Carp Catchers Blog

The Guru Pellet Cones  are an innovative alternative to PVA bags that enables an angler to present a small pile of feed around the hookbait. The tangle free presentation that the pellets cones provide is ideal for use with small soft pellets or groundbait.

The pellets I used in this demonstration were Dynamite Baits Marine Halibut Pellets.

If your using groundbait or softened pellets start from step 4. If your using harder pellets and are scolding them follow steps 1-3 first.

Step 1.

Pour the pellets into the bottom of a bait container.

Step 2.

Now pour boiling water over the pellets until they are all just covered over with the water and leave for 20-30 mins.

Step 3.

After 20-30 mins the pellets should still resemble their original shape but they should be soft to touch and lighter in colour.

Step 4.

Now take the pellet cone and hold it from the thin end.

Step 5.

Gently scoop some pellets into the cone, compressing them in as you go.

Step 6.

Once the cone is full compress it firmly with finger and thumb.

Step 7.

Now pass the fine baiting needle through the pellet cone, going in from the wider end and out the thinner end. Your now ready to pull your baited rig through the pellets, once you’ve pulled your rig through remove the cone and its ready to cast out.

The compressed pellets will look like so when attached to your rig.

Once cast out the pellets will hold together until they reach the bottom.

Within 30 seconds they will have broken down leaving a small neat pile of bait around your hookbait…..

Give them a go.

Tight Lines

Dave

Single hookbaits are a good approach all year round although they come into their own during the winter when bites definately slow. Single hookbaits are many anglers favourite approach during the colder months because of their effectiveness at picking off fish in their winter mode which otherwise probably would not have been caught if a bed of bait was used.

There are a wide range of baits out there which work particularly well as single hookbaits. I prefer to use glugged pop-ups for singles but most high attraction baits are suitable. Some anglers prefer high viz baits where others prefer high attraction food baits. My favourites are white pop-ups such as the Baitcraft Snowball, yellow pineapple pop-ups such as Mainline Hi-Visual Pineapple Juice and food bait pop-ups such as Dynamite Baits The Source. This gives me a good enough range to try.

My tips would be to make note of any fish you see show during the winter months this year and in previous years if you know the water well and use these areas as starting points each session. Bear in mind on some waters the fish could well be at range so use simple pop-up rigs that are less likely to tangle and don’t over complicate things too much. And remember if you see fish show it might be worth a cast at them as fish are less likely to move much during the winter so the closer you can get a bait to the fish the better chance of a run.

Tight Lines

Dave

Autumn has to be one of the best seasons on the calendar for carp fishing, as well as spring but we’re not there yet. During the autumn period big carp all over the country start to fed quite hard in a bid to up there weights for the winter ahead. It is not uncommon that all the larger residents of a lake will get caught during this period. This could be due to the fish being in competition for food or just generally being greedy about how they are feeding before the onset of winter. Either way they more often than not make mistakes this time of year.

If you’re planning to fish through this autumn into the coming winter then pick yourself a good quality bait such as the  Mainline Cell  or Activ 8 freezer boilies, the  Nash Amber Strawberry  or  Baitcraft T1 are all proven winter baits. Big carp know what’s good for them and what’s not, that’s how they got so big in the first place so picking a good quality bait is very important. This time of year it’s also important to find those areas which the carp are prepared to feed and get some bait on them, if you have the opportunity to prebait these spots in readiness for forthcoming sessions then it can pay to do so. Although prebaiting can be a frustrating game if the lake your fishing is targeted by a lot of anglers it can pay off in a big way if everything all comes together. Prebaiting can get the fish feeding confidently on your chosen bait in your chosen areas while there are no rigs in the water. If possible try to prebait on or just after darkness, this will avoid any unwanted attention from the birdlife residing on your water.

If you can it helps to find out as much as possible about captures during the autumn from previous years and the kind of spots they are getting caught from. If you can’t do this then I’d suggest targeting the deeper silty areas as this is where the majority of the carp’s natural food can be found in abundance. Carp are a creature of habit so it can become very difficult to get them to feed in areas they wouldn’t usually visit, so the areas you target must be visited by the carp on a regular basis or you could very well be making the challenge even harder for yourself.

Observation is the key to finding the feeding areas that carp are visiting, first and last light are the best time to watch for feeding carp. Whether that be bubbling, crashing or clouding of certain areas of the lake. If these areas are located you are half way to banking carp in their autumn colours.

If you bare in mind the factors I’ve discussed when planning your autumn campaign then you could well be in for a good one.

Tight Lines

Dave  

Im a big fan of spreading boilies over a larger area to encourage carp to keep moving, especially as the temperature is beginning to drop. Its helps your rigs work more effectively as the carp aren’t stopping to feed, they are picking up the boilies on the move. It also leaves less chance of the fish sussing your baited area. Tightly baited spots do produce fish and I will also use them in given situations but I believe that a spread of bait is far less obvious as the carp only come across the odd boilie over your area. It can also help produce takes faster as the carp are more likely to pick up your bait if they come across it.

This is a nice clean mirror carp caught over a spread of 20mm Baitcraft T1 Freezer Boilies on a recent overnighter where I put all three rods in the same area and spread 150 baits over the three of them. The rig I used a blowback combi rig tied with 15lb  Korda IQ Fluorocarbon   and 2” of stripped Sufix Stiff Silt  to a size 6 Korda Wide Gape Hook .

Give it a go.

Tight lines

Dave

We now have two new products from ESP and Drennan in stock. The NEW ESP Two Tone Striptease Hooklink  material is marginally thinner in diameter and more rigid than the original stripteaze. It is a tightly woven Dyneema core with a translucent polymer coating and has a specific gravity of 1.25 meaning it will lay flat on the lake bed without the need for additional weight. It comes on 20m spools of 15lb, 20lb and 25lb although ESP claim it obtained average higher breaking weights than stated with a carefully tied 5 turn Grinner knot.

The second product to arrive in the shop recently are the NEW  Drennan Buoyant Maggots . These are available in a mixture of shapes and sizes in Natural, Fluorescent or Bloodworm red colours. The range of size means they can have a diverse range of uses from popped up baits to critically balanced bottom baits. They can also be fishing in conjunction with other artificial or real baits as a bait cocktail. The maggots are pineapple flavour and have been dusted with food grade starch powder, although this flavour can be over-ridden with more concentrated flavours. These are a perfect little addition to your winter tactics. For more information or to purchase follow the above links.

Tight Lines

Dave

Tying a zig rig is simple, all you need is a good hooklink material like the Ultima Power Zig, a strong hook and a small section of silicone tubing.

The rig components used in this demonstration were Ultima Power Zig hooklink, ESP Big T Carp Hook and ESP Silicone Tube .

Step 1.

Cut the Ultima Power Zig to your desired length.

Step 2.

Now tie a small overhand loop in one end for your hair stop and thread on your desired choice of pop-up or foam followed by a bait stop.

Step 3.

Then cut a small section (2-3mm) of silicone tubing and thread it onto your zig hooklink.

Step 4.

Now thread the point of the hook through the silicone tubing heading towards the bait and set the hair length at about 2-3mm with the tubing sitting at the top of the shank.

Step 5.

Now tie a knotless knot and don’t forget to whip the hooklink back round the knot once on the way towards the eye to prevent it from slipping.

Step 6.

To finish the zig rig off tie a figure of eight knot at the other end.

The zig rig is now finished and ready to use.

If you are not sure about any of the knots use the Carp Catchers Blog search bar to navigate to the relevant knot

Tight lines

Dave

Quite a few people have been asking for the new bait from Nash. Well the new Nash Mach 1 Boilies  are now on the shelves. They are a nice dark reddy colour and are based on the scopex squid base mix. The Mach 1 was developed to John MacAllister’s exacting requirements and his results are outstanding by anybodys standards. We also have the Nash Mach 1 Pop Ups  and the matching  Food Dip . However we are still waiting for the freezer bait to come in. For more information or to purchase visit the main site via the above links.

Best fishes,

John

This Carp Catchers Blog is going to show how to tie the 5 Turn Twice Through The Eye Clinch Knot. The Clinch Knot is an improvement on the blood knot. It was devised by carp fishing pioneer Jim Gibbinson and is a real belt and braces knot. The 5 turn clinch knot is normally used to attach swivels but there is no reason it could not be used to attach hooks. Ok carp catchers lets get started.

Step 1

Thread your line through the swivel

Step 2

Thread it through again

Step 3

Pull the tag end through about 6” from the swivel and lay alongside the mainline or hooklink

Step 4

Whip the tag up over the mainline or hooklink back towards the swivel as per photo. Do this 5 times

Step 5

Tread the tag end through the loop created at the swivel end

Step 6

Thread the tag end through the loop created at the opposite end to the swivel

Step 7

Moisten and carefully bed down the knot. Cut off tag end

                                                                                      5 Turn Clinch Knot

Best fishes,

John

Hi, I haven’t written a blog before, but whilst we were fishing a few weeks ago, an article John showed me struck a chord and I thought I would share it with you.

We all know how important it is to take care of the fish we catch, having a decent size unhooking mat and treating any wounds with the Korda Carp Care Kit , but it is also important to take care of ourselves and our dogs (if they are fishing companions).

The article was about Leptospirosis or Weils Disease which is carried by 15 – 30% of rats.  The bacteria is excreted in the rats urine and can be passed onto humans and dogs when they come into contact with contaminated areas.  In the case of fishing – lakes, rivers and canals.

To protect yourselves you should cover any cuts with waterproof plasters, don’t leave food and cooking utensils out or uncovered.  If you do get symptons, which are fever, chills, headaches, muscle ache, vomiting or diarrhoea, you should contact a doctor immediately.  Weils disease can be fatal if not treated early.  Dogs can also be carriers and also contract the infection, so you need to make sure that they have been inoculated.

On a happier note, its been lovely and sunny, but don’t get sunburnt use your suncream and stay in the shade when possible.

Be safe and catch lots

Angela

The Three Turn Blood Knot is commonly used when tying up a chod rig using ESP Stiff Rig Bristle Filament . Because the bristle filament is so thick and stiff most other knots are just too difficult too tie. Ordinarily I would not recommend a blood knot as it is a strangulation knot, but for this purpose I and many others find it more than adequate. It is also handy because it is quite easy to set the length of your chod rig with this knot. The Three Turn Blood Knot is tied to the ring swivel of the chod rig. In this demonstation I am using size 9 ESP Uni-Link Carp Swivels. Ok, on with the demonstration.

Step 1

Thread your stiff rig filament through the uni-link swivel

Step 2

Loop the bristle filament round the uni-link swivel

Step 3

Holding the uni-link swivel and the loop whip the tag end around the main hooklink going away from the swivel do this three times.

Step 4

Bring your tag end back and thread it through the loop at the swivel end

Step 5

Moisten the knot and bed down, cut off the tag end leaving a small tag

                                                                                             3 Turn Blood Knot

Best fishes,

John