ouchthathurt

I love getting on the canals, always approaching them with the same basic game plan mate. firstly, location is the most obvious thing, however it's surprising how often it is skipped over. Often, canal carp are not as pressured as their lake brethren, so can be easier to see and pin down. You say that one section is relatively featureless? I would hit that with a prebaiting campaign. My start would be with hemp/particle/corn/pellet with a few boilies added. Keep it going in initially to attract all species. As much as I want to stop other species in their tracks, I won't go straight for boilies until I know carp are visiting regularly. Flowing water carp (river/canal) tend to be very nomadic, especially in stretches where there are little in the way of cover or features to hold them, this is where I would attempt to create a reason for them to visit a chosen spot time and again using bait. Once I was happy I knew carp were hitting the spot regularly, I would do away with pellet and corn etc and wean them into boilies to deter the nuisance species and target the carp better. Although flowing water carp are less pressured, they can be spooky - catching one carp off a prebaited spot can spook the others and they often drift away, so I try get as many spots going as possible. Then I can leapfrog the carp on the move and be set up waiting as they reach my next spot. Good thing about most canals is you can follow the carp along the bank. More of my successes come from sections with lots of features and bushes etc, boats and marinas are good places to try. Get a mountain bike and some polaroids and go searching. Carp are always gonna drift from one section to another, unless something holds them. Lock gates, weir pools etc. I find once i am on fish, they're catchable, the trick is to find them first. Find them, feed them, catch them... Rigs wise, I tend not to get too riggy anyway, I believe location and quality bait is key anywhere, especially on a canal or river. Long casting is generally not an issue, so I tend to go for strong and simple gear. My main line is .35mm Shimano technium, (got 20lb b/s on testing it myself) with leadclips or inlines as a lead arrangement. Hooklinks are often just mono or a tough coated braid. Simple knotless knot to a strong size 4 hook. I'm an avid leadcore user, although I'll also use rigtube as happily. I want something tough and abrasion resistant, not all techy and complicated. If bottom debris and crayfish are an issue, then pop ups would be my choice, if I can present a bottom bait without any problems, then I'd go for that first. Backleading to prevent boats/kayakers etc catching my lines is important as well as keeping my gear on the path clear so walkers/cyclists don't run it down! I like to keep light and mobile so I can keep moving onto fish if my present spot isn't producing, before finding a night spot in a quiet stretch to do an overnighter. - this I bait regularly to keep the carp interested. Somewhere a little less snaggy and more open for fish safety reasons after dark. It's ok fishing locked up in the weedy/snaggy bits in the day where you can be on it and in control quickly but at night, I want it a bit more risk free where a run off a clutch won't cause issues. The carp will leave the snags and explore more at night anyway, so you make the best of both worlds. FInally, if you can rake the swims of crud and bait them, then try it - if all you do is clear a load of litter off the canal bed, then it's a good thing! I'd try get as much out as possible, anglers are guardians of our environment, rubbish is an eyesore and anglers tend to get blamed - more flak we could all do without, even if we are blameless. Clear the spots, with the rubbish and the carp gods will smile on you. Canals and rivers are tricky venues, but I love them. They fish through the winter too usually, I've got a little canal lined up this winter... Good luck mate.

I caught a 39lb 15oz doing exactly that! Lol! I believe the larger fish once over the hookbait cannot distinguish it as being off the deck too well, especially as they can't see it when their mouths are over it and they are relying on their barbules for the final part. This fish was caught on a simple braided pop up rig in a solid PVA bag, however in my experience I find braided pop up rig, especially fished without a PVA bag/stringer can tangle more times than I'm prepared to accept. I good old hinged stiff rig has caught me stacks of carp, i have not had one tangle and the hookholds have been awesome. It's my go to pop up rig regardless of where I am. It fishes well over a clean or slightly weedy bottom but can be a bit problematic in thick weed. I never use the chod. It's a rig I don't like, and I've never had my HSL outfished by a chod anyway.

Knots are a personal thing, so long as you trust them. ive used a blood knot all my fishing life and had no problems. The only knot i dont trust is a simple overhand loop, i find it self strangulates and weakens. a double overhand loop is much stronger. i use grinners for seafishing though, to attach tapered shockleaders on my abu hi speed multis. but blood knots for swivels hooks etc. the thicker the mono, the less turns i find i need. normal mono = 4turns braid =6turns greased weasel (trace bodies) =3turns. experience really helps here.

Using a stiff fluro hook section with a braided boom section is a known rig called a reverse stiff rig. it can be prone to tangling. You can use a braided hook link with a fluro boom to make a combi presentation but in my experience, hinged stiff links are best when made out of stiff materials such as amnesia. you can of course use coated braid and peel back the amount you want the bait to pop up by, however i prefer a traditional hinged stiff link as they seem to tangle less abd kick the hookbait away from the lead on settling, especially if pva nuggets are used. i find the amnesia stiff links more versitile and less prone to tangle and they give better hookholds in my opinion. they are whats on my rods at the moment anyway!

I use the d rig with my stiff links. fish them over a wide variety of bottom makeups with no issues that i am aware of. find a stiff link is a good rig to use on new waters as its pretty versitile.

I use amnesia 15lb for all my pop up rigs, hinged stiff links. i took my first "hard" water using fluro hooklinks in late 90s. again using amnesia 15lb in clear and bottom baits. i think i had the advantage as everyone else was using supple braided hooklinks. so it was a different presentation. so id use it when no one else is.

I recognise those quotes - i wrote them. Damage caused when: Longshank hook peirces lip in smaller carp. Hookpoint passes clean through lip and out the other side. Smaller carp frantically swimming/jerking/headshaking Hookpoint re-hooks lip at another point. Pressure exerted pulls hookpoint home. Carp now double hooked (stitched) Pressure applied to part of mouth there hook dug in a second time - direct pressure from angler on 1st hook point - leteral/sideways pressure on 2nd. Hook tears along the lip, ripping it along until the hook ends up back, single hooked, where it started, or tears free. The bent hook rig used to do the same, as the hook flexed forwards and backwards at the point of bending during the fight making matters worse. Of the two, the 360 rig is much safer, and is a "big fish rig" so if uded correctly in the right situation for big carp (that often fight slower and less frantic then little uns) is less risky. Its not the rigs fault, its the person who choses to use it in the wrong situation. Like my job, i carry a rifle, i went round afghan with it, but my rifle itself isnt dangerous, i could walk past civvies without it bursting into gunfire, but it became dangerous when i chose to use it. I have seen mouth damage with a 360 rig and one carp is enough. I think other rigs work just as well. You would want me as your lawyer, you might not win, but i'd be cheaper!

Carp spawning temps are 14-24c with optimum temps being 16-18c, the temps during the day for the last week or so, before the rain was averaging mid teens around my area, obviously this does not count nationally, but ive seen them going through the motions, cruising in groups, fin flicking, tailing each other, if not full out carpy humping, this was during the sunny high temps/high pressure. The cool low pressure that has brought this rain in has lowered the daily temps to about 9-11c during the day. This low pressure may get the carp to forget about procreation for the moment and get their heads down, who knows how their little fishy minds work?

Well ive repeatedly offered to make a nice pie, but no takers so far! They'll eat the wild rabbits that i shoot, but offer them rosie rabbit? Nooooo! Thats just not right...

You think that dog looks broken? Check out mine... Looks proper knackered! Yes, i gave her easter eggs and told my kids she is the real easter bunny...!

Yeah could be, the temps are getting there, my local lake has switched off too.

How did you get on?

Some things never change! Lol! It had some lovely carp in it. Used premier GLM with mixed herbs flavour over the summer of 98 fished the end (furthest) swim from the car park tight to the far margins, casting to the far bank, walking around and lowering it by hand with a handful of baits scattered around it. Caught virtually every known carp in there, it was one of my most fondest ever seasons, lovely tench too! Is that massive koi/goldfish still in there do you know? Bexhill?? My parents live there, i went to school there in the 90's.

You live nearby? Small world innit?? No, i totally agree with you, the "argos brigade" or "chavvies" as we once called them years ago would descend en masse and just winch the poor blighters in. Its the only place that i got in a fist fight, had my phone stolen, watched a motorbike crash and burn and had teenagers procreating in the bushes... A lot of obscenity for a 13yr old wannabe carper! I used to say that if i could get one wish, i would transport the wish lock stock and barrel and move it deep into the countryside! Ever fish harmers pool or buckshole?

Again i fished there 15+yrs ago, had loads of fish out to 22lb, when i first started there in mid 90's the carp were lovely golden bronzed flanked hard fighting commons of upper singles to low doubles, but i went back many years later and caught small aneamic pasty 3lbers. So either the lake changed or my outlook became rose tinted! Used to fish wishing tree, then Harmers pool (whats that like now?) then buckshole (thats changed too i suppose) then spoon, normanhurst, Kell lake, then up to reading to fish various waters ending up on wraysbury in the end.

Thats it, Broomham, lovely little pond. I had some lovely fish from it. I never saw another angler there, they were all interested in the wishing tree resiviour, how does that fish these days?

Wouldnt suprise me, 10-12yrs ago it was all secluded and overgrown, i dont remember any weed growth at all, certianly not enough to cause any issues to the fishing. What was the name of the little pool behind the catsfield post office on the way to normanhurst? Can you still fish there? Used to fish it in the winter.

I use "tapatalk" and manage my carp.com account on my phone through tapatalk. (free app) I reply to a quote as normal and if i want to put a photo on, hit the camera pic on the toolbar, it opens my iphone gallery and i pick the photo i want. When i submit my post, it automatically updates and shows the pic. I use my iphone camera for everything, so the photos are all on there.

Walked on, down the path to where the lake starts to open out, putting a bait to the overhanging bushes in the oppasite margins. Or heading further down the bank until i was in a position to put a bait tight to the "island" - then get a mate to nip round and pult some hemp/pellet/boilie tight around the hookbait. I fished there a fair few years ago, so things may have changed. I liked to fish the margins and tucking my bait under quiet, undisturbed holes in the bushes.

I used premier baits, matrix, aminos 2000, GLM, Blue cheese flavours. The tackleshop in hastings, A.R. Tackle used to sell it if he's still there, but i should imagine any decent bait will work, i always found location to be far more important here, the carp were very "spotty" if that makes any sense, i would catch a fish from under the rhodrudrendums in the far margins to the right of the swim, yet my mate would blank to the left of the swim. Your bait placement needed to be spot on. It was quite silty due to the proximity of the trees surrounding the lake and its age. Lovely looking lake though.

Jesus!! There are loads! Look at holiday carping, back of magazines etc. One complex i can think of is Wylands lakes in east sussex. Made up of loads of different sized ponds of varying levels of difficulty. Worth a phone call at least.

Thats awesome, well done fella.

I used helicopter rigs on 6-8" braided hooklinks with tiny pva stockings to prevent tangles. Been a fair few years since i fished there and only did winter days to keep my enthusiasm when buckshole slowed down in the colder months.

Heres one from normanhurst

Yes, fished it years ago. Used to fish premier blue cheese boilies tight to island margins. The shallow/logs swim used to have some commons in it in the summer. A bait placed to an island margin or under the rhodrudendrums in the margins in the narrow end of the lake when you first walk on the lake. They like a bit of cover here!