carp off the top

i`ve tried floating crust,dog mixers,floating boilies......
i`ve tried fake/rubber bread,rubber dog mixers,rubber pellets........
just when the carp is about to take the bait it turns and leaves it,its as if it knows that something isnt quite right......
i`ve tried using smaller hooks,clear hook lengths instead of a dark one.ive even thought of painting my hooks with tippex to help disguise them while using crust.......
has anyone got any ideas???
i`m determined to catch one of these buggers off the top this summer!!!!!!

if you are gettign carp turn away, then they can see your line.

I've probably taken more carp off the top in my life than any other method.

Here are a few tips that have worked for me.

If you have to cast any distance use a bit of tree, a bit o rotten twig about 3 inches long as a controller float.

Use fluorocarbon, about 4 feet long 10 lbs as your hook length. Make sure it sinks.

You must spend some time feeding the carp before casting out. You must get them into a feeding frenzy if you can so that they throw caution to the wind. This can take time and ducks can be a problem.

The most succesfull bait I ever used was chum mixer, and I used to glue it to back of the hook, a size 8 or 10 with superglue.

The weight of the hook and hook length makes the mixer sink that little bit deeper than the freebies. to counteract this, put a sliver of rig foam along the section of mixer.

And now the most deadly way of taking big carp off the top of all. It's called margin fishing and was used to great effect by **** Walker in the 40s and fifties.

You fish on the downwind side of the lake. Your hookbait is presented right under your rod top so you dont have to worry about the fish seeing your line. You chuck out your free offerings until a carp comes swimming along. They always seem to approach from the right. As the carp comes near you will see it slurping down the baits.

You need to have your rod in two rests. You hold you hookbait clear of the water until the fish is almost on top of it then you lower it carefully by losening the line.

Keep the bale arm open and let the fish take a few feet of line before tightening. Do not strike!

Be prepared for fireworks as the fish will invariably run out into the lake some considerable distance.

By the way, this methods only works if you are completely out of sight. Wear drab clothing and hide behide a bush or the bankside herbage if you can.

Great fun. It's the only form of carp fishing I really enjoy.

There is a little book you can buy written by my good friend Chris Ball and Brian Skoles. Well worth getting but it's long out of print I fear.

Try a suspender rig

This summer I have done more floater fishing than ever.You must have a long link between floater and controller ,it must float!otherwise the mixer or whatever you use will be drawn to the controller, you will also miss fish on the strike.You have to get them feeding strongly, this may take minutes it might take hours.Feed little and often.If birds are a problem keep going Carp soon see off ducks Coots etc.Once they are really taking well look for one fish that will often be to one side of the main group.These fish tend to pick off mixers that are away from the main bunch and tend to be bigger fish.Dont cast on top of fish let the controller drift toward this lone fish.Needless to say you need the wind to come from behind you or from one side.This has worked well this summer.I have used straight Tesco mixers out of the bag.I drill them and hair rig them tight to a size 10 Wide gape or Ashima C310.Hooklength, well no one believes me until I show them but it is Giant NeutralSink braid.It floats and I only tried it out of desperation after double strength, Wychwood fly leader had drawn a big no thanks from the fish.It has done the trick on three waters now including one ultra hard RMC water.So be brave try something diferent.

try a suspender rig ...there is no line around the bait to spook the fish

d'ya reckon a suspender rig is worth a try?

naa

a few things to mull over.......many thanks for replying.i`ll be having a go this sunday coming.....i`ll let you know what happened....again,many thanks.

Nicking 2 or 3.............your going to try a suspender rig......good man

I have used the suspender rig a few times and this method does really work.

what is the suspender link

A float with an arm that sits at an angle and lets the bait just touch the water with no line around it,therefore nothing to spook the fish

Try wilko's brand of mixer it floats better than Chum mixer & is a lot cheaper, or you could try using a zig rig instead

Use the beachcaster rig. It's devastating. Bit tricky to set up but well worth the effort.