WHEN TO SCALE THINGS DOWN

The only carpers I know with the ability to fine down their tackle when conditions are hard are those with a match angling background.

In really cold water the carp are moving about and feeding very slowly. When one takes in a mouthful of bait and/or a rig it will often slowly masticate and filter, and it could be some time before the fish moves enough to hook itself. The more obvious and obtrusive the tackle is, the quicker the carp will realise it.

A small hook attached to a light link is far harder to detect, particularly when the cold water has dulled the senses, and will stay in the mouth longer - giving us more chance of hooking it! For as long as I can recall, I have been dropping to size 8s and 10s, coupled with mono hooklinks as light as 8lb. It’s vital to point out that we have a responsibility to the carp, and losing fish due to tackle failure is not acceptable, so I only drop really small and really fine when there are no snags or weed about.

If you do have a clear angling environment then believe me, fining down can make a huge difference. I’ve taken fish to 55lb on an 8lb link, and if your tackle is balanced it’s surprising what you can get away with.

I like to use a small hookbait, too – smaller baits tend to be far more readily picked up than larger ones.

If your water is weedy or snaggy, then of course I wouldn’t go fine but something like a size 8 to 12lb mono is still going to be a big edge when the carp are more used to constantly encountering much more blatant tackle.