Tackle for carp fishing

Carp is a domesticated species of carp. It has a cylindrical body, long dorsal and powerful caudal fins, yellow or golden scales. The head of the carp is large and long, the mouth has fleshy developed lips, there are two small antennae near the upper lip. With a good food base, carp grows rapidly, gaining weight up to 1 kg in the first year of life. On average, it lives for about 30 years, while reaching about 1 meter in length and weighing more than 25 kg.

Since carp is a heat-loving fish, it can only be found in the middle and southern latitudes of our country. Small individuals, as a rule, keep in flocks – from ten to hundreds of heads. Adult carps lead a solitary lifestyle, although they also gather in large schools before wintering.

In winter, carp leads an inactive lifestyle, lying at the bottom of deep pits. With the onset of spring, he wakes up, but does not go far from the wintering grounds.

In terms of nutrition, carp is considered an omnivorous fish. Its diet includes both plant foods, such as reeds, and animal foods – shells, larvae, worms, frog eggs. It can also eat small fish.

Tackle for carp fishing

The choice of gear for carp fishing depends on the specific reservoir and the personal preferences of the angler. Most often, different types of float and bottom fishing rods are used.

Floating rod

In the past, the float rod was the most popular carp tackle. The fishermen of the past did not have to choose – a strong walnut rod with a thick fishing line and a large hook acted as a rod, and a bread crumb served as a nozzle. To date, the choice of float gear is so huge that some fishermen fall into a stupor, not knowing what to choose. There are several main types of float fishing rods:

• Fly rods are used when fishing with a dead rig near the shore and when fishing from a boat.
• When fishing at medium and long distances, Bolognese and match rods are used.
• Well, if you need to accurately and without too much noise feed the bait into the fishing area, then it is better to use long plug rods.

Match tackle

When fishing at long distances, match tackle has an advantage over the Bologna rod and plug. It happens that the carp stands far from the shore, and it is not possible to catch it with other gear. And if the bottom of the reservoir is silted, then donks will not help. For match fishing carp it is better to use:

• Rod from 3.5 to 4.5 meters with medium or slow action.
• Spinning reel with rear drag and match spool. This spool has a small side, and it is convenient to cast light equipment with it.
• Fishing lines with a diameter of 0.16 to 0.20 mm. A thicker line will not allow you to throw a rig far and will sail a lot in the wind. It is better to use monofilament line, because it stretches and dampens fish jerks more effectively than braid.

In match fishing, installation with a sliding float is used. This equipment allows you to catch any depth. Bait can be used both purchased and homemade. It should contain a lot of large fraction – corn, feed, peas, various boilies. A flock of carp is very voracious and will not stay long at the point if it is fed only with “dust”. Anise and hemp oil, vanillin are well suited as flavors. Since the fish is far from the shore, they feed it with a special fishing slingshot.

Bottom gear

Trophy carp are best caught with bottom gear. There are many varieties of donks: a regular feeder, donks with spring rigging, a top, sports carp tackle. All of these methods have their fans.

Feeder tackle

To catch carp on a feeder, you need to choose the appropriate gear:

• The optimal length of the feeder rod is from 3.5 to 4 meters with a weight test up to 120 gr. and medium build. Less short rods are difficult to control when playing, because after hooking the carp often tries to go into the grass or snag.
• It is better to use a coil of at least 3000 size, and the most optimal would be 4000 or 5000 size, with a rear drag. Well, if the reel is equipped with a baitrunner function, then the carp will not be able to drag the rod into the water when biting. The spool of the reel must contain a large supply of fishing line – at least 200 meters of the desired diameter.
• It is better to use a monofilament line with a diameter of 0.25-0.28 mm.
• Hooks should be made of thick wire, as thin ones often unbend when playing large specimens.
• A shock leader is also needed to help keep the rig intact.

In feeder fishing, mesh feeders are usually used, but spring feeders and method type feeders can also be used. If fishing is carried out with a mesh feeder, then the bait should be loose and quickly washed out of it. This type of fishing is characterized by frequent recasting of gear in order to cover the bait table.

Boilies carp fishing

Boilies are considered one of the most efficient baits for catching trophy carp. These are round balls that are made from a mixture of different types of flour, eggs, starch and the addition of flavors. In stores you can find a very large selection of these nozzles, but they are often made at home. In addition to the fact that boilies are floating and sinking, of different sizes, they also differ in color and smell:

• The most catchy boilies are yellow, red, white and purple. The choice of color depends on the degree of transparency of the water and the condition of the bottom of the reservoir. In muddy water, bright colors work better, and on a bright day, dark ones.
• But more important is the smell of boilies, not their color. The most catchy smells in the summer: vanilla, strawberry, various fruit flavors, caramel, garlic, hemp. Boilies with animal scents, such as worms, work well in autumn and spring.

Makushatnik

This is a very old way of fishing, even our grandfathers remember it. And although it is considered unsportsmanlike, it is very effective. The crown is a flat sinker with short leashes and hooks attached to it – usually in an amount of 2 to 6 pieces. A makukha cube is attached to this structure. Makukha is a compressed cake made from sunflower, hemp or other seeds. Gradually soaking in water, it attracts fish with its aroma. Having found the crown, the carp sucks it up along with the hooks. The right choice of top is the key to success in such fishing. It is usually sold in large round bars and should be light in color, slightly oily, without husks, and have a strong odor. Before fishing, it must be cut into 4-5 centimeter cubes. When fishing in the current, you need a stiffer top, and when fishing in stagnant water, a softer one. There are no special requirements for equipment. If you are very limited in finances, then a cheap fiberglass spinning rod with a weight test of 100-200 grams will do. and the usual Neva coil.

Nipple fishing

The teat is a spring or cork feeder with several short leashes. It is considered one of the easiest and most effective ways to catch carp. For this reason, it is very popular among recreational anglers, but professional fishermen do not favor it, considering it unsportsmanlike tackle.

There are 2 main types of nipples:

• Homemade feeder. It is made from caps from plastic bottles, on the bottom of which a load is attached. Most often, installation with such a feeder is deaf.
• Purchase tackle. These are spring or method type feeders. Here, sliding equipment is more often used. You can also buy ready-made rigs with leashes and hooks.

The essence of this method of fishing is very simple. Bait is tightly stuffed into the feeder, inside of which hooks are inserted. The bait should have the consistency of plasticine. Usually it is made by hand, it includes peas, breadcrumbs, breadcrumbs and other components, it all depends on the specific area of ​​​​catching. Actually, the bait, as in the top, serves as a bait at the same time. Carp, eating the contents of the feeder, sucks hooks along with it. If the feeder is heavy enough, then often the fish will self-cut. It is better to use braided fishing line as leashes, as it is softer, and the fish is not alert when eating bait.

carp fishing

The sport of carp fishing, or carp fishing, originated in England. In our country, this type of fishing is also becoming more and more popular. The philosophy of carp fishing is catching trophy carp using modern gear, as well as the catch-and-release principle.

Carp fishing differs from ordinary amateur fishing in a large number of original accessories, as well as a humane attitude towards the caught fish. A bag for weighing, a special mat for caught fish, a landing net with a soft net that does not harm carp, electronic bite alarms, rod pod stands, slingshots, catapults – this is just a small list of attributes of a modern carp angler.

Usually carp fishing means trips for several days. After arriving at the place of fishing, life is organized first of all – a tent, a folding bed, chairs and other attributes of a fisherman are set up, and only then comes the preparation of gear.

Then, with the help of a marker rod, a promising section of the bottom is searched. Having found such a site, a beacon is thrown there and the fishing point is fed. For feeding at close distances, a slingshot is used, and at long distances, a catapult or rocket is used.

After feeding, the points throw the first tackle. The beacon is removed and all of the above steps are repeated for the next tackle. Typically, carp fishing uses at least two to four rods.

After capturing the trophy, it is photographed and carefully released back into the water.

Gear with your own hands

There is one very catchy tackle that is easy to make with your own hands. We are talking about a fishing rod with a side nod. In hot summer weather, when the carp does not want to peck at all, it will help to get away from zero.

For such gear you will need:

• Carbon fiber rod 5-6 meters long and with a test from 30 to 100 gr. CFRP is lighter than fiberglass and this is a big plus – the hand gets tired less, as you have to constantly keep the rod on weight.
• The coil will fit the most common, inertial, small size. It is desirable that it has a friction brake, since when biting large specimens, it is necessary to play off the fishing line.
• Monofilament fishing line with a diameter of 0.30-0.35 mm.
• Spring or lavsan nod. He is selected under the weight of the mormyshka.
• Mormyshkas are used in different ways, it can be both a “shot” and a “drop”. The main requirement for a mormyshka is a hook made of thick wire, since when biting a large carp weighing more than 10 kg, thin hooks unbend.

The essence of this fishing is very simple. Several promising places are selected in advance, usually these are gaps in the reeds or snags. Next, you need to feed these points. That’s all. When approaching the place of fishing, silence should be observed, because the carp is very shy.

The jig nozzle can be the most diverse, depending on the specific reservoir, but the most commonly used: corn, peas, worm or maggot. Mormyshka with a nozzle sinks to the bottom and all that remains is to wait for a bite. Usually the carp raises its nod, at this time you need to hook.

After catching the fish, you should not linger at one point, since when playing the carp it makes a lot of noise, thereby scaring away its relatives, and the next bite will have to wait a very long time.

Choosing a place for fishing

Carp is unpretentious and lives in almost any water bodies – ponds, lakes, rivers. When in an unfamiliar place, the easiest way to identify catch points is to look at the surface of the water. Usually carp give themselves out with splashes, air bubbles or turbidity rising from the bottom.

It is important to remember that he eats in those places where he feels safe. Therefore, on ponds and lakes, his favorite habitats are reeds, snags, thickets of water lilies, as well as places with trees hanging over the water. On the rivers, it keeps near the edges, where there is vegetation, snags and colonies of shells.

Features of biting by season

The bite of carp directly depends on the time of year:

• The coldest season is winter. In cold water, carp feed little and can go without food for several weeks. At this time, he tries to choose deep places with warmer water than in other parts of the reservoir.
• In the spring, when the water warms up to 15-20 degrees, the carp begins to spawn. Before the start of spawning, and also some time after it, it feeds intensively. At this time, it is caught in sun-warmed areas of shallow water.
• Starting from June, when spawning ends, until the end of September is the best time for carp fishing. At this time, he leaves the shallow water and moves to deeper places in the reservoir. In hot sunny weather, carp feed in the early morning and late evening. And in windy or rainy weather, it can peck all day.
• In autumn, the intensity of biting decreases, as the water temperature decreases. Vegetation dies, worsening the oxygen regime, the water becomes transparent. The time of biting shifts closer to noon, and in the evening it completely disappears.

Tips from experienced fishermen

• Do not make noise. Carp are very cautious and shy, so any noise negatively affects the bite.
• Do not skimp on the amount of bait. Carp cannot be overfed, and a large amount of bait is required to keep a flock at the fishing point.
• Use vegetable bait in summer and animal bait in spring and autumn.
• Have plenty of different attachments with you. Carp is an unpredictable fish and it is impossible to say in advance what it will bite today.
• Follow the wind. It is noticed that in windy weather the biting of carp increases.
• Use thick wire hooks. Although the fish is hooked better on thin hooks, but a large carp has dense, fleshy lips, and it is not difficult for him to unbend a thin hook.