River Carp Fishing
- Thread starter elzevir
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I've got a stretch near me hardly anyone ever fishes, cos it's a long walk from the carpark. Would like to give it a go, but I haven't got a clue how to go about it . And by all accounts there is some good fish to be had.
trent aidy
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Which river are you on? I used to fish the Trent years back.
I've just taken my gear out of storage and dusted it off, ready for another bash in the near future.
I've just taken my gear out of storage and dusted it off, ready for another bash in the near future.
alsoran
Well-known member
No matter what the river, fish location and pre baiting can go a long way to helping you out.
Exactly that.
Find the fish and prebait over a few weeks. Or longer if need be.
Choose bait wisely. Dont forget that alot of river carp have never seen boilies before. U less they are wash downs of course.
Hemp/pigeon conditioner/maize. Add some pellet towards the end then fish pellet or 3-4 bits of maize on the hair.
Go big too. 5kilo every other day in 2 main spots and maybe a kilo in couple of other spots down river.
Mind you, I do 15k every other day. But there is tons of big fish in the river I fish!
Find the fish and prebait over a few weeks. Or longer if need be.
Choose bait wisely. Dont forget that alot of river carp have never seen boilies before. U less they are wash downs of course.
Hemp/pigeon conditioner/maize. Add some pellet towards the end then fish pellet or 3-4 bits of maize on the hair.
Go big too. 5kilo every other day in 2 main spots and maybe a kilo in couple of other spots down river.
Mind you, I do 15k every other day. But there is tons of big fish in the river I fish!
nicepix
Well-known member
My own way is to spend as much time as possible finding the fish. Pre-baiting isn't necessary in my opinion if you use baits that are immediately acceptable to the fish. I used maize and sweetcorn a lot over the last three years on fish that have never seen a bait and it is readily taken. Recently I've used Frolic dog biscuits mainly to avoid smaller fish and again, found that they are taken readily by carp that have never seen them before. Similarly large cubes of stale bread can be effective.
Find the fish. Keep the rig simple; a running ledger on a quiver tip or bobbin is perfectly adequate. No need for the fancy stuff. And be prepared for a dogged, powerful fight especially when you get it almost into netting range so a through action rod of around 1.5lb to 1.75lb tc is my preference.
Find the fish. Keep the rig simple; a running ledger on a quiver tip or bobbin is perfectly adequate. No need for the fancy stuff. And be prepared for a dogged, powerful fight especially when you get it almost into netting range so a through action rod of around 1.5lb to 1.75lb tc is my preference.
Agreed.
But pre-bait and you can have fish after fish from one spot.
I've found that you can often nick a fish in no time at all once you've found them. But after that is a struggle.
Fish a pre-baited spot and you can have multiple fish.
wes79
Well-known member
Found some nice looking Carp on two free with license type venues, one is a local river and the other is a canal (20lb+), I have set it as my next challenge, as I have never caught a Carp over 5lb or from a river or canal before, was thinking of trying the old floating dog biscuit (perhaps on a pellet band) thrown to the opposite margin where they normally can be seen, maybe build up some trust first with some punctual evening freebees?
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nicepix
Well-known member
I disagree. If you are in the right place with a bait that will take naive carp then multiple catches are always on the cards. My issue with pre-baiting especially with particles or small baits is that it also attracts other species and then there is always the chance of multiple catches of non target species.
alsoran
Well-known member
Nicepix, while I don't disagree with you. Unless you are stalking certain fish and can see them, you can't say I'm not going to catch other species. At least prebaiting you will have a good chance of your target fish.
nicepix
Well-known member
Thing is I tend to reccy first then fish for what I've seen later. If I know the carp are there then I'd expect them to be there or thereabouts when I was fishing. They do tend to rove on an extended patrol sometimes, but I have the confidence in the carp finding my bait on that patrol rather than try to lure them into a pre-baited spot. Sometimes they are in small groups and the freshly baited offerings will keep them looking for food until it runs out or they get spooked. But I've had carp over 20lb take a bait immediately after it or another had been pricked and bolted. That happened the other night. If I could have carried on fishing for another hour I reckon I would have had at least one more from the same swim. Same with catfish. If I lose one I re-cast as quickly as possible and invariably it takes it again.
If I were to bait a swim over several days, on previous experience it would usually end up full of b***m as they and the carp tend to inhabit the same sort of places. That usually means I'm more likely to hook a b***m than a carp as there are usually more of the barstewards.
If I were to bait a swim over several days, on previous experience it would usually end up full of b***m as they and the carp tend to inhabit the same sort of places. That usually means I'm more likely to hook a b***m than a carp as there are usually more of the barstewards.
I wish I could find places like that. It'd make life much easier. Rock up, spot fish and catch all day.
Never in all my years fishing have I had multiple catches when spotting fish and chucking a bait in front of it. One, maybe 2. Then the shoal spooks
Going on what you're saying, pre-baiting is a total waste of time?
I'd probably say that 99% of the angling world would disagree.
Barbel are a prime example. Chuck a bait on top of them and you might catch one or 2 of the shoal. Maybe 3 if your lucky. Pre-bait over a few days and you can catch the entire shoal. Well, the Avon barbel anyway.
nicepix
Well-known member
I think that you misunderstand me. Who's said anything about catching all day or just turning up and guaranteeing to catch fish?
Most of my fishing is spontaneous and consists of short sessions rather than prolonged campaigns. I build up a knowledge of locations over a period of time. With that knowledge I then put a bait and some free offerings out in the location where the carp have been seen. Sometimes I'm lucky.
If I baited with particles over a period of days as you do I'd have every b***m for miles around in the swim.
Barbel are a different proposition. But even then I'm sure that there are many anglers including myself that have caught a lot more then three barbel in a session with no pre-baiting.
I tried pre-baiting a canal a few years ago. It was a bit ad-hoc and not well planned but I got the impression the tench and bream were really grateful!
I didn't mind as I like catching but you're best off finding the carp first. They're not hard to spot this time of year if the water is low and clear. Bridges/structure etc. All the usual haunts.
I didn't mind as I like catching but you're best off finding the carp first. They're not hard to spot this time of year if the water is low and clear. Bridges/structure etc. All the usual haunts.
no-one in particular
Well-known member
If the rivers slow moving or medium and there are any lily pads or over hanging trees with the foliage in the water, reeds etc-anything that will hook up bread. Try throwing some pieces in so they hook up. Fish as you want away from the baited area but, keep an eye (and your ear) on your hooked up pieces and replenish as necessary. If there's any carp around they will smell it, find it and start slurping it if your lucky. One nice thing is they will readily take a piece floating with your hook in it as they are not wary like commercial carp. Avoids the bream etc but, small fry and diving gulls could be a problem. Still, if you keep it going in. I have had a couple of river carp like this and they just went for it, just putting it in there as an option if it suits where your fishing. At least its cheap and the carp don't take much weaning onto bread; if at all.
Just had this thought as never tried it but, maybe you could stick some of your dog biscuits, pellets whatever into the bread at the same time; bit more scent, bear in mind these carp are not as wary. Don't know if that s silly..
Just had this thought as never tried it but, maybe you could stick some of your dog biscuits, pellets whatever into the bread at the same time; bit more scent, bear in mind these carp are not as wary. Don't know if that s silly..
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nicepix
Well-known member
A lot of the rivers I fish these days are what you would assume to be barbel type rivers; fast and shallow in many places. Yet they hold carp too. Not massive. They are usually in the slower, deeper places upstream of weirs and dams, but lower to upper teens are quite common. In these faster waters I find that the carp are located in the slacker parts such as at the downstream side of islands and bridges, eddies and slack areas off the main current. They are very habitual in this.
If you can find weeds then, as Mark says; a bit of bread left to sit in the weeds will often show that the fish are there and feeding. But, in many cases the bread will get hammered by small roach and bleak before the carp find it. My preferred method is to sit and wait in likely spots as carp tend to either lurk off the main current in a static position or rove out on regular patrols, covering the same areas each day. These can be single fish or small groups. They tend to cruise just on the edges of where the water drops off into deeper seams or hug the edges of the banks. If I can find a patrol route I can assume that the same fish can be ambushed there on other days. As I said earlier; I fish short sessions, a lot of the time on the spur of the moment so pre-baiting isn't an option. And I'm b***m intolerant So I make sure that when I set up to ambush them there is a bait that will cause them to linger and hopefully take it. I used to use 2 or 3 hard maize grains to avoid smaller fish, but I've found that Frolics dog biscuits work better.
Frolicks are of a sinking, soft composition and come in identically sized and shaped hoops. The hole is slightly conical so I mount them using a piece of rig foam or cork plug on a hair. I have had carp on baits directly hooked, but the hook has to be very fine wire or it breaks the biscuit. They are fragile. Half a dozen crushed and another half dozen whole is enough to pre-bait on the smaller rivers and where I find carp in slower water a catapult is fine for introducing loose feed. Otherwise a PVA bag is used. On bigger rivers I'll put in an initial 6/6 pre-bait then top up every half hour or so. If I see signs of carp in the swim I'll sometimes put in half a dozen crushed biscuits to hold them there. It is possible to take a carp, re-cast and get another straight away when there is a pod of them. The Frolicks seems to hold their attention better than the maize.
If b***m or crayfish are a problem I'll use an extended piece of foam to create a pop up bait and have it 15 - 30cm off the bottom.
If you can find weeds then, as Mark says; a bit of bread left to sit in the weeds will often show that the fish are there and feeding. But, in many cases the bread will get hammered by small roach and bleak before the carp find it. My preferred method is to sit and wait in likely spots as carp tend to either lurk off the main current in a static position or rove out on regular patrols, covering the same areas each day. These can be single fish or small groups. They tend to cruise just on the edges of where the water drops off into deeper seams or hug the edges of the banks. If I can find a patrol route I can assume that the same fish can be ambushed there on other days. As I said earlier; I fish short sessions, a lot of the time on the spur of the moment so pre-baiting isn't an option. And I'm b***m intolerant
So I make sure that when I set up to ambush them there is a bait that will cause them to linger and hopefully take it. I used to use 2 or 3 hard maize grains to avoid smaller fish, but I've found that Frolics dog biscuits work better.Frolicks are of a sinking, soft composition and come in identically sized and shaped hoops. The hole is slightly conical so I mount them using a piece of rig foam or cork plug on a hair. I have had carp on baits directly hooked, but the hook has to be very fine wire or it breaks the biscuit. They are fragile. Half a dozen crushed and another half dozen whole is enough to pre-bait on the smaller rivers and where I find carp in slower water a catapult is fine for introducing loose feed. Otherwise a PVA bag is used. On bigger rivers I'll put in an initial 6/6 pre-bait then top up every half hour or so. If I see signs of carp in the swim I'll sometimes put in half a dozen crushed biscuits to hold them there. It is possible to take a carp, re-cast and get another straight away when there is a pod of them. The Frolicks seems to hold their attention better than the maize.
If b***m or crayfish are a problem I'll use an extended piece of foam to create a pop up bait and have it 15 - 30cm off the bottom.
no-one in particular
Well-known member
That's a very good write up Nicepix, I am not a carp angler, just an occasional opportunist really. The bread thing is not from an expert but, I thought it might be something that not many river carp anglers would think of, applied often to commercial or still waters, they might not think it could work on moving water. I have found it can on occasions given the right opportunity..
Its an interesting option or debate, fish one place for a lot of pre baited fish or fish several places for one or two in the same time frame and accumulate the number. I have done this with barbel and done pretty well, one or two fish from several spots and shoals. However, carp are usually fewer and further spread than barbel in a river. Roving, looking using your knowledge is a nicer way to fish though than hammering one shoal all day, though maybe not as prolific. I have done both with barbel, they both have there merits but, I learned to prefer the former. Its a more interesting way to fish and you can accumulate fish.
Its an interesting option or debate, fish one place for a lot of pre baited fish or fish several places for one or two in the same time frame and accumulate the number. I have done this with barbel and done pretty well, one or two fish from several spots and shoals. However, carp are usually fewer and further spread than barbel in a river. Roving, looking using your knowledge is a nicer way to fish though than hammering one shoal all day, though maybe not as prolific. I have done both with barbel, they both have there merits but, I learned to prefer the former. Its a more interesting way to fish and you can accumulate fish.
I have done quite allot of river Carping. I think there is a place for both prebaiting and opportunistic fishing and agree with everything thats been said.
On large coulered rivers (I am thinking tidal thames and the like) it can be difficult to find fish so prebaiting will help. On smaller rivers a lighter roving approach can work really well and save you allot of effort.
One thing I would suggest is that if you do prebait chose a close in swim that you can feed by hand…this will save you a ton of time each time you bait rather than getting out a spod rod/catty/stick etc..
The other thing is in prebaited swims don’t be afraid to feed big on the day you actually fish. I mistakenly thought if I chucked in a load of bait when I arrived to fish I would wipe myself out due to too much bait so only feed lightly and then threw in the rest of the bait at the end. This was an error...after I started to feed heavy at the start I started to get multiple catches…even two fish on at the same time & sometimes within minutes of casting in....obviously it will vary from river to river but dont be afraid to fill it in you might get a nice surprise..
On large coulered rivers (I am thinking tidal thames and the like) it can be difficult to find fish so prebaiting will help. On smaller rivers a lighter roving approach can work really well and save you allot of effort.
One thing I would suggest is that if you do prebait chose a close in swim that you can feed by hand…this will save you a ton of time each time you bait rather than getting out a spod rod/catty/stick etc..
The other thing is in prebaited swims don’t be afraid to feed big on the day you actually fish. I mistakenly thought if I chucked in a load of bait when I arrived to fish I would wipe myself out due to too much bait so only feed lightly and then threw in the rest of the bait at the end. This was an error...after I started to feed heavy at the start I started to get multiple catches…even two fish on at the same time & sometimes within minutes of casting in....obviously it will vary from river to river but dont be afraid to fill it in you might get a nice surprise..
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I do quite a bit of barbel fishing, mainly float fishing for 'em but occassionally I do some legering and I never pre-bait. Imo it is a waste of time and money, unless you like knowing your giving the fish a meal. If you have a little watercraft then you'll recognise the parts of the water the fish will be hanging out (especially at this time of the year).
I've had up to 43 barbel plus numerous chub, dace and trout by just feeding when I get there, and I don't mean buckets of feed either, just a few handfulls to start then a steady trickle. Of course, I am talking barbel here but if I were to target carp then i'd use similar feeding methods but i'd be looking at different areas of the river.
Keith M
Well-known member
I can't remember the last time I ever needed to pre-bait a swim on a river, I think it was back in the late 90's on a deepish Thames backwater where Carp were occasionally being caught.
But nowerdays I mainly fish streams and upper stretches of rivers where I can often clearly see my quarry (or see them flashing on the bed when the water is coloured); and in these scenarios prebaiting is rarely if ever needed as I can search out different swims looking for any likely fish holding sub-surface features to find my fish, and this is all part of the fun and in the past I have caught up to 25 Barbel in a single day doing just this.
but I can also see that on larger rivers where you can't always see sub-surface fish holding features like the lower Thames it can sometimes be a useful ploy to be able to pre-bait and encourage the fish to congregate in a particular area.
I think it can be very easy to disagree with someone else on a forum without realising that the other person is used to fishing in a totally different scenario to yourself, and both can have equally valid ideas LOL.
Keith
But nowerdays I mainly fish streams and upper stretches of rivers where I can often clearly see my quarry (or see them flashing on the bed when the water is coloured); and in these scenarios prebaiting is rarely if ever needed as I can search out different swims looking for any likely fish holding sub-surface features to find my fish, and this is all part of the fun and in the past I have caught up to 25 Barbel in a single day doing just this.
but I can also see that on larger rivers where you can't always see sub-surface fish holding features like the lower Thames it can sometimes be a useful ploy to be able to pre-bait and encourage the fish to congregate in a particular area.
I think it can be very easy to disagree with someone else on a forum without realising that the other person is used to fishing in a totally different scenario to yourself, and both can have equally valid ideas LOL.
Keith
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