Having ventured in the match scene lately for a bit of fun, I can certainly say that I’ve learned a great deal from it.
Learning how to catch carp on match tackle may seem dead easy to some on commercials but take it from me, some of these wary carp are still crafty in getting caught, especially the bigger ones that seem to hang around the margins.
One tactic that seems to work really well that we are all hearing about is groundbait down the edge!
Well, on my recent day out carping with my boy, I decided to try just that! It’s not something you see on specimen day ticket lakes and I was very confident about trying it.
The groundbait I chose for this session was Bait-Tech’s Big Carp Method Mix, Tiger & Peanut flavour. The nutty aroma that came off it was incredible!
I mixed it on the wet side so it would sink to the bottom nicely, in went 6 big balls on the spot, which was only 2-3ft deep and a handful of Poloni boilies on top. My rig consisted of a 14mm Poloni pop up standard colour on a 12lb mono hook link on a 3oz lead.
Literally 10mins and my left hand rod was bent double while my alarm was screaming at full blast. (I was fishing about 15yards away from my tip!!) A nice little common to start the day and a happy boy.
A carp caught over groundbait in the edge “carpy style”. It didn’t end there neither, an hour later this stunning common slipped up over the groundbait spot too.
To say I was chuffed with my little experiment is an understatement. One thing is for sure, fishing for carp on commercials has taught me a few things, and I’m sure I will succeed even more, on catching these specimen wary carp.
Until next time
John Bassili