!help help help!

[Elton]

Zig Rig - http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/rig-section/ca...gs/zig_rig.html

 

Feature Finding 1 - http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/carp-fishing-a...re_finding.html

 

Feature Finding 2 - http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/carp-fishing-a...ding_setup.html

[Babelfish]

Good luck with the Zig Rig. This is the perfect time of year to use this rig as the water surface warms the top layers attract the carp up from the bottom.

[Steve Burke]

Most anglers fish either on or just off the bottom, or on the surface. However fish spend a lot of time in midwater and can be caught there. This is particularly so at deep venues.

 

Even on shallow waters fish are often well off the bottom. This is especially so if they're pressured. If they can't escape to somewhere that anglers can't cast to where's the safest place for them? Surely in midwater!

 

There's less food there than on the bottom, but it's by no means a desert. Midwater contains plankton that migrate up and down according to the light levels. Additionally, hatching nymphs will swim up to the surface, as will beetles coming up for air. And if weed extends well off the bottom, there'll be food there too.

 

Fish may also be in midwater because they're more comfortable there. For instance the temperature, oxygen level or light level may be to their liking. They may not be feeding, but they can often be tempted to do so.

 

On my own water at Wingham I used to catch a lot of carp in midwater on Zyg rigs. More in fact than I did on the bottom.

 

And when I've been after perch on a variety of waters in winter/early spring I've caught few carp on the bottom. But in midwater they've been a flaming nuisance! This by the way is on deadbaits or worms. In this particular case I've used paternosters or the float as well as Zygs.

 

Unfortunately, having suggested Zyg rigs to my members at Wingham few have given them a proper try. Those who have done so often tried them only when they hadn't caught on the bottom. It may be that there were few fish in the area anyway, or those that were there were pre-occupied on an explosion of natural food.

 

As an allrounder with perch being my favourite fish, I'm probably more likely to experiment with different depths than carp anglers. So I'm not doing anything clever here, just transferring my experience with my favourite species.

 

Pike are another species that often feed well off the bottom. Many of mine come on sunken float paternosters (on half baits by the way!), whilst if I see someone catch a pike on a lure my first question is "What depth were you fishing?".

 

Finally, if you're not confident enough to fish in midwater for carp, you could always fish on the bottom at different depths. You might guess the fish to be say 15 feet deep, so you put 1 bait at that depth and others at 12 feet and 18 feet. If you get action at 18 feet you then wind in the bait at 12 feet and recast it into 21 feet of water.

 

That's not my idea by the way, although I wish I'd thought of it. Instead it's Jim Gibbinson's.

Edited March 31, 2010 by Steve Burke