Regardless of your experience as an angler the responsibility of Carp Care and Fish Safety falls amongst us all equally, it’s imperative we all take upmost care to preserve the health wellbeing of our carp, ultimately this will ensure the longevity and prosperity of sport and future enjoyment for all.
Nets/Mats– When fishing for carp a minimum of 36 inch landing net and large padded unhooking mat must be available and in use at all times, please ensure mats and nets are set up and in position prior to casting in any baited rigs. At no point should any carp regardless of size be placed on any surface other than on unhooking mat.
Unhooking/Handling/Photos– In the event of a capture it’s good practice for all carp anglers to be in possession of a ‘carp care kit’ so any hook holds or sores can be treated prior to the fish being returned. We all like to take photos as a momentum of a special capture but please ensure no fish are held standing up, you must be knelt holding the fish over an unhooking mat to minimise risk to the carp if accidentally dropped. When returning carp they should all be returned in a landing net or weigh sling, no carp should be carried and returned by hand in any situation.
Rig Safety – In the event a hooked fish is broken off the fish must be able to drop the lead ensuring the fish is not tethered. Some of our waters contain dense weed and a carp trailing a lead and long leader could be potentially fatal. We would ask that when choosing lead systems that all members opt for lead clip systems, in-line & Helicopter arrangements. With lead clips please ensure the tail rubber is not pushed on to hard allowing the lead to eject if needed. With in-line & Helicopter set ups please ensure there are no objects preventing either the lead or hooklink from passing over the leader, if the mainline is broken the lead or hooklink must pass over the leader at all times. At no point should any leader be attached to the mainline by a swivel as shown in the diagram.
