Ellusive Gravel Pit Crucian Carp.....

Hi ..

My local Gravel Pit (Frampton) was stocked afew years back with a large number of Crucian Carp.

These Carp have been very quiet and difficult to catch.

If the other fish - Bream, Tench and Carp -are anything to go by these Crucian will grow to some huge sizes.

Can anyone offer some advice in terms of tips, baits, methods, features gravel pit Crucian like to roam (ie do they prefer deep holes, shallows, weed) etc .......

Much appreciated

Matt
www.artfulangler.co.uk

A starting point is observation of whether you are seeing any caught or rolling - that's a clue to their location. They are often caught very close in - less than a rod length in shallowish water 4 - 6ft. Simple delicate floatfishing very slightly overdepth 1" to 3" with a dotted float is ideal. Pole fishing is perfect for this. Some cover like the base of a shelf can be advantageous.
Good baits include soft expander pellet, sweetcorn or bread punch, with pellets or corn fed sparingly. For bread a nugget of ground bait every so often may work.

It's possible that modern methods of heavy leads at duistance - about as far from a goodmethod for crucians as you can get - is the reason for few showing.

If there is weed cover close in start there ,try breadflake on a small float and try to keep quiet and low as you can find them in inches of water under your feet.

Matt......can you e.mail me privatly please?