...and it seems not every day fishing is a catching day. The weather was nice with a slight wind blowing down the valley. I headed out at about 2 pm, 2.5 hours later and no fish. mind you I did get one bite, probably a small carp.at least the scenery is nice!

While I hope to be able to blog often here, it will not always be. Not every week is a fishing week... maybe not even every month. I also assume that my little carp hole will eventually run out of carp (at least that’s my intention). In-between times I'll try to impart any knowledge that I have picked up along the way. So on with todays entry....

I thought today I'd just do an entry on fishing rigs specifically pertaining to my carp fishing. What we are talking about here is the terminal tackle, the nuts and bolts, hook line and sinker... the pointy end of the stick you might call it. While there are too many fishing rigs and knots out there to count there are only two that I use. I like it this way as it keeps things simple.

Get Knotted!

The only knot I use is the locked half blood knot. It gives high strength and is quite easy to do while out in the field. I use this to join the line onto the hook and swivel. Following is a short video i made, figuring that a video would be easier to follow than a picture. excuse the quality as the lighting was poor and was completely unscripted.

The bits and pieces.

only very simple terminal tackle is required. I usually use a small hook of say size 4 to 6. the actual type of hook is of somewhat less importance, but you must take into account the type of bait being used. generally I wouldn’t use a long shank hook or a wide gaped hook as the won't display or hold the bait properly. Mustad make a nice little hook that is designed for Luderick (blackfish), they are usually anodised green and this is what I use.

From here you need the swivel, sinker and float(if indeed the sinker and float are needed). You will probably be fishing with very light line and so only a very small swivel is required. There are different brands and prices ranging from cheap brass swivels to those that have ball bearings in them, and while ball bearing swivels do a superb job I don’t think they are a necessary expense for carp fishing... Like I say, keep it simple (and cheap). The sinker I use is a ball sinker which do the job of holding the bait still. You want to use as little lead as possible so match your sinker size accordingly and of course there will be times where you don’t need a sinker at all. Lastly the float... I have yet to use a float in catching carp but I have read a bit on it. small quill type floats are generally used and they create the lease amount of friction when being dragged on by a fish. I'll talk more about float rigs when I use one.

Putting it all together

I use a running sinker rig as it allows the bait to move around in any current that might present, it also means there is less weight for the fish when it picks the bait up (especially if you are using a sinker) as any weight the fish notices might scare it off. Just take the sinker out if not required. The sequence of parts should go like this:

Then of course comes the rod and reel...

It was a cloudy day but my fingers were itching for a bit of fishing action... house work can wait till tomorrow.  

I headed down to my usual haunt near Wedderburn Rd in Campbelltown at about 12.30 to do a spot of fishing, the air was cool and still and the water looked like it was flowing upside down after all the rain we have had recently. I didn't let this deter me though. Bait used for the day was plain white bread pilfered from my mother in laws cupboard (I was out of bread). 

The going was slow to start and it gave me a chance to figure out how I was going to record my catches with my new video recording sunglasses. I still have a long way to go as you will see in the coming video. 

After an hour and a half I finally got some interest in my bait. I carefully lifted my rod out of its holder and felt some wait on the line. BAM! and we are off. At first it didn’t feel like a very large fish but soon it surfaced with a splash and it looked bigger than it felt. A little while later and I had my first fish secured in a landing net. It weighed just under 4 kg and was just a tad over 60cm in length, not bad. I quickly dispatched the fish and rebaited for another try. 

My second bait had been soaking for a good hour before it was given a soft nudge. Lifting the rod I set the hook but this time I had no idea what I had. At first I though I had a submarine as it swam back and forth in front of me not wanting to leave the bottom as I struggled with my 2kg bream gear to keep it away from reeds and submerged logs, this was going to be a doosey! eventually the fish tired of its submarinal efforts and splashed on the surface. and this only made it harder to handle as it ducked and weaved around the reeds and logs near the shore. Once landed I realised this fish was a lot leaner than the previous one. It seems the leaner fish fight better than the fat ones and this fish was in considerably better condition. the fish was 57cm and only 2.625 kg.  

Over all it was a good session, if a little quiet in places and a total of 3 hours was spent fishing. I still have a lot to learn about recording these catches though but with experience I think they will get better. Here is the recording of the second catch. please ignore the date stamp, I haven't figured out how to change that yet. 

Hello, and welcome to the first entry. 

First up, maybe I should start with an introduction. My Name is David, I am currently 45yo and I live in St Helens Park with my wife Cheryl and my plethora of pets (2 cats, 2 chickens, 1 frog and my mother in law and her 2 dogs), it’s a crowded little house. I work in a public library 50 kilometers from home so I have a long commute. I have a few hobbies so I am never bored. Carp fishing (my newest hobby) is very new to me, though I have fished for various salt water species nearly all of my life...  

CARP
The Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio) is a native fish to Europe and Asia where they are a popular angling target due to their large size and fighting ability on light fishing gear. However in Australia (and other counties) they are considered a significant pest. They  were probably brought over from Europe as an ornamental species in the mid 1800s' and have since made just about every fresh water River, stream and pond their home. In some areas carp make up 90% of the fish species. 

Impacts: 

Carp are responsible for the degradation of water quality as the dig up the water bed searching for food. This degradation causes native species to die off due to increased turbidity decreasing the ability to sight feed, lack of food as weed beds the are homes to the plankton, shrimp and other small animals are ripped up or die off due to the lack of light making it through the water.
 
Carp are also responsible for erosion as the undermine the river banks (their normal feeding area) while searching for food. 

The NSW law currently states that while the species is considered a pest it is not illegal to return them to the water from where they are caught. I believe however that you'd be doing the environment a favor by humanely killing any carp that you catch. 

More reading is available on these web pages:  
http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fisheries/pests-diseases/freshwater-pests/species/carp/general-information
http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fisheries/pests-diseases/freshwater-pests/species/carp/what-you-can-do 
http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fisheries/pests-diseases/freshwater-pests/species/carp/groups/recreational-fishers

FISHING FOR CARP

The species in its natural habitat can reach 1.2 meters in length and up to 60 kilograms, but its natural habitat is not in this country. Here in Australia the species is know to grow well over 10kg with 4-6kg fish being quite common. All this equates to an absolute blast for fishing, especially on light gear! 

Catching carp couldn’t be easier, and just about anyone with some fishing line can catch them. Carp catching is not an expensive past time as the simplest of tackle can be used. I personally use my Bream fishing rod and reel which is a light weight outfit that I can take anywhere. It consists of a 6 foot light action fishing rod and small spinning reel. Some people will still spend hundreds of dollars on this but its just not necessary. on the reel I have 1.8kg line (just monofilament of reasonable quality), this ends in a small swivel with a very small sinker just above it and a 30cm trace of the same line to a small size 4-6 hook. For bait I just squeeze some bread onto the hook making sure the barb/point is in the clear for a clean hookup. I also burley lightly with chicken pellets. Told you it was cheap! 

You need a license to fish for anything in NSW. follow this link to information regarding this. 
http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fisheries/recreational/licence-fee 



Well off you go, time to catch some fish!