What is left to try

[matty49]

Hello guys, been night fishing most weekends lately and im in need of some advice. Im struggerling to catch, they have monster carp/bream/tench/catfish in there. Most other people seem to be catching there but im not. I went night fishing there last weekend friday - sunday and caught just 1 fish which was a bream and didnt even give a fight. I use boilies. I have tried fishing lillies/margins, white choc boilies, alot of boilie types, loads of groundbaits, sweetcorn. Wtf is there left to try. Im off this weekend friday to sunday again and hoping to catch aloud as its driving me insane. Any tips or adive on baits be more then welcome.

 

I know you may think to yourself, why not fish a differant like?? Good question indeed, the thing is i have been fishing these lakes and got use to them. Other people seem to catch but me?? " NOPE " what the hell am i doing wrong.

 

Cheers

[chesters1]

bream dont fight on carp tackle

your best bet is to have a wander round one evening to chat with the other anglers and try to find out which methods work for them.

catfish for one are very stupid and will take boilies and a fish one with a fish glug has them flocking but use a far thicker hair than normal their gums shred them

Edited July 10, 2007 by chesters1

[Newt]

If others are catching on similar rigs and using similar baits, I'd start thinking about the possibility I was transferring a nasty smell from my hands to the baits. Carp & cats have a very sharp sense of 'smell' (or whatever the fishy equiv. is).

 

Maybe take along a nice smelly dip in a plastic squeeze bottle and rub it on your hands before you handle any bait be it hook bait or ground bait.

[RobStubbs]

The only question I would have is are you being patient enough ? Stick with simple end tackles and rigs, don't keep changing baits and leave the rig in the same place. Also are you sure you're fishing to the right part of the swim ? How are you locating the features and how does that compare with the others ? Lastly do you get signs of carp activity over your baits ?

 

I would suggest you fish each rod differently until you work out what works for you. So for example fish one on top of a bar, one at the bottom and one next to a lilly bed. Cast your baits out and then leave them alone. Be patient, watch the water and write down what you're doing. If you see obvious signs of fish crashing over another spot in your swim then move one of your baits onto it. If they are showing a lot in another swim then move. Also don't forget to stick some bait in the margins so you can observe it. You can put it in a couple of empty swims and then have a look every now and again (obviously not leaving your fishing rods unnattended).

 

The only other thing I would suggest is that you keep thinking about what you're doing, what the fish are doing and where they are. There's no magic answer other than patience.

 

Rob.

[matty49]

Cheers for the help guys, much apprechaited, your helping me out alot. I normally use a fox feeder, held in place with 2 weights and a all ready made hair rig with boilies. I have seen loads of people lately using big weights with hellicopter rigs or something??

[RobStubbs]

Have you tried reading any of the carp books at all ? There are some very good ones out there that describe the simple tactics very well. Julian Cundiffs book is I think pretty good from that perspective but there are plenyly of others. Most fishing shops some of have them on the shelves so pop into your local shop and have a look - or of course you might find them in your library or look on ebay.

 

Also as others have said chat to some of the other anglers. If you ask nicely, most anglers are more than happy to help and show you what they're using and offer some advice.

 

Rob.

[matty49]

Cheers off to the fishing shop tommorow anyways as wont be able to get there friday due to work... by the time i get home/packed and that and head towards the lake there shut so ye will look at the fishing shop. Any books you recommend?

[trevor2003]

Cheers for the help guys, much apprechaited, your helping me out alot. I normally use a fox feeder, held in place with 2 weights and a all ready made hair rig with boilies. I have seen loads of people lately using big weights with hellicopter rigs or something??

 

Keep your rigs simple to start with, before getting onto helicopter rigs, they are better for silty/weedy bottoms and at distance. Start with a basic combi rig, though I don't know the water your fishing, but keep it simple, till your more experienced, also make some soft braid rigs and some stiff rigs, say about 6" long and have one type on one rod and one type another, try a different bait on each rod also, if your not hooking properly, shorten them slightly.

Then start to see if one perfoms better than the other, it's not all ways about bait, it's about presentation, use safety lead clip and rubber and a length of rig tubing a bit longer than your rig, so it's a nice simple and safe set up. i would then see how you go and then start looking at making and puting a PVA stick on your rigs, to get some bait around your hook bait, make them half pellet and half ground bait, and remember hook goes into the ground bait, not the pellet end. Have a look through Total Carp or Crafty Carper mags, they will show you some regular features on rigs, but out of them all, the best advice I can give is, get the Korda Underwater DVD's, you will learn heaps from them and you can watch them over and over again.

[Anderoo]

Don't get too hung up over rigs and bait. Virtually any rig and bait will catch if you're fishing at the right time of day in the right spot. My advice is to spend time at the water observing. Try to find out where the fish are. Once you've found them, try to work out why they're there (e.g. is there cover like trees or lillies? is it gravelly or silty? deep or shallow?). If you're fishing in the right place, everything else should fall into place.

 

Fish the margins if you can - this will give you a better chance to observe the fish, quietly put some bait in and gently drop your bait in. A a basic rule, a handful of hemp, a few broken boilies, a scattering of micro pellets and perhaps a few maggots or bits of sweetcorn dropped into an area you know the carp are frequenting should get them grubbing about. Hookbait can be any of these.

 

Dawn and dusk are often good times. If you can find your fish and get everything ready before these times you're in with a good chance.

 

For rigs, I'd just fish a nice simple running leger. If you fish the margins you'll soon know if you get a run!

 

Good luck

[Severn Wolf]

What is left to try

 

I use boilies. I have tried fishing lillies/margins, white choc boilies, alot of boilie types, loads of groundbaits, sweetcorn. Wtf is there left to try. Im off this weekend friday to sunday again and hoping to catch aloud as its driving me insane.

 

Boilies, different boilies, more different boilies, sweetcorn, groundbaits. Mate, you ain`t even scratched the surface yet.

 

Hows about particles? Good old maples or chick peas will outfish boilies on some waters. Bread, cheesepaste, worms, maggots (not on some stupid clip system though), the list is endless. There are a thousand and one baits to try, if you`re not catching why not give at least one rod a go with them?

 

Don`t be a sheep either. Modern carping is mainly about the latest `fashionable` bait or rig. Theres just so little going on between the ears of new carpers that they religiously follow the latest trends assuming that just because `so and so` out the press catches loads that they will as well.

 

It just doesn`t work like that.

 

 

How many blanks you had? How many hours have you put in so far? Are you getting activity over the baits? Are you getting liners? Knowing this will go a long way to us being able to suggest things.

 

 

From your previous posts it appears that you`re fairly new to the carp scene. I doubt that in the short time you have been at this game you`ve had the opportunity to experiment with everything.........

 

Theres a whole wealth of methods to try. Pick a couple and stick to them. I`d bet that every time you go and fish this water you`re trying something new. Don`t, its probably the number one mistake made by newcomers.

 

Most modern baits catch fish (eventually). Some are better than others and suit certain waters but they`ll all work given time.

 

Anyone can sling a bait into a lake and catch fish but the secret is knowing why you caught. Knowing why a fish made the mistake is the beginnings of understanding situations and the way to catch regularly rather than just fluking one every now and again.

 

So, my advice would be to pick a bait, not necessaily boilies and stick with it. If you can use particles then do so but don`t just feed them, use them as hookbaits. Fish a rod with a light lead free running on a slackish line and light indicator. Fish for liners. Fish for bites not runs. Just have a quick think about this. 2 or 3oz lead semi fixed. How do you know a fish has picked up the bait?........The answer is that without a run you don`t. By the time the indicator goes flying up the fish is hooked and spooked. If you fish a free running lead on light indicators you`ll start getting all maner of knocks and lifts and, even though this may sound a revelation, you don`t actually need a heavy semi fixed lead to get blazing one noters. These little twitches on a light set up will let you know that fish are in the swim, you`re halfway there.

 

 

Essential reading.....anything but Rod Hutchinson and definitely Carp Fever by Kevin ________s. This months Carpworld has yet another gem by Shaun Harrison. The guy is a free thinker and this current series of articles are brilliant.

 

 

I`ve just reread this and it does seem a little harsh. Please don`t take it that way. I just get the impression that you are losing faith after very little time and effort.