river carp advice

[Steven Ballard]

Hi all, theres a spot near me that for the last few years has a good head of river carp. They make their selfs known most eves, the sit in a basin, where the main river and canal join.
I can get to within 20 feet of them, theres lots of lillies etc.
Now most of the lads that fish it, fish it using carp tactics from the far bank, thus getting disturbed by boats etc.
Whats the best way of bagging one in a semi traditional manner?

 

[Duncan Dimbleby]

If you can get within 20ft of the fish then you are at a distinct advantage to the other lads fishing at range ( ? ), certainly in terms of accurate feeding and picking a clear spot. Not sure what you mean by ' traditional methods '. If it's weedy then you are better off with hauling gear, especially if there are some lumps present. You'll get them out on barbel gear and your barbel rod will make a good floater rod or stepped up float rod. Otherwise for me it would be 2.5. / 2.75 tc carp rods and 15lb main line to deal with snags and weed etc. Rig wise, keep it simple. Size 6 and 8 hooks on coated braid, KD fashion so the hook kicks out at an angle and a lead clip system. In-line drop off if you wanna get more technical, rig wise. A PVA bag threaded onto the hook length will ensure the rig lands tangle free. A 20mm ( or bigger ) bottom bait fished snow man with a bright pop-up over will help your hook bait stand out. If it's really weedy, try a chod. Bit of a leap of faith if you've never fished one before but a superior presentation that ensures your bait will be visible, say in thick Canadian.

Hope that helps.

We should have a River carp thread !!

Duncan.

 

[Paul Thomas]

Floaters for me....nothing more traditional than a lump of flake freelined

 

[Steven Ballard]

am going to give floaters a try but last time i put some flake out they seemed spooky, I thought about using my barbel gear with a chubber float, and fishing meat or bread say 12 inches deep??

 

[Andrew Boyne]

How deep is it? Can you see the bottom? If so I'd free line a lump of meat and watch for them sucking it in - river carp seem to have a soft spot for meat! If it's too deep/coloured to see the bottom add a small piece of tungsten putty about 12" from the hook and use a float set over depth so it lies flat and watch that instead. No messing about, 12 or 15lb mono straight through to a strong size 6 or 4.

 

[John Walker]

try fishing just on the enetrance or just before it where the basin starts

 

[John Walker]

sorry my last post was poorly put, those carp Will come out onto the canal/river to feed after dark when all the bankside disturbance ends, fish as near to the entrance just as the approach in the canal/ river where it clears from the dense lilypads,
this should be the 1st area where the carp start their feeding,

 

[Nick Hay]

Duncan has covered the rigs nicely, if I was going to fish it I would pre-bait over a week or so, nothing fancy, pigeon conditioner soaked then boiled, let the smaller fish feed on it and clear the spot for you. The carp will soon home in on this food source. Add to it some large chunks of meat so they get used to finding the meat in among the rest of it.The longer you can bait the better as this will normally get the bigger fish onto it.
Obviously being discrete is key here if you can as you don't want someone else fishing your spot !!
20 ft is fishable by float but use a float adapter to attach the float to the line so the float can break free should you get snagged. I normally lay on with a foot or so on the river bed with enough weight so the float stays put. Using this the fish won't initially bolt off as with a lead, will give you enough time to gain control before they get their heads down in the weed etc.
Good luck and pm me if you want anymore info.