carp at the surface

one of my free local pools has got some carp in it.
beings the weathers being hot lately the carp have been coming up to the surface, they are only about 4 to 6lbs in weight, but i am determined to catch 1 as i have never really caught a proper carp before.
what would be the best way to approach this? i have tried it once today with a size 10 hook, bubble float, and a dog biscuit held on with a bait band. i had one bite, but i missed this because the carp approached the bubble float before the hookbait, which spooked the fish.
what size hooks, best baits and method would be best to use?
thanks,
Thomas

You could do worse than try the bread roll rig! Particularly in the evening.

Are there any lilies in this pool,in really hot weather many carp will be under them.Try some mixers around the edges.

Sometimes it is a lot easier to catch on the surface in the evening.

I always try and freeline if I can,no bubble floats or controllers.You can cast a pair of soggy mixers quite a long way.It's always worth getting the fish going on freebies for as long as possible before fishing for them,once they are competing for the bait it becomes much easier to tempt them to take a hookbait.

I have found that wet mixers will give you more hookups than dry ones.

I also like to have the last few inches of line subsurface,I normally use a very small amount of tungsten putty for this, no more than the size of a number 1 shot split into about four pieces and rolled onto the last foot of line.I use a bigger hook too, normally a 6 or a 4,and bury it in the mixers,as long as they're soggy.

Getting the mixers right is a slightly tricky, if you prepare them too wet they lose a lot of buoyancy.

If you are determined to catch off the top then leave the rest of your tackle and bait at home so you won't be tempted to just put a floater out to fish for itself,but I'll warn you floater fishing is addictive.

Alright Thomas,

If possible mate try and feed em up for a period before you actualy fish for em, anything up to a few hours can be needed depending on how wary they are.

Fish another method while waiting for the carp to gain confidence in your free bait offerings, start with just a few freebies and slowly intruduce a few more but don't over-do it, when you finally start fishing for them the hope is that the fish will not be scared off by your first catch and if all goes well this will give you a second, third or even more chances.

Or of course you can travel light, stalk the fish and move swims after each catch.... this works well too.

Beeeeeeee Lucky.

Hi Thomas, Ive always found that you need to wait a few seconds after a take from the surface. If you try to set the hook too soon it will often pull the bait out of the fishes mouth.
A day with a gentle breeze always helps as it disguises the line on the surface and it may assist in casting and drifting your bait to where you want it.