Carp

Seasonal behaviour

They feed in every month, but spring (pre-spawn) and autumn (pre-winter) are the banker spells. High summer wants early, late, and surface. Winter wants small baits, slower fishing and a bit of patience.

Where to look for the fish

Islands, aerators, incoming wind banks, reedbeds, snags, silt pockets, and the margins — especially late in the day on commercials. Natural pits: plateaux, bars, and the back of the wind in summer.

Best venue types

• Venue type

  Commercial fishery

  Day-ticket lakes built for sport: islands, pegs, F1s, carp, and a café. The easiest place to learn, and still a place you can fish very well.

• Venue type

  Natural stillwater

  Warier fish

• Venue type

  Pond / estate lake

  Small, often weedy, often shy. Crucians, tench, rudd and the odd carp. Light tackle and a small baited spot.

• Venue type

  Reservoir

  Where they're present

Recommended methods

Ranked from the species–technique graph.

1. 01Method feederDefault on most day-ticket lakes
2. 02Pellet wagglerWhen they're off the deck
3. 03Margin fishingLate, in the edge
4. 04Surface / controllerWhen they're on the film
5. 05Bomb / legerPicky or pressured fish
6. 06Shallow poleSummer, up in the water
7. 07Margin poleLate, in the edge, on a short pole
8. 08Paste fishingMargins and a short pole line
9. 09Hybrid feederPressured fish that have seen a flat method
10. 10Pellet feederPellet-only commercials
11. 11Distance feederA big pit, if that's actually where they are
12. 12Margin feederLate, a small frame in the edge
13. 13Pole on the deckShort pole, on the bottom
14. 14Pole feederA toss-pot plate you can reach
15. 15MuggingCruising fish you can see
16. 16DobbingAgainst cover, bread
17. 17SlappingSummer, shallow
18. 18Pellet on the poleMicros and expander or a band
19. 19Specimen carp basicsFewer, bigger, slower

Recommended baits

• Bait

  Pellets

  Fishery pellet first

• Bait

  Corn

  Visible and cheap

• Bait

  Wafters

  On a method, short hair

• Bait

  Maggots

  Cold water and picky fish

• Bait

  Paste

  Margins

• Bait

  Bread

  Surface and flake

• Bait

  Luncheon meat

  Where it's allowed

• Bait

  Boilies

  Pits and specimen work

Recommended rigs

• Rig

  Method feeder rig

  Inline or elasticated frame, a four-inch hooklength, hair-rigged bait. Short, strong, and meant to be taken with the mouthful of mix.

• Rig

  Waggler setup

  Pellet waggler variant

• Rig

  Controller rig

  A controller or bubble float, a long hooklength, and a floating hookbait. Surface carp with the line as hidden as you can make it.

• Rig

  Hair rig

  A bait on a hair of line, not on the hook shank. The reason wafers, corn and boilies get sucked in with the hook.

• Rig

  Bomb / running leger

  A straight lead on a run ring or inline, a hooklength, and a bait. The quiet alternative to a feeder.

Feeding approach

Match feed to mood. A method frame is a meal on a commercial. In winter, a dozen micros is plenty. When they're up, the catapult is the feed, not a bed of bait.

Where in the swim

Carp show. Watch for crashing, bubbling, lining, and dark shapes in the edge. They follow wind and warm water. On commercials they patrol the shelf and the island. If they're crashing out and you're blanking, you're probably on the bottom when they want it up in the water.

Common mistakes

Fishing the middle of the lake because it looks 'carpy'. Overfeeding on a cold day. Using a method mix that blows off the frame. Ignoring the margin for the first three hours, then wondering why the bloke next door has had three.

What to change if it isn’t working

Fish showing and no bites: come up in the water. Dead swim: recast accurately or move to a feature. Tiny taps: smaller hookbait or a less sticky mix. Heatwave afternoons: try the surface or wait for the edge.