River Carping Part FourWithLeigh Hemsley
Tackle, Tactics, Bait and StrategiesWelcome to the next chapter in my river carping series, not long now before we can get the rods out and try and tempt one of those river kings. Now let’s get down to what preparation we can do at home and on the bank. So far we’ve covered where to look and what to look for in tracking down those elusive river carp. This time round we’ll look at the essentials of river carping and how I use them on my local river’s and just to make it that little bit easier for you to take on board, I’m going to split Part Four of the River Carping features into four easy to follow sections.
TackleI’m going to run though what tackle I personally use then you can adapt it to your style and tackle, being sponsored by Nash tackle most of my gear comes from there label because I like to be as mobile as possible as an angler this fits in perfectly with my river approach as you could be miles away from the carp and if need be pack away quickly or you could have to move up a few swims or even a hundred yards quickly, so first a good barrow is needed I use a Nash All Terrain as all my gear goes on quickly easily whether I pack it away to move some distance or just throw it on to move up a few swim, I also use the rear wheel kit and wide heavy duty front wheel as most river have fair even banks and this makes moving swims even easier and helps my back out at the same time.
Next is a Nash Nomad Three Rod Rod Skin, along with my three rods the main compartment also holds my landing net inside the main compartment, then on the outside I strap my brolly, two storm sticks, throwing stick and spare extra long bank stick. For my river carping along with my small waters I use Nash H-Gun 12ft 3lb tc rods, these rods are fantastic value for money and will handle any fish I’m likely to encounter and have a great playing action and because I’m not likely to cast much over 50 yards on the rivers (but I have put them though there pace’s and fish in France with these particular rods and cast and caught fish up to 30+ from 100 yards) they make an ideal rod , coupled to the rods I’m still using my Shimano titan sea spin reels that I bought back in the late 80’s when they first came out, there bullet proof and still as good today as the day I bought them. I’ve loaded my spools with the last of my Nash bullet XT in 15lb and the spare spools for my reels have 20lb Ultima power braid which I will use as a back up. Buzzer’s, I have opted for the Nash Siren RS1 alarms along with the Slix hangers and up to now they have performed perfectly, and for metal work I have the Nash Grippa 3 rod buzz bars and bank sticks, but more recently I have just received a set of Interlok Buzzer bars and bank sticks they look really good and have dozens of combinations so we’ll see how they perform this season. My Bedchair that’s a simple one, I use the relatively new Nash Airlite sleep system which is one of the lightest beds on the market and this includes the sleeping bag which is zipped to the bed so can be removed when necessary, so when I need to get up and move to fish I can very quickly and with no fuss. That just leaves the last piece of equipment which is carp care I’ve just acquired a new unhooking mat and my choice was the new Nash flat mat which fit my style of fishing perfectly the large flat mat is well padded and big enough for the largest of carp it has a flap to cover the carp and also an attached kneeling pad which houses your medi carp which is supplied with the mat. I fold mine length ways so then it also holds my Kaptive Retainer sling, Refresh bucket, spare sack and the new peg one Muti mat which is an unhooking mat come way sling which I use when I go and look at little spots away from my main swim. So there you have it my gear as light as possible, just five items Barrow, Bedchair, Rod bag, Tackle bag and Unhooking mat, the only extra things I take occasionally when I’m doing a longer sessions is the Nash Bucket Hod for extra bait and a Nash Food Cool Bag for my extra fresh food and a set of water proofs I’ve just received a set of the new Jack Pyke Wild Trees camo prototype waterproof’s so I will let you know how I get on with them. I will put a check list below so you can see just what I take and see how you can minimize your gear. CHECK LIST
Tactic’sIn this section we will look at end tackle and how, where and why I’m going to use, if you’ve been following my series you will have hopefully already sort out some likely looking spots and started to put a bit of bait in and if you’ve been lucky you may even have seen some carp. So tactics, first you want to get the carp on to your bait, so once you’ve found some good looking spots or even seen some carp on the spots you’ve picked out to fish its time to get the bait in, I personally try to get as much bait as possible in to my stretch the river, boilies only to start with first spreading it all over and up and down the section I’m planning on fishing then I begin to narrow it down each time I bait up until I’m just baiting my actual fishing spots, then a few weeks before the start of the season I start to use some ground bait and particles to help give my spots one last clean up, this also helps attract other fish in to the swim which in turn hopefully will bring in the carp, during the close season my baiting is done as often as possible, then once the season starts I only bait up between sessions and just use stringers or PVA bags while fishing this lets the carp feed freely while I’m not there and while I’m fishing I use just enough to get a bite.
I’ve found river carp not that riggy as they are not fished for that often so finding them is the hardest part but once hooked they fight unbelievably hard so tackle has to be up to the job, so first leaders I use Nash Diffusion camo leaders or for the more snaggy swims I opt for 6ft of Core plus. Lead systems I use ether an inline lead fished drop off style or a Nash weed safe bolt clip so that the lead is discharged on the take. Hook links are made from either 25lb or 35lb Missing link which is attached to a size 6 or 8 fang Twister fished blow back style. I do like to use a long hook link anywhere from 10” up to 18” I’ve found this gives the carp more confidence when feeding. I use long rigs for all my fishing both home and abroad on lakes or rivers, the only time I might use a short hook link is in a snaggy swim where I want quick indication and with a short hook link I’m less likely to get a cut off.
Bait Again been involved with Nashbait this year I will be using the new Monster squid Boilies along with the accompanying Pellets and Soluballs also this year I will be using the new Chain Reaction system instead of dynamite sticks, also occasionally I will be using new bait we have just got on test. The boilies I’ve been introducing since March when the season finished as for the other bits they will come into use when the season starts. Next is a new company I’ve just got involved with Fishing Wizard they do a whole range of bait but I’m with them for their particles and some groundbaits which are top quality, I’ve been down to the factory to see my bait been cooked and its first class and would recommend them to anyone.
StrategiesSo let’s look at what we’ve got and put them together as a plan, first we’ve found our spots and place’s were going to start our river campaign next try to get as much boilie in to the river then onto those spots as possible during the close season this will get the carp feeding confidently, and once their use to their free meals they should keep coming back for more, then nearer the time to start fishing I then move on to using the ground baits and particles this will keep the spots clean with all the small fish feeding and make them more appealing to the carp but also create some competition for the food between the carp and all the other fish so hopefully their guard will be lowered and there for more likely to trip up and make a mistake. Once we’ve hopefully got some carp feeding on our spots the Diffusion camo or core plus should help conceal our line along with the help of a back lead were needed, then hopefully when a carp is hooked the drop off lead should help with playing the carp and bring it to the surface and if the Fang Twister’s done its job the fish will be well hooked but these fish fight so hard and there are plenty of unseen snags and obstacles waiting to cut you off thats why I use 25 or 35lb coated hooklinks to try and combat these, then hopefully all these bits put together will hopefully result with your prize safely in the bottom of your landing net ready for that prized photo.
So there you go the last part of the river puzzle put in place before the off, I hope I’ve helped you with your quest for that elusive river carp or sowed the seed to make you have a go on your local river, there are some massive uncaught monsters in some rivers up and down the country so have a go you could just land such a carp but at any size they are a fantastic catch. So hopefully in part five the season will be well under way and maybe just maybe we will have a photo for you of that the elusive river carp.
Till next time keep searching and good luck Tight lines Leigh
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