Margin Fishing

Total Carp Staff  |  May 9, 2012

Question: I fish my local club water which is 4/5ft at most. All the carp are in the margins from lots of 8lb up to 20lb could you possibly recommend a good set up for fishing the margins, slack line presentation etc hope to try get some out there. No bait bans. Hope you could help, many thanks. Andrew Hooson via e-mail


Answer: Hi Andrew, that’s a great question for this time of year. I love margin fishing, there’s nothing better than watching a carp come in on to your carefully-prepared spot and pick up your hook bait. There’s one huge advantage of margin fishing when it comes to rigs – they don’t need to be cast a long way and, so, won’t tangle.

I like a simple inline lead (fish it drop-off style if there is any weed) setup – just a light lead will normally suffice – and short fluorocarbon leader which, coupled with slack lines, will keep everything pinned to the deck. If I am literally lowering my rig on to the spot and can see how it sits, I’ll use a straight braid hook link with a short piece of silicone or shrink tube on the hook to form a kicker. Nobody uses braid these days, save for inside a PVA bag, so it’s well worth considering. If I cannot actually see the spot, say flicking the bait out a rod length or so, then I’ll use a coated braid, just for peace of mind as it won’t tangle. I love corn and hemp for my margin traps and will combine it with a coupe of grains of fake corn on the hook, balanced so that the rig literally just sinks to the bottom.

Hope that helps mate – good luck

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