One of the most exciting methods of Carp Angling for me is Stalking creeping around the bankside spotting Carp from up trees and bushes, watching them feed and behave not only is very exciting to watch it allows you to be able to target one particular carp form a group even. Its perfect, if like me you have many commitments work family etc, you can grab a couple of hours in the evening after work and achieve some great results I highly recommend giving it ago.

First of all before I get into how exactly I prefer to go after Carp using this method here is a brief look at some of the essential stalking tackle and kit.

The most obvious tip is to travel light specially if you are going to cover a large water, you will need a light rod I tend to use a soft rod, in most cases a 2 ¾ pound test curve rod and balance it up with a smaller reel with 10 pound line - if your fishing in weed I’d step it up to 151b. A good landing net which is easy to set up along side an unhooking mat, there are some really good ones on the market that are compact but still very protective for the fish, much easier to carry about than some of the larger ones. A good pair of Polarised glasses a must for spotting Carp, they allow you to see right down to bottom on clear waters. keep quite inconspicuous try and blend in with back ground there are number of companies producing camouflaged clothing in many different patterns try and match the conditions your fishing in. A good small ruck sack or large waist bag to keep all your bait and tackle in, a big tip is take plenty of water for yourself if the weathers hot a weary anglers is a noisy one. Only take essential tackle like scissors hook length a small amount of leads, hooks and terminal tackle including floats. Don't be tempted to take the kitchen sink, trust me you'll never use it.

 "The most obvious tip is to travel light"

Now of course you can float fish for them and is for me one of the best ways to indicate every knock and liner, but you can also disturb the fish setting your float to get the correct depth. I prefer to use lockslide floats the ones I use are made by Polaris I use these because what ever depth you are fishing in the will set correctly with as little disturbance aspossible. You don’t need to use a heavy lead, a Small 1 ½ ounce lead in this case, this will give you enough weight to get you out to the desired distance and set the float. Heavy leads will only cause too much commotion and spook the fish, the stealth approach is always best.

 "Don't be tempted to take the kitchen sink"

Don't be tempted to take the kitchen sink trust me you'll never" use it. For a hookbait I’m using plastic imitation sweetcorn and what I usually do is clip on a very small PVA bag with pellets and corn to give a nice tight feeding area this also helps to prevent tangles. Now don’t be too quick to get your bait in if the fish are there and close in,casting out will often cause the fish to move on, a great tip which I always use is to scatter some hemp on top of the fish wait for them to drift out then lower you rig in gently this will allow the float to cock and for you to get settled and and give the Carp no reason to suspect anything they’ll always usually come back and investigate sooner or later.

Terminal tackle wise keep it simple whatever you do, don’t be tempted to you use rig tubing or any unnecessary bits of kit, these will often scare the fish and don’t add any real benefit. Running lead 10 1b mono or Fluro Carbon hooklink, these are the most subtle and transparent and are very difficult for the fish to see. Medium hook size 6 /8, long shank or wide gape , slightly bigger if you are fishing in weed or near snags, chances are at close range your tackle will feel a stern test so check your knots and clutches before you even think of lowering your rig in.

One thing I say when you’re stalking the key element is if they see you they’ll go so you have got to keep low, I’m on high bank here and I would say as soon as they see my silhouette, they’ll bolt out of the swim. So keep down at all times and don’t move quickly its sudden movements and vibrations will scare them. A great baiting tactic is to feed bait into multiple areas, a bit like a Barble or Chubb angler would on a river, this gives you much more scope in terms of chances of a number of bites, getting to know the inhabitants movements will allow you to set baited traps where you can target the fish as they move through their known areas.

Often the best places to stalk carp is when they are just out of site a few rod lengths out, you'll know they are there from the obvious signs of bubbling and tail patterns clouded water etc, but they can't see you, a perfect situation for a quick bite. A great but sometimes over looked bait for when you find a group of feeding carp is a good old fashoined lob worm especially whilst they are grubbing around the bottom, this will be a natural food source and give them no reason not to take the bait, they probably won't realise that have picked up a hookbait until its too late. "the stealth approach is always best with these types of tactics". There’s nothing better then watching the fish move in over your bait watching the float rise every time one comes close to your hookbait.

On warmer days when there’s nothing doing out in the middle or you can't see any sign of them, try and trim down the tackle and get on the move you never know you might surprise yourself and pick up a quick bite or two. I hope this article has the desired effect and wetted your appetite for giving stalking ago; it really is the most exciting method for me and can become quite addictive.

Tight lines all the best, Frank.