River carp, mad to give it a go?

[mole catcher 1]

Im just about to start a season of river carpin and im begining to think i may be some what mad. I have fished for carp up untill 3 yrs ago where a 5 yr solid bout (each and every wk end including xmas) came to an abrupt end. not throgh the boredom of carpin but due to the type of angler seen at the pits i have in my area.

 

I know its all a matter of locating the fish, which i have done but i was just wondering if any other anglers have any experiance in river carpin and would they be so kind to pass on a few tips?

[AIRGUNNER 1]

Allright MC, if your ever down exeter/Devon way give me a shout, theres one or three rivers down here stocked with carp and they go like

a steam train. This pacific river 15minutes walk or 3 minute drive from my place hold some nice mirrors, commons and about 3 years ago

i release 4 ghost cross koi`s weighing in at an average 3lb back then 2 of each sex. (not poached handed over from a good friend).

 

The only tips i can give mate is carry light/stalking gear a pair of polarized`s, bread, biscuits and pellets. Where as if wishing with boilies needs

alot of free samples over a long period of time.

 

 

Tight Lines and Wet Nets Fella.

[mole catcher 1]

the river i have got my mind set on is well away from walkers and fisherman. ive seen carp spawning only yesterday (weds) and the banks just scream carp, tree roots at low water, over hanging alders and willows as well as realy muture reed beds. I have a plan of a 2 week baiting campaign to try and pull them into the area i intend to fish. This is only acsessable by either a 1.5mile walk through well over grown greenery or as i intend, via my canoo. its my canoo that i will be using to pre bate as well as getting myself to the swim for the weekends i intend to fish it. al along this stretch of river carp are caught bt i like to be out the way and if history has proven right the bigger ones are caught further up river.

[Guest MIST NET]

How i wish i lived nearer mole catcher,catching carp from a river up here (Yorkshire) is a hit and miss afair if we pre bait an area for them the bloody barbel move in and well thats that !. i personally havnt caught a river carp but i have seen em landed and what a fecking fight ...be prepared for the fight of your life mate and dont forget the camera .

[dogga 1]

How i wish i lived nearer mole catcher,catching carp from a river up here (Yorkshire) is a hit and miss afair if we pre bait an area for them the bloody barbel move in and well thats that !. i personally havnt caught a river carp but i have seen em landed and what a fecking fight ...be prepared for the fight of your life mate and dont forget the camera .

do you do a bit of carping mist net?big stuff or quantity?

[Guest MIST NET]

More of a tench man myself,but when the oppertunity arises i will fish for em . whats your speciality ?.

[mackem 26,677]

I think they have been caught in the Thames in the village I live up to 35 or 38 Lbs?Plenty here though Its rare to see someone fishing this stretch,they are all scared they might get mud on their Le chameau or aigles

[mole catcher 1]

i personally havnt caught a river carp

 

neither have I

i just fancy the challange and i know its going to be a season long campaign but who knows, i may get a fish that beats my lake pb, 15'5lb

 

15.5lb ghost

 

15.5lb mirror

 

i was up there this morning feeding the area and i saw a few spawning so i know im in the right area

[dawnraider 2]

only advice i can offer is ENJOY you will never forget it if and when you hook into one

[Big bald beautiful 1,231]

yes brilliant a man that has shun the gravel pits and 36 hr blanks, i loved fishing until i got bit by the carp bug.spent

silly money to stay out and get one good fish a month.

there is a small narrow river 6 miles from me and ive seen 10lb + fish in it, not massive but streamline and bulit to take off like a steamtrain.

 

good luck with your quest and fingers crossed for a good season

[mole catcher 1]

a few pics from the other evening as i was baiting up from my cannoo

 

 

 

 

 

i just sat there drifting with the flow as i spooned in the free bees and within 20mins these were hanging about.

[droid 11]

That's a superb approach to it.

Hope you catch mate, excellent photos.

 

A couple of lads had about 350lb out of a local river with a prebaiting campaign a few years back...reedy, slow, plenty of tench and bream.....

[comanche 3,027]

Carp turn-up even in the fast tidal stretches of the Sussex rivers.It can be scary ,tackled- up with bream or roach gear when one picks up the bait.They don't seem fussy about presentation and seem to have a thing about bread-flake and worms .Maybe they've become used to snapping up the food before the current whisks it away. A bunch of rather serious chaps do specialise in them and use modern bait n wait tactics.They catch some good ones but to me it somehow seems a bit alien to use electronics and be so bivvy-bound when there are miles of wild river to explore. They probably regard people like me as Luddites but as long as we are on the same side and enjoy ourselves each to his own. The odd carp in bigger rivers certainly adds variety but from an enviromental point of veiw they do hoover -up the food and spawn of our native fish and upset the balence when they become too common ,especially in smaller streams. When it comes to power forget those flabby ,piglet-like stillwater ,boily- fattened stock-fish with names.River carp really do "go".

[mole catcher 1]

ive started to pre-bait 4 swims in case i get beaten to it by some other angler. im baiting from my canoo so as not to make a well worn path way to my swims, not that i expect anyone to carry all their gear to the spots i have choosen as its about a 1.5 mile walk from anything that resembles a road or path way. So i will be taking all my gear including my dogs to the swim via tha canadian canoo as i live 60yrds from the river that takes you to the swims. most anglers fish this stretch from boats, mostly pike in winter so i feel im in with a good chance of hooking a few. Landing them may be a differant story as i have been told that river carp fight like tyson on speed.

 

Next time im up there baiting in will try get some pics of the features i will be fishing too but untill the season starts im keeping my presance on the banks to a minimum because like i said, im a secretive kind of sod and i dont want to be sharing my swim with anyone other than my lurchers this year.

[masmiffy 82]

Never mad to try anything mate.

The Ouse at St Neots has some good carp.

Also at Huntingdon, nr river bridge.

Had the odd one or two from a marina just up river from there up to 13lb.

Same marina has some cracking tench in, have had them up to 7lb and bream to 10lb.