THE KIT YOU NEED FOR THE MARGINS

BIG LANDING NET

Margin carp are big, and even a standard match-style carp net might not be big enough to fit a 10lb carp in. I use the Daiwa Pellet net, which is around 18ins in diameter but deep enough so that when a carp is netted, there’s no danger of it rolling back out.

STRONG FLOATS

It’s quite possible that your rig will be dragged through reeds, lily pads and underwater branches when a massive fish is hooked, and you don’t want the float to come back mangled.

In a margin float I look for strength, buoyancy and a thick bristle. I use 4x14 or 4x16 sizes. I prefer a heavier float for margin work as it won’t be washed around by feeding carp in shallow water.

HOOKS

There’s no hiding place when it comes to hooks and I use two for margin fishing – the Gamakatsu Power and Carp. The Power is ideal for small carp and F1s, but I step up to the Carp when I’m expecting to regularly catch fish over the 8lb mark. A 14 is the standard size, but a 12 may be used when fishing with big baits.

ELASTICS

I still favour a hollow elastic, even when fishing close to reeds. By using a puller system and setting the elastic so it pings back into the top kit, I can pile on the pressure to get carp away from snags but not pull out of them in the process.

Daiwa’s Purple Hydrolastic is ideal, but the Red grade is even stronger for serious fishing!

LINES

A hooklength is never used for margin fishing as I think this creates another weak spot in the rig that can cause the line to break. I fish 0.20mm Daiwa Match Winner straight through, and at 6lb breaking strain it’s tough enough to withstand a lot of punishment from an angry carp.

MARGIN POLE

Modern carp poles are very strong, and provided you use a Power Carp top kit, you should have no danger when it comes to landing 15lb fish.

However, if you do a lot of summer margin fishing it may be better to invest in a dedicated margin pole. This is not as light or responsive as a long pole, but it’s a whole lot stronger. The only drawback with a margin pole is that you can only fish up to around 9m down the bank.

PULLER KIT

A big advancement in technology, this lets you strip lots of elastic out of the top kit when a fish is hooked, ultimately leaving less elastic to stretch and so putting more pressure on the fish and making it work harder. This set-up also works well when fishing close to snags. If you used standard Hydrolastic without a puller system, a carp would steam off and be in the reeds in no time.