Carp Catchers Blog

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

Regular customer Lea also had a successful session on the difficult Pit 6 recently. Lea had two common carp weighing 16lb and two mirror carp one at 11lb 5oz and one at 17lb. The baits that Lea used were Mainline Cell Freezer Boilies and Dynamite Baits new Red Fish Freezer Boilies . No rig details from Lea but whatever he was using obviously worked. Nice one Lea.

Best Fishes,

John

Good news for all those of you who use Dynamite Baits The Source or Monster Tiger Nut Boilies. Dynamite have now released Source Pellets  and Monster Tiger Nut Pellets . They are both made from exactly the same ingredients as the boilies. So with the the matching Stick Mix  and Liquid Attractant your baiting and pva options are nearly endless. For more information or to purchase please visit the main site through the above links.

Best Fishes,

John

Regular customer Sean Bown had a session on pit 6 recently and had a very nice result. Sean has struggled on this difficult water but has kept at it. Persistence paid off and three nice commons of 17lb(2) and 19lb 12oz fell to Seans’ rods. Two of Seans’ commons fell to zig rigs with Gardner Black Zig Rig Foam as a hookbait. The other took a Baitcraft T1  bottom bait. Well done Sean, nice one.

Best fishes,

John

Yes this is a carp and one of 30lb exactly. Carp catcher and regular customer Eamonn used his favourite Mainline Cell Freezer Boilies  for a four fish catch including the 30lb mirror shown. All four fish were over 20lb and were caught over a bed of bait. Eamonns’ rig featured a size 4 Korda Wide Gape Hook  tied to a 24lb Drennan Carp Silk  hooklink which was cast to a silty area. Well done fella keep catching.

Best fishes,

John

The KD Rig is named after Kenny Dorset the angler who developed it. The KD rigs advantage is that it increases bait separation and kicks the hook out at a more aggressive angle than the standard knotless knot. I have seen it tied using braid, but in my opinion a soft hooklink and a soft hair will negate the supposed above advantages. However many of the braid tied variations that I’ve seen are pop up rigs with a shot on the hair. In this demonstration I have used a soft fluorocarbon, which is still stiff enough to provide the above advantages ie. increased bait separation and an aggressive hooking angle. If you want to use a pop up with the stiffer version shown here you will need to put some tungsten putty on the hooklink itself. This will make this version of the KD rig an even better hooker in my opinion than the braid tied one. If anyone would like me to expand on the bait separation issue which I think is crucial to most rig mechanics please leave a comment. The components I used to tie the KD rig are ESP Soft Ghost  and Gardner Incizor Carp Hooks 

Step 1

Cut a length of the Ghost Fluorocarbon and tie a small overhand knot for the boilie stop

Step 2

Thread on your boilie and put a boilie stop in the loop. The reason for putting the boilie on before you tie the rig is to enable you to set the hair to the correct length.

Step 3

Set the hair so that there is a 10cm gap between the bottom of the bait and the top of the hook

Step 4

Thread the end of your Ghost hooklink through the eye of the hook

Step 4

Whip two turns of your hooklink around the shank making sure to whip away from the join in the eye of the hook

Step 5

Now let the bait drop and whip a further 3 to 5 turns under the hair

Step 6

Thread the tag end of the Ghost as per photo

Step 7

Moisten and bed down the knot here I am using The Korda Pulla Tool

Step 8

Tie a figure of eight loop knot at the other end, moisten and bed down. If you don’t know how to tie this knot see previous blog

The finished KD Rig

Best fishes

John

We are finally well into the colder months of the year now and we have already recieved a few cold snaps of weather over the previous two months with many lakes around the country freezing over for a short period. Only the most hardy of anglers will have dared grace the banks during these colder spells of weather but some of them may well have been rewarded for their efforts.

Winter carp fishing is never going to be and never has been easy by a long stretch but the captures made at this time of year can be far more rewarding. If your going to attempt a winter session then make sure your prepared for the coldest of winter weather. By now the water temperatures will have dropped considerably compared to the summer months therefore slowing down the carps metabolism to a creeping pace decreasing their need for food. The carp will not be that active this time of year with them generally hanging around in their favourite winter haunts, these are normally the deeper more sheltered areas of the lake but every lakes different so use the knowledge you know about your water to help you locate those fish. Dont rule out the shallower areas either, if the weather warms up a bit and the sun makes an appearance the shallower areas will warm up first and the fish know this. Try single hookbaits to begin with and move your rods around your swim to try and help you to locate where the fish maybe holding up, generally if you can catch one fish there is a good possibility of another if they’re interested in your bait. Bait application during the winter months can either make or break a session so don’t over do it unless your sure the fish want some bait, generally start of light with single hookbaits or pva bags and apply a little more if things begin to progress and fish start to show an interest, you dont need large amounts of bait this time of year. Ive had some of my best winter sessions with a tub of pop ups and a bag of stick mix.

If your planning a session this winter don’t be disheartened if you don’t catch as there will be many other anglers in the same boat, just get out there and apply a bit of thought into your angling.

Tight lines

Dave

This rig is a slight alternative to a normal knotless knot fluorocarbon rig and has a very good hooking ability. I’ve found this rig to work best with two bottom baits on the hair.

The components used to tie this rig are Gardner Super Soft Fluorocarbon and a Gardner Incizor Carp Hook.

Step 1.

Cut about 12 inches of the Subterfuge hooklink and tie a small overhand loop in one end for your hair. (See picture below)

Step 2.

Thread the other end through the eye of the hook so the hair is sitting up the back of the shank and hold it to you desired length. (See picture below)

Step 3.

Now whip the flourocarbon up the shank 7 times making sure that the 1st turn goes away from the join in the eye. (See picture below)

Step 4.

Then hold the hair away from the shank and whip the flourocarbon another 6 times up the shank, this holds the hair off the back of the hook. (See pictures below)

Step 5.

Now whip one time back down the shank before threading the hooklink though the eye from back to front. (See picture below)

Step 6.

Finish the rig off with a figure of eight knot so it can be attached to a clip or a five turn grinner knot to a ring swivel, the rig needs to be able to move freely at the lead end.

Tight lines

David