Tips & Advice

Long gone are the days of par boiled new potato’s side hooked and flung out into the lake in the hope a passing carp might show interest. Nowadays, one of the most effective and established baits in carp fishing is the boilie. With thousands of tonnes produced every year in the UK alone. It’s safe […]

There is no single best way to bait a swim. If you look any successful carp angler, the key to mximising your chances is to be adaptable. This means that you are likley to need to change your approach and tactics depending venue, stock, conditions and a whole lot of other factors that all go […]

Whilst carp location is the number one factor for any succesful angler, being able to present a bait on an effective rig is a very close second. Whether your fishing is on a club water in the UK targeting 30lbers, or you are setting off with the lads to an exclusive lake in France in […]

Catching bigger and bigger fish is one of the main motivators for any carp angler and trying to improve one’s personal best is an ongoing quest. You could just trust your luck, however, if catching big carp is what motivates you, then going about it specifically gives you a better chance of success. Is it […]

How To Tie The KD Rig and When To Use It Most bottom bait rigs utilise the principle of the hook turning and flipping to catch hold in a carp’s mouth and the palm test is our measure of how well a carefully tied presentation achieves this. There are, however, a few rigs that work […]

Your rods are cast out, carp are topping over your spots, you’re surrounded by stunning French countryside and your accommodation is just metres from the lake. Surely this is the perfect fishing holiday? We list over 25 of the very best private fishing lakes in France with accommodation, swimming pools and even hot tubs, all […]

I fancy trying the Multi Rig. What do I need to know? Let’s start with tying a Multi Rig up. It’s a nice and simple one to construct with a bonus by way of the facility to change the hook. You’ll only need a few components too. Your hook wants to be a stiff rig/chod […]

We know carp fishing with boilies or particles work, but which is best? There is no such thing as a best approach to baiting as there is always more than one way to skin a cat. Both a boilie only and particle approach are exceptionally effective in the right circumstances and it’s down to the […]

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 […]

In a sport awash with variables and choice, it’s perhaps the use of bait that gives most anglers cause to stop and think. As your hand wavers over your throwing stick or dithers next to your catapult the fundamental question remains – am I putting out too much, or too little? Carp, of course, can’t […]

A bait hard on the bottom, right where your targets are naturally feeding, can be unbeatable. But what is the best rig to use to present a bottom bait? Although we tend to see carp fishing as angler against nature, on busy commercial waters it’s more often a case of angler versus angler, with each […]

If you’d have asked a carp angler 10 or 15 years ago to pick a destination for a fishing holiday, staying within the British Isles would have been seen as a very odd choice. France has long been the holiday hotspot of choice for travelling carpers, followed by an ever-growing list of European destinations and […]

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 The Farm Lake – 396km. About 3 hours 55 mins from Calais Etang le Fays – 295k. About 4 […]

In carp fishing, going against the grain and doing something different can produce unexpectedly good results, so one angler’s mistake is another angler’s master plan – but there are certainly some key fundamentals worth heeding on popular day-ticket waters or holiday lakes. Don’t opt for the most convenient swim – location is key There are […]

Standing on the bank gazing at the water can feel restrictive and limiting when you’ve tasted the freedom of gliding across the surface in a vessel, but using a rowing boat productively isn’t quite as straightforward as it might seem. Compared with bankside observation, being directly above the fish in a boat is obviously a […]

How to tie a helicopter rig? Helicopter rigs are relatively simple to construct and ideal for when fishing over bottom debris. With few components you’re unlikely to need to go and buy loads of bits and pieces. Essentials though are size 8 ring swivels, buffer beads and some form of stop or bead to fit […]

Braided lines have certain advantages over mono but the reverse is also true and they might not be the answer to your particular circumstances. Mono is probably better as an all round option but braid is far superior under certain circumstances. Okay. When is braid better? Braid can prove advantageous in heavy weed as it […]

We should all learn to love the D. It’s a simple but highly effective rig that lends itself to a number of applications. The classic D rig is tied with a stiff material, normally fluorocarbon, but sometimes monofilament, and is so called because of the D-shaped loop on which the bait sits. It’s a very […]

Fishing at distance is one area in which angling can legitimately claim to be a sport in the athletic sense of the word. Executing a series of accurate long chucks takes dexterity, power, timing and endurance. In short, it’s definitely an acquired skill, but the rewards can be huge. What is long range carp fishing? […]

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 […]

I’ve turned up at the lake so where should I start? The simple answer is wherever you see fish. Carp location 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 […]

Stalking carp at close quarters is my favourite style of fishing. There is nothing more exciting than watching carp feeding feet or sometimes inches from the bank and waiting for the rod to wrench round. As much as I do enjoy sitting behind three rods waiting for a screaming bite alarm, turning up to a […]

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 […]