Targetting the bigger carp?

[TretheweyPewey]

Hey guys,

I fish at a lake that has a lot of carp in it. There is a big head of 1lbers, 2lbers and 5lbers. There is also a few biggens (up to mid 20lbs). I always catch heaps of the smaller ones and was wondering if there was a way of making my chances of hooking into a bigger one higher.

If anyone could tell me I would be very grateful :)

Cheers :)

[Maddison_Twatter]

Hi mate there are many factors to consider when targetting bigger fish, firstly and most imortantly is are you adequately equipped to catch. land. and return a big fish safely ?
Secondly I would spend some time observing the lake looking for possible carp patrol routes and basking areas.
Next I would consider using a larger bait to deter smaller species for example larger pellet or boilie, having said that record carp have been caught on nothing but a piece of fake sweetcorn.
some people will tell you you will need to throw in kilos and kilos of bait to catch large carp but this isnt true, a simple pva mesh method will do fine but you should try to cast to the same areas to build up a feeding area. also Floating baits such as bread crust and dog biscuits are brilliant for nailing big carp especially on a warm summers day, theres nothing better.
Catching bigger Carp does take time in most cases and you may have many blanks in the proccess but stick with it. a 20lber will make it worth the while.

[JakeE435]

In my eyes

A bigger bait = A bigger Carp

On my local fishery, i've never caught below a 14..

[Mark78]

you could also try fishing just off of your baited area,as the smaller carp will steam in on your bait but the bigger ones may hang back. try having one rod on your baited area and one just off, backleads will be useful in that scenario just so you don't get in a mess.

[BoldBear]

Most fish; including the Carp; form shoals or loose groups of similar sized fish and because of predation & disease etc. over time the larger these fish get then the smaller (and wiser) the group tends to get, with maybe 2 or three in a group and even the odd loner.

Sometimes a lone Carp may even team up with a similar sized fish of another species, like the double figure Carp and Barbel that I have witnessed several times moving up and down my local stream together.

The larger groups of smaller Carp have more competition for food simply because there are more mouths to feed in their group so will often tend to feed in the areas where the anglers have fired their bait out, wherever it is.

Although you can sometimes find the larger Carp feeding near the smaller shoals; more often you find that the larger Carp have completely different patrol routes to the smaller Carp on a lake; depending on how much natural food is available to them.

Try looking for underwater bars or remote bays or islands with overhanging branches or along-side large lilly beds away from the edge and nearer the middle where they can feed in peace etc. rather than just chucking out your bait in front of you into featureless water.

On a couple of larger waters that I fish the Carp tend to follow the wind and more times than not, if you fish on the downwind side you will normally find the larger fish.

A good place to try in the evenings when most of the day anglers have left is along the edge where they sometimes move picking off the bait that the day anglers have thrown in before leaving; or downwind where drifting food has congregated during the day.

Hope you do manage to hook the larger fish, let us know if you do.

tight lines

Keith (BoldBear)

[TretheweyPewey]

Thanks so much for all the answers and tips they are ver appreciated and I will deffinately try them out :)

[NICK R]

Originally Posted by JakeE435

In my eyes

A bigger bait = A bigger Carp

On my local fishery, i've never caught below a 14..

my biggest carp came on a single piece of sweet corn

[HEWY]

Originally Posted by NICK R

my biggest carp came on a single piece of sweet corn

Like Nick said you don't need a big bait to catch a big carp...but if you do want to avoid the "nuisance" fish I would try different sized baits...I fish the canal a lot and to stop combat the Bream I use anything between 26mm and 32mm boilie, you can either have these rolled by a company like CCmoore or ACE or you could make them yourself (<---Cheaper). Hope this helps...

Hewy

[JakeE435]

my biggest carp came on a single piece of sweet corn

he was on about avoiding smaller carp, yes big carp will take smaller baits but a small carp will struggle to take a big bait i.e. 22mm

[NICK R]

Originally Posted by JakeE435

he was on about avoiding smaller carp, yes big carp will take smaller baits but a small carp will struggle to take a big bait i.e. 22mm

you said bigger baits = bigger fish , i said it aint the case


wow i have so much to learn