The washing line method for carp [Avoid spooking carp]

Carp fishing on tricky waters often requires line concealment. Hiding your line from passing fish helps avoid spooking them. The washing line method helps you fish better spots, without having so much line in the water.

This tactic is used mostly on sort of smaller venues and places where you want to set a trap in the margins lower a rig in, but then you don’t want to have the line running all the way across the lake to your swim.

The washing line method revolves around suspending your line above the water until you get near your spot and then running down to the bottom where your rig is.

This means that you could fish 20 yards across there. I can put another rod down the right-hand side maybe 30 yards away. I could fish a rod all the way over left 40 yards away.

But I’ve only got a few meters of the line actually in the water running down to each of my rigs, minimizing the amount of line in the water in your swim definitely helps when the carp are very wary on pressured small waters this is where the washing line method really comes into its own.

How do you set up the washing line method?

Well, the best thing to do is just to take your lead without any rig on and cast across onto the far bank or cast down the margins or wherever your spot is going to be.

Walk around with a bank stick and on the top of that bank stick, you want to wrap an elastic band around a few times until it’s quite tightly around the top of the bank stick.

Then stick it into the ground on the edge of the water, and get it in nice and solid. Then you can find your lead, pick that up and loop it on your rig.

For this I like to use a quick chain swivel, one of these with a crook on it, which means you can loop your rig on, it just makes it a lot quicker rather than tying things up on the bank.

So once you’ve got your rig on the end you can then creep down to the margins and flick your rig out onto the spot that you want to fish. This method is best used when you’re fishing margin spots quite close to the bank.

If you want to get a little bit further out you can use a bank stick or a landing net pole as that can help swing your bait out a little bit further.

Anyway, you’ve got your rig in the water, maybe you’ve thrown a little bit of bait around it, and then you can take your line, fold it into a sort of like doubled-over loop and tuck that up underneath the elastic band.

Once that’s held in place at short range that will hold on its own, but if you’re fishing a bit further out maybe it’s a bit windy you’ll want to take a bit of grass or a reed stem and just tuck it underneath that loop that will lock it in place.

It won’t lock it so tightly that it becomes trapped, but if you catch a fish, it will draw the line out of that clip, from below the elastic band, and release the fish.

Back in your swim, position your bank stick up high, angle your rod upwards to keep your line up and off the surface of the water, and tighten it all the way up. Clip-on a heavy bobbin and you’re ready to go.

Also, read How to catch carp in a river [4 steps to catching river carp].

Fishing carp [The Washing Line Method]

You’re now fishing. You might be fishing a long distance away in a remote margin, or behind some overhanging trees, or anything, but you don’t have a lot of line running through the water, so you’re less likely to scare the fish away.

When you actually get a bite, normally the fish will just pick up the rig pull away it’ll pop out of the elastic band and your rod tip will just fall slack.

As your rod falls slack the bobbin will probably fall, you’ll get a few beeps on the alarm and then you want to grab your rod tighten the drag, or click down the bait runner and reel quickly to catch up with the fish.

Almost always the fish will just pull away and you’ll tighten up and you will hook into the fish.

It’s a method that I’ve been using lately on a particular lake to great success, these fish are super wary, of any bit of line, especially a tight line running through the water.

The fish do not like it and they’ll spook off to other parts of the lake but by utilizing this method I’ve managed to catch three or four really good carp lately and I think that keeping the line out of the water has put more fish on the bank for me.

Another thing is probably best to avoid this method if you’re fishing somewhere with loads of geese and swans. As they can sort of fly through the lines and cause havoc so it’s best used somewhere that’s reasonably quiet.

FAQs on the Washing Line Method

What is the best Color carp line?

The deep green color provides great mainline camouflage, and the low visibility clear line provides exceptional mainline camouflage in a variety of situations. One of the best fishing lines.

What is a washing line rig in the washing line method?

A ‘Washing Line’ is a succession of flies suspended at both ends of your leader that are designed to be fished off any line of your choice. Most anglers, however, use a floating, intermediate, or midge tip (short sink tip) style fly line.

How do you lead carp fishing using the washing line method?

Line up your cast as you normally would, aiming for the location you want to cast to. Make sure the lead is half the length of the rod (level with the join/spigot), as this makes compressing the rod on the cast simpler. Make sure to release the lead between 1 and 2 o’clock on a clock face when casting.

Do leads scare carp?

A straight lead appears to be the most frightening splash carp react to; sending bait out anyway isn’t too creepy.

Can carp see your line?

Carp dislike line, whether or not they can see it. Watch them swim down the edge in front of your rods, and if they detect your line, they may speed up and zoom past it, or they may turn around and go back.

What size hooks for carp?

Smaller hooks usually get more bites. Larger carp, around 30 pounds or more, will do better with hook sizes 6-2. These hooks are ideal for larger boilies. Aside from that, huge carp have a large mouth and will readily spit out a little hook, such as a size 10.

How long should a carp hook length be?

4 to 5″ (10 to 12cm) short rigs 8 to 10″ (20 to 25cms) medium rigs Long rigs are those that are longer than 10″ or 25cms.

What line is best for carp fishing?

Monofilament. Mono is an excellent choice for carp fishing mainline and may also be used for catfishing. It’s sturdy enough to absorb the lunges of even the most powerful specimens if you choose the correct diameter.

Hopefully, this article helped you. Happy fishing!