slepy142 Posted December 31, 2018 Report Share Posted December 31, 2018 Hi everyone, Firstly, what a great website and amazing posts from top anglers. I started fishing a local lake holds good head of carp up to 25 lbs. In summer i been using pigeon conditioner with Vitalin and fish sauce using a method feeder. In spring and summer i catch around 15 to 18 fish in a 8 hour session ( easy venue) however the biggest is only ever around 14 lbs. I use 4inch rig size 8 hook with double pop up corn yellow and pink on top. How do i catch the bigger fish? I tried different spots on the lake but same result. I been today got only 4 in a session but again all around 10lbs. I love even the smallest fish but i would like to target the bigger fish. Boilies are not permitted on this lake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dayvid Posted December 31, 2018 Report Share Posted December 31, 2018 You just have to stick at it , with that amount of fish (15-18 in 8 hours) their is no secret method to enable you to catch that 25 lbr or specifically the larger ones , unless you see them and then go for it . commonly 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salokcinnodrog Posted January 1, 2019 Report Share Posted January 1, 2019 Welcome to Carp.com. Big question are there really fish going 25lb in there? Sounds harsh, but sometimes rumours abound that enlarge top weights to pull in anglers. Vitalin and pigeon conditioner, great bait, but try not feeding so much, or switch to larger particles only. Maize is a good bait, you may find it draws bigger fish. It could be worth changing hookbait, a disc of Peperami, or as above going to maize. Shorts in winter? I know it is not cold, but sure it ain't that warm! commonly 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Hedgehog Posted January 1, 2019 Report Share Posted January 1, 2019 I’d echo the advice given. Catching the big ones is a numbers game. Sounds obvious but try to see what others are doing and try to avoid these tactics. If everyone’s on corn or plastic corn switch to something totally different. I’d be tempted to fish large drilled out pellet, 16mm+. Bait up with a variety of sizes. Cheap as chips and pellets are often over looked. Good luck and keep at it. commonly 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slepy142 Posted January 1, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2019 Thanks guys and a happy New Year to everyone !!! Lake is very good for surface fishing they seem to catch the bigger fish. Thank you for the reply. I will definitely tweak my approach and bait a little. As to the winter it was 12 degrees yesterday and it was fairly warm. Fish were jumping out the water like it was summer. I never seen a 20 + being caught in that lake so i guess rumours it is. The bait mix i use on this lake is unique no one else seems to be using it and in all honesty catches the most fish in a session. In summer only 2 other guys catch as much. Its my first year and if it wasn't for my friend who has been on the lake for years i would be one of the other anglers. I will post my results after my next session. On 1 January 2019 at 03:31, salokcinnodrog said: Welcome to Carp.com. Big question are there really fish going 25lb in there? Sounds harsh, but sometimes rumours abound that enlarge top weights to pull in anglers. Vitalin and pigeon conditioner, great bait, but try not feeding so much, or switch to larger particles only. Maize is a good bait, you may find it draws bigger fish. It could be worth changing hookbait, a disc of Peperami, or as above going to maize. Shorts in winter? I know it is not cold, but sure it ain't that warm! Lol that's a picture from the summer. Yesterday i had mine jacket and thermals on. commonly 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harpz_31 Posted January 2, 2019 Report Share Posted January 2, 2019 on high stock venues like that I've noticed the bigger fish tend to come out of the same area so it might be worth looking at where they've come out in the past commonly 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slepy142 Posted January 2, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2019 Thats a valid point as my biggest was of my usual spot. Most i caught were by an island and biggest one i caught was away in open water where some say the bigger fish are. commonly 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluelabel Posted January 2, 2019 Report Share Posted January 2, 2019 I often catch larger fish close in, as many anglers rock up to a water and chuck out to an inland or a distant open water spot/feature when in reality the lumps are often under your feet commonly and Dave Hedgehog 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slepy142 Posted January 2, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2019 I only started last year carp fishing and i see all these pros on you tube and on the lake and i never seen anyone more serious about their business. I agree with it all but do carp really pick and chose what they eat or how they are caught? I mean if you land on the fish than surly you will catch it regardless of whats on the end of your hair. I might be wrong but either way cant beat carp fishing commonly 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salokcinnodrog Posted January 2, 2019 Report Share Posted January 2, 2019 5 hours ago, slepy142 said: I only started last year carp fishing and i see all these pros on you tube and on the lake and i never seen anyone more serious about their business. I agree with it all but do carp really pick and chose what they eat or how they are caught? I mean if you land on the fish than surly you will catch it regardless of whats on the end of your hair. I might be wrong but either way cant beat carp fishing Carp can be very picky what they eat at times, even in a mix of particles. I have watched carp pick out hemp from a mix of hemp and tares, and carefully avoid every boilie. I fished a water with a hemp based boilie, a fishmeal boilie and freebies a mix of them both with hemp. The carp avoided the hemp based boilie when fished on the hook. Some carp can avoid boilies. Another lake, the biggest fish would only ever get caught on bread or sweetcorn, it just did not take boilies, and I watched it feeding. As for beating carp fishing, as much as I enjoy catching carp, a 2lb roach or a 20lb pike will beat catching carp😉 Donnygooner 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slepy142 Posted January 3, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2019 Its all one big mystery to me. When i was young and i used to go fishing with my dad we would take bread and sweet corn and catch fish all day. Now you need a van full of bait and tackle to outsmart the fish. I personally think k its our own fault because someone e decided to up their game a bit which required more gear and hey presto Nash and Korda are born. Even so the stuff that's out there alone is not enough to get a fish on the bank. What do we know, it will be spring soon and we wont have time to post on here because we will be to busy catching carp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harpz_31 Posted January 3, 2019 Report Share Posted January 3, 2019 1 hour ago, slepy142 said: Its all one big mystery to me. When i was young and i used to go fishing with my dad we would take bread and sweet corn and catch fish all day. Now you need a van full of bait and tackle to outsmart the fish. I personally think k its our own fault because someone e decided to up their game a bit which required more gear and hey presto Nash and Korda are born. Even so the stuff that's out there alone is not enough to get a fish on the bank. What do we know, it will be spring soon and we wont have time to post on here because we will be to busy catching carp its true that when a certain approach has been used a lot the fish get used to seeing it and become weary. but if everyone on the lake has been fishing say a pink pop up over tight beds of pellets ill try and do something different, like a spread of boilies over a wide area same as if everyone's using lots of boilie ill try and use particle and see if it out fishes boilies. same as rigs, you don't have to use the latest super rig to catch lots of fish, I've used the same 2 rigs (1 for particle & 1 for boilie) for 99% of for the last 15 years just slightly altered for different types of bottom. don't think you've got to spend a fortune on tackle to be able to catch, most of the more expensive gear in my opinion isn't as good and the cheaper alternatives, I've spent £500+ on a bivvy and £150 on a bivvy and the cheaper 1 was twice as good as the more expensive 1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yonny Posted January 3, 2019 Report Share Posted January 3, 2019 On 31/12/2018 at 19:28, slepy142 said: How do i catch the bigger fish? Fish places with bigger fish in buddy. A long time ago I wasted 2 years chasing a single big fish in a water full of smaller ones. It's not worth it mate. If you want big fish, fish big fish waters. bluelabel, pooter and oscsha 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slepy142 Posted January 3, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2019 24 minutes ago, harpz_31 said: its true that when a certain approach has been used a lot the fish get used to seeing it and become weary. but if everyone on the lake has been fishing say a pink pop up over tight beds of pellets ill try and do something different, like a spread of boilies over a wide area same as if everyone's using lots of boilie ill try and use particle and see if it out fishes boilies. same as rigs, you don't have to use the latest super rig to catch lots of fish, I've used the same 2 rigs (1 for particle & 1 for boilie) for 99% of for the last 15 years just slightly altered for different types of bottom. don't think you've got to spend a fortune on tackle to be able to catch, most of the more expensive gear in my opinion isn't as good and the cheaper alternatives, I've spent £500+ on a bivvy and £150 on a bivvy and the cheaper 1 was twice as good as the more expensive 1. Thats right. I find it most intriguing how smart the fish are. I believe in the most basic approach. At the end of the day its a relaxing hobby. It should be fun and enjoyable. I only just started doing my rigs and found d the most simple rig was most effective. Sharp hook and good bait at end of it. harpz_31 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salokcinnodrog Posted January 3, 2019 Report Share Posted January 3, 2019 1 hour ago, slepy142 said: Its all one big mystery to me. When i was young and i used to go fishing with my dad we would take bread and sweet corn and catch fish all day. Now you need a van full of bait and tackle to outsmart the fish. I personally think k its our own fault because someone e decided to up their game a bit which required more gear and hey presto Nash and Korda are born. Even so the stuff that's out there alone is not enough to get a fish on the bank. What do we know, it will be spring soon and we wont have time to post on here because we will be to busy catching carp I think I was 12, cycling 7 miles to fish Thornham ponds, which had carp to double figures, roach to over a pound and tench to 5lb. Bait was always maggots, or bread, you had a choice of float or ledger. Amount of gear? You took what you could carry on your bike, rods usually strapped to the crossbar frame, a rucksack or seatbox on your back. I totally agree, too much gear, some necessary, some not so. No point in turning up with 3 Big Pit reels and 3lb test curve rods, rod pod, bivvy etc on a day only one acre water where the carp might just go to double figures. I enjoy going to waters like that with a floater rod, ledger rod (sometimes it is the same thing), and/or an Avon rod with centre pin reel, and fishing under my feet with a float. I took this approach to Bromeswell in Suffolk where a dad and his lad had been 'conned' into buying all the gear, either media or the tackle shop. Out with 2 rods, fire boilies over the top, sit and wait, and wait and wait. I was in the next swim doing my thing, firing out occasional floaters, but mostly fishing my float rod with sweetcorn and pellet. I think after the fourth carp they were both stood behind me chatting to the lake owner about what I was doing, and why they couldn't catch. Jon and I took down one of their carp rods, gave them a float, some pellets and some sweetcorn, set it up and sat them in their swim showing them how to catch. The lad landed his first ever double figure carp within 10 minutes! Please don't get me wrong, the big gear does have its place but it is not the only way to catch. oscsha, Donnygooner and crusian 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginger9991 Posted January 3, 2019 Report Share Posted January 3, 2019 If your using a method feeder your going to catch more smaller carp due to the way they chase/compete the method feeder, Especially if your fishing the same spot. Maybe fish a second rod, just off of your method rod, A few feet, A few yards, to see if you can pick up the bigger fish that tend to lurk a bit more. I often use a flat method as i enjoy watching the tip whip round, you can out fish 2 static tradional carp rods for sure, but you do tend to have a smaller stamp of fish....With the odd suprise....that could be a 20lber or a greedy roach..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salokcinnodrog Posted January 3, 2019 Report Share Posted January 3, 2019 19 minutes ago, Ginger9991 said: If your using a method feeder your going to catch more smaller carp due to the way they chase/compete the method feeder, Especially if your fishing the same spot. Maybe fish a second rod, just off of your method rod, A few feet, A few yards, to see if you can pick up the bigger fish that tend to lurk a bit more. I often use a flat method as i enjoy watching the tip whip round, you can out fish 2 static tradional carp rods for sure, but you do tend to have a smaller stamp of fish....With the odd suprise....that could be a 20lber or a greedy roach..... I actually used a Method Groundbait ball wrapped around the lead on Ardleigh, the majority of the carp I caught were over 20lb. It depends on the water. I can go back to Bromeswell, and for some reason the Method does not work very well, possibly the thick silt lakebed. Loosefed pellets, sweetcorn and particles work a lot better, quite probably because they don't sink into the silt. At Thwaite The method over plenty of groundbait did produce loads of fish, if fished over the gravel, but so did loosefeeding. The loosefeeding however produced lots of smaller silver fish. The Method was more carp orientated on the hook. The moral of the story? Learn as much as you can about the water, and remember waters change over time, so you will need to adapt. commonly 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slepy142 Posted January 3, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2019 20 minutes ago, Ginger9991 said: If your using a method feeder your going to catch more smaller carp due to the way they chase/compete the method feeder, Especially if your fishing the same spot. Maybe fish a second rod, just off of your method rod, A few feet, A few yards, to see if you can pick up the bigger fish that tend to lurk a bit more. I often use a flat method as i enjoy watching the tip whip round, you can out fish 2 static tradional carp rods for sure, but you do tend to have a smaller stamp of fish....With the odd suprise....that could be a 20lber or a greedy roach..... I fish with the korda baitup method feeder and its been the most effective for me on this venue. Its true i tend to get same size fish from same spot. We tried several options behind the island to left of it and right of the island and results were the same. Only when i used a popup dumbell and fished it in open water away from the island i got my biggest fish. I wonder if moving away towards the end of the lake where people dont fish very often would make a difference. It narrows down a bit and has few trees covering the bank with wind blowing that way most of the time. I was shadowing a mate who introduced me to this venue and the feeder with the bait we use. This season i want to explore the lake a bit more. People fish it in different ways. Surface, pellets boilies even though they are not allowed. And for the most part my mate and i seem to be catching the most out of all on a session. Apart from this veteran who fishes of the surface with rods pointing to the sky sat in a home made pvc pipe rod stand. I want to enhance the mix im using with bigger particles and pellets perhaps but i dont want them to melt when bait is brewing for 24hrs and once its done its so sticky its hard to mix it with anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crusian Posted January 4, 2019 Report Share Posted January 4, 2019 On 02/01/2019 at 15:49, bluelabel said: I often catch larger fish close in, as many anglers rock up to a water and chuck out to an inland or a distant open water spot/feature when in reality the lumps are often under your feet Hello Blue I would like to be a Margin(master) 😀 , but what about this time of the year when the carp seem to have deserted the near margins and the water is soo clear anyway ? . 😊 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluelabel Posted January 5, 2019 Report Share Posted January 5, 2019 Target the deeper areas a rod length or two out, (spend a day or two with just a marker rod finding depths) or if the sun is on the water, I would drop a bait in the areas where the sun is on the water for the longest, as it'll warm up quicker... commonly and crusian 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crusian Posted January 6, 2019 Report Share Posted January 6, 2019 On 05/01/2019 at 09:42, bluelabel said: Target the deeper areas a rod length or two out, (spend a day or two with just a marker rod finding depths) or if the sun is on the water, I would drop a bait in the areas where the sun is on the water for the longest, as it'll warm up quicker... 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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