Carp Surface Fishing - Tackle Breakages!

[Phone]

All,

 

You should be able to use a broom stick for a rod if you are using 10 lb line on 8 lb fish.

 

His mainline is breaking or pulling loose. That's all. He doesn't know at what point it is happening.

 

I don't use Euro floats. Is it possible for floats to have a nick that would cut the line (as in a rod tip ring snag)? Heating mono is a really BAD idea as it changes the molecular structure of the line for quite a distance. I am quite suspect how he is installing his splitshot. How should it be done, i.e. crimping instructions (Euro style)?

 

Phone

As a matter of stewardship (probably just style) Americans "horse" fish a great deal more than the ExPats over here do. Exhaustion is a REAL cause of death on big(er) fish. Stiff rods, heavy line - high speed straight to the bank is the order of the day.

[Vagabond]

From your excellent post

 

1/ a tucked half blood. Bad

2/I usually use a lighter to burn the tag Worse

 

As others have said, keep it simple. The more baggage on the line, the more things to go wrong.

 

Carp on floating bread or floating dog biscuits are very easy to catch.

 

All you need:-

Bread

Size 8 hook - tie on with grinner (best) or Palomar (OK but bulky)

10lb line

Reel. Clutch set so it gives line to a light pull

Rod. 2lb test curve quite adequate.

Landing and unhooking gear

 

Two likely causes of breakage - .

1/ Tucked half blood - a very poor knot. Learn to tie the grinner and MOISTEN the knot and adjacent line before tightening up.

failure to do so causes friction, friction causes heat. Heat weakens line

2/ As I said, heat weakens line, so keep that lighter for lighting fags.

 

Forget about floats, swivels, leaders - they are not needed,

 

Go to the downwind corner of the lake. Tackle up, sit down (on the grass is better than perched up on a chair), well back from the edge. Chuck some bread in. The wind should bring it back to your bank

Keep quiet and still, chuck in a bit more bread, wait for carp to show interest. It may take up to twenty minutes but is usually less

 

You will now realise why you don't need anything on your line except a baited hook. Those swirls are less than a rod-length out !

If it is more than a foot deep under your bank, carp will often take bread only an inch or two out. In fact, on a well-fished water, they may learn that under the bank is usually the safest place to be

 

Bread crust on hook, lower in front of the carp (not too near or you may spook it) Move slowly, or movement of rod or arm will also spook it.

Down the hatch goes the bread, strike (not too soon, and try to strike back over the carp's head), be prepared for an initial lunge, and all hell let loose if its a decent fish. Use finger pressure on the spool to increase the lightly set drag.

Don't hurry, keep calm, try to vary the direction of pull (with experience you can get the carp swimming round and round like a frisky bull on a holding pole) You will sense when it begins to tire.

Net, mat, unhook, quick photo, back in.

 

As a variant, Chum mixers attached to hook with a bait band are at least as good as bread

 

Good luck, and let us know how you get on.

 

Catch some good ones close in before you start to think about using controllers to target fish further away

[gozzer]

I agree mostly with what Dave says in the above post.

I have a few questions. You don't mention what rod or line you are using, (I'd disregard phones 'broomstick' comment, Sorry phone). Are you using mono? If the line has no, or minimal, stretch then a sudden powerful lunge at the net, can cause a breakage. If the rod is too stiff, and it's at it's limit, then again, a sudden powerful lunge could break the line. Put these two together, add a heavy clutch setting, and it's a recipe for breakages. Rather than just thinking a 1.5, or 2lb TC rod, look for it's action. It should have a progressive action, throughout most of it's length, so that there is still some leeway to compensate for last minute lunges from a large fish. The same with the line, mono allows more stretch than braid/flouro/ pre stretched lines, so again you have a safety margin. Set your clutch slightly slacker than needed, and use your finger to apply pressure. What's known as 'balanced' tackle.

 

As to your setup. I used a tucked blood knot for years, without any problem, but now use a grinner knot after listening to others that had. I can't recall ever having the knot slip, not in the last 30/40yrs at least. Any knot is only good if tied properly, and that includes wetting of mono, before slowly tightening up. Like others, I would have my rig as simple as possible, the weight of just a wetted crust is often enough to cast a fair distance, if needed, but I would prefer to just drop it in the margin, if possible. If I needed a bit more weight then a 'controller' fixed by float stops would be the answer, or even a weighted quill or balsa float, attached by float rubbers would do, no need for shot on the line.

 

It's problem I've seen often over the years, especially with relatively new anglers. It's more common now that in the past, because newcomers are straight in to 'big' powerful fish, without any previous experience of actually 'playing' a fish.

 

Let us know what rod, and line you are using and we will have a better picture of what's happening.

 

John.

[Anstalt]

Thanks for all the awesome responses folks!

 

 

My kits is mostly scavenged from my fathers old stuff and a few bits and pieces that I've picked up from other sources so had to go out and actually inspect the rod lol.

 

Anyways, the rod I am using is a Daiwa Graphite and has the following written on it: "t/c 2 3/4 lbs". As I said, I'm a beginner so I've no idea what that notation might mean! The line im using is indeed monofilament. Again, I don't really know what the other options are or how/why different types of lines are better in different situations.

 

 

For floats, I suppose it might help explaining my fishing style. Whilst I enjoy catching fish, a lot of the enjoyment for me is just chilling out on the bank with my brother and any friends who are joining us and having a good drink and a smoke across the day. As a result, we dont move around much and can often spook the fish that are in real close (though, they usually get within a rod length or two!). So, in order to get to where the fish are feeding, we normally have to bait up and cast out 2-4 rod lengths from the bank. However, either because im new, or crap, or both, I can't cast that far with just a hook and bait and so I put a float on the line. I normally use weighted pellet wagglers as I've found them easiest to cast plus they are cheap (and sold in local tackle shop).

 

Specific pellet waggler I normally use: http://www.fishing-tackle-store.co.uk/Images/products/Ultra%20Pellet%20Wagglers/Loaded-Pellet-Waggler-Group-l.jpg (bottom one)

 

 

However, because we lose a lot of floats I end up using whatever works. I did buy a proper float for surface fishing http://www.korda.co.uk/media/images/gallery/1697/gallery_image/523x392.jpg and it worked great for casting, but due to breakages I ended up losing the float at the end of my first session and was extremely annoyed!

 

Finally, someone asked about how I was putting on my shot. To begin with, I was just using my fingers: position the line at the bottom of the gap and then squeeze shut. However, I lost a lot of shot like that so I started using pliers to squeeze them shut. I stopped losing as many but I suspect this weakens the line too much. That is why I switched to using a swivel at the end of my leader: the float could push against the leader when casting (so i stopped losing shot on the cast) and then I only needed one small shot above the float to control the slide. This shot never takes pressure so could be squeezed on.

 

 

I think what I'll try for my next session, based on your advice, is the following:

 

1) Downsize hook to a 10. I primarily use an 8 to avoid the pest fish - they can swallow a 10 but they cant swollow an 8. However, an 8 might be preventing me from catching as many carp as I should be so I'll have a play.

 

2) Tie mainline straight on to the hook, and use a grinner. The grinner knot certainly looks great. One thing I definitely wasn't doing before was using saliva as I tightened (didn't know!) so will have to remember to do this!

 

3) Get another controller float, like the one I had before. Definitely better for casting.

 

 

 

So, a few follow up questions then!

 

1) What is the best float for surface fishing? The korda cruiser controller seemed to work well but not having used others I dont really know what's best.

 

2) What is the best method for keeping a float in place when I'm taking my mainline straight through?

 

3) With a loose clutch, how do I keep the fish out of the margins? As I said in my OP, every swim on the lake has reeds on either side and some also have lillies, and every carp heads straight for the reeds when caught!

 

 

 

Many thanks again for your responses, much appreciated!

[RUDD]

By using pliers to put on shot you are weakening the line.

Get yourself some float stops or pellet waggler attachments.

Connect hooklength to mainline using loop to loop method.

 

Melton fishes well up in the water or on the surface.

I fish there on occasion in the winter using the pole for Roach.

I avoid during the warmer months as to many larger swilling, pot smoking noddies about! Harsh words I know and no offence intended but oh so true.

[Anstalt]

Hi folks,

 

Just a little update. Managed to get out last weekend and try out a load of these techniques. Loving the grinner knot, so much better than a half blood and about as easy to tie! Went with rubber float stops and a new cruiser controller and threaded straight through and that worked very well, quick to setup and fun to fish with.

 

Unfortunately, I still had a breakage.

 

My line snapped on my second fish. I'd been playing it a lot so the thing was knackered, clutch was loose, rig setup correctly and stuff so all seemed good. My line snapped above the upper float stop (so, I lost all my kit). To me, that can only mean one thing: my rod is somehow weakening the line during the catch. I had a quick inspection but couldn't see anything obvious. So, anyone know what I should be looking for? Any techniques to reduce friction on the line from the rod?

 

 

anyways, thanks again for the advice folks

[Newt]

The best way to check for nicks, tiny cracks, etc. in your rings (which will damage line) is to get a cotton tipped swab (a stick with a blob of fairly loose cotton at the end) and put the cotton bud inside the ring then with light pressure on the side, begin slowly rotating the stick. If there are defects you'll see them pick up little strands of cotton.

[ayjay]

How old is your line, was that scavenged form your Dad's old stuff too? Mono will degrade with time, depending on how it's been kept.

[kirisute]

Have you put new line on your reel?

There's no way you should be snapping up on fish...hook knot breaking, hook straightening, or just pulling fee of the fish, yes! Line breaking...no.

If its line that was already on the reel then ditch the lot and get some fresh on it ASAP!

The ONLY time I've snapped 8lb mono is if the fish beds into real heavy snags or I foolishly cast up a tree or into a bush! Can't actually recall a fish snapping me up when just playing it.

 

As for clutch; set it til you can pull line off with a bit of pressure but not so you feel like your stretching the line. That's ample! When playing if you think the fish is pulling too much then adjust accordingly. Eventually you'll get the reel for it.

[bettsybetts]

Rod and line play a part,it should be like a happy marriage, 1.5 test curve and 10lb line is what I use to target carp between 5- 15lb. My rig is straight through 10lb line to a size 12 hook with a bait band holding on a doggie biscuit or hair rig with a floating boilie I then use and old fashion pike float with a slot and peg to hold it on the line works for me