Dave Rothery
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Introduction

This is going to be a rambling series of articles, loosely based on a ‘Starting Carping’ theme. It’s not meant to be in any way definitive, just a load of observations, hints and tips that you can use to catch a few more fish. Look at it as a step forward for anglers that have some experience, who already understand how to find fish, or at least what to look for, and know how to cast, play fish, etc. If you haven’t reached that stage yet then it’s probably best if you study some more basic stuff first and get proficient at that level. You’ll benefit no end in the long run. The series is also about fishing ‘proper’ waters, rather than the overstocked ‘pastie bag-up’ commercial fisheries which are a different prospect altogether and not really ‘carper’s’ waters.

Let’s have a look at tackle first.

Tackle

There’s a bewildering array of well marketed tackle around, and if you pick up any magazine you’ll be led to think that you need the latest/greatest kit just to be able to turn up at a water! Also people can be led into thinking you have to have really strong gear to land a carp, which is not necessarily the case. Just balance your kit to the water you’re going to be fishing.

Rods

If you are going to invest any money in one piece of kit, then I think the rods are the most important item. Buy a decent rod now, and it’ll last for years. One thing I think lots of people get wrong is in the type of rod they buy. Walk around any small water and you’ll see loads of 3lb+ test curve fast taper rods being used, often when people are fishing less than 50yds out. Combine this with big pit reels and you can maybe see why some people lose so many fish. Let’s expand on that.

Test curve – This is the amount of pressure needed to bend the tip of the rod 90 to the butt, although some of the more specialist rods are quoted in casting weight rather than test curve (as are sea rods). Don’t confuse this with how much pressure you can exert on a fish.

Taper – This is the way we describe how the rod bends, roughly speaking a through action/slow taper rod will (should!) bend in a nice progressive bend, right through to the handle. They are the nicest rods to play fish on, but they wont be able to cast as far or as accurately as a Fast action/fast taper rod. This will primarily just bend to around the top third.

rods most important
Rods are the most important item Dave says
This will give the best casting performance (in the right hands), and the best accuracy, but you will have to be more careful when playing fish. As always, there are exceptions to the rule. For example, if you are going to do a lot of ‘Method’ or PVA fishing at range, where you are casting heavy, fragile baits, you’ll find a through action rod will give you more distance than a fast taper rod – this is why pike anglers deadbait rods are through action.

You also have to take into account the quality of the rod. To achieve the best distances, you need to have a good tip recovery. This means the rod will go from being bent to straight quickly, without the tip wobbling about. This used to be achieved by having very stiff rods, whereas these days its achieved by using higher quality materials – the very best of which are only obtainable by British or American firms as they are classed as weapons grade! But by and large, this is only really an issue when fishing at the extreme end of distance. Also, some of the better rods manage to give the best of both worlds – the ability to cast a long way, but still be responsive under the tip – but these wont come cheap! The other thing to bear in mind if you are fishing bigger waters it that a higher test curve doesn’t necessarily mean more distance. Most people will be able to cast a 2

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