Here’s a few quick tips courtesy of Shaun Harrison at the Quest Baits blog…
1) Location – Depending what you are after. If you simply want to catch as many as possible then set up on good shows of fish, but the larger ones can lead more solitary lives and can often be found in quieter areas.
2) Feature-finding – Adding a fluorocarbon shock leader to the end of a braided main line will cut frustrating marker float tangles right out. Plus it is less visible in the water if you leave the marker in place for a while.
3) Rigs – Don’t get tempted to swap and change all of the time. Find one that works for you and stick with it. This will leave much more time to worry about the more important things in carp fishing such as finding the right area to put it.
4) Bait – Choose quality over quantity every time. Most carp have a big choice of food items available to them these days. If yours doesn’t stand out from the crowd in actual taste then they aren’t going to keep picking it up and you ain’t going to catch many.
5) Baiting Up – I would much rather have 20 x high quality food baits emitting attractive food signals in my swim than 200 or 2,000 simple flavour carrier baits which will resemble little more than un-flavoured pasta after a period in the water.
6) Casting – Always break the cast hard moments before the lead hits the surface. This helps to throw the bait away from the lead thus avoiding tangles and makes ‘feeling the lead down’ easier to read.
7) Improving Bite Indication – Where possible always keep the bobbins at half mast so they can move up or down an equal distance. Avoid using back leads and fluorocarbon lines when fishing much further out than the margins.
8) Cooking On The Bank – I try and eat the same as I would at home. I carry a largish Saute pan which allows me to cook most things. Carrying a larger size than usual cuts down on spillage and splash saves space as other cooking items can be wrapped in a tea towel inside.
9) Staying Comfortable On The Bank – There is no such thing as being cold it is simply a poor choice of clothing and equipment in this country as it doesn’t get too cold. I’m as tight as they come but do spend my money on comfort.
10) Carp Care – A dab of Propolis on the hook wound seals that instantly, and NT Labs Ulcer Swab on open cuts and scratches with a final coating of their Wound Seal sorts their bodies. These are my choice but lots of other things available
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