MY MUDLINE RIG REVEALED

HEAVY FLOATS?

Lots of anglers fish very light floats on the mud line, thinking this is necessary in shallow water. But with a lot of fish in the swim a light float will get washed about all over the place. For my mud line work I like to use a 0.2g KC Carpa Ape, a short float with a heavy wire stem and a short bristle, ideal for the job. The wire stem aids stability and the and short bristle makes the float sit quickly.

SHOTTING PATTERN

I have a very tight bulk of No9 shots, with the bottom one 4ins from the hook and just a 2mm gap between the rest of the droppers. This tight bulk gives the rig stability and makes it far more positive.

GO SOFT WITH ELASTICS

I prefer a soft elastic for fishing in just inches of water as it helps to keep the disturbance to a minimum once a fish is hooked. My first choice is White Hydro.

LINE CHOICE

This depends on the size of fish. On Alder Lake today the carp are 2lb-8lb in the main so I’ve opted for 0.15mm Guru N-Gauge mainline to a 4ins hooklength of 0.14mm Pure Fluorocarbon. I love fluorocarbon for as carp in shallow water can be very clever and I feel the fluro gives me an edge. Hook choice is a size 16 F1 pellet which is a strong yet lightweight pattern ideal for meat hookbaits.

FISH A LONGER LINE

When the water is shallow carp can easily be spooked by the shadow of the pole so I fish a slightly longer than usual line between float and pole-tip of around 18ins to keep the pole out of the way. The only downside to a long length of line can be missed bites but to get around this I simply fish a string of back shot on the line between pole float and pole tip to help me stay tight on the float.