Wait or move; Observation is half the work!
Marcel Dolderman | Tips & TricksWait or Move?
I’m a results-focused angler myself – weights interest me less, but I like to catch fish every session, whether using a float, static fishing, or surface fishing. That’s why in recent years, I’ve increasingly focused on studying the water and observing carp behavior before starting a session. Questions like: ‘where are they during different parts of the day?‘, ‘are they actively swimming around?‘, ‘what’s the bank and water vegetation like?‘ ‘what’s the depth profile?‘, ‘is there plenty of natural food present?‘ occupy my mind before even casting a single rod.
Challenging carp spots..
By observing for a few days without fishing, you learn a lot about the carp and their behavior on the water and where they hang out, helping you better determine spot selection and bait choice. This way, I’ve managed to significantly reduce the number of blank sessions. I also keep a logbook with catch times, water locations, bait use, temperature, and date so I can always make predictions about fishing spots I’ve fished before.
Vary
Take a brolly more often than a bivvy and move spots multiple times depending on the time of day – go find those fish! Vary your bait and sometimes leave boilies aside, try cheese cubes or canned dog food, brown beans and peas, or other unusual bait on the hair or directly on the hook. Bring light equipment to the bank so moving becomes a pleasure rather than a burden.
Use small banksticks instead of a rod pod where possible, and if you have a receiver for your bite alarms, don’t be afraid to place a 2nd rod 50 meters away – you’ll see that rod often scores best and your catch results will visibly improve over time, but most importantly, without good polaroid sunglasses you’ll miss 50% of what happens below the water surface.
Alvar Besemer
Related posts
Blogs, Experiences, Fishing Trip Reports, Tips & Tricks, Angling venues
Getting Particles on the Swim
The Landing Net Support
By the water's edge, you always want to have your landing net within reach. After a catch, the net often lies wet on the ground, which could cause you to step o...
Sponge Balls
There are many types of artificial baits on the market. A tip I'd like to share with you is the use of sponge balls that are used in the hospitality industry to...
The Double Hair Method
A few years ago I read an article about carp fishing with a double hair, specifically for particles. Initially I was skeptical, but I decided to try it myself. ...
- Carp is a creature of habit
- good preparation carp fishing
- Observation before fishing
- Observing carp
- Observing without fishing
- Spotting Carp
I have been fishing all my life, but the carp bug started around when I was sixteen, in the western part of the country where I was born. I was less active in fishing for a few years, but the passion runs where it cannot be suppressed. Fishing truly brings me peace, being out in nature, and feeling the adrenaline rush when the bite alarm goes off. Besides carp fishing, I enjoy experimenting with everything related to carp fishing.