Carp Fishing Tips | Is a fresh low-pressure front really the best conditions to catch carp? - Simon Scott

November 21, 2020 Guest User

This is a great question and one I’ve been asked before. The answer is closely linked to oxygen levels in the water.

In short, a big fresh low-pressure system which comes through during the summer, or winter for that matter, is often a trigger for enthusiastic feeding and high activity in fish stocks.

High winds will stir up the water column and lead to increased levels of oxygen in the water body which, in turn, switches the fish on to feeding.

If the low pressure leads to overcast or heavy grey skies and only light winds it’s less of a trigger for the fish to feed.

Bright sunshine can also trigger fish to feed because it can lead to increased levels of oxygen in the water. The sunlight drives the process of photosynthesis, so aquatic plants and algae produce more oxygen if the sun is shining brightly.

Carp Fishing Tips | Why timing is everything - Julian Cundiff

November 12, 2020 Guest User

Much is made of location, but it goes hand-in-hand with timing. Even if you are on them, if it’s not at feeding times you can end up very frustrated...ring any bells?

Until I retired in 2018, 80 per cent of my carp fishing was overnighters. When they were feeding after dark, bingo! When they were not, in all honesty, I was camping.

Find out when carp are being caught. Is it during the hours of darkness? If it is, it can often be in specific areas, so see if there’s a common denominator. If they’re coming out in the day then you need to be creative with your time and get yourself there at these times.

A short session at the right time is better than a longer one at the wrong time. At this time of year feeding spells will be shorter, so fish for a bite. Single baits, small mesh bags of crumb and stringers are all winners.

The feeding time was 4-7pm. So I turned up at 3pm, by 5pm I had caught this cracker

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

October 29, 2020 Guest User

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!

Carp Fishing Tips | Solid PVA bags vs mesh - Lewis Read

October 16, 2020 Guest User

Both solid and mesh bags are useful tools to have in your carp angling armoury and the choice between the two methods is dictated by the angling situation.

The solid bag method with a small balanced hookbait is almost a ‘cast anywhere’ guaranteed presentation. When packed correctly, a solid PVA bag will never tangle, and always creates a consistent trap. You can add all sorts of PVA-friendly liquids and powders to boost the attractiveness of the parcel. In my own experience, the only limiting factor occurs when fishing in very deep silt. Sometimes the whole PVA bag can sink so far into the silt that the benefits are largely lost.

The solid bag is almost a ‘cast anywhere’ presentation

The single greatest thing about mesh bags is their wonderful convenience. You can put almost any dried bait in a bag, tie off a tight parcel and hook it on. This amazing versatility and speed means that they are used to great effect by anglers all around the world. From a tiny mesh bag of boilie dust threaded on to the hook to stop the hair tangling, to a big PVA bag hooked on and lobbed out to create a one-mouthful trap, mesh bags are a one stop hassle-free solution to having freebies next to you hookbait. With larger bags you need to make sure you feather a cast just before the lead hits the water to maintain good presentation with both lead clip and helicopter arrangements.

Mesh PVA bags are wonderfully convineient

Carp Fishing Tips | Choosing a swim on big waters - Adam Penning

September 24, 2020 Guest User

Rarely, if ever, is the stock of carp in a lake evenly spread. Some areas will have very few visits from carp, while others could go months without seeing a fish at all! To me, the only reason to ever fish any swim is because you have seen something that tells you fish are present. That could be a specimen showing itself or it could be more subtle.

Maybe there is one corner of the lake where the water is a totally different colour to the rest? Perhaps, if there’s no wind, you can spy clusters of bubbles?

Whatever the clues, once you have seen it, you’ll need to stand still and look for more indications because, more often than not, these will be forthcoming if you are prepared to invest a little time and patience.

Instead of being in a blind rush to get into a swim and crack on, take time to actually look for the fish. I won’t even contemplate setting up until I have some degree of certainty that I’m in the same place as the fish!

I won’t even contemplate setting up until I have some degree of certainty that I’m in the same place as the fish!

Carp Fishing Tips | Carp and weed - Simon Scott

September 12, 2020 Guest User

Carp absolutely love sitting in weed. It provides them with a safe spot in which to rest, and because it is photosynthesising in the sunshine, they can enjoy the benefit of resting in a stream of tiny oxygen bubbles while they relax in the sun.

Additionally, weed beds are often packed full of natural food like snails and shrimps, which the carp can graze on in relative safety. Snail numbers can skyrocket in the middle of summer and carp will often spend many hours feasting on these crunchy snacks.

In terms of catching them while they are in the weed, an excellent approach is to use floater fishing tactics, which can enable you to pin-point the larger fish in many situations.

Alternatively, position rigs on the bottom close to the weed beds on shallow areas or in holes in the weed. It is really important, however, that if you are fishing in or near to thick weed beds that you use heavy tackle that will enable you to land the fish safely. I would use a line of at least 15lb breaking strain and a size 4 hook. This ensures that I have every chance of landing a hooked fish.

Carp love sitting in weed (Photo - Carl and Alex Fishing)

Carp Fishing Tips | How long should you glug baits for? - Steve Cliff

August 24, 2020 Guest User

There’s no single answer to this – it all depends on what it is that you are glugging. You can over-glug pop-ups with certain liquids.

Glugs such as Sticky L-Zero-30T are naturally quite heavy, so with pop-ups I would either give them a little coating of the thicker liquids, or a healthy amount of bait spray.

Sprays are ideal for pumping extra attraction into your hookbait as the thin liquid penetrates right through to the centre.

If you are planning on glugging freebies, there really isn’t any limit! I stick to natural liquids such as Pure Krill Liquid, the more the merrier, as fish love it.

The only other liquid I use is oil, predominantly Hemp Oil, adding only a light glaze to baits. This tends to be enough for it to do its job.

Hemp oil is great for adding a light glaze to your baits

Carp Fishing Tips | Baits and Rigs to get started - Hassan Khan

August 17, 2020 Guest User

"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.

Carp Fishing Tips | Do chod rigs work better with light leads? - Dave Magalhaes

August 7, 2020 Guest User

I do prefer using small leads with chod rigs and don’t feel that they hinder the hooking properties of the rig.

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.

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.

Carp Fishing Tips - Does the hinge or chod rig select bigger fish? - Kev Hewitt

July 24, 2020 Guest User

I have heard this on a number of occasions.

I think the myth probably came from Terry Hearn’s big-fish success on the hinge rigs way back in his early days.

What you have to remember is that Terry was fishing lakes with mainly big fish in them, so he was always going to catch big ones on the rig.

I used a version of the hinged stiff rig for over two years almost exclusively and my catch rate did not improve or decrease, and I certainly didn’t pick out all the bigger fish and avoid the small ones.

Don’t get me wrong, I caught plenty of fish and the odd big one came my way.

I am a great believer in a situation whereby if you get a fish feeding or competing for food, you will catch it on any well-presented rig which suits the bottom you are fishing over.

The components you need to tie the hinge rig

Overall, the hinged stiff rig is certainly a decent presentation for most bottoms, as your hookbait will be presented well, even in light weed and leaf matter.

But I don’t for one minute believe it will pick you out bigger fish.

Carp Fishing Tips | Bait for post-spawning carp - Simon Scott

July 15, 2020 Guest User

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.

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!

July 2, 2020 Guest User

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.

Carp Fishing Tips | Slack line or backlead for carp? - Rob Hughes

June 25, 2020 Guest User

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

June 12, 2020 Guest User

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.

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

June 5, 2020 Guest User

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.

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

Fish spawning - what to look out for

May 21, 2020 Guest User

It is that time of year when the warm temperatures will be causing our most popular coarse species to start spawning. This will result in many fisheries closing to let the fish get this stressful process out of the way in peace.

Fishing for spawning fish is not only frowned upon, it is actually not that productive, as the last thing the fish will have on their mind during this period is food.

If you are thinking fish are beginning to spawn on your lake, the best thing to do, is move away from the area entirely, change your target species and let the lake owner know - so they can make plans to protect their stock.

Here are a few signs the fish may soon be spawning…

Carp, bream and tench

Currently the species likely to be getting close to spawning are carp, bream and tench. The time they do this will vary from water to water, as it is entirely dependent on water temperature.

Some may have spawned already, others will be a long way off. So, it really is just about judging the situation from the behaviour of your target fish.

Grouping together

Many species are naturally shoaled together throughout the year. But in the coming months, look out for groups of fish following each other quickly through weedbeds, close to marginal reeds or in shallow areas of the lake.

What you will initially start to see, is smaller male fish following the female and nudging at her to release her eggs. They will then frantically be looking to get in line to fertilise these once she has released.

For this reason, you will find male fish are far more active early on. These will usually be smaller fish, with a different shape and profile to the females. Males will be longer and leaner than the females, and particularly with carp, will have massive fins. With tench this is also true, but a male tench can also be spotted by a protruding muscle on its flank.

Males at this time of year will fight like crazy, so bare this in mind when you are fishing. Look out for signs of other fish following the one you are attached to, this is a clear sign spawning is on their minds.

Spawning nodules

Another good indicator that carp and bream are close to spawning, is spawning nodules. These are small lumps or spots on the fish, which will make the fish very rough to touch. These nodules will cover the head and pectoral fins but do not worry they aren’t causing the fish any harm.

Thrashing

When the fish start spawning you will have no doubt about it. It is quite a spectacle to behold, particularly with carp. The fish will be thrashing through the weed and reeds at some pace, often obliterating everything in their path.

If you have lines in the water, you will get constant false runs, which may seem like screaming takes, until you strike into nothing.

The water will be churned to a mud bath pretty quickly too in some lakes. Take note of these trashed areas as it may not be caused by feeding fish like you first may think.

Carp will thrash through the weed when spawning

Let them rest

The vigorous spawning process can cause some damage to the fish as they thrash through the lakeside vegetation. Some unfortunately won’t even survive the process. It is therefore important to let the fish recover for a week or two once spawning is out the way.

If carp cannot release their eggs they can become spawn bound and die

They may spawn more than once

You may find that groups of fish on lakes around the country attempt the spawning process more that once. During these next few months, be prepared for them to start at any time and leave them to it when they do.

Get fish spotting

For carp anglers in particular, this is a great time of year to have a good look at the stock in your lake. Noted target fish will be easily visible in this period and you will get a good look at some of the less known characters too.

So, instead of an afternoon with the rods out, why not spend an afternoon watching the fish and let nature do its work?