Carp Fishing

The carp is by far the most cautious of all the coarse fish. Its habit of nosing a bait for great lengths of time, and its frustrating tendency to pick it up with such a light, almost unnoticed motion, make it necessary to use extra-light, extra-limp lines. The easiest way to do this, of course, is to spool your reel with four- or six-pound line. But to ensure the drag system works at its efficient best, the spool must be filled to within one eighth inch of the lip ... and that requires far more four- or six-pound line than you will likely ever need. So try this idea instead. Leave your reel spooled with the usual eight- or ten-pound line and attach a three-way swivel to the end. Then add a three-foot and a two-foot length of four-pound leader to the other two loops of the swivel. On the longer one, fasten your hook; on the shorter one, add your weight.

Ideal hook sizes vary vastly depending on whom you ask, ranging from tiny eights to huge 3/0s. Consensus, however, seems to favor sizes two or four in the popular baitholder design. They're small enough to bury almost completely within your bait, yet strong enough to hold even lunker-sized fish. And the barbed shank provides one more anchor to hold your delicate baits in place a little longer.

As for weight, use only as much as you need to keep your bait on bottom. If you can get away with a few splitshot crimped on the line, so much the better; they will offer the least resistance short of no weight at all. In some river situations, however, you may need to resort to one of the smaller bell sinkers to counteract the current.

When you cast your baited rig, allow it to sink to the bottom, then slowly take up the slack until you feel the weight begin to drag. Maintain this tight line between your raised rod tip and the bait at all times. And pay strict attention.

The pick-up is so light, it often goes undetected, so here's a special tip. Carefully watch the point where your line enters the water. The moment you notice any unusual movement, lower your rod tip almost to the water. This will allow up to five feet of slack line before the carp will feel the weight -- ample time for it to take the bait fully into its mouth. It also puts your rod in the ideal position for setting the hook; when you feel the carp begin to move away with your bait, strike!

If you're lucky enough to coax a bruiser to your hook and you're worried that the four-pound leader isn't going to hold it even with the light drag setting, remember another tip. Unlock your reel, and keep just enough tension to maintain a taut line between you and the fish. When it surges forward or starts to run, simply back-pedal on the crank handle to give more line until you feel the fish tiring or beginning to turn. Then continue your usual pump and wind-up-the-slack retrieve.

Still-fishing techniques are time-consuming and tiring if the angler stands and waits for the action to happen. Carp are notorious for circling a baited area for hours before moving in, so most fishermen erect a simple forked stick near shore and prop their rod against it. If you do this, one word of caution: never leave your rig unattended. More than one rod and reel has been dragged into the water while the fisherman dozed nearby.

If you're baiting with a doughball, use a treble hook that has a spring wrapped around the shaft. Basically, the spring helps to hold the rather gooey mess in place. Add a scent to the doughball, squeeze it around the hook, and you're ready to go fishing. There are a variety of doughball methods, but a popular one, that's also simple, is to add a bit of leader and a swivel (to avoid line twist) and to target-cast. This simply means fish to a particular fish. This method uses an egg sinker and is the best approach for wary fish like carp. When the fish picks up your offering, the line slides through the sinker which stays in place, and allows the carp to run with it while you set the hook. My preferred tackle for this method is the baitcasting variety because it is accurate, a quality you need when target fishing; has a good drag, necessary for big fighters like carp; and has a stiff action, a real help when you're working rocks, submerged logs, or other structures.

Carp fishing is to the English what bass fishing is to Americans. The English have fine-tuned-carp tackle, carp flies, and carp technique to an art. one of the more interesting pieces of equipment is the reservoir rod which is a long rod similar to the rainbow trout noodle rod, used with light or heavy line. The egg sinker or any type of sliding rig with a long, very delicate needle type float is used. The needle float is weighted with a few splitshot to hold it floating vertically. An egg sinker or sliding sinker is placed on the line above the swivel; below the swivel a leader, one or two feet long, and a hook. The heavy sinker sits on the bottom and allows the fish to pick up the bait and run with it, feeling no weight. What the angler sees is the needle float dip under the surface. The distance from float to swivel varies with the depth of water. It's also quite useful where you have a very tight spot. A lot of English carp fishing is done in waters only 15 feet wide and any current in a slow river could have your bait rolling down river, messing up some other angler's action. This method could be used for some catfish fishing, in conjunction with a worm or a minnow or any of the other baits. (Figure 4-5.)

Fly fishing for carp is a thrilling experience, though somewhat limited in use. Because carp will eat small insects and fish, wet flies and streamers soaked in anise oil or other fragrances and then dragged back and forth across bottom work especially well. When a carp inhales one of these offerings, you can expect the action on a limber nine-foot fly rod to be spectacular indeed. European carp flies, in general, have undergone much sophistication and many North Americans are discovering their usefulness. To illustrate that carp will take to a fly, in England, where it's common for people to throw bread into ponds for carp, many anglers do the same but bury a tiny hook and light line, and float them in the bread crust, much like dry fly fishing. A European technique that's used where there's mulberry or blackberry bushes overhanging the water consists of tying flies that imitate these berries as carp have been seen to gobble up berries falling from the overhanging branches.

Other methods include spearing and fishing with bow and arrow. Restrictions on waters and times of year exist for both these methods, however, so check your fishing regulations carefully before you try them But. Bow fishing, especially, is growing in popularity. Yet despite the rising number of practitioners (they even hold annual derbies in some localities), the demand is still so low that very few fishing or hunting tackle shops can equip you with the necessary gear.

But don't despair. You can rig your own outfit quite adequately from a basic bow and arrow, a few arrowheads, a one-pound coffee can, and a suitable length of fishing line. Simply mount the coffee can below the shooting point of the bow, tie on the fishing line, and wind it in careful oils to ensure it will flow easily off he can when the arrow is fired. Run your line through a small hole in the feather end of the arrow, along the shaft, and then tie it to the arrowhead directly. Choose a retractable, barbed design that removes fairly easily from the arrow, otherwise you'll have to push it all the way through, cut the line, and retie each time you shoot a fish.

When bow fishing, remember the laws of light refraction. Any fish you see underwater, unless you're looking straight down at it, will appear to be further ahead of where it actually is. A little practice shooting at submerged bleach bottles will help you determine how far behind your target you have to aim at different distances and in various depths of water.

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