Tips & Advice

Carp love hiding in snags just as much as anglers fear having to deal with these underwater obstacles. To the inexperienced carper, early encounters snag fishing will usually result in lost fish and broken dreams, but it is possible to fish safely and responsibly around these hazards. Snag fishing options If your water is snaggy […]

The sharpest-possible hook is the best hook for catching more carp, right? In theory, maybe, but hook sharpening doesn’t come without drawbacks so, like many things in angling, it’s a trade off between the advantages and disadvantages. To set the scene it’s fair to say that modern hooks are pretty damn sharp straight from the […]

Spring is arguably the most exciting time of the fishing year, with freshly active carp and months of possibilities stretching out ahead of you. Sadly, although they may be more visible than at any point over the previous three or four months, the carp can be at their most frustrating at this time of year. […]

Ronnie Rig Known as the Ronnie, the Spinner or the Rotator Rig, this presentation has blitzed the carp scene in recent years and is the ideal pop-up setup for a multitude of angling scenarios. There are no traditional knotless knots here – instead, the hook is clipped into a quick-change ring swivel giving it the […]

April’s a good month to be fishing for carp, right? Very much so. Carp fishing in April has got to be one of the best there is. Pretty much every carp in the land is awake and feeding by the end of March so you’re not fishing for torpid fish that are laid up in […]

If it is your first time fishing in France then it can be little daunting with so many options to choose from. We’ve put together a guide to help you navigate some of the pitfalls and help you select venues that best suits your requirements. Right, we fancy fishing in France… Where do we start? […]

We’ve turned up at the lake so where should we start? The simple answer is wherever you see fish. Carp can be unfathomable at times and trying to guess their movements is always second best to actually witnessing them. Sometimes they are where we expect them to be however, just as often, they are somewhere […]

When and how to do it Effectively Feature finding is an important part of carp fishing. However, to maximise the impact it will have on your fishing, you need to know what to look for, how to do it, when to do it and also when not to do it. Locating features is much more […]

What’s the history of the Stiff Hinged Rig? There can be no denying the long-term success that many anglers have achieved whilst utilising the Stiff Hinged Rig. Lewis Read and Terry Hearn developed the rig from a less refined version that was being used on the Yateley lakes and it has never lost its popularity […]

Carp lakes in Northern France are easily accessable from the UK and hold some huge carp. The Euro Tunnel from Folkestone to Calais takes only 35 minutes and the ferry from Dover to Calais will get you there in  1 hour 30 minutes. Other ferry routes include Dover to Dunkirk which takes 2 hours or […]

Why should we use PVA bags in our fishing? As well as being very effective, carp fishing with PVA bags can be great levellers. They’ll ensure that you have decent presentation on pretty much any lakebed so, if you’re unsure of what you’re fishing over, you can be confident that your rig isn’t tangled or […]

Limoges in south west France is a haven for anglers looking to catch big French carp and there’s plenty of lakes to choose from. We’ve put together a selection of some of the best carp lakes in Limoges with lots of useful information to help you find your next carp fishing holiday. Lake Heritage – […]

Perhaps not quite as well known as the Ronnie Rig, the 360 rig is nevertheless an extremely effective carp-catching tool. It has similar properties to the Ronnie in that it can rotate freely, though it is arguably slightly more agile, hence its name. Learning how to tie the 360 rig requires a little bit of […]

The Knotless Knot is the cornerstone of most carp rigs and is essential for just about any Hair rig. If you are new to the sport, it may look a little complex and have a contradictory name, but tying the Knotless Knot is very simple. Its usefulness lies in the way it traps the hook […]

Brittany is a beautiful region and home to to some of the best carp lakes in France. Carp lakes in Brittany are easily accessable from the ferry ports of Caen, Le Havre and St Malo. Take an overnight ferry from Portsmouth on Friday evening and arrive at the lake before midday to truly make the […]

Successful winter carp fishing is all about preparation, and quite a lot of it is mental. Even those more spontaneous break-in-the-weather trips are made better and more rewarding with some degree of planning. Chose your venues carefully In fact, breaking down your winter campaign into routine and spur-of-the-moment categories is probably a good place to […]

A little bit like Zig Rigging, it can be hard to get your head around the concept of fishing with single hookbaits. But catch a fish on this method – particularly when everyone else is struggling – and your confidence should soar. The main psychological barrier to overcome is the nagging feeling that the carp […]

If you don’t fancy the long drive and ferry crossing or taking Euro tunnel, then all inclusive carp fishing holidays in France are fantastic. All inclusive lakes generally offer bait, tackle hire, food packages and sometimes even airport pick up and drop off.  Many of the lakes have swimming pools making them ideal for a […]

The Ronnie rig has been pivotal in the capture of some of the biggest carp in the UK and on the continent in the last few years. Its immense hooking properties and ability to reset itself has made it a rig that so many top carp anglers will not be without today. Until fairly recently […]

Angling pressure has a big effect on carp behaviour, so it’s important to approach pressured carp waters with that in mind. Carp that are regularly targeted can wise up to rigs, shy away from certain spots and feed only when they feel completely comfortable, but it’s not all bad news for the angler. These same […]

Fishing public carp lakes in France, or in any foreign country for that mater might sound like a daunting prospect, but the fundamentals are surprisingly simple and you may end up catching a fish you can guarantee your mates won’t have in their album. Here’s the good news: France is a large country with plenty […]

For anglers looking for carp lakes in France near Calais, you are really spoilt choice. Here are some of our favourite carp lakes in under 4 hours drive from Calais: Carp Fishing in France Near Calais Tortue lake at Croix Blanche Lakes – 260k. About 2 hours 27 mins from Calais The Farm Lake – […]

One of the simplest rigs in carp fishing is also one of the most effective. Fans of this presentation love the way the German Rig ‘reacts’ quickly to being picked up by a fish, leading to rock-solid hookholds and fewer missed opportunities. In this country, this setup was nicknamed the German Rig by Avid’s Mat […]

After the heat, exertion and the crowded banks of summer, autumn can descend like a soothing balm for the frazzled carp angler. Crisper mornings, dewy evenings and rapidly fading light signal the start of autumn carp fishing, which can be the best season of all for catching carp. The fish are often feeding heavily as […]

Carp are built to feed in silt – sticking their snouts deep into the sediment and sifting out any juicy bits of food – so it’s no surprise that these areas can often be the best places to present bait. Before you begin carp fishing over silt and searching out areas, it’s worth understanding what […]

Each season of the year throws up its challenges and incentives for catching carp. When carp fishing in the summer, the fish are certainly more active and are easy to spot, but that doesn’t always mean they are the easiest to catch. Being cold-blooded, the carp’s body temperature is regulated by the warmth of the […]

One of the greatest aspects of carp fishing is its variety. Whether that’s in the strains and characteristics of the fish themselves, the environments in which we find them or the baits we use to catch them, carp fishing takes many forms and fishing for carp with natural baits should not be overlooked. Bait is […]

Fishing a lake that you have never previously fished before can be daunting. Whether it’s a new club water, syndicate lake, commercial venue or week’s trip to France, the same principles apply. Do your Research Visit the Venue before you start your Campaign   Don’t overlook gathering information the old fashioned way. If you have […]

Just like their British counterparts, carp in France come in many shapes and sizes and are found in varied venues and circumstances, so there’s not a one-size-fits-all tactic to catching them. However, there are certain foundations on which you can build your French adventure. Applying these foundations to your tactics for carp fishing in France […]

Surface fishing for carp is one of the most thrilling ways to fish, but it can take a fair amount of patience and cunning. Polarising sunglasses are essential for spotting fish Unlike most other aspects of carp fishing, location should be the easiest part of the jigsaw. If carp are in the upper layers of […]

We live in a country where the inhabitants of just about every stillwater are known and charted, so river carp fishing represent the last frontier of the unknown. They present many challenges to carp anglers, but the rewards include catching fish that may very well have never seen a hook before. Target rivers close to […]

Carp Fishing in France Checklist Preparation is crucial to all forms of angling, and a carp fishing holiday to France is no exception, ensure you have a checklist of essential kit. Making sure you’ve got everything you need is vitally important, as once you’re over there it becomes much harder to rectify your mistakes or […]

It’s a term that gets bandied around a lot in modern carp angling, but if you’re new to the sport or are returning after a break then zig rig fishing for carp might sound an alien concept. In essence, it’s the art of suspending a hookbait somewhere between the lakebed and the surface, normally between […]

Arguably the most underrated tactic available to carp anglers, stalking fish from close in is as exhilarating as it comes. Watching a carp pick up your bait is a rare sight in modern angling, but the chance to observe our quarry’s behaviour before, during and after a bite can be worth a thousand ‘blind’ captures […]

Anglers raised on the near-sterile environments of many modern commercial fisheries can get flustered when it comes to fishing weedy venues, but it doesn’t have to be this way. Carp thrive in weedy venues, such as Croix Blanche lake in France, and although its presence does create some issues for anglers, it certainly shouldn’t scare […]

On the face of it, a low-stocked big pit is carp fishing’s ultimate challenge – but it needn’t be so daunting. In terms of hooking them, carp in tiny pressured pools are probably harder to catch than their free-range open-water cousins. The biggest problem is finding them in the first place. Locating carp in low […]

Spring carp fishing can be as easy as our hobby gets. It can also be seriously frustrating, but if you get it right then you can have some of the best sport of the year. With lengthening days and new growth all around us, the carp are also becoming much more active at this time […]

The Spinner Rig, or Ronnie Rig has definitely been the breakthrough set-up of the last couple of years, and its popularity stems from a number of aspects of its design. Firstly, much like the Multi Rig, you can change your hook without having to destroy the whole hooklink. Just pop it off the quick-change swivel […]

Carp, like most animals, are in-tune with the weather to a level that we humans probably cannot fully comprehend. These cold-blooded creatures are pushed and pulled by the atmospheric conditions, so it should come as no surprises that some weathers are better for fishing than others. The old saying ‘when the wind is in the […]

Part of the lure of carp angling is its unpredictability, but it’s certainly not a simple game of luck. Rigs and bait are undeniably important, but location is perhaps the key difference between catching and blanking. The concept of watercraft can be hard to pin down – though some anglers definitely have an innate ‘feel’ […]

The hinged stiff rig was popularised by the likes of Terry Herne in the 1990s and is now often the rig of choice for many UK and European Anglers. It is has superb hooking qualities is one of the best rigs for fishing a pop up over a softer bottom or slight wee. The rig […]

The blowback rig has been extremely successful for a number of years and uses a hair that is attached to a micro rig ring that is able to freely move up an down the shank of the hook. The free movement of the hair up and down the hook increases the rigs hooking potential. When […]

Choosing the right carp lake in France is critical to having a successful fishing trip and most importantly enjoying your time on the bankside. With many of us booking a trip to France, months or even years in advance, the anticipation, build up, sheer effort and preparation is huge. There’s the question of how much […]

Angler: Andrew Patterson Sponsors: Dream Carp Holidays UK PB: 37lb 6oz Mirror Introduction I was lucky enough to grow up in Ruislip which is only a 15 minute drive away from some of the most historic carp lakes in country such as Savay, Harefield and Farlows to name a few. I had been keen angler […]

Carp fishing is not the cheapest past time. It seem like you can rarely come out from the local tackle shop these days without having spent less than 50 quid on bait and a few bits of terminal tackle. That said, if you want to have a go carp fishing you can buy a good […]

The chod rig was made popular quite few years back by Terry Hearn and Jim Shelley. Due to chod rig’s ability to effectively present a bait over virtually any lake bed, when they first became popular they received mixed reviews as some anglers argued that ‘chucking out’ a chod was for anglers that did not […]