Nothing Works For Me

[RelaxAndFish]

Thank You for taking time to read this. I have been watching dozens of YouTube videos on how to catch carp, I have tried literally everything.

Ledgering boilies in a PVA bag full of pellets, crushed boilies, etc. Size 10 barbless hook, baitrunner “bolt rig” I have cast to so many different spots etc.

I have tried feeding 4MM pellets on my waggler and using 6MM as hookbait on a size 16 hook. I Plummed the depth, I then went shallower and basically just tried every depth. I have tried both the shirt button and bulk shotting patterns to change how fast or slow my bait will fall through the water.

The second I change to maggots instead of pellet I am instantly hooking roach and perch, I can catch extreme amounts on maggots, I am not being ungreatful or snobby but I would just like to know why I am not getting any carp at all.

It is just I have watched and really listened carefully to YouTube videos, they do exactly the same as me and are bagging not necessarily huge but they bag carp. I for the life of me can’t get a single carp.

I may sound stupid so I’ll apologise in advance but is this the way carp fishing just is? I watch YouTube videos they just chuck a waggler with pellets on in the lake, right in front of them too and they hook carp in no time.

Maybe the lakes the YouTubers fish are very heavily stocked or something?

Does colder weather make a difference compared to hot?

Sorry I could go on and on with so many questions I have but it will just be too much. I basically just want to know why it works for YouTubers and when I do exactly the same, and I really do try, it doesn’t work for me.

 

[nottskev]

Since you've seen anglers using the common methods on youtube there's no point describing them or others here.
Make sure the water you're fishing holds carp (not hard these days; harder to find ones that don't)).
If you're not sure, inquire and find a popular local commercial fishery (again, not hard).
Leave your tackle at home or on the bank.
Watch anglers fishing and note what they're doing.
Choose someone who's catching and, without stomping up to them or annoying them, ask if you can watch for a bit/ask some questions as you're new to it and you're not catching any.
You'll be unlucky if they don't prove helpful - most of us are. And you'll find out where/how to start on the water you're fishing.
There's no better way, imo, to learn, short of having someone experienced take you fishing.

 

[theartist]

Maybe the lakes the YouTubers fish are very heavily stocked or something?

This line nails it all, Yes they are.

Get on a similar lake and you should have no problems, with the one caveat it is getting colder so don't discount those maggots as they are possibly the best carp bait in winter.

If your lake has a natural stock of carp then they will be hard to get and one or two a season could even be a good result, that's how carp fishing was and many would argue should be.

Youtube is misleading, those lakes are stocked and also they don't usually put films up of themselves having a stinker.

 

[john step]

Don't be disillusioned. A couple of the previous answers to your dilemma are spot on. As a newcomer you will probably not be aware of the history of angling over the last few decades like some of us old sweats on here are.
Right ho..... As a serpentarium angler who can still remember my young days (!) I would say that carp have not been around in any GREAT numbers until the advent of commercial fisheries relatively recently. Those that were in waters prior to this were considered extremely hard to catch.
The reason was low stocked waters.
When a kid if a grown up caught a carp let alone a big one, all the oinks fishing the park lake would stampede along the bank just to get a glimpse of one.
You must not presume where you fish has any at all. It may be one of the old style waters with a low stock. On the lake I help control there are good carp. However the dedicated carp boys can fish overnighters every weekend for sometimes 3 months without so much as a run. They are prepared to do so because of the fishes large size.

So basically there are two types of carp fishing for a beginner. Carp fishing on a hard (ish) water requiring a lot of patience or carp fishing on an easy water such as a commercial or easy higher stocked club lake.
I can assure you that if you can go and catch roach you can catch carp on a high stock water.
The saying Location location location is the answer for you.
Do get back on here on the HOW DID YOU GET ON thread to let us know how you fare. Dont be a one post and disappear poster.

 

[RelaxAndFish]

Thanks massively to you all that have replied with this excellent information! You have all totally nailed the mystery to me now. The lakes I do fish are actually massive lakes. I promise to try and participate and not be a one post and disappear person, that is not my intention at all, I can’t tel you how greatful I am for any sort of information whatsoever.

It is just with all these fancy baits, ie you walk into a tackle shop and all these 100s of baits showing they are “ultimate carp attracters” and “if you do this instead of that you will catch guaranteed” is what I have become, as mentioned disillusioned by. All of the different rigs aswell.

I will try to research into some more commercial fisheries that are heavily stocked. I don’t mind catching little silver fish all day, I absolutely love fishing, it takes all my stress and worries away, being on the lake and enjoying the nature, it just baffled me as to why I can’t get any carp after watching YouTubers and then I go and do the exact same things but fail, but you have all explained why so thanks so much!

A few more questions, I don’t want to be annoying tho.

What is meant by an “Estate Lake”?

At the end of the day do you think it nails down to being in the right place at the right time and fish will eat pretty much anything and you don’t need to obsess about all these different rigs and methods etc?

Thanks honestly

 

[sam vimes]

What is meant by an “Estate Lake”?

A lake (natural or not) situated in the grounds (or former grounds) of a large estate/manor/stately house.

 

[RelaxAndFish]

Ah okie dokie, so pretty much any non man made lake right? Cheers man.

 

[dasbootfish]

The commercial side of angling is huge now, so be very wary of all the YouTube videos telling you how great certain tactics are because they may be sponsored or promoting baits and bits of kit.
I'm back fishing after a 30 year break and you're right, the vast array of baits and tackle out there is daunting. The industry is very, very different to what it was and the web is a great way of pushing goods at you.
Having said that, the internet is also a brilliant way to learn tactics and forums such as this are invaluable.
Carp can be tricky on natural waters and it's easy to feel like you're doing something wrong. Speak to other anglers on your water and they might also be going through a lean time. I've found that helps, at least you know it's not just you .

 

[sam vimes]

Ah okie dokie, so pretty much any non man made lake right? Cheers man.

No, an estate lake can be man made. Capability Brown and his ilk were responsible for plenty of estate lakes.

 

[mikench]

Don’t worry about not catching carp as on large waters it can be very hit and miss. I have two large shallow meres on a club card which are 17 and 15 acres respectively. The last visit I made was a few months ago and I blanked. It’s a lovely place though and I was in a favoured peg. Around lunchtime a guy who was already there packed up and came by to say hello. He is an experienced and persistent carp angler and had been there 3 days and nights without a touch. I packed up afterwards and went home. If he couldn’t catch I wouldn’t. I have another lake of 51 acres on another club card which I have never fished because it’s too vast and I wouldn’t know where to realistically start and I am not alone in that regard.

 

[nottskev]

Now you know there are at least two types of carp water- larger, older ones with smaller stocks of bigger fish, often smart and hard to catch, and smaller, newer, easier ones full of carp that compete for food and are pretty easy to catch. I'd advise that next time you're in the tackle shop you ask for a bit of guidance on good local fisheries of the second type if your priority is to catch some sooner rather than later.

Tackle shops are getting more like any old shop these days, but there are still plenty which don't just take your money but provide a bit of a hub for information and advice. Explain you're new to it, fancy caching some carp and want to know a couple of good places. There's plenty of expertise on tap on FM, but you can't beat local knowledge regarding things like where to fish and sometimes how.

When I moved to where I live now around 20 years ago, I went to - as far as I could tell - the best local tackle shop and chatted with the bloke while I bought bait and bits and pieces of gear. The upshot was, he advised a particular club card, met up with me on the banks of a local river and showed me exactly where different species are usually caught, a massive help, as you can imagine. You don't meet that every day, but any tackle shop worth its salt will at least point you the right way. One around here has copies of a list of popular local fisheries on the counter. They put it together for when dads would come in and ask where they could take their child who wants to go fishing. It highlights the ones that are safest and easiest to catch from.

 

[chrisjpainter]

As chaps above have said, be wary of Youtube - there be untoward forces at work all over the place. Those with sponsorships, those wanting sponsorships, those who didn't get sponsorships, you name it there are plenty of vested interests out there!

The thing about carp fishing is you can make it as complicated as you like, but it doesn't necessarily mean you'll catch more fish! I would say find some smaller lakes to work your way into it. Massive, featureless lakes take a lot of effort to crack. And unfortunately part of that is knowing what's failed and where!

If you're tied to those massive lakes, keep persevering, but also maybe rather than taking your fishing kit, take some binoculars and a notebook and just watch the lake, the anglers, the water. Sadly, this is probably more easily done in summer, when you can actually see the fish and you can take note of where they're shoaling up. But it still pays to do it now. Work out what swims are catching and chat to the anglers who know the waters well. Skip questions about choice of baits and rigs. They'll be secret about that and may resent the question! But ask about what the bottom's like, how weedy it is, how stocked it is. Most anglers I've come across are happy enough to talk in general terms and that might give you some help on the carp.

Unfortunately there is not hard and fast rule that will guarantee a fish. But for what it's worth, I reckon choice of rig is probably the least important! I was even watching a video today where a chap who owns his own lake in France reckoned that flavour's pretty irrelevant too!

 

[@Clive]

First find your fish. That is far more important than bait, methods and tackle. If the fish ain't there then you can't catch them. Learn how carp respond to different weather conditions and put that into practise. It will save you a fortune in bait.

 

[Steve Arnold]

I think Clive has nailed it in his reply. Carp held a certain mystery for me as I started angling when it was just big carp in low stocked ponds and lakes. They seemed as probable a catch for me as finding a unicorn!

So, do your homework and find which waters near you hold a decent stock of carp. If you are still not sure pick a water that does hold bream and fish boilies for them. Boilies bring the bigger bream so generally you catch less, but the groundbait and freebies you throw in will eventually attract carp (if they are there!).

For the last five years, since moving to France, I have used this method on the rivers. Although the carp fishing advice I was given was to put in literally tons of corn and boiles as groundbait I never fancied that approach - plus, it is a very expensive route to catching a fish!

So I have just had to be patient and fish for barbel and bream, knowing eventually I would get a carp. Sometimes my faith has been tested but eventually I picked up a few. Make sure you pick good quality hooks and learn to tie decent knots, when the carp do take your bait they can take off like rockets!

 

[@Clive]

I walk around a local lake with the dog several times a week. It is called La Feculerie after the starch making process it used to supply water for. I call it La Peculierie because the anglers all fish from the car park and the carp in summer are all close to the opposite bank. There is nothing stopping the anglers from driving around, parking up and fishing close in for visible carp. But they choose to park in the private car park, erect a bivvy, pergola, picnic table, unhooking cradle, scales tripod, spomb rod and fill the permanent wooden picnic table with several hundred Euros worth of boilies, glugs, pop ups............ and cast to the horizon.

They never catch anything. All they need to do is to drive to where the fish are and open a tin of sweetcorn.

 

[john step]

I walk around a local lake with the dog several times a week. It is called La Feculerie after the starch making process it used to supply water for. I call it La Peculierie because the anglers all fish from the car park and the carp in summer are all close to the opposite bank. There is nothing stopping the anglers from driving around, parking up and fishing close in for visible carp. But they choose to park in the private car park, erect a bivvy, pergola, picnic table, unhooking cradle, scales tripod, spomb rod and fill the permanent wooden picnic table with several hundred Euros worth of boilies, glugs, pop ups............ and cast to the horizon.

They never catch anything. All they need to do is to drive to where the fish are and open a tin of sweetcorn.

Yup. I had 4 today (2 doubles) on worms from my wormery, a home made float and home made groundbait. All about 2 rod lengths out in a heavy wind . A prolific venue which I had to myself. Hard life.