Hi, I’m Matt, fishery manager, engineer and passionate carp angler. This channel is about helping you catch carp with in-depth tutorials.
I’ve been carp fishing since I was a boy. In 2011, I bought my own lake in France, Beausoleil Carp and Cats. It’s a 4 acre estate lake and half of the stock has been fished for for 20 years, so our carp are very good at spitting rigs! Over the years, the lake has helped me improve my skills and create some of my own tricks to fool a wily carp.
Between my own fishing, my experience as a fishery manager and meeting hundreds of anglers, I have continued to learn about our craft and about all those details that can transform a session.
As well as the free videos on this channel, I offer one-on-one tuition by video call. I also run tutorial sessions for guests visiting the lake where I share all my tips that not only work wonders at Beausoleil but will make you an even better angler wherever you fish.
Bullshit, been doing it for years with running rigs and leadclips... You are mistaking your own OCD for necessity. It's far from necessary to use inlines.
I only fish in rivers, in pretty extreme conditions, with a very strong current, often with 280 grams of lead. For a few years now, my rigs have been made exclusively with normal 0.40 nylon and I wouldn't change it for any reason 💪
The reset function and the throwing abilities are a true point, but me personal i stick to 15lb braided. But i drive boats for distance and dont have to throw rigs alot.
Hi there, I use whichever hooklink (0.35 to 0.50) is adequate for where I’m fishing. If the lake bottom is quite clean, I use zig flo in 12 or 15lbs. If there’s lots of weed or rocks or mussels, I use mono snag leader in 0.50mm. It’s all about what you’re fishing over.
To answer the question, I think so. It might be anti eject but it has a high degree of anti inject as well especially if the fish approaches the bait from the swivel or lead side. Far better to use a combi rig made with a coated braid or boom material with a very short section of braid tied with an Albright know or similar. I'm not anti stiff rigs, I tired them ad fished them alongside combi rigs when they first became popularised by Mike Kavanagh and the combi rig invariably got moore takes than the totally stiff rigs. Even Mike has moved across to coated braids these days.
Silly question - How does this work with a pop up? Or is this primarily for a bottom bait? My thought was that with a pop up, the hook would still lay flat? Or is this purely for a clean bottom? Thanks 👍
Hi there, you could if you wanted but it’s a stiff hooklink so it’d be a very low popup. I don’t bother with popups or wafters anymore, they don’t catch me more fish. The rig is designed and works great with bottom baits 😊 It’s all I need.
It depends on what mainline I’m using. If I’m using 40lb braid for river carping with a 40lb leader, the weak point is the hooklink. If I’m using light mainline because I’m fishing at range, then the weak point is the mainline. I have different setups for different waters and situations.
Hi mate, carp safety is always my top priority at my lake and at any venue. I choose my hooklink based on where I’m fishing and I fish a setup where I can keep the lead and where the fish is as safe as possible if my mainline breaks or if my lead gets trapped. If there’s a break in the mainline, the fish will be trailing mainline, not the lead because I fish running rigs, but I use barbless hooks so the fish can quickly get rid of the hook and the mainline. I also make sure that the mainline and the leader are ‘over spec’ed’ for the job and every knot is force tested.
To have confidence that your rig is always fishing and not tangled is a big deal for me.....and it is a lot cheaper that all these spools of coated braid that we are convinced we must have and will catch us more fish!
Absolutely, no need for expensive dedicated hooklinks, mono hooklinks are cheap and strong. I use the Nash mono snag leader in 0.50 a lot in my fishing for this rig: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Rr4paU5B_r4.html
Hi mate, I wouldn’t use any curved shank hook with this rig. You might catch a few but the effective gape is too narrow, I explain this in detail here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-0GRf-2Qf404.html
The fishery was overstocked when we bought it but the stock levels have been stable since we adjusted the biomass. All the info is on our website. We have weekly catch reports for the last 10 years and the fish galleries are also updated every week: www.frenchcarpandcats.com/fish-gallery-archive/summer-2024/
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He mate awesome video´s keep up the good work! I fish a lot on the France Rivers where i prefer claw hooks because of the stones... Is this rig also good with a claw or only a twister hook?
Hi there, I use the Nash chod twisters on the French rivers all the time. It’s a myth that beaked point hooks are better over gravel than a straight point, gravel damages all hook points. I use the chod claws with 0.60 mono for the mono hair rig because the eye is larger than the twisters. The shank of the claws is a bit small for the ‘deadly d’ rig for me.
What is the name of that piece of rubber you put on your hook and what does it help with? So far i only tied banded hair rigs, but never with the piece of rubber on the hook
Hi there, I use a small hook bead or a little 0.5mm blowout tube to kick the hair out and stop the wraps of the hair coming loose. Full tutorial in this video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-LzFina92brM.html
Loving in-line setups that are semi fixed in pva bags. Violent takes on a kd rig. I’ve been also using running leads and German rigs. Semi slack and it seems to work if you take time to sink the line. The less complicated for the better.
Hi mate, running rigs can be fished with a tight line, back leads, semi slack or fully slack line. What’s important is a semi tight clutch. I’m using the clutch and the elasticity of the mono to hook the fish. If you use a running rig with a loose clutch, you won’t hook the carp and they can be gone by the time you get to the rod.
Just want to say a massive thankyou i used your simple mono rigs today and caught my third biggest fish only 17.6 but still made me very happy nailed centre bottom lip now for a 20 😂👍🏻 keep up the great content just wanted you to know you are really helping other anglers with your knowledge ,all the best 👍🏻
I switched over to the Nash pinpoints a couple of years ago, the Korda hooks let me down badly, lost quite a few fish. Tend to use the Chod Twister, however, size 6 with 15mm bait but size 8 with 12mm baits. Plenty sharp enough for me right out of the packet. I did notice on one pack I purchased a while back that the eye wasn't fully formed on 2 of the hooks and there was a large gap. Returned for a new packet, but always worth checking. Great video mate, it's good to apply our engineering inquisitive brain to our angling 😊
I like the fact you can also use the same components to tie a Heli Rig if needed. This makes it very convenient in my eyes. It reduces the amount of components, to cover the same range of situations. Greetings from a subscriber from South Gemany ✌🏼🙂
Hi, Matthew, you did very clear explanatory video. No dought Drig is one of the best bait presentations. Let me ask you why Himalayan salt? Is sea salt any good? Or it will distract fish from bait? Why salt is so attracted to carps?
Hi there, salt is an essential mineral for all living creatures including carp. It’s not naturally available in fresh water but the fish can find it in small quantities on the lakebed. Pre and post spawning will be the time when their salt requirements are at their highest. Female carp use salt to release their eggs and post spawning they'll need salt to replenish their system. You can use table salt or Himalayan salt, up to you, Himalayan salt includes a wide range of nutrients. It doesn’t distract fish from bait, it’s an attractor. Cheers, Matt
Hi mate love the content always great watch . Do you think the mono on the hair is better than having a braided hair or a ring or swivel on hook ? Thanks
Hi mate, there’s no simple answer: this is better than this, it’s all about the situation. I fish a supple braided hair rig if I’m fishing solid PVA bags or rowing rigs out. If I’m casting, I use a simple mono rig (mono hair or mono d) made from 0.35 to 0.60 mono, because these rigs are naturally anti tangle. I don’t use rings or swivels sliding on the shank of the hook as I don’t believe they add anything to the rig mechanics. You’re adding something that’s not necessary and in the worse case, if done wrongly, you could make your rig less effective.
Hi Craig, not really, you've got the same challenges now as any other time of year. Fish location gets a bit more difficult because they're less likely to show, and flow rates are going to increase which will make fishing at range more difficult.
My rig box is full of rigs now. I've learnt a lot of rigs from your channel and been catching on them! Might need to purchase a couple of foam boards too!
Signal crayfish have been in French rivers for decades. I once caught 200 signal crayfish in 2 hours in France in the Albi area. Fantastic eating but deadly for native species. The largest one I caught was 22cm long!
I think carp will have a feed up but not as much as people think they don't need to as bait goes in 12 months a year on waters these days and good quality bait unlike years ago . Plus do we really get cold winters anymore definitely think autumn/winter fishing has changed 😊😊
Very little sunlight gets through to the bottom of the lake so there's no glint unless you're fishing a crystal clear stream 12'' deep. The application of hook grease dulls any shine anyway.
