Carp Catchers Blog

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

A lot of anglers prefer to use inline leads for most of their fishing but certain fishing situations dictate that it isn’t possible to use them due to excess weed growth which means a setup which releases the lead on the take is needed, well here’s how to set up an inline lead that will drop off on the take. The rig components used in this demonstration were a Korda flat pear inline lead, a  Korda Safe Zone Kamo Leader  and  Korda Safe Zone Tail Rubbers .

Step 1.

Using a good set of pliers remove the eye of the swivel furthest from the leader.

Leaving just the swivel barrel and the eye attached to the Korda Safe Zone leader loop, I know in past demonstrations of this setup by others the whole swivel have been left but Ive found it takes a lot less to discharge the lead this way especially with slower takes.

Step 2.

Now slide a tail rubber up the leader.

Step 3.

Using the pliers again trim a small length of the plastic insert from the inline lead, making it even easier to drop the lead.

Step 3.

Now attach a  Korda Stick Clip  to the eye of the swivel.

Step 4.

Then push the swivel into the bottom of the lead, making sure it goes in barrel first. It will just about sit comfortably in the insert.

Step 5.

Now slide the tail rubber onto the trimmed down plastic insert and pull it tight making sure it holds the swivel in place.

The finished setup should look like this and should discharge the lead on the take making it easier and safer when fishing for big carp in weedy waters.

Tight Lines

Dave

One of the problems with using leadcore is the size of the knot used to attach it to the mainline. In a previous blog I showed you how to tie a proper needle knot, which is an extremely small and strong knot. In this blog I am going to show you a very good alternative devised by Keith Moors. Keith used to write for the mags in this country before he bought a carp fishery in France and moved there. Anyway on with the demo.

These are the components used to tie the knot.

I’ve used the ESP Bulk Spool Leadcore  in sandy gravel as I find it really easy to work with. I’ve used the Korda Fine Baiting Needle because it has a really wide body which helps to stretch out the leadcore sheath making easier to thread things through.

Step 1

Pull out about 2 inches of the lead

Step 2

Trim off the lead

Step 3

Singe the end of the leadcore sheath with a lighter to stop the sheath fraying.

Step 4

Loop the end of your mainline

Step 5

Trap the loop in the needle and close the latch of the needle

Step 6

Pull the looped mainline through the leadcore sheath, it should look like this

Step 7

Thread the end of the leadcore down through the loop

Step 8

Pass the leadcore over the bottom part of the loop

Step 9

Thread the leadcore over and under the top part of the loop

Step 10

Thread the leadcore over and under the top part of the loop again

Step 11

Gentley tease down the knot, then pull down tight

Step 12

Pull back the leadcore sheath to expose the tag end

Step 12a

Snip off the tag end

Step 14

Let the sheath go and you have your finished leadcore leader knot. Small, strong and unobtrusive!

Best fishes

John

I read an interesting piece of research on hook sizes in carp fishing recently. The study looked at the relationship between hook size, mouth damage and catch rates when carp fishing. The ultimate purpose of the study was to try to limit mouth damage to carp in commercial carp fisheries. The results of the study showed that smaller hooks caused less damage and caught more fish than big hooks. However I believe the research was flawed as the hook sizes tested were a size 1 against a size 6. There are very few carp anglers using size 1 hooks, in fact I cannot think of any make of carp hook that comes in a size 1. To be useful in a modern day carp fishery the study needs to be repeated using more representative hooks sizes. I suggest that testing 4s, 8s and 12s would be more realistic. The bait used (sweetcorn) could have also have influenced the results as a big hook with a small bait would have hardly been a stealthy presentation to the carp.

Best fishes,

John

Oliver has been putting in a lot of time and effort into his pike fishing over the winter and it has paid off. Below is a nice clean pike of 11lb caught from the local canal, a decent size fish from a canal. Oliver caught his pike on a roach from our deadbait section. Nice one Oliver!

Best fishes,

John

Just a final reminder to anyone intending to fish this year that last years rod licence has now expired. Please make sure that you obtain a new rod licence for the coming season because as I have mentioned before the penaltys for getting caught without one can be severe. If you intend to fish with three or more rods you will need two licences. You can obtain your rod licence at the post office or online. Remember to keep the number that they give you safe (see previous blog on rod licence system changes).

Best fishes,

John

This rig is ideal for use in solid PVA bags when fishing them into weed but it will work in most fishing situations you may come across. Because The Reverse Combi Link Rig is tied with a supple braided hooklink it is prone to tangles if it isn’t used correctly. The components used in this demonstration were ESP T6 Raptor Carp Hooks, ESP Sink Link and ESP Ghost Fluorocarbon Hooklink. (See picture below)

Step 1.

Cut a 6 inch length of Ghost fluorocarbon and start by tying a small hair loop in one end. (See picture below)

Step 2.

Now tie your hook on with a knotless knot, setting your hair to the desired length. (See picture below)

Step 3.

Then double over the other end of the Ghost leaving a length of about an inch back to the eye of the hook. (See picture below)

Step 4.

Cut an 8 inch length of ESP Sink Link braid and pass one end through the doubled over the Ghost fluorocarbon and then whip it round the fluorocarbon towards the eye of the hook 7-8 times. (See picture below)

Step 5.

Whip the Sinklink 6-7 times back away from the hook before passing it back through the Ghost the same way that it came in. (See picture below)

Step 6.

Moisten the knot and slowly tighten it making sure it pulls together neatly to ensure the knot doesn’t slip, a little rig glue may be added to secure it further and trim the tag ends blobbing them with a lighter for an extra neat presentation. (See picture below) 

Step 7.

Finish the rig with a figure of eight knot for quick and easy rig changes. The finished rig, should look like this. (See picture below)

The Reverse Combi Link Rig can be used for both bottom baits and pop-ups. Add tungsten putty to the knot joining the two materials, to pin the bait down when using pop ups.

Tight lines

Dave

Just a reminder that there is a national coarse fish closed season on rivers, streams, drains and on some stillwater and canal sites of specific scientific interest (SSSIs) from the 15th of March to 15th of June inclusive. So make sure you are fishing legally, as you can face a big fine and a criminal record if you are caught otherwise.

Best fishes,

John

Customer Ian Smith sent in this photo of a nice common carp caught back at the end of last October. Ian used Nash Scopex Squid Plus Freezer Boilies  to tempt his nice clean 15lb specimen. His snowman rig was tied with  ESP Striptease Hooklink . Well done Ian

Best fishes,

John

The Albright Knot is the perfect knot for joining mono to braid, which makes it the ideal knot for combi link rigs or leaders. Below is a step by step photographic sequence showing how to tie The Albright Knot.

Step 1

Form a loop in your mono or fluorocarbon.

Step 2

Thread your braid through the nylon loop

Step 3

Whip the braid around the nylon going away from the loop about 5-6 turns. if you

are a belt and braces person you can whip another 5-6 turns going back towards

loop but I have never found it necessary. The version shown makes for a neater

more unobtrusive knot.

Step 4

Thread tag end of the braid back through the nylon loop the same way it came in

Step 5

Gently tease the knot together

Step 6

Bed the knot down tightly, it is probably best not to moisten this knot before tightening

Step 7

Trim tag ends

Step 8

The finished Albright Knot.

Best fishes,

John