The margins of any water are the biggest natural feature on the water, some waters have islands and huge sand / gravel bars which change the percentages, but in general the margin is the longest / biggest feature. The margins offer cover to wary carp via shrubbery, trees, bushes, reeds and general flora and fauna. At most times of year, you ignore the margins at your peril. As spring kicks in and the world wakes up to warmer weather the margins can become the real deal. I have caught carp in 2 feet of water and less than a couple of foot out. You wouldn’t believe how close in you can catch them. I caught “Penny Scale” when she was in her 30’s way back in the day, from the hole next to the Pier Swim on Kingfisher. With a small float acting as an indicator which I had lying on the grass bank. The rig cannot have been more than 3 feet from the bank. I had spotted her with her snout in the silt, terrorizing the Caddis and Bloodworm Larvae earlier in the day. I laid a trap for her just before last light. I think she went 35lb-ish back then, something like that. The basic principal behind margin fishing is to stay silent and still. Move your rods to an angle which does not have them hanging directly over your chosen area. They do not need to hang over the water, so do not let them hang over the margin unless you really must do it. Its blatant, the carp will come for a look to see, and you lose every time. An Army Camouflage net is in my opinion an essential piece of kit. It allows you to Cam Up and be stealthy. I have forgotten the number of times I have fed a margin, and watched carp move in to feed from behind my net, totally unaware of my presence and only a few feet from me. Billy Big Bollocks We see Anglers stomping around the water on a regular basis. Ego’s at full tilt, chests out in most instances, letting everyone know that they have arrived. This is not the way forward guys. In fact, it’s a fucking joke. These wannabe Alpha males usually go on to fill it in at their maximum casting distance with a shiny white Spomb and then attempt to cast to the spot after thrashing the water to a foam for 30 mins for good measure. The carp exit the area very swiftly, only to return once the noise has ceased and desisted, only to return after dark. (Yes, there is a place for it, but only at the right time of the day!!) This complete lack of water- craft can be rounded down to two main factors. 1. Anglers not coming from an angling background, by this we mean not having fished as kids and worked their way up. This means that water-craft has not been learned and absorbed in their formative years. 2. Watching to many shit Carp Fishing programmes. Carp love the Margins. (End of debate). Tip. Try not to hang your rods over the margin, they stick out like sore thumbs, the rods cast shadows over the clear margin shelf / water and the carp know that you are there. The minute that they know your there, you lose! There is no real science to margin fishing, carp will always move into the warmest part of a water, a carp’s favourite temperature is 27c ish. They are a warm water species, so a shallow margin on a new warm wind, is something which they adore. This is not news, or it should not be, it’s not rocket science we are not attempting to land carp on Mars! Carp big and small will always try and be where angers are not, nice, quiet, still, areas where they can feed slowly, and feel safe from predation is where you will find them. So, seek out a quiet margin shelf, with a little cover in a still area of a lake, on a warm new wind and you are in with a serious shot.

The Mindset It is unbelievably simple to do this in practice. If you observe movement in a tree lined, margin area, devoid of anglers, chuck your kit onto your trolley and move. Quietly without all the usual drama. Simply can’t be arsed. OK, if you are out for a day or weekend in nature, mellowing out after a hard week at work, and catching a carp is secondary to the experience, a by-product. I’m with you brother, put your feet up, absorb the silence open a tin, read a book, relax. Exhale, good for you. For those of you who are trying to beat your PB or would love to catch something to tell the missus & kids about or to show the lads down the pub, you will need be on your game. Setting up every piece of tackle which you own, looking like something form the latest tackle exhibition will help you to blank regularly. Because the hassle of packing up and moving keeps you anchored to the platform in 99% of cases for most people. The benefits of moving, to showing fish, out way the costs always. You ain’t moving if you look like a stall from the excellent ‘Northern Tackle Show’ brother. Bait On baits. Bloodworm, tiger-nut-bits, hemp, corn, “CASTERS’ maggots. Drop a small palm full of your chosen bait under overhanging trees, reed-lined banks, lily pads, clear golden glowing gravel patches or holes in large weed beds and it could and sometimes does happen, very, very quickly indeed. Sit on you rods always, there is no excuse for not being on your rods at any time. Watch the tip pull round and the spool spin. If you do not need your bite alarms, then do not use them in this fishing situation. You will need them at night, obviously. Dow! The key is stealth and silence. If you can stay under the radar and undetected by your quarry you may find carp feeding on your margin spots very confidently indeed within minutes sometimes instantly. You moved to them; they are already there waiting for you. KISS = Keep It Simple, Stupid! The rigs you choose for your margin fishing on the whole should be simple, and mechanically effective rigs. Ensure that they are mechanically sound. Short hair rigs or blow back rigs are perfect, often you can see your rig in the clear water, so there can be no excuse for not having the best presentation possible, which always helps. Some rigs which are tangle prone during a long cast are perfect in the margin. The Recoil Rig / Bungy Rig springs instantly to mind. It’s a devastatingly effective rig which can tangle on a long cast, but it’s perfect for the margin. Nash trigger Link has been around for years. In general, it’s snubbed by many a budding carp angler. It comes into its own in the margin, where carp have a habit of bolting through sheer panic. Light leads can be used in this fishing situation, which makes them harder to see, lock your drag up nice and tight, I rarely use a lead heavier than 2oz in the margin. Be prepared for the carp to react very aggressively to being hooked so close to what they assumed was safety. They normally lunge and roll hard from the off. Be brave, try not to back wind unless things get reeeealy scary. In conclusion Keep the noise down to zero, do everyone a favor including yourself. Shut up for a few hours… Be stealthy, stay away from the madness of the crowd. (I know it’s tempting to let your ego get the best of you. Having spent all that money on your kit. You want to show your kit off to the whole lake. But it’s not a ‘Dick Swinging’ competition guys. The stuff on the bank is not actively fishing. Its total bollocks and pure vanity, we all struggle with it from time to time. In reality it not necessary, its pure Ego and we have funded someone’s new Range Rover FFS! It’s the last 12 inches of your terminal tackle which is the critical actively fishing part). Hang onto your margin rod, singular…..It’s a game changer! TT.