So you’re thinking of starting carp fishing right? well, you’ve just come to the right place, this guide is packed with information and explanations about everything someone new to carp fishing should need to know so they don’t get ripped off too much in tackle shops.
A basic list of what you are likely to need
- Carp Rods
- Reels
- Rod support or pod
- Bite alarms
- Bite indicators
- Landing net & unhooking mat
- End tackle i.e. hooks, weights, line etc
- Luggage and tackle box(s)
- Bait
Carp Rods
There are a baffling array of rods out there on the market today with prices ranging from £25 to £300+ but a rod’s a rod right?….
Wrong, it’s all about quality (and sometimes though you’re paying out for a brand name). A reasonably good quality carp rod can be got for around £60-£100 each, now one term that crops up regularly is Test Curve or TC as it’s commonly stated, the test curve of a rod is a guide to it’s action and power.
It is usually meant as the weight required at the tip to bend the tip through 90 degrees from the butt. The ‘action’ of a rod can really fall into three categories which define how the rod bends under load. Firstly there are Through Action rods ’slow taper’ which are softer meaning that the rod will bend throughout it’s length right through to the butt which is ideal for close-up work but will make it harder to control a fish at distance and not very suitable for casting larger leads over any real distance.
Secondly there are Medium action ‘medium taper’ rods that are slightly more rigid towards the butt meaning that they have more power to play fish and control a fish at some distance, are capable of casting medium size leads at reasonable distance but are still supple enough to control a fish under the rod tip (most people opt for this type of rod as a good all-rounder).
Finally there are Fast Action ‘fast taper’ rods tend to have more power in the butt and mid-section of the rod making them ideal for distance casting as the rod compresses less under weight, they tend to have a higher TC than slow or medium taper rods, overall this means the rod is a lot stiffer and as such can make controlling a fish at close range a lot more difficult. With that said, spend time in the shop with rods fully assembled and fitted with your choice of reel to get a feel for the rod and check that the rod doesnt have a ’sloppy’ action.
Reels
Shimano revolutionised carp fishing with the ‘baitrunner’ system which allows a separate drag to be switched in effectively allowing the reel to free-spool and in turn allowing a fish to take line with a closed bail arm. This has made things much simpler for carp anglers and nowadays most carp reels have this facility incorporated usually under a different name.
There are several good reels out there such as the Shimano Baitrunner and Fox Stratos but there are plenty of cheaper alternatives which are pretty comparable in performance from brands such as Okuma and Zebco.
Big Pit reels are designed with huge line capacity in mind for fishing extreme distance but from personal experience i’ve found that many of these big pit reels dont feel well balanced when fitted to certain rods so it’s worth trying one fitted to the rod before considering purchasing.
Rod Support & Rod Pods
Now, when it comes to rod support you have two choices really here, go for a rod pod or banksticks and buzzer bars. Now assuming you’re coming to carp fishing from a general coarse fishing background then you’ll already be familiar with banksticks but probably less familiar with rod pods.
A rod pod is a effectively a framework with banksticks that normally offers considerably more support than banksticks and can be used on rigid surfaces such as concrete without needing to be pushed into the ground like a bankstick does, the downside is that they can be a real pain to set up on steep banks where banksticks would be much simpler.
If you decide to take the bankstick route then try to get the screw-in type as they are much easier to get into dry mud banks that normal push-in types are and the much greater ease of use far outweights the small additional cost.
If you decide to go for a pod then there are several good pods out there made by a variety of manufacturers such as Solar, Fox, Nash and many others but be sure to check that everything is pretty solid and be sure to see it assembled in the shop due to the fact that although there are plenty of good quality pods out there there’s also plenty of rubbish ones too.
Bite Alarms
These days bite alarms are an invaluable tool in carp fishing providing an audible and often visual indication of bites. There are many brands and designs out there with varying features. Most typical designs (typically used by Nash, Fox, Wychwood) work on the roller wheel principle which has been in use for many years and often internally the alarms have a segmented disc attached to the wheel and this operates a beam-break sensor, the only downside being that due to having a segmented disc a certain degree of movement is required before the alarm actually provides an indication of the line movement.
Then there is typically one other design that is currently in use (used by Delkim) which works by sensing line vibration, this requires no moving parts such as a roller wheel. Features to look for are Adjustable Volume and Tone, this way the volume can be adusted down to be less annoying to other anglers during daylight hours. The tone adjustment can be handy as you can adjust the tone in case other anglers are using similar sounding alarms.
Try to get alarms that allow provision for attaching an external sounder box, there are mainly 2 ways to achieve this
1) through a wired connection plugging in to a socket on the alarm
2) wireless via a radio transmitter either built into the alarm or as an additional module that can be purchased separately.
If option 2 appeals to you then its best advised to check the price difference between the external transmitters versus the alarms with them built in.
For example Delkim TXi alarms cost around £120 incorporating the transmitter but to purchase a Delkim EV alarm is £60 but the transmitter module costs around £55 making a total cost around £115 so for an additional £5 you could have the alarms with them incorporated which makes the units more compact.
Bite Indicators
Bite indicators are really a necessity although this is mixed opinion but can make registering a bit a lot more positive and can give good indication of what a fish is actually doing with your bait. For example a rising indicator would indicate that the fish is moving away from you where a dropping indicator would indicate what is known as a drop back which means the fish has picked up the bait and is moving towards you with it, without an indicator this type of bite would be hard to register and may not even cause the alarm to sound as there would be nothing applying tension to the line the reel side of the alarm.
There are many designs of indicator and none are really technically superior or better than any other, the most popular seems to be the Fox or Solar swinger designs but conventional bobbin designs are just as good, be sure to look out for designs that allow you to incorporate a starlight or isotope to help you out when night fishing, recently more designs are being introduced that can be connected to your bite alarms allowing the indicator to be electrically illuminated for night fishing, normally you would have to use an indicator that is compatible with the type of alarm you have and is worth discussing with your tackle shop.
Landing Nets & Unhooking Mats
A good quality landing net is essential, not just for making things easier for you but more importantly for the welfare of the fish you’re landing and handling. Large coarse mesh will damage the fish, lift scales and abrade the body scraping off the protective mucus. Using a fine mesh good quality net will help to reduce this and this is often a rule imposed by many angling clubs and day ticket venues.
For this reason a good quality unhooking mat is also an essential, again it is often a requirement of most venues, there are many types but all are essentially the same, just the quality changes with price. It is possible to get combined unhooking mat and weigh slings which make handling larger carp a lot easier as there is no need to transfer the fish from the unhooking mat to the weigh sling and the same sling is often contored to support the fish for carrying back to the bank for release, although these are a little more pricey it’s worth the extra money for the peace of mind that the carp is not being exposed to any additional stress from excess handling.
Carp End Tackle
Well, there’s no point having shiny new rods, reels and everything else without anything to put on the end of them
First main consideration here is your main line, there are a bewildering array of lines to choose from, a line that has proved very popular for many years is Daiwa Sensor and so is Berkley Trilene but it is quite common nowadays to use braid in place of conventional line which offers many advantages, firstly braid is less likely to get damaged by underwater snags and mussels and the and has very little memory meaning that it doesn’t retain its coiling effect and has very little stretch but in many places braided main line is banned.
If you prefer to use a traditional monofilament line then you may want to consider using a flourocarbon line as this appears transparent in water and is less likely to be obvious to fish (typical examples are X-Line).
Be careful to follow the manufacturers instructions on loading your spools as you dont want to introduce any line-twist as this is the biggest cause of tangles ‘birds-nests’ on reels, normally the procesure is to lay the spool on the floor with the label side up and thread up through the butt section of the rod and fit the reel then fill it that way.
Weights, carry a wide variety of leads to suit various distances and conditions, I tent to prefer to go as light as possible for the distance as in my honest opinion (many will probably disagree) there is no need for heavy leads for distance casting if you’re using a PVA bag as the contents of the bag add enough additional casting weight.
Hooks are another important matter and again are mainly a matter of preference as to size and shape but the latter is really dependant on the design of the rig you’re using, for more information on rigs check out our rigs section which has tutorials showing rig designs.
PVA products come in very handy for baiting at distance as you can ensure that the loose feed is being delivered very close to your hookbait but we’ll discuss that elsewhere in further detail.
Hooklink material is an important choice, you can use flourocarbon but in my opinion this is a bit to stiff for a normal hair rig although it’s often used very successfully however I prefer to use a braided hooklength material such as Fox Coretex or Suffix Snakeskin which is a coated hooklength material.
Dont forget to get a pack of hair stops and a baiting needle too as these are essential for making and putting bait onto a hair rig.
Well, that’s pretty much the minimum of what you’ll need to get you started in carp fishing, obviously you can go with higher/lower quality items to fit your budget but please try to go for decent rods and reels otherwise you’ll only regret it later on and end up having to spend more in the long run.
This invaluable information should help you on your way to catching your first carp.
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