Everyone will happily try and find a nice clear spot, but how many find out what surrounds your spot. If you are fishing a clear spot that is surrounded by weed for instance, the leader will be like a rope going down from the weed on to the spot. Not only can the fish see it, but they can also feel it, which is why I use tubing a lot of the time. For example, if you run leadcore over your lips, it makes them tingle and go all funny. Whereas tubing is nice and smooth and so, I think that doesn’t freak the fish out as much. I use a lot of putty too, just to make sure everything is pinned down as much as it can. I have found using a small weed rake to be helpful if you are fishing tight spots in the weed, it just helps your presentation.

You may also notice sediment build up on your line, which can be more apparent on some lakes more than others. I make a point to try to recast outside bite times as it can look like tow rope going out there at times and it becomes so obvious to the fish.

The rigs I use now are super balanced and from the boat, you can just see the bait. This also allows me to use a bigger hook too. A size 4 hook and a 12mm pop-up balances out nicely and with a bit of putty, sinks really slowly. I use a small Thinking Anglers Hook Ring Swivel to attach the bait, which adds a little more weight and adds loads of movement to the rig.

Another big learning curve from using the boat is understanding what carp like to eat and the volume that they can consume. It is always time of year dependant, but in the summer, the fish can get through a hell of a lot of bait. I use a lot of pellets and find that the carp go wild for them too. If I want a spot cleared off, then I use a mixture of pellets. I am quite particular too, using three sizes of Bloodworm pellets, some Ellipse and Clusters too.

I use a mixture of sizes, smells and breakdown times and the carp get addicted them. I add boilies in to the mix too and plenty of liquid. The idea being when I am not there and the bait has all gone, the liquids and the leakage from the pellets will stain the bottom and keep the carp coming back to the spot. Plus, the spread of small baits helps keep the birds busy for longer, if they do drift over the spot from time to time. Much more so than a kilo of whole boilies would. I break a lot of my boilies up, just to ensure there are as many small food items out there as possible. The more baits out there the longer the carp will spend feeding on it. Even without a boat you can tell if the carp have fed on your area. If it feels firmer than it originally did when you first found it, then they have most certainly been in there.

Sometimes I still cast my rods out while using a boat to bait up, this taught me a valuable lesson in accuracy. I could see where my rigs landed by looking from the boat and it is a minefield! For example, if you fished at 90 yards in a heavy crosswind, the lead land a couple of rod lengths off the spot, with light line, with loads of stretch. The heaviest of line I can get away with is my choice, as it has less stretch. I would always say to clip up as usual, but instead of presuming it’s bang on, feel it down and pull the lead back to make sure you are on it. If it goes down soft but on the leading rod it was hard, add a bit of line, pop it back in the clip and have another cast until it does go down right.

Using bigger leads will help the lead get down to the spot quicker and reduce the amount of bow in your line. I also think that they help hooking the carp too, so for me a larger lead is a no brainer for all instances other than moving on to fish where you would try to be as inconspicuous as possible.

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