Carp Care       
by Tony Welch

I’ll start by posing a question! Have you ever cast or seen another angler cast a bait into an area where you know that a take will happen, but there is next to no chance of landing the fish?

I’m not going to elaborate on that question but think about how that fits in under the heading of carp care, just one of the many things to think about.

I make no apologies for this article not being full of the latest large carp capture photos and the latest wonder rig, in respect of articles like that, this one may seem somewhat boring, however, just as important, if not more so!

Carp care, the most important aspect of Carp fishing as far as im concerned. This has been a fairly well covered subject in recent times and I for one am extremely pleased that it is a continued hot potato in the carp angling world. It’s fantastic the tackle manufactures are producing so much good kit these days and are fully committed to keeping these beasts stunning.

Carp are described as being a hardy fish and can handle being out of the water and flipping about on the mat. Yes, they are hardier than some other course species but any wild creature out of its environment is vulnerable and needs to be looked after to the highest standards possible.

Carp care, as I see it, does not begin when the fish gets placed on an unhooking mat and lofted up in the air for a picture, it begins when you prepare your bait, pack your kit and when you lob a bait and rig into the drink.

Bait preparation…There was an incident many years ago on College reservoir, late 80s or early 90’s, where two anglers came down to Cornwall from somewhere up the line, and fished the Ponderosa swim using peanuts. They caught a few carp that week, proving their method was successful however they had not prepared their bait correctly and you guessed it after they left around a dozen fish popped up in the swim, dead. It was an absolute tragedy, some of them being over 20lb. This sort of story thankfully, is extremely rare and the only one I know of in 20 plus years of carp fishing, it does emphasize my point that carp care starts long before a fish is lifted for the pics!

A lot of the tackle and bait company websites have preparation guides on them showing how to prepare every carp bait going!

Prepared correctly, awesome tigers and hemp!

Bait must be prepared correctly, no excuses these days for getting it wrong.

College reservoir's ponderosa in 2008.

 Rigs… A safe rig must be used, it’s paramount, test it, make sure its safe prior to casting out and not a death trap. I make sure that if the lead snags or I crack off on the cast, it can breakaway from the rig leaving a fish to swim away free.

The rig below works by attaching the leadcore around the outside of the lead, rather than going through the middle. This rig has been shown before but for anyone that missed it, here it is. The lead is held in place by the tail rubber at the rear, and the swivel up front. Carp care at its best- if it falls off it can’t be trailed around!

Safe as houses this, every time a carp is hooked the lead falls off!

On a bigger cast, say anything over 40 yards the lead will need to be PVA taped into position, you don’t want to see money flying off on a cast! A massive plus point is when it comes to playing a fish there is a realistic chance of landing everything hooked, as the fish will come up in the water and is likely to hit the surface!

Another important aspect is the leadcore leader, or if you prefer anti-tangle tubing behind the lead. If you don’t use either of these items and have just plain mono or braid there is a risk that it will trap under a scale or two during the fight and rip them off. I don’t really know anyone these days who doesn’t use either tubing or leadcore although I did see a youngster land a 10lb common last week and he didn’t use any material behind the lead and had 10lb line straight through. There was no damage to the fish on this occasion but the risk is always there.

My local is around 70 acres in size and the depths run to thirty feet. It’s open and windswept, full of snags and old stone walls. It has a fairly low stocking of around 80 carp. Fortunately there are a really good crop of anglers who fish it and im pleased to say carp care is at the top of the agenda for all the lads I know. They are old carp now, still stunning, and need a lot of care. It’s of the utmost importance the lead can come away fishing a water like this.

Snags...


...and walls like this are rife throughout the lake.

I wanted to show you my version of the chod rig, simple as it gets and extremely safe for the carp!

Take a length of lead core, splice loop it either end and glue the spliced areas for added security. Take a rubber bead, in this case I use Fox and place a baiting needle through it making a new hole, basically sideways rather than through the hole already in the bead. Thread this onto the leadcore and see that the bead is firm in place but still able to slide up and down under a bit of pressure. Next put a flexi-ring swivel on and then another bead in the same fashion as the first. Leave a decent gap between the beads for the ring swivel to slide up and down the leadcore. There we have it, all that needs doing now is tie on the choddie hooklink, attach a lead, and send it out there! If you have not used a chod rig before I would highly recommend it, use it with confidence because they really do work well.

Chod rig, simple, safe, effective.

My version of the Chod rig.

Hooking and playing… Iv seen this so many times, a rod rips for an angler fishing down the bank, I look to see the reel winding down at speed and then an almighty strike (it’s a wonder Iv never seen a head fly out the drink, unbelievable). Then the fish is cranked all the way in on 3.5lb teat curve rods. Im not knocking the rods, im knocking the bloke using them! There really is no need to strike, we are all fishing bolt style rigs. The fish is already hooked! If it was not hooked it would not bolt! Semi fixed, running, even the floater fishing controllers are made to hook the carp for us these days. All that needs to happen when a fish takes and bolts, is pick up the rod and lift into the fish. Simple stuff! It’s not a match!

This ensures there is no hook pull, or reduces the chance anyway and more importantly reduces the mouth damage to the fish. Enjoy the fight, we all sit their long enough waiting for it! That sort of situation drives me up the wall and just sat here typing now, and thinking about it, my blood pressure is rising.………Moving on…

Sacking fish? I like to sack my captures up during the day and the night, during the day to give the fish time to recover from the fight and during the night for the same reason, and to also wait till morning to do the pictures. We put all our time, effort and money into catching these exceptional creatures, why not get the best pictures you can? Provided sacking rules are followed and the lake allows there should be no issues.

Firstly when sacking a carp make sure the weather conditions allow. I wouldn’t sack a carp in high winds and/or very hot weather. Look for the deepest margin area possible. If conditions are favorable and a good sacking spot established then there is no reason why the fish can’t be sacked up safely. I check that the carp’s fins are flush with its body and the sack is fully zipped up. When in the water face the fish into the ripple (if there is any), make sure the gills are moving and push the fish down by its back ensuring the whole sack sinks. This way the fish is ok and upright.

Years ago using the old black pull cord sacks I would have to stand in the water ages waiting for it to sink, these days the zip sacks usually go straight down. What I would say is I never sack a fish for more that 5 hours, in any conditions. A little tip is to attach a net float to your sack cord, in the unlikely event the sack does come away from the pole the fish can still be recovered, a little insurance policy. It's not 100% but it's a chance of recovery. I'm always nervous as hell when I have a fish in the sack, even though in my own mind I know iv done everything right it’s always a great feeling to see that net float bobbing up and down.

Ready for the photos.


Sacking insurance policy!

Barbed or barbless? I prefer to use barbed hooks. I believe barbless are prone to ripping and moving while playing the carp. Barbed stay fairly still and don’t tend to move. Although the way a carp fights, rolling and turning as they do, it’s a wonder they are not more damaged more of the time.

The problems come in the unhooking procedure. If the carp is unhooked properly then minimal damage is caused. It’s usual to have the adrenaline pumping when unhooking the fish.

You have just had a screamer, a 20 minute fight, and then you see that stunning 30lbs of dark common in the net. Awesome! The heart is racing, you can’t believe it, what a result! The fish comes out on the mat, what’s the first thing most anglers do? Open the net and find that hook hold. It’s at this moment calmness and concentration on the job in hand is required. Remember what I said about the fish now being vulnerable. It’s our responsibility to unhook the carp as carefully and safely as possible. I prefer doing it by hand, I think the use of forceps loses a degree of control and feeling. With care and attention the hook should just “pop” out.

After the hook is removed the next thing I tend to see is the fish left on the mat, while the angler fumbles around in the bivvy hunting for slings, sacks and scales. Why not have it all ready prior to getting a take. It doesn’t need to be left out 24hrs a day, just have the lot in a bag just inside the bivvy door, ready to grab, don’t leave the fish unprotected on the mat while the kit is grabbed. I like to use a mat with a holding flap. Wrap the carp back up in the net with all fins flush with its body and secure the flap around it. Then if the fish does start to flip about it won’t be able to damage itself, or flip back into the lake. It’s unthinkable but iv seen it happen more than once! Have it all to hand ready to go.

I try to keep the carp in the shade if I can, and keep the eyes covered in bright light. It all helps to keep the fish calm and safe when on the bank.

When holding the fish for a photo, the best piece of advice I can give is be confident, know how and what you are going to do, and do it. I never stand up with a carp in my hands, I stay low to the ground and always return the fish in the sling or mat, the single most important thing in angling is the welfare of the fish.

Be confident when handling carp. Stunning beast (and the fish)!

Lots of the public walk around my local and most of them ask about the kit used and whether iv caught my tea! I tend to engage them in conversation and show them the antiseptic and unhooking mats we use to look after and protect the carp in a hope to educate them and show we are not out catching our tea and knocking carp about the head!

Been around years, and still one of the many good products available.

The last thing I want to say is if you have a little spare time and cant get the rods out for one reason or another, use the time to get to the lake and sprinkle a bit of bait in. Not much is required, even on a big lake, a little here and a little there, especially in areas that don’t see much angler attention. I walk my dogs around the lakes I fish, and take a pocket full of bait each day with me, it soon adds up being trickled in daily. Not only do the carp see my bait on a very regular basis, and eat for free, it allows me to speak with people and watch the water, so much information is gleaned from just being there, fishing or not, and of course you are still looking after your fish by feeding them with nutritional food on a regular basis! Mainline boilies are packed full of goodies to keep the carp healthy and coming back for more!

Mainline Cell, you only need a few a day!

Going off the subject slightly, there was a little lake in Cornwall, which is since closed, right down west of the county that used to hold around 30 carp to 20lbs. Well, the owner used to feed his fish everyday and this was a fantastic sight. He used to tap the ground with his walking stick several times in any swim, the fish knew it was breakfast time and would come from all over the lake, you would see all the carp bow waving across the lake for food until they were all in front of him going wild, and he hadn’t even thrown in a single pellet yet!! The fish had been conditioned over years of this same thing being done everyday and as such along with some good common sense rules the carp were in mint perfect condition and very well looked after.

Duke and Fudge see the lakes everyday.

I hope you enjoyed the read, and it’s given you food for thought, I hope my style of writing has not come across as being too aggressive! It’s an important subject and maybe a little tip such as the net float may make the difference for someone one day. Thanks for reading.

Tony Welch