Fish off the top

Carp are suckers for a floating hookbait fished on the surface at this time of year. Tie this rig and enjoy some explosive action

WHEN the sun comes out and warms the water carp will waste no time in coming close to the surface. You’ll struggle to catch on the lakebed in this situation and your time on the bank will be much better spent fishing for them on the surface. The key to surface fishing is to get the fish feeding confidently on your free offerings before casting out a baited rig. This can take 30 minutes or up to a couple of hours but once they are feeding with gusto they are much more likely to make a mistake and take the hookbait. Keep firing freebies out on a little-and-often basis and let the breeze drift them over the carp. You’ll know when the fish are confident as they will mop up every free offering making a distinctive slurping sound. This noise can’t fail to get the heart pumping! But even when they look like they are taking mixers without a care in the world you have to be careful when casting your hookbait. If you land it directly on top of their heads, the chances are they will spook and drift out of the swim. Instead, cast beyond where they are feeding and then slowly wind your rig back into position. The free artificial dog biscuit supplied with this issue is perfect for targeting carp on the surface. It closely resembles the mixers you will be loosefeeding which makes it hard for carp to identify which bait is dangerous. It will also remain intact all day, unlike real mixers which will eventually become soft and need replacing regularly if used as a hookbait.

“The key to surface fishing is to get the fish feeding confidently before casting out a baited rig”

An artificial dog biscuit will match the free offerings. It can be hair-rigged or threaded directly on to the hook Use a long hooklink of 6ft to keep the hook away from the float