Angling Lines Blog

 Have you ever caught a carp, weighed it accurately and then a few days later the same fish is caught weighing 2 to 3 lb heavier by another angler.

Watch some of the angling video’s on the internet web sites and you can witness for yourself, examples of fish being weighed in-correctly.

I have in fact caught a feeding fish at 9.30 am and returned the fish for it to be caught later at around 11.30pm that evening by another angler, weighing in at an extra 3lb. Do you think that is possible? No! It is not. So why do anglers claim these exaggerated weights. Is it ignorance, self esteem, or simply knowingly cheating?

 

Let’s first of all go into the basics of what is required to land and weigh that trophy carp.

• Adequate sized landing net.
• Large enough unhooking mat
• Large weigh sling
• Good accurate weighing scales
• Firm and sturdy weighing location (If possible).

 

How to add those few pounds to your trophy carp.

1/.To add at least 1lb 8oz to the weight of your fish, support the scales from the bottom, this will guarantee an over exaggerated weight. All fishing scales are designed to be supported from the hook or handle on top of the scales.

2/. Zero your scales without the weigh sling being soaked in water prior to placing the fish in for the final weighing, or better still zero the scales without the weigh sling. Both these options can add a further 1 to 3 lbs in weight to your final weigh in. You might not think this happens, it does and it will carry on doing so. 

Correct procedure for weighing a fish. 

1. Suspend the scales by the upper most point which should be a handle or metal loop.
2. Thoroughly wet the weigh sling.
3. Place the wetted weigh sling on the lower hook of the scales and zero the scales.
4. Remove the sling from the scales and safely place the fish into the sling.
5. Secure the sides of the sling and return the sling back to the hook at the bottom of the scales.
6. Support the scales from the uppermost point and weigh your fish. 

Follow these simple rules prior to weighing each fish, and we should all have a correct picture of what our fish weigh. 

Paul Cooper

 

Tags: Accommodation, Carp Fishing, Paul Cooper, Suspend, video

Phil Parker wrote:
Hi there,
I am off to Island lake in September and I’m hoping that anyone could give me some advice on fishing this venue. Rigs, baits (Quest shelf or fresh), swims etc and do the all the cabins have electric in them.  Any help or advice would be appreciated.

Hi Phil,
I fished Island Lake for a couple of nights last August and caught carp to 54lb. Unfortunately I had to cut my trip short due to an accident. However, I will be returning there at the end of this month so should be able to give you much more up to date information then.
I caught three carp the first morning (a upper 30, a 40 and a 50) all from close range after spotting them bubbling.  These were on very light scatterings of tiny baits (broken and crumbed boilie bits). The first fish – the 54 I had seen bubbling and wasn’t 100% it was a fish causing it so rather than drop a rig straight on it I scattered a bit of bait to the side of it. The bubbling moved straight onto the bait. I then got a rod ready and carefully positioned it with the minimum of disturbance to the side of the new bubbling then scattered more bait over that. Read more »

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