ASK THE EXPERTS
Dear Panel
The lake I fish has several weedbeds in it. Nobody appears to fish them, but I have noticed carp in them and would like to target them. Could you suggest a suitable approach?
Many thanks,
Robin Flannery,
Totnes, Devon
Hi Robin
Thanks for the question. Carp love weedbeds because they are full of natural food and they provide them with some sanctuary. I too have also noticed that a lot of people avoid them as it’s ‘too much effort’, however, those who do fish the weed tend to be rewarded for doing so. There are quite a few ways to fish the weed but I will just cover a couple here.
Tackle
Make sure the tackle you use is strong, your line is at least 15lb breaking strain, and that your hooks have a micro barb on them. I often use a 52ins net as this is bigger and allows me to land fish that are covered in a ball of weed.
Tactics
If you feel the carp aren’t present in the weedbed when you turn up to fish the lake, then it may be worth a few casts in and around the weedbed with a marker float (probably best to get a decent weed marker as some markers don’t pop up in the weed), this will give you a greater chance of perhaps finding a channel in the weed.
Proper weed marker
The carp nearly always seem to follow channels and it is a better place to put your hookbait than in the middle of a thick weedbed. When you find a channel (or a less weeded area), put a nugget of foam on your hook and get your baited rig into the channel as fast as you can. Once your hookbait is in position I would put a little bait round it, a couple of handfuls of boilies/crushed boilies is usually enough to keep them grubbing about. As soon as you have done this retrieve your marker as quickly as possible. The reason for all this haste is because your luck will run out sooner or later and a carp will come along and probably spook off if you have too many lines in a small area. If, however, when you turn up at the lake you feel there are fish in the weedbed, do not cast a marker float out at them as they will certainly do the off straightaway. My advice would be to use a PVA bag (I prefer the flavoured mesh-types because they give off added attraction and dissolve quicker).
My favourite PVA mesh-type.
Make a decent length bag and then fill it with whole and crushed boilies, place a nugget of foam on the hook, pull it up next to the bag, and flick them into the clearest bit of the weedbed. After a while on the lake you become more familiar with the weedbeds and pretty much know where to cast, obviously trying to avoid where the weed is at its thickest.
Loaded up and ready to go.
Don’t be scared to cast in the weed – remember, it’s where the carp are to be found, but don’t forget that the weedbeds slowly change as the year goes on.
Landing Them in Weed
If the fish becomes weeded after the take my advice would be to keep your rod high and apply steady pressure and carefully try to coax the fish out of the weed. There are quite a few different ways of landing fish out of weedbeds and it will be a case of trial and error to start with, but please, always remember to put the carp’s welfare first; if the weed is too thick to be able to land them safely, then, quite simply, don’t fish it, but fish around the weedbeds.
A big Norfolk 30 caught in a weed channel – happy days!
Hope this helps, and be lucky
SPug
