Here Mat Woods covers the art of flitting around from venue to venue, and how to put yourself in with the best chance of catching from new waters.

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Trying different styles of angling will help build your tactical repertoire.

Venue Hopping

Jumping around from venue to venue is the sort of carp fishing that many of us choose for our angling, I know I do, and I thoroughly enjoy learning about different lakes, testing myself against new situations.

            In 2005 I got round 22 different waters, many of these for less than 24 hours, and more than half I’d never seen before in my life. In spite of this, I managed to catch carp from 16 of these waters, not always big ones, but it’s not a bad record for an Average Joe like me!

In amongst the bunch were small campaigns, but for the most part they were just fleeting visits to venues all over the country. If you find yourself travelling to a different venue every month, read on.

Keep Your Ear To The Ground

An important factor when flitting around is making the right venue choice. A lot of the time my work dictates the lakes I fish at, but when the ball’s in my court, I try and use the knowledge I’ve gained to ascertain which water is most likely to throw up a few carp. Local knowledge is important, but if you’ve got a few nights in your hands, there’s no reason you can’t travel across the country. Use the forums and fishery websites to see how venues are fishing; if you keep your ear to the ground, you’ll usually make the right choice. Homework is so important.

            Often, everybody hears about when a certain day ticket lake switches on, but don’t give it a wide berth just because it’s busy. I’ve had some of my best results on very busy lakes, although the experience has been extremely frustrating!

            Another thing to bear in mind are weather conditions. I know lakes that are impossible most of the year, but with a fresh big wind on them, it’s like shooting fish in a barrel. If you’ve done well on a lake in high pressure, go back there when the weather’s similar. You can’t beat building a picture of the lakes around you, and how they fish at different times of the year.

            I’ve found that big or deep lakes are fantastic when it’s windy, whilst shallow venues can fish really well in high pressure. When the weather’s really bang on – I try and go where I believe I will catch the biggest carp. You only have to look at Carp-Talk the week after we’ve had a low-pressure front to see that warm, drizzly conditions produce big fish!

Types of Water

When you’re roving around, you’re going to come across different styles of venue. One thing I love about angling at different lakes is that you expand your horizons, adding strings to your bow. It’s no use avoiding weedy or silty waters if you’re unsure on how to fish them – the best way to learn is to get out there and try your luck.

It’s a whole series of articles to cover all of these elements, so pick up the mags each month and see what information you can glean. But don’t just copy a silt rig, for example, if you’re fishing clean gravel patches, and by the same token don’t use small bit baits and PVA sticks if your chosen water is packed out with nuisance fish. Think about what you’re trying to achieve, absorb the information properly.

Confidence

When you arrive at a new lake, you need to be confident about what you’re doing. Quite often you can find out through the grapevine a going bait or tactic – don’t neglect this for the sake of being different, you’ve got three rods to experiment with so make sure one of them is doing what’s been working! Your other two rods should have on what you’re confident in. Try not to experiment too much – I only change things when I know the carp are in my swim, or travelling through it, and I’m not getting takes.

            Areas of lakes can be prolific at certain times of the year, and this, again, should not be ignored – not even for some peace and quiet! I’ve sat hemmed in on venues and been the only angler to catch, and by the same token I’ve sat next to guys as they’ve hauled whilst I’ve struggled. Find out what these areas are before you get there, and remember to have a look around anyway, even if these pegs are free. Dropping a bucket into a swim reserves it, so do this immediately, and then go for a stroll. I’ve seen too many guys miss out on the chance of catching through their naivety – it can be a real cut-throat world on the carp circuit these days.

Creating The Edge

I’m a firm believer in having a few aces up your sleeve. The ‘going’ tactic can often be improved upon with a few tweaks here and there, and often all it takes is changing something that you just know everyone else is doing. Rig length is so predictable, as is hookbait and lead arrangement choice. These are the first things I look at to improve my chances.

Leads

I’ve gone on about it quite a lot, and it was Frank Warwick who demonstrated how much of a difference it makes, and that’s using big leads. I’m not talking about big clunky in-lines, but of the 5oz Tournament leads. I’ve sat with a 5oz on one rod, and a 4oz on the second, both literally within inches of each other – and the 5oz one has been the only one to go, even when I’ve switched them around the baited area.

            By the same token, I’ve had aborted takes and rod knocks-galore on a large semi-fixed lead, and a quick change to a lighter running lead has produced instant action. I’ve never found a common denominator with this, but I do know the bigger leads have produced me more big carp.

Rigs

When it comes to rigs, I make no secret that I like quite long rigs. It’s a bit different to the norm and it covers your bases. With a semi-supple hooklink and a balanced hookbait, you can cast it pretty much anywhere and, 9 times out of 10, it will be presented well. I use a longshank anti-eject rig, which is simple to tie and has caught me so many carp I find it hard to use anything else. On most occasions, I have this on all three rods. I see no point having three different setups for the sake of it; I only change if I’m getting some sort of sign that I’m getting things wrong.

Bait

As I mentioned earlier – the going bait can be used to your advantage, but don’t just stick on one of the bottom baits or pop-ups and expect to catch carp! Predictability is why carp manage to avoid us. Whittling down a hookbait, using a smaller version of the bait to the norm or even a Snowman can give you an edge, but my preference is for something totally different over the top of a good bait.

            I keep banging on about it, but fluoro hookbaits really are the kiddies when you’re flitting around venues. Nothing comes close when it comes to instant visual appeal, as well as the smell these bad boys kick out. If you don’t want to make your own, buy some off the shelf and insert thick lead wire into the base to balance them out as bottom baits. Hardly anyone uses this tactic, and when they do they rarely do it over a baited area. Make it easier for the carp to find your bait, and make their selection of which one to eat much easier. I find it hard to enthuse about these baits in text form, so if you ever meet me, let’s talk fluoros!

If you make your own with flavour combinations the carp have never tasted before, you’re always going to be one step ahead. I know that most of my friends have turned their carp fishing around by getting onto this style of fishing – never say never!

            Bag mixes are also important in my opinion. Everyone seems to use just pellets in their bags, maybe with a few crushed boilies. My personal favourite additive to a bag mix is sweetcorn. I drain off all the juices, then add them into a pellet mixture and whiz them around. With mesh PVA, the corn shouldn’t melt the bags. I also like to add in a few tuttis or other bright baits, just as a confuser for the carp.

One thing I always do with pellets and spod mixes, without failure, is make use of the liquid additives you can get. My personal favourite is Metamino, although Minamino (the kind without the raspberry flavour) is also phenomenally good. These liquid livers send carp potty, and don’t get me started on tuna fish in sunflower oil!

            For hookbaits, I favour Multi-Stim, or Hinders’ Betalin (or both). To these I will add a drop of flavour sometimes, but it’s not essential.

            These are just my little tweaks to things, but there is so much scope. Try not to delve too much into the unknown, there are plenty of bait items with proven track records – the ones that crop up the most are the ones to get on!

Conclusion

I hope some of my suggestions have triggered a few thoughts in your head, and got you thinking about your fishing a little more. I’m lucky to be confident in the approach I use, and I truly believe this is a major factor in success on any water. If you believe in your angling, all those little doubts and fears disappear from your mind, and you’re able to think freely and clearly. Find your own edges, angle well, and reap the rewards.