Specimen Secrets Leave the boilies at home and catch carp on worms!

LEAVE THE BOILIES IN YOUR BAG AND GO FOR... Discover the worm kebab rig which caught an incredible 41lb 12oz personal best for Dai

BACK in 2012 I started using what is now commonly referred to as a ‘worm kebab’.

This involves threading short sections of worm on to a hair rig, creating a large-looking bait which just oozes attraction.

Worm kebabs proved to be very successful for tench, but I also caught a lot of carp on them.

As other anglers started to use worms for the tench they, too, caught carp, and on Manor Farm Lake at Linear Fisheries it reached the point where the tench anglers were catching more carp, including the big ones, on worm kebabs than the carp anglers were on boilies!

Worm kebabs stay on the hook really well and can be cast long distances without flying off.

In the water, the bait emits lots of attraction from the cut ends of the worms and the short sections used are far less likely to fold over and mask the hookpoint, ensuring better hook-ups.

Chopped up worm sections don’t crawl about either, so they don’t get caught in debris on the lakebed.

Because you’re using a lot of them they create a big hookbait which is less prone to being taken by smaller fish such as perch.

TACKLE UP

When specifically aiming for carp I step up the line strength and hook size slightly to reduce the risk of losing a fish in weed.

I’ll use 3lb test curve carp rods if I’m anticipating weed and snags, but if the weed is not too bad and I’m casting less than 70 yards I prefer to use a lighter rod with a progressive action, such as the new Korum Neoteric FS 2.2.

A lighter rod makes playing carp much more fun, and actually enables you to put more pressure on to a hooked fish because the risk of hookpulls is far less than with a beefier rod.