Carp Care - A Guide

Carp Care - A Guide BY Jeff Hall (ADMIN)

In the following article, I am going to give some advice on the handling of carp as already I've seen some photos/vids uploaded with some poor Carp Care taking place in them.

Hopefuly we can educate and change some anglers behaviour here on this forum rather than just slating Anglers who arent aware of how to care for their captures.

There are a few basic pieces of equipment that any Carp Angler will need when they visit any water, and in fact they are compulsory on many waters. These are

1. A landing net of a reasonable size,
2. Unhooking mat,
3. Weigh sling
4. Scales if you intend to weigh your quarry, which most of us do. I will talk about each piece of equipment in turn: -
5. Carp Care kit

To be continued

Here is an old article of mine ...hope it helps

HOW TO HANDALE LARGE FISH CORECTLY


I Think that every angler who reads this article, would not knowingly mishandle their much priced capture, but unfortunately on many of my trips abroad I have regularly seen it happen, mainly because fishing on the content will set you a different set of problems you must overcome when you are handling very big carp which can be encountered when fishing the big lakes and reservoirs on the continent. These large continental fish will present any anglers who are on their first ever trip abroad with a totally different set of problems when it comes to weighing, handling, sacking and finally photographing the fish of a lifetime. Through personal experience and observation, I have observed that the handling of the larger carp properly is an area that you must be equipped to deal with, particularly ( if it is your first time abroad ).

Employing the right tactics plus using the correct equipment is a must if you are to ensure the well-being of these big continental carp.
On my last trip to France, I fished next to two fairly competent anglers who were there for the first time. On the size scale, they told me that a twenty was a good result from the waters that they fish back home. One of them had a personal best of just over twenty from one of his home waters. You can imagine the surprised look on his face, when the first take he had resulted in a massive 48lb. mirror. First of all the fish bottomed his Avon scales so he could not weigh it correctly. Second, his unhooking mat was totally inadequate and the head and tail of the carp overhung at each end. It was fortunate for him and his large Carp that I was there with the correct equipment and the knowledge to assist, in order to prevent any damage occurring to his fish of a lifetime.
If you are planning your first trip abroad then, hopefully, the following information will be of benefit to you and the Carp you will catch overseas. Please take it from me, some of the equipment you are currently using on your local waters to catch doubles and twenties will be totally inadequate when it comes to handling a large foreign fish, you will defiantly need to step up the specification of certain items of tackle, not only to help you handle your prey, but also to give it the full protection it should have.
I will now take you through some of the items of tackle you will need to step up for continental carping. Firstly (Landing Nets) larger fish require larger landing nets, I would recommend that you will need to fish with a larger landing net than most of us use in this country (minimum 42”) is an absolute must. My own landing net for foreign fishing is a 50" and it is kept solely for use abroad and is never used in this country. My reason for this is that I prefer not take the chance of carrying any kind of infection or disease which might be transmitted into a water in England. The net its self must collapse down totally so that I can roll the excess net around the arms, enabling me to place my rod on top of the arm’s and carry them together safely to the unhooking mat. I find this is by far the best way to handle a large fish.
Rod Hutchinson new net is a fine example of this type of net and has the two features I personally require and have mentioned above, it also has built in to it the facility to actually weigh the fish in the net after you have removed the handle. An added advantage in my book and a well thought extra for fish care .
After your have landed your fish, you should examine it thoroughly and treat any cuts, scratches or missing scales with Klinic. All anglers (whether fishing at home or abroad) should be responsible enough to carry a bottle of Klinic in their tackle box. It isn't dear and it goes a long way to keeping carp healthy.

If you do not have the new Rod Hutchinson landing net, then you will need to use a ( Weigh Slings ). As the first thing that most anglers do after landing a big carp is to weigh it. By using the right equipment and not a sling that is way to small ( which I have seen anglers do on many occasions ), you will ensure that you give the fish all the protection it needs, make sure that your sling is big enough to hold the size of fish that you will encounter abroad. This seems pretty obvious but as I have stated above I have seen anglers attempting to weigh big carp in too small a sling. It wasn't a pretty sight when, after lifting the sling containing the fish off the floor, the carp inside slid out of the one side of the sling and fell to the ground. I should not have to tell anyone what sort of damage this could cause to a large foreign fish. I also regularly make sure that the support cords on my sling are not rotten or faulty and will support the weight of a big fish. I would advise you to check all aspects of your sling on a regular basis. As over time they do wear, being constantly subjected to wet and dry conditions. Certainly, I do not want to be in the position of having sling cords break whilst weighing a very large and heavy fish. These days It is very easy to acquire one of the many dual purpose sack / sling combinations or sack / unhooking mat combinations . I think that they are an excellent idea as it cuts down on the amount of time and times you have to handle a big carp.



I tend to go over the top when acquiring unhooking mat's and the one I am using at present is 4 foot long and has six inch padding and also holds water, as far as I am concerned I much prefer to be over the top rather than take any risk of damaging the fish.
By having plenty of room on the unhooking mat, if as they some times do decide to jump about it gives them extra protection.


After you have unhooked your fish, next is the (Weighing process )
From the angler’s point of view, this is one of the most important aspects of catching a big carp. To weigh a big fish accurately, it is necessary to have a good set of scales, a set of avon's only weighing up to just over 30 lbs could leave you well short if you hook in to a big one. I would recommend that you purchase scales, such as the Nashy ones or the excellent Reuben Heatons. When using the scales, I have seen some anglers lift the scales with their hands round the outer casing. This method is totally inaccurate as scales are designed to hang and not to be lifted in this way, if not held correctly you will not acquire an accurate reading . To obtain an accurate reading, here are three methods I have used in the past of weighing your fish, not only safely, but also accurately.
Method 1, Using a T bar, this is a straight strong bar witch fixes to or through the top eye of the scales and gives you a much better grip when lifting the larger weights. It also allows the scales to hang ( this is what they are designed to do ) and it gives you a totally accurate reading.

Method 2, is to use a landing net handle and spreader block or Tripod inorder to support the scales and the weight of the fish, ( this method also allows the scales to hang correctly).

Method 3 is to find a good strong branch to hang or tie your scales to it, make sure that you select a branch that will support the weight of a big fish. I prefer these methods because it can be a possibility that if you try and lift the scales with fingers through the eye, the weight of a big fish could pull the scales out of your hands. Sacking :
If sacking is necessary after a hard fight, make sure that the sacks you have taken are large enough for those big continental carp. The ones I have already recommended will be O/K. Be aware that it is often necessary on the large lakes of France to wade out and sack fish quite a distance from the bank due to the shallow margins. Don’t forget to take your waders with you for this purpose in order to reach deep enough water. Never sack a fish in shallow water under any conditions, if you are not able to sack the fish in the correct depth of water, do not attempt to sack it.

Photography:
For me, personally, the final stage of dealing with a big fish is to take some video footage and still shots in order to give that pleasant reminder at home of the happy moment. At this stage, the fish is at its most vulnerable because, quite simply, it is going to be picked up and held and extreme care must be taken at this time. The following four methods have worked quite well for me in the past:

1) A big mat for big carp as mentioned eairler. The fish must have some leeway of movement on the mat without spilling over the edge.

2) The picture below shows my son supporting a large fish over an upturned inflateable boat. If the fish flips or gets too heavy for him, he can quite easily rest it on the boat without damage. When using this method, I find it best to deflate the boat slightly, making the material nice and soft. There would also be the slight possibility of the fish bouncing of a harder surface.



3) Rocky banks are a tremendous problem, especially in countries like Spain and the Canaries. In this situation I spread a waterproof cover over my bedchair and hold the fish over this. Also you don’t have to lift the fish so far to show it to the camera, as demonstrated below.



4) I also find that taking some video footage and still shots, posing in the water, an excellent method of protecting the fish , when conditions allow. Please be aware that I am an excellent swimmer ,so this method gives me no concerns.







That’s all for now, and I hope the above has given you some new ideas on how to handle big (or any carp for that matter) safely. The methods have served me well in the past and have safeguarded every fish that I have caught, all being returned safely. One important thing to remember is that by protecting the carp you catch now is ultimate protection for your carp in the future.

Good luck ‘till next time
Ron Woodward ( aka Big Ron )

Nice post Ron! Some good sound advice