Advanced Carp Magazine

Advanced Carp Fishing says: Firstly, it sounds like you are on to a winner by being allowed to fish such a place. This is a tricky one because there are so many things you can do and so many ways you could approach it.

Try baiting a few marginal spots with baits such as sweetcorn, chopped tigers and a bit of hemp. This is quite a visual mix and so easy to keep on eye on to see if it's being eaten. It's also cheap and will allow you to regularly bait the swims without costing you a fortune.

Prebaiting in this manner will, importantly, build the carp’s confidence in feeding on your bait and in these areas, theoretically making them easier to catch. Try fishing a couple of grains of pop-up, plastic corn, or a critically balanced tiger nut over your free offerings.

Keeping your lines pinned down will also be hugely advantageous because the fish will probably have seen very little, if any, lines or rigs and so be extremely wary of them.

The main thing is to try not to disturb the carp too much and alert them to your presence. Refrain from making multiple casts, keep quiet and stay back from the water's edge, particularly if fishing the margins.