Up Close and Personal Carp Fishing

Up close and personal carp fishing

Now that the weather has warmed up a bit I’ve been stealing time for the occasional short session on some of my local stillwaters. Now those of you who know me will know that I’m not a person who can sit for long hours behind a pair of rods so, not surprisingly, I’ve been taking a roving approach to my fishing.

The ideas behind this article began to take place a long way from home by a small mill pond in Cornwall. The surf was almost non-existent so I had to resort to a bit of fishing to fill the hours! Luckily there was an old mill pond just over the fence from the camp site and it looked to have a few carp in it.

The mill pond is a beautiful water nestling in a valley on the edge of a large common. It has silted up over the years resulting in a shallow, gin clear water which gets heavily weeded later in the year. Its resident carp population are mostly long, lean commons with more than a hint of wildie about them.

I started off by float fishing against a weedbed and was happily catching small ‘pasties’ when I noticed a swirl and a cloud of mud in the marginal weeds near my feet. I thought nothing of this until the following day, when I spooked another fish in the margins. Slowly it began to dawn on me that some of the bigger carp preferred to feed right up against the bank, probably picking up discarded bait. I scattered a few pellets and broken boilies along the marginal shelf, set up well back from the edge, and dropped my float into 18 inches of water less than 2ft from the bank.

Float fishing the margins

I was also supervising young Tom from the tent next door, who had only just taken up fishing and was absorbing fishing skills through his pores as only a 9 year old can! This distraction almost caused me to miss the first gentle quivering of my float, but luckily it just registered in my peripheral vision and I turned to watch the bite develop. The float was now dancing a merry jig and I could see the vortices as a carp happily gorged on the pellets, completely oblivious to my presence less than a yard away. Suddenly the float disappeared with an audible plop and my rod tip wrenched round as the fish realised its mistake and bolted for the far bank. It’s advisable to use a Baitrunner when fishing like this to allow the fish to take a bit of line – playing a lively carp on less than 3ft of line is nerve racking to say the least! I soon got the carp under control and netted a pristine common of about 4lb to the great excitement of my young pupil.

A nice Cornish Common

The next few hours passed pleasantly with a stream of carp up to about 7lb. All too soon it was time to pack up and head back to the tent, and I turned to call Tom who had been wreaking havoc on the local rudd population. He had a puzzled expression on his face and an alarming curve in his little telescopic rod.

“I think I’m caught on the bottom.”

The bottom seemed to be heading for the far side of the pond at a rate of knots! Five minutes later after giving him a crash course in how to play a fish I slid the net under a lovely carp of just under 10lbs. After a few quick snaps to record the occasion for posterity we headed back to the tents. Luckily Tom’s mum wasn’t too bothered by the liberal coating of carp slime that her son’s clothes had mysteriously acquired!

Tom’s Carp

A few weeks later on a beautiful Friday afternoon I decided to have a few hours on a local gravel pit. When I arrived it looked like a mushroom farm, with bivvies sprouting from every flat spot around the lake. Ah, I forgot it was a bank holiday weekend. Never mind I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve! I’ve brought two rods with me: one is my 2.2lb test curve Korum Neoteric and the other is a little 9ft Shimano spinning rod – looks like I’ll be using the spinning rod! I hike round the lake to an overgrown, tree lined section of bank where I know of a little hole in the dense bank-side cover.

I peer through the dense foiliage to check that there are no fish present in the swim and then throw in a couple of handfuls of pellets about 4ft out from the bank. I usually fish this swim with a float, but I’ve noticed that fish are wary of the line going down from the float and some have spooked. I’ve decided to dispense with the float so I’m fishing with 3 swan shot pinched to the line just above the hook length. Bait will be a couple of Sonu Bait Hali-Hookers hair rigged on to a size 10 hook.

Pellet rig for margin fishing

I also squeeze a lump of lumpy paste formed from soaked pellets round the hook and bait. This gives enough weight to make the rig easy to swing gently out into the swim and ensures that no weed fouls the hook.

Lumpy paste

The bait will be presented in a small pile of broken down pellets with no obvious terminal tackle to alert fish to potential danger.

I swing the rig out into the swim and lay the rod on the bank with its tip as close to the water as I can get it. I tension the line so it forms a shallow curve from the tip which ensures that it lies on the bottom (I’m using Kryston Snyde, which always sinks well). I position my chair behind a handy tree and settle back to wait. By peering round the tree I can observe the swim, and soon I see a stream of bubbles just on the edge of my freebies. It’s time to keep calm and sit on my hands! Slowly the bubbles wander around the swim until…..

Twitch…… twitch……

I’m now on the edge of my seat, poised to lunge for the rod.

The tip twitches as the line draws taut and suddenly I’m clinging on to a bucking rod as a good fish powers out of the swim. The run stops quickly and the fish plods around the swim under heavy pressure from the little rod. Doesn’t feel like a carp. My suspicions are confirmed as a decent tench rolls on the surface and is quickly netted. It’s a fish of about 5lb which I unhook and return without removing it from the water.

I top up the bait, recast and return to my perch behind the tree. The water is gin clear and if I stand up I can just see the edge of my baited area. I remain standing, leaning against the tree until a large shadow moves slowly into view. I drop slowly down on to the edge of my seat and wait. Soon sheets of bubbles are breaking the surface. The line twitches and I tense. This time the rod top slams round and the Baitrunner screeches before I can grab the rod. This time the fish takes 15 yards of line before I manage to stop it. It boils on the surface, causing conversation to stop in nearby swims. I can’t afford to give the fish its head in the tight swim so I clamp down on the spool and bully it back towards me. I can feel the rod bending under the corks, but I keep it coming and haul it over the rim of my net. That’s better! It’s a nice mirror in low double figures which I again unhook in the net and return quickly.

Out goes the bait again and soon the swim is bubbling merrily.

Splash!

A marker float drops into the water about 10 yards out. The bubbling stops abruptly and I can see the boil as a carp exits the swim rapidly. Oh well – being charitable I assume that he didn’t know I was there and cast to where he saw the boil from the previous fish. There’s no point complaining as the damage has been done so I decide to head back towards the car. On the way I know of another spot where there might be a fish. This is a small gap in a line of willows formed by one of them falling over. I drop a few pellets about a yard out and set up my 12 ft rod with the same rig as before. I peer out between the willow branches to see the swim bubbling merrily and a couple of tails waving just below the surface. I lower my rig gently into the swim and sit back. I’m then treated to an hour of twitches and quivers, but no definite take, before the fish vacate the swim. OK so I’m not perfect and I don’t really have an explanation for what happened. I give it best and head back for the car – it’s not been a bad afternoon!

A Word on Tackle

Fishing this close to the bank really needs a soft rod as you’ll be hooking large fish on a very short line. An avon or barbel rod coupled with 10lb or 12lb line works well in these circumstances. Either hold the rod at all times or use a reel with a Baitrunner as bites can make a 3ft barbel twitch look like a gentle pluck!

In tight swims a short rod makes life a lot easier. You don’t need a special carp rod, in fact you’re probably best not using one as I think that most of them are a bit too stiff. I use a 6 piece Shimano spinning rod that can be fished at 9ft or 8ft and has a test curve of about 1.5lb. This is fine with 12lb line and soft enough to cushion the lunges of a fish if you hold it hard at close range.

Lessons Learnt

• Carp often feed in the margins even on heavily fished waters. They aren’t often fished for here on most waters and so they feel relatively safe. Keep an eye open on your waters and you might be pleasantly surprised.
• Be prepared to dispense with the float if you feel carp are being spooked by the line. A few swan shot are sufficient to prick the fish on the take and cause a bolt effect. In some swims I don’t bother with rod rests and lay the rod on the bank. This keeps the rod tip low and allows the line to lie on the bottom.
• I’m sure that carp can recognise standard terminal tackle and so become wary. Using the set up I’ve described presents the carp with something it probably hasn’t seen before and makes it feed more confidently.
• Carp are very aware of lines in the water and of the splash of leads hitting the surface. When the lake is busy it pays to nail the line to the bottom and refrain from casting too often.
• If you get the fish feeding confidently you may need to fish with your lead very close to your hook. In the second swim I fished I think that the 8 inch hook length allowed the fish to feel the hook and eject the bait without being pricked and bolting. I suspect that if I’d reduced the hook length to 3 inches I might have hooked a fish. I’d be very interested to hear the opinion of other people on this point.
• On most waters there are only a few swims that can be fished in this style. Don’t expect to be able to turn up and fish like this every time. Conversely if you are prepared and take advantage of opportunity you may turn a potential blank into a red letter day!