How to catch the biggest fish in the lake

1. The numbers game

I spend the majority of my time targeting pressured venues like Linear Fisheries in Oxfordshire. All of the lakes contain a good head of fish in all manner of sizes so it’s quite difficult to actually single the bigger carp out. Even though this is the case, over the last couple of years I’ve caught numerous thirties and forties from the complex. How? Well I’ve simply played the numbers game. By this I mean that I’ve tried to catch as many carp as I can in my session and, more often than not, when I’ve had big hits of fish there’s always been the odd big ’un in the mix. Although this isn’t a conventional big fish tactic so to speak, it’s an extremely good way to catch large carp, and have a bit of fun along the way. I like to get the smaller carp feeding confidently on an area because I’m certain this draws larger specimens into the swim to see what all the commotion is about.

2. Big fish rigs

It may seem a little odd to suggest fishing with big fish rigs because you’re probably thinking that most rigs will catch carp of all sizes. Although this is the case to a certain degree, there are some rigs out there that certainly have big fish pedigree. Take the Chod Rig for example, which has a proven track record for singling out the larger fish. Although this rig will tempt carp of all sizes, more often than not it’s a little bit too blatant on the lakebed and smaller carp just tend to stay well clear of it. Although I usually use size 8 hooks, it’s worth experimenting with larger sizes like 6 and 4. As well as deterring smaller fish, these big hooks will also increase your chances of hooking larger carp. Large carp have big mouths, so a decent-sized hook it definitely an edge. Give ‘em some steel!

3. Give 'em some grub

This is probably one of my biggest pieces of advice to anybody targeting large carp. If you want to catch them, you need to give them some food. I know I’m lucky enough to be sponsored by a big company but, even before I got involved in the fishing industry, I was always a big believer in heavy baiting. Large carp have got big for one reason and that is the fact that they like to eat lots of food. If you bait heavy you will inevitably attract larger carp because, like humans, they find it difficult to ignore a free slap-up meal. Although some anglers believe that boilies are the best big fish bait, I personally like to give them a little bit of everything, but boilies do make up the majority of my mix. If you’re on a budget, hemp, corn and pellets are all great baits that will catch large carp.

4. Surface fishing

As far as I’m concerned there is no real fool proof plan to actively pick out the largest carp in your lake, unless you can see it feeding and fish for it. Although they aren’t my favorite ways to fish, stalking and surface fishing are brilliant ways to single out the larger specimens. Personally, I much prefer to catch them off the bottom using a big bed of bait, but if I see them in the edge or on the surface, I’ll always have a dabble.

5. Rig camo

Generally, large carp get big by not getting caught lots and eating plenty of bait. To avoid getting caught, large carp have become masters at sussing that they are being fished for, so in a bid to catch large carp, we must ensure that all our terminal tackle in camouflaged and pinned to the deck. To ensure everything is pinned to the deck, I use Pin Down leader materials, Line Droppers and the Captive Hooklinks because they are super-reliable and extremely effective.

6. Rigs that reset

I bang-on about this topic to everybody who will listen and, to be fair, I think it’s a great piece of advice. We’ve all the seen the numerous underwater DVD’s that show our rigs getting repeatedly ejected and ‘done’ underwater. Small carp can eject even the most effective rigs out there and, if we don’t use one that resets itself, it may be sitting ineffective for the rest of its time in the water. This isn’t exactly ideal if a large carp does eventually move onto your baited area and try and pick-up your hookbait. If you use a rig that resets itself, even if it gets ejected, it will always be sitting prone and ready to nail the next fish that picks it up.

7. Find a feature

Since fishing on the Linear Fisheries complex, it’s safe to say that a marker float has become an integral part of my carp fishing armoury. Although they cause a stir of disturbance to begin with, I rarely cast out unless I’ve found a decent ‘spot’. If, like me, you’re trying to target large carp from pressured venues, I think it’s imperative to try and find suitable features that will attract large carp. As a general rule of thumb, I’m certain large carp will be found around features that get the least pressure from anglers.

So, if everybody is fishing on top of gravel bars, I’m pretty sure that large specimens will be found in other areas of the lake. If everybody is fishing on a specific type of feature, you can guarantee I’ll be fishing on something totally different.

8. Put the time in

Anybody who tells you targeting large carp is easy is lying to you. More often than not, the larger specimens are found in sparsely-stocked venues, so there’s a good chance you may spend a little time blanking, until you suss the venue out that is. Don’t be worried about the occasional blank session and treat every trip to the lake like a learning curve. Although it may not seem like it at the end of the session, you will be gathering bits of vital information every time you go. If you’re struggling for bites at the venue you’re targeting, it’s a good idea to head down to a local runs water to test the rigs and tactics you’ve been using. Once you’ve caught a couple on these tactics, you’ll return to your target water with renewed confidence and drive.

9. Use boilies

Although I said previously that you don’t need to use kilos of boilies to catch large carp, I do think it’s important that they play at least some part in your baiting strategy. Most good-quality boilies are designed to give carp all their nutritional requirements and I’m certain the carp know this as soon as they start eating it. Up until the release of Sonubaits Code Red boilies, I’d been fishing with particles for the majority of my fishing and, although I’d been catching lots, I’d really struggled to catch the larger fish. When I started using a kilo of boilies to every two kilos of spod mix to see if it made a difference. Well, the size of the carp I was catching increased almost overnight and I went on to bag several of the lake’s largest.