HOW TO: Modern carp care

The most important aspect of carp fishing, and possibly the one that gets overlooked the most, is bankside carp care. People spend thousands of pounds on the best rods, sparkly reels and expensive alarms and then buy small unhooking mats and inappropriate landing nets. We need to ensure the fish we catch are returned back to the water in excellent condition, suffering the least amount of stress or damage so that these fish can be caught and admired again by other anglers.



Before you cast your rods out into the lake you should set up your carp care kit. Being prepared to handle and treat carp once caught means that you never leave a carp unattended on the bank.

Let’s start with the landing net; a 42” or larger net with a deep and soft mesh is the least you should have. Make sure the net has a fine mesh as this will prevent the carp’s front pectoral fins from catching in the mesh whilst it is being landed. The landing net should also have removable arms which will make carrying the carp to the unhooking mat much easier.

A large deeply padded unhooking mat is essential to protect the carp as they are naturally buoyant in water and do not feel their own weight. Once out of water they feel every ounce, so a soft unhooking mat helps protect their body from damage, as and when they begin to struggle. Place the mat on flat even ground staying away from gravel, brambles or thorns, which might hurt the carp if it manages to work its way off the mat.

Next to the unhooking mat, position a large bucket of lake water and make sure this is as cool as possible. If you are fishing on a hot day, regularly check the temperature of the water in the container to ensure it is not getting too hot. The water is used to wet down the mat and to cool the carp once it is on the mat, which must always be well wetted down before you lay the carp on it, as it becomes very hot in the warm summer sun.

A dry unhooking mat will strip the mucus layer from the side of the carp and effectively leave the fish stripped of its protective layers allowing the carp to be more exposed to waterborne disease etc.

Attach a pair of forceps to the mat. This will ensure that they are always where you need them. Always remove the sharp hook from the carp with the forceps, as this prevents the carp from moving the hook to your fingers whilst you try to unhook the carp as it moves.

Carp care kits are available from a number of companies and the Korda Carp care kits designed by Thinking Anglers are the best available at the moment. You can also get product such as Kryston Klinik carp care, which is also a good antiseptic/barrier. The Korda kit includes mouth and body liquid treatments with a few swabs included to assist in applying the treatments accurately onto the wounds.



Weigh slings are available in all shapes and sizes, so choose a sling that is soft and one that will support the fish well whilst it is being weighed. A sling with front and rear access zips also makes releasing the carp back into the water a lot easier.

Finally you need to have your scales next to the mat. If you have mechanical scales like Rubin’s or Avon’s, take a little time to wet the sling and zero your scales so they are ready for use when you need them. Finally make sure you have got your camera ready to go and within easy reach.



Now how to use the equipment we have set up. If the margins are deep enough net the carp in the close margins, however, if you are fishing where they are very shallow it is best to try and move into a position where you can net the fish in deeper water, or to be able to slip on your waders to net the fish in deeper water. Please note that wading is dangerous and is not allowed on CEMEX waters.

With the carp in the landing net, if you have someone around ask them to help by either holding the carp in the net, or, by wetting the unhooking mat and weigh sling for you. With the mat ready remove the arms from the landing net and roll up the net, and before lifting the carp from the water, make sure its pectoral fins are tucked back along its body.



Lift the carp in the rolled up net and slowly walk over to the mat placing the carp carefully onto the wet mat.



Leave the net over the carp’s eyes and body and remove any sharp jewellery, watches, rings etc. that might damage the carp. Wet the carp and your hands to help cool them and start slowly unrolling the landing net, slowly follow your line down making sure your rig is not trapped under the carp fins. With the entire rig exposed, and clear of the carp, use the forceps to remove the hook from the carp’s mouth.



If the fish flaps about - quickly cover its eyes and body with the landing net mesh until it lies still again.



Wet the fish again and now inspect the carp for any body or mouth damage using the carp care kit to treat any wounds found.



With the carp now checked over gently, remove the net and lift the carp into the wetted down weigh sling, making sure that the fins are all back against its body.



Zip up each end of the sling and attach it to the scales, gently lifting the carp just a few inches above the mat. Read the weight of the fish and lower back onto the wet mat very carefully.



Now for the photography. If you have your photographer ready with the camera, gently lift the carp over the unhooking mat. Do not pick the carp up in a towel as this will strip the protective mucus from the sides of the carp.

When picking up the fish, place one hand under the front pectoral fins and the other around the anal fin and hold the carp vertically in your hands about 6” to 10” inches away from your body. Only lift the carp a short distance off the mat as we do not want the carp to fall from a dangerous height. As you are holding the carp, if it starts to flip, let it fall back into you’re forearms and gently lower the fish down to the mat.



Once the photos are taken place the carp back into the weigh sling making sure the fish is upright and its fins are back against its body. Now return the carp to a deep marginal spot to release it back into its watery home.



At the bankside spot, lower the sling into the water and slowly unzip the front of the sling allowing water to flood over the fish.



Lift the back end of the sling and gently allow the carp to slide back off into the water. Make sure the carp is OK and watch it swim off. If the fish shows any sign of distress do not leave the fish on its own, stay with it until it shows it has enough strength to swim away. Never keep fish out of the water for any longer than is absolutely necessary.



Treat the fish you catch with respect and care for them when they are on the bank. The fish you have caught may only be a 20lb fish but with the right conditions it may well grow to be the next UK record fish. The pressure on carp has never been so immense and there is no sign of this letting up. The carp we are catching today are the future and they will be the specimens that anglers will be hoping to catch tomorrow. If we do not care for them then now then there will no future sport for anglers to enjoy.

Tight Lines,


Smart Carping Limited

HOW TO: Tie pop-up rigs, shot before the hook

Pop-up rigs allow the angler to position a bait off the lake bed. There are a number of scenarios where you may find it benificial to do this, but in the main it is to do with positioning the bait above any weed or general detritus that could mask a bottom bait.

It has become common practice for many anglers to use a pop-up approach where there is no need for it, i.e. a clean hard bottomed lake. The feeling in such situations is that it just offers something a little different to the norm which may get a result.

Pop-ups can be set up to achieve a critical balance in the water. I believe this approach can offer a more natural presentation.

A top tip would be to try using bright, over-flavoured pop-ups in winter where there is often a lot of leaf litter on the lake bed. This allows the bait to sit just above all the decaying vegetation and hopefully right under the nose of any passing carp!

What you will need
Tools
1. Sharp braid scissors
2. A braid stripper (if using coated braid)
3. A baiting needle
4. Rig pullers



Tackle
1. Hooks
2. Hooklength
3. Heat shrink
4. Fine diameter silicone tube
5. Bait stops
6. Split shot
7. Pop Ups



Method
Step 1
Cut enough hook length for you to be able to work comfortably with the braid about 30-35cm is fine. Then strip about 12cm of coating off the braid.



Step 2
Tie a loop using an over-hand knot in the stripped end of your selected hooklength material. This loop is for your boilie stop to secure the boilie in place.



Step 3
Using a fine baiting needle, thread the pop ups onto the hair, because I am using two boilies on this hair I have left a very long loop. This will hold both boilies in place and ensure they don’t move during the cast and therefore change the mechanical properties of the setup.



Step 4
Thread a small piece of silicone tubing on to the hooklength and then on to hook. Adjust the length of the hair to your desired length; 1-2cm from the bend of the hook is a good starting point.



Step 5
Start whipping the knotless knot by winding the hooklength towards you as shown. This is to prevent the hooklength from getting trapped and cut by the gap in the hooks eye as it meets the shank of the hook.



Step 6
Make a minimum of 6 turns down the shank of the hook, trying to keep the line tidy, then pass the hooklength down through the eye of the hook before you tighten down. Make sure your hair is lying along the back of the hook and the knot is neat, now pull the knot down tight.



Step 7
Cut a 15mm length of heat shrink, pass it over the hooklength and down over the eye of the hook such that it is just covering the end of the knot. Carefully steam the heat shrink down over a kettle and allow to cool. Whilst cooling, hold the hook and pull the hooklength down to form a gentle downward-facing kick.



The finished rig should look like this.




Step 8
Now tie an overhand knot in the end of the hooklength, setting the length you require at the same time. Trim off the excess hooklength. Test the strength of you rig to ensure it is safe to fish with by using a set of rig pullers. Now test the rig in the shallow margins to ensure the rig has the correct buoyancy.




Step 9
Once you are happy with your rig you need to add your PVA bag of attraction. Due to the split shot we cannot pull the rig through the middle of a PVA mesh bag. To overcome this a small stick mix is used with the rig being threaded through the last third of the bag. The hook still sits neatly in the end of the bag minimising tangles. All that's left is for you to cast the rig out to those hungry carp.



Tight lines!

HOW TO: Tie effective zig rigs

The Zig-Rig a simple method for fishing bait mid water that has accounted for many large carp.
The Zig-Rig allows a buoyant bait to be fished from the lakebed (legered) at any set depth from a couple of inches above the lakebed right up to the water’s surface. This allows the angler to be able to present the hook bait at the depth at which the carp are either cruising or more importantly feeding.
The Zig-Rig can be used in many situations where hook bait presentation at certain depths is critical, like on the surface during hot weather, or as another example, just above light weed where normal hook bait may become hidden within the weed. Other uses may be sub-surface where carp maybe cruising, say a couple of feet below the surface, or even sub-surface where wildfowl may become a nuisance.
My preferred Zig-Rig setup is a 8lb Drennan double stretch mono hook length tied to a buffer bead setup in a running rig style,, which is fished on the lakebed (legered) and setup with a bite-alarm and indicator as you would normally.
The Zig-Rig is a tremendous rig which is very easy to setup however it is often overlooked in the carping fraternity. Despite this the rig is not without its problems. Casting out a Zig-Rig with a short hook length of a couple of feet isn’t too much of a problem, however casting a hook length of 12ft or more can be a real problem. There are various different ways in which to cast out such a long hook length I prefer to lay the hook length in a line behind me as I prepare to cast out, some people prefer to coil up the hook link in a bucket which is carefully place on the bank-side, behind me, before casting out. The hook length unravels during the cast leaving the bucket cleanly on the bank side


What you will need



Tackle

1. Korda size 10 or 12 Wide gape hooks or equivalents





2. Small Korda Pear swivel lead
3. Korda Size 8 swivel
4. Korda shok bead
5. Korda safe zone anti tangle sleeve






6. Gardner PVA foam nuggets





7. Drennan double strength hook lenght braking strain to suit the lake conditions






8. Size 4 pole elastice to act as a line marker






Method
Step 1


Cut enough hook length for the depth or rig you want to make and tie a small loop in the end for the bait. make sure the loop is smaller than the size of the pop up bait you intend to use.




Step 2
Form a normal knotless knot making sure the hair is a short as possible. The bait needs to be postioned as close as possible to the back of the hook.



Step 3
Using a fine baiting needle, thread your chosen pop up onto the hair. You can see how close the bait is the the shank of the hook.



Step 4
Thread the Korda Safe zone anti tangle sleeve onto the hook length and then using a palomar knot tie the Korda size 8 swivel to the hooklenght.



Step 5
Slide the Korda swivel pear lead onto your mainline.



Step 6
Now slide the Korda Shok bead on to the main line as well.



Step 7
Tie the main line to the Korda size 8 swivel and pull the swivel into the bead the lead/ hook length setup should now look like this. Note how the Korda Safe zone anti tangle sleeve holds the hook length away from the lead minimising tangles and protecting the hook length.




Step 8

Cut a nugget of Gardner PVA foam in half.




With one halve of the PVA nugget cut it 3/4 of the way through.




Step 9

Now place the hook and the pop up into the slot cut in the Gardner PVA nugget. Wet the slot and close the nugget around the hook.
This ensures the rig casts well without tangling and the PVA give extra bouyancy to the pop up for a few moments after the cast.




Step 10

If you are casting to a specific spot, a hole in the weed or you are spodding a soupy cloudy mixture over you zig rigs it is important to ensure you are as accurate as possible. To take the guess work out of this a simple marker placed upon your line when the rig is cast into postion will ensure you are always on the right spot. Using a small amount of size 4 pole elastic tie a 3 turn grinner knot (Marker knot) onto your mainline.




Step 11

Light actioned carp rods preferably with a through action (players rod) are the required to cushion the the hook hold plus the very light hook lenght.
Make sure your reel line is not to heavy a breaking strain and is in balance with the breaking strain of the hook lenght, as to high a breaking strain will cause you to loose lots of fish.







Roll on the long hot summer days when the carp are feeding in the upper layers of the water, totally ignoring you bottom baits. Get on the Zigs and start catchting those huge summer carp.

Tight lines!

HOW TO: Set up a Side clip running rig

The running lead is possibly the most effective and simple carp lead system you can use. The common problem of bite definition when using side clip lead systems and slack lines are completely done away with when using a running rig which always gives positive indications on the bobbin. This setup is also offers good tangle-proof properties. I have modified a side clip system clip to accept a speed link that gives a neat simple effective running rig with all the casting bennifits of a side clip system.



What you need

1. Korda lead clip
2. Korda tail rubber.
3. Korda kwik link
4. Korda safe zone leader







Method


Step 1



Using a pair of strong pliers carefully flatten the Korda Lead clip.







Step 2


Carefully cut the swivel off the Korda safe zone leader.







Step 3


Put the Korda Kwik link onto the Korda safe zone leader.







Step 4



Use a gated baiting needle to thread the Lead clip and tail rubber onto the Korda safe zone leader.







Step 5


Use a short lenght of 3mm fine wall silicone tube to cover the swivel on the lead.







Step 6


Now add you lead to the side clip and slide the tail rubber down about 3 ridges onto the lead clip boody.








It is a simple task to add you hook lentgh to the Kwik link. Notice how the Kwik link sinks into the lead clip body. This set up does away withthe need of 3mm silicon tube to prevent the hook lenght becoming undone in the Kwik link.
.

Tight lines!