Don’t just sit and wait… go find the carp!


During the long (and seriously hot) summer days, sitting behind a set of rods waiting for it to happen is can often end up in a blank session.

You may well pick up the odd cruising fish, or get action at night, but with night hours now at their shortest, the time span is at its minimum at this time of the year.

So what is the answer?

Well to do what most anglers new to the sport don’t even consider…Go and find the fish! Using one’s eyes is an aspect of carping many seem to overlook.

During the hot weather the fish will most likely be cruising on or near the surface, or holed up under over hanging branches, or in various covered areas. A little bit of searching and one can regularly find groups of fish, many apt to take a bait if presented correctly. I witnessed this at Gigantica, just last week, when carp angling nomad Jake Langley-Hobbs, on his European Carp fishing adventure, stopped in and used just this technique to winkle out a few carp.

‘As well as a bit of stealth, a good pair of Polaroid sunglasses are essential.’

Technique can be of your own choosing, I prefer a float, but a light lead or free-lined bait are other effective options. The technique does take some patience, but can often be far more exciting than classic static techniques, as fish coming into the edge can often be seen taking a bait.

Careful baiting, with pellets, particles or broken boilies needs to be done little and often and a cast ,as with floater fishing, only attempted when there are fish feeding on these free offerings. In coloured water this could be bubbling, but in clear water one can see the fish stirring the bottom sending  clouds from the lake bed.

The beauty of this approach is that it can be used on any size lake. The margins are always the largest feature on any water, so you can nearly always find the fish in the edge somewhere on a lake. Likely looking areas can be fed over a day or so and inspected regularly to see if fish have found the freebies.

So if you are struggling to get a take sitting behind straight rods, try a bit of stalking…..

Comments

2 thoughts on “Don’t just sit and wait… go find the carp!

  1. Pat Gillett says:

    Hi Gareth,
    The last few seasons i seem to be spending more and more of my time on short mobile type sessions. I keep my gear to a minimum so that i can move within minutes if i see carp showing somewhere else on a lake.
    By adopting this approach i feel you learn far more about the lake you are fishing (and a lot quicker). You soon build up a picture of where the carp are likely to be at certain times of the day and of the spots where they are likely to feed.
    There have been many times where i have caught fish within 30 minutes of moving when if i had stayed put i know i would have blanked.
    A lot anglers today seem to be more intent on ‘camping’ (with the amount of gear they take) and as such stay in one place all the time even if the fish have moved on. If you take loads of stuff with you you are going to be more reticent to up sticks and move.
    But it is a waste of time having all the latest tackle, bait and rigs etc if you are not ‘on the fish’.

    Cheers,
    Pat

  2. Gareth says:

    Hi Pat,
    I couldn’t agree more. I have spent the last few years doing my best to take a little gear with me as possible.. I shudder when I see the amount of clobber some guys take….
    As I said in the article Jake had fish with no more than a rod, a bucket of bait and a net!!!

    cheers
    Gareth

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

fifty five + = 61