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In reply to Post #36
All my fishing is day sessions now getting on in years now so leave the nights to the young ones and with been a trucker l'm up at stupid o clock 6 mornings a week l don't have the energy,l use to fish a couple of estate lake in cheshire which you couldn't do nights on which was great trying to get there 1st to pick ur spot but with opening up to nights now it's getting harder and harder to find waters what aren't bivvy up when you arrive at dawn nowadays so if anyone knows any decent club waters around Cheshire which don't allow nights l'd love to know
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In reply to Post #32
Nice work sir... 👌🏻
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In reply to Post #32
That's very good angling. Well done.
Many years ago me and my other half spent 2 weeks travelling 200 miles a day for her to have medical treatment. The treatment last 3 hours a day so I literally had 2.5 hours a day to fish while waiting for her treatment to finish. I found a local lake and did a few very short sessions. In about 15 hours total fishing I landed 6 fish, nothing huge by todays standards but up to low 20's. The interesting thing was that 2 guys were bivvied up all week in the same swims, they landed one fish between them all week. They saw me catch some of the fish I had, they never once changed tactics or swims.
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In reply to Post #32
Well done mate, good work 
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In reply to Post #32
Plus the drive home with the massive smile on your face mate. Brilliant 
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In reply to Post #1
I did a dawn 'till dusk yesterday on a well trodden Essex syndicate water - most of the chaps do long sessions and it isn't any easy water. I moved swims four times before getting a fish, then I had two more as the day drew to a close. Two upper 20's and a 38 was my reward for a lot of hard work. As I loaded the car up at 10.30pm, one of the lads fishing came and chatted to me. No one had caught a fish for over a week. Just shows that sitting in a bivvy for days on end isn't always time well spent. Day sessions rock 
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In reply to Post #30
i reckon i caught 80% of my fish on singles back in the 90's matt i'm quite fond of fishing 'off the barrow' too, specially as i get older and struggle to carry my gear, as you say it's very efficient 
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Some great advice already on this thread. Mark and I were on the same days-only lake in the 90s and it shaped how I fish to this day - mainly early morning sessions in the week nowadays and gone by 8.30 for work.
A couple of extra thoughts... I’ve always travelled really light, but have combined that with using a small barrow recently too, and fishing off it. Makes things really efficient when you get to your peg with rods out on top ready to take off tip tops and cast, buzz bars already on sticks, baited rigs ready to attach once I’ve made one or two casts to get clips right on spots.
I generally fish for about 3 hours, but choose lakes with a morning bite time wherever possible. Lovely way to fish and often pretty rewarding.
Fishing to features often tends to be most productive for me on short trips - reeds, pads, bushes, margins or any kind of structures.
When fishing overnight sessions I often blank the night fishing open water, but end up nicking a bite with an early recast to shows or tight to features (that I wouldn’t be comfortable fishing whilst asleep).
Last point, and I find it a huge edge - for this sort of angling a single hookbait is so effective. Matt coloured pop up in summer/autumn, bright one in winter/spring. Have lost count of how many of my better fish came on a single pop up all year round, definitely not just a winter tactic.
If you can find a spot where you can pinch early bite, they’ll often keep coming. Early on, early off and keep it under your hat 😉
Hope you go well 👍🏻
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| | | mal | | Posts: 8986 |  | |
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In reply to Post #27
get them on eBay and make a killing Ken
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Going go tomorrow for first time in 4 years. Float fishing in the margins for the carp. 7am-6pm opening times for now but I’ll take that.
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I have not fished nights since 2015. Still got my bedchairs and bivvies but they are gathering dust in the shed and don't look likely to get an airing any time soon. Not missed doing nights one little bit.
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In reply to Post #22
can't argue with any of that scozza, it's pretty much how i fish except i rarely do the overnighters these days, i'll get up at 3.30am if i have too, like you say you just need to have the right mindset for it
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In reply to Post #1
This is how I have fished for years. My advice is to play to your strengths and to not emulate other fishermen on the lake.
If you only have a few hours then:
- be mobile
- be prepared. Turn up with rods tackled up, hooks sharpened, cast out before you put your banksticks in
- be careful about putting too much bait in for a quick bite
- use rigs that present well over a lakebed that isn’t clean (to avoid the need to market and make multiple casts)
- be quiet
- recognise that you are aiming for one bite. Margins and snags are good for this. Other anglers may be aiming for a big hit and spodding lots of bait into open water
Watch You Tube videos of people in a similar position e.g. Alan Blair fishing quick sessions, Tom Dove at Walthamstow etc.
Good luck
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In reply to Post #21
Exactly this, try and develop feeding spots and patterns. Your be smashing the water in no time
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In reply to Post #1
I know it sounds obvious, but find a water where you can get takes in the daytime.
One of my waters, no matter how hard I try, I (and other anglers) have only had fish between 10 at night and 5am in the morning, and it is not like it is mega pressured by carp anglers either.
Some waters do respond to baiting areas up, wandering round, and then if you see fish almost stalking them, on the float or basic tackle. Others can be see signs near lilies or weed beds and you can (quietly) put a rod or two on them, then you may have some that respond to a single bait or putting a bit of free (ground) bait in and waiting for the carp to come in, or even regular feeding a few pellets every few minutes.
The most important thing is obviously location; don't just jump in the first swim.
Learning a water can help. By that keep I mean keep on fishing one lake, and try various different methods as mentioned above and see if one works to catch you fish.
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In reply to Post #12
Some brilliant advice there Mark
I started out doing days and overnight sessions and it’s how I prefer it today. I have spent a lot of time fishing, at one point I only worked 160 days a year when I did shifts so I had plenty of time on my hands let’s say. Nowadays I prefer to make fishing work for me, not the other way around, predominantly on more local waters. If you look at bite times and windows of opportunity shall we say based around weather conditions you can eliminate or free up quite a bit of time. Don’t get me wrong, the more you are at the water you always have a chance but if bite time is specific that is when you REALLY need to be there, same as the right weather conditions 
I’m fishing 4am until around 1pm at the moment. Bite time is mainly around 7 - 11am. I sleep whilst on the bank so getting up does not bother me, that’s the mindset you need to have. I also do this a couple of times a week. I also prefer to do this 3 times a week than do 3 nights providing the drive is realistic. I don’t see the point in sitting it out for the sake of it unless I think there is an absolute need. I have other stuff going off in my life. The key is being mobile, I can be set up and fishing within 10 minutes, similar packing away. With 30 minutes to go I usually pack up and just leave rods on the ground and pack everything else away
You can make fishing as complicated or as complex as you want. If you doing days and bite time is specific you can still catch as much as the campers or more. Bait up when you go home, or if you want to be a secret squirrel, my preferred choice, go and bait up on an evening or early morning a couple of times a week prior to your fishing. Make the bait work for you. It’s there for them to eat with confidence when you are doing other things, key point being confidence, plus you are keeping in tune with fish activity whilst having a nosy
There’s a time and place for camping, no doubt but I work my fishing around what I want to do, most of my camping at the moment is trips out with a couple of mates. I’m stuggling at the moment trying to find a water that I REALLY want to fish which would be a camping water
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In reply to Post #1
If you prebait a few spots regularly and consistently you will catch.
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In reply to Post #19
I only do days at the moment, I try get down and evening or 2 before I fish and pre-bait a couple spots. Then I make sure I get to the lake as early as I can to check the pre-baited spots, and look for fish activity.
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In reply to Post #1
Plenty of fish to be had just doing days . The best carp angler I have ever met only does days and he has emptied some tricky waters .
As mentioned previously, travel light and be prepared to move if you see fish and don't ignore the margins .
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would echo what's already been said, travel light, be mobile, be quiet, fish for a fish at a time. 90% of my fishing is short evening sessions on day ticket and club lakes after most have buggered off home and the bivvy anglers are set up and can't be arsed to move. Had it multiple times when guys have even known the fish are at the other end but they are 'waiting for em to get their eds down' while il go to the other end and catch them now. small sticks and bags in margins, sometimes with the aid of a baiting pole and remember carp are creatures of habit
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In reply to Post #1
My advice would be to start stalking, you can cover numerous swims and areas of the lake, there will always be fish feeding somewhere no matter what time of day, it's also one of the most exciting ways to catch carp,watching the fish feeding and take the hookbait you learn far more in one day than one year sat behind '3 rods on the spot at 20 wraps ' .
However it can be water dependant and not all waters are suited to it, but initially get yourself a big bucket of pellet and walk around putting it in likely spots , then continue to do laps of the lake you will be amazed at how close even the biggest fish come to the margins.
If you get it right I'll guarantee you will out fish those doing nights and using kilos of boilies.
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In reply to Post #14
Carpworld did a dayticket series for a whilewith Loz East that was quite good
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Spot on and this is why some of the lesser known anglers are more enjoyable to watch in YouTube for example.
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In reply to Post #1
There isn't enough info in the carp mags aimed at people like us who can't spend days on end and pump tons of bait into a swim and just wait for a bite!
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In reply to Post #12
Excellent advice,used to fish like that and still do.👍
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In reply to Post #1
i fished a day only water called capesthorne hall back in the 90's, i liked that style of fishing so much i never really went back to doing nights, most of the last 25 years have been days only, sessions of 5-8hrs in length. what everyone else says is right, travel light, stalking, floaters, spend your time looking, it all helps
i'd add to that 'bite time', at least one poster has hinted at it in this thread, every lake has one, that time of day when the carp seem to switch on and get caught, dawn, dusk, mid morning, mid afternoon, each lake is different, find the bite time and fish your sessions around it. it would be no good fishing the afternoon/evening on a water where the majority of fish come out between 1 and 3am for instance, you'll just get crushed specially on the lower stocked/harder venues
it's worth watching them very closely, look for patterns in their behaviour, for example they may turn up in a certain swim at a certain time each day and you can capitalise on that with a short trip
venue choice and timing is important too, pick them carefully, well stocked waters are always good for a bite but don't neglect the harder big fish waters either, if you know bite time you can still get amongst the fish, i tend to target harder waters in late march/april/may. you know they are due out after winter and they are vulnerable to capture during that time, same for a water with an old close season, often they'll be vulnerable for the first month so it's worth selecting your venues to make best use of your time
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In reply to Post #1
Due to Covid bollox, my fishing has been curtailed to very short sessions (4hrs). What's worked for me is baiting a spot repeatedly, then when you fish location is taken out of the equation. Granted you can't do this on a lot of waters due to numbers of anglers..
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In reply to Post #1
One thing I would add is to think about your bait/s, IMHO what you want from a good day fishing bait is quick attraction. For me that is pellets, paste, really soft boilies even groundbait, anything that is going to quickly release its goodies into the water and get the fish down feeding on your bait.
As others have said as well, NEVER forget the margins and if I'm fishing 2 rods on days I always have one right in my margin. Also I do think that if you are staying mobile / finding the fish / fishing the margins that being very quiet is essential.
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Start off with a very simple rig.
Running lead, mono hook link, knotless knot and snowman bait. ( bottom bait with small pop up on the hair).
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| | | mal | | Posts: 8986 | | |
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In reply to Post #1
lots of good advice already here
I mostly fish days only - get yourself familiar with the water and the fish behaviour - there are a couple of venues I fish where I know that I'll pick up maybe one or two between dawn and about 10.30 then it'll go quiet until about 3.00pm when the margins are the place to be.
Only know this through spending time there and paying attention to the water in front of me.
be prepared to use different tactics and bait - a feeder full of maggot can be way more effective than spodding for half an hour on some places. As said already - bread is a great daytime bait that can be fished on the float / hair rigged / zig rigged depending on where the fish are feeding in the water.
welcome to the forum and keep asking - there's no such thing a s dumb question... (well mostly)
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In reply to Post #1
I only really fish days as well, due to a number of reasons, I can't session fish anymore. I'm on a couple of syndicates right now where I have to compete with people fishing days, if not weeks on end. The biggest challenge is getting on the fish when the time bandits are camping out in the better swims. But, as I have found, when you only fish days, you work MUCH harder and tour results, at least in my case, massively out perform others fishing the same water as a percentage of the time you put in. Even on some of the harder waters I have fished, I have still done well doing days only, even though many fishing such water think you have to bivvy up for a week to get a run...
Success? or me, location is everything. I once spent 6 hours walking a big pit before casting a rod. Then just put one rod out into a small bay where I'd seen fish going back and forth... I had one run, 42.10 common. There were people on that pit who'd not even caught a fish that season, I kid you not. A very memorable day for me and just shows that half hour in the right spot is better than 3 days in the wrong one. I much prefer day only fishing and it's kept my passion for carp fishing alive. I think if I still session fished I would have quit and taken up golf or something. Oh and I note the oft quoted, travel light comments when talking about day only fishing... you don't have to and in a lot of cases, don't need to. Just use a barrow and fish off it, that way you can take all the gear you need. Some waters I fish are a rucksack, sling and low chair job. But others mean I need 3 rods, plus maybe a spod rod and even a marker rod. I might be fishing particles, so that's a bucket to carry and if rules ask for cradles or high sided mats, then I half to take one of those... get the picture? You take what you need. So, travel light is a bit of misnomer IMHO.
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In reply to Post #1
perfect your float fishing technique you can rove around stalking and finding fish
and stick to that would be your best chances IMO
in a club I used to belong to a lad used to turn up early in the morning one rod and a net using bread mainly he used to creep round with his float rod and catch carp while the others were asleep in their bivvies he always seem to catch
LOOK SEE what others are doing and do something different
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In reply to Post #4
And travel light! That way you are more inclined to move if you do find fish.
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In reply to Post #1
I only fish days, short sessions of up to 8 hours, as the others have said it'a all about locating fish and for me baiting spots around the lake.
Get some polarizing glasses and spend as much time walking & watching and note down anything you see, after a while patterns will start to emerge of different areas, times of day & weather.
Enjoy it.
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In reply to Post #1
You've got to be on the fish if your fishing short sessions. Find the fish and don't scare them away. Try and note where other people catch fish from and if you can't see fish get in a swim which you've seen fish come from during the. day. Some lakes just fish better at night. Make sure your lake of choice has daytime form.
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In reply to Post #1
Look for signs of fish mate, if you see them showing and you can then move onto them of if you see one show in your fishble water, put a bait on it.
Are you fishing the say way and bait as everyone else on the lake? Might be worth doing something different to the norm. Fish one rod on the bottom and another on a zig perhaps, specially if everyone else is fishing on the bottom.
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Hello All,
This is my first post so forgive me if I do anything wrong.
I got in to carp fishing 1-2 years ago and started doing short day sessions of a few hours at a local lake which held small carp of mainly single figure fish with the occasional low double. Getting a bite there proved relatively easy and also always resulted in a few fish regardless of conditions or time of year.
I have now moved away from that area and now live in Lincoln where I want to continue carp fishing but increase the size of fish I'm targeting. I have joined a local club and tried a few local venues but to no avail. I am stuck only able to fish for a few hours or a whole day at max with no chance of overnighters.
I am confident I can tie a rig and find a spot to present but haven't had a bite since moving to Lincoln, is there any advice in terms of changing approaches or methods to help me catch or is it just spending more time on the bank?
Any advice is welcome
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