The last few months have seen me attend a number of Daiwa events and having chatted with a variety of carp anglers of all ages and experiences one thing has been clear to me….too many are going for the ‘big hit’ rather than getting a few fish under their belt to start with. Now whilst some anglers ( myself included ) have spent the winter fishing for carp in all weathers many anglers hang their rods up in the worst of the weather and late April / early May sees them back on the waters for the first time in months. When you have had a break it is important that you get back into the groove as the layoff will not have improved your casting, observational or efforts at all. The more you go the better you will get as you will get used to the feel of the rod and reel combination again, dropping that rig on the spot and learning when to bait and when to sit and wait.

Whilst it is nice to have a red letter day , and if you get it right you will have one, if you are just feeling your way back into it don’t go for the big hit but instead concentrate on getting a fish or two under your belt to regain confidence in everything from bait choice to playing fish not dropping them. Indeed on virtually all the waters I fish I have found that until the carp have spawned and settled down then it really can be hot and miss. Fish can seemingly go days without feeding, then have a mad spell. They can lock up in certain areas of the lake and if you are not in those areas you struggle. They seem more interested in waking up than feeding up and so on. So my advice is do not go like a bull in a china shop but instead remember you have all season to catch the fish of your dreams and start to get a few ‘confidence’ inspirers under your belt. Here are my top ten tips for getting a few fish under your belt before the summer is truly on us.

Make sure your rods and reels are cleaned and ready for action

1- Make sure that your rods and reels are working to capacity. Clean them, service them and ensure none of the guides are out of line. Whilst clean rods and reels on their own won’t catch more they perform better and if they perform better…you will !

2-Make sure your line is good. I always change my line when we go from winter into spring and whilst Daiwa Senser is tough and reliable at the price it is you can afford to respool. Even if you don’t take the twist of it and when you’ve made a long cast wind it in whilst holding a cloth to clean off all the detritus that builds up on it.

3-Ensure you have your rod licences, club and syndicate books bought, and you know what the fishery rules are. Don’t take it for granted that they are the same year in year out….check don’t get banned !

4-If you can spend equally as much time looking as fishing. As I said earlier the carp don’t tend to follow the ’rules’ until they have spawned so don’t sit and wait but see if a few tackle less visits can give you some pointers

5-Travel light …. The more you carry the less likely you are to move if you find they are not in front of you. Get yourself an Infinity Overnight shelter, take the minimum tackle and don’t settle yourself until you are absolutely sure that’s where you need to be.

Fool em ... Don't feed em!

6-Avoided marker floats and too much casting. Fish that have had a quiet winter will soon be put on their guard if you are constantly casting and recasting. If you need to do that do it when you are not fishing and when you are in the swim do a few practice casts with a light lead to feel for the spots you want.

7-Fool em … don’t feed em. There is no need to fire in lots of bait when you are fishing…it won’t catch you more. Instead concentrate on using the minimum you can to get a take. Maybe a PVA bag or stringer and any spare bait can go in when you leave

8-It needs to be spot on. A miss is as good as a mile so when you are casting that end tackle it must be spot on….or re do it. Sometimes the hotspot may be feet in size and sometimes it may be inches. Unless you are ABSOLUTELY sure its right … don’t leave it

9-Single is best …  and I don’t mean ditch the wife. If you are in the right spot it only takes a single bait to get a hook in their mouth. If you are using singles then don’t use any freebies at all. If they’ve got nothing to compare the hook bait with then to test it they need to sample it. And if they sample it the hook may well take hold.

10-And finally don’t overdo it. You’ve got the full season to catch them and late early June is not the time to be despondent.

See you there

Julian Cundiff