carp beginner

[nathan92]

im new to carp fishing and after a few trips im yet to catch a carp.
i know bits and bobs but this thread is mainly for advice on tackle as i will be going to a tackle shop tomorow to buy a few things.

currently im using a bolt rig with lead safety clips.
my first question is about line, i hear alot about braid and flurocarbone. but which is best for the hook length?? and what are the advantages of each line??

my next question may sound stupid but after casting do you sink the line and leave it slack or do you tighten it?? do the fish run into the line if its tight?? i was thinking about getting a lead core leader??

theres probably more but thats all i can think of atm.

any help would be greatly appreciated... thenks.

 

[Lord Paul of Sheffield]

well i'm no carp angler but I'd ask where are you fishing?

If it's a big. sparesly stock carp water then I'd say try somewhere else till you get a few carp in the net

as to your question

Slack lines seems to be the latest advice i nthe carp mags (was was a year back when I last read one)
Hook lenght material

depends on your presentaion , popped up or on the bottom

Noknot is probably a good person to ask - come on Noknot - give him a few pinters

 

[nathan92]

i have been fishing a local pond which isnt huge but ok witha gravel pit i beleive, with carp upto 30lbs pluss and also roach, perch and skimmers (of what i no)

another pond i will be fishing (probably more) is a bit smaller than the other with a mud bottom and carp upto 15lbs pluss. theres also bream tench roach perch etc in.

i tend to fish on the bottom but have pop-ups aswell.

thanks for the reply.:thumbs:

 

[Lord Paul of Sheffield]

the theory on slack lines is that if the line it tight and the fish touches it it will spook - so fish slack lines (advice from carp mag not from me)

as for hook length

I'd send a poltie pm to Noknot - he's overseas so might be slow in answering due to time differnce and ask him a few question

Don't tell him I put you on to him or he'll never answer:w

 

[nathan92]

yeah thats what i heard about slack lines.

how do i locate noknot to pm him mate?? (just joined forum)

lol he not like you or something

 

[Lord Paul of Sheffield]

you should see the private messages bit at hte top of the thread click on it and go to Send a private message
on name type in noknot and you shoudl find him

Noknot and I have a few disagreement over my posting of silly comments on thread but he's a good bloke and the type to tell you to your face what he thinks and then forget things so next time you post he bares no grudge - same as me - so we spark each other of and then buy each other a beer

 

[nathan92]

thanks mate. pm'd him.

thought there would of been more than 1 person reply! but oh well, hopefully noknot will reply.

cheers for your help:thumbs:

 

[Lord Paul of Sheffield]

there are some good carp angler on here

try Mark Todd -drop him a pm - his user name is MarkTodd - all one word

He's not on that often but I do know where I can find him


He got soem novel ideas tha work - tell him I dropped him in it

I'll contact him

he's ok for you to pm him and he's comimng on FM now to have a look

 

[quickcedo]

Hooklength material is like most things a matter of personal choice. Fluoro has the advantage of being almost invisible when on the bottom. Coated braids have the advantage that when the last inch or so has been stripped back you get a hinge which allows the bait to move more naturally.
Bolt rigs with lead clips appear to be the most used set up for Carp.
After casting in allow time for the line to sink naturally before you put the bite indicator on. This allows for good bite indication but leaves the line reasonably on the bottom, out of the way of feeding/cruising fish.
Hooklength materials differ from maker to maker but imho you could do worse than look at Kryston.

 

[nathan92]

nice reply thanks pal.

i understand you change the length of hooklength depending on catch rate, but what would be a good length to have for pellets with pva mesh??

thanks.

 

[quickcedo]

When starting out don't get all clever with the rigs and bits. Spend as much time as possible finding the right place on your lake to fish. This is far more important than the rig or the bait.
As for bait walk round the lake and ask what everone else is using or at least try to get a peak while talking to them.
There is an old saying in fishing:- 10 minutes in the right place is worth 10 hours in the wrong one. This is well worth thinking about.

---------- Post added at 22:47 ---------- Previous post was at 22:45 ----------

Hooklength also needs to be adjusted to account for the bottom of the lake. If it's soft silt then maybe a longer hooklength will work better. A good starting point is about 6-8 inches.

 

[nathan92]

cheers.

was speaking to one of the fellas that runs it when i went for a look on tues and there no boilies aloud, but he said pellets n corn work well for the carp in there, ive got some robin reds so i might give them a try when i go on sat.
il get braid and fluro, try both i gues.
how long would you recomend for the hooklength??

thanks.

---------- Post added at 14:53 ---------- Previous post was at 14:51 ----------

6-8 inches, thanks mate.
il let you know how i get on

thanks for your help :thumbs:

 

[quickcedo]

You're more than welcome. I hope you catch. If you need anymore help give my good friend Lord Paul a shout and he'll get hold of me.

 

[noknot]

Hi Nathan, some great advice from Mark! I too would keep things simple in terms of rigs and lead setup's, In fact my setup could be called mega basic, but very effective! I use a running lead and depend on the end rig to do it's job!
OK, on to tackle.........I use Berkley "big game" in 12lbs BS which is like tow rope and very strong! Another good basic line is Daiwa "sensor" both of these are good lines and have been around for years, which says something!

As for hooklinks, do not neglect plain old mono! Mono has caught 1000's of Carp! You could look at braids also, coated or uncoated both work well, but uncoated is prone to tangles, which can be overcome, but means that the rigs are a little more complecated! As Mark has said, have a look at the Kryston range.
Hooks are very inportant and personal, but IMO the most inportant piece of tackle that you buy!!! They must be SHARP!!!

Mark also touched on the point of location, or fishing the right spots and areas, this all comes with "watercraft" which is learning how to "read" the water in different conditions to locate the Carp, many things can also have an effect on this, size and type of the water, or even angling pressure!

My last tip (for now) is to try to spend as much time at the lake looking and watching the water, this time is time well spent!
I hope this helps a little, any more questions, then fire away!

Ian Gemson is a member and has done some great articles, well worth a read.............Could a Mod please post a link??? Cheers'

My "basic" rig, or is it???

 

[nathan92]

thanks for the reply.

any recomendations on a good hook and size?? i have 15mm boilies and 8mm pellets.

thanks.

 

[noknot]

thanks for the reply.

any recomendations on a good hook and size?? i have 15mm boilies and 8mm pellets.

thanks.

Not really as the hooks out here are US sizes, and even in the UK it seems that they vary in size from one brand to another! I use mainly use bigger sizes 6 & 4's (UK size) best to look in your tackle shop and ask, I love the Gamakatsu hooks, light and very sharp, but the patten I use you can't get in the UK, sorry!

 

[Lord Paul of Sheffield]

Cheers to Mark and Noknot for the imput

glad you both didn't mind me dropping your name as a good person to ask

 

[noknot]

No worries me Lord:w

 

[quickcedo]

Hook size is variable (like all things). i usually find the shorter the hair the larger the hook needs to be. So with a 15mm boilie a size 6 or 4 may be required for a short hair, but a size 8 or even a 10 would work with a longer hair.
Generally it's the gape of the hook you need to be worried about rather than the stated size.
Take another look at noknots rig. The hook in this case is well sized for the bait. If the hair was longer it would still work but if say, the fishery had a size limit (hooks) then a smaller pattern would work.

 

[noknot]

Thank you Mark!
Also notice the really aggressive angle of the hook and where the hair comes off of the shank, opposite the point, this is created by a reverse knotless knot, so basically whip the KK and once in the position you want the hair, then just go under the hair and whip two turns back to the eye then pass the line through the eye from the front of the hook always! This will lock the hair in position and kick the hook out at a deadly angle, which is very hard for a Carp to eject!
The rig in the picture is tied with a stiff fluro, hence the loop to the swivel, once a carp sucks at the bait the loop allows the bait and hook to fly into the Carps mouth, then the fun begins!!!