Give River Carping a Try

Another river season is upon us, the close season debates are over for a few months and we can get back to fishing our beloved rivers for coarse fish again. To a lot of us there is something special about rivers, to me it’s the fact that they can still throw up a surprise or two, their very nature means they can change dramatically over a period of time and we have to be on our toes to get the best from them but to the adaptable angler it is possible to find our own little Valhalla out there.

Early on most will be targeting the river fish of the moment, the barbel, whilst I still love my barbel fishing our rivers have another early season draw for me….carp.

I have for a long time known of the carp of the Midland rivers, over 35 years ago I remember reading about them in awe in the Stourport area. If my memory serves me well fish in excess of 25lb were caught, massive fish by anyone’s standards back then, but my first real introduction to catching them came during a barbel forage at the invite of Merv Wilkinson. Merv was putting in hours exploring the Warwickshire Avon and I was lucky enough to be invited along to a stretch he was targeting.

Both Merv and myself caught the odd carp from the stretch whilst after the barbel, we were using good quality paste baits and boilies at the time, so the odd carp was always a possibility, but we had more than the odd one ( Merv also caught what was a huge barbel from the river at that time). I had done my share of stillwater carping but these river fish really captured my imagination, they had probably not been caught before and had no names, it mattered little that they were not as big as their stillwater cousins, they were like a carping breath of fresh air! I had a few great evenings after them, averaging a brace per session, usually with fish in the 8 to 15lb range with the odd bigger fish, real old fashioned carping!

This was before any major floods had given escapee carp the chance to leave their stillwater homes and take up residence in the river, Merv’s theory was that a lot of them had been stocked into the canal network and had simply moved into the river because of their nomadic traits, I think he was sock on, there had definitely been an earlier carp population, but now there were lots about, they could certainly have been added to via the canal system where clubs had indeed stocked plenty of small carp.

Today there are of course many ‘escapee’ carp in our rivers, some must settle and thrive, but interestingly a pal of mine who boat fishes the lower Severn a lot for another species has told me of dead carp he has seen floating by, perhaps some of those escapee’s were fattened on an easy life of mountains of boilies and couldn’t hack the wilds of a river like the Severn? it’s certainly possible.

That said there is a very healthy carp population in all of our major Midland rivers, the Severn, Avon, and Wye all hold fish in excess of 30lb, and some to stun even the most experienced carper, including some pockets of very big grass carp. I hope that the carp remain a background fish, I would hate our rivers to be taken over by them (as I would any fish having dominance) but welcome a balanced population, it gives new dimensions to my fishing, something totally different to trotting a stick for roach but just as enjoyable.

Back to catching em! They pull like stink, have no names and can get seriously big, a situation I like!

Any carp angler worth his salt will tell you that they are not difficult to catch in what almost amounts to ‘virgin’ carping; it’s the same old story, location is all important. If river carp are something you fancy a go at then location is the single most important factor, I know I am stating the obvious but it is incredible how many anglers fish the wrong areas for their chosen quarry.

Gone are the days when we had to worry about bait, I’m no bait guru but it is one thing that is not on my importance list anymore, yes I have my favourites but if they disappear I would simply find another. The same applies to tackle, the choice available makes discussion about it immaterial, all I will say is leave your big chuck rods at home. But that said, the obvious is sometimes the first thing to be overlooked! Spend more thought on location than bait and tackle put together!

Location to some is a word that throws up all sorts of invisible barriers………..so let’s take a look at ‘location’.

The best way of locating river carp is to ask! Boats can be a real draw for them, both in the shape of cover, and because some weekend boaters feed them on their permanent moorings. Some boaters are very forthcoming about carp being about, in fact some of them fish for them! What is required is a little bit of ‘stealth’ questioning, steam in and you will find nothing out, have a genuine chat and it surprising what you can find out. By all means introduce yourself as an angler, weigh up the response, be polite and sometimes a cuppa may come your way along with tippets of big carp! Real water users, those who care, have their eyes open, like angling, boating has those who care and notice what’s going on around and in the water.

Others to ask are match anglers, if they tell of being smashed out of sight by unseen monsters then big carp can often be the culprit; my own river PB carp (in fact my PB full stop!) came from a match length, but more of that shortly.

Then there is getting your walking boots on and going out exploring and the best way is to incorporate all of these methods. I located a huge fish by doing just that and managed to photograph it. She had two other carp with her, one about 8lb, the other possibly a mid double. I have sent Graham a picture of the big one alongside the mid double, I don’t know if it is good enough for him to use. I have seen enough big carp swim off to know this was the biggest I have seen. I would put her at 35 to 38lb, perhaps not massive by some of today’s standards but potentially uncaught, unknown, no name, and from a river to boot, that’s damn big by my reckoning!

Problem was there was a match in progress about 20yds away and I didn’t want to hook her and cause a riot! I was 99% confident I could have caught her at the time but she would in all probability have steamed out of the backwater she was in and straight through the match lads swims! I also had to meet a pal further downriver for a session for barbel, I had only stopped off at the venue to have a nosey and had stumbled across her because I had a hunch based on previous information. Oh well, I thought, she will be there next time. I have yet to catch her or see her again ………lesson learnt? Yep, you bet! Wait for match to finish and explain to mate later would have been my best bet!

Another time, same river, different section, I arrived just as a match was finishing. This is a deliberate tactic, learnt from barbel fishing. The match lads fish all day and then throw in unused bait – so what happens? Yep, just at the best time of day to start fishing the fish find a load of free food. This time I also had a couple of the match lads tell me they had been smashed out of sight by huge barbel, and they went on to describe awesome takes from unseen fish that smashed them before they could compose themselves. They talked of ‘monster barbel’ taking off at such speed that they had no chance of gaining any control. Now in my opinion big barbel just don’t do that, the fight is not the same, barbel are unstoppable on the wrong gear at times certainly but it’s a different type of power from the river carp I have caught, which have been speed merchants. With these thoughts I decided to settle in for the evening.

I was soon settled in my chosen swim, although I knew the match lads had got rid of some of the bait they couldn’t keep I still topped up the swim with pellet and boilie chops and fished one rod directly in front of me on the slope, the other 15yds downstream under an overhanging tree.

Within an hour I knew I was in with a shout, a big mirror rolled directly over the bait in front of me in that slow manner that lets you see all the fish and leave you in no doubt what it is and that you you want it! Ten minutes later the rod tip slammed down to meet the river and I lifted into a fish. I soon realised it was not the big mirror and a long lean common graced my net, it was a nice fish but I had been convinced at the time of the take that it was the big one. For a river it was a nice fish but this time a ‘nice’ fish was an anti climax, I thought my chances of the big one were now reduced dramatically.

I put out more bait, recast both rods to their original positions and sat back to soak up the evening. I was now relaxed and anything would be a bonus. It was a lovely evening, the fishing was relaxing, two rods on alarms, and I will never understand those who see fit to knock this type of fishing, it can be very relaxing. Anyway as I was texting my mate who was on the Severn the downstream rod slammed round, the baitrunner started humming and the alarm was a blur! I grabbed the rod, knocking the freespool out and all hell let loose. The fish took line off the clutch at an amazing speed, and I do not pussy foot about with fish but once she realised something wasn’t right she took off at a phenomenal pace. That in itself didn’t bother me, the fact that she had reached a distance across river that had changed the angle of my line until it became caught on the overhanging tree did!

Luckily, just as my heart was missing a beat she changed direction and started heading upstream and the line came cleanly off the tree leaving me in direct contact with the fish and back in some sort of control with the gear I was using. After an incredible battle in open water and through lily pads, sending them up in the air, a fish I am convinced was the big mirror I thought I had missed my chance with, graced my net. She went a little over 30lb, had no name as far as I know and came from one of the rivers I had cut my teeth on. Carping doesn’t get much better.

During my ‘serious’ stillwater carping years my PB had been a fish of 28lb (equalled twice whilst bream fishing!) my PB pike is 29lb+, not big nowadays by some standards, but I once said to a close mate, half jokingly, “if I ever get a 30lb pike and carp I want them to be river fish.”I’m half way there now!

So if you fancy a change on the rivers this year then perhaps give carping a new look. I promise it is far more exciting than catching them from sterile bowls.