Spring Carp fishing Tips

4 mins read

March 1, 2019

Re-spool and Organize

Now is the time to re-spool your reels, get rid of that stale old line…. It will cost you about £20 to spool up three reels and if you buy the line from us we will do it for free! There is no excuse for old line! While you are at it go through your gear and get it all organised making sure you have all ther terminal bits you need and you haven’t lost your scissors! We recommend watching Terry Hearn whilst doing it to really get you in the mood!

Bait Choice & Application

This is the part I think most people get wrong, Its early spring, NOT summer! The water temperature is still low, so the carp are not digging into a full buffet just yet! Depending on the weather the water temperature is a good few weeks behind the air temperature. A thermometer is a great investment. I always worked off the magical 12 degrees for filling it in. Anything up to that this is my approach….
FIRSTLY
Small quantities of boilies to start with, you can always put more in but you cannot take out. Because I use smaller quantities I like to get as much out of them as possible. These boilies (pictured above) are Supreme Marine 15mm shelf life that have been soaking in boiling water and Enzyme Liquid, I do this to soften them up making them easier to digest, the Enzyme Liquid then helps to break the boilies down releasing the sought after nutrients the Carp are hunting at this time of year. They are then coated in salt, and I mean really coated, lots and lots of salt. Not the stuff from the supermarket, you need rock salt for this, the more natural the better. Carp actively source salt as they need it for their diet, much like we do. They normally get it in small quantities from natural food but you can provide all they need on your bait. don’t worry about quantities as it disperses so quickly in the water you need a lot of it to take effect. Salt comes into its own during the pre-spawn and post-spawn when carp need it to help them with getting ready for spawning and for recovery after.
SECONDLY
PVA bags, perfect for finding the fish at this time of year, just enough bait to get a bite, you an always change to a bed of bait afterwards. Don’t over complicate it. I use a mix of 2mm trout pellets and 3mm blood worm pellets both HF own brands. the red stuff in the bottom is a little edge, if you want to know what it is I work in the shop on weekdays and really like biscuits…….

Pack Light!

This is optional to be honest, because sometimes you can’t pick where you fish especially if you are somewhere very busy. But always make sure you can move if needed which is why traveling light at this time of year pays off so much. the Carp will be on the move in certain areas of the lake, this depends on wind and sun as well but be prepared to chase them around until they settle.

Shallow Water

Shallow water warms up quicker than deeper water so in spring these areas can hold good numbers of fish. This is because the sun is not in the sky as long so the water that it does hit is like a carp magnet. These shallower spots are definitely worth a chuck.Look for margins, islands and bars – basically anywhere the water is a lot shallower than the surrounding areas as these are key ambush spots for moving fish.

Open your Eyes!

As carp start to wake up they become a lot more active. You will see them showing on the surface trying to rid them selves of the leeches that have hung on over the winter months, you will even see them just under the surface chasing the rays of light. The best time to see them will be dawn and dusk so set your alarm early! Keep your eyes peeled throughout the day though as they hunt for the warmer water and be prepared to follow.

Upper Layers

Even though the water is still relatively cold the upper layers warm up quicker bringing the carp to the surface. Zig rigs are certainly worth a try in any conditions especially if you can see the carp! Failing that, get the floater gear out. I have caught many a carp in early spring off the top in conditions you would not expect. Don’t rule anything out, the carp are just waking up and are hungry, they just need the right bait in front of them at the right time…