I'm A Beginner, Please Help.

[Rolo]

Hi all, I have been fishing now for about 6 months and go every Saturday to me local commercial fishery called Dorset Pools in Shrewsbury, Its quite a small pool.. and it holds fish of ...All types of Carp, Bream, Tench, Chub and the Roach, Rudd, Perch.

 

At the moment i can only catch the Perch and the roach and small silver fish and can never hook a Carp or another big species, I really want to exprience a carp on the end of my pole.

 

I use a Pole with elastic, Is there any tips you can give me on how to catch the big fish of carp and tench for example? Like what bait to use and techniques i need to etc

 

Also when striking on a Pole.. What is the best way to Strike and once you have a big fish on how should i go about it using a Pole?

 

Thanks for any help, will really appreciate it!

[Dan Dan]

Hi Rolo,

 

What sort of baits are you using at the moment? maggots and caster will likely attract the smaller fish in quicker before the bigger ones have a chance to move in. there are two ways to get past this, either feed off the smaller fish and hopefully they will get full up and move off, or use a larger bait that only a fish with a larger mouth, like a tench or carp could suck up.

 

This pond sounds a lot like one i fish, and I usually try and feed them off with maggots while introducing larger baits like sweetcorn or pellet gradually. Hemp is great for attracting tench and carp, but they can sometimes get completely distracted by it and miss your hookbait!

 

Try elastic banding a pellet or a couple of pieces of sweetcorn and bulk feed at the beginning of your session, topping up when you feel the bites easing off. It's easy to overdo it though, remember you can put more in but not take it out!

 

As for striking, just a sideways movement generally away from the area you are feeding to try and get the fish away from others. then just let the elastic do the work and keep the pole high. if it goes for a sudden dash, bring it down but do not try and stop it completely unless you're fishing crazy heavy.

 

Hope this answered some questions!

 

Dan

Edited July 6, 2008 by Newt

[Rolo]

Thanks so much for them tips, I went fishing today and used some trout pellet to try and attract the fish and it worked.. bite after bite but again only small fish.. I did however have a carp on but the hook snapped off! Gutted. I still have a problem with my striking.. I miss a lot of bites, any further tips anyone could give me.. and should i wait until the float goes all the way down or just strike as its on its way down?? because i cant help striking sometimes.. Any other tips on feeding and other areas of the pole would be great too, Thanks so much.

[rourke7719]

Don't Strike!! With a pole all you need to do is lift the pole and you should connect with most fish, I've never had to really strike on a pole before.

 

If you find you are getting a lot of indications on the float but you keep missing bites, it might be that these are line bites, where feeding fish bump into the line and move your float, when this happens I start to think about altering the depth at which I am fishing, if you have your rig set to fish at dead depth then start to bring it up a bit a little at a time and eventually you should start to connect with the fish. It helps to shot the float down as much as you can so you have only a small amount of tip showing.

 

If you got snapped from a carp it would suggest that you need to take a look at your set up to make sure its strong enough for the carp in the pool, also you need to make sure that your elastic in your pole is strong enough for the carp.

 

When playing a decent fish on the pole you've got to let the elastic do its job, even a strong carp pole will require an elastic working correctly, just keep the line under tension and let the elastic absorb the fish's fight - its what its there for - ship the pole back gradually, keeping an eye on the fish and eventually you'll be able to break the pole at the top kits and land your fish, there is no hurry. If you find that the fish makes a lunge, you may need to add sections back onto your pole to keep in touch with the fish. I find that if you keep the pole reasonably low during the fight/unshipping to the top kits you'll be able to control things a little better, then, as the fish is ready to land lift the top kit and the fish should come up in the water and you'll be able to land it.

 

Instead of trout pellets, go to your tackle shop and buy carp pellets, some fisheries don't actually like you using trout pellets, I think this is because they have a higher oil level than carp pellets do. One method I find works well when its warm is to fish about mid water with a banded pellet or soft expander on the hook and loose feed micro pellets over the top, its a pretty universal method and will catch most fish but if you stick with it you'll find that the bigger carp will move in eventually - just make sure you and your tackle are ready for them.

 

If you need any further help - give me a shout!

Edited July 6, 2008 by Newt

[Rolo]

Thanks so much rourke7719 for the help, ahh i have been striking, I think that is why i missed so many fish today and yesterday.. So all I have to do is lift the pole upwards to hook them on? Can anyone confirm this? had my best fishing ever today, catching Tench, Crucian and Bream! But also missed so many bites using sweetcorn, is there a special way to hook sweetcorn as maybe i was hooking it wrong so it didn't hook them.. Also which pellets are better.. Carp or Trout?

 

Thanks again.

[Rolo]

Sorry to double post but is there any chance someone could answer my questions above as im going fishing on friday

 

Thanks alot.

[Rolo]

So all I have to do is lift the pole upwards to hook them on? Can anyone confirm this? had my best fishing ever today, catching Tench, Crucian and Bream! But also missed so many bites using sweetcorn, is there a special way to hook sweetcorn as maybe i was hooking it wrong so it didn't hook them.. Also which pellets are better.. Carp or Trout?

[Newt]

I've not used a pole so can't help directly with that but if you are missing by striking, why not try just lifting for a session or two and see if that helps.

 

With the corn it could be that the hook point is being masked. What size hooks and how are you hooking it?

 

Sorry but no clue about pellets. I don't use them either but that is mostly because I'd have to import them and that would get expensive so I haven't bothered to learn about them.

[ayjay]

But also missed so many bites using sweetcorn, is there a special way to hook sweetcorn as maybe i was hooking it wrong so it didn't hook them.

 

Hook size?

[Rolo]

Thanks for the help, I am using a size 16 hook and hook the sweetcorn through the side and pull it out so the hook shows abit, how am i mean to hook it?

 

Thanks alot.