A great addition to our armoury this one. It's always worth having an alternative method to just ledgering.
If you can see the fish half the battle is won! In the summer months you'll see the fish up in the surface layers, and quite often those fish will show an interest in a surface bait if there is one present. The ways to present this are numerous, so let's discuss one of those now.
As you can see in the picture opposite, the fish are feeding regularly on the surface. Two of the options we have are to present a freelined bait, i.e. a bait without any other items attached to the line except a hook.
The only disadvantage is that range is limited to about 10-15 yards as there is very little weight to cast. The way to get around this is the inclusion of a surface controller.
These are usually best in the crystal (clear plastic) version which is pretty invisible in the water. These have a weighted base which makes them easy to cast. Plastic beads either side of the controller as buffers and a stainless ring as a stopper are used. A distance between the controller and the hook is your choice but I would suggest around 5-7ft.
The best way I have found to start is by introducing a few floaters to the fish, trickle-feeding them a few at a time.
After a quarter of an hour or so of trickling the baits in and gaining the fishes' trust somewhat, it's about time to see if they'll take your hookbait.
Always cast well over the top of the fish and gently reel the float back into the take zone. Never just strike at taking fish, always wait until you see the float dissappear, then set the hook.
Bottom Fishing
Our next topic is possibly the most overlooked of our methods these days. Let's face it, how often do you see a carp angler with three or four rods out, and how many of these are geared up to fish with a float? 'None' would most likely be the answer. Yet these guys are missing out on possibly the most exciting and one of the best ways to fish for carp.
Again, if you can find the fish first, ie. rolling fish, bubblers, dirty water areas etc., these all give our target species away. Find any of these and you're in with a good chance of a take. Presenting the float couldn't be easier. First, choose a good pattern, something like a crystal insert tip waggler. These floats are attached bottom end only and locked in place with two large split-shot, the smaller remainder being placed down the line.
The insert tip is a much more sensitive float which will 'tell tale' a bite much better. I always start with plumbing the depth of the swim and fishing with around 2" on the bottom. A split-shot is then positioned around this distance from the hook. This will tell us what's going on should a fish pick up our bait.
Start by feeding on a 'little and often' basis into the swim. Let's say a worm on the hook and the introduction of some worm pieces and maybe some casters (5-8) at a time every 5-10 minutes. Gently, keep topping the swim up but always remember the rule of little and often.
Always wait for the float to disappear completely as the fish will, in most cases, swim into the line causing 'line bites'. These happen a lot and can be frustrating but there are numerous ways to combat these. Don't initially put too much bait into a swim as this can cause a frenzy of feeding, thus leading to line bites, especially with the use of particles or pellets.
Another way around line bites is to fish the float slightly under depth with a shot just on the bottom and the float overweighted slightly too. This has the effect of making the float sit just below the surface, and only when a fish picks up the bait will the float rise out of the water registering a bite. This is a great way to combat line bites and the possibility of foul-hooking a fish.
Splasher Float
I use this term rather losely to fit the bill. This term I would apply to any large-bodied, self-weighted float. Not referring to those skinny 1-2grm floats but one of 10grms-plus.
I know some of you will say I'm bordering on match techniques now but where does the dividing line start? What seperates a match angler/pleasure angler from a carper? Only the size of fish we target. This may be the case but a match angler is still in the pursuit of as big a fish to weigh-in as possible. We can all learn a lot from these guys about bait introduction, groundbaits etc. I've match-fished since I was a youngster and applied a lot of my techniques to my specimen hunting to great effect.
The following technique requires a bit of practice and comes into its own on a commercial carp water with a good head of fish to boot. A good example water would be a fishery such as Gold Valley, Drayton or such like.
When introducing large amounts of feed continuously fish will rise in the water to compete with each other for the feed. We are about to take advantage of this in a big way!
Select a large-bodied float. My favourites are the black Korum Splashers; these are excellent as the tip of the float has a bulbous head which doesn't sink on impact. To attach these floats you need to acquire a float attachment and these are available from good tackle shops.
It's worth fishing a slightly lighter hook length as bites can be viscious. I like to start with a hooklength of around 3 feet with a size 10 hook baited with a 6mm banded pellet.
First, fire a couple of pouchfuls of pellets into the swim, one at a time with about 15 pellets in each, around 30 seconds apart. Continue this for 5 minutes before casting.
Once you're ready to go, introduce another cattyful of bait and cast into the middle of the ripples. Don't strike at the float bobbing around as most of this is small fish or line bites. Wait for the float to totally disappear. Then just lift the rod to set the hook.
This method is amazing fun and you can bag a serious amount of fish. You must keep introducing the feed every cast though as the fish have to compete for it to work. If you find the bites dry up, switch off the feed for a few casts and I guarentee they'll come back on!
