Lee ‘Mozza’ Morris, reveals 10 of his very best tips to help you catch more carp off of the surface!
Tip 1- Get On The Right Lines
One mistake I see a lot of anglers make is in their choice of main line and hook link materials. The single most important property of both should be that they float. A sinking line is absolutely not suitable, and for a couple of reasons. If the line sinks it becomes more visible and detectable to the carp, but it also ruins your presentation. By sinking, the distance between your float and hook bait becomes reduced, dragging the hook bait unnaturally, which will almost certainly make the carp extremely cautious of it. By smearing a tiny amount of Vaseline on your hook link you can get it sitting right on the surface, but you should certainly start off with a floating line anyway.
Tip 2 - Go Small On Hooks
It’s no good trying to create a subtle surface presentation and then ruining it with a great big hook. Unless you’re wrapping it in a big chunk of bread flake or crust, small hooks are the way to go. I use Fox’s Zig & Floater hook in a size 10, which are specifically made with a slightly lighter wire, but retaining plenty of strength and a super-sharp point. The hook holds can be breathtaking with these, as you’ll see from the pictures shot on a recent trip to Farlow’s Lake for this feature.