Beginners guide to carp fishing hook types
Together, these four main hook types will cover every carp-angling situation you’re likely to encounter. Learn their strengths to ensure you pick the right one for the task in hand
Chod hook
The major element of this hook is the pronounced out-turned eye, which makes this pattern perfect for use with stiff materials such as fluorocarbons.
Although such materials have improved in recent years, fluorocarbons and monfilaments were traditionally found to weaken considerably when tied to an in-turned eye with a knotless knot.
These days, chod rigs are all the rage and these hooks are the only sensible choice for such a presentation.
Long shank
Long and thin, these hooks are perfectly suited for use with bottom baits.
If you are fishing with particle baits such as sweetcorn or tiger nuts, then these hooks are the perfect accompaniment, yet are rarely used by anglers these days.
The long shank can push your bait too far away from the point of the hook, but trapping the hair on the bend with a piece of tubing will eliminate this problem.
Curved shank
Whereas the other hooks on this page have a straight backbone, these hooks are curved in the shank.
Popular in the fly-fishing world, carp anglers realised their potential many years ago and they are now a common sight at most carp waters. The curved shank is considered to make these hooks harder for the fish to eject.
Some more advanced set-ups, such as the KD rig, rely on the hooking mechanics of curved-shank hooks.
wide gape
Perhaps the most classic looking carp pattern, a wide-gape hook is a good
all-rounder. They are great for use with bottom baits but come into their own with buoyant baits, either in the form of pop-ups or on the surface. In the latter scenario, wide-gape hooks are chosen due to their high strength-to-size ratio.
The large gape (the distance between the point and the shank) improves the chances of the hook catching hold as the fish expels your hookbait.
Beginners guide to feeder fishing
Guru’s match ace lifts the lid on the little tricks that give him the edge when fishing the feeder whether you are a beginner or and experienced pro these tips are well worth a try on UK stillwaters.
Always use fishmeal
Using the right groundbait is essential when open-end feeder fishing on stillwaters. In my eyes, no matter what time of year it is, you need a fishmeal-based groundbait mix. In winter, however, I use a toned-down sweet fishmeal- style mix.
Mainline Match Super Fine Pole Mix has a fishmeal base with the sweet addition of Cell – an additive that bream and skimmers adore. The groundbait is very fine and has an attractive texture, with the key fishmeal and sweet ingredients that attract and hold fish.
Cast further in the cold
When the temperature drops, fish on big open-water lakes naturally move further out. It’s not always the easiest and most comfortable way of fishing, but making the effort to fish further out will pay off when the temperature drops.
Fish move into deeper water, and often huddle in the deepest areas of large lakes in the winter.
At Furzton Lake, Milton Keynes, where we’re fishing today, you can often catch fish easily at 30m-40m. However, after the cold spell I’ve had to venture out to 50m to start getting bites.
Be prepared to step-up your tackle and go that extra distance to find the fish.
Start with small baits
For me, this time of the year is all about getting bites. If you can start catching smaller fish and getting bites early in a session, you can work towards building your swim and target bigger fish later when they move in to see what’s going on. This often means starting on lighter terminal tackle with smaller baits.
A nice starting point for skimmers and bream on stillwaters is a size 14 LWGF hook, which is ideal for small pieces of worm or double maggot – baits that get you easy bites. Roach and small skimmers are usually the first fish into the swim and can provide early action.
As the session progresses, however, you’ll see the stamp of fish improve and more quality fish will make an appearance. Once this happens, single these out quickly and effectively by switching to bigger baits such as hair-rigged corn or a dumbell wafter mounted on a stronger size 14 or 16 MGWB hook. Rather than waiting for bites with these big baits early in a session, start smaller and work your way up to using these bigger more selective baits when the fish are feeding.
Fluorocarbon in clear water
Using a fluorocarbon hooklength is a big advantage when fishing the feeder. This material is almost invisible in water, a big advantage when the water becomes clearer and fish become wary in winter.
This material is also stiff, making it less prone to tangling than mono, and ideal when casting a long way on the feeder.
Another key advantage to this material is that it’s heavy, helping to pin down your hooklength. When you’re waiting for bites from big, quality fish, having a static bait pinned to the bottom is the ultimate presentation.
Always take pellets
One bait I wouldn’t go feeder fishing without is pellets. The reason? Simply, fish all over the country see them so often. They are a cheap and easy-to-use bait that fish love to eat. And they make a welcome feed addition to help you bulk out expensive baits such as worms and casters.
I never go skimmer and bream fishing without 2mm Mainline Match Cell Pellets.
Cast accurately
When fishing the feeder, it’s easy to become a touch dismissive about accuracy. But accuracy is more important than ever in winter. These days, tackle is so good it’s very easy to be accurate too. Most reels come with a line clip, which you can use to make sure you hit the same distance every time. It’s then simply a case of picking a far-bank marker and make sure that you’re aiming in the same direction every time.
Looking at this as you release the feeder will really help your accuracy. Once I’ve established the place that I want to fish, I measure how far out this is by using a pair of distance sticks. This gives you the option to set a bed of feed and build a swim at a certain distance, but if you want to try fishing further past the feed area or in front of it, you can.
However, you can always clip up at the same distance by using the sticks. Often, you can steal extra fish later in a session by doing this.
Use braid to spot more bites
Where allowed, using braid is a big advantage for bream and skimmer fishing. First, it’s great for bite magnification, meaning you see more bites and smaller bites are exaggerated. In cool water, fish don’t move as much and take baits with less aggression.
Another great advantage of braid is that it will show up line bites very clearly, enabling you to see when there are fish in the swim. If you’re getting indications but not catching, you’re urged to try different baits or little tricks to tempt a fish into feeding.
Often people say that they’ve had liners but aren’t catching. This shows that the fish are in the swim but you haven’t cracked the right combo of hookbait or feed in the feeder. For me 0.10mm Pulse 8 Braid is the ultimate tool for spotting bites right now. Combined with a shock leader of 8lb Pulse line, you have the perfect stillwater feeder combo.
THE BEST FEEDERS TO USE WHEN FISHING
1) Bait-Up Feeder
Having a feeder to get some bait into the swim is imperative, something bigger than average that will enable you to create a feed area on the bottom. If you were fishing the pole you’d set a bed at the start, so why not do the same on the feeder?
What you put in to start depends on the venue and situation. If you’re expecting big fish, feed particles such as pellets, casters and corn. If the fishing is going to be tricky, take things steady with groundbait containing a few dead maggots, then up the feed content once the fish arrive. Bigger feeders don’t only come into play at the start of a session. A few casts with one during a session can draw fish into the swim, making noise and a cloud if you lightly press in the groundbait.
2) Cage feeder
These beauties are among my favourite feeders. You can do so much with them. They’re super effective in very shallow water when you need the bait to leave the feeder quickly.
By the same token, you can do some great little tricks with them to attract fish – for a start you can alter how hard the bait is packed into them. Lightly packing in feed will see it leave the feeder on impact with the water, making a surface cloud and a column of falling bait.
Packing it in a little harder will leave a trail as the feeder goes down. Squeezing it harder still will see it reach the bottom before releasing the bait.
All these different effects work at different times – ring the changes and try them to see what works on a given day.
3) Open-End Feeders
These have yet another use, protecting and holding the bait in the feeder for longer.
In deeper water, this can be a big advantage, taking the bait down to the bottom before releasing it in a tight, compact area. Even in shallow water, having a more confined feed area with less cloud can have a positive effect. With lots of small fish around, an open-end feeder may take your feed to the bottom with less commotion and trail of groundbait or particles.
Open-end feeders are great when feeding a lot of fine particles that would easily escape from a cage feeder on the way through the water. Finely chopped worms are lethal in an open-end feeder, kept tight and in the key area where you need them on the bottom.
Beginners guide to catching roach
Catching roach can be quite easy considering how packed nation’s river systems are with them. This mean you will likely be able to produce a few bites when the going gets tough. However if you present a single maggot or caster under a light floatfishing set-up then the action is bound to kick off in an instant and keep on going until you decide to pack up for the day.
Catching a bigger roach however is a completely different question and takes a lot more skill, commitment and effort to go out and find them. A 1lb-plus fish would be a special capture but a 2lb giant is something that most believe is reserved for the angling elite.
Matthew Tann disagrees. So here are his best tips to help you catch your best-ever roach.
Where to find roach
Whenever we anglers begin a new campaign we hunt high and low for information on the best venues to help get us off to a flyer.
We will tap into the vast knowledge held by tackle shop owners and online forums, but when big roach are on the agenda you have to do the complete opposite.
“Specimen roach thrive on neglect. If you find a stretch that barely gets any attention at all then there is a good chance it will be home to quality redfins,” said Matt.
“This is a species that doesn’t respond well to pressure once they grow to a large size, so any side streams, feeder waters or areas that haven’t got a good reputation could be ideal.” If your local river is fairly clear and narrow, spend time walking up and down with a pair of polarised sunglasses.
“Just because you don’t see anything the first time doesn’t mean roach don’t live there. It is worth undertaking several exploration trips before you look elsewhere. “When you finally find roach then that spot is worth attention for a long time. Roach are creatures of habit and will continue to revisit the same stretches throughout the seasons.”
Exploring the river will also help you analyse the contours of the riverbed and help you spot potential snags and areas where you could trot a float through.
If you make a mental note, or even take pictures of the clear water conditions with your phone, you will then be able to fish the river effectively even when the water colours up because now you’ll have a good idea of what is going on underwater.
ROACH FISHING TACKLE
Bread and maggot feeders have both accounted for some very impressive roach over the years but for Matthew, you can’t beat the thrill of using a float.
“Trotting a stick float through the swim gives a much more natural presentation, which is crucial. Roach are a very finicky species and will spook at any hint of danger,” he said.
A 15ft rod enables Matthew to trot the float through, enabling it to run before holding it back for a second to vary how the hookbait acts.
Mainline is 3.2lb Drennan Floatfish to a 2lb 8oz hooklength and a size 20 hook. Two or three maggots tend to be the best hookbait, although switching to casters can pay off.
Float choice is important, and a pattern that is sensitive yet remains buoyant in a decent flow is best. Matthew uses a DH Alloy Stem No.1 Shallow Water Stick, and in fairly steady conditions one taking 6xNo.4s is often ample.
When to feed for roach
As a simple rule of thumb, the bigger the fish get, the more bait you have to introduce to satisfy their needs.
But that doesn’t apply to large roach. Lash in the loosefeed and you’ll be on a hiding to nothing, with a blank more than likely.
Give them a large carpet to feed over and they’ll become preoccupied with it, ignoring your hookbait as it runs through the swim.
“Roach absolutely love hemp, and because of that I don’t like to feed too much of it,” cautioned Matt.
“If there is lots of it in your swim they will gorge themselves on that and eat nothing else.
“I feed a small handful of maggots, casters and a few grains of hemp directly in front of me and this will run down the swim and leave a few morsels that act as an attractant to keep the fish in the peg once they arrive.
“I only introduce this amount once every three runs through the swim with the float.”
Wait it out for roach
If you were fishing for chub or pike on a river in winter you would be constantly on the move. You’d spend 10 minutes in each swim and if you gained no response you would up-sticks and look for the next likely spot.
But yet again with big roach, you need to rip up the rulebook and do the opposite. Big roach could be present in the swim from the moment you get there, but that doesn’t mean they’ll play ball straight away.
“I’ve been able to see my rig run right past big roach in clear water and they haven’t moved at all, showing no initial interest in feeding.
“But you can almost frustrate them into having a go and if you keep trotting the float through and putting in a little bait in every now and then you can provoke a response.
“That is why I always give each swim at least an hour. Even if the water is coloured, you should persevere in the swim, especially if it has previous form or you can see the fish.”
It would be a complete lie to say that catching a new personal-best roach from a river is easy, but Matthew’s theories and success rates show that the rewards are definitely there for those willing to put in the groundwork and go the extra mile.
Beginners Guide to fishing leads
Lead choice is one of those areas of fishing that you may think is relatively straightforward. That is until you walk into a tackle shop and are greeted with a wall full of leads of different shapes, sizes, textures and even colours. So which ones should you choose?
The answer to that question will largely depend on which fishing situation you find yourself in.
A lead’s first job is to provide enough weight for you to cast your rig the desired distance. But certain shapes are also better for fishing over different types of lakebeds or casting long ranges. Knowing what type of lakebed you’re fishing over also enables you to choose the best colour or texture of lead to blend in with the surroundings. This is especially useful when targeting pressured carp that are used to dealing with rigs. So here are details of the main types of lead and when to use each one.
Pear Lead
A real all-rounder, these are suited to a range of angling situations. They are easy to cast accurately because their shape keeps them stable in flight.
The large rounded end makes it easier to feel the lead hit the bottom than a lead with a slimmer or pointed end. The dumpy body also means fish will come into contact with the full weight of the lead as soon as they straighten out the hooklink leading to more positive takes.
Casting range: Up to 80 yards
Pros: Casts accurately
Cons: Will bury in silt or weed
Flat pear lead
This flat, condensed version of the pear lead is great for fishing on sloping marginal shelves or on the sides of gravel bars because it won’t roll out of position.
Its large surface area helps it to sit on top of weed or silt, especially lighter 1oz-1.5oz leads, but it is also excellent on firm lakebeds. Like the standard pear lead, it also has excellent hooking properties.
Casting range: Short to medium
Pros: Will remain in position on slopes
Cons: Can’t be cast big distances
Gripper Lead
There’s nothing subtle about these specialist leads. They are designed for fishing in extreme conditions and are more popular with anglers on the Continent fishing large reservoirs than with anglers in the UK. If you are fishing on steep slopes or a powerful river then a gripper lead will help to hold your rig in place.
Casting range: Short range
Pros: Heavy grippers will hold in place on steep slopes and in strong currents
Cons: Not great for casting
Inline lead
Inline leads are the only type you should use when fishing with solid PVA bags. As the hooklink is attached directly to the lead, as soon as a fish picks up the hookbait and straightens out the hooklink they will come into contact with the full weight of the lead. A short hooklink with an inline lead is possibly the best hooking arrangement around. Inlines should be avoided when fishing over deep silt or weed where the hooklink can be left in debris.
Casting range: Up to 80 yards
Pros: Excellent hooking properties
Cons: Can pull hooklink into lakebed debris
Distance leads
Sleek and streamlined, these torpedo-shaped leads are built for distance. If you need to cast distances over 100 yards, these are essential.
Good weight distribution makes them highly stable and accurate in flight. They lend themselves to both lead clip and helicopter presentations. Apart from your terminal rigs, they can also be used as feature-finding tools.
Casting range: 100 yards-plus
Pros: Can be cast big distances
Cons: Will roll down sloping banks
Bottle lead
This retro classic was widely used by big-fish anglers across Europe in the 90s and was considered one of the best shapes ever produced. Avid recently re-released this favourite.
With its elongated shape it is the perfect general purpose profile for a multitude of situations. The new Avid Bottle leads feature a double barrel flexi ring swivel moulded directly into the top of the lead as opposed to being mounted on a brass loop. This improves the lead’s bolt effect properties.
Casting range: Short to medium
Pros: Impressive bolt effect properties
Cons: Can’t be cast really long ranges