ASK THE EXPERTS

Dear Panel,
I have recently decided to step up my carp fishing and for the first time I have joined a local syndicate water. The water itself is about five acres and contains about 50 lovely old carp up to 25lb. The main problem is that I don’t know where to start!!! The lake is very weedy and contains a large amount of birdlife. What would you advise regarding tactics, tackle, and rig? I’m told that the lake holds loads of tench as well as some smaller fish, such as rudd and crucians. Please help because I'm totally baffled as to how to start a campaign.

Dave Jones,

Wrexham,
Flintshire

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Hi Dave,
The majority of my own fishing during the last few years has been on new venues, both in the UK and abroad. Many of the waters were quite small and new to me, i.e. I had not previously fished them and didn’t have much information on them before doing my own research. Although every water is different, there are a number of factors that can be applied to all. Therefore I will answer your question with a number of bulleted points that may assist you.

• Search for information prior to wetting a line. Information can be gathered from many sources, including the Internet, magazine features, and word of mouth. If possible, make contact with those who have been there before you and ask those already in the know about the productive areas, clear spots, baiting methods and tactics.

Fox Soft Steel or Illusion are abrasive-resistant lines and ideal for a weedy venue

• Spend as much time as is necessary looking for signs of carp. Once they are located, search for features where they are likely to pick up a hookbait. You said the lake is very weedy, therefore you may need to locate clear areas with a marker setup, or through observation, i.e. tree climbing. From the onset, watch and listen for signs of carp before unloading the gear, there is no point setting up in the first available swim if the majority of the carp are at the other end of the lake. The only pieces of equipment I carry whilst searching for signs of carp are a bait bucket and Polaroids. Once they are located, the bucket is left in the swim and the fishing tackle is collected from the car. Tree climbing presents a much better view and allows the angler to view deeper into the water as the reflection is reduced. As we know, carp love weed, reeds, and snags, so these are obvious spots to look.

• In general, carp tend to be more rig-wise in smaller lakes, consequently I would opt for finer, more delicate tactics, and adopt small water tactics. However, you can only go as light as the lake features will allow, i.e. due to the weed presence you may need to use a good quality line of around 15lb, maybe Fox Soft Steel or Illusion.

Starting on a new venue can often bring just rewards, this good 30 was caught off the surface during a day session on a new lake.

• Smaller lakes tend to respond better to the lighter, tighter baiting approach, therefore I would probably go for a spodded mix of hemp, Response Pellets and chopped boilies with a small chop as a hookbait. I would avoid sweet, fruity-type flavours if tench and other species are present in large numbers. In the worst-case scenario it may be necessary to use large, hard boilies, however, I wouldn’t normally go to these lengths unless it was absolutely necessary. In regards to the birdlife you mentioned, they will pick up most baits, but chops make it a little more difficult for them.

Cheers,

Rod