Carp Catchers Blog

A couple of new bits from Atomic Tackle this time. The Atomic Stiffun  is a stiff coated comb-link hooklink material. It has a transluscent, matt finish stiff outer coating and a dual colour camouflage inner braid which will blend in with most lakebeds. I have tried this myself, when steamed it really does go stiff!!! For more information or to purchase please click on the above link. The Atomic Bombz Away Lead Clip is a new lead system that does not rely on a moulded arm to hold the lead. The metal clip which secures the lead is independent of the lead clip body and runs along a track inside the main body. The Bombz Away Lead Clip allows you to drop the lead if the fish becomes snagged but eliminates the problem of the lead sometimes jettisoning on the cast. For more information or to purchase please click on the above link.

Best Fishes,

John

To follow on from the recent blogs on prebaiting here are a few pictures to prove that prebaiting brings rewards. These fish were all caught from the same area of the lake after a long period of continuous prebaiting during late winter early spring.

Its really is worth putting in that extra effort.

Tight Lines

Dave

Customer Sean has just come back from a short session in France.  This what he had to say “ Just got back from my mates in France, we didn’t get on the lake we had planned, but did manage to do 3 nights on another lake and banked 8 carp.
All fish where caught on Dynamite Baits Frenzied Monster Tiger Nuts  on a size 5 ESP Big T, tied to 20lb  Snake Bite.
Fish where stunning and went like stink and can’t wait to get back over there, soon hopefully!!!. ”

Well done Sean, thanks for the report.

Best Fishes,

John

The quantity of bait you choose to prebait with should be determined by the stocking density of your water. If you are fishing a heavily stocked lake then prebaiting with a small amount of bait my not prove to be very productive.

Boilies

If you are fishing a well stocked lake then I would suggest around 2-3 kgs of boilies three times a week, larger boilies are generally better to prebait with as it avoids the attention of other species such as Bream and Tench. A single fish is capable of eating a very large amount of bait in one sitting, although this will vary throughout the year depending on water temperatures. Carp are cold blooded animals so their dietary requirements are much lower in cold water conditions. In the winter it is possible to reduce your prebait to around 1kg because of this, it will only take a few mouthfuls for a carp to fill itself up and move away from the area. On lakes that hold a smaller stock of carp I would maybe reduce the quantity of bait by a kilo or so unless you know that the fish will accept large quantities of bait without shying off them from past angling pressure. Try to use a good quality freezer boilie such as Mainline Cell , Nash Scopex Squid  or Richworth XLR8 .

Particles and Pellets

If you choose to bait with particles and pellets on a well stocked lake I would up the amount as particles are cheaper and they will recieve a lot more attention from nuisance species. Maybe 10-15 kg per week baited every other night. If you are using tiger nuts to bait up with then please be aware that they are not very digestable to carp and are best used in small quantities. The same goes with what I said above about water temperatures and food consumption so alter your quantities accordingly. It is also worth baring in mind that smaller fish are more able to eat the particles and pellets you are baiting with, so increasing the quantities where large numbers of nuisance species are present maybe required for the carp to get a look in. Otherwise the carp maybe seeing none of your bait and are unaware of the area you are trying to create.

The quantities mentioned above are all just guidelines, each lake, stock and situation is different so go with what you think is best but bare in mind the factors I have mentioned. See also Part One - Part Two

Tight Lines

Dave

Choosing areas on your lake to pre-bait can be the key to success. You need to do your homework on the lake to determine the best areas to target. I would suggest you pick a couple of areas to keep introducing bait to avoid disappointment should you turn up for a session and find someone in one of your baited swims. Just because you have baited a swim it unfortunately doesn’t mean other anglers won’t fish there.

I would pick two swims in completely different areas of the lake so that you have the choice of which to fish. This means that if the weather conditions should favour one area you can head for that area. I would personally pick one area on the end of what would be a south westerly wind and another in an area where you know the fish visit frequently. Once you have chosen your areas its time to decide on the spots/features you wish to fish. Its best to do a bit of marker work in the swims you’re baiting and find any likely holding areas and/or patrol routes. You could be looking for a needle in a haystack, but remember if your going to be spending money on travelling to bait up its worth putting 100% effort in. When looking for spots you could be looking for subtle differences in depth, smooth areas of “clean” silt where the carp have been feeding, bloodworm beds or areas which are not so choked with weed. It really all depends on your water. 

If you are able to observe the fish then watch them closely and figure out what sort of areas they are feeding in and on what sort of lakebed. If you can’t observe the fish then I would suggest you look at past captures if any, or speak to other anglers and see if they are willing to tell you what sort of areas and lake bed they have caught from. Obviously don’t go jumping straight into these areas as they could well be popular swims which you should try to avoid, as other anglers will be benefiting from your bait and hard work. Once you have built up a bigger picture its time to find the spots you wish to bait. Margins are always a good bet too and very often neglected by other anglers.

Make sure once you have found your spots that you have marked them on your lines or paced them out and you have picked far bank markers to aim for. It can sometimes be easier to note these things in some sort of a fishing diary, which you can used to build up a better knowledge of the lake. Here is a blog which may help you when it comes to this stage.  Another Carp Catchers Blog which may help is New Season Baiting Campaign .

Tight Lines

Dave

The Shot On The Hair Rig is basically a bottom bait rig with a small shot added to the hair to allow a pop-up hookbait to be used. This completely alters how the rig to reacts to how it would with a bottom bait. The hookbait is allowed to move more naturally due to it’s bouyancy and the length of the hair. The shot on the hair allows you to either critically balance or overweight the pop up hookbait.  The nature of supple braid allows the hookbait to be picked up with minimal resistance and the pattern of the hook means the point hangs low below the hookbait helping it to grab hold. The simplicity of The Shot On The Hair Rig makes it easy to tie and it minimises the bulky components such as shrink tubing used on some rigs.

For the purpose of this demonstration I used the Korda Supernatural Hooklink, a Korda Kurv Shank Hook and a No.4 split shot. The shot size is determined by the size and bouyancy of your choosen pop-up, the bigger and more bouyant the pop-up the larger the shot. I found a No.4 shot to work perfectly with a 14mm Richworth Pineapple Hawaiian Pop Ups  although it varies between different makes and types of pop-ups.

Step 1.

Cut 14″ of Korda Supernatural from the spool and tie a small overhand loop knot in one end.

Step 2.

Thread on your choosen pop-up and secure in place with a bait stop.

Step 3.

For this version of the rig pinch the shot onto the hooklink below the pop-up. This will give you a slow sinking hookbait which is almost critically balanced. We will show you an alternative version of this rig, which has  the shot positioned differently, soon.

Step 4.

Thread the Korda Kurv Shank Hook onto the hooklink passing the braid though the back of the eye to the front and position the bait about 6mm from the top of the hook.

Step 5.

Now whip the hooklink up the shank of the hook 6-7 times and then pass the hooklink through the back of the eye to the front to finish the knot.

Step 6.

Double over the other end of the hooklink.

Step 7.

Then form a loop with the doubled over section of the hooklink.

Step 8.

Now pass the end of the doubled over section around the bottom and through the back of the loop created in step 7.

This creates the figure of eight, if you get this eight shape then you have done it right.

If you struggle with tying the knot then try this method. Alternative Figure of Eight Loop Knot.

Step 9.

Now gently tighten down the knot and trim the tag end.

The rig is now complete and ready to be attached to your lead setup.

The rig is best fished of with a small Dynamite Stick or PVA Mesh Bag thread down the hooklink over the hook to avoid tangles.

Tight Lines

Dave

Running rigs are very over looked these days by the majority of carp anglers but if used correctly they can improve your catch rates in the right situation. They are advantageous in that they will give you indication as soon as the bait has moved rather than when the lead moves. Fished with slack lines the running rig setup will give you good indication before the line has even tightened. It also means that if your mainline breaks the lead will be released easily.

For this demonstration I used Korda Safe Zone Sinking Rig Tubing, Korda Safe Zone Run Rig Rubbers, Korda Size 8 Swivels, Korda Ring Clips, Korda Silicone Sleeves and a Korda Pear Lead.

Step 1.

Thread your mainline through your desired length of rig tubing.

Step 2.

Now thread your mainline through the ring on one of the Korda Ring Clips.

Step 3.

Then thread on the Korda Run Rig Rubber and push the rig tubing into the narrow end of the rubber.

Step 4.

With the tag end of you mainline tie a Palomar knot. Double over the tag end and pass it though the eye of a size 8 swivel.

Now tie an overhand knot with the doubled over section of your mainline.

Then pass the swivel through the loop created by doubling over the mainline.

Moisten the knot and tighten it down gently before trimming the tag end.

Step 5.

Pull the swivel inside the Run Rig Rubber.

Step 6.

Now push a silicone sleeve over the swivel of your choosen lead and hold it down so the top eye of the swivel is exposed.

Step 7.

Clip the lead onto the ring clip.

Step 8.

Now slide the silicone sleeve back up over the eye of the swivel and over the ring clip.

Notice how the eye of the swivel attached to the lead has been left exposed, this is to allow the setup to lie flat on the lake bed.

To change to lead all you have to do is slide the silicone sleeve back down and swap the leads.

All that is left to do is attach your rig by either using a Korda Kwik Link or tying it directly to the swivel.

Give it a go.

Dave

Glugging or dipping single hookbaits can improve their pulling power and increase the chances of a run when no free offerings are available. Most pop-ups have a matching dip/liquid to go with them which can be used to soak hookbaits in for increased attraction. Although that doesn’t mean to say that hookbaits have to be soaked in matching dips, you could always try something different and mix hookbaits with different liquids. Try dipping or glugging your singles and see how your results improve. Two of the more popular dips are the Richworth Impact Boilie Dips  and the Mainline Hookbait Enhancement System

Glugging or dipping baits can be messy business, there are items out there such as the Sixth Sense Stainless Steel Dipping Tool which makes the job far less messy.

Tight lines

Dave

 On a recent trip to Bluebell lakes, regular customer Ian Smith banked 4 carp from Sandmartin during a weekend session. Ian fished over silkweed in front of a thick weedbed at 70 yards to catch his fish. Using a mix of Sticky Baits Bloodworm Boilies and Dynamite Spicy Tuna and Sweet Chilli Boilies with Sticky Baits Bloodworm Pellets.  The setups Ian used were 4oz leads on  Nash Weed Safety  Leadclips with rigs consisting of Nash Triggalink to 50lb Korda Armourbraid with a size 6 Nash Fang Uni Hook and Sufix Camo Skin with a size 6  Gardner Mugga  Hook. The carp Ian landed weighed in at 14lb, 17lb 4oz, 25lb 14oz and 27lb 12oz. Well done again mate.

Tight Lines

Dave

Shop regular John Jones banked a 3o plus common on a new water recently. The fished weighed in at 35lb 2oz and was a fish caught a month earlier by Ian Smith at a similar weight. John tempted the fish back to the bank with a mixed bed of sticky baits boilies and a snowman hookbait. The set up John used was a Korda 4oz lead on a  Korda Safe Zone Safety Lead Clip  and Johns’ rig was tied with Kryston Super Mantis Green Hooklink and a size 6 Nash Fang X Hook. Well done again mate. Nice photo too.

Tight Lines

Dave