ADTV Carp Chapters - BIG Autumn Carp Fishing Approach - Cawcutts Lake

This entry was posted on 2nd November, 2025 by Chris Ansell

You join me at Cawcutts lake, an Embryo water just north of Cambridge for 48 hours of specimen big carp fishing. The aim of the game for this session was to show you all my tactics for targeting large carp in the autumn.

The term “Big carp” can mean different things to different anglers. I would say that any carp over 20lbs is big, and over twenty five definitely is. But for the purposes of this session, we're going to say that we can call a fish over the 30lb mark, a big one. That was my target for this session, and while it was never going to be a numbers game at this venue, there are an estimated fifty fish over 30lb in here.

I was going to be using very simple tactics that don't call for ridiculous casting skills or really expensive baits, this sort of fishing is accessible to anglers of most abilities so hopefully you can pick up a few things to incorporate into your own angling.

Location is Everything

I started off in a swim called The Original, it's not the quietest place in the world thanks to the A14 roaring away behind me. It was actually Dave the bailiff who recommended this swim. It's fairly centrally located on the longest bank of the lake so it commands a lot of water and with a wide view of a lot of the lake it enables me to look for signs of fish and then move up or down the bank if I need to. I know I say it all the time but location is the biggest factor when it comes to catching these fish. If you’re not on them, you aren’t catching them.

I had walked around the entire venue at first light and I didn't actually see any signs of fish, this time of year they do tend to show more in the hours of darkness so I planned to start but just getting the rigs out with a small spread of boilies and then keep an eye out for some signs of fish before I committed to any particular spots.

I kept things deliberately simple for this session with a boilie-only approach. It’s a tactic I love in the colder months because it's easy to manage, affordable, and most importantly, deadly for big carp.

I chose to use Pacific Tuna boilies for freebies and some matching pink pop-ups on my stiff hinge rigs And I was casting all three out in a row alongside the left-hand island. Since I didn’t want to put in kilos of bait before knowing the carp were there. I only spread about 40-50 boilies over all three rods with the throwing stick. The seagulls did manage to intercept quite a few of the baits to be honest so it was probably more like 20-30 that actually made it to the bottom.

It's worth mentioning that carp moving between scattered baits are easier to trip up than ones feeding stationary on a tight patch of bait. Especially with hinged stiff rigs, that movement helps them feel the weight of the lead sooner so despite the seagulls I was actually feeling really happy with this first spread of bait. I could always throw out more once it got dark and the birds could no longer see the boilies.

First Blood

After a quiet few hours on the first morning I actually saw a fish show out in open water away from the islands. This was exactly what I was waiting for so what I decided to do was to walk 30yards down the bank and put the marker float out where I saw the fish. From there it was possible to catapult a couple of pouches of 15mm boilies onto the spot so I did that and clipped up the right hand rod to the open water mark.

Right after midnight on that first day I finally had my first run. I immediately knew once I picked up the rod that I was into a decent fish. After a strong and steady fight I slid the net under a pristine 27lb 4oz fully scaled mirror. The hinge rig did its job perfectly, hooked in the centre of the bottom lip just how you want it.

The Hinge Stiff Rig

Since the rig is such an important part of this tactic overall, It's worth having a look at how I like to tie my stiff hinge rig and the sorts of lakebends and features that I tend to fish it to. I like to use a metre of leadcore (when fishery rules allow). At the very end I have a Korda Heli-Safe leadclip so I can drop the lead on a take. Rig-wise I use a fairly long, ten-inch Korda boom section leading to a size 6 Choddy hook.

The lake’s full of crayfish, and for some unknown reason they love nothing more than munching on tungsten putty. To work around the crays , when forming the hinge I used a Korda swivel weight and I also crimped in a small tungsten bead so that there’s enough weight to pin down my CC Moore Pacific Tuna pop-up once it hits the lakebed.

This is perhaps not as finesse as a critically balanced pop-up rig but it is very reliable and all importantly, crayfish-proof.

A Change in the Wind

By the following afternoon, the wind had changed,a slightly chilly northerly had picked up and I started seeing fish move down the left-hand side of the lake. Right as I was explaining this to the camera I saw a show in another open water spot, this time down the left hand side. I reeled in the margin rod on the left and this time I even spotted out a bit of boilie crumb and some whole boilies right on top of where I had seen the fish. I was still spodding over the rig when I heard a quiet clicking noise, the rod had gone before I even had time to turn the alarm on!

Another mirror 27lb 8oz this time and another flawless hook hold on the hinge rig. Only slightly bigger than the last one but we were definitely moving in the right direction. A really impressive fish with beautiful orange colours.

The Mythical “Autumn Feed-Up”

On the second night everything seemed to slow right down after ten or eleven o’clock and there were no more fish. This is fairly typical of autumn carp fishing, the fish are most active during the first few hours of darkness when the water temperatures are higher and the fish feel more comfortable to move around and feed.

A couple of years ago, people used to talk about carp going on a huge ”Autumn feed up” as the temperatures dropped, as they prepare for their semi-hibernation over winter. In my experience, that’s not really the case anymore.

There’s no closed season now, so carp are receiving bait and are under angling pressure all year round. They're also eating far better quality bait throughout the summer so their nutritional requirements are fairly well met. By the time autumn arrives, they’re already in prime condition and don't need to “feed-up”. That being said, autumn is still one of the most rewarding times to be out on the bank. The lakes are quieter, the scenery is stunning, and the fish look absolutely incredible in their autumn colours.

Final Thoughts

I finished up with two 27-pounders that might not have quite hit my 30lb target, but for my first trip to Cawcutts, I was more than happy. The boilie only approach did exactly what I had hoped it would, and we were able to single out some larger fish whilst getting to know the lake for future sessions.

If you’re planning your own autumn session, I’d highly recommend giving this a try. A spread of quality boilies and a hinge stiff rig is a proven combination for picking out bigger fish without overcomplicating things. Fishing doesn’t get much better than this at any time of year, lovely misty mornings, quiet banks, and stunning fish. It's what it's all about really.