Hook Baiting Tactics for Catching Carp in France
Following his hugely popular slack lines and running rigs video, Duncan de Gruchy is back at Oakview Lake to show his hook baiting tactics.
Duncan de Gruchy details the two simple carp rigs he takes with him on his carp fishing holidays in France. See the video or read the details here.
Baiting Approach When Carp Fishing
Duncan starts the video by explaining his general approach to baiting when he starts a carp fishing session. He starts with very small amounts until he catches his first fish. Suddenly, one of Duncan's slack-line rods screams off. In the video observant viewers will see a rod tip dipping urgently half a second before Duncan is up and on it with a casual "OK here we go"
Less than 5 minutes into filming and Duncan has a 30lb carp on the bank. The fish came on a single pink pop up, which was cast out attached to a lightly crushed 18mm boilie in PVA. Duncan's pink boilie can be seen clearly one inch inside the carp's mouth - a perfect hook hold!
Basic Carp Fishing Rigs
Duncan only brings two basic rigs for carp fishing in France and the components are exactly the same for both a pop up rig and a bottom bait rig. He simply removes the split shot on the combi-link knot to use it as a bottom bait rig.
Carp Fishing Simple Pop Up Rig
The components for the simple pop up rig demonstrated in the video are:
- 12lb flurocarbon
- Combi-link section
- Very small length of braid
- Small split shot to help hold it down
- Tiny PVA bag tied on to help avoid tangles
Adding PVA to the Pop Up Rig
The boilie used in the PVA is a single Baitcraft T1 boilie. It has a soft texture, which allows it to be crushed. After crushing the boilie slightly, attach the PVA to the hook avoiding the PVA knot, which takes longest to dissolve.
Carp Run on Bottom Bait Rig
Just as Duncan completes his demonstration of the pop ip rig, he's into a run on his bottom bait rod.
Carp Fishing Simple Bottom Bait Rig
The basic components of the rig shown in the video are 12lb florocarbon, a combi-link and a short length of braid. The short piece of braid allows the single boilie to spin 360 degrees. There is no need for any kind of tubing with this rig.
A single 15mm bottom bait and a small barrel-shaped pop up form a snowman rig. It's attached to a blow-back rig and a small rubber stop is used to adjust its position.
How to Use Fox Rapide Solid Bag System
In the video Duncan demonstrates how he uses the Fox Rapide Solid Bag system to surround the hook bait with small pellets and a crushed 18mm boilie. He tops the bag up with finely crushed boilies.
The next step is to twist the bag gently, whilst holding the top as demonstrated here.
Once the bag is twisted shut, push it right through until it comes out the other side, as shown here.
Finally, lick and tap the corners of the bag to help with accurate casting.
How to Cast Out Running Rigs
The first step is to put the sleeve over the swivel.
When casting out with a running rig, the PVA bag could float up. The way to overcome this is to take a small piece of foam and put it around main line near the hook link. First wetting the edges slightly and then pinching it tight. This holds the rig and the bag long enough to position it. Once the foam melts, it turns back into a running rig.
The finished article is now ready to cast out.
The Most Frequently Asked Question
Duncan de Gruchy has once again shown in great detail some carp fishing tactics that can be used in France. This time he has revealed his baiting secrets. From the thousands of viewers who have already watched Duncan's videos, the most frequently asked question is "what carp fishing reels does Duncan use?" The reels Duncan is using are Shimano 10000XTA Magnesiums.
