Snag Fishing for Carp
Writing about snag fishing is difficult for me as I always have the worry that people will fish real jungle type areas without really thinking about what they are doing; always tempting when you are struggling and the fish are blatantly there! Saying that, a lot of snag areas aren’t really feeding areas – the fish just go there for a ‘rest’ and you can bet you aren’t going to be the first person to fish it!
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If you are going to fish snags then consider a few things:
- Is your tackle up to it?
- Can you get the end tackle to the spot easily enough?
- Have you got a realistic chance of landing the fish?
Braid or Mono? One part of me wants to say braid as the lack of stretch will give you more chance of stopping the fish, but if you do snap off it's not ideal to have the fish towing braid through a snag.
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I usually use a weaker hooklength – usually mono - no more than 10lb because it will give the fish a better chance of snapping the link if you do snap off, and if you can’t stop a fish with a 10lb link, you probably won't with a 15lb one.
It’s also one of the only times I’ll use a barbless hook (unless forced by the rules) purely because the fish has more chance of shedding it quickly if you do lose it. Make sure you use a decent, strong pattern. Short shanked ones are normally best for it, or hooks like the original Nash Fangs and Gardner Mugga’s (current favourite).
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I’m not a great fan of lead clips, most don’t work properly and being cynical I like how certain manufacturers that also make overpriced leads want you to lose a lead every time you cast out! But if you are fishing close to bad weed/snags it can help. I doctor my clips so the lead will fall off – indeed the lead only stays on as it's tied on with pva and invariably its inside a pva bag! I just don’t trust the rubbers that most systems use. I also use sea leads as they are a fraction of the cost of 'carp' ones.
There are two ways to set the rod up – either pointing directly at the snag, or at 90° to it. If you are going to set at 90°, then it’s useful to put a spare bankstick next to the rod to stop it twisting off the buzzer on the take – you want to limit the amount the fish can move as much as possible. Obviously you are going to be fished 'locked up' with the clutch as tight as possible, and I’ve never decided which is better – pointing the rod directly at the snag gives a little less movement and slightly better indication, but I always seem to prefer the rod to be at 90° - no idea why!
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One time I was fishing recently a guy was set up in the hot swim and was complaining he kept losing fish in the snags. I noticed he had his baitrunners on. When I asked him why he said it was so he didn’t lose the rod on the take if he was asleep….. if you are going to fish snags, you have to be alert and stay close to the rods or you aren’t going to land fish – easy as that.
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At night, you don’t have to fish as tight, the fish will normally move out so its worth baiting a little spot a few yards from it, or fish short of the snag – but keep it locked up as it will take you longer to get to the rod. Have a really good close look at the snags if possible and get a plan of action in your head – like keeping the rod at right angles to the swim and walking backwards, don’t let the fish get any speed up or you’ll lose. And obviously if the snags look too bad, don’t fish them!
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