HOW SHOULD I BEGIN MY QUEST FOR RIVER CARP?

QI’m going to launch a river carping campaign this year to try and get away from the crowds. I’ve never actually fished a river before so would love any advice on how to tackle one for carp.

Terry Watson, email

NICK HELLEUR: The best advice I can give from my own experience is location. You’ll probably feel like you’re spending hours on end walking the stretches you choose to fish, just looking. But it will be well worth the wait when you do spot something or find a feature which the carp will use. As rivers can be so long, these features tend to hold carp as there’s not much else for them to find. Trickling in bait and keeping an eye on the areas which you have noted will always help you too. Get the smaller fish grubbing around and no doubt something bigger will come in to investigate! Most of all though, enjoy it. The river is a magical place and if you’re kind to the stretch, it’ll be kind in return.

A prime example of the stunning carp which rivers hold≠≠

Trickle in bait over likely looking spots

QWhy are pop- ups available in lots of nice smelling and fruity flavours, but very few bottom baits in these flavours?

Matthew Cutler, email

TOM GIBSON: That’s a very good question! If you take the initial part- reasoning behind bright/ fruity pop- ups, they were designed to mainly be cast as single hookbaits to either showing fish or among thick weed to nick the odd bite and stand out like a sore thumb. If, like me, you’re looking to put a bed of bait on to a spot and encourage the carp to feed, sometimes a big, bright colour in their face can spook them as it looks almost too obvious. This is why most bottom baits, like the Tuff Ones we do in the boilie ranges, are designed to mimic the exact feed you’re putting out. Most of the time if you’re fishing on the bottom for a bite, you’re fishing over a clean and presentable area and most anglers would opt for a hookbait to match the hatch.