Carp tend to prefer dead maggots, and they attract less attention from silver fish. In warmer weather carp will intercept a falling bait quite readily. In colder water there is a lot to be gained by making very small lifts and drops with the hook bait. These little movements will often be enough to induce a fish to take the bait.

Carp often feed close in, right up against the bank. Next time you are fishing a carp water, try laying your tackle just a couple of inches from the bank - you will be surprised how often it works.

Dark casters are the best shade to use on the hook as their buoyancy helps to counter the weight of the hook, allowing the caster to sink naturally.

When targeting chub in commercial still waters you need to feed heavily at the beginning of the session then cut down as it continues.

When it comes to targeting stillwater chub, there is no better tool to use than the waggler float, especially in really clear water conditions.

For choppy conditions, a long float is more stable and, as a waggler is attached to the mainline bottom end only, the longer the float, the further under the water your mainline will be. This stops the float being blown out of the swim by a crosswind