Carp Fishing Equipment

Rods - Reels and Lines - Rigs and Leads

RODS

By Jeff Vaughan

There are special problems with carp fishing at Long Sault. I know I keep banging on about it, but the carp here do fight much harder than any other carp I have caught. Visitors from other parts of Canada always say the LS fish fight harder than their local fish, and every foreign visitor confirms these are not like European fish. Couple this with the fact you are fishing over rocks covered with razor sharp mussle beds and often in fast running water, you can work out for yourself you need pretty heavy gear.

I am the original tackle tart so have more rods than Tiger Woods has golf clubs, and like Tiger use different rods for different circumstances. When the big fish are running, or I am in the fast water I use 3.5 t/c rods, when it is very hot in the summer and a lot of smaller carp are about, I am down to 2.75 t/c and for most of my fishing use 3lb t/c rods. If I could have only one rod it would be a good 12ft 3lb t/c with a fairly fast action, but a softish tip. It is difficult to explain an action in words, but what I am saying is there are 3 lb t/c rods AND 3lb t/c rods. You want a soft tip because of hook pulls, but plenty of backbone to lean into the bigger fish. For sure you don’t want a “casting tool.” Out and out casting rods are horrible on a fish as most are very stiff right through to the tip. You will almost never need to cast more than 70 yards and often as little as 20 to 30 yards. It goes without saying the rods we sell in the shop and hire out have been selected with Long Sault in mind, but any decent modern purpose built carp rod will normally do the job. As to brand names, the list is endless, and they are updating the models every year, so I see no point in naming names. As with all tackle, the best you can afford is always good advice. I have worked in tackle shops since I was 13 years old so if you want to ask specific questions I will always answer honestly.

For the locals, you can of course fish with your medium to heavy spinning rods. We can show you the rigs and methods and you will hook a lot of carp. You will also lose a lot of carp !! North American angling has evolved to suit repeated casting often from a boat, for this reason your rods are generally much shorter and lighter in weight. Carp fishing is about sitting and waiting and not loosing opportunities when they come. The longer rods cast further, pick up line faster (to hook a fish at distance) but most important at Long Sault the longer rods allow you to increase the angle between you and the fish to keep the line higher in the water and away from the rocks/mussles. Simply you will experience many more cut offs when using short rods.

Rods - Reels and Lines - Rigs and Leads