Carp Centre
Everything you need to know, all in one place. Touch up on the essentials or learn about a new technique to add to your carp game, it’s all here.
The Essentials
Everything you need to know to get started catching carp. Baits, rigs, techniques and more all explained.
Fishing Etiquette – How (& How Not) to Behave on the Bank
I’ve been contributing to BadAngling for a while now and there is a wealth of good quality instructional pieces on the site for almost any situation. So when considering a subject for my next piece, it was a challenge to think of something relevant and which I feel I...
Surface Fishing for Carp: The Basics You Need to Know
Floater fishing… It’s a very different way to experience a day's fishing. If you’ve never tried it out, it may seem foreign and a bit unusual at first, but if you’re considering giving it a go, this article may act as a useful starting point. I love surface fishing,...
Five Top Tips for Fishing Day-Ticket Waters
As a carp fishery owner, I've seen a wide range in day-ticket anglers. In fact at this point I've pretty much seen it all, crazy baits, frankly stupid rigs and weird and wonderful techniques. Here's my top five tips to being successful on a day ticket water when it...
Angling Photography: A Basic Guide to Taking Better Shots
I want to start by saying I am by no means an expert in the world of photography, I guess you might call me a keen amateur. My interest in photography stemmed from wanting to take great catch shots and from being around anglers who really knew their stuff, seeing...
Advanced
If you’re a seasoned carp angler looking to improve in specific areas, this is for you.
Battle of the Carp Lakes: Top Tips for Taking on Crayfish
What are Crayfish? Crayfish are present in many waterways across the UK and Europe. The smaller White Clawed Crayfish (pictured right below) is native to the UK and sadly under threat from the non-native American Signal Crayfish (pictured left below) due to a disease...
Two Killer Float Fishing Tactics – Floater Fishing Setups & More
"It’s cheating, they don’t count… I would rather catch them on the bottom. It never ceases to amaze me when anglers discount surface fishing either based on its merits or because it’s something they don’t understand. Surface fishing provides an opportunity to turn...
A Basic Guide to Freelining for Carp
Like many, my fishing is frequently governed by a limited amount of time. Plenty of us have busy lives and simply slot in fishing where we can. For me, this means travelling light, staying mobile and moving around lakes and rivers trying to find fish and only then...
Catching Carp in the Margins
Catching carp in the margins is one of the most exciting and productive methods, perfect for the short session fisherman. I've arrived at lakes in the past, carefully baited up a few marginal spots before catching some fantastic fish in a relatively short space of...
Seasonal
As the seasons change, so should your carp fishing tactics.
Spring
Spring can provide some fantastic sport, particularly as angling pressure is relatively low. Get out there and take advantage of it!
Make a Quick Start: A Guide to Starting on a New Fishing Venue
Starting to fish on a new venue can be intimidating; each water will present a new challenge, which keeps things interesting but also forces us to learn and improve as anglers. In my article on selecting a venue, I discussed at length the things I consider when...
Seasonal Carp Angling: The Best Rigs for Spring
Spring is my favourite time of year to be fishing; I am always incredibly keen following the winter period, which coincides perfectly with improving weather and the carp being at their most catchable. In this article I will cover my rig approach to the spring period,...
Locating Carp Through Spring: Top Tips & Tricks
As the spring season develops the changes are dramatic both above and below the surface, the world comes alive before your eyes and swims that were open and barren become lush and green. The fish’s activity levels begin to increase significantly, as the water...
Surface Fishing for Carp: Spring Fishing
At the time of writing this, we’re witnessing the very first signs of spring. It’s early March, and a mild spell of weather has made everything happen sooner than expected. Each year mother nature decides exactly when the season starts and ends but one thing you can...
Seasonal
As the seasons change, so should your carp fishing tactics.
Winter
Don’t be a fair weather fisherman. Get out there with our tips and enjoy some of the best sport possible, even if it is a little chilly!
Winter Carping on the Maggots: Stay Warm and Keep the Bites Coming
The winter can be a majestic time to be out on the bank. Especially those bright, sharp days when it takes forever for the sun to come up, when it does, it lights up the surroundings with a magical glow. It’s common knowledge that carp fishing can be very tricky...
Clothing for Winter Carping: What You Need
To some, winter can seem like a rough time to be out on the bank, I’ve had countless people (usually not anglers) express confusion on my love of being out by the water in the cold. Preparation is the key to good angling and this is even truer in the winter months....
Fishing Winter Edges: Clear Winter Waters, Pop Ups & More
Last week I was online taking a look at some catch reports and the number of UK forties that exist and were being really caught me off guard. It seems as though forty-pound carp are coming through all over the place, even in my local area there are one or two very...
My Winter Thoughts: Take Advantage of Winter Carp Fishing
In anything I do in life, goals are a must. Perhaps it’s a character flaw, but if you too have this desire to measure everything, you’ll understand that achievable goals are important and that carp fishing is no exception. This winter I’ve decided to target a new...