How do I convert knocks on the quivertip into bites?

“Line bites mean that there are at least some fish in my peg”

INDICATIONS on the tip that don’t result in fish in the net can be down to line bites or fish taking the hookbait but spitting it out quickly.

Line bites are a common problem in winter and early spring. Some anglers might say otherwise, but I see liners as a good sign. It means that there are at least some fish in my peg.

In my book there are two types of line bite – little pulls and taps and big pull-rounds on the tip. I prefer the taps, as they mean fish are in front of me, milling about but not feeding.

The second type of liner pulls your rod-tip right round as the fish moves through the peg at speed. Big liners mean the fish are spooked and moving at speed, making them difficult if not impossible to catch.

Casting over the fish

If you’re getting line bites, think where the fish are. Could you be casting over them? If I start to get line bites but no actual fish are hooked, I’ll drop the cast shorter to try and locate the shoal.

If the line bites stop you have either come too short or the fish have moved.

Every cast needs to count, as repetitive casting spooks fish and if you aren’t careful, while trying to work out where the fish are you will spook them out of the swim altogether.

Fishing off bottom

If this doesn’t work, start thinking about where in the water the fish are sat and where you’re actually fishing. Carp in the cold don’t spend much time on the bottom unless the swim is very shallow, so if I can’t turn the liners into bites when fishing on the deck, I need to try fishing higher in the water.

Baits I like to use for fishing up in the water are pop-up boilies and bread. How far I pop a bait up depends on the depth, but as a guide, in a 6ft-deep peg I will normally kick off fishing 18ins off bottom. If that doesn’t work I go higher. In the cold I’ve caught carp 3ft off bottom in 6ft of water!

When it comes to working out at what level the fish are sat, experimentation is key. It can also be worth trying various pop-up colours. As a guide I find that if the water is clear whites and yellows, and even bread, work well. In coloured water, sfluoro pinks and oranges come into their own.

Relocating the carp

If you are getting line bites and then catch a few fish, sometimes things will suddenly come to a halt. When this happens it means the fish have

moved, so you need to try and find them again.

Normally, they won’t have gone far, so try casting to the left or right by just a couple of metres. Remember that in winter you have to go to the fish, as they won’t come to you!

Light leads

Bomb fishing is very productive in winter, but make sure that you’re using as light a lead as you can. These go into the water far quieter than heavy bombs, keeping disturbance to a minimum. There is no quicker way to spook carp than crashing a heavy lead on top of them in the cold.

Switch to a feeder

If the water is highly coloured, then single hookbaits fished on the bomb become pretty ineffective because visibility is everything.

Faced with this scenario, I will fish a mini Hybrid feeder instead. This offers that little bit more in terms of attraction when loaded up with micro pellets that the fish can see.

Slacken the tip

One last word on line bites is that if possible I always like to try and fish a slack tip when I’m getting liners.

By slack I mean there’s hardly any bend in the quivertip. If the line is very tight and the fish bump into it, I always feel they are more likely to spook out of the peg due to the resistance they feel.

Don’t strike!

Try to resist the temptation to strike at line bites, as this will simply unsettle the shoal. It’s better to sit patiently and make sure that the fish is definitely on before you even think about picking up the rod.

If you’re in doubt whether it’s a liner or proper bite, wait an extra second. You don’t miss these bites, so waiting to make sure isn’t going to cost you anything. The fish is either on or it isn’t!