The accessories you need to catch more carp

The ultimate baiting pole system, which with add on section can be shipped as far as you are willing to push it. This pole really does make your fishing much more accurate and can safely position rigs in places where casting is impossible, somewhere the carp won’t be expecting it.

I was apprehensive at first to use a pole, as they can be quite fiddly to begin with and it was just something else to carry to the swim. After using one for a few years now, I can honestly say they are a massive edge and while they are still vastly underused in my opinion, it is the perfect time to add one to your armoury.

The stealth and accuracy that the Bushwhacker pole provides is unrivalled, and while a bait boat offers the same accuracy, it is nowhere near as silent when manoeuvring in the swim. I have had several bites now within seconds of dropping the rig into the swim and many more before I have shipped the pole back as you catch the carp completely unaware. The size of the spoon allows you too add a good hit of bait if you need to and replacing rigs at night is an absolute breeze which will catch more carp on waters where night bites are the norm.

The pole comes as 15m as standard, but you can buy extra section to take the pole as far as you want to. What I will say is the further out you go, the harder it is to control, especially in a wind but with some practice, you will find a method of shipping out to get your rig where you want it.

There is also a deeper mount and a leading bridge to further assist with stealth, the deeper can be anchored to the front via a specialised mount and shipped out to the chosen area for investigation. The leading bridge allows line to be positioned through a metal clip, that when inverted allows the lead to drop to the bottom and transmit the make-up of the lakebed back to the rod saving endless casting with a marker rod which may spook carp in the area.

When it comes to gaining an edge on the bank, a sharp hook is widely recognised as key to converting more pick-ups into takes, so it's definitely worth sharpening your hooks. In fishing, it's often the little things that make a big difference. Since you’re relying on the carp to hook themselves, the sharper your hook, the more fish you’ll catch, it is as simple as that.

For ease of use and effectiveness, you won’t find a better option than the Touch Me Up Hook Sharpener from OMC. It’s a fantastic bit of kit, and I carry one with me at all times for all my fishing, not just when targeting carp, that is how useful they are. Whether you just want to brush up your hook after landing a fish or sharpen it to a needle-like point, this tool does the job—and it does it effortlessly.

The main issue with traditional files and other kits on the market is that, when used improperly, they can actually make hooks blunter by rounding off the points. The OMC hook sharpener eliminates that risk and anyone can use it, even if you have never sharpened a hook before. Simply push the hook point directly into the end of the stone, give it a few turns, and your hook is instantly sharper, with no chance of rounding off the point!

With a tool like this available, there’s really no excuse for using a blunt hook—and no excuse not to have one in your bag!

The original castable sonar device has been improved even further with the release of the Pro+ 2 and when paired with the Fish Deeper app, the contours of a lakebed can be mapped out in real time to vastly reduce the time it takes to find spots and learn a new lake. 

Most anglers most now accept that technology is here to stay in fishing, especially when tools like this can make a massive difference to your angling. Although it can show whether fish are present in your swim, the Deeper is even more valuable as a feature-finding tool, saving you time and effort in locating prime spots to put a rig on.

It’s incredibly useful if you’re short on time or struggle to interpret what’s on the bottom, as the Deeper removes all the guesswork by clearly showing whether you’re fishing over gravel, weed, and so on. Not only does it save time, but if there are fish in the area, just a couple of casts are often enough to find a productive spot, meaning you don’t have to lead around for ages and risk spooking every carp out of the swim.

The Pro+ 2 has an improved Wi-Fi module to establish a much more stable connection up to 120m range and as it is integrated you don’t require signal on your phone to connect to the device.

Whilst the device is great to be cast out, it can also be anchored to a boat or bait boat to ensure total accuracy when assessing how deep and what the make-up of the spots you have chosen to fish are. Depths of up to 100m can be accurately marked and a target separation of 1cm, you’ll be able to pinpoint the exact size of fish the deeper finds to the accuracy of 1cm.

If there is one item that will improve you comfort on the bank, it is the Wolf Mozzi Zapper. While it won't directly catch you more carp, it will make your experience far more comfortable and is invaluable for those summer session when the mosquitoes and other biting insects become insufferable. There is something satisfying about watching them get zapped rather than biting you too for some on the bank entertainment.

The Wolf Mozzi Zappa does exactly what it says on the tin, it attracts mozzies and kills them instantly thanks to its special wavelength bulbs that lures the mosquitoes into the lamp before 3w coils dispatch them. 

In bug killing mode, which is its most energy sapping setting the lamp can now run for 29 hours straight so will easily last a 3 night session in the summer months keeping the pests at bay. The lamp also has a bivvy light included.

The Deeper Quest bait boat is a user-friendly device leveraging Deeper's expertise in sonar technology, it serves as a state-of-the-art tool for anglers. This elegantly designed, in-house developed bait boat merges advanced technology with intuitive features, providing anglers with a competitive advantage on the water.

Bait boats are becoming far more common on carp venues now with some venues responding so well to them, it is almost pointless casting a rig out. With the top carp anglers now advocating their use, they have become far more accepted into the carp angling community and what was once seen as 'cheating' is now seen as an edge and just another tool to catch carp.

Boats like the Depper Quest have so much technology on them they can get your rig back out to the spot you're fishing on with pinpoint accuracy and with the minimal fuss. They are also really useful if you have an injury, are disabled or older and struggle to cast making fishing far more accessible as the carp are no longer out of reach.

Equipped with smart sonar technology, a signature of Deeper since 2013, the Quest enables anglers to explore underwater landscapes like never before. With a 400-meter range for both sonar and the bait boat, it can scan areas to create bathymetric maps or establish a multipoint path while you prepare your other equipment. Once you’ve identified the optimal spots, you can easily navigate back to them with GPS accuracy of 1 meter.

The Deeper Quest boasts a runtime of up to 7 hours and can be quickly recharged in just 5 hours, while a full charge requires only 4 hours. In the event of a power outage, the Quest will automatically return to a predetermined home point.

Featuring two BLDC electric motors, it delivers powerful, efficient, and durable performance, reaching speeds of 3 km/h and operating nearly silently at lower speeds. The compact, semi-transparent 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi controller weighs only 140g and lasts up to 12 hours on a single charge, achieving 80% charge in just 1 hour or a full charge in 2 hours.

The Deeper Quest offers a 400-meter range for both sonar and bait boat, a battery life of up to 9 hours with a 3-hour fast charge, two BLDC electric motors achieving speeds of 3 km/h, safety features such as return-to-home capability, CHIRP sonar with three beam frequencies and 1 cm target separation, depth precision of up to 100 meters, and a 140g remote controller with a 12-hour battery life.

How many times have you been fishing and forgotten a baiting needle or wish you had a drill to use different hook baits, it has happened to us all I’m sure. Thankfully this little product from Wychwood is a really fantastic product that combines all the most popular baiting products into one compact system. 

No longer do you need to take a variety of needles as the multi tool has a boilie needle, heavy latch needle, fine latch needle, a bait drill and a puller and stripper tool combining 6 tools into one.

This not only saves space in your tackle box, it makes you more efficicent on the bank as you’re not scrambling around looking for various items. Not only that, but the bright colours also make it so much harder to misplace or lose, so you don't have to spend hours looking for a needle you have just used and put down only to be unable to find it moments later!

We have all owned or seen tackle boxes that just don’t have enough compartments and once opened reveal a mass of tangled line, leads and trailing hooks. The Korda Tackle Safe has made organising your terminal tackle so much easier, and while this box has been around for a while, we haven't found one that is better.

It is well built, well designed and I use this box myself and have no reason to change, while it is made to take Korda tackle, you can use whatever you want in it with very little issue. If you can stay organised on the bank, it allows you to capitalise on any opportunity you see and helps you fish for longer periods, which in turn, should increase the chances of more takes.

Ideal for the mobile angler or the angler who knows exactly what they need for a session the tackle safe features 29 storage compartments of varying sizes to accommodate all your terminal tackle needs from hooks and leaders to spools of hooklengths and putty.

All the compartments are made from clear plastic so you can see what items are in there and are fully secured via plastic clips to ensure the only time tackle leaves its place, is when you want it to. It will tolerate a surprising amount of kit for its size too, allowing you to take all the terminal tackle you will need for a session in one compact, lightweight tackle box.

The RidgeMonkey VRH150X is a high-spec fishing headtorch. Encased in a rubberised shell to prevent damage from impacts, the case also makes the unit dust and water resistant too, making for a very durable tackle item. It also floats, which is really beneficial for angling.

The VRH150X has an adjustable twin colour brightness with a variable output of 50 - 200 lumens, however, when you are using the spotlight feature, it feels far brighter than stated and creates a fantastic illumination of the chosen area. I have blinded many a friend on the bank with it, they are super powerful and for the cost, greta value for money too.

Fully rechargeable in 5 hours via usb so can easily be charged from a power bank, it has a very impressive battery life with up to 360 hours usage (dependent on mode). The green light mode is also adjustable, preventing the blurred vision a red light can cause and also prevents the momentary blindness when turning the headtorch off that white light can create.

This headtorch also benefits from a clever night location feature which is unique to RidgeMonkey. This feature allows you to keep the headtorch on a dim setting with a green light, so you can locate your headtorch in the darkness, this only uses 1% power and is a very useful feature.