Carp fishing holidays in the UK booming this Autumn
Written by Luke Broderick, Fisheries Manager at Cofton Holidays.
The days are getting shorter and the nights are drawing in, meaning Autumn is arriving! In my opinion September and October are the most prolific for carp fishing. Perhaps a reason why we find carp fishing holidays to be so popular at these times! The carp are feeding hard in preparation for the harsher conditions to come and they start to take on their winter colours. This results in some stunning specimen!
It also marks a change in the way I go about my carp fishing, I find that a good bait is more important than ever, and for me it’s all about the boilie! A quality boilie on a simple rig fished over boilie freebies will start to account for a lot of fish at this time of year.
Our onsite tackle shop now stocks a range of mainline baits. The pick of the bunch is the frozen cell boilie, a high quality product that the carp just seem to love!
I’ve also been utilising the new mainline match range. The range of small pop-ups and wafters are great additions to hook baits. Personally, i’ve been having success tipping my cell boilies with pineapple wafters from the match range. However, there are plenty of options for you to do your own thing, should you wish to tailor the bait to your own preference. We’ve been having great feedback from our visiting anglers who have also utilised this range with great results!
That’s not to say that alternative bait companies haven’t enjoyed success at Cofton! Other favourites of mine include Sticky Bait’s Krill, Star Baits GLM and CC Moore Live System.
Simple rigs, proving the most effective
Don’t over complicate things, simple seems to be the way to go! Currently the trend is to over-complicate carp rigs, whereas in my opinion basic carp rigs are still catching more fish, Keep rig components to a minimum and concentrate on keeping everything pinned to the bottom.
Here’s the carp rig i’m currently using; A Korda lead clip system with tubing, 2oz pear lead, a 20lb N Trap hooklink, to a size 10 wide gape barbless hook. A PVA foam nugget completes the rig and ensures the hook is free of debris. Once the nugget has surfaced, it can be used as a baiting aid to improve the accuracy of freebies.
Fish care also plays a part in how i construct my rigs. The lead needs to eject should the line break or the fish becomes snagged, as i’d never want a fish to become tethered. As such, i use a lead clip system, of which there are many currently on the market. The one i’m currently using is made by Korda and comes as part of a kit with rig tubing, which not only pins your line behind the lead to the lake bed but also protects the fish from the line lifting the scales of the fish whilst the fish is being played.
Awesome Autumn Deals on Carp Fishing Holidays with Accommodation
We’ve just enjoyed a hugely successful summer here at Cofton, with lots of fish making the bank! I’m interested to see how the lakes are going to respond to the quieter banks in this post summer holiday period. I’m quietly expecting some great results! Make sure you stay connected with our blogs, Instagram and Facebook to see how we get on! Come and experience our 5 fishing lakes yourself.