Carp Angling Advice & Tips

I think I was eight or nine years old when I really became hooked on fishing. For my birthday my parents bought me a 10 foot Shakespeare coarse rod. The following Christmas I got an umbrella, a stool with a bag attached, plus a landing net and keep net. I first encountered a carp around 1979 when a friend and I went to the Grand Union Canal near Luton in Bedfordshire to do some fishing. That day will stick in my mind forever, we were fishing right next to a canal bridge and there was a nice little house opposite. There was quite a few other guys fishing that day and a lot of them were catching carp around the three or four pound mark. Baited up with one single grain of sweetcorn and a small float, I cast to the following bank and within a minute my float went under, I had hooked into something big, when it felt really big to me then. It turned out to be a carp of approximately 1 1/2lb, that was my first ever carp, the rest is history.

There are numerous techniques for catching carp. My favourite methods are float, surface, pole and feeder fishing. I particularly favour the lift method, in my opinion this is one of the best ways of catching carp. On this page I will give you an insight into how I go about fishing for carp. They are tried and tested methods so give them a go yourself. For your convenience, I have installed a quick jump to menu which will take you to the article straightaway, rather than having to scroll down the page.

float fishing | the lift method | margin pole fishing | method fishing | surface fishing | up in the water fishing

  Drennan in-line feeder | Sonubaits floaters | bread on the surface | sweetcorn | fishing tips | spawning carp

Float Fishing

Float fishing is one of my favoured methods for catching carp. I have probably caught more carp float fishing than any other method. Most of the venues I fish are small shallow ponds where using lots of lead is just not necessarily. I much prefer to use light gear to catch reasonable sized carp. Catching a 10 pound carp on a very light float rod is a lot more exciting than catching one on a very heavy duty carp rod. The 12LB carp in the photograph to the left was caught using float tackle on a CTB match rod and 3lb line. If you are disabled and strength is an issue, then there are plenty of extremely light rods on the market that you will not even know you are holding once they are strapped to your arm. The other advantage with float fishing is you don't actually have to cast. A lot of carp will feed virtually under your feet so all you have to do is plonk the float three or 4 feet from the bank, even less, I have caught fish 6 inches from the bank.

If you intend on fishing extremely close in, I would suggest using a float no longer than 6 inches long. In fact, I would go as far as to say use a float that is around 4 inches. You don't need a great big long float if you are fishing very close in. All you are after is some indication that you are getting a bite. The chances are, the water is going to be very shallow, probably no more than a couple of feet deep. I don't bother with complicated shot patterns when I'm fishing like this. I put enough weight around the bottom of the float so it sits properly in the water, and I put a little weight not far from the hook, this is just to keep it in place.

Depending on what sized carp your fishing for and what bait you are using will depend on what sort of hook size you should use. I use a variety of bait when float fishing. Sweetcorn is always a favourite and I would normally use a size 8 hook and put at least four or five colonels on, making sure that they are not all bunched up. If I am using maggots, I will use anything from a size 14, to size 8. I will pack as many maggots onto the hook as I possibly can. I rarely go above a size 8 when fishing for any sized carp. I am not shy to use quite large baits either. Obviously, if you are using large chunks of meat, you may have to up the size of your hook. There are so many baits on the market, I am not going to go into all of them. It's always a good idea to ask what is successful at the venue on to fish. Don't be afraid to go for something completely different. This often brings very good results as carp may not have seen this new food before.

Ground baiting the area you are going to fish is absolutely essential. You want to encourage the fish to feed where you are fishing. I always bait up my swim as soon as I get to the pond. I don't wait until I have got set up, I want the fish as quickly as possible. It might well take an hour or so, but you should be able to entice them in with a bed of tasty food.

If the water is shallow, you will normally see when the fish have arrived. A lot of the ponds I fish are old clay pits. When the fish grovel around picking up food, they send up clouds of dust which is a tell tailsign of fish in the area. Also, if the water is shallow, they disturb the water surface with their tailfins. Just because fish suddenly appear, don't think you have to stop putting in ground bait. You may have quite a few carp in the area and believe me, they can eat quite fast. Keep putting in your choice of ground bait at regular intervals. You don't have to chuck handfuls in, just enough to keep them interested.

When you are ready to fish, put your tackle in the water gently and just wait. You may notice that your float will go under the water momentarily. Do not strike when this happens. You will probably find that the fish are brushing up against your line and giving you false baits. If you strike at this stage, you are very likely to foul hook the fish. As a rule, you should wait for two seconds after the float goes under the water and then strike.

Carp like to feed at the bottom and at the top of slopes. If the pond you are fishing has sloping margins than using a plummet, locate the very top of the slope, and again the bottom of the slope and fish either of these, you may just find that you catch more fish than if you are fishing halfway down the slope.

I've recently started using ready tied hook links that are designed to take different types of bait such as soft and hard pellets, paste and meat. The pellet hooks have a small hair with a little bayonet attached that pushes into the pellets. The paste and meat hooks have a little spiral that either screws into the meat, or lets you mould the paste around the spiral.  I find that it's much easier to present the bait well by using the specially designed hook links with the attachments for the bait.

When you use these are ready tied hook links you will need to tie a small surgeons loop in the mainline. It's then very easy to change hook links if you want to use a different type of bait.

If you have a problem tying loops in your line, especially small ones then have a look at the Sensas loop tyer , it makes tying a surgeon's loops childsplay, this is a brilliant simple piece of equipment that you will absolutely love.

Know the Depth of the Water

It is quite important that you know exactly how deep the water is where you are fishing. I don't like to fish over debt too much, rather have the bait just touching the bottom. To calculate exactly how deep the water is and to adjust your fishing rig so your bait is in the desired position, use a small device called a plummet. There are loads of different plummets available on the market, I prefer "clip on plummets" as they will fit a variety of sized hooks, they are also very handy if you are using hooks with bayonets or meat spirals attached. Setting the float is extremely easy, because the plummet will pull the float under, set the float so you can just see the tip, you then know that your hook is exactly at the depth you require. It's always a good idea to check the depth around your swim so you know how far you can put your float out before your bait is not touching the bottom, alternatively you will also know when you are over depth.

The lift method

The lift method is still float fishing. It is probably most widely used for tench and carp fishing because of the way the fish feed. The reason it is called the lift method is because when a bite occurs, the float lifts out of the water, rather than going under. In my opinion, this method is much more efficient at detecting bites from carp in shallow water.

When fishing the lift method Try to use a straight float that isn't too long. Peacock quills are excellent for fishing the lift because they are extremely light. You can normally get three or four good floats out of one long peacock quill. I normally paint the top will red. Just use a float rubber to attach it to the line, you can then easily slide it up and down. However, it is not always that easy to get hold of a peacock quill, unless you happen to live near a zoo. I actually now use a small crystal float that is around 4 inches long. They normally have a thin fluorescent top that is very easy to see. I use small rubber float stops that you slide onto the line to lock the float. I find that this method performs a lot better than the old peacock quill. The rubber float stops normally keep the float very secure, unlike the bands on the old peacock quills, they would often slide when you strike. setting up the lift method is simplicity in itself. You don't have to bother about complicated shot patterns, all you do is place a single shot anywhere between three and 6 inches from the hook. It really depends on how big the float is to how big the shot should be. You need to choose a shot that will pull the float under. So, you may need to use a 2SSG to achieve your goal. If you don't use a shot that will pull float under, you will not know if the shot is actually on the bottom. You then alter the float so that when the weight is resting on the pond floor, the float tip is just visible above the surface. Some people actually submerge the float completely so that when the float appears above the surface, they know they have a bite. Personally I like to see the float. The reason being is because you often get traditional bites where the float does go under so I prefer to keep about half an inch of float sticking out of the water. If you do choose to fish the float just under the surface, watch for the line moving away, this sometimes happens rather than the float lifting out of the water.

This is how the lift method works, when carp and tench feed, they often feed at an angle, rather like the illustration to the left. When they lift their heads up with your hook in their mouth, they dislodge the shot, thus making the float, lift out of the water, rather than go under. You may see the float lift quite high out of the water, or it might suddenly lie flat on the surface. As soon as this happens, strike. The lift method is a superb way of catching carp very close in. They often stay in one place when feeding so will not pull the float under. Using the lift method is an ingenious way of detecting baits from feeding carp. If you are fishing over slightly uneven ground, you may have to move the float around occasionally so that it sits exactly right. If you are fishing at a slight distance using the lift method you may have problems finding the correct depth. If you find that you are slightly over depth, i.e. the float is laying flat, reel in very slowly until the float cocks. The line will be going down at a slight angle from the bottom of the float to the weight rather than straight down but it will still work. This method is also a good way of catching wary carp. Because the line is at an angle, there is less chance the carp will bump into it and become spooked. You may have to put the rod on the bank or on some rests because the slightest movement will move the float.

Paste and banded pellet work extremely well when fished on the lift

Give this method a go, I promise that you will be addicted to it before long.

Margin fishing with the pole

A lot of anglers often overlook the margins in favour of fishing right in the middle of the lake where they think the fish are. Carp absolutely love the margins, they love foraging around in all the weeds, this is where you should be fishing in a lot of cases.

I absolutely adore using a pole to catch carp in the margins. When I'm fishing very close in, sometimes no more than 1 or 2 feet from the bank it seems pretty silly to use a rod and reel when all I am doing is lowering the float into the water. I recently bought myself the Middy Shock Stick pole. Actually, it's neither pole or a whip, it's a sort of in between. It's based on a carp rod, just without any eyes. It's just less than 10 feet long and has a strong elastic in the top section (approximately 5 feet). I've also got the extension which is 1.4 m long, this lengthens the whole pole to about 15 feet in length. The shock stick is by no means subtle, it's made to subdue large carp in the margins, nothing more nothing less. I do think it is a little bit of an overkill for very small carp. If your pond only contains small carp in the low singles then I would actually only fish with a size 14 elastic. But the problem is, many ponds that contain lots of small carp also contain a few big ones, so it's difficult to know what to do sometimes, you either fish fairly lightly and enjoy fighting the small carp and accept that we may get smashed up at some stage, or you go heavy and pull the small ones out without much trouble.

Carp absolutely love the margins and its sometimes the best place to catch them. The carp at Town Parks feed right amongst the reeds next to the bank so you mustn't be afraid to stick your float amongst them. This is the beauty of using a pole in these situations, trying to position a float amongst the reeds using a 12 match rod is not easy as you often end up with tangles. The beauty with using a 4 m pole is you don't have to sit right on top of the water. It's a fallacy that fish have got good hearing, they can't hear human voices, they can detect vibrations. However, they have got excellent eyesight so any shadow cast over the water is sure to spook them, so sit a little further back from the bank when you are fishing in the margins.

Everybody is different and not everyone sets up the pole rigs in the same way. Some people like to leave 12 inches of line between the pole tip and the float, others prefer more like 3 feet. What you've got to remember when fishing in the margins is you're often fishing amongst overhanging branches and shrubbery which is easy to get tangled up in. If you have too much excess line between the pole tip and float then you may find yourself getting snagged up a little bit. If I'm fishing in this situation then I prefer to have no more than 12 inches of line between the pole tip and float. It's obviously a good idea to have various rigs available so that you can fish in any depth of water comfortably, margin depth can differ greatly from a few inches to several feet.

I have found that when fishing for the smaller carp, anything up to ten pounds, using small bait amongst loose feed pellets is by far the most effective way of catching them. As soon as I arrive at a venue the first thing I do is put some loose feed right where I'm intending to fish. Carp will eat just about anything and there are many different types of bait available. Maggots, sweetcorn, meat, paste, worms will all catch carp. A couple of my favourite baits of late include small 8mm soft halibut pellets and 6 mm mini match boilies. I've had a lot of success using these baits and have caught numerous carp in the 2 to 3IB range on my pole in the margins using these simple baits. When I make up my pole rigs I use pre-tied hook links that can accommodate different types of baits. I have pre-tied hook links that have got small pellet spikes that enable you to quickly bait up a small soft pellet by just pushing the spike into the pellet so it hangs down just below the hook. Other hook links have got attachments that can accommodate meat and paste as well. I use a loop on my pole rigs which makes it easy to swap between hook links if you want to use a different bait, the last thing you want to be doing when you're enjoying yourself is keep changing your rigs.

I have never bothered with those gay little cup feeders that screw into the end of your pole enabling you to drop free offerings over the float, I just don't see the point of them when you are fishing so close in, you might as well just throw a small handful of pellets into the area you are fishing.

There are lots and lots of ready-made pole rigs available on the market. Unfortunately most of them are really aimed at the smaller carp. If you're fishing in the margins then you really are going to need to step up the strength of your gear a little bit. If there are double-figure carp in the pond then using an 8lb mainline and 6lb hook link is certainly not going over the top. You've got to remember that the margins will be very shallow, once you hook a carp it will in many cases bolt for the nearest structure or snag, if you use very light line then it will just snap like cotton. I really like the very small dibber floats, you don't need big long floats if you are fishing very close in, dibber's are perfect as they are often very short and dumpy so you can fish them amongst the reeds if you want. I like to plumb the depth of the margin exactly as I prefer my bait to be neither too far over depth, or too far under depth, I like my bait to the touching the bottom without too much slack line lying around which can often bring on false bites. A word of advice, get yourself a spring-loaded plumb that can literally go around the hook. The ones with the little bit of cork underneath will often not fit the hooks that have paste springs etc etc attached.

You don't necessarily have to use a traditional pole rig when fishing in the margins. You could feasibly still fish the lift method using a small float. You could even set up a rig using a small weight and fish that close into the margin as well, this is the beauty of using one of these small margin poles, you don't have to give up your favourite method of fishing, you just don't need to use a rod and line when fishing so close in.

I set my pole rigs up with simplicity in mind. I like using short dibber floats that need very little weight to cock them. Because I want my bait to sink quickly, I put the shot about 8 inches from the hook. A bite can come very quickly, sometimes within the first few seconds of you putting the float in the water. Bites are normally in the form of the float either being pulled under very quickly, sometimes bobbing up and down and then disappearing under the water slowly, or sometimes you may notice your float gets towed away and then slowly goes under. In these circumstances, you don't need to strike hard with a pole, just lift into the bite and the fish will hook itself against the elastic. A word of warning, once you hook a fish, it will often head for the snags, this is where a strong elastic really counts.

You don't need to spend a fortune if you want to start margin fishing for carp with a pole or whip, for as little as £20, you can buy a small whip that comes in kit form. In other words, you get a 5.5 m whip, to top section is already elasticated with two grades of elastic, a 14 and a 20. You also get a couple of pre-tied pole rigs. Although I did purchase my shock stick, I tend to use the Middy 5.5 m carp whip when I'm fishing at my local commercial fishery Town Parks. The lake contains fish up to around thirteen pounds with fish typically around the two or three pound mark.

For those of us who are disabled and have limited arm strength, although modern day poles are very light, supporting 5.5 m on your arm could become very uncomfortable throughout the day. My pole is attached to my arm in exactly the same way as a fishing rod, however I sit slightly diagonally to the water and rest the pole on my left hand, this way I can support it when I hook a fish. If I was to use the pole at 3 m, I would be able to use it in exactly the same way as a fishing rod, although I would probably still have to use my left hand to support it with a very large fish.

Remember that you don't necessarily have to stick to traditional pole tactics when using a pole or a whip. You'll probably find that diehard traditional fishermen will frown at the prospect of using anything but a pole float with a pole, however there is nothing stopping you from using a small weight, a feeder, or even surface fishing tactics, whatever you use you will get a lot of fun out of playing a fish on an elastic.

Anyway, enjoy your margin pole fishing, it's a really excellent way of catching carp that are literally feeding under your feet.

Fishing the Method

One of the most effective ways of catching carp is to present them with a nice tidy package of food that they just cannot resist. Method feeders come in many shapes and sizes that basically perform the same function, they act as a frame to hold your free offerings. Using a binding mixture of tasty morsels, you enclose your feeder within this mixture so that when you cast out, the mixture does not instantly break up on contact with the water. The reason why this method is so effective is that when the carp find your method ball, your hook bait will be either be enclosed within the method ball, or will be a few inches away, either way the chances are the fish will pick your hook bait up, it really is a deadly way of catching carp. There are literally dozens of different types of feeders on the market, some of them are very small and hold a small amount of mixture, some of them are meant to hold method balls the size of a grapefruit. Choose one that suits your type of fishing and rod, remember that you will not be able to cast a very large method ball if you are using a very light feeder rod..

The type of method feeder fishing I do is using small feeders, normally around 15 g and fairly light to medium duty feeder rods holding six to eight pound line depending on the size of fish I am targeting. I use ready-made method hook links of about 4 inches long carrying 16 up to a size 12 hook. The hooks have a small hair that are made to carry very small baits such as one grain of sweetcorn, or small pieces of meat, single pellets, or even very small match boilies. If I'm using buoyant baits such as artificial sweetcorn and pellets, or pop-up boilies then I always pinch on a small shot about 1 inch from the hook bait. You will find that the buoyant baits will fit just above your feeder, very enticing for hungry fish. I find very small baits are definitely an advantage and don't make fish suspicious. The only disadvantage with fishing with this type of tackle is you do tend to pick up other species such as Roach and bream. It's not all bad, I recently caught my biggest ever bream of 5lb whilst feeder fishing for carp.

I have recently started using a slightly different type of in-line feeder. These feeders are designed to house the hook bait perfectly so that when you cast out, the hook bait will always be on top of the feeder. I found that one of the best hook baits to use with these feeders is artificial sweetcorn. Artificial sweetcorn is buoyant which means as the carp either eat the mix around the feeder, or it dissolves, the sweetcorn will float up slightly enticing the fish to take it. I like to put a small shot about an inch and a half from the artificial sweetcorn just to stop it floating up too far.

What I really like about these Guru in-line feeders is that they have a quick release mechanism built in. All you need to do is tie at double loop in the mainline, clip it to the feeder and you are away. I use ready tied carp method hair rigs which are manufactured by Drennan. You can get them in various hook and line sizes and are perfect for carp up to low double figures.

There are loads of ready-made method mixes around nowadays. You basically just add water until you get the right consistency and it's ready to go. However, carp have got an excellent sense of smell so it makes sense to use a mix that is going to attract them. I prefer to prepare my mix the day before I actually go fishing. I find that by doing this the mix absorbs more of the water and you can often get a really good texture. It's a good idea to run the prepared mix through a riddle to remove any lumps, you then get a very nice uniform mix that will mould really nicely around your feeder. If you are going to be using sweetcorn as a hook bait, whether this is real or fake, it makes sense to put some sweetcorn in your mix as well. Don't put too much, you don't want to overload the feeder with sweetcorn, just a few kernels is enough. I also like to add prepared hempseed to my mix as well, along with micro pellets. If you want, you could even put a tin of tuna in, this will really add to the flavour. Once you get the right texture, you will find that you will be able to cast the feeder without everything falling off as soon as it hits the water. You could try glazing the ball of mixed with water, this can help to keep it together and stop falling off when you cast, however it's not something I do myself as I'm not casting an awful long way and my mix stays on the feeder perfectly okay.

Undoubtedly my favourite fishing venue is Charlcombe pond in Torquay which holds carp which typically range from a few pound up to eighteen pound or so. You can expect to catch carp of at least seven pounds with double figure fish quite prolific. Therefore I like to use a fairly robust feeder rod that can tame these beasts that take advantage of the shallow water and bolt at great speed away from you. So when fishing this venue I use a Shimano Hyperloop feeder rod accompanied by a Shimano Stadic reel loaded with 8lb line. I use a feeder rod rest that enables you to finally adjust the rod without having to actually touch the reel, this is especially useful for me as it's easier for me to just move the rod slightly rather than messing around with the reel.

When the carp find your feeder you will see the tip of your rod start to twitch, this isn't the time to strike because you will either spook the fish, or you may even foul hook one The majority of bites come in the form of a vicious take where you will lose your rod if you don't have your wits about you, this is why you never walk away from a feeder rod when it's fishing. Sometimes bites are little bit more gentle and it will take time for you to get used to what is a bite, and what is just the carp messing around with the feeder.

Finally, fishing on a commercial carp water using a method feeder relies on regular casting. These feeders don't hold vast amounts of mix, if you want to entice the fish and keep them interested then cast on a regular basis.

Drennan In-Line Flat Method Feeder

I've recently started using the new in-line flat method feeders designed by Drennan. The method feeder comes with a bait mould which is quite frankly "brilliant". What you do is fill the mould with your mix whether that be a method mix or soaked pellets mix. You then push the feeder into the mould and when you take it out the mix is perfectly moulded to your feeder with the hook bait inserted in just the right place. I've been using this feeder for a few days now and I really can't see me going back to anything else, they are fantastic.

You'll see that I am using small pellets on the method feeder in the photo. I find that pellets of no more than 4 mm work best on these feeders. Preparing the pellets is very easy, measure out your desired amount of pellets in a container and then pour boiling water over the top, but don't quite submerge all of the pellets with the water. Then just put the lid on and let them stand. I like to prepare the pellets the night before going fishing, I then find that they work really well on the method feeder and you get a really nice consistency where the pellets don't automatically fall off as soon as you cast. An important thing to remember when using the mould with this method feeder is to gently squeeze the mould before trying to lift the feeder out. If you don't squeeze it slightly to release the mould of pellets, they sometimes get stuck and you then end up leaving half of the pellets inside the mould.

If you want to spice up your soaked pellet mix then try adding some tasty morsels that will really give the carp something to get their gums into. I like to add a liberal amount amount of Dynamite baits cooked hempseed, along with the water, don't let that go to waste. I also like to add some colour to the mix so there's nothing better than brightly coloured sweetcorn, scopex is nice and sweet and carp love it. Finally I add a really decent helping of additive just to make sure that my mix doesn't go unnoticed. After I've done this I give it a really good mix with a big spoon and then almost, but not quite cover the mix with boiling water. If you think the mix is a little bit sloppy then just add some more pellets. However, you'll be amazed how much water the whole mixture of soaks up in this little as an hour.

Surface Fishing

Surface fishing is the most visual and arguable the most exiting way of catching carp. In the summer months when the water is warm, carp will happily take food from the surface.

As the name suggests, the bait is presented on the surface as either floating or suspended bait. The most well known floating bait is of course bread. However there are various other floating makes you can use, marshmallows will catch carp, if you haven't eaten them already. Floating trout pellets are also extremely good for surface fishing. Nowadays, dog biscuits are widely used by a large percentage of carp anglers.

Surface fishing controller floatNow comes the problem of getting these light baits out to feeding fish. Quite often fish feed very close to the bank, and under overhanging trees and bushes where they probably feel safe. In these circumstances you don't need a float, just a hook with the bait will suffice. If the fish are feeding further than you can cast without a float then you will need more weight on your line. There are floats made especially for surface fishing, these are called controller floats. These are special floats that are designed for surface fishing. They come in various shapes and sizes but at the end of the day, are designed to do the same job.

There are various controller floats that aid in casting long distances, the Korda Interceptor Distance controller is an example of a controller float that is designed for casting your floating baits a long way. However, the venues I fish are very small so in most cases I am only casting 20 or 30 yards. By far my favourite controller floats is the Fox bubble float. The float is clear plastic which means the carp cannot see it, or even if they can, they probably think it is just a harmless object floating in the water and of no threat. The line passes through the centre of the float, using a swivel which is then pulled into a rubber sleeve, the float them performance as a safety bolt rig. Now the beauty of using this type of float is Fox controller floatsunlike many other controller floats that really require quite a long trace, you can use a very short race with this Fox bubble float. You'll find that the carp often investigate the float itself which obviously means they are not scared of it. Using a trace of anywhere between six and 12 inches means that when the carp takes the bait, it feels the resistance of the float straightaway and bolts which results in a hook up. Finally, because you are able to use such a short hook link, casting into tight snaggy spots is so much easier because you haven't got long hook link flying around that will easily get caught up.

It's always exciting when you arrive at your venue on a nice still summers day anticipating seeing the carp cruising around the surface looking for something to eat. What I normally do is introduce a few free offerings just do see what happens. It may be the case that the carp are really on the feed and within a few minutes you have several carp taking free offerings readily, this is obviously a good time to introduce your hook bait. Even though we recommend getting the fish feeding confidently on biscuits before you introduce your bait, sometimes there may be only one or two fish taking biscuits. This is often the case at Charlcombe pond over in Torquay. You'll often find a couple of fish cruising the margins on the opposite side of the pond in the shade on a hot day, this is often the best place to get a hook up during the day. You don't normally see more than two or three carp taking biscuits from the surface, therefore I try and get these carp feeding fairly confidently and then I introduce my hook bait.

 There are various ways to hook a dog biscuit. Some people like to soak the biscuits until they are soft enough to hook. You can prepare your biscuits before you go fishing by simply pouring a small amount of hot water over a box full of biscuits, they will then expand and become soft. If you want, you can add some colouring and flavouring at the same time. Soaked dog biscuits probably won't stay buoyant for quite as long as dry dog biscuits, so beware of this. If you use dry biscuits then there are various bait bands available that you simply attach to the hook and then stretch them around the dog biscuit. If I'm going to cast a long way I first dip the biscuit in the water and wait a minute or so, this gives the biscuit a chance to swell up slightly and therefore there is less chance of it flying off when you cast. Some people like to glue the biscuit onto the back of the hook. Personally I think this is an awful lot of work to go to, however if you want to do this, get a small hacksaw and cut a small groove into the biscuit that will take the hook, a small but the superglue will hold a hook in place. .

For extremely shy carp that seem to have a second sense and eat every last free offering and leave your hook bait floating there like "piffy on a rock bun" you could try using a hair rigged dog biscuit. Try using extremely light line to tie the hair, fluorocarbon that can't be seen would be a good option. Make the hair about 1 inch long so that it floats naturally. I'm willing to bet you that this method will increase the chances of you looking that very shy carp that has seen it all before.

Some people like to add a flavour and colour to their biscuits. This is done by adding the flavour and colour to your biscuits and then soaking them overnight.

It's probably more cost-effective to buy a bag of pedigree chum mixer. The biscuits are perfect in size and I wouldn't be surprised if the bait bands have been designed with these particular biscuits in mind.

These are a new range of floating baits Manufactured by Sonubaits that have just recently come onto the market. I've got to tell you that these hookable floater pellets are the dogs b******s. You don't need to use a band to mount them on the hook. I found that these pellets mount perfectly on the new mixa hooks. The advantage that these pellets have over dog biscuits is that they do not sink, no matter how long you have them on the hook. They come in various flavours such as fishmeal and sweetcorn, they are extremely visible so you can see them from quite a long way off, very important when you are watching for a take. .

Expander pellets can be used straight from the bag as they float and are particularly good as a feed attractor, rather than being used on the hook.

There are some fake dog biscuits available that look remarkable realistic. I've had some degree of success on them, but I still think the carp can tell the difference.

When you are surface fishing using a controller float, the float is not really there as a visual aid to detecting a bite, it's really only to get your light bait out to the feeding fish. For this reason I would advise you to try and keep an eye on your floating bait rather than the float. In most cases carp will grab hold of your bait and just bolt with it, all hell breaks loose, it's fantastic. However, just occasionally the carp will momentarily mouth the bait but not take it confidently. Whereas I would normally wait for a carp to take the bait properly, you can sometimes hook a carp if you are quick on the strike, but you've got to be watching them take your hook bait. Only do this if you are having great problems getting the carp to take confidently. If dog biscuits aren't working, try bread, our next article discusses using bread as a floating bait.

Surface Fishing Using Bread

Bread is probably the first floating bait that was ever used to catch carp off the surface. Bread crust is an excellent floating bait as you can hook it fairly well. It also casts quite well without flying off the hook. The good thing about bread is once it's been in the water for a couple of minutes, it becomes extremely soft. When the carp takes it, there are no hard bits that will be obscuring the hook. However, there are disadvantages of using bread. If your particular water contains a lot of small fish such as Roach and Rudd, you may well find that every cast just attracts hordes of these little fish that scoff the bread before the carp can get to it. Also, if the venue you fish contains a lot of wildfowl then using bread can be fraught with difficulties because as we all know, ducks, moorhens, geese all love bread. The other problem with using bread is because it becomes waterlogged and soft so quickly, you only have one cast available for every piece of bread you put on the hook. Having said all of us, bread crust can be an absolutely superb bait. On many waters where everybody uses floating dog biscuits, the carp often become wise to this. Just try bread one day and see how you get on, you just may bag up when everybody else is struggling. Hooking crust is simple. I would suggest that you use a fairly large hook, no smaller than a size 6. The reason being is if you use a very small hook, you can pull out of the crust very easily. When I hook crust, I tend to pass the hook through the crusty side, and then wrap it around the whole crust once and pass it through the crust once again and then just secure the hook somewhere. It really doesn't matter where you put the hook, the crust will become completely soft in just a couple of minutes. Don't be frightened to use a great big chunk of crust either. Carp like something to get their teeth in, so to speak. Also, it will give the carp the chance to find your bait before it's been eaten by all the small fish.

Whereas bread can be an extremely good surface bait for carp, it can also be a very frustrating bait to use. Unlike dog biscuits or pellets, bread comes off the hook very easily. Carp are not stupid creatures, if they see a large piece of bread floating, they are more likely to whack it with their tail or head until it breaks up into small pieces, then they start eating it. By this time, it's not on your hook any more. If you are having problems hooking a carp when you are using fairly large hooks with large pieces of bread, try scaling the size down to around 10, even smaller and use very small pieces of bread. Loose feed with big pieces of bread than what you have on your hook, it just may mean the fish aren't as nervous taking the smaller pieces of bread that your hook happens to be in.

Catching carp off the surface is very exciting and can be extremely addictive.

Well, there you go, that's how I go about carp fishing . Give it a go, see how you get on. A word of warning, I will not take responsibility if you don't catch anything. Carp are a funny fish, sometimes you can catch loads and the next time you go back to the same place, you will catch absolutely nothing.

Catching up in the water

In the summer time when the water warms up, the carp start feeding further up in the water and at the surface. If you can see carp just under the surface but they aren't actually taking surface baits, you can try fishing a little under the surface. Now, this type of fishing does require quite a lot of work to get the fish feeding. It does also often attract a lot of silverfish which can be annoying. However, it can be absolutely deadly for carp so give it a go. So, how do you go about fishing this method? Well, it's very simple, I would recommend using a crystal Waggler, because you are trying to attract fish to come up in the water, they might get spooked by dark objects above them, crystal wagglers are see-through so are less likely to spook wary fish. I would recommend fishing between one and 2 feet under the surface to begin with, you can always alter the depth and could you start getting results. There are various baits that can be used, they obviously need to be sinking baits. One of the best is small pellets. I would recommend attaching them to hook sizes from 10 to 8 using a small hair rig, or a small bait band. Now I have already mentioned that this method does require a little bit of work. What I mean by this is you need to be catapulting out a few pellets every few seconds. What you'll find is the more you do it, the more the fish will come up in the water to intercept them as they are sinking. This method works best on commercial waters where there are loads of carp. It probably wouldn't be worth using on waters where they are just a few large carp.

This method does attract smaller fish so expect to catch quite a few rudd or roach. Another float that can be used are large heavy floats that cause a splash when they land on the water. When the carp become really confident, they will investigate splashes in the water so using a large heavy float is actually an advantage.

Try this method, it often works extremely well. Just remember that if you like relaxing and sitting back in your chair and watching the world go by whilst waiting for a bite, this method will not be for you.

Sweetcorn/Maize

Sweetcorn is a traditional carp bait that catches just as many carp nowadays than it ever has done. However, the problem with sweetcorn is not only carp like it, just about any other fish that you can catch will eat sweetcorn. So if you're fishing for carp in a water that is heavily stocked with small silver fish, more than often your sweetcorn is gobbled up very quickly by the smaller fish before the carp has a chance to find your bait. Over the last few years, a lot fishing companies have realized that money is to be made from food that is normally served up on your dinner plate. Sweetcorn is now available in many different flavors. The kernels tend to be a lot bigger than the ones found in the commercial foods. A lot of tackle shops also sell flavored maize. I find these tend to come in slightly big tins so if you are having a good day, you've got plenty of bait available without the hassle of having to carry around loads of tins. Just to clear up some confusion, there is no difference between maize and sweetcorn. We in the UK call it a sweetcorn, and Americans call it maize.

Because I use hair rigs a lot of the time whether I'm using float tackle, or ledger, I like to hair rig two or three pieces of maize, depending on the length of the hair. I think it's easier to present it on the hair, rather than just hooking it. You obviously also have the advantage of having your hook totally clear of any obstruction from bait.

Don't underestimate sweetcorn, it really is a great bait and can often save the day when nothing else is working. Just remember that sweetcorn is not the sort of bait that will normally last for hours on the hook, unlike boilies.

Artificial Sweetcorn

There is also artificial sweetcorn and maize available that believe it or not, will catch carp on its own without any of the real stuff present. If I am float fishing then I tend to use real sweetcorn on the hook, however if I'm using the method then I never use a real piece of sweetcorn, I use one piece of fake sweetcorn attached to a hair on the hook. Because artificial sweetcorn is slightly buoyant, I put a small split shot about 1 inch from the bait so that when it releases itself from the method mix, it sits enticingly right in front of the fish, they really can't resist it and I nearly always catch when using this method, it is absolutely deadly on commercial carp waters where there are lots of the smaller fish.

Some Fishing Tips

Here is a diagram that shows you how to tie a knotless knot, or hair rig as it is also known as. The hair rig is a integral part of many carp fishermen's tactics and is one of the most common knots people use when fishing. A hair rig enables you to present your bait whilst leaving the hook totally clear and away from obstructions. The most common bait used on a hair rig is the boilie, although just about any other bait can be used. Even though many people prefer to tie their own hair rigs, many of the fishing companies now produce "ready tied" hair rigs. The single ready tied rigs are quite expensive however, the match hair rigs which often come in packets of up to 10 are quite cheap and in my opinion it's a lot easier to buy these off-the-shelf, rather than spending ages making something that costs less than three quid.

My local angling supplies stocks most of what I want, however there are times when I need to get on the Internet to obtain an item of tackle. Poingdestres have quite a nice variety of hooks to nylon, many of them incorporating a hair for various baits

Surgeons Loop

Every angler should know how to tie a loop, I use loops nearly every time I go fishing. A surgeon loop is a very convenient way of attaching various different types of tackle. For instance, the Drennan in-line flat method feeder is designed to be attached using a couple of surgeons loops, one on the mainline, the other on the hook link, it's so easy, no need for any knot tying if you leave the loop on your mainline. Tying very small loops is difficult at the best of times, however I recently came across a clever little device that makes tying small surgeons loops childsplay, check out the Sensas loop tyer.

Commercial Carp Fisheries

People often ask what tactics and bait you should use on small commercial carp waters. My advice would be to keep it simple and don't try and replicate these guys who fish the big waters for huge carp. Using large pits reels and 2 3/4 TC rods when fishing for carp that sometimes don't even reach double figures is a bit of an overkill. I have various different rods that I use for different fishing methods. I like using Avon type 1 1/4 rods for light float fishing like the lift and also surface fishing. I have a Drennan power carp waggler if I want to fish exceptionally light using a waggler float. I also have a couple of method feeder rods that have very fine sensitive tips, perfect for fishing small method or pellet feeders. Using light tackle adds so much more fun to the sport and in my opinion will make you a better angle in the long run.

As for bait on small commercial waters, again, keep it simple and small. Quite often one grain of sweetcorn, a small pellet or cube of meat will catch you more fish than if you whack out a huge lump of meat or large boilie. One of the most surprisingly effective bait to use on commercial waters is one single grain of fake pellet or sweetcorn. If you use this in conjunction with a method or pellet feeder then you could well completely bag up when everyone else who is using float is not really catching much.

Spawning Carp

In the spring time when the weather starts getting a little warmer the carp start thinking about other things rather than food, in other words they have got sex on the mind. A female carp can hold hundreds of thousands of eggs, when the time comes to release them the male carp get very excited and jostle with each other so they can be the one to fertilise the eggs when the female releases them. You'll know when the carp start spawning because firstly, you probably won't catch anything, but more noticeably you will hear a lot of splashing around, especially in the margins around the foliage. When fish spawn they are really not interested in feeding, so don't be surprised if you don't catch anything during this period. Once the carp have finished spawning, they are often extremely hungry so it's often very good fishing just after they have spawned. Don't be surprised if after spawning time, some of the carp you catch have got injuries, this is inevitable as they are extremely rough during the spawning period. If you want to help the carp, always have some antiseptic in your box, Klinic is one manufacturer that comes to mind.

Hot days aren't always best

Anglers often think that baking hot days are the time to catch carp. Warm days yes, baking hot days, unfortunately not always the case. The problem with long spells of hot weather is on the small commercial waters, the oxygen is sapped out of the water. When this happens, you often find that fish are just not interested in eating. It's very easy to tell when this is happening, you will see all the carp sitting just under the surface of the water. We've all done it, you cast a floating bait at them and they just ignore it. If this is happening to you, try fishing near an inlet if there is one at the fishery. Many commercial fisheries are spring fed so you will have constant water entering the pond. When the water enters the pond, it creates plenty of oxygen and I suppose revitalises the fish which is why you will often find the one guy catching all the fish on a hot day is the one who is right next to the inlet.

If the weather is going to be very hot, I often prefer to go down to the pond and fish a few hours in the evening when the weather cools down. I'd much rather do that than sit on the bank all day roasting my chestnuts off catching absolutely nothing.

Fish into a southwesterly wind

None of us like to be uncomfortable when we go fishing, there's nothing nicer than sitting there with your rod with the sun blazing down warming your cockles. As soon as that wind starts blowing, most people try and find shelter. However, winds that come from a southwesterly direction can actually improve the fishing. Southwesterly winds are always warm, they often bring the fish on to feed.. Fish will follow a southwesterly wind. So if you're going fishing on a day when there is a southwesterly blowing, don't sit on the side of the lake where it is nice and sheltered, fish into the wind, especially if you are fishing in a corner, the chances are, you'll bag up because that is where all the fish will be. But remember, this is only with any southwesterly, don't waste your time fishing into a freezing northerly wind, the only thing you're catch is hypothermia.

Silence Is Golden (or is it?)

We are always told not to make too much noise when fishing. Don't shout, speak very quietly or you will frighten the fish away. Have you ever seen a fishes ears? Fish have not got ears, well not in the traditional sense anyway. You can shout as loud as you like and the fish will not hear you. Now, if you start jumping up and down on the bank, throwing your equipment around, they will hear you. Fish actually have the ability to hear, but not in the way we do. Every fish has an organ called the lateral line. The lateral line runs the full length of the fishes body. This organ has the abilty to detect vibrations in the water which are then passed to hearing parts in the head.

If you still don't believe me, find someone who keeps fish. This will give you a very good indication of how fish reacts. When they're not looking, shout at the top of your voice, I guarantee you'll get no reaction. However, jump up and down on the floor and they won't like it. What I can guarantee is fish have got very good eyesight. If you are fishing the shallow margins then you certainly don't want to be standing right next to the bank waving your arms around because that is a sure way of frightening all the fish out of your swim. Also beware of casting a shadow over the water, fish hate this and will also vacate the area if this happens.

Online Tackle Shops

There are a few online tackle shops that I use on a fairly regular basis. The Tackle Box in Kent supplies just about anything you will need for carp fishing and is well worth a visit. Poingdestres Angling Centre have over a nice website and use them on numerous occasions this year to purchase most of my hooks to nylon. Angling Direct another company that I have used, this time I bought my rod quivers from them for a very reasonable price. If I come across any other shops as I think are worth mentioning then I will do just that.