STOP THEM SPOOKING

“With so many fish in the swim, there was a danger of spooking them by playing any hooked carp too casually.

“My style is to hook a fish, stop the first run and then ship back steadily to the top kit, breaking down and only raising the kit when I think that the fish is ready for the net.

“Using a soft hollow elastic helps no end in this kind of situation, and my favourite is Maver’s Retro Dual Core in the yellow grade – the equivalent of around a No6 to No10 in old money.”