Hello,

I am going to target carp on my local canal, I have spotted a few fish last week, so hopefully I can get one out. But, having not carp fished for a number of years, and never on a canal, I could use some advice.

I have got a pair of 6ft Sonik Xtractors, not sure what to do about reels. I have a pair of Shimano ST 2500 baitrunners, which I use for Chub fishing. Will these do the job, or be to small?

Its a canal, there is all sorts in there and the bottom is quite silty in places. Can anyone recommend me some basic rigs that will do the job? I was thinking pop ups and balanced baits, sound about right?

I will be fishing short sessions, early mornings before the boats start moving. I thought I should be using single hookbaits or small pva bags. My thinking was that carp will be slowing down this time of year, so chucking in loads of bait could be counter productive?

Should I be fishing with tight/slack lines, using backleads or leadcore?

Finally, if anyone has other advice that I might find helpful, that would be great.

Cheers.

In reply to Post #4
How are the Xtractors? I did think such short rods might be like broom handles.

Hello,

I am looking to target carp on my local canal. However, I need some advice regarding rods.

These rods will only be used on the canal, so they won't need to suit another situation. Short rods make sense to me, the tow paths can be narrow and most casts will be dropping a bait into the margins or an underarm chuck.

I did consider a 9ft rod, however I have also thought about going right down to 6ft. For this kind of fishing, what would you go for?

Wychwood and Sonik do 9 and 6ft rods, which both get decent reviews. So, If anyone has any opinions on them, that would be great.

Cheers