Catch Carp Down the Edge
In match conditions or on practice sessions when it’s bright, commercial carp tend to head for any bit of cover, and every swim has cover right down each side, albeit sometimes sparse. Today I’m on the Match Lake at Blind Lane Fishery for a practice session before a match and not only is it busy but the bright conditions aren’t going to make it easy. I’ve picked a swim that has some cover from the sun down each side and these will be fed and rotated regularly.
Today’s tackle
The pole I’m using is the fantastic Sphere Zero-G F1+, a great all-round pole and perfect for bagging up on carp down the edge. This is teamed up with 1.8mm Blue Black Magic Gold Power Elastic which has a rating of 14, ideal as these carp fight all the way to the net and there’s a very good chance of hooking something quite large. What I love about this elastic is it powers up really quickly once a fish is hooked, slowing it down progressively and getting it under control quickly. I’m using Cenex 0.16mm Hybrid Power Mono and 0.14mm Classic Mono for my main and hook length with Sphere size 16 barbless CPF LS hook. The left hand margin is the deepest around 5ft and I’m using a 4×14 float with the shot strung out which doubles up if I want to go straight out in front where I will be feeding corn by hand on a regular basis. The right hand side is far shallower and I’m going really tight in to the cover with a 4×8 float shotted with a bulk six inches from the hook.
Something different
As for bait I’m using something different, shown to me by team member Alex Roberts, and although it will be corn on the hook, I’m feeding ground down maize pellets with a little Champion’s Choice Big Fish Groundbait added; a combination that creates a really enticing cloud and one Alex has had some great success using. I also have some liquidized corn which will be fed, like the dampened ground maize through a small pot to keep it nice and tight.
Thick and fast
As expected the conditions and activity of other anglers has seen it take time to get each margin going but although carp have been coming regularly it’s not until around a couple of hours in that they start coming thick and fast. Some days you get some real lumps down the edge but today they are relatively small, the biggest maybe 4lb but come lunchtime I’ve put together a tidy net of carp and feel confident with my approach for the forth coming match.
Gary Ford
Gary’s Tackle
Sphere Zero-G F1+ Pole
Black Magic Gold Power Elastic
Cenex 0.16mm Hybrid Power Mono
Cenex 0.14mm Classic Mono
Size 16 Sphere CPF LS Barbless Hook
4×8 & 4×14 Pole Floats
Gary’s Bait
Sweetcorn
Champion’s Choice Big Fish Groundbait
Ground Maize Pellets
Liquidized Corn
