Hi all,
Had a session yesterday on my club lake where I really got the carp going ballistic for the freebie floaters. Caught 4 in total and lost 2 through hook pulls. Frustrating as I should have caught many more given the number of times I saw my hookbait mouthed.
Just a brief explanation on my experience yesterday and would be interested to know other's thoughts in regards to my hookbait presentation in this situation.
Started off hair rigging the trimmed down pop up and got the bait real tight to the shank of the hook. Gave up with this after the bait being mouthed several times without connecting to a carp. (Interesting as most top anglers videos I see on the subject tend to fish floaters like this). All of my fish came when I cut the hair off and hooked the trimmed down pop up, trying to ensure enough of the hook point was exposed, though I still failed to hook a few when I felt they'd taken it.
Never tried supergluing to the hook although I was constantly casting and assume this would just come off, similarly when I tried a bit of crust.
What are people's thoughts on what I could do different to convert more ‘mouths' to hooked carp.
Thanks!
Had a session yesterday on my club lake where I really got the carp going ballistic for the freebie floaters. Caught 4 in total and lost 2 through hook pulls. Frustrating as I should have caught many more given the number of times I saw my hookbait mouthed.
Just a brief explanation on my experience yesterday and would be interested to know other's thoughts in regards to my hookbait presentation in this situation.
Started off hair rigging the trimmed down pop up and got the bait real tight to the shank of the hook. Gave up with this after the bait being mouthed several times without connecting to a carp. (Interesting as most top anglers videos I see on the subject tend to fish floaters like this). All of my fish came when I cut the hair off and hooked the trimmed down pop up, trying to ensure enough of the hook point was exposed, though I still failed to hook a few when I felt they'd taken it.
Never tried supergluing to the hook although I was constantly casting and assume this would just come off, similarly when I tried a bit of crust.
What are people's thoughts on what I could do different to convert more ‘mouths' to hooked carp.
Thanks!
In reply to Post #1
What size hook and hooklink are you using?
Personally I wouldn't use a pop up, I find them too solid and the hook doesn't pull through easily.
Bread, crafty floaters, soaked dog biscuit have all caught me a lot of carp.
Carp are very cautious in open water so consider that they will often see and feel the line as well as the hook. It's also my experience that a hair rigged bait gives poorer results.
Constantly casting certainly is not the way I do it. Pick a decent fish out of the bunch and cast in front of it. Not too close otherwise you will spook it but that way you can use a soft bait and only cast for a purpose.
What size hook and hooklink are you using?
Personally I wouldn't use a pop up, I find them too solid and the hook doesn't pull through easily.
Bread, crafty floaters, soaked dog biscuit have all caught me a lot of carp.
Carp are very cautious in open water so consider that they will often see and feel the line as well as the hook. It's also my experience that a hair rigged bait gives poorer results.
Constantly casting certainly is not the way I do it. Pick a decent fish out of the bunch and cast in front of it. Not too close otherwise you will spook it but that way you can use a soft bait and only cast for a purpose.
In reply to Post #1
Always seems more lost/not properly hooked fish to floater fishing.
I wouldn't think you were doing anything wrong.
Always seems more lost/not properly hooked fish to floater fishing.
I wouldn't think you were doing anything wrong.
In reply to Post #1
IMO Even trimmed down pop ups are sometimes too buoyant for clumsy, and cute carp feeding.
IMO Even trimmed down pop ups are sometimes too buoyant for clumsy, and cute carp feeding.
In reply to Post #2
Been playing about with size 10 Korda mixa and size 8 Nash floater claw. Went again today and found that the size 8 converted more bites.. tried hooking the meaty mixers I was using today. Okay for one cast but the starts sinking after a couple of mins under the weight of the hook.
Been playing about with size 10 Korda mixa and size 8 Nash floater claw. Went again today and found that the size 8 converted more bites.. tried hooking the meaty mixers I was using today. Okay for one cast but the starts sinking after a couple of mins under the weight of the hook.
In reply to Post #5
Remove the crust from some sliced white then roll a section of the white around the hook, size 6 ideally, if you haven't a 6 then an 8. Crimp the bread like a pasty to stop it unrolling. You will find that will hook you more fish.
I've found a fine flexible hook link (.2 mm max) works best for open water in good light. Not so important in poorer light or shade obviously
Remove the crust from some sliced white then roll a section of the white around the hook, size 6 ideally, if you haven't a 6 then an 8. Crimp the bread like a pasty to stop it unrolling. You will find that will hook you more fish.
I've found a fine flexible hook link (.2 mm max) works best for open water in good light. Not so important in poorer light or shade obviously
In reply to Post #1
I use a bait band tight to the eye of the hook, the John Roberts type with a circular lug on the bottom, not the Carp type standard bands which don't have the lug. Putting the lug at the eye means the hook point is slightly forward of the bait and pointing slightly down making it very difficult for the Carp to mouth the bait.
It used to be a very popular way of floater fishing, I've been using it for 20 odd years, nearly always self hooking. I think the fact the hook can fold flat on intake and spring back into position in the mouth makes it very hard to eject.
I use a bait band tight to the eye of the hook, the John Roberts type with a circular lug on the bottom, not the Carp type standard bands which don't have the lug. Putting the lug at the eye means the hook point is slightly forward of the bait and pointing slightly down making it very difficult for the Carp to mouth the bait.
It used to be a very popular way of floater fishing, I've been using it for 20 odd years, nearly always self hooking. I think the fact the hook can fold flat on intake and spring back into position in the mouth makes it very hard to eject.
In reply to Post #7
Yep +1 for the John Roberts bait bands.
Yep +1 for the John Roberts bait bands.