Carp fishing in Bulgaria

[Angel Minkov]

Hello, guys. My name is Angel and I am an amateur carp angler from Bulgaria. I love fishing and grew up doing it on a river perhaps 3 minutes away from our house which we use to go on vacations and relax. Sadly, the villagers don't share the "catch and release" policy like I do - they always take all the fish they catch to either feed their cats, eat or just so they don't release it. In addition, the aforementioned river is simply boiling with illegal fishing methods like using electrical rods and nets. Nobody is doing anything to stop this and I am sure the fish population is severely declining, even though it has been low for a few years now. I also suspect the fish are very wary of any and all disturbances. With all of this said, it has always been a dream of mine to catch a carp on that exact river, ever since I was 5 years old (19 currently). Now, I've caught carp on lakes, usually near our capital, but that was using the pellet waggler method - solid carp around the 5-10 kilo range, but its not as satisfying as landing even a 1 kilo carp on a wild river. The fishermen around the village don't usually chum, don't use dip and attractants, don't use pellets or boilies - they're just people who use fishing as a means to get some food on the table and thus aren't interested in modern techniques or anything, really. Usually they use corn, boiled wheat, bread and worms as bait. I suspect using a waggler and standard baits won't work because of all the small fish on the lake which would get attracted to the small particles. I decided I'd like to fish on standard hair rigs with sweet corn on them. For pre-baiting I plan to use boiled corn, wheat and other seeds. It was recommended to me by an experienced hair rig user here to put corn on the hair itself - 2 sinking corn and 1 pop up. The usual depths are 2-3 metres around the places I'd like to fish. There are a few spots where it can get to perhaps 4 to 5 metres, but they are very few and I've seen no signs of feeding carp there. I was planning on fishing near weeds and lillies on the banks , but I suspect the depths there are around 1 meter at best. 

Any and ALL tips would appreciated. I've asked around every group here, in Bulgaria, for tips, but this river seems to be of no interest to any serious angler and information is basically non-existent... 

[spr1985]

Never dismiss the margins! Next to the bank) it may only be a meter deep but that's plenty of space for me carp to lurk, lillies even better that gives him some cover and weed also good as it will likely contain naturals that they feed on....sounds like you are already on the rite tracks to me [emoji6]

 

 

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[Angel Minkov]

Boilies aren't used on the lake at all, and have never been used. Do you think they might have a response to them, maybe trigger a better appetite? 

[buzzbomb]

Welcome to the forum, and good luck.

[Angel Minkov]

Oh, I'm sorry, its a river, correct. I guess my tongue slipped I will try boilies for sure on at least 2 of the 3 rods I will be using. The weather is starting to get a bit colder here, with temps dropping to 20C from 30, I'm thinking it would be a good time to fish when they stabilise and remain low, as smaller fish group up and migrate to deeper waters. Nuisance fish aren't a problem in this river, as there is little fish of any kind to begin with... Bites are rare, even for me and I try different baits, depths, rigs, hooks etc 

Thanks for all the advice! 

[Angel Minkov]

I will definitely let you know how it all goes  

[Angel Minkov]

Okay, so my family had to take care of some business in our village, so I took the opportunity and went with them. I arrived at the river at around 8am. I was fishing with a waggler in a place I've always wanted to fish. I caught a few small fish using maggots as bait, but I noticed a lot of fish were jumping, which NEVER happened before on this particular river, and I mean NEVER. I've spent whole summers there and not seen a single fish jump. I take that as a good sign that perhaps poachers have piped down and the river is starting to recuperate and the fish are feeling less stress. I didn't see any big fish jump, though. Didn't notice ANY carp presence. 

http://tinypic.com/r/mh7ihz/9
http://tinypic.com/r/2hob40m/9
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I heard some splashes of decent fish here. There are even ducks present in this area, which I saw dive in for prolonged periods of time, presumably to hunt for fish. This place used to look so different when I was a kid! People came here to bathe and enjoy the sun, but now its just so... wild! I have a good feeling for this river, I hope I'm not wrong. I was thinking of fishing near the areas with vegetation, which can be seen on the pics, but I have yet to measure their depth and check for underwater weeds. 

[buzzbomb]

Thanks for the report Angel, nice looking place, very "fishy".

[Angel Minkov]

Its a beautiful place! I will try to take better pictures and maybe a video of different parts of the river with a normal camera. The pictures I posted yesterday were made with my phone's camera Now that its October and the temperatures are starting to go down, at what depths would you recommend I fish? Up to 1 meter, 2 meters, 3+? I presume some shallower waters near weeds where there is cover and the temps are warmer? 

[Angel Minkov]

I've been fishing this river for very long, about 14 years, but I only recently got into contemporary fishing. Before that I was taught that a handful of maize or wheat where I want to fish and a worm on the hook is enough. I feel cheated haha! In Bulgaria up to 3 rods per person are allowed. I plan on fishing with all 3 on different places with PVA bags. I will be buying cheap boilies to try to get the fish feeding on them and perhaps trick some decently sized carp, but not before I try the classic corn set-up or critically-balanced corn set-up. The river is very weedy and I have problems with getting a picture of the terrain (I don't know how people do it - I've heard its via using a lead attached to the main line which you cast and slowly reel in?), and deciding on what rig to use to avoid bad presentation... I was thinking of a chod rig? 

[buzzbomb]

When there is enough current to move groundbait downstream from where it's placed I sometimes cast my hookbait downstream as well in the belief that carp will be approaching from that direction as they detect the bait, and that hopefully some of the older and wiser ones will be eaitng particles that they know have tumbled down freely from where the main pile is.  Sometimes it works.

[buzzbomb]

Possibly, I suppose it depends on what the bottom is like  but I can't think what would rule it out.  A lot of the time if I've fouled my rig I'll know or suspect on the cast when I make that tiny move to draw my lead in just a foot or less to make sure I'm not in a nest of weeds or something.  I do it in lakes too.  If it doesn't feel right I don't think twice about checking it and re-casting.   When fishing at night I've used a glugged white foam earplug up about 5" (I thought that would keep me out of trouble from drifting weeds) and caught on it.  

[Angel Minkov]

Thanks for the discussion, guys! I was wondering - I have some Nash Instant Action Pineapple crush boilies and a dip from the same series, with the same scent. I've heard quick dips don't really do anything in particular, so I was wondering if I should add some of that dip to the jar with the boilies and let them sit and absorb as much as they can, thus increasing the attraction? 

[buzzbomb]

I keep one little jar just for glugging hookbaits and keep adding to it as required.

[Angel Minkov]

Thanks for all the information guys! I was looking up for new braid to change on one of my reels. I was thinking of using Daiwa - have you had experience with them? What is your opinion on them? Are they good? 

[Angel Minkov]

I meant main line,not braid. My fishing terminology in English still requires some work lol! For braid I'd buy around 50m, as I don't go carp fishing with my bottom rigs that often. I'm more of a float fisher, but on the river I'd like to catch a carp float fishing won't do it seems. 

[Angel Minkov]

Well, this section was designated for posts about fishing outside of the UK, so I decided it was the most appropriate place to post my question in. I'll make a topic on the main forum as well  

[JOE8180]

Hey all, love fishing and trying my hand at carp fishing. I'm in Sofia Bulgaria. Any good locations to try to catch some fish? Thanks.