In this article I invite Wayne Box (aka 'Boxy') to discuss watercraft - a topic that deserves much attention yet can receive very little. Wayne discusses swim selection, feature finding, weather conditions and more. Enjoy!

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The term Watercraft is often used in angling but what does it actually mean ?
Well to me and many of my angling friends, Watercraft means being able to ‘read’ the water and its features and predict what the fish are going to be doing and where they are going to be doing it at any particular time.

I guess in a sense it means OBSERVATION.

So your booked in for a 48hr session on a chosen venue, you turn up knowing that Joe Bloggs had 5 carp out of the Car Park swims the week before, and it always produces a few fish……!!. so that’s where you head for, the swim is free so you put the bivvy up, get the bed out and away you go…….


Who can count the mistakes with that statement? I can see 3……

1) Assuming a swim will produce based on other peoples results
2) Getting the bivvy up without even knowing if there are fish in front of you.
3) Getting bivvy and bed ready before the rods are sorted out.

Ok so that statement might be a bit extreme, but you can see what I am getting at?


Swim choice
When you arrive at the lake, leave the gear in the car, just take yourself, a pair of Polaroid glasses and a bait bucket with you and go for a wander round the lake. Sure enough you can visit the ‘going’ swims and if you see fish moving or showing then great, but if not don’t assume they are there, or that they will turn up. Have a good walk round, 2 maybe 3 times if need be, I would rather spend 2/3 hours looking for the fish and setting up with them in front of me, than setting up and waiting 47.5 hours for them to turn up, which they might not. Things to look out for are, showing fish, fish jumping, boshing, head and shouldering, cruising under the surface, disturbed areas of the lake bed, bubbles and lillies or reeds mving as carp brush past them. Whilst observing the lake never forget the margins which is an often overlooked carp hot spot.



Approach every swim quietly, slowly and stay back far enough not to be sky lined, or to put it simply, don’t let the fish see you first! If you are lucky enough to see fish in the margins or close in then your bait bucket now comes into its own, not only can it temporarily reserve the swim while you get your gear from the car but it can also provide you with some bait to feed the fish! Trickle a handful of pellet 3 at a time, watch the fishes reaction, they may well move out the swim, but I GUARANTEE they will be back if you are quiet, and this time they have some pellets to feed on!

Lastly, forget the bivvy unless it’s lashing down with rain, get the rods out and get angling!



These ripples were caused by a fish repeatedly crashing out over the same spot, it turned out to be a 22lb 8oz mirror, I caught him after seeing him jump over and over again.


Other things to look out for
Disturbed areas of the lake bed, clouds of silt ballooning off the bottom will be a sure sign something fishy has disturbed it, trickling in some pellets wont hurt, but don’t forget to check back later, you may be pleasantly surprised!

Snags, overhanging trees etc are a natural holding spot for carp, they will often be seen brushing against branches causing them to shake and move, keep an eye out for these.



Islands are a great place for catching carp, they use them as patrol routes, as well as the shelter provided by overhanging trees and branches.

Lilly pads, carp just love these! They can often be seen sucking off snails and other insects from the bottom of the pads, and are quite easy to spot.



Channels and gullies, carp use these as routes around the lake, almost like roads, they know where the lead and where that have come from, a bait places along a channel between two islands will invariably produce some action at some point. Working out the times they visit all these areas will dramatically increase your chances of catching.

Ok, so what happens if you turn up, and see no signs of fish anywhere?
Well have a walk round and talk to any other anglers, ask them what they have caught, what they have seen? If they were there the previous night, did they hear any fish crashing out at night and if so where roughly?
Use as much information from as many sources as possible, and don’t be afraid to ask for help, the bailiffs will usually know what’s going on and where the fish have been caught from.


The weather
This can have a big impact on where the fish are going to be, temperature, wind direction, wind strength; water temperature and air pressure can all influence the carp and where they are likely to be.

Sunny days even in the coldest of weathers will invariably find the carp in the shallower areas of the lake, where the water will warm up quickest; these are always worth an investigative look on those bright, sunny mornings.

Wind direction, we all have theories on wind direction and South Westerly Gales being great for fishing into, but does it really matter? On a huge inland sea of a lake like Wraysbury (200 odd acres) then yes I am sure it would make a difference, but on smaller waters under say 12 acres, I doubt it would make much difference, unless there was little or no tree coverage for the wind to be absorbed by. A GENERAL rule of thumb is to have a warm Westerly in your face, and a cold Easterly wind off your back………

Water temperature can be vital, and its not something I want to dwell on too much but suffice it to say, the colder the water, the harder the fish will be to catch?
Possibly, but I had some great results in near freezing water conditions, fishing single bright pop ups with no food content, just single hook baits.
The jury is still out on that one for me as to why single bright baits work so well, but they do, time and time again!

Air Pressure, generally the higher pressure seems to slow the carps feeding habits, and lower pressure seems to make them want to feed? Draw your own conclusions, moon phases are another one, do they really make a difference, I’m not convinced either way, but get out there and draw your own conclusions.


Observation while fishing
Try not to get drawn into sitting in the bivvy and reading a book all day whilst waiting for a take, sit out on your mat with your stove, make some brews and watch the water, not just the water in your swim, but all that you can see. Showing fish, especially in winter can mean the difference between bagging one, and going home empty handed so to speak.

If you are seeing nothing in your swim, and have had no bites, and you see a fish or two consistently showing down the far end of the lake, what do you do? Personally I would lob all my gear on the barrow and be off down the lake like a rat up a drainpipe! Seriously, it’s important, with the increases in angler pressure on most venues to be prepared to move onto showing fish, even when you really cant be bothered!

Ian and myself have fished together for a number of years now, and one thing you will NEVER see us doing is sitting on the bedchair waiting for action, Ian is a meticulous angler who, wont be afraid to make changes to get that extra bite, I prefer to travel very light and move onto showing fish taking only the bear essentials to catch my quarry, Ian likes to cover all eventualities and kit himself up accordingly, I think there is something to be learned from both of these styles, and one thing is for sure, we never stop learning.

Well I hope this has helped you in some way, adapt it to your own fishing and keep your eyes open and it will help you put some more fish on the bank.
Tight lines for now...

Wayne ‘Boxy’ Box.

The Rotten Bottom rig is designed to cast into very weedy swims with the confidence of knowing that if the lead gets trapped in the weed the weak mono link will snap allowing you safely play the carp. The rig is based upon a helicopter rig and uses many of the same components. By simply altering the length of the Rotten Bottom (mono line) you are able to place the baited rig such that it will sit nicely upon the upper layers of the weed and therefore be more visible to passing fish.


What you need

- Leadcore


- Size 8 swivels
- Korda mini beads
- Light swivel lead


- Micro rig rings
- ESP Mk 2 Stiff rigger hooks



- Solar Stiffy stiff link


- 5lb mono




Tools

- Scissors
- Super glue
- Splicing needles
- Rig pullers




Method

Step 1
Cut a 45cm length of leadcore using the scissors. Then fold back the end 20cm parallel with the main leadcore.



Step 2
Push the outer braided skin back to expose 8cm of the inner lead wire, and break this off.



Step 3
Now insert the splicing needle at the point where the braid skin meets the start of the lead wire to a depth of 3.5cm.



Step 4
Place the micro rig onto the braid and splice the micro rig ring into the leadcore.



Step 5
Pull the braid tight trimming off all excess braid that might show through the wall of the braid. Superglue the splice to secure.



Step 6
Create a loop in the opposite end of the leadcore. Start by pushing off the outer braided skin back to expose 8 cm of the inner lead wire, and break this off.



Step 7
With 8cm of lead wire broken off allow the braid to slip back over the lead wire so you end up with 8cm of braid with no wire inside it.
Now inset the splicing needle at the point where the braid skin meets the start of the lead wire to a depth of 3.5cm.



Step 8
Now pass the end of the braid skin into the gate of the splicing needle and gentle ease the needle back pulling the skin into the braid.



Step 9
Gently pull the splicing needle back through the braid until it is all the way through.




Step 10
Now tease the loop in the braid until you get the correct size you need. When you have the correct size tension the loop with a rig puller until the braided loop is tight.



Step 11
Once you are happy with the loop super glue the braid to lock it in place.



Step 12
Place two Korda beads and a size 8 swivel onto a gated baiting needle and slip onto the leadcore.



Step 13
Tie a knotless knot using the ESP Mk2 stiff rigger hooks and Solar Stiffy stiff link material. The hook length is very stiff so can be difficult to manipulate. Using a three turn blood knot tie a short 6.5cm hooklength to the swivel. Carefully melt the tag end (using a lighter blob) to ensure the knot does not slip.



Step 14
Now cut the required length of low breaking strain mono to act as the rotten bottom and tie this to the micro ring spliced into the end of the leadcore. Now attach a light lead 1.5oz to the other end. Attach your main line to the spliced loop in the leadcore. Now add a couple of PVA nuggets to the hook and cast into your swim.

The finished rig - safe and effective.



Tight lines!

The Steve Renyard rig is simple and effective, allowing a very aggressive hook angle with the stiff rig effect off mono solution.

What you need

Hook length


Hooks


Scissors




Method

Step 1
Cut off enough hook length for you to be able to work comfortably with the mono (I use 30-35cm). Tie a loop using an over-hand knot in the stripped end of your selected hook length material.

This loop is for your boilie stop to secure the boilie in place.



Step 2
Now set the hair length.



Step 3
Whip towards you nine or ten times down the shank of the hook. Try to keep the whipping neat.




Step 4

After making the whipping turns lift the hair away from the shank and whip another nine or ten turns down the shank. Now carefully whip back up the shank locking the knot in place. Before you tighten the knot make sure the hair is coming out the back of the hook and the knot is neat.




Step 5
Before you tighten the knot make sure the hair is coming out the back of the hook and the knot is neat.




Step 6
Set your rig length and tie an over-hand loop knot or figure of eight knot to finish the rig.



Tight lines!

With the carp-forums winter work shop event being cancelled and a new set of dates offered, many of the original delegates were unable to make the event due to work and family commitments. Dave, Matt and Lyndon were three of these unlucky people. Dave, keen to not miss a coaching opportunity, called Smart Carping to arrange a coaching session for him and his mates and I was able to put an agenda together that fully met their needs:

- Marker rods, feature finding and watercraft (mainly signs to look out for)
- Spod mixes and spodding
- Casting technique
- Rig construction and camouflage

With the agenda sorted we agreed to meet at 7.30am on February 12th at Cemex's Thorpe Lea in Egham. The day promised to be bright and sunny with temperatures reaching 12C. We eventually met up at 8.00am after the trio got lost - someone forgot the directions!


The morning was very cold at 2C with freezing fog covering the lake. Not the best conditions to coach in or tempt a winter carp.

With the usual meet and greet out of the way, we all made our way down to the lake and commenced setting up to tackle the water in front of us. It was obvious to me right from the start that these guys had a fantastic rapport between them; jokes and banter echoed across the bank all morning!

For the event I had brought with me three marker rods and three spod rods from Chub and Greys. These included the standard and distance variants for the guys to use and try. The fog stopped us from using these rods until midday as we were unable to see further than 20 yards!


Bankside set up

With all the tackle set up we walked to each swim in turn and looked at everyone's bankside set up and made recommendation to them where needed. Suffice to say very little change was needed. Without having met these guys before you would say they were at the top of their game. Their skills, ability and knowledge plus the thousands of pounds worth of top end tackle would easily have you believing they were carp anglers who have been fishing for many years. The truth is that these very skilled anglers had only been carping for just about one year!

With the fog still very bad we set about looking at and discussing rig construction and camouflage. I started by demonstrating a range of lead systems and went though how they worked, their strengths and weaknesses. We also discussed where each rig would be best applied. We followed this with leads, there style and weight and the best application for the swim.


Leads &lead core

Lead core was next on our agenda and after a demonstration of splicing lead core everyone was given a splicing needle and a length of lead core. They followed me as I went through the process of splicing a lead core leader, step by step. It was like a scene out of the generation game - all sizes of loops were being created!


In the end we managed to put together three very presentable chod rigs.


Hooks &hook lengths

Thorpe Lea carp get fished for 365 days a year. They have seen every bait and most rigs many times over. With this in mind, to ensure constant action we need to fish a little differently. With the leaders and leads completed we moved onto hooks and hooklengths that would fool the wary Thorpe lea carp. All of the guys were immediately at home but did struggle with the size of the Korda size 12 Longshanks we were using, being more at home with size 8 or 6 hooks.


The size 12 Korda longshank hooks were being used in conjunction with double 10mm baits fished either critically balanced or double bottom baits.



We used a hook length that matched the bottom of the lake. The best product for this is Suffix Kameleon, in 15lb breaking strain.



Double HBS day tripper baits which are 6mm dumbells were considered. These baits are a lot smaller than everyone else uses and as such the carp are far more likely to pick these up. To compliment these we would be using a high attract stick mix.




Stick mix &spod mix

Winter carp do not need much food to fill them up so we needed to create a high attract mix that would stimulate the carp to look for food without offering them anything substantial that might fill them up. Both the stick mix and the spod mix had to meet these criteria as bites at this time of the year are at a premium.
The stick mix was made up in a match angler's 4 pint maggot bait box. We added 1/3 of a bag of Sticky baits Bloodworm &Shrimp fish method mix ground bait to a tin of Tuna in brine and mixed together. To this we added a small hand full of 2-3mm pellets and twenty grains of sweet corn. The final mix was very dry but still slightly sticky when you compressed it. This would be ideal for use in the Korda long chuck PVA system to make PVA sticks that would be threaded up the lead core prior to the cast.



Lyndon with a finished rig - complete with stick mix (see how dry it appears) and twin HBS day tipper baits.

To kick start the swims and keep the carp looking for food items we used a spod mix made up from a bag of Bait Tech Special G ground bait, 3/4 jar of Bait Tech hemp, 500grams of 2, 3 and 4mm pellets, 500 grams of crushed hemp, a tin of Tuna in Brine and a hand full of sweet corn. This was mixed up in a large ground bait bowl to a dryish consistency. No further liquids were added apart from the water of the Hemp, Tuna and a little sweet corn liquid.


The fog lifts

Eventually at midday the sun breaks through the fog and the day starts to warm up very quickly. Now we can to see the water in front of us the guys set about using the marker rods to feature find there swims. It soon became apparent these guys knew how to cast a long way. One by one they all started to report a shallow plateau 4' deep at around 110 yards out with a deep 12' gully just in front of the plateau. With the midday sun warming the shallow water on the plateau I recommended the guys fish to it and advised them to mark up their lines with pole elastic on their marker rods. They set about casting to the marker float with their spod rods and carp rods, marking these up too.


Let the spodding begin!

All of the guys had spodded before so they all new what to do. Today however was different. We were trying to spod at 110 yards, no mean feat in anyone's books. I set up a spodding station in the first swim which consisted of the spod mix bowl placed upon an up-turned groundbait bucket to make the spod mix easy to reach at waist height. Next to this a bucket of clean water was placed to wash your hands and a towel was placed over the edge of the spod mix bowl to wipe your hands dry. Once comfortable in the swim I set about demonstrating how to fill the spod whilst keeping your hands clean. Then I set about showing the correct body and arm positions needed to achieve effective long range casting. Once we have launched the spod next we needed to demonstrate cushioning the cast so the spod landed on the marker without snapping the line or the line clip.

Everyone picked up the skills very quickly and all too soon the water was being hammered with 6oz spods just missing the marker floats. The instruction was to just put 5 spods accurately on the target area. I forgot to ask if anyone was numerically dyslexic as Dave did his best to empty the spod mix bucket in his swim, I caught up with him on his twelfth cast and said he might have over done it. Dave knew better and put another 4 more spods in!


Time to get fishing

By the time the rigs were in the water and everyone had settled down it was 2.30pm. Almost immediately we started getting occasional line bites. The anticipation was huge. I stood with Matt watching his bobbins gently lifting and lowering as the carp in his swim gorged on the stick mix. Matt asked me if he should strike at these indications but before I had the chance to answer his Shimano reel went into meltdown! One of Thorpe Lea's resident carp made a mistake and got nailed by Matt's rig. Matt quickly picked up his rod and gently lifted into a heavy fast moving carp.


A slow and steady fight commenced in the deep clear margins a large gold flanked winter mirror started to appear



Soon this winter whacker was netted and was placed on the unhooking mat


As we uncovered the carp we soon realised this could well be a twenty. Matt stated that his PB was a 20lb carp he had caught on his syndicate lake last year. The hook was removed and the rod was put back onto the rod rest whilst Dave administered some fish care products to the hook hole in the carp's bottom lip.

With the weigh sling wetted and the scales zero'd the carp was carefully lifted and the Ruebens swung around and settled on 20lb 5oz.


A new PB and a winter twenty to boot!


The day was still young

Flushed with his success and brimming with confidence Matt set up his rigs again and cast out to the spot from which he hooked his last fish. With the first fish on the bank the atmosphere was electric. Everyone was on tender hooks watching the water in front of them and jumping at every line bite that sent the alarms screaming.

At 3.30pm Matt's rod started to signal a lot of activity around his rig and sure enough seconds later his solar bobbins slammed into his ESP vertex rods and sent the Shimano clutch into overdrive as another Thorpe Lea carp fell to Matt's simple long range rigs.


A long, steady and dogged fight lead to yet another very big carp nestling in the deep landing net


Could this one be even bigger than the last one? The Roubens would soon tell us. The scales bounced around the 20lb mark and as they settled we all saw Matt had his second PB in a row at 20lb 8oz!


Another carp, another PB!


The pressure mounts

Lyndon and Dave, despite fishing the same baits, spod mixes and ranges were just getting liners with no real takes. You could sense the pressure on the bank. No one wants to blank, especially when you are fishing with your mates! Rigs were brought in, re-baited and re-cast regularly to no avail.

Then without warning Lyndon's right hand rod screamed off. Lyndon was on it in a flash and soon his Greys X-flites took on their full fighting curve.


All too soon the carp managed to shed the hook. What can you do except reel in, re-bait and try again?


The day was racing to an end. Matt had so far had two carp on the bank, Lyndon had hooked one and lost it and Dave had just watched his bobbins dance with line bites. At this time of the day it's important to stay focused as the carp could come onto the feed at any time. Without any warning an alarm screamed behind us as. We all turned to see Matt's right hand rod screaming off again. This time the fish was determined it was not coming in and made many long hard runs, stripping line off Matt's reels and doing its best to melt the Shimano clutch. Matt took the pressure in his stride and calmly played what felt a very large fish into the bank and waiting landing net.

In the fading light as we lifted a very lumpy carp to the unhooking mat the fish looked big. The rig was removed from the carp and it was carefully lifted into a weigh sling and placed onto the Rubens. The needle swung wildly around as the carp struggled in the sling. As it settled the scales stopped at 21lb, another PB! That makes three consecutive personal bests in one day.


What a result, three winter twenties in an afternoons session!


The day draws to an end

As the light fades and the temperature starts to drop everyone resigns themselves to the fact that we have to pack up to get home. The three amigos have got a long journey home and need to get their kit packed away. With much reluctance tackle is slowly picked up and packed away. Dave had his back to the water when his left had rod burst into life.



The new Century NCS and even newer Shimano Ultegra MgS at last were being put to the test


The NCS easily handled the angry carp as it strove to escape. The power of the Shimano winched the fish yard by yard closer to the bank. Dave was being very cool and taking everything very carefully as this was his last chance. The carp fought hard for nearly five minutes and had been drawn to within 10 yards of the bank. Due to the low light levels we were unable to see the fish as it fought hard in the deep margins. Then, disaster struck as without warning the hook pulled.

At that point I felt for Dave and shared the immense frustration you can easily feel at losing a carp at the last moment. To my delight Dave was not concerned about losing the fish and went onto say that he'd really enjoyed the day, learning much from the coaching and shared Matt’s obvious elation in catching such lovely carp. The day was after all a coaching day with the emphasis on coaching techniques and practices. Putting these to use and bagging a winter whacker is just the icing on the cake!

Job done. Three happy carp anglers make their long drive home to sunny Dorset. Rigs have been discussed and techniques have been demonstrated and practised. Hopefully lessons have been learnt and will be put into practice in their future fishing. If these guys continue striving to improve their fishing skill at the rate they are, they'll be emptying every lake they decide to fish on!

Tight lines guys - look forward to sharing some quality bank time with you again in the future.

Mono and fluorocarbon hook lengths give us a whole range of interesting setups and are often overlooked in favour of coated braids. Fluorocarbon line has a light refraction level similar to water which means that when it is immersed it becomes almost invisible.

However, fluorocarbon has its down sides, one being its wiry or springy nature. This allows the knotless knot to loosen when under pressure (e.g. whilst playing a carp) which causes the line to sheer on the gap in the hook eye. There is a very simple and effective solution to this which I intend to show you how to overcome.


What you need

Hook length


Hooks


Scissors




Method

Step 1
Cut off enough hook length for you to be able to work comfortably with the mono I use 30-35cm. Tie a loop using an Over-hand knot in the stripped end of your selected hooklength material.

This loop is for your boilie stop to secure the boilie in place



Step 2
Now set the hair length



Step 3
Whip towards you nine or ten times down the shank of the hook. Try to keep whipping neat.



Step 4
Now whip back up three times over the first whipping to lock the knot in place.



Step 5
Pass the tail back down through the eye of the hook and pull knot tight.



Step 6
Set your rig length and tie an overhand loop knot or figure of eight knot to finish the rig.


Now add the bait to the rig which is now properly tied with the whippings now locked in place no more snapped hooklength.




Tight lines!