a brightly-coloured bait will easily be seen.
However, in murky water fish rely very little on sight and that’s when scent takes over.
The only variant on this is when fish are swimming well off the bottom of a river or lake. In this instance, they can see the difference between a light and a dark-coloured bait as a silhouette.
Commercial Fishing Tips | Catch anything on maggots - Rob Wootton
Waiting for a few carp to have a chew in the depths of winter often ends with very little in the net to show for your efforts.
This is why fishing a lake with a good mixed stock of fish gives you the best possible chance of a busy day’s sport.
Every commercial fishery offers much, much more than just carp. It’s almost certain to be home to roach, bream, probably perch and even ide too.
What’s more, all these species are more than willing to feed in the cold.
Catching a netful from fisheries like these couldn’t be easier, and as far as bait is concerned it’s a cheap outing into the bargain. A tenner should buy all you need.
Two pints of maggots and a little groundbait is all you require for an exciting and interesting session in which you can never be certain just what’s going to be on the end when the float next goes under.
Why maggots are king
Why take only maggots? Well, they catch everything and are nowhere near as selective as pellets or sweetcorn.
You seem to catch for longer and more consistently with them. Two pints of reds and whites will be enough, and you may even have some left over at the end for another session.
Rotate your lines
Plugging away on one single swim will only end in it slowly dying a death. You need to have other options and rotate between them to get the best out of the day. This isn’t as complicated as it may seem.
My main swim is on the long pole at 11m to 13m. That’s a comfortable distance, but I do try to find any changes in the depth, such as deep hole or bar. These are very attractive to fish, even though they might not sound like much to us!
There will be a second line at short range, perhaps 5m or 6m out, which I’ll save to fish in the last two hours of the day.
I’ll only feed here roughly half an hour before I want to fish this line in order to get the maximum impact of feeding maggots in this new area.
‘Canal’ rigs
Other than the odd carp, most of the fish you’ll catch on maggots will be small enough to land on quite light tackle.
I recommend a size 18 hook to a hooklink of 0.08mm diameter and a mainline of 0.14mm. Provided your pole elastic is soft enough, there’s little danger of it getting broken by a fish. Shotting is also very delicate, using No11 shot. Space these apart all the way across the rig, so the single dead maggot bait falls very slowly.
Commercial Fishing Tips | Bread punch for winter carp with Lee Thornton
CARP and F1s are known to stop feeding for much of the winter. Yet a single piece of punched bread can produce the goods consistently, especially in matches, where the fish tend to move around less owing to angling pressure on the bank.
The reason a hookbait sat on its own works is simple to understand. During the colder months carp do not need to eat much at all. Being cold-blooded creatures, they do not use anywhere near the amount of energy that they do in the warmer months to get through the day.
As a result, these carp become conditioned to move away from any feed being introduced or a bait that is stationary on the bottom. I’m not quite sure whether a reluctance to feed is a response to avoid being caught or not, but I have a hunch this is most likely the reason.
Therefore, a single attractive hookbait can outscore all other methods, and bread is a timeless classic to stick on the hook to get your fair share of fish.
It’s not easy, though. Bread fishing does seem to have got more difficult over the years. Fish which get caught on it regularly will do everything they can to avoid making the same mistake again.
As a result, every aspect of your approach and set-up becomes crucial to success.
Fish a long line
A long line between the float and pole-tip lets me keep the tip well away from any fish, reducing the chance of spooking. A low-profile Ghost top kit along with that length of line gives me flexibility in the rig to change depths quickly or to swing the rig past the pole-tip. I do, though, prefer two sizeable back shot on this to stabilise everything.
Location
Now we move on to the single most important aspect of bread fishing. A feature where the fish can back off to – be this a bridge, a floating island, the far bank, reed beds, aerators or trees – is the perfect starting point, so long as there’s around 3ft of water. This is the depth carp and F1s commonly like to have over their backs in winter to feel comfortable.
That said, I do set up two rigs, one for fishing 2ft 6ins to 3ft deep and another that can be fished with a good length of line above the float, set 6ins to a foot off bottom in the deepest area of the peg.
Catching a few extra fish in these deep areas has won me several matches over the years, basically by fishing in a part of the peg with no obvious cover or any good reason for fish to congregate there.
Explore the swim
It’s important not to spend too long in areas that do not quickly deliver indications of fish. When you catch on bread, I don’t believe it’s common to catch just one carp. You are targeting a shoal of fish, which means there are a few in the area. Even if a proper bite is not forthcoming, areas where you get small indications and movements on the float are most likely to produce a positive bite.
Depth is important too. I’ve already said that 3ft is a good starting point, but you need to be at precisely the same depth as the fish to give yourself the best chance of a bite. Carp will not follow a piece of bread deeper or shallower from where they are comfortable. It’s the angler who adjusts the rig if no indications are forthcoming that catches the most fish.
When starting a session, I give each area two or three minutes to see if I can get indications. If not, I move around the peg a metre at a time and when I think I’ve located a shoal of fish, that’s the time to start altering the depth.
Rest each area
I have found in the last couple of seasons that once I’ve found a spot with some carp, it pays to not keep going into the same area every time.
I don’t think that this is because the fish have ‘wised up’. It’s more that the milder winters we are having means that even though the fish are still in a non-feeding mood, water that is a degree or two warmer makes them more inclined to move around or swim out of the peg than if it were colder and they were more lethargic.
It’s quite difficult to do this if you only have one area in a swim where it is possible to get bites, but definitely try resting the catching area regularly, even if it does mean fishing where it seems there is little to no chance of a bite.
This ploy can actually produce more fish in the longer run.
Floats and shotting
I like to use a traditional 4x12 commercial-style float with a long teardrop shape and a 1.5mm thick plastic bristle and carbon stem for my bread fishing.
The carbon stem keeps in touch perfectly with a single bulk of shot, which is more often than not fixed just beneath the float. This stem also produces less resistance than a wire stem as it naturally supports less weight.
The 1.5mm bristle allows the rig to hold the bread hookbait without being overly buoyant or, conversely, too sensitive – which would result in it being pulled under the surface.
Shotting beneath the float is made up of a bulk of two or three tiny No12 shot (the number used depends on how shallow the fish are). The name of the game is to achieve a really slow fall of the hookbait that will grab the carp’s attention.
Terminal Tackle
Mainline is Middy Lo-Viz 0.18mm, a line I use for every rig in summer or winter as it is one less thing to worry about. Hooklengths are made up of 0.10mm or 0.12mm Lo-Viz with a size 16 6313 hook.
Elastic choice is important, and although the carp can be big, it is best to fish with as soft an elastic as the size of fish will allow. This helps to keep disturbance in the peg to a minimum. For F1s this means the 6-9 Orange Middy Reactacore and for carp the 9-12 Cerise-coloured version.
Staying on the subject of elastics, it is worth noting that in low temperatures, solids will out-perform hollows due to the elastic not reacting the same.
If you are doing a lot of winter fishing it is definitely worth having some top kits with solid elastic rigged up as a back-up!
Plumbing up
Plumbing up is crucial, mainly to make sure that the water you are fishing is not too shallow. Very rarely will fish sit in shallow water when it is cold and clear, so making sure at least 2ft and preferably 3ft is available is paramount.
Plumbing up also helps you to locate fish. Many times in winter, because of how tightly the shoal sits, fish can be hit with the rig, and this can happen in really unexpected places in the swim. So use this information to help you locate some carp
Carp Fishing tips | Surface fishing tactics for carp
Surface fishing is a tactic that every carp angler should master if they’re to make the most of the summer months, especially is the sun is high in the sky and the chances of a bite using traditional legering tactics are minimal.
However, there’s far more to it than just hooking on a dog biscuit and launching it out into the pond, more in hope than expectation. So, this week I’m going to run you through some little ‘edges’ that I’ve picked up over the past three decades or so that have made a big difference to my floater fishing success.
1) Feed off the fowl…
Too many anglers avoid surface fishing for carp altogether because of the presence of ducks, gulls, swans and various other feed-robbing birds.
The trick is to feed them off first, using cheap bread and budget dog biscuits. Once you arrive at the lake, pick a corner from which both the fish and other anglers are absent, then put in the cheap offerings. These will normally fill them up, which leaves you free to surface fish.
Gulls, in particular, can be a nightmare, and it can take an age for them to have their fill... but feeding them off really will be time well spent.
2) Get them competing...
By far the most important part of successful surface fishing is to get the carp competing for the loosefeed before you cast out. Patience is key in this respect. You must keep feeding until there are a decent number of carp in the swim, feeding confidently.
If you’re patient enough, then the fish will gradually become more aggressive as they jostle for pole position for the next free morsel.
In this state they are far easier to catch and, more importantly, you can catch a number of fish, as opposed to just the odd one.
3) Slick ’em up!
The dedicated floating hookbaits that I favour are already crammed with oils and powders that ooze attraction, but I l give them a further ‘oiling’ to create a ‘flat spot’ around the hookbait.
This helps you to see it far more easily, especially with a ripple on. You can use just about any oil but my first choice is CAP Oil, a combination of various high-grade fish oils and a pungent chilli extract.
As well as increasing the visibility of your hookbait, it also gives your offering a fiery kick, which the carp seem to love.
4) Start small…
It was way back in the 1990s that I discovered the power of small floating pellets as loosefeed. Everyone else was using bog standard Chum mixers, and everywhere me and my mates went we caught an incredible number of fish because of those small pellets.
Everyone still uses large baits in the main, yet they really are missing a trick.
I use a mixture of 3mm, 6mm and 11mm Krill Floaters, with 80 per cent of the mix being made up of the smaller two sizes. These can work the fish into a frenzy, and the bigger ones are only there to replicate the size of my hookbait, once I’m ready to introduce it.
5) Fine-tune your end tackle
Thin hooklinks and small hooks will definitely get you more bites than crude terminal tackle, but you still need to use kit that’s strong enough to land the fish you’re targeting.
If you catch a couple of fish on a size 10 hook with 0.30mm diameter hooklink and they then start wising up, it’s time to drop to a size 12 and 0.25mm line, provided the weed isn’t bad.
Also, I can’t stress enough the difference a sticky-sharp hook makes when surface fishing.
Hone your hook points and far fewer fish will be able to spit out the hook once they’ve mouthed the bait.
6) Try a bright hookbait
While there’s nothing wrong with using a hookbait that matches the colour and size profile of your freebies, sometimes that leads to problems identifying it among feeding fish, especially at range.
To solve this, try using a bright pop-up. White or yellow ones are perfect, and an added bonus is that they will stay buoyant far longer than a sodden Chum mixer. Trim it right down (don’t worry, you’ll still be able to see it at range) and hair-rig it tight to the back of the hook. Alternatively, you can side-hook it.
7) Go long, if needs be...
Sometimes the best floater sport can be at medium to long range. This is often because the further out the carp are, the more confident they become and the quicker they lose their inhibitions (as they don’t know they’re being fished for).
In this situation, spodding your freebies out alongside a big, heavy controller float can be the way to go.
I carry a few different spods with me, so that I’m covered for any situation I find myself faced with. Being able to fish effectively in areas that many other anglers wouldn’t even try to get a bait to can be a real edge.
8) Switch to braid
Braided mainline isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s unbeatable for setting the hook on the strike because of its lack of stretch. If a breeze picks up you can ‘mend’ the line far more easily than you could with mono, remaining in direct contact with the float.
One final tip, which is obvious but still something I see a lot of people doing wrong, is to always cast your float well past where you’ve got the fish feeding, before tweaking it back into the ‘hot zone’. If you cast directly on top of their heads it will ruin all your hard work and send the fish into the next county!
Carp Fishing Tips | 10 essential tactics to summer carping
Carp fishing sensation Scott Lloyd has given us his top ten essential tips to carp fishing. Take a look below to see what you can add to your next session.
Large mat
Not only is having a well-padded unhooking mat an absolute essential for fish care, but the right one can be handy for transporting kit around the lake. I’m always on my toes and if I see an opportunity of a quick bite I want to be round there and on it. The Thinking Anglers mat is superb for protecting the fish, it folds on itself, and has buckles and straps. So I can transport a couple of rods, a net, some tackle and bait, all folded inside.
Binoculars
These have been a revelation for me in recent years. If the carp are within 30 yards of the bank, I can normally find them, but if they’re further out, the only clue to their presence can be a few small bubbles or a slight surface disturbance.
Sometimes you can’t be sure whether it’s a fish or just a bug going across the surface, but the binoculars will let you know just what’s going on, instantly. I use the Fortis ones and their range and clarity is incredible.
Strong, reliable hooks
Perhaps the most vital piece of kit in your entire armoury – strong, sharp, reliable hooks. The Thinking Anglers ones tick the boxes, and the chod patterns, in particular, could pull a car in! I know it’s all the rage, but I don’t tend to sharpen my hooks either, as any tinkering could potentially damage the point or weaken the hook.
Safe to say, if you have any doubt about the hooks you use, give something else a go
Fluoro leaders and putty
Having watched carp freak out countless times when they come into contact with mainline, I try to keep everything pinned down, particularly the 6ft or so above the rig. Fluorocarbon mainline helps massively, but with mono or braid, I’ll use a fluoro leader. To be extra sure, I add a few blobs of tungsten putty along the leader too, as well as putty or a tungsten dropper bead on my coated braid hooklinks.
Spare spools
I carry three spools each of braid, mono and fluorocarbon. Each one suits different fishing situations. I use braid the majority of the time, as it allows me to fish accurately and helps land carp in weedy situations.
However, not all lakes allow braid, which is why I carry the other two.
If I’m fishing close in, or with naked chods, then I use the fluorocarbon. If I need to fish a little bit further out, then I would use the mono, as it casts far better.
Headtorch
If you need to move in the night, make rigs or simply deal with a fish, the last thing you want to be doing is shining the light on your iPhone. A good quality, reliable head torch is vital. I take a spare, as well as plenty of extra batteries.
Cap and glasses
If I left these at home, I’d go to the nearest shop to buy some more – they’re that important!
The polarised glasses take off the surface glare and the cap shields my eyes. Both stay on my head at all times until it gets dark!
A good mix of baits
I like to carry a wide selection of hookbait colours, smells and buoyancies – bright pop-ups and wafters in both fruit and fish flavours, ‘match the hatch’
pop-ups, and some bottom baits – typically plenty of Krill boilies in both 12mm and 16mm.
I take particles too, especially in summer, typically hemp, maples and crushed and whole tiger nuts.
I also stash ‘extras’ in the van, such as pellets, powders, liquids and floating baits. These won’t go off, and ensure I can cover every eventuality!
Big leads
Carp in busy day-ticket waters soon learn to deal with standard set-ups, and most anglers use leads in the 2oz-3oz range. Having watched countless fish feed in the edge over the years, I know they find big leads much harder to deal with. I use anything from 5oz upwards.
Big leads also hold the bottom better, helping to counteract the effects of undertow or drifting weed.
Waders
Not only are waders great for going into the lake and placing rigs, but they are also great for getting out in the water to allow you to get a better view of the lake.
On a lot of the places I fish, the swim gives you a narrow view and you are limited to what you can see.
With the waders, I get to go out on the shallow margins and look up and down the lake for carp.
They are also great for handling and dealing with carp, which makes them an essential in my book!
Use commercial gear to catch big canal fish
Fish a commercial with a bag of pellets and couple of tins of corn and you’ll get a bite every chuck.
But did you know that you can use these baits and the tackle that goes with them to enjoy some great canal action too?
Preston Innovations angler Graham West knows only too well the effectiveness of a commercial approach and this week he shares his secret so that you, too, can get the most from your local ‘cut’.
Swim choice
“Swims that are home to lots of cover are the places to head for at this time of year as the shoals try to seek cover from boat traffic.
“The fish will rarely venture from under these areas so you need to get your tactics right if
you want to draw them to the edge of the snags where they can be caught.
“I will feed two swims of equal depth. One pot of corn and pellets with a handful of fishmeal groundbait on top over each area will be enough to get things going.
“When it comes to topping up, you can either add a small quantity after every fish or a big pot every now and then to reinvigorate things. Try both.
“Banded hard pellets, expanders and corn are all effective hookbaits, with pellets the better option if small fish are proving to be a nuisance.”
Take no prisoners
“Extracting fish from their snaggy home can pose a challenge, but there is a technique to it. The biggest error that people make is striking when they get a bite.
“This creates all sorts of problems, the first being that if you miss the bite your rig all too often gets caught up in the branches.
“Applying pressure with a harsh strike will also cause a big fish to bolt immediately, and you can guess in which direction that fish will head.
“As soon as I get a bite I ship my pole back quickly, without striking. If you are using the right tackle this will lead to the fish being out of the snag before it realises what’s happening, and that significantly increases your chances of landing it.”
Heavy gear
“It’s all well and good getting the bite, but you need to make sure that the fish ends up in the net, and that means fishing really heavy.
“The first thing to do is make sure your pole is up to taking the pressure of heavy elastics, lines and hooks. Elastic is hollow, and rated around No17 or even No19, depending on how snaggy it is. The rig is made up of 0.21mm mainline to a 0.19mm hooklength and a strong size 14 or 16 hook.”
How to get early season feeder success!
With the rivers closed, it’s now time to start looking at commercial waters to get your fishing fix – and there’s no better way to keep the bites coming than by fishing the feeder.
Whichever model you use, the swimfeeder is simple to fish with relatively easy rigs, and deadly accurate in terms of placing your hookbait right next to a small pile of feed at up to 60 yards range.
It’s a little early in the year to bank on catching consistently on the pole or waggler, and you can even use the same rod and reel that’s served you so well on the rivers in the past few months. Here are six things to master if you’re planning a session on the swimfeeder over the coming weeks…
1) Choose the right feeder
This is the first consideration when deciding to fish the feeder. A feeder is ideal for when the fish want a bit of bait to get stuck into, but don’t go too mad by picking a big feeder that holds a lot of pellets right now.
Minimal feed will still be best, so that means picking a smallish feeder that’ll drop just a good pinch of bait into the peg on every cast. Method or pellet feeders are both good but the Hybrid feeder from Guru has won over lots of anglers in recent years.
If the water is cold and clear, try changing from feeder to bomb from time to time. The bomb will offer minimal disturbance in the peg while giving you the option to fish a large, highly visible hookbait around minimal feed.
2) Find where the fish are
Depending on the swim, you’ll be faced with several options as to where to fish. The swim could have an island, a far bank, overhanging trees or lily pads that are just beginning to establish themselves again after winter.
All will attract and hold fish, so if your swim has any feature, cast to it. However, don’t be tempted into casting tight up to this feature, as often the water there will be very shallow.
Instead, aim to land the feeder a metre or so away, where the water will be a little deeper. In open water, make the cast to a range that you can comfortably reach and, if that is your plan, where you can feed over the top with a catapult.
3) Use bright baits
Changing hookbaits can be the key to cracking a commercial in early March, as the water will still be a little on the clear side and the fish not yet in full-on feeding mode.
Tried and tested favourites such as hard pellets and dead maggots work brilliantly for smaller fish but colour plays a big part, giving the fish a hookbait that they can easily pick out from a small patch of pellets or groundbait.
Corn is brilliant, but if you want to go down the boilie route a bright yellow, green or pink mini pop-up, dumbell or wafter-type bait can really trigger a response.
4) Feed over the top
You don’t always have to rely on the feed that’s going into the swim via the feeder to keep the fish happy. Loosefeeding pellets over the top of where you’re casting to can pay dividends too.
This is a popular ploy when bomb fishing too, introducing half-a-dozen 6mm or 8mm hard pellets over the top via a catapult every few minutes. This way you can regulate how much feed is going into the peg and work out how the fish are responding to it.
5) Use light hooks and lines
Although spring is just about here, that doesn’t mean that you should switch back to heavy lines and big hooks on a mixed fishery. Erring on the light side will get more bites over five or six hours of fishing, but a balance needs to be struck – go too light and you may get broken by a big fish, whereas too heavy and the fishing will be patchy.
For a typical mixed commercial water when F1s, skimmers and the odd better carp are likely, a hooklink of around 0.12mm matched to 5lb mainline and a size 16 or 18 barbless carp-style hook makes for a balanced set-up. Only if the peg is snaggy or the fish particularly big should you think about stepping up to heavier tackle.
6) Time your casts
With any form of feeder fishing, a big puzzle to solve is how long to leave the feeder out before recasting. On natural waters for bream, or when in search of big carp, this can be up to half-an-hour, but if you are fishing a heavily-stocked commercial water that’s home to small carp, F1s, skimmers, tench and barbel, you can reasonably expect to get bites fairly regularly. You should be aiming to build a swim up over time to create a small area for the fish to feed over.
Casting every five minutes will quickly establish feed on the deck, and if you are using small baits such as maggots and 4mm pellets you should catch within this five-minute window. Only if you change to a bigger bait in search of something that pulls back harder should you leave the rig out that bit longer.
9 tips to give you the edge over the carp!
These 9 early spring tips from Jack Funnel will give you the edge over the carp in the coming weeks ahead.
Step 1. Be mobile
Getting on the fish is so important no matter what time of year it is. It seems even more essential in the spring, though, as the fish tend to move round in groups. Where there is one there are normally more.
I like to travel as light as I can, which enables me to move easily. I will move two or three times a day if I need to. I simply keep most of my gear on the barrow and will put up the bivvy once I am settled and on the fish.
Step 2. Pop-ups
I like to fish my baits popped up early in the year. There is often bottom debris and, in some lakes, fresh weed growth. I like to have my bait suspended off this kind of bottom. The fish are not yet feeding hard and have not created feeding spots. They are grazing areas and harvesting the naturals, so something well-presented on top of this is perfect.
I carry a selection of different pop-ups and some work better on different lakes. For example, on some of the lakes I fish, the fishy baits such as Krill pop-ups work best. On other waters, Signatures, which are a lot fruitier, are more productive. I know that a lot of this is to do with the acidity/alkalinity (pH) of the water, with some lakes being more acidic than others, so it is worth playing around with different ones.
Step 3. Bright hookbaits
I know it is a common belief and everyone seems to say it, but bright hookbaits are super-effective in the spring. The carp have most likely not been caught in a while and they often let their guard down. A bright, in-their-face pop-up can be enough to get a bite, and a quick one at that.
I am a big fan of the Signatures and they travel wherever I go. You get three different colours in a tub and they smell fantastic. Whatever it is, fish love them and they are my go-to hookbait in the spring.
Step 4. Check water clarity
This may sound strange but I keep an eye on the clarity of the water for a number of reasons, depending on where I am fishing. If the water is really clear, then I would be tempted to fish with zigs. This would only be the case if there was high air pressure and no fish were being caught off the bottom.
It also makes me more aware of whether or not I need to pay more attention to camouflaging my end tackle to the lake conditions. If the water is coloured, I try to focus more on smell rather than colour.
Step 5. Less can be more
Even if the fish are getting caught, I still try to go in softly with the bait. I don’t like putting in too much as it can ruin your chances. I like to try to build up the swim and, providing what you feed them is right, you can get through a lot of bait.
I like to mix sweetcorn, maggots and Manilla, and the fish love it. I would only ever bait with about half a kilo at most and if I needed to top up, I would. That age-old saying of ‘you can’t take out what you have put it in’ certainly rings true for me.
Step 6. Boost your hookbaits
I like to have my baits really pumping out attraction. As I have mentioned, I don’t always fish over a baited area to put loads of attraction in the swim, so I have to do it with my hookbaits. The sprays are great for this as they add lots more smell to the bait. They are also very thin and light and will easily penetrate the pop-up, which in turn adds more attraction without having to soak it for months at a time.
Step 7. Check the snags
Carp will use any snaggy areas or trees at all times of the year, so it is worth checking them out. If the sun is hitting these spots and is sheltered from the wind, they can be a great place to offer a bait. These kinds of areas can be carp magnets and you can often find them there at all times of the day.
These areas are usually safe from angling pressure too, so my advice would be to fish safely as closely as you can and try to lure them out with a bit of boilie crumb.
Step 8. Try out zig rigs
It has been proven time and time again just how effective zigs can be, especially in the spring. There are often thousands of hatches going on at this time of year and the fish will be gorging on insects.
What’s more, the spring sunshine is like a magnet for the carp, drawing them to the warmer upper layers of the lake. Quite often they will spend most of their time there, day and night, and offering a bait there is the only way of catching them. Again, it is important to look at the weather and see if it there is high air pressure. It is also good to see if anything has been caught off the bottom and, if not, this is the time to get the zigs out.
I carry a selection of coloured foams and play around with various colour combinations and depths. Once you have worked it out, you can be on for a really good session.
Step 9. Get up early
The fish will be showing themselves a lot, especially during the night and early morning. I make a point of being awake at around 2am, even if it is just for 20 minutes or so, and ensure I’m up for first light. It gives me a better chance of tracking down the fish and finding out where they are.
If the fish are not near me, I will move to them no matter what time it is. Time is of the essence when you’re fishing and one man’s complacency can give another angler a session of a lifetime.
The top 10 steps to catching in the winter with Phil Ringer
It takes a real leap of faith to cast into a vast water such as Boddington Reservoir in the depths of winter and catch a number of carp – they could be anywhere!
However, there are some very simple things you can do to stack the odds in your favour. It’s true that throwing a bomb or feeder out and relying on the law of averages for a carp to find the bait will work – but that’s no good under match conditions.
Ideally, I want a bite every cast to stand any chance of winning a few quid. My 10-point plan for nobbling a few winter carp has worked time and time again. There’s nothing complicated to it, no herculean casts or fancy rigs needed. It’s all about getting the basics right and then making small changes throughout the day to get the tip to go round.
Step 1 - Set up comfortably
There are no prizes for being the first angler to catch, so take your time setting out your stall so that when you begin fishing everything will be to hand. You could be waiting up to half-an-hour for a bite so when it comes, you don’t want to be groping around for the landing net. Equally, make sure your seatbox is set comfortably.
Having pellet banders, Method moulds, pellet cones and spare hooklinks to hand is also vital, as is an array of bait and additives. That way I don’t have to get off my box and faff about looking for some pop-ups – and miss the inevitable bite!
Step 2 - Feeder or Bomb
Winter carp fishing revolves around fishing the tip, and the first decision to make is whether to use a bomb or a feeder. I’ll look at how the lake is fishing before I even arrive on the bank so I have an idea in my head as to whether the fish will want a bit of feed or not.
If they will, it’s a Hybrid feeder (above) in conjunction with my favourite hookbait, an 8mm Chocolate Orange Wafter, but if the water is cold and weights are not brilliant I’ll think about beginning on the bomb with a pellet cone and two yellow 8mm wafters – a great bait when the going gets tough.
Step 3 - The right distance
It’s unlikely that the carp will be at short range, but you don’t need to hit the horizon. Around 50m is a good starting point, so you will need a rod that can do the job – something around 12ft or 13ft. I deliberately begin by casting shorter because I know that the fish will push further out into the lake as the day goes on.
This means that my final cast of the day will often be the longest. Begin fishing at the range of your casting and you’ll only be left with the option of coming back towards you.That’s no good.
Step 4 - Clipping up
Accuracy is important when every bite is at a premium, so that means using your line clip and a pair of distance measuring sticks so you can say with certainty where you will be casting to. Often, if I catch a fish, I will throw back to the same spot to see if its mate is about but without a line clip, the cast will never be 100 per cent accurate.
Step 5 - Fish positively
You may only catch six carp in a typical winter session and end up waiting up to 40 minutes for each bite. The very worst thing that can happen in this instance is to lose the fish that you hook by gearing up too lightly with a size 18 hook and a light hooklink.
I want to be confident that when I hook a carp, I will get it in, so that means a size 10 Guru QM1 hook and a 0.17mm hooklink. Remember, it’s not about getting a bite as soon as you can, so delicate rigs aren’t as important as in summer.
Step 6 - Go left and then right
Not only do I vary how far I cast into the lake – I also change how far down or far up the swim I go. By this, I mean that I will cast 10 or 20 yards to the left or right of my starting point directly in front of me.
A carp may well be sitting just 10 yards away, but in winter lethargic fish won’t move on to the spot where your feeder or bomb is sat. By winding in and casting down the peg, however, your chances of catching are instantly increased.
Step 7 - Timing your casts
A stopwatch is a vital part of my winter match fishing carp kit as it lets me know how long the rig has been out in the swim. I pay a lot of attention to how long it takes me to get a bite, and I’ve found that between 20 and 35 minutes is the optimum time for a bite to come. Naturally I need to know at a glance when I’m approaching the ‘witching hour’.
Normally, I will wind in again after half-an-hour but if the lake is fishing very hard then I may leave the bait out another 15 minutes.
Step 8 - Method ball sizes
These are the two Method balls I use – ‘skinny’ or ‘fat’, based on how many micro pellets are moulded on to them. The skinny ball is used at the start as it puts a minimal amount of bait into the swim, working on the assumption that the carp won’t initially want a lot of bait.
If it turns out that the fish are feeding reasonably well, I’ll change to the fat ball with double the amount of pellets to give them what they want. This change tends to happen in the second half of the match when things have warmed up a little.
Step 9 - Changing hookbaits
Changing what’s on the hook can trigger a big change in what you catch at any time, but especially in winter. You may get no response on a wafter, whereas a stack of three bits of corn can see the tip fly round. We all have favourite baits and mine is an 8mm Chocolate Orange Wafter for starters.
But if I am getting no response, my next cast might see me change to a corn stack, a yellow wafter or a small, highly visible pop-up. Often, just a change in colour can make all the difference.
Step 10 - Using additives
I know a lot of anglers who think additives are nonsense but I think this all boils down to confidence – I don’t think they can do any harm, especially in winter. I always carry a bottle of Almond Power Smoke Korda Goo, which I drape on to the hookbait inside the Method ball. This releases a lasting green cloud as it breaks down.
Bread can be changed too by dyeing it from its natural white colour, and almost any hookbait on your tray can be dipped in an additive just before casting out.
Des Shipp's guide to catching F1 carp on the pole
It’s all too easy to write off catching fish at short range on winter commercial fisheries as a combination of clearish water and low temperatures makes even the most optimistic of anglers resigned to catching nothing a few metres out from the bank.
But according to England star Des Shipp, you’re missing a massive trick by giving a short line the cold shoulders, especially if your venue is home to big, wily F1s that don’t get caught fishing at longer ranges on the pole or feeder.
As a match angler, Preston Innovations-backed Des knows only too well the value of feeding a fishing a swim just 5m or 6m out, even when there’s ice on the water. He’s had many matches that have sent him from zero to hero in a hectic hour’s bagging on a short pole line and the exact same principles apply to a day’s pleasure fishing that might not have yielded much fishing further out.
“Although 6m out is not a natural patrol route for F1s as such, they will still move closer to the bank as the day goes on,” Des advised. “For that reason, this short line isn’t one that you’ll empty from the word go and it may be that you only catch for 30 minutes right at the end of the day but this short period of time can produce 10 big F1s in as many chucks and turn a poor day into something that makes the grinning and bearing of winter worthwhile.”
The right distance
“The first job is to decide where to fish and my general rule is to go around a top kit of my pole plus two sections out, which is around 5m or 6m,” Des explained. “However, there needs to be the right depth here and I’d look for between 4ft and 5ft on a flat bottomed area. If the bottom is sloping at this range, that’s not ideal so I’d keep adding sections until I find a flat spot.”
Nothing but maggots
“I leave pellets and corn for fishing longer and on the short line, I use just maggots, which are brilliant for winter fishing on commercials,” he said. “It’s true that they pull in silverfish, which can be a nuisance but if the roach and skimmers are of a decent stamp, I don’t mind catching them while waiting for the F1s to have a go. I take three pints of red and white maggots plus a few fluoro pinkies.”
All in the timing
“I wouldn’t fish short for at least two hours because firstly, you won’t catch F1s at short range this quickly and secondly, I like to give my long pole or feeder line the chance to build up,” Des explained. “By working out how many bites I am getting when fishing long and how good the fishing is, I can then make the decision as to when I have a look short. By this, I mean that if I am getting lots of bites on the long pole and the fish are of a decent size, this tells me that I can expect to get bites short a lot earlier. If the fishing is hard, it might not be as solid close in.”
Have some faith!
“I’d never write off the short line as in the final hour the F1s can rock up and you can get one every drop in so early on, you may only be having a quick look short before reverting back to the long pole,” he said. “If you catch a few F1s then don’t hammer the peg by staying on it. If the bites then fade, that’s the signal to rest the short line for 15 minutes so that the fish can regain their confidence. If you only catch little fish when you change to the short line then I would also come off it quickly as there’s no point in fishing for them. You’d be better off on the long pole with pellets trying to catch an F1, carp or big skimmer.”
Feeding maggots
“Because you are fishing at short range, you can feed maggots by hand and this is good for two reasons. It makes you disciplined into feeding all of the time – using a catapult or pot takes longer and it is easy to neglect feeding short when fishing the long pole,” explained Des. “Feeding by hand takes just seconds to do and you can still fish long while doing it. I begin by feeding every four or five minutes with half a dozen maggots but will up this if there are a lot of silverfish present and I think that there’s not much ending up being left in the peg for the F1s. This is the second advantage of feeding by hand in that I can change how much and how often I feed with ease so I may go from half a dozen maggots every five minutes to 50 maggots every 15 minutes. Hookbait is double maggot (one red and one white) or a single red maggot and single fluoro pinkie.”
The rig
“I will have two rigs ready for the short line with the aim of catching just as the bait settles and then hard on the bottom,” he revealed. “The trouble with F1s is that even in winter, they will be off bottom slightly but you won’t catch them by fishing off bottom so you need a set-up that lets the bait fall slowly in the last few feet of the swim.”
“In ideal conditions, that rig uses a 4x12 F1 Maggot float shotted with a string bulk of No 10 shot in the final 2ft of the swim but I also have a positive rig with a bigger 4x14 float taking a conventional bulk and two No 10 droppers. This will come into play if the fishing is good and I am catching well.”
“Lines are 0.13mm Powwrline as main to a hooklink of 0.10mm for just F1s or 0.12mm Precision Power if there are carp about. Elastic is 9h Hollo and the hook is a size 18 PR412, upped to a size 18 PR434 if the fishing is very good but it is important to match the hook to the strength of line. By this, I mean that the 412 hook is very light and not as strong as 0.12mm line and so is more likely to break first – the 434 however, is perfect for stronger lines. The rig is then set to be fished around the body-length of the float overdepth but at times I have gone up to six inches overdepth in windy weather or on a towing lake.”
Fish past the feed
“By using 2.5ft of line between pole tip and float, I have the option to flick the rig past the feed should I be getting too many line bites or foul hooking fish by fishing over the feed,” said Des. “F1s are well-known for hanging off the back of the feed and although there may not be many there, you won’t get silly bites either.”
Catch quality winter roach from a town centre canal
There can be fewer more famous canal venues in the UK than the legendary ‘hotties’ section of the Sankey St Helen’s Canal running through the middle of St Helen’s.
When the water was warmed by the Pilkington Glass factory on the banks of the canal back in the 70’s through to the 90’s, the water would steam in winter and with artificially high temperatures, unusual species for a canal could be caught including carp and even the odd tropical fish dumped into the venue by owners.
That was a while ago though and the ‘hotties’ are no longer steaming – but the fish are still there and that’s the message that controlling club St Helen’s AA are trying to get across to match anglers by running regular matches where those carp still have a part to play.
Alongside the big fish, the match angler is also likely to be catching your standard canal fare of roach, perch and bream, weights being respectable over the Christmas and New Year break and into 2017. It was for that reason that club members and local matchmen Andy Burrows and England vets legend Danny Sixsmith agreed to show what the ‘hotties’ has to offer in the modern era.
“I can remember 10 years ago the canal still steaming from the ‘gusher’ pipe that went into the canal and it was one of the few canals in the UK where you could catch carp from 2oz to 20lb because they bred throughout the year thanks to the warm water,” Andy said. “A Boxing Day match was one won with 99lb of them and every match we’ve run this winter has seen carp caught. I think 10 was the most in one match and that was when there was ice on the water!”
However, you’ll need to catch the canal right to get the carp as they seem to prefer clear water. On the day of Andy and Danny’s trip, rain had coloured the water and carp seemed to be unlikely. Fortunately, there are also lots of big roach and an ever-increasing head of big skimmers to go for.
“There are two distinct areas to the Sankey – a deep part and a shallow section but it never seems to matter where you fish as the sports is equally good and there’s no boat channel either because the canal is landlocked so the depth is constant all the way across so you can often use just the one rig!” he continued. “The canal did fall out of favour a bit because of expensive car parking but now the council offer free parking on Sundays and £2 a day throughout the week so access is as good as it has ever been.”
There’s also no hassle with cyclists and runners on the towpath as paths have been built well back from the water to keep all users of the Sankey happy. All of this adds up to make the canal what Andy thinks is the best canal in the country and one that is criminally underfished.
“If roach and bream are the target, as they are today, you can forget all about faffing around with squatts and tiny hooks plus light feeding as the fish actually respond better to a lot of feed meaning that you can fish positively,” he said. “There’s no need to go right across to the far bank either thanks to that constant depth and I typically have four pole lines in a match, one starting at around 6m from where I then work my way out by two sections at a time as the day goes on, plus a swim off to one side with a view to catching bream.”
Andy’s rig for the canal does use a typical light 4x10 canal float in the shallow areas with lines of 0.13mm main to an 0.09mm hooklink and a size 18 or 20 Kamasan B512 hook finished with a 2 to 4 grade hollow elastic fished with a puller kit. This way he can catch the big roach and skimmers but also deal with a carp if he hooks them. The big fish tend to plod around in winter so there’s no need for heavy gear and this is used on all four lines.
“I kick off at 6m where I pot in a quarter of a large pot of maggots, fishing double fluoro pinkie on the hook but I’ll also feed those others swims with the same amount of maggots, the skimmer line getting a ball of sweet bream groundbait packed with dead pinkies, casters, micro pellets and chopped worm,” Andy revealed. “You can feed a lot of bait on here and it won’t be unusual to get through four pints of maggots in a match. The key is to feed to your bites so if you are catching, you can loosefeed far more and get through the bait.”
“The skimmer line is not somewhere to have an odd look at through the day though because I’ve found that the bream get onto the bait very quickly so I would spend a good bit of time fishing here but not too long. If the bream are there you should get them quickly but if not, get back on the roach.”
For carp when the water is clear, Andy still swears by maggots as you can catch the roach and skimmers while waiting for the carp. Pellets can work but are too selective.
The day that Andy and Danny picked couldn’t have been worse with howling winds limiting how far out you could sensibly fish but it didn’t affect the fishing with lots of bites from some quality roach and a few of those famed skimmers. As expected, the carp didn’t show but with 15lb of fish apiece to show for their efforts, that didn’t matter one bit.
If you thought that canal fishing was all about dodging pole-smashing bikes and catching 2lb of tiny fish, the Sankey shows that nothing could be further from the truth. Apparently, it’s even better in the summer!
Fish the Sankey
Controlled by St Helen’s AA, the Sankey can be fished on their £30 club book which also includes Carr Mill Dam. Matches run every Sunday with no peg fee taken so your £10 pools are paid out 100%. To book on, give Andy a call on 07849 608448.