Mugging Commercial Carp
Mugging carp has become a very popular tactic during big matches on venues dominated by carp and is especially good on those still hot days when the carp are cruising around in the warmer upper layers. These carp aren’t really interested in feeding and the mugging tactic involves simply swinging out and dropping a bait right next to a fish and then hoping that its natural instinct see’s it grabbing the bait.
Lucky draw
Practicing this method really does help, as it tunes you into where and how to drop the bait in a split second and today I’ve come to Coleman’s Cottage, a typical carp dominated venue where mugging has really taken off. The carp here are mainly in the 3lb – 6lb bracket but there are bigger to over 15lb and its these that tend to hang around in the upper layers or right down the edge and underneath the fishing platforms. Obviously mugging only works if you’re lucky to draw a peg where the carp are cruising around and if you can pick a few of these out then they really do help bump your weight up.
Intercepting lumps
Mugging is a really active method and if you’re on the fish and they are responding then you will certainly know it come the end of the session. Constantly flicking a bait, adding sections to fish at different distances, changing rigs, bait and depth is the order of the day as well as hooking, playing and landing hopefully numerous hard fighting carp. A word of warning though, being too aggressive and waving a pole around without care and attention can on occasions spook the fish so if there are some lumps cruising around it can pay to sit back with your pole resting on the rollers, buy your time then intercept one of these as it swims past.
Rig choice
A quick look from the car park at Wood Lake and there are plenty of carp cruising around so that’s where I’m going to set up. My kit consists of a Sphere Zero-G PT+ pole and I’m using a long No 4 section which gives the pole a bit of whip plus the long top kits, that come as standard with this pole, which makes the task of flicking over a rig that much easier. I’m using 4ft of Cenex 0.20mm Hybrid Power Mono attached to Xitan 2.3mm Microbore Elastic for my heavier rig which consists of a .3g dibber float shotted simply with 4No8 positioned directly under the float, a six inch hook length of 0.18mm Hybrid Power along with a size 16 Sphere Beast hook which has a pellet band attached to it. The lighter rig almost identical apart from the float is a .2g dibber and the elastic is the new Hybrid 2mm white, which has a 14-16 rating, a great all-round soft elastic for targeting medium sized carp.
Cheap or expensive?
Bait for the session is simply pellets but it’s worth having a mixture as on some days a certain size, even colour can make all the difference. Mugging doesn’t involve any feeding; however it is worth pinging half a dozen every few minutes to a certain line, similar to fishing the pellet waggler, as if there are no cruisers then a few flicks of the rig in this area can produce a few extra fish. It’s also worth feeding the margins as these can be very productive especially late in the day as well as nicking the odd lump as it appears. Casters have become a very popular bait with this method as they give a far slower drop in front of a carps face than pellet due to their natural buoyancy, however the drawback is the cost and for a big match you may go through a gallon! Pellet is far cheaper, but the fall through the water is quicker and if you don’t get a bite within ten seconds you need to flick again so there are advantages and disadvantages for both baits.
Instant action
As expected it doesn’t take long for a flicked pellet in front of a carp to see the float disappearing and the elastic stretching as the first mugged carp falls to this deadly method. Keeping the pole low and using the pulla kit gets the fish under control quickly and when it’s close in just lift the pole, get its head up and quickly push the landing net underneath. Four hours in and I’ve lost count of the number of carp that have been caught, no real monsters, the best maybe 7lb but the average size is far bigger than the hoards of F1’s that you would catch down on the deck and come the end of a match these bigger fish will make all the difference. It was the lighter .2g rig and a 6mm red pellet that was the most successful today, the heavier float seemed to spook the fish so worth noting and using the lightest float you can get away with and consistently switching bait.
Mugging is a devastating method on its day and one that all match anglers need to master if they want to be consistent on commercial carp venues.
Alex Reynolds
"As expected, it doesn't take long to get the elastic stretching."
Alex’s Tackle
Sphere Zero-G PT+
Microbore/Hybrid Elastic
Long No 4 Section/Long Top Kit
0.20/0.18mm Cenex Hybrid Power Mono
.2g/.3g Dibber Float
Sphere Beast size 16 Hook
Pellet Band
Alex’s Bait
4mm/6mm red/natural pellets
