Carp Catchers Blog

Knowing how to tie a Knotless knot will enable you to tie up a basic hair rig which can be used to fish with baits such as boilies, pop-ups, particles and other hard baits which can’t be hooked. Once you’ve made your hook and hooklink choice you are ready to go, the hook used in this demonstration is a Korda Wide Gape Hook size 6. 

Step 1.

Double the line over to form a loop. (See picture below)

Step 2.

Now tie an over hand knot with the loop and tighten down slowly manipulating the knot to make the loop as small as possible, this is for your hair stop so you dont want it too big. (See pictures below)

Step 3.

Pass the other end of your length of hooklink through the back of the eye on the hook so the hair is laying up the back of the shank and hold the hair against the back of the hook at your desired length, it will need to be matched to the size of bait you plan to use. (See picture below)

Step 4.

While holding the hair in place whip the other end of your hooklink away from the join in the eye 6-7 times round the shank towards the point of the hook. (See picture below)

Step 5.

Now whip the hooklink once around the shank moving back down towards the eye, if using mono or flourocarbon hooklinks this will prevent the knot slipping and moving the hair round the shank or from breaking under pressure near the eye when using a hook with an inturned eye. (See picture below)

Step 6.

Pass the tag end of the hooklink through the back of the eye holding the knot in position so that the hooklink is coming out the point side of the hook, it is very important that this is done correctly as it will create a slight angle to help the rig with its hooking potential. Moisten the knot and tighten down carefully. (See picture below)

Step 7.

Now the knot is complete you can either tie the other end of the hooklink to a swivel or tie a figure of eight knot which can be attached to your lead setup via a hooklink clip such as a Korda Kwik Link.

Tight Lines

David

Using Nash Scopex Squid Liver Plus Robin Red Boilies Josh had a thrill packed session catching 5 carp the biggest of which weighed 16lb 2oz (below). Josh also used KG-1 Boilies and maggots to catch some of his fish. His baits were cast tight to the far margin on a leadcore and inline lead set up. Joshs’ rig consisted of a 10lb Soft Steel hooklink and a hair rigged Korda Longshank Hook. This lad is a carp catching machine at the moment, well done Josh ! Keep it up.

Tying a sliding stop knot is one of the most valuable skills that can be learnt by any carp angler, the ability to tie a stop knot will enable you to hit the spot time after time without having to get your marker out again and disturb your swim. To tie a stop knot you will need around 6 inches of marker such as Armaled Mark Up Elastic or pole elastic.

Step 1.

Cut yourself around 6 inches of elastic, preferably a bright colour to make it easier to see during the hours of darkness.

Step 2.

Form a loop with the elastic and hold it next your main line just above your tip ring. (See picture below)

Step 3.

Now take one of the tag ends and pass it through the loop will wrapping it around your mainline, do this 3 or 4 times. (See picture below) 

Step 4.

Now slowly tighten your the knot and moisten it just before pulling completely tight, although be careful not to tighten the knot too much. Then simply trim down the tag ends leaving approximately an inch. (See picture below for the finished knot)

The finished knot can be moved up and down the line if needed but will not move unless you move it. Once you’ve got your elastic tied onto your line when your rod is on the spot you can cast your rod out into open water after a fish and reel in until your elastic is sitting just above your tip ring then simply clip up and you’ll be back on the spot…..Easy!

Hope this helps

Cheers

David

Starting with PVA mesh which comes on tubes for easy bag making. PVA mesh is available in a range of sizes, for example Korda do PVA mesh in 3 different widths, Standard funnel web for tying up small golf ball size bags of pellets and crushed boilies etc,  Boilie Funnel Web PVA for making up bags of boilies instead of a stringer or dynamite sticks of groundbait which can be threaded down your hooklink and prevent tangles as well as leaving a neat little pile of groundbait next to you hookbait and finally there is longchuck funnel web which is designed for making smaller dynamite sticks which can be cast further distances. This presentation using PVA mesh is preferred by many due to it being quick and convenient.

Solid PVA bags such as the  ESP PVA Bags is the next method which involves placing your whole rig including your lead into a bag which is filled with free offerings and can be used in any situation, even cast straight into weed. Solid bags need to be punctured once tied to make sure that the bag sinks to the bottom and doesn’t float.

PVA tape for example Krystons’s Super Grip Stringer Tape can be used to make up bait stringers where several baits can be threaded onto the PVA and hooked onto you rig to present a small amount of baits tight to your hookbait. They can also be used to tie your hair to the shank of your hook to prevent tangles when casting.

PVA nuggets such as Gardner’s Rigwise Dissolving Rig Foam are the last of the PVA products used by carp anglers, they can be used to prevent your hook snagging on any lakebed debris when casting to areas which aren’t that clear as well as using them as a marker to fire baits at once you’ve cast your rig into your swim.

Tight Lines

David

Customer Eric Marlow Used his Greys Prodigy  Carp Rods to good effect on a trip to Bluebell Lakes in tansor. This beauty of a linear mirror carp weighed 22lb 12oz and was the biggest of a five fish catch, it was tamed using Shimano Baitrunner Aero GTE 10000C Reels. Eric used Mainline Fusion Boilies as bait and his terminal tackle included Osprey clear leads and a Korda IQ hooklink. Congratulations Eric on a really stunning capture.

Best fishes,

John

Using maggots on a Korda Longshank Hook Josh caught this lovely 6lb plus bream. Josh was fishing Headlands and cast his bait tight to the far margin. Well done Josh, good photo too.

Watercraft is one of the most important but most neglected aspects of angling, a basic understanding of watercraft and where to fish a lake in given conditions will put you well ahead of the rest. Knowing the basic watercraft skills will help you find the fish which most of the time puts you half way there to catching them. Firstly when you arrive at a lake you need to look at the wind direction and know which direction its coming from, a strong south westerly wind will be a warm wind and fish will generally follow this but they will generally sit on the back of a northerly wind as this will be a cold wind; this is only a general rule of thumb, it can and will be different depending on other conditions and the lake you’re fishing. The second thing you need to think about when you arrive at your chosen lake is the water depths and the weather conditions on the day, if its a sunny day then it will make more sense to fish the shallowest part of the lake as the fish will move up into the shallows to feed as the water will warm up quicker than the deeper parts of the lake. If its a cold dull day then the fish are more likely to be found in the deeper areas of the lake. Again this is just a rule of thumb and will differ between lakes and other conditions. The last bit of watercraft you want to look at is observation, when you arrive at the lakeside don’t just setup up in the closest or most convenient swim take a walk around and see if you can spot any signs of fish. Spend a little time scoping the water out and watch for fish topping, feeding or cruising around, get yourself a decent pair of Polaroids such as the ESP Camou Polarised Sunglasses and climb some trees if its allowed but be careful as it can be very dangerous. Once you’ve chosen a likely looking swim have a think about where you want to put your rods before chucking them out and think about where the fish will be likely to pass through your swim, for example if your fishing next to a bay then it might be worth putting a rod over into the entrance to the bay to try a catch the fish as they are entering and exiting the bay. 

I hope these few basic pointers will help you get your watercraft on track but remember not everything I mentioned will be entirely true on your water so keep an open mind and try to learn more about the lake itself to build up a bigger picture in your head of how the fish behave in certain conditions.

Cheers

David

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Here’s a couple of tips when fishing straight into weed, firstly use longer hooklinks and lighter leads to avoid the lead pulling your hookbait down into the weed and use a small dynamite stick for added attraction to your hookbait with a couple of pva nuggets in it to help the stick and hookbait sink slowly onto the weed rather than falling into it.

Secondly, try using a solid pva bag cast straight into the weed, people are scared of fishing into weed as they don’t think the carp will find their bait. Believe me they will find it!

Thirdly, use a reliable lead setup that will discharge the lead as soon as the fish is hooked, you don’t want to get weeded up and lose the fish of a life time because you didn’t want to lose a lead. Look at it this way you pay enough to go fishing with spending money on a ticket, transport, bait, tackle and food so what’s an extra £1 or so going to matter.

Give it a go and don’t be too afraid, you might be pleasantly surprised!

Cheers

David

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Here’s a handy little tip from the boys at Dynamite. We all know how good hemp is at attracting carp, however they do tend to get preoccupied on the little grains refusing to pick up your hookbait. So how do we get the attraction without the preoccupation? Get yourself a tin or jar of Dynamite Baits Spicy Chilli Frenzied Hempseed  and put it through a liquidiser that’s how !! You can also add any other bits and pieces you like such as sweetcorn or flavourings at the liquidising stage. Brilliant is’nt it !

Best fishes

John

Over the past couple of weeks Ive been doing a bit of surface fishing at a local lake, although the fish so far have only been single figures with a couple pushing doubles its still good sport. The surface rig I have been using consists of a 10g ESP surface controller pushed gently onto a Korda anti tangle rig sleeve which is then pushed onto a size 8 swivel with another Korda anti tangle sleeve the hooklink side to kick the bait away from the mainline. The Hooklink is 8lb Drennan Double Strength tied using a simple knotless knot with one extra turn on the way back down the shank to avoid it slipping as mono so often does to a size 10 kamasan hook with a 11mm  Dynamite Baits Expander Pellet on the hair with a pellet stop to prevent the pellets falling off when they become soft.

Tight lines

David