GO LONG TO START
When targeting big commercial carp, for me
you can’t beat the pole. And my first line of
attack at this time of year will almost always
be a long-pole approach on the bottom,
between 14 to 16 metres out. This puts me a
good distance away from the bank, where the
carp will be happier to feed early on, and is
usually a banker for some early bites.
The way you feed this line is crucial in
spring and although we’re targeting bigger
fish that doesn’t mean piling in loads of bait.
This can have an adverse effect on what you’re
trying to achieve, bringing in a quantity
of fish but not the quality we’re after. Big
commercial carp are clever fish and have seen
it time and again; in my experience feeding
for one bite at a time is a far better approach,
especially early in the season.
Baitwise Bait-Tech Scopex Corn is a real
favourite of mine in spring, firstly because
of the visual factor in the still relatively clear
water conditions of this time of year, and
secondly, as the water is still cool a lot of
nuisance species will generally leave it alone.
This gives me the confidence that the feed
will be there until a carp moves in, making
it easier to assess how to feed as the session
evolves.
In order to keep my options open, I always
like feed two lines at this distance, one at the
10 o’clock position from my peg and another
at two o’clock. One of these is fed with corn
only, the other with corn and soaked 4mm
pellets. Depending on the conditions I will
occasionally feed the second line with just
pellets, as on some days this will hold the fish
for longer.
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LONG LINE
6M LINE
MARGIN
At 14 to 16 metres
Tony develops two
swims, one with just
corn, the other with
corn and pellet, to
see which the carp
respond best to on
the day. Don’t be
tempted to feed too
much.
At five to six metres
Tony feeds just
meat by hand – the
key here is to keep
a steady trickle
going in before you
fish the line, which
can be the most
productive of all
three
areas.
For real ‘lumps’ the
margin rules. Tony
primes a swim down
the edge with a fairly
dry groundbait mix
that isn’t compacted,
just potted in to
form a cloud and a
bed for the carp to
get their heads
down on,
usually later in
a session.