Top tips for stalking fish

STALKING a carp can be the most exciting method of fishing. Watching a big pair of lips engulf your hookbait with get the adrenaline pumping and your heart racing!

The Korum blob baits are great for stalking

1.       Find the fish

You can’t stalk a carp if you can’t find them! A quick lap of the lake should reveal some tell-tale signs that carp are in the area. This may be carp on the surface, a vortex in shallow water from a carp’s tail or even bubbling. These will all give you a good idea on where to start!

2.       Bright Blobs

Blob Floats are great when stalking; due to being small and inconspicuous, especially good in shallow water. They can be moved up and down the line without the use of split shot and are also very bright!

3.       Gear for the job

Tailor your gear to the fish you are targeting. On my secret stalking pool the fish run to over 30lb so I need to be confident in the tackle I use. 10lb Xpert Power Mono and size 12 Xpert Power hooks are perfect for the job! I’d highly recommend them.

The right tackle makes a big difference

4.       Choose the right hookbait

My No.1 choice when stalking is bread. There is not a carp in the country that will ignore a piece of fluffy white slow-sinking bread. Pinched over the shank of the hook with the hookpoint showing is perfect.

Another great bait is Slugs – these big, juicy flower-munching critters regularly fall off marginal plants and are mopped up by hungry carp.

5.       Stay back

Keep well back from the water when stalking. A big shadow over the water or above the sky line will spook carp and scupper your chances of a bite.

Keeping well back and treading lightly will highly increase your chances of catching.

This is the result of an hours stalking around the lake; a stunning fully-scaled mirror carp that took a liking to my bread. Follow my advice and you will be catching carp in no time!