Safe Carp Rig

Recently I added a list of ‘most popular’ posts to this blog and one thing that became apparent to me was the popularity of the piece I wrote about Lead Core Leaders. For those of you who haven’t read it, lets just say I’m not a fan of lead core at all, I believe that anyone who thinks they can tie a safe rig incorporating lead core is, quite frankly, delusional!.

Click to watch a video of my Safe Carp Rig



Having pretty much slated lead core I thought I’d take a look at the safest carp rig I know and the one I use for just about all of my bottom bait fishing, the simple inline lead carp bolt rig. The components needed for this safety bolt rig are all very simple, and I’ll quickly run through them before I look at just how I set this carp rig up.

Rig Tubing. The first rig component is rig tubing, as a general rule I make my rig tubing a couple of inches longer than my actual hook length. With the new generation of ‘heavyweight’ rig tubing like ESP’s Anchor Rig Tubing you can be confident your end tackle is pinned down without the need for any lead core. As my rigs are generally quite long, I use around 12-15 inches of rig tube.

ESP Anchor Rig Tube, A perfect reason not to use leadcore!

Tail Rubbers The next component of this carp rig is the tail rubber, again many companies supply these, generally I like the ones from Korda or Nash tackle but there are many others. The rig tubing should be a nice tight fit into the tail rubber and the tail rubber should fit over the tube at the back of the inline lead in the same way.

Inline Lead. I don’t buy lead weights from the tackle shop anymore, last time I was in a tackle shop I got the shock of my life when I saw how much they were!, perhaps I should have carried on making my own leads as I used to but when I found other anglers selling them cheap online I decided not to waste my fishing time making my own anymore. Most of the time I get mine in bulk from Ebay, if you buy 20 or more leads in one go you can generally get them for 50-60p each, less perhaps if you buy more although 20 leads should last a long time!. I prefer my inline lead to have a recess in it to house the swivel, I think a carp rig set up with this type of inline lead is nice and neat and a very efficient hooker of carp.

Carp Rig Swivels. The swivels I use for my safety bolt rigs are 50lb test, again many tackle manufacturers make these kind of swivels and it’s a personal choice for most anglers, if you’re not sure then Korda and Nash Tackle are both very good.

Kryston Silkworm. My hook length is generally 25lb Kryston Silkworm, I’ve been using this material since the early-mid 1990’s and I have total confidence in it, however, this article is about setting up a safe lead arrangement so I won’t dwell on the rest of the rig.

Setting up this safety bolt rig is easy, simply thread the rig tubing onto your main line, this is followed with a tail rubber, then the inline lead and lastly the swivel from your actual rig itself is tied on, the whole lot simply pulls together, the tubing fits into the tail rubber, the tail rubber fits onto the tubing at the back of the lead and the swivel is pulled into the housing within the lead, its very simple and very straight forward.

Safe carp rig ready to be pushed together.


This perfectly safe bolt rig looks neat and tidy when finished.


This isn’t the end of the rig though, you need to make sure the swivel will release from the lead housing with little resistance, as a general rule, I hold the rig up by the hook length and the weight of the lead itself should be enough to release the lead, if it doesn’t then I slightly crush one half of the swivel into an oval shape to make it release easier, this is simply done with a small pair of long nosed pliers.

Slightly crush the swivel if the lead won't fall easily when held up by the hooklength.


If the swivel will release from the rig just by the weight of the lead you can be sure you’ve done enough to make the rig as safe as possible. Should a carp pick up your bait, you have a proper bolt rig to hook it and when it runs the swivel pops out of the lead housing and you are effectively left playing the fish in with a running lead, a lead which will simply drop off the line in the event of your main line snapping.

Hold the rig up by the hooklink, the lead should fall away under its own weight. I think we have a responsibility as anglers to leave our fish with the minimum of tackle to deal with should we be unfortunate enough to have our main line break and this rig is just the job for that, the lead and rig tube have only been threaded onto the main line and in the event of a break, both will be lost and you simply can’t get this level of safety if you use lead core!. I’ve been using this rig for the best part of 20 years now, its simple, very effective and as safe as a carp rig possibly can be.
Tight Lines.
Mark.

Carp Hooks

Its been a while since I wrote anything about end tackle so I thought I’d concentrate on possibly the most important part of any carp rig, namely the carp hook. The carp hook is so important but it can so often be overlooked, these days I really only have 3 patterns of carp hook I use regularly but before I look at them I’d like to look at two other important items namely a magnifier and a hook sharpener.

Your hook point is so vitally important, a razor sharp hook that’s able to take hold easily is vital in today’s modern carp world, if you don’t keep your hooks razor sharp you will undoubtedly loose fish at some point (lol).

Two things I always carry in my tackle box are a magnifier and a diamond file hook sharpener. I’ve seen the magnifier available from the odd fishing tackle company but it comes at a bit of an extortionate price!, the magnifiers correct name is a Jeweller's Loupe and you can find them for a fraction of the cost a tackle company charges if you click the link!. Generally you want a jewellers loupe with a x10 magnification to inspect your hook point carefully but they are also available in x12, x15, x20 and x30 if you want to take an even closer look at your hook point. As a matter of routine I always check my hook before I cast out any rig, to not do so is to invite a lost fish and it’s something every angler should do. Can you imagine fishing a hard carp water and waiting 6 months for a run only to loose the fish because your hook point had turned over and you hadn’t checked it?, it’s just not worth missing out that quick hook check before casting!.

Jewellers Loupe Magnifier, ideal for inspecting and sharpening carp hooks


As much as tackle companies would like you to use a fresh rig after catching a fish, or starting a new session, or even casting out again!, you can’t escape the fact that carp hooks are expensive!. I tend to use the same hook week to week until it’s blunt enough to need sharpening, when the hook reaches this stage I’ll touch it up using the jewellers loupe and a Diamond File Hook Sharpener After one touch up job, next time the hook blunts I’ll bin it and tie a new rig. Again you can get a diamond file from a few tackle companies but they are available cheaper elsewhere, it seems these days putting ‘carp’ next to something entitles people to double the price and I’d advise buying a diamond file from a trout fishing shop instead.

Diamond File Hook Sharpener, ideal for keeping your hookpoint pin sharp


My first and top carp hook is the Kamasan B175, this hook is actually a very heavy trout hook but many years ago carp anglers adopted it to our style of fishing as it lent itself perfectly to the knotless knot. The Kamasan B175 is a long shank hook with a straight point and a down turned eye, used with the famous knotless knot it has that lovely turn or flip effect when you draw the rig across your finger. One test I do is to try and pull the hook over my finger without it turning and digging in, due to the long shank and down turned eye this is very difficult, not only will you have difficultly avoiding the hook turning and taking hold, so will the carp!. Another good point about the B175 hooks is their price, we seem to have reached the £5 per 10 packet of carp hooks so at around £8 per box of 100 hooks, the Kamasan B175’s will really help keep your end tackle costs down. All in all, I’ve been using this particular pattern of hook for carp fishing for around 17/18 years now and where I’m allowed to use it, it’s my first choice every time.

Kamasan B175 Hooks, a brilliant hook for carp anglers on a budget, like me!


Superb Carp Rig for the Kamasan B175 Hook


Next up is the Korda Kaptor Kurv Shank Hooks. Some carp waters have banned long shank carp hooks and my syndicate water is one of them. Having spent so many years having total confidence in Kamasan hooks I had some real confidence issues when it came to switching patterns. It took me a while to find a suitable alternative and unfortunately the hook that fitted the bill was one of the most expensive!. Price aside though, the Korda Kurv shank hooks have really been superb for me during my time in the syndicate, I’ve had no issues with hook pulls or missed runs and every fish has been nailed. The first thing you notice about the Korda Kurv shanked hooks is the hook points, in keeping with my liking for a razor sharp hook I really can’t fault these hooks. They are packaged perfectly with each hook clipped into the box and coming with a small hook point protector to ensure they stay razor sharp. I’m not usually a fan of Korda Tackle but I have to say these kurv hooks are brilliant. The Kurv hooks are quite big and I like a quite small hook so the size I’ve been using is a 12!. Tied either as a kd-rig for popups or with the hair exiting near the bend of the hook for bottom baits as per the korda instructions and dvd’s, these hooks have worked superbly well for me and they are something Korda have got absolutely spot on.

Korda Kaptor Kurv Carp Hooks, mega sharp and mega reliable for me so far


My third hook is the ESP Big T Raptor in size 10. Although ESP recommend this hook for bottom bait fishing, I use the Big-T Raptor strictly for fishing up in the water, either with a floater setup or as part of a zig rig. This particular ESP hook lends itself perfectly to surface fishing and the size 10 is small enough to fool wary fish and strong enough to cope with the big ones. I generally use Drennan Double Strength Mono for both surface and zig fishing and with only a 12% downturn in the eye these hooks lend themselves to a mono hook length nicely. Again the hook point is mega sharp and I’ve never had one let me down yet.

ESP Big-T Raptor Carp Hooks, great for surface rigs as well as bottom fishing


So that’s just about it for carp hooks, I do have a few other patterns in my tackle box, Drennan Super Specialist Hooks in size 6 and 8, I use these for surface fishing too or rather I did before ESP brought out the Big-T Raptor. Fox Arma Point Hooks. I found these to be mega sharp too but the Korda Kurv Hooks quickly run out winners for me purely because they are so versatile, I can use them with pop up or bottom baits. This is not to detract from the Arma Points, they too are a very good hook, me choosing the Korda Kurv was just personal choice but  I still keep the Armapoints handy just in case.

The above carp hooks are just my personal choice based on my own fishing, there are many other patterns of carp hook available today and if you put 10 carp anglers in a room I reckon they’d all have different opinions of which hook is best. No matter what hook you use, my final advice is to make sure you check the hook point before every cast, use a jewellers loupe and a diamond file to sharpen your hook if you feel the point isn’t sharp enough, make the process of checking the hook first part of your casting routine so you don’t forget to do it. If you can discipline yourself to carry out regular hook point checks prior to casting it will certainly help you put more carp on the bank.
Tight Lines
Mark.

Keeping Warm in Winter

Judging by the quiet banks in winter most carp anglers seem to give up. The last couple of winters have certainly been harsh and I can understand why some anglers pack in fishing but winter is a good time to be out, carp can still be caught and there’s always the advantage of those quiet, angler free banks!. I think the key to winter carp fishing is to enjoy yourself and you can’t do that if you’re cold!. With this in mind I thought I’d take a look at some of the gear I use to keep myself warm on the bank in winter.

Thermal Suit. I have a Sundridge Igloo 3 to keep me warm in winter, I’ve found Sundridge suits to be excellent and the igloo 3 is outstanding. I’ve had this suit for around 6 years now and most winters I only ever need to wear a t-shirt underneath it’s that good!. The igloo 3 is actually a 3 piece suit consisting of the jacket, trousers and a third ‘sleepskin’ layer which is actually a fleece top for sleeping in. I rarely bother doing nights in winter, I prefer to fish short days so I can stay sharp and move around, I wore the third layer the first time I ever wore my igloo 3 and it’s never seen the light of day since because I was too hot!. A thermal suit will probably be the biggest purchase a winter carp angler will make and a Sundridge thermal suit should be top of the list, they are wind proof, water proof and extremely warm, just what you need on a cold winters day!.

Thermal Suits keep you warm no matter how cold it gets!


Buffalo Special 6 Shirt. Buffalo clothing has developed a cult following amongst carp anglers, the shirt is actually part of the buffalo ‘system’ of clothing and it’s the choice of shirt for mountain rescue teams, the armed forces, police surveillance and underwater search teams. Being used by such professionals is all the praise this shirt needs really, it’s a superb garment for the winter carp angler. The special 6 shirt or ‘SP6’ is designed to be worn next to your skin, it works by trapping in your body heat and if you add a layer of clothing underneath it you will actually get colder!. I know a few anglers who don’t wear anything else but a special 6 in winter, imagine that, going out and staying on the bank with a single layer on!, well the special 6 shirt is that good and if you’re going to be outdoors day and night in a bivvy then I’d seriously consider getting one of these!. I actually wear mine under my igloo jacket when the weather is particularly bad and any sane angler is indoors with the central heating on!. The special 6 shirt is incredibly light too.

Buffalo Special 6 Shirt, ideal cold weather clothing for winter carp fishing!


Thermal Fleece Hat. Most of your body heat is lost through your head so it makes sense to wear a thermal fleece hat in winter. I have a couple of fleece hats but the thinsulate fleece hats are the best by far, they are warm and comfortable to wear and I wouldn’t be without one. A fleece hat is probably the cheapest purchase a winter carp angler will make but it’s just as important as everything else when it comes to keeping warm.

Thermal Fleece Hat & Neck Warmer, both helped keep me warm whilst banking this winter lump!


Neck Warmer/Snood. Also known as a ‘snood’, for years I did without a fleece neck warmer and I don’t know why?. There’s nothing worse than getting a cold neck, in extreme circumstances it can be pretty painful as you loose the ability to turn your head when a stiff neck sets in, many times in the past I’ve been struck by a stiff neck and I’ve literally had to turn round just to look sideways because I couldn’t move it. I’m sure you’ve all had this happen at some point!. Since using a fleece neck warmer I’ve not suffered at all and they are a great addition to any anglers cold weather clothing. Coupled with a fleece hat you have some great thermal protection for your head and neck.

Sealskinz Socks. Moving down to your feet, it pays to wear two pairs of socks and I prefer a standard pair of Thermal Socks underneath and a pair of sealskinz socks on top of them. Like the SP6 shirt, sealskinz socks are actually made for outdoor enthusiasts, most notably mountain bikers. Sealskinz socks have also achieved a cult following amongst carp anglers, they are ideal for carp fishing simply because they are waterproof!, you can actually stand in the water with these socks on your feet and you won’t get wet!. For a carp angler running out of his bivvy to hit a run at 2am in the morning when it’s raining, they are perfect, no need to panic trying to get a pair of trainers or thermal boots on. I actually use Sealskinz socks in summer too, coupled with a pair of crocs they are perfect for fishing shallow margin swims where you might need to get your feet wet to net a fish safely. I find the combination of standard thermal socks with a pair of sealskinz socks on top of them really keeps my feet very dry and very warm indeed and if your feet are warm, so are you.

Sealskinz Socks, my first choice for keeping my feet warm in winter!


Skeetex Thermal Boots. A look at winter clothing wouldn’t be complete without some thermal boots. There are many different types of boots and shoes available to the winter carp angler but my choice is Skeetex Thermal Boots, when I say boots I mean the full on Wellington boot style. Skeetex thermal boots have a fleece inner lining and coupled with the two pairs of socks I’ve mentioned above, they offer excellent protection from the cold. I’ve been using skeetex boots for a long long time now and I’d recommend changing the fleece liners in them every few years, a new fleece lining feels like a new pair of boots and you’ll certainly notice the difference between new liners and ones that have seen 3 or 4 winters use.

Sealskinz Socks and Skeetex Thermal Boots, a great combination for keeping your feet warm in winter!


Extras

Whitby Hand Warmer. This is a great little device, it runs on lighter fluid and will keep your hands warm for up to 12 hours on a full load, I've done a small video to demonstrate and don't forget to subscribe to my Youtube Channel, there's a stack of carp fishing tips and hints on there and it's well worth a browse.

The Whitby Hand Warmer


Thermal Gloves. As with the thermal hat I prefer thinsulate thermal gloves to keep my hands warm, I usually just put my hands in the pockets of my thermal suit but I always have a decent pair of gloves in the outer pockets of my suit, you never know when they will come in handy and if it's a particularly cold day thinsulate thermal gloves can be a big help, specially if you've got your hands wet returning a fish!.

Fleece Hoody. I’ve never bothered wearing a hoody for fishing before but a year or two back I got caught out one spring and the weather turned bitterly cold, I ended up borrowing a fleece hoody to try and keep myself warm and since then I’ve bought a few myself. I don’t buy branded fleece hoodies, just a plain one for £10 or £15 off eBay is enough, for Spring and Autumn when a t-shirt leaves you too cold and a thermal suit is too warm, I find a fleece hoody fills the gap very well and I always make sure there’s one in the bottom of my rucksack just in case the weather gets a bit chilly.

Well that’s it for keeping warm in winter, the carp are still there to be caught and they always look stunning in their winter colours. If you kit yourself out with some good thermal clothing there’s no reason to give up until spring and if you make the effort to carry on going you can be rewarded with quieter banks and bigger carp as they reach their peak weights during the winter months….and you can still be fishing comfortably!.
Tight Lines
Mark.

Merino Wool Vs Synthetic Base Layer Clothing (click below to watch)

Yateley Sandhurst Lake - Hired for the Weekend

For the last 3 or 4 years the first week in May has always been an annual trip to Sandhurst carp lake on the famous Yateley fishing complex. This year was no exception and having hired the lake for the weekend at a cost of £1000 between 14 of us (£500 per 24hrs), I was optimistic about our chances of getting amongst some big carp, after all, less angling pressure on those Sandhurst carp would surely give us an edge.

The area local to sandhurst had been suffering from forest fires in the run up to this session and a few of the lads got caught out with certain roads being closed on the way down. Fortunately for me my trusty Sat Nav took me round the M25 and despite being behind most of the guys on the way down, I actually arrived earlier than they did!.
My early arrival gave me some time to have a look around and my first impression was that the fish were holed up in front of the famous pipe swim but this was a shared trip between a group of friends and we were drawing for swims, whoever picked out No 1 in the draw got first choice of swim and so on. I’ve never had much luck when it comes to drawing for swims and I’m certainly consistent with it!, I came out 13th out of 14 and needless to say I didn’t stand a chance of getting anywhere near the pipe swim or any of the adjacent swims!. I actually chose peg 9 on the road bank, I was familiar with this swim having fished it the previous year, peg 9 is actually directly opposite the pipes and there is a large hole in the middle of the lake which is directly between the two swims, by fishing onto the edge of the hole at long range I was hoping to pick off the odd carp that might drift into this area during the weekend.

Peg 9 Looking accross to the famous 'pipe' swim


When visiting day ticket carp waters most anglers I know seem to take the kitchen sink when it comes to bait. Several different flavours of Boilie, Hemp, Pellets, particles, you name it, they take it. Much to my fishing neighbours surprise I had with me 3 handfuls of Tiger Nuts and some Yellow Rig Foam!. I get the impression he thought I was mad bringing so little but I know sandhurst is a pressured water so I chose to avoid boilies altogether and stick to alternatives. As I was going to be fishing mainly at medium or long range I knew it was going to be a case of PVA mesh bags so I really didn’t need a lot of bait, I’ve learned from experience that most of it ends up going to waste so I took just enough to do the job.

I sent two rods out at range to the edge of the hole, both baited with tiger nuts with a small PVA Mesh Bag attached to help avoid tangles. (You can see how I prepare and rig my tiger nuts Here). The third rod I fished on a zig rig baited with yellow foam. This rig has worked for me previously at sandhurst and with 3 rods in use I thought it was worth a try despite the weather not being warm.

I’d only been fishing for 4 or 5 hours when the left hand Delkim signalled a screamer, at the same time mine went my neighbours in peg 10 went as well and we both found ourselves playing carp at the same time. Last year I’d had 5 runs from peg 9 but landed only one of them and I’d not taken into account a snag in the water at around 70 yards range. As I played my fish in it found the snag and I ended up loosing it, to top this off my neighbour lost his on the same snag!. I wasn’t happy and I was kicking myself for making such a stupid error. Even though it had been a year since I’d fished there and only once before in that swim, I’d had a big enough lesson last time and I really should have done things differently. After that loss I pulled the other rod back in and re-rigged both rods with drop off leads instead of my usual inline leads. By loosing the lead on the take and playing any fish with the rod held high I would hopefully avoid the snag again. It had worked last year and I was sure it would again.

My drop off rigs were made using a Safety Lead Clip with the Tail Rubber completely removed, I simply PVA’d the back of the clip to make sure the lead wasn’t lost on the cast. I put both rods out to the edge of the hole again and sat back to wait. I had nothing during the first night and next morning I got to sit and watch two of my mates in the first and second pipes have run after run, the pair of them were racking up carp at quite a rate and all I could do was sit and watch. It was obvious the fish were in front of them and they both filled their boots.

My Trakker A-Lite at Sandhurst made for a comfy swim


Saturday afternoon we had a break and our annual BBQ in the car park, it was a weekend social after all. On one of these trips previously I was a bit under the weather and felt sick but I had no trouble this time and I put away several burgers, sausages and chicken kebabs during the afternoon, if the carp weren’t going to eat I certainly was!.

Once the BBQ was over we headed back to our swims and once again I put two Rods to the edge of the hole with the third on a zig at shorter range. Saturday evening continued the same as Saturday morning and I had to sit and watch the guys in the pipes swims catch yet more fish. I headed for the Sleeping Bag when it got dark and I slept until one of the rods on the edge of the hole signalled a run, there was no single bleeps or indication of what was to come, I woke to an absolute screamer!. I hit the rod and sure enough I finally had a carp hooked up. I knew the drill this time, I stepped backwards and up the bank to give me more height and I held the rod high above my head with the butt resting on my shoulder instead of my groin. This worked and despite being so far out I could clearly see by the far bank street lights that the fish was up near the surface. I cleared the snag no problem and kept the fish coming towards me, this carp put up a good fight in the margins and it was a good 15 minutes before I finally slipped the Net under my prize.

I peeled back the mesh to see a nice mirror, it certainly looked over 25lb but I doubted it would make 30+, I left the fish in the net and set up the Unhooking Mat and camera ready for the weighing and photographing procedure. When I was ready I retrieved the fish, unhooked it and Weighed it. The mirror went 27lb exactly, not my biggest sandhurst carp by any means but I was happy enough, I took a few photos and returned my prize to the water. Recasting in the dark wasn’t too bad because I had street lights opposite and I was using these as far bank markers.

27lb Yateley Sandhurst Mirror Carp


After getting the rod back out I checked my watch and it was 4.00am. I turned in again only to be woken by my neighbour Ian a few hours later, like me, he had to sit and watch the two guys in the pipes catching whilst his rods stayed quiet but he’d finally nabbed one early on Sunday morning and I went to Photograph a 30lb+ common for him, an excellent result indeed!.

No more carp came my way despite me staying until early afternoon on Sunday, eventually I called it a day and headed for home. I was happy to have caught one in the end, coming out of the draw second to last is getting to be a bit of a habit for me but despite this I’ve still yet to blank when fishing sandhurst, I’ve had quite a few bad draws now and my bad luck can’t continue forever, sooner or later its going to be me sat on the fish and bagging up instead of scratching round for the odd straggler so roll on next time and some better luck!.
Tight lines.
Mark.