Help

[Craig Robins]

Hi,

I started fishing last August and i have been fishing my local pond for roach since. but recently i have got a carp rod an a decent reel with 6lb line loaded in it and i was wondering whether or not to target the Carp in the pond which are up to 9lb? My carp rod is 2.5lb tc so it will definitely handle them but i dont know where to start. Can anyone assist me?

thanks Craig

p.s I have never even had a Carp on so this is why im asking. Thanks again

[Apache]

A 2.5lb test curve rod sounds a bit extreme with 6lb line.

 

Are the carp fished for regularly?

-If so I would use a bolt rig, where the weight (2 oz or so) makes the carp bolt with the bait and therefore hooking itself, hence the name.

 

If they are not, then I would either freeline or use a running ledger, depending on the distance needed to cast.

 

What bait?

-I would use something like SPAM (my favourite bait for carp). Bread or chum mixer if the carp are on the surface. Sweetcorn and pellets should also produce. Boilies may work, but they would not be my first port of call, depending on the water and pressure on it.

 

It might be a good idea to hair rig the luncheon meat or sweetcorn as well.

 

If I can find some diagrams I will post them on to help.

 

Hope this is of help to you.

[Apache]

Try Dr. Gaffer's Carp Clinic at http://www.carpclinic.com

 

Many good pictures.

[Craig Robins]

quote:

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A 2.5lb test curve rod sounds a bit extreme with 6lb line.

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sorry if i sound dum but why? Thanks for the help Apache the water is normally fished for roach and only some carp anglers fish it so it is not heavily fished, if possible i would like to use a float setup but i dont know how to produce the bait to the Carp properly.

[Dunk Fairley]

A 2.5 Lb Tc rod, is a fairly "beefy" rod. When you strike into a large fish, the rod needs to be able to absorb some of the shock, otherwise the line can break. 6lb line is OK with softer rod, of say 1.5 TC, but with a siffer rod, I'd step up to 10lb minimum.

 

Added to that, when casting heavier weights of 2 oz +, the line will also take a lot of punishment. If extreme range casting is expected, an even stronger length of line of about 25 feet, say up to 30lb should be attached to your main line to absorb this shock. You'll probably not need this at the moment though, as the water you intend to fish doesn't sound too huge.

 

Gaffer will probably be able to help you a lot, through his "Clinic".

[brad]

im with dunk id deffinetly step up the line to say 10~12lb..belive me carp do like a fight,even 9lb ones.also bigger line means you can change tactics.method feeder,pva bags ect

[wotnobivvy]

It might sound obvious, but why not ask the other carp anglers on the lake !! :confused: :confused:

[Wag]

Others on here will know more about carp fishing than me, but I can offer some advice about test curve to line strength ratios.

 

As a rule of thumb your main line wants to be 5 x test curve i.e. if your rod has a test curve of 2.5 lb your main line should be 12.5 lb.

For safe working limits multiply TC by 3 and 7, so for a 2.5 lb TC rod main line from 7.5 lb to 17.5 lb could be used (with caution).

 

Modern rods are a lot more forgiving, and lines are often stronger than their stated breaking strain, but the above rule of thumb is close enough.

 

Another thing to consider is casting weight, and if you allow one ounce of weight per pound of test curve you won't go far wrong - i.e. if your rod has a test curve of 2.5 lb you should be able to safely cast a 2.5 oz weight. This is why many carp anglers use rods with 3 and even 4 lb+ test curves to allow them to cast heavy bombs or feeders at distance.

 

[ 08. May 2003, 03:09 PM: Message edited by: Wag ]

[Dunk Fairley]

I reckon that's a pretty good way of working it all out actually.

[awaaar]

Craig - getting complicated....I'd make it as simple as possible - match rod suited to 6lb line, a reel could also cope the 6lb, 5lb hooklength, waggler - luncheon meat and sweetcorn, some groundbait with carp attractors in and.....roberts yer fathers brother!

 

Went to a very small pond at the end the M65 with this set up last night for a couple of hours afterwork - 5 carp - bingo, from about 1/2pound mirror, to what I reckon was a about a 4 maybe 5pound common....give it a shot

 

Andy