OUR EXPERTS ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS
Jake Baxter, email What type of bait is best for carp after they have spawned?
ASpawning is a highly energetic and physically demanding event for the carp. Females will have been through an incredibly stressful few days, as their ovaries go through the last stages of preparation for ovulation and then they actually spawn, releasing their eggs. It is common for both male and female fish to lose scales along their flanks and to scratch themselves during the rough and tumble of spawning.
These physical injuries mean that their ability to regulate their internal salt/water balance may be compromised. The injuries also create holes in their bodies, which could become infected.
So spawning is a potentially dangerous time for carp and after they have finished they will need to rebuild their strength and heal any damage. Because of this they are often really hungry, and they commonly feed hard in the weeks following spawning in order to regain strength.
To capitalise upon this big feed-up it’s best to use a high-quality bait to give the fish lots of nutrients – for example, high-quality fishmeal boilies or pellets. These will be very popular with the fish which will, of course, all benefit from the quality of the feed.
If the weather is not too hot and the fish are clearly feeding hard, don’t be afraid to give them a fair bit of bait – they will thank you for it, and you might just catch a fair few along the way.
Simon Scott, fish farmer and Korda consultant
Hayden Smith, email How can I get around the crayfish?
AAfter fishing Cotswold Water Park for some time now, I’ve had a very long love/hate relationship with the little buggers! Over time you learn to deal with them, but there are some key points and tips I can give you which will make life easier.
You’ll find certain areas of the lake are far more populated with them than others. They’re cold-blooded creatures, so the margins and areas of warmer water will no doubt hold a lot of them. Be wary of that on your chosen venue.
Rig-wise, use something which can reset itself if picked up, ideally a stiff braided hooklink which has been balanced with the hookbait. Ditch all your tungsten from the rig, because they love the stuff and you’ll be reeling rigs back in which have been chewed to pieces if you’re not careful.
The main way to avoid the crays, though, is through the business end, your hookbaits. Plastic does work, but they’ll eventually chew it if you’re leaving rigs out a fair while, so I love to use foam balls soaked in liquids. This, on a nice big hinge which they find hard to deal with, is perfect. I could go on for hours about this type of angling, but I hope these little tips help!
Mitch Hammonds, Sticky
Joe Fallon, email Do pop-up rigs like the hinged stiff select the bigger fish?
AI have heard this on a number of occasions.
I think the myth probably came from Terry Hearn’s big-fish success on the hinge rigs way back in his early days. What you have to remember is that Terry was fishing lakes with mainly big fish in them, so he was always going to catch big ones on the rig.
I used a version of the hinged stiff rig for over two years almost exclusively and my catch rate did not improve or decrease, and I certainly didn’t pick out all the bigger fish and avoid the small ones.
Don’t get me wrong, I caught plenty of fish and the odd big one came my way. I am a great believer in a situation whereby if you get a fish feeding or competing for food, you will catch it on any well-presented rig which suits the bottom you are fishing over.
Overall, the hinged stiff rig is certainly a decent presentation for most bottoms, as your hookbait will be presented well, even in light weed and leaf matter.
But I don’t for one minute believe it will pick you out bigger fish.
Kev Hewitt, E-S-P and CC Moore
Aidan Matthews, email Do moon phases really make a difference to catching carp?
AThere is a seemingly huge amount of anecdotal evidence showing a link between moon phases and the capture of huge specimens of many coarse fish species, including carp.
The reasons often described have largely been related to some latent evolutionary-behavioural memory inherited from their ancestors that grew attuned to life at sea, where tides would scour the seabed, and the fish would react accordingly… utter twaddle!
Isn’t it far more likely to be linked to the migration, hatching and activity of the fish’s primary food sources, namely invertebrates? On certain moon phases, insect larvae will be more active, more concentrated, or more available, and the fish will naturally react to this direct stimulus and abundant food source.
This would also go some way to accounting for why the effect seems more marked on some waters than others, owing to the different fauna that inhabits the lakebed and weeds.
Logic dictates this link as being far more plausible, rather than an unseen and immeasurable force.
Lewis Read, Gardner Tackle
Chris Gardon, email What’s the best tactical approach to use on a pressured day-only carp fishery?
AIn my experience, the best way to approach a dayonly venue is to make the most of the first light chances at dawn. They’ll have time limits set on the venue, but if you can get down early, keep your eyes on the water, and are lucky enough to spot some activity, your location is already sorted!
Use simple rigs which you have confidence in. You’ve got to focus all your energy on getting the tactics right, without needing to worry about if your rig might tangle.
Travel only with what you need, fish off the barrow and if you see fish show somewhere else, whip the rods back in and be the first one around there.
Bait-wise, I’d look to be casting highly attractive, visible pop-ups at them. If you apply bait and have to move, it’s a waste! Alternatively, PVA bags are a great tactic to apply too, always presenting enough bait to nick a quick bite with minimal disturbance.
Jim Wilson, Sticky