Looking for Advice on River Carping

[TheKiwiCarper]

Hi Everyone so im starting to think about fishing the Waikato river this spring/summer and i wanted to get a few ideas on methods... Most Carp fishing video's you see online are about lake fishing and the methods like fishing over particles dont translate that well to a river that has decent flow to it. Granted i will be trying to fish near the bank where its fairly slack but still has movement and i wondered if any groundbait i chuck out there is just going to get washed away. Also there are some very large carp in the river but it seems like getting to them is a bit of a challenge! would it be worth just making some big baits and puting one line out there with a big bait on it?

[Golden Paws]

I used to fish rivers for barbel a few years ago and used plenty of hemp and corn as a particle to get the fish grubbing around. If you just throw the bait in, it will scatter and create a large area of bait. I used a bait dropper to get most of my bait down, here's my Heath Robinson home made versions that I made from a tuna can, piece of metal rod and some roofing lead and a hinge made from an old bicycle inner tube and fastened together with rivets. You can buy them in the UK but not sure about NZ.

PVA mesh is another good option for getting bait down (if using hemp you'll have to add some salt or else it will melt too quickly) or a swimfeeder.

A large smelly bait fished as a single is another good option, I used luncheon meat fried in tandoori and garlic with some success although it was better after dark or when the river was carrying extra water.

 

[crusian]

7 hours ago, TheKiwiCarper said:

Hi Everyone so im starting to think about fishing the Waikato river this spring/summer and i wanted to get a few ideas on methods... Most Carp fishing video's you see online are about lake fishing and the methods like fishing over particles dont translate that well to a river that has decent flow to it. Granted i will be trying to fish near the bank where its fairly slack but still has movement and i wondered if any groundbait i chuck out there is just going to get washed away. Also there are some very large carp in the river but it seems like getting to them is a bit of a challenge! would it be worth just making some big baits and puting one line out there with a big bait on it?

Hello KiwiCarper

From my quick google of the Waikato River , I can’t think of any rivers in England that are similar .

Perhaps if you go on YouTube there might be clips of Fishing in the Thames or the Severn which are quite large powerful rivers ? .

So will you be getting a “ New Zealand Carping “ section all to yourself , KiwiCarper ? .

😄 

[crusian]

Just remembered Terry Hearn did a video of fishing for Carp on the River Thames ; he was moving around by boat .

😃

[dalej2014]

My own experience of river carping is about 20 years old now, but may help, so here it is. I used big trout pellets in the margin, and pre-baited for several days before fishing at the same time each evening. If there's a lot of flow halve the pellets so they don't roll. You may need to pre-bait for some days or weeks before the fish are accustomed to finding bait at the same time and place. Hope this helps! 

I only did this for a few days and caught a twenty pount mirror from our local river (the Gipping). Dissapointingly it didn't even put up much of a fight. Mind you it was in the net in seconds, and I don't hink it knew what happened.

Good luck!

[TheKiwiCarper]

13 hours ago, Golden Paws said:

I used to fish rivers for barbel a few years ago and used plenty of hemp and corn as a particle to get the fish grubbing around. If you just throw the bait in, it will scatter and create a large area of bait. I used a bait dropper to get most of my bait down, here's my Heath Robinson home made versions that I made from a tuna can, piece of metal rod and some roofing lead and a hinge made from an old bicycle inner tube and fastened together with rivets. You can buy them in the UK but not sure about NZ.

PVA mesh is another good option for getting bait down (if using hemp you'll have to add some salt or else it will melt too quickly) or a swimfeeder.

A large smelly bait fished as a single is another good option, I used luncheon meat fried in tandoori and garlic with some success although it was better after dark or when the river was carrying extra water.

Thanks i have PVA bags to i might give that a go.. the only problem i have with any meat is the eels in the river im pretty sure if i use meat im going to get eels and small catfish plauging me  I was thinking of maybe baiting up an area with something cheap and easy like chickpea's from the local Indian food supply store.

[TheKiwiCarper]

10 hours ago, dalej2014 said:

My own experience of river carping is about 20 years old now, but may help, so here it is. I used big trout pellets in the margin, and pre-baited for several days before fishing at the same time each evening. If there's a lot of flow halve the pellets so they don't roll. You may need to pre-bait for some days or weeks before the fish are accustomed to finding bait at the same time and place. Hope this helps! 

I only did this for a few days and caught a twenty pount mirror from our local river (the Gipping). Dissapointingly it didn't even put up much of a fight. Mind you it was in the net in seconds, and I don't hink it knew what happened.

Good luck!

Thanks i think i will start with that idea... attached is a typical swim on the Waikato. Banks of weed close in then clear on the outside of that, the big fish/all fish seem to cruize on the other side of the weed then come in closer to mill around. You can see a group of them in the photo.

[TheKiwiCarper]

12 hours ago, crusian said:

Just remembered Terry Hearn did a video of fishing for Carp on the River Thames ; he was moving around by boat .

😃

I have a 14ft6 boat which i use for saltwater fishing but i have seriously thought about cruizing the river in it looking for spots only acessable by boat.

[TheKiwiCarper]

Ive actually started a youtube channel to document how i get on so if any of you are keen to check it out go here https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWVxYmwJAyCcZXi1LSMA1Bw?sub_confirmation=1 I dont have any content up at the moment as we are currently being lashed by rain and the river is approaching flood levels. Once it all settles down im going to be posting some footage  

[dalej2014]

With them that close I'd try surface fishing with bread or pellets, or go for a pellet waggler fished about a foot or two under. Lovely looking fish if you can catch them!

It may even be worth your while putting up a "scarecrow" so they're used to seeing someone "standing" on the bank? (Or is that just a crazy idea!? lol)

[TheKiwiCarper]

8 hours ago, dalej2014 said:

With them that close I'd try surface fishing with bread or pellets, or go for a pellet waggler fished about a foot or two under. Lovely looking fish if you can catch them!

It may even be worth your while putting up a "scarecrow" so they're used to seeing someone "standing" on the bank? (Or is that just a crazy idea!? lol)

they do seem to be spooked by people even though there are spots where people feed ducks etc so i may just have to hide  

[buzzbomb]

There is a school of thought that believes larger, older, more experienced carp may hang back and let the young ones bust into any concentration of bait while they wait for bits to wash down in the current and they take those because they know they're safe.  In the past I have been rewarded by imagining my bait as a comet on the bottom, and aiming my rig near the end of the tail, or just beyond it.

[TheKiwiCarper]

58 minutes ago, buzzbomb said:

There is a school of thought that believes larger, older, more experienced carp may hang back and let the young ones bust into any concentration of bait while they wait for bits to wash down in the current and they take those because they know they're safe.  In the past I have been rewarded by imagining my bait as a comet on the bottom, and aiming my rig near the end of the tail, or just beyond it.

Ive seen this happen i had thrown out a load or corn and there was one 20+ pound Carp that hung back and let all the small ones have a good old feed and then it would come in.. but it would spook really easily and take off out into the deeper water.

[Golden Paws]

It's all about building up the fishes confidence. The longer they feed freely and without anything untoward happening, the more confident they become and the more the larger fish will bully their way to the front of the feeding queue. I've witnessed it happening in clear rivers and it does take several hours of baiting and waiting until you can achieve that. I used to bait about 6 spots and visit and watch them over a few hours and then normally a large smelly bait placed in the swim on dark could result in an instant bite and with a high average size.

Baiting in the margins will allow you to lower a bait dropper and your bait into the swim with minimal disturbance and less bait will be washed out of the swim by the current.

[Golden Paws]

Just browsing on YouTube and found this which might help:

The bit about saving the hemp juice rung a bell, I freeze any I drain off and use it to make a groundbait plug for my spod.

[TheKiwiCarper]

Thanks im watching that now.. cant get hemp or tigers here but i can get maize and chickpeas easily

[TheKiwiCarper]

So im thinking of starting a few weeks of pre-bating with Maize... how much do you think is a good amount to chuck out each day?

 

[yonny]

5 hours ago, TheKiwiCarper said:

how much do you think is a good amount to chuck out each day?

It depends on whether it's getting eaten.

If you can see the spot and the bait is going then increase the qty. If you can't see it then have a lead around to see if the spot is being cleaned of any silt/debris.

Start with a kilo a day and if it gets eaten I'd have no qualms upping the qty to 3 or 4 times that over a few weeks.

[WendyStark]

I’ve had good luck using PVA bags—they keep the bait right where you want it. Chickpeas are a great shout too, and they’re cheap enough to throw around. For the bigger carp, I’ve tried chucking out a big smelly bait, like meat or pellets, and it’s worked pretty well. I also make sure I’ve got everything covered, just in case something goes sideways. sundaysinsurance.co.uk has been a good option for me, so I can focus on fishing without worrying about the 'what ifs.'

Edited November 18 by WendyStark