Float fishing for carp

[Dave Brooksbank]

Whilst giving the Barbel a miss while this drought is on, I've been popping down to a local lake, it's a mixed fishery with a good head of carp up to around 25lb and it's brilliant sport catching them on a power float rod, but i still feel I need to fine tune my tactics. For those who float fish for carp what's your approach as regards mainline, hooklink braid or mono/fluro and do you use hair rig or just baited hook.As I said Roach, Perch, Bream are in the mix and I really want to avoid these. It's been years since I fished a lake and it's been fantastic so far on light gear.

 

[Steve Roffey]

Not fished for carp for more than 10 years now but had some fun in the past with fish to just shy of 20 on a Mk1 Drennan Tench Float, centrepin and 8lb Maxima straight through with corn as bait on a size 8, used to be easy to get them feeding at 2 rods out by loose feeding hemp and corn on that particular lake.

 

[Adam Francis]

I always used to fish to features where possible, lillies or overhanging trees etc. 6-8lb line straight through and I used to put a band on the hook and fish a large pellet or lump of meat to deter the smaller fish.

As above, I've had them up to 20lb on a power float rod.

Great fun!

 

[Gavin Hoe-Richardson]

Most of my carp fishing is with the floater gear these days, Enterprise tackle artificial mixer on a size 8 hair rig and chum mixer freebies. Bizarrely I've had a few carp which have by-passed the real ones and taken the artificial. You can only do it on venues without a good head of waterfowl though or you'll have friends for life!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/Enterprise-Tackle-Artificial-Dog-Biscuit-original-Design/1085376281?iid=152177979184&_trkparms=aid=222007&algo=SIM.MBE&ao=2&asc=51875&meid=0f1182897f554252b0b68f36a20f6483&pid=100005&rk=1&rkt=7&mehot=ag&sd=323304262099&itm=152177979184&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851

 

[Steve Lewis]

Float fishing is one of my favourite methods for carp. 8lb main line, 7 or 6lb hooklength, waggler, bait a couple of inches overdepth, size 2 or 4 hook packed to the brim with maggots - all my biggest carp were caught on that method. Obviously if there are a lot of silvers present you'll struggle with using maggots.

 

[Joe Winstanley]

Most of my carp fishing is with the floater gear these days, Enterprise tackle artificial mixer on a size 8 hair rig and chum mixer freebies. Bizarrely I've had a few carp which have by-passed the real ones and taken the artificial. You can only do it on venues without a good head of waterfowl though or you'll have friends for life!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/Enterprise-Tackle-Artificial-Dog-Biscuit-original-Design/1085376281?iid=152177979184&_trkparms=aid=222007&algo=SIM.MBE&ao=2&asc=51875&meid=0f1182897f554252b0b68f36a20f6483&pid=100005&rk=1&rkt=7&mehot=ag&sd=323304262099&itm=152177979184&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851

Another vote for the enterprise dog biscuits. I didn't know they were still making them, I bought a packet around 14 years and they are still going strong, the way they make the hook sit above the water is a real bonus I think.

 

[Joe Winstanley]

Whilst giving the Barbel a miss while this drought is on, I've been popping down to a local lake, it's a mixed fishery with a good head of carp up to around 25lb and it's brilliant sport catching them on a power float rod, but i still feel I need to fine tune my tactics. For those who float fish for carp what's your approach as regards mainline, hooklink braid or mono/fluro and do you use hair rig or just baited hook.As I said Roach, Perch, Bream are in the mix and I really want to avoid these. It's been years since I fished a lake and it's been fantastic so far on light gear.

The good old lift method works well for carp and tench, but my favourite method stalking carp in the margins is fishing a flat float (usually a peaccok quill or a short crystal waggler) fished about 6-12" overdepth with a small shot (size 6 ish) 6-12" from the bait. Always on a hair-rig.

 

[Bill Walford]

I like the lift method and use it when Tench Fishing but many, many years ago the 1970’s ! when a mate and I fished the float all the time on one water we used a tiny arsley bomb (1/8oz I believe) running on the line and stopped 4-6 inches from the hook. Line was 7lb Sylcast all the way thru’. Bait was tinned broad beans, rods were Davenport & Fordham Gerry Savage 10 ft.( remember them? Remember Gerry ?). We caught plenty of Carp upto mid-doubles and ‘cos of the float-ledger rig apart from liners the float just shot away when you got the bite....Happy Days!!!

 

[Paul Ashton]

The good old lift method works well for carp and tench, but my favourite method stalking carp in the margins is fishing a flat float (usually a peaccok quill or a short crystal waggler) fished about 6-12" overdepth with a small shot (size 6 ish) 6-12" from the bait. Always on a hair-rig.

My favourite method for Carp as well, only no hair-rig. I directly hook corn, cat food, paste etc, any soft bait I can strike through, and wait until the flat float cocks then slides away. Fishing the float flat lets you know when there are fish in the swim which brush against the line, a float fished normally would go under when this happens, leading to striking at false bites and occasional foul hooking.