How to fish bang-tight!

Creep up!

Don’t go for broke from the off and risk putting your rig halfway up that overhanging tree. Instead, drop it comfortably short (just a lead with no rig on to start with), pull line off your reel and clip it up. If you’re still short, pull more line off and clip up again. Repeat until you’re (safely) clipping the leaves!

Wrap up

Okay, so now you’re clipped on the money, count the wraps so you can repeat it when you return, which can be weeks later, right? Make a note of the wraps in your phone, because a slight error in recall could be costly! Because we’re talking inches at most, half wraps won’t cut it, instead, stab a small stick into the ground to mark exactly where your lead sits between the two distance sticks, that way there’s less room for error. Take a quick snap on your phone so you can replicate it next time!

Note your rod position

Having gone to the bother of creeping that lead closer and closer to get it within inches, you need to be able to replicate it, even in the dark. To ensure total accuracy, make sure you stop the rod in the same position on each cast. Throwing the tip forward as the lead hits the clip is a recipe for disaster if you’re clipped up with the rod vertical. Try to imagine where your rod is stopping on the face of a clock, with vertical being at 12 o’clock, then stop it there every time.

A decent line clip is your biggest asset when it comes to hitting the spot perfectly each time

Remember the stretch!

So, you’ve clipped up, and wrapped up with a bare lead. No let’s imagine that you’ve spent 10 minutes tying up the most taut, professional-looking solid PVA bag ever. You recheck and the bag goes 10ft up the willow. Why? Because the bag is much heavier and stretched your mono! You’ll remember to account for it now!

Advanced edges

So you want to up your game? Try clipping up so the lead hits the spot with the rod at 12 o’clock, but in the horizontal plane. If you want to go where no man has gone before, then as soon as the lead hits the clip, allow the rod tip to be pulled forward giving the rig some forward momentum as it approaches the water’s surface, spearing it under the trees that you’re fishing to. With practice, you should be able to get your rigs sitting right under overhangs, where the carp won’t expect to be fished for!