Carp margin fishing

A lot of my fishing is on big reservoirs and lakes where the depth in these places can be huge so margin fishing is often the best place to get a bite. In fact the margins of any water are often the best place to get a bite, but are often over looked by anglers. Countless times I have seen anglers casting to the horizon or plonking one in the middle when all along the fish are right under there rod tips. Here are a few tips for making your margin fishing more successful.

Be quiet

It is probably the most important factor in near margin fishing. If you are not quite you are likely to spook any fish you had a chance of catching. Look for signs of fish before introducing free offerings or a baited rod. Set your rods and kit up away from the water and introducing them very carefully.

Camouflage

Don’t under estimate the impact of concealing yourself from the fish. Setting up your self away from the waters edge and taking cover. Some anglers even go for the camouflage net to aid concealment of bivvies and tackle in close quarters.

Precise bait placement

A huge benefit of margin fishing is the advantage of been able to place your hookbait as a perfectly formed trap, instead of the luck of the draw after casting a rig out. I have used many techniques here such as positioning the bait on an exact patch of the bottom within the swim by lowering the hookbait into place of sometimes delivering bait and rig via a pole and bait spoon. I have sometimes even cleaned a patch of the bottom in the margin and placed my rig by hand. I have to say this type of fishing does wanders for your confidence, as you know you are perfectly in position for the take.

Easy baiting and pre-baiting

I love margin fishing because it gives me such confidence narrowing down my fishing variables. Baiting is another example as it is very easy to bait up a margin. Often as I can I will try to pre-bait a margin spot some time before I fish it, but even if that is not possible it is very easy to introduce baits by hand while margin fishing. Small bait traps covering your concealed rig can be very productive.

Observation

Make sure you have your Polarised sunglasses with you. Use the fact you are fishing in the margin at such close range to your advantage and stay alert. Climb a tree and get above the margin you are fishing if possible. This will give you a bird’s eye view of everything, observing fish feeding and their behavior in your swim. This is crucial knowledge and can often mean you can change a rig or bait to suit the fish having seen rejection, however make sure you can get down quickly and safely, as getting a run when up a tree is NOT a laughing matter.

Concealment

Hiding your end tackle and line as much as possible is a must when margin fishing. I find that matching your rig components to the margin bottom colour helps to disguise you rig. Make sure that your line is pinned hard to the bottom with a Leadcore, tubing or leader. Fish slack lines will ensure your line follows the contours of the bank, this often means fishing your rods at an acute angle to the bank and placing the rod tip delivering the line very close to the bank side.

Mobility

Sometimes if possible I will pre-bait a few spots with the view to fishing one or two of them on a session. Often this approach is compared to stalking however I would differentiate this approach as its more about playing the percentages just to get a bite.

In conclusion margin fishing is great, I love it. OK it may not have the appeal to some who love to launch a bait 100 yards or more, but in terms of what you will learn about a water and its inhabitants it is second to none.