This technique is perhaps the most fun you can have when fishing for carp and arguably the most versatile, especially when fishing anywhere between the margins and 10 to 15 yards from the bank. there is nothing quite like seeing the float slip away under the surface and then see the water erupt when you connect with the carp!

We can of course use any rod and reel lying about in our garage to float fish for carp but an 'all through' action rod is the best choice as the initial run of the fish will be very powerful and this softer, more forgiving rod is probably our best choice. But again, with the many years of research and development having been done by specialist anglers and companies in this department, we can refine our approach to utilize many of the successful techniques that have been developed to increase our catch rate. It must be said though, longer rods in the 10 to 12' range with the 'through' action will give you much better line and float control; you'll find that you actually connect with the fish more often and not miss as many bites due to slack lines etc. So, to reiterate, the longer the rod, the easier it is to pick up and retrieve slack lines and thus being able to set the hook faster when a fish bites, especially on a river.

Here in our examples, we'll start off with the basics and add to this article in the coming months and years from our combined knowledge about the techniques available.

THE FLOAT ARMORY WE HAVE TO CHOOSE FROM AT THE OFFICE WHEN CARP FISHING.

As in any type of fishing, it’s important when float fishing to choose the areas of your lake or river where the fish actually hang out to feed. So as usual, we're looking for underwater structures such as weed lines, points, river mouths & feeder creeks, drop offs, rock piles etc. to find our quarry.

Once you've chosen your spot, if you live in a state where pre-baiting/chumming is legal, it’s always beneficial to pre-feed the area before you actually fish whenever possible. This could be the night before your session and/or as soon as you arrive at the swim, before you set up your tackle. This is best done with small, correctly prepared particles such as Hemp Seed, Canned Sweet Corn, Wild Bird Seed and grated bread crumbs work fantastically (loaf of bread ground up in a blender). The ever-wary Carp, will readily accept a hook bait once they have sampled your free offerings and gained confidence on the free offering of the food that is also being used as a hook bait.

Any of the above baits will work well either directly on the hook or even better via a hair rig described earlier in this "European Styles" section. Of-course, boilies, chickpeas, nuts, dough baits, cheese, worms/night-crawlers and maggots/spikes are always big favorites too. We recommend that bringing 3 or 4 different baits to your session because the fish could favor one over the other on any given day.

FLOAT FISHING RIVERS, PONDS & LAKES

There are differences in approach and slightly different techniques that should be considered when Float fishing rivers as opposed to still waters such as lakes and ponds.

The main challenge when fishing a river as opposed to still waters is of course the flow or movement of the water. We must adjust a few things with our approach, techniques, and rigs to compensate for the flow.

When fishing a river, throw your pre-bait slightly up-stream of your chosen fish holding feature so that it settles down on the bottom in your swim you plan to fish. How far up stream to introduce your bait will of course, be determined on how fast the river is running. Also, bear in mind that different sections of the river will be running faster or slower even in the vertical plain (The surface of the river could be running slower than the flow of water at say, 8 feet below the surface). Cyprinus Carpio have an awesome sense of smell and the 'scent' of your bait will be carried off downstream and attract carp up to your area. Keep it going in, little and often.

It is a good idea to mix some of your chosen bait(s) in with a binder such as bread crumb for example in a bucket and make sticky balls to pre-bait with; see the following link for one of our favorite mixes: The Method Some experimentation will soon tell you how firm, 'stodgy and thick' to make it. In faster flows, you should make it so it takes 15 or even 20 minutes to completely dissolve/break completely; this acts as both a delayed and controlled bait delivery system for your swim.

Where as in still waters, a quick (less than 2 minutes) dissolve/break is desirable. Grits or oats that are wet with a can of creamed corn work very well in here because the smaller particles in these mixes will stay in position until a fish eats them and of course the pre-bait can be thrown directly to the structure or mark that we have decided to fish.

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Monofilament and/or fluorocarbon main lines in the 6 to 10 LB test range are suggested when fishing for carp. Often, a leader or hook length is between 6" to 18" is used at the business end of the rig; attached via a line loop or mini swivel. This hook length is often, a fluorocarbon line and much lighter test line in the 4 - 6lb range to give a more visually subtle bait presentation to wary fish...
Depending on how far we must cast to reach the shoals or feeding spots, use as small and sensitive a float as your fishing conditions and swim will allow. A thin bodied float such as a Waggler, Stick Float, carp antenna or even a good-sized quill (if you can find one) as these types of floats offer much more stability and sensitive bite detection than conventional 'bobber' floats.
Attach the float to the line by threading the main line through the eye at the bottom of the float and then thread a piece of silicone tubing onto the line and push it up and onto the bottom of the float (See diagram below).
If no soft silicone tubing is available, the line can be passed through the bottom eye of the float twice to semi secure the float in place. This is not ideal though because the line can be damaged and thus weakened whenever the float rig's depth is adjusted.
Important! In all float fishing styles and approaches, it is extremely important to first find the depths of your swim using a purpose made Cork Plummet or by tying a large enough weight to the end of the line to easily sink the float. Repeatedly cast to the area you plan on fishing and keep raising the float up along the line each time it's cast and submerges until the float is at the required depth and is cocked perfectly in the water. We now have the full depth of the water we plan to fish; note the depth by holding the float against the rod with the hook at the bottom of the rod butt and make a mental note of how many of the rod's eyes the float is so you can easily reset the float to full depth as needed during the session.
In rivers, allow a little more depth (distance between the float and the hook) on the rig than you would on a still water, especially when fishing your bait on the bottom and 'trotting' it downstream. This is to allow for the bow in the line caused by the current. Once we have the depths mapped out throughout the swim, we can then choose which float rig to use.

FLOAT RIGS

The float set-ups pictured below are very general in nature but will get us through most situations we are likely to encounter in our float fishing pursuits of Cyprinus Carpio. Whether you need your bait well up in the water column or hard on the bottom of the river/lake, one of these or indeed a combination of the rigs, will make our quest that much more successful.

There is a whole science built up around split shotting patterns for floats but it really all boils down to the following:

The end goal is of course, weighting our float rig so that it helps present the bait on the hook in as naturally looking a presentation as is possible to the hungry fish in the swim they happen to be feeding. This is especially important with the wary carp!
Most good floats that are commercially available these days have a shot or weight rating guidance printed on them. Some floats are even self-weighed. For example: 2AAA, 2BB, 2AA+ etc. The lettering refers to the size of shot and the number, to how many of them are needed to properly cock the float. Other sizes include, SSG (aka Swan shot), No.1, No.4, No.6 etc. More modern references are given in grams but both size references are commonly seen on packs of mixed size split shots. If casting your float rig to a distance more than a rod length or two is necessary, try to avoid using the split shot with 'ears' even though these are easier to both install and remove from the line. They tend to spin on retrieval and can cause twisted line and tangles.
The trick is to place enough weight on the line (via strategically placing split shots on the line) to correctly cock the float so just the colored tip (red in the above examples) of the float shows above the water while at the same time trying to achieve a natural looking and acting bait presentation. Evenly spaced shot tends to cast better than shot clumped all in one or two places but even these 'clumped' shotting patterns can have their place depending on the fishing conditions we're fishing in.
If we need the baited hook to sink quickly to the bottom of the lake (maybe to by-pass, smaller fish feeding in mid-water) then place some of the larger split shot down nearer the hook.
If a more natural sinking action of the bait is needed, then place the bulk of the shot up closer to the float.
In the last two points above, some care should be taken to place the shot on the line so that tangles are minimized during the casting of the baited float rig. Evenly spaced shot tends to cast well. Experience is the best way forward.