ADTV Amanda's Angling - Summer Carp Fishing Doesn’t Get Better Than This

The carp started to feed on the surface seconds after the pellets hit the water and a flock of gulls joined the feast for a few minutes until my surface controller came crashing into the swim. The Carp continued to feed with full confidence but not one of them would touch my hookbait. Fish after fish inspected it before turning away, making it obvious that something needed to change with my presentation.

I swapped my Nash floating biscuits for smaller ESP floating mixers while keeping the same 12lb Nash Zig & Flo hooklink. That one simple adjustment transformed the session almost immediately, resulting in my first carp, a beautiful scaley mirror, the precise reason we came to Suffolk Water Park! The difference seemed to be the size of the bait. The ESP imitation Mixers just seemed to match the size of my loose feed that little bit more closely.

Once the fish were feeding confidently, the key was simply keeping them interested without overfeeding them.A steady trickle of floating trout pellets kept the carp competing for food. Adding CC Moore Salmon Oil helped flatten the surface in the breeze, making it much easier to spot fish taking the bait. The oil also adds extra attraction, making it a worthwhile addition on warm summer days.

Rather than introducing lots of bait at once, feeding little and often proved far more effective, maintaining competition without allowing the carp to become full.

One of the biggest attractions of surface fishing is just how little tackle you need. For this session I used a Korda Kaizen Green Floater rod paired with a Daiwa Gold reel loaded with a dedicated floater Fishing line.

The business end is also really simple; a Korda Interceptor Controller Float, 12lb Nash Zig & Flo hooklink, a size 8 Mixer hook, and the ESP plastic floating mixers that proved to be the winning hookbait. The plastic hookbaits stayed in place, sat perfectly just under the surface, and hid the hook well without needing to be replaced or adjusted throughout the day.

As the session progressed, the bites just kept coming. Alongside a lovely common and several more fish, patience was eventually rewarded with the biggest carp of the day, a cracking fish just over the 20lb mark and a fitting way to finish.

Surface fishing is an amazing way to spend a day in the summer months. If you've only got a few hours during a warm summer morning or evening, it's hard to think of a more enjoyable way to spend them. 

Check out the full Amanda's Angling Episode below and don’t forget to like, comment and subscribe. See you on the next one, tight lines!