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.

Carp Care: Keeping Carp Safe on the Bank

Take a look across the internet and you’ll find plenty of articles and videos dedicated to carp baits, rigs and methods, but very little on the topic of carp care in comparison. This is a huge shame as carp care is vital to the upkeep and maintenance of our sport....

Plastic Fantastic: Using Artificial Baits

Recently, I’ve been chatting with some very successful artificial bait specialists and trust me, what they’ve shared makes for some interesting reading. Let’s get started… Just a trend?Anglers have been using artificial baits in some fashion for plenty of years now;...

Carp Baits

Forget fancy rigs, rods, and reels. If you don’t have appropriate bait to compliment your setup and the swim conditions then you’re fighting a long, slow, losing battle. Generally, the higher quality the bait, the more effective it will be. This often will require...

A Brief History of Carp Fishing – Why Is It So Popular?

For centuries, carp, and particularly carp fishing, has enthralled and captivated anglers throughout Europe and Asia. From the supernatural beasts lurking in holiday lakes across France and Thailand, to the mystical enigmas, residing within…

Lengthen the Life of Your Bait

Air-drying boilies… What’s it all about and why do anglers swear by the value it provides? There are a number of different reasons why air-drying your baits can be of benefit, let me begin with the most important of them all. To put it simply, air-dried boilies are...

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Canal Carping: An Overview

When looking across all age demographics, it’s no secret that carp fishing is one of the most popular outdoor activities. However, with a finite amount of carp lakes out there, where should you as an angler turn when you don’t want to fish overcrowded waters, a common...

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Advanced

If you’re a seasoned carp angler looking to improve in specific areas, this is for you.

Taking on Tough Carp Venues

I recently read a decent thread on a popular carp-fishing forum where people were discussing hard carp waters and how they differ to your typical venue. This time I opted to stay away from the debate, but the conversation focused on stocking densities and the variance...

Trout Pellets for Carp Fishing: What’s It All About?

As with any other branch of angling, in carp angling there are particular items of tackle and bait that get discussed more than others. Often this is because there are conflicting opinions that surround such items on how, if it all, they should be used. I’m sure that...

Enhance Your Baits According to the Season

Most carp anglers exclusively use the same boilies and popup combinations week in week out. Not only this but the majority of carp anglers also use them as they come, straight out of the bag. There is a reason for this though, these baits are very effective and can...

A Remarkable Capture: Copse Lake

After a successful summer on Copse Lake, the fire in my belly was now an inferno and I couldn't wait for the Autumn chapter of this campaign to begin. Autumn is a special time on the Lake, observing the vegetation transition from shades of bright green to warm...

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...

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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...

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The Big Carp Paradox

Last year I started fishing a brand new lake… Unfortunately, this article isn’t the one I was intending to write when I first set out my new fishing adventure, as I sit down to write this it feels as though this venue has well and truly kicked me in the proverbials....

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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!

Carp Angling in Early Spring: Some Great Advice

Spring is my favourite angling season, as the long awaited thaw begins and snow drops start to pop up through the frozen ground, bringing with them a sense of optimism and excitement at the year ahead. Days get progressively longer as the sun’s angle increases across...

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 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...

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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...

Liven up Your Winter Fishing by Using Maggots

Maggots make for an exceptionally effective carp bait in winter. Here we run through exactly how to make the most out of them. As the temperature drops, the carp’s metabolism starts to slow. This has two consequences; they eat less and are far less active. Despite...

A Basic Guide to Day Ticket Waters in Winter

As summer turns to winter, most day ticket fisheries find far fewer anglers flocking to their waters. This is a result of both the weather and the theory that carp do not feed in the winter or the cold. However, this is not to be believed. Admittedly, carp do not feed...

5 Tips for Locating the Carp in Winter

So it’s now officially winter. The nights are drawing in, you had to scrape the frost off the windscreen of your car this morning and your surface fishing exploits are quickly becoming distant memories. Whilst plenty of anglers are now packing away their gear for the...