Is it too early to start surface fishing? Any tips on getting them off the top in the spring?

ASpring is a great time to catch carp off the surface, so if you’re still leaving home without your surface fishing gear, then you could certainly be missing out on some opportunities to catch one!

With longer days and rising temperatures, you’ll often find carp spending a lot of time in the surface layers, where it’s nice and warm. In early spring, they’re still slowly waking up from their winter slumber, so don’t expect them to be scoffing down bucketloads of floaters – but there is a great chance for some opportunist angling.

I tend to find that the first few days of warm spring sunshine present a golden opportunity to cast a carefully placed slicker floater into a carp’s path. They may not be eating as much as they do in the summer but at the same time, they won’t have seen a surface bait for a while, so they can be caught off guard a little more easily compared to when everyone’s jumped on the floater hype.

In terms of my approach, I’ll spend a lot of time observing the carp, trying to get a feel for the routes they’re taking. Usually, it’s easier to induce a take when they’re in a group, as they fear their mate will get the food before them! Once I know I can make a perfect cast, without risk of spooking them, I’ll usually start with a freelined soft hookable floater. If they’re out of freelining range, then I’ll use the smallest bolt machine I can get away with. Stealth is key!

As we head to the end of spring and the carp start to feed more,

I’ll introduce loosefeed in the form of slicker floaters. This creates confident feeding, increasing the chances of a bite! If they are still being cute, then you’ll often find a few handfuls of riser pellets will be enough to encourage them to have a go!

Alfie Willingale, Nash Tackle