A minimalist approach to Carp Part 2 - On the water.

Stay mobile.
My approach is simple, and with a degree of empathy and a little understanding of your quarry you can't fail. First off, be mobile - the less tackle and paraphernalia you have the greater chance of you being able to actively seek out feeding fish, thus turning an otherwise virtual camping trip into a fishing trip.

Don't overlook the margins.
95% of my fishing is done within one or two rod lengths from the bank, whether it is carp or any other species I target. The area of any water, be it a pond, lake or river, has a larger abundance of natural food in the margins. Fish visit these food rich areas and can be taken advantage of. Often there is direct visual contact, in the form of tell-tale signs. The close contact epitomises fishing for me, and having a more personal experience gives me far greater and richer understanding of my quarry, in this instance carp. I'm not overly keen on multiple alarmed setups with self hooking shock rigs and such. If you have read the first part this article you will have an understanding of the tackle I find gives me, at least, an extremely close and altogether rewarding time on the water.

Keep it simple.
It often feels like I live in an age where everyone's a specimen hunter overnight almost. It seems like a lot of grass roots of the sport get over looked. You buy the relevant tackle regarding the particular fish, as most fish these days have their own tailor made tackle. Go and have a handful of sessions and then you're the next expert, akin to changing the oil in your car and proclaiming you're a mechanic. I read the following on a fishing forum only the other week: a young angler had in fact caught a fine carp on float tackle, only to have the question put, as if he was the eccentric one, "Why not on the bolt"? Comments like that drive me to write. As if now shock rigs are in fact the norm.

Watch and listen.
Once confronted with a lake containing carp I usually never fail in regards to fish location. But bear in mind that I dislike, and very seldom fish, large open expanses of water. Instead, akin to my style of fishing, I have a preference for smaller more intimate surroundings. It's simple really, just carefully scan the lake for fishy signs, a good quality pair of Polaroid's are an absolute essential. Your ears are also a great weapon in fish detection; listen for the unmistakeable sound of carp sucking snails off the underside of water lilies. It sounds almost like a faint clapping sound, but if you're not in tune with, or accustomed to, this you may bypass a great opportunity. Quite easily drowned out as you trundle past with your mountain of tackle heaped on a wheel barrow (couldn't help the dig). Moving on then, Patrol routes all carp have and follow them. They nearly always, given the right conditions, include the margins. In fact I've not fished a lake where the carp don't visit the margins at some point in order to feed.

Find the fish.
If you're unfamiliar with the water, bait up a few spots with a couple of handfuls of particles and spend time observing. Keep mobile, have a rod set up but don't start fishing until you have encountered some kind of idea or contact as to where your time is best spent. Some develop a kind of sixth sense to fish location; others get to know a specific water rather well. Whatever the case may be, spend time watching, moving and learning. Not just presuming or guessing. Modern carp fishing in some regards resembles a military operation, based around the hub of a portable home, the dreaded bivvy - a battery of rods point out at the enemy. Locked and loaded with shock rigs, and test curves better suited to tuna than carp. So still in keeping with the military theme then, I would say my style of angling was more a kin to Special Forces, self contained, nimble, mobile, go in get the job done minimal of fuss, pretty good metaphors really.

Enjoy your fishing.
There are many thrills to be had in the angling world, but for me seeing a carp of around size medium (I scale my carp large, medium and small, purely to make mockery of the numbers game) feeding in front of me is pretty well up there on the top of my list. I must add I've never encountered size large before, so I have that to look forward to. Close quarters carping is exhilarating, and having an aggressively feeding fish under your rod tip is site to behold. The water almost boiling from the fins gentle paddling to hold its position over the bottom; plumes of debris and silt, kicked up, together with the tension and adrenaline rush of watching the line twitch and dance is second to none in my book. Then, of course, the added satisfaction of hooking the fish yourself, not relying on a rig to do the job for you. Or not, depending on the outcome, as success is by no means guaranteed. But it's horses for courses at the end of the day; it's whatever floats your boat. For me I don't live by the modern "catch the fish at any cost" approach, but then I'm not a specimen hunter, rather an experience hunter or hunter of feeling and atmosphere. I would, of course, be lying if I said I didn't want to catch a size large carp, but I don't see it as my goal. And I must add that all of the most memorable fish I have caught have in fact been very average in size, either they have put up a spectacular fight or been caught in spectacular surroundings.

One of the said medium size carp - taken on freelined worm

Dare to be different.
So there you go, maybe one or two of you, who haven't been bored to death and managed to read through my pages of dribble, might be inspired to approach carp fishing from another angle this year. Who knows, if you fish for carp in the middle part of Sweden you may even come across what resembles a garden gnome, with a rather undersized fishing rod (no pun intended) and what resembles a fly fishing reel and bucket of sweet corn. It's rather likely that you have stumbled upon my good self.

Read books (or at least one).
If I can recommend you read at least one carp fishing book, please read "the secret carp" by Chris Yates, a personal hero of mine. This book is a beautiful reinforcement of how I believe carp fishing should be carried out, to get the most enjoyment back.

I must finish with a great thanks to Henrik Ragnarsson for sparking my carp fishing fire, after some eight years fishing predominately for pike, perch, and zander, after moving to Sweden.

If you're interested in getting hold of any of the tackle I've previously mentioned, you won't go far wrong contacting grumpy Graham at vintage tackle, Or Leslies of Luton, and Davis tackle, all are warmly recommended and trusted.

Tight Lines!