Beginner needs loads of advice

Hi all,

I hope I have put this in the right section. I am new to carp fishing. I want to get some advice with regards to rigs and anything really that will make me catch more fish.

Is there a standard basic rig that I should learn to tie or will it vary according weather I'm using a meethod feeder or bollies.

I'm on a really tight budget and want to start making my own groundbait. I have found loads of information on the internet but as the saying goes over analysis paralysis.

I just don't know where to start.

I have been using a basic running rig until now, using both the ledger and the method feeder. The right line I'm just not sure if that's right.

The other problem is winter fishing, i have been told that its more difficult.

Is there a secret to catching anything? Should I be using certain groundbait and hookbait. Should I be on the float instead? My last 2 sessions I havent caught anything in a 6 hour session

I know that there are laods of questions but I need some good advice

I don't want to catch 30lbs, although it would be great, I just want to catch

Thanks in advance

Nolan

Welcome to FishingMagic Nolan, there are more qualified people than me to give advice on catching Carp and I don't specifically target them. At this time of year they're not falling over themselves to take the bait so I'd recommend minimal baiting. I had two from a pool a couple of weeks back which fell to some bread on a waggler in the margin. Worth trying some different tactics occasionally.
Ian

When you say "carp fishing", what exactly do you mean? Are we talking multiple rods, bite alarms etc on a big lake or do you mean trying to catch any carp from a smaller well stocked (commercial) fishery?

Thanks Ian I will give that a try.

---------- Post added at 14:23 ---------- Previous post was at 14:19 ----------

sam vimes said:

When you say "carp fishing", what exactly do you mean? Are we talking multiple rods, bite alarms etc on a big lake or do you mean trying to catch any carp from a smaller well stocked (commercial) fishery?

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Hi Sam,

I have been going to smaller pools as I thought that it might be easier to catch, boy was I wrong.

I usually go to commercial fisheries. I have 2 rods on a pod. I put one out on the method feeder and the other on the ledger with a boillie.

I hope this helps you advise me further

Thanks

Nolan

At the moment with the low temperatures I would be surprised if anyone is catching many carp. Odd few no doubt but not a lot. So don't beat yourself up about it.
How you describe you fish and where you fish sounds fine. Just wait till the weather warms up to notice the difference.
Lay off the groundbait in the cold and also too many loose boilies. Catch em dont feed em??
If its a high stock water you might find you catch more with a piece of flake or a worm on a light bomb or waggler and no extra feeding as much as anything else.
I sat last week on a high stock club lake and even the roach were finding it too cold. You would have thought there were no carp in the lake.
I saw a Haynes Manual advertised that was written by the late Kev Green. I am sure it covers most things. Don't ignore your local library either if funds dont stretch to buying a book.

nolan1977 said:

Hi Sam,

I have been going to smaller pools as I thought that it might be easier to catch, boy was I wrong.

I usually go to commercial fisheries. I have 2 rods on a pod. I put one out on the method feeder and the other on the ledger with a boillie.

I hope this helps you advise me further

Thanks

Nolan

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It's rarely easy in an extended period of cold weather, regardless of the type of water. On the type of venue you are describing, with the same type of set up, I'd be fishing one rod with a single, small (10mm with a size 10 hook), bright pop up. With that rod I'd be searching round the chosen swim looking for indications that fish are present. Fairly frequent recasting until some signs of activity are found. With the other rod, rather than a method feeder, I'd be using small PVA bags of pellet/crumbled boilie with either boilie or pellet as a hookbait. I'd leave that rod for a fair bit longer than the single bait rod, but not for hours.

I also usually take barbel rods/reels rather than out and out carp gear. That will be used in combination with proportionately scaled down line and terminal tackle. Sit right on top of the rods and be prepared to hit the smallest of movements on the bobbins or single bleeps of an alarm. Full blown runs still happen, but not as often as they do in the warmer months.

The biggest trick is to locate the fish in the first place. It's very easy to spend your time fishing areas that are all but devoid of fish. Look out for deeper areas, areas that recieve a lot of the limited sunlight, areas on the back of the wind or a combination of all three. There's also a chance that shallower areas can hold fish if they get a lot of sunlight on a given day, especially if they are on the back of the wind.

What Sam says about location is spot on. In a couple of lakes I know you can see groups of carp VERY tightly packed together in clear cold water. They seem to huddle up touching each other. Maybe 20 or 30 fish at a time. Not feeding. Dusk can be the best time when they gain confidence.

john step said:

What Sam says about location is spot on. In a couple of lakes I know you can see groups of carp VERY tightly packed together in clear cold water. They seem to huddle up touching each other. Maybe 20 or 30 fish at a time. Not feeding. Dusk can be the best time when they gain confidence.

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That's why it is hugely beneficial to cast to showing fish in the winter and also to recast to the exact spot once you've had a fish.

In the winter, cast around all the time. You have to find the fish, the fish wont find you.
I wont leave a rod in the same place for more than an hour tops and will move swims after I've cast to all areas, sometimes moving 5-6 times a day if I see fish showing.

I always switch to hi viz pop ups in the winter, specifically Dynamites Tutti and Pineapple. They work real well in the winter.

As for rigs, the good old knotless knot. For years I used normal braid but have recently switched to coated braid, Striptease to be precise, and have definitely had a better hooking rate. All I do is strip off the last couple of inches to the bait wafts naturally as the fish is hoovering up the bait.

Running lead or bolt rig. The bolt rig is a fixed lead, so the fish hook themselves. So you really need a lead of 2.5oz or so. Or you can use a running lead and use the baitrunner to hook the fish.
I've used both to equal effect and dont catch more fish on one or the other.

As for making your own groundbait, I wouldn't bother. The off the shelf stuff is tried and tested and proven to catch. A proper method feeder uses 2 different types of groundbait. One in the middle of the feeder, then push your hair rigged bait into it, then squeezing a load of the other groundbait round the outside. The theory being as the fish peck the outer layer, they reveal your bait.
It's not a technique I use as I find I get pestered by small fish, although I have had some good results, its just not something I would use on every venue.

Absolutely nothing wrong with any of the above and some great advice offered. ..

In my opinion, any form of successful winter carp fishing is so much down to the choice of water. I have waters where I could sit for a week and not get a run, and others, 5 miles down the road where I have every chance. ( I'm talking non commercial fisheries ).

To find the best in winter I had to suffer many blanks but eventually the effort paid off and I've taken reasonably good fish as a result. I am not a lover of boilie fishing and although I appreciate they are very good on some waters, I tend to use strong smelling meat baits and concentrate on one or two swims where I have SEEN fish moving around. Movement of fish may only happen during MILDER spells of weather, on the sunnier side of the lake (when it's out!) and in fairly shallow water, so I tend to make the odd visit without the tackle just to see if fish are moving and definitely put in small amounts of chopped meat and hemp the day(s) before I intend fishing.
It's amazing how fish will respond to a bit of weak sun on the water, BUT NOT NECESSARILY ON ALL WATERS, so you need to do some asking around to give yourself any chance at all....

I use all sorts of meat from luncheon to bacon grill to pastrami ( the list is endless ), along with various coatings such a sweet chilli sauce, Bovril and Marmite smeared on the bait prior to casting. Again the list of these is endless.......

I like to fish close in where I can have complete control of where the loose feed goes in and on many occasions I'm not more than 2 metres from the bank. I will continue loose feeding periodically with chopped meat/hemp and fish balls of meat of differing diameters on a straight forward hair rig. Many of my fish have fallen to 18mm balls of meat coated in chilli sauce even with frost on the ground, BUT AGAIN I SAY, THIS IS ON MY WATERS AND IT MAY NOT APPLY TO YOURS !!

Many will agree that finding, or seeing, fish moving around will offer the best chances so I would never waste my time fishing a dead looking water that has no record of winter carp being caught - life is too short !!

Personally, I think any effort you put in, such as doing recce on warmish days and ASKING lots of questions, will reap rewards, but I think having a plan of attack and giving it a chance to work is your best way forward, regardless of what baits you decide to use...............they can all work, it's just the case of finding the right combination !!

Don't lose confidence if things don't turn out well after a few visits, just try something different such as fishing from 10am to 2pm, ( the warmest time of day ) which can yield fish in this very short period.

Lastly keep warm and have plenty of food/drink. Nothing worse than being cold, and NOT catching !!!

Good luck!

Thank you all for your advice I shall give it a go. Its not long to now until spring anyway.

I may just do some research and recce some spots and speak to the locals.

One more thing, Do I need to engage the baitrunner function all the time with rods on the pod or bank sticks?

Thanks

Nolan

nolan1977 said:

Thank you all for your advice I shall give it a go. Its not long to now until spring anyway.

I may just do some research and recce some spots and speak to the locals.

One more thing, Do I need to engage the baitrunner function all the time with rods on the pod or bank sticks?

Thanks

Nolan

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Better to use the baitrunner than having to go swimming to retrieve rods, especially this time of the year???

in winter i reduce the amount of free offerings give to them , just looking for that one take
i go down the boilie fruit flavoured pop up with a pva mesh golf ball size of white bread crumbs, just put on to the hook near the hookbait .
just get some bread put in the oven on a low heat till dry out just then crumble up into small bits and use.cheap to do.
found this way of presenting the pop up get me a take a lot of the time , when bite are hard to come by in winter.

How easy are the pva bags to make and cast out?

Can someone explain the difference between all the different lines out there. Monofilament and then braid - in what situation would you need the braid and why?

Can someone give me a list of what basic tackle that I need in my box.

Thanks

Nolan

i would get pva mesh can use it easy than pva bag i've found , it looks like women tights but smaller
you can buy sets of mesh , plastic tube, plunger. all in one.brands like esp , guru are quite good ones
there are vids on youtube showing how it works and will show tips on getting the best out of it.
what i do is just nick it on the hook works well for small amounts , but if your wanting bigger amounts make your mesh bigger like a sausage ,
buy a stringer needle theres video's off this as well on youtube korda with danny boy showing are quite good at showing this style of carping fishing methods.