Do French carp feed off the surface?


Simon Rooney wrote: 
 Could you please find out for me if the fish at Hideaway feed off the surface as I have found out that some lakes in France don’t.
 
 Hi Simon,

Generally speaking peole have the impression that carp don’t take of the surface in France. This is of course rubbish. However this idea means that very few people try…. those that do may give it a go but soon get discouraged and give up.

On most waters it takes time for the fish to get switched on to a floating bait and recognise it as food. It will therefore take some perseverance from your part at Hideaway to get them going on floaters…. To my knowledge no one has taken fish off the top there, but this doesn’t mean it can’t be done.

I would suggest that you take some floating pellets (to my mind far better than dog biscuits) and when you find some fish on the surface you feed continually until they start to take them…I’d use a small pop up as the hook bait as it is far easier to put on a hook than either pellets or biscuits

If you persist I reackon on this type of water it will work….most people will site happily all week with a boilie out, but how many continue all week with a floater out…

Check out this video with Shaun Harrison on floater fishing:
Regards, Gareth

Comments

2 thoughts on “Do French carp feed off the surface?

  1. Pat Gillett says:

    Hi all,
    It will be nice to see how Simon gets on with the floater approach on Hideaway as in all the time i have been going to France i have never caught or seen fish caught from the very surface of the lake.
    I put this down to the fact that nearly all french fish are farm bred and as such are fed with sinking pellets. Therefore they are not used to feeding off the surface and do not associate these surface items as being a food source.

    If you were fishing these French lakes regularly throughout a season then i have no doubt that you could wean the fish onto the surface baits by feeding plenty of them. But i doubt whether you will do it a 1 week visit. If you could then you will get some terrific sport because the fish will not be used to being caught off the surface and will be easy to catch.

    Just a thought but maybe the fishery owners could feed surface pellets throughout the warm weather to wean the fish onto them, thus giving their customers another avenue of carp fishing to go at.

    I know we had a discussion on this very question between us bait consultants on the Quest baits website (last year), and i am sure that none of us had taken French fish by surface fishing. Some have fell at mid-water etc to Zyg rigs but never directly off the surface.

    Give it a go and good luck Simon. Let us know how you get on.

    Cheers,
    Pat

  2. Big Ron says:

    Hi Pat …have you seen Tony Davies Patricks dvd on France ?? we actualy filmed at Gareths lakes a couple of years back, both me and him catching them off the top …this is not the first lake I have had them off the surface in France.

    Ron

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