Now that summer is in full swing, it’s time to get the floaters out and catch some carp off the surface! These tips will help you make the most of this exhilarating style of fishing and catch more carp than ever ‘off the top’...
Don’t cast too soon
Patience is a virtue for this style of fishing. As tempting as it can be to get a hookbait out there when you see a set of big old carp lips taking your loosefeed, you must sit on your hands.
You need to get the fish feeding confidently first as, if they haven’t dropped their guard, a line and baited hook landing over their heads will quickly spook them.
Keep trickling in the loosefeed and, if you can get to a point where you have multiple fish competing for every free offering, they’ll be infinitely easier to catch.
THE BEST CARP REELS ARE GREAT FOR SURFACE FISHING.
Mix your feed size
If you feed just one size of free offering, carp very quickly get used to how to take it. They’ll know exactly how hard they have to inhale to suck it in, and how the bait should be sitting in the water.
Even if you use the same bait that you are feeding on the hook, the hook itself will change how the bait sits on the surface. Even a slight difference to the free offerings can often lead to the hookbait being treated with suspicion and ignored.
If you feed different sizes of floating baits, you can prevent the carp from becoming preoccupied with one size. This increases the likelihood of them slipping up, because they will have to inhale with varying force to suck in the different baits.
CHECK OUT THIS HELPFUL GUIDE TO THE BEST SURFACE FISHING BAITS.
Hide your rig
No matter how stealthy you are, the carp most likely know you’re there. If it’s safe to do so, scale down your hooklength and hook size to win bites on hard days. Applying Vaseline to your hooklength will make it float – keeping it away from carp sitting just below the surface.
Another tip is to increase the length of your hooklink so that the hookbait sits further away from the float. Don’t be afraid to tie a hooklink longer than 6ft. You can also conceal the hook by glueing a split shot to the hookbait opposite to where it is attached to the hook.
This makes the hook sit out of the water rather than hanging down where the carp can see it.
THIS HANDY GUIDE HAS ALL THE CARP RIGS YOU'LL EVER NEED.
Force them into feeding
If fish are up in the water but unwilling to feed off the surface, start by introducing the smallest floating pellets you can find.
Carp will be far more likely to start feeding on these, especially if a few sink just below the surface, and once you get them going you can gradually start to introduce some larger offerings.
TAKE CARE OF YOUR SURFACE CAUGHT FISH ON THE BEST FISHING UNHOOKING MATS.
Flatten the ripple
If there’s a ripple on the surface which is making it tricky for you to see the hookbait, try coating your free offerings in oil. This will flatten the ripple and make it easier to see what is happening. Sticky’s cap oil is excellent, but sunflower oil will do the job too.
THIS EXPERT GUIDE EXPLORES THE BEST CARP ATTRACTORS.
Spomb at range
Most of the time you should be able to get some carp feeding close in. On really pressured waters, though, they might refuse to come within catapult range.
This doesn’t mean floater fishing is out of the equation, however. Simply use a spomb to introduce your free offerings. Pay attention to which way the wind is blowing and cast away from the fish, letting the breeze drift the baits over to the fish rather than crashing a spomb on top of their heads.
USE ONE OF THE BEST SPOD RODS FOR CASTING A SPOMB.
The right rod for the job
Always use a through-actioned rod that can absorb the powerful take of a big carp off the surface.
A barbel rodof 1.75lb test curve or a specialist floater rod with a 2lb test curve will be perfect for the job. If you use too heavy a rod, you’ll run the risk of losing fish to hook-pulls. Standard 3.5lb test curve carp rods aren’t the ones for this style of fishing.
THIS GUIDE HAS OUR PICK OF THE BEST FLOATER FISHING RODS.
Float choice
There’s a wide range of surface fishing floats available, from traditional bubble floats and controllers to the more modern missile-style versions.
Unlike traditional float fishing, surface floats are just to provide casting distance, not the visual indication of a bite. While the missile versions do offer some bolt effect, it is more effective to watch your hookbait and strike when you see a fish taking it, rather than waiting for it to hook itself.
If you can get the fish feeding close in, then you can do away with the float completely and simply freeline a hookbait.
This creates far less disturbance and is much less likely to spook feeding fish.
LAND THE CARP YOU CATCH OFF THE SURFACE WITH THE BEST CARP LANDING NETS.
