Carpin from the start

Carpin from the start The basic rule when carp fishing has got to be location, locating your quarry, signs to look for before settling in a swim. ( Location ) 1, Carp often give themselves away by leaping out of the water, sometimes doing this several times in succession 2, Carp head and shouldering, this refers to a fish that that shows itself but does not clear the water, in my view a carp that head and shoulders will feed on or near that spot, a bit like scent marking, as they do not always feed straight away but return later on. 3, Flat spot, this is caused by a large fish just below the surface 4, Bow wave, this is caused by the dorsal fin as a fish swims just below the surface 6, Reeds twitching, this can be caused by many things, but close observation will tell you if carp are present i.e.:- reeds moving when nothing appears to be there, this will be fish brushing up against the reed stems 7, Tree climbing, if it is allowed climb trees to get a bird’s eye view of the lake if you have a pair of Polaroid glasses even better, put them on and fish below the surface can easily be spotted. ( Swim choice / set-up ) 8, Follow the wind, fish tend to follow the wind especially in the warmer months, so a good rule to remember, fish the back of the wind in winter and fish into the wind in summer 9, Gravel pits can be huge so a good pair of binoculars would be an advantage for spotting fish at a distance 10, Predominant wind, in the united kingdom our most predominant wind comes from the south west so if you are on a venue for the first time and are struggling to locate the fish, it is always a good idea to head for the north east corner of the lake, this is where the biggest silt build up will be found and where most of the natural food will be too 11, Ok fish have been located and swim has been chosen, set up your bivvy to the rear of your chosen swim so as not to catch it when you cast, sounds silly but it does happen 12, Visual features, reed beds, lily pads, islands and margins are all good features to cast to and carp patrol these areas and feed their too 13, Sub-surface features, refer to features below the water surface things like gravel bars, gulleys, plateaus and weed beds all good fish holding areas 14, Be comfortable, take plenty of food, warm dry clothing, hot drinks / cold drinks if you are comfortable you will fish better, sounds silly but it’s true, fish sensibly and you will catch 15, Noise, try to keep noise to a minimum, noise travels a long way especially at night think of the other anglers, try not to wear bright colours like white or yellow fish can spot them easily, dark colours are much better But most of all enjoy your fishing