How to Carp Fishing in The Weed – My Best Tips for You

I think we are all aware where carp like to go and what carp are ultimately seeking beneath the water surface.

We all know that carp fishing in the weed can be highly effective. Especially if we stay near the weeds or directly in them.

There is a very high likelihood that carp are closer and ready to eat more than you think when you take the time to effectively fish the weeds.

You can’t really blame the carp either. They feel the pressure from the anglers all year long and any spot that can offer a little more comfort, shelter and protection seems like a good pick to me too.

It’s also an incredible natural food source for the carp.

Only one problem remains. We all know these things as carp anglers, so they can no longer hide from us. Especially after we cover precisely how to be effective carp fishing in the weeds.

Let’s dive into some of the specifics on how to no longer shy away from the weed but begin to target it with confidence and ultimately start landing more carp all 12 months of the year.

Carp Fishing the Weed Based on Season and Current Climate

If you have been carp angling for very long, you know there is a big difference in when carp fishing is at peak levels and when it tends to die off. You are going to notice some of the same trends with fishing for carp in any form of weed or weeded beds.

When it’s springtime or summer, you are going to notice that the carp love the weed and will be in these areas nearly non-stop. There are much higher levels of oxygen during these months ultimately providing the carp with exactly what it’s after.

At night time, it’s going to be the exact opposite. This is when the carp will move from the weeds and head out into the water. Oxygen levels are no longer peaked at night time, and it’s no longer as desirable for the carp to have any reason to stay at this point.

Bottom fishing can be more effective after sunset.

Long story short, carp anglers need to stop worrying so much about actively targeting these areas.

It does take some practice and a bit of learning to develop, but if you are fishing during the correct times of the day and choose carefully how you present your bait, you may have your best carp fishing trip to date just by going after those weeds with a little more confidence.

Carp Fishing in Deep Weed

One of the biggest concerns that carp anglers have is the level of difficulty that fishing the weed is going to present. How do we show the correct bait and get it seen? If we do get the bait noticed and hooked into a carp, are we even going to have a chance at pulling in the fish?

All valid questions and the answers are yes, you should always have some chance at landing the fish. It’s going to help dramatically if you can take an active interest in what you are fishing over or attempt to learn exactly what you are tossing your rig into.

I know it seems like an expensive shortcut, but an underwater camera would get the job done for you to learn the areas of the water a bit.

Trust me, if you’re serious about elevating your game, this could be huge for you to know exactly what you are tossing that next boilie into.

Fishing in weed beds is always going to present a challenge but if you knew ahead of time the structure of the weed, the kind of weed and the activity levels of the fish in the area, don’t you think that information would prove invaluable toward reeling in more carp in a single day’s work?

Understanding that you want the nice fresh green weed for ultimate success!

When targeting carp in the weed, you want to be 100% sure you are targeting the correct areas of the weed, to begin with.

Going after the weeds that are slowly dying off will prove much less fruitful than targeting weed that’s fresh and providing a high-level buffet for the carp to actively feed on.

Target the weed that’s alive, bright green and fresh looking for overall better success catching carp in the weed.

Bait and Rigs Over Weed or in The Weed?

How do we present our bait and rigs to the carp over weed or in the weed?

This is probably the most challenging part of the entire equation. Effectively learning how to present and place the bait is going to be challenging especially in your first few runs trying it. Pre-baiting and chumming are methods I’d highly recommend.

Just like we discussed in numerous other blog posts, this always proves effective to get the carp use to your bait smells, attractants and to get them actively feeling like it’s a safe feeding spot.

Doing this is going to allow you to begin your own construction project of the weed area basically. If you have a 2-3-day period of pre-baiting and chumming the carp will act like bulldozers and naturally begin clearing the runway for you.

Now, when it comes time to present your hook bait, all you have to do is your spot with some consistency and your about 80% of the way toward your goal of effectively catching carp in the weed.

I highly recommend using a lot of the common top carp baits I always seem to mention in all my blog articles.

All these listed baits can be highly effective when fishing the weed. If you want to see specifics on a few of them, here’s a blog post on effectively catching carp with bread and methods you can use to maximize results.

Here is another one of my blogs on how you can use corn to maximize carp fishing as well. Sweet corn will also prove to be a great bait for fishing a cleared path in the weed.

Okay, we have them on the Hook, Now what?

Whether your carp fishing in silkweed or any other weedy bottom, your carp rig is going to prove worthless if you can’t effectively get the carp out of the weeds. Don’t get caught napping or daydreaming.

Remember, you have already done 80% of the work just by scouting the area, clearing your path and pre-baiting and chumming your desired spot.

Now it’s crunch time, and if you mess this up, you still lose the game.

If your caught napping when the take occurs, most likely the carp is going to take you that much deeper into the weedy bottom and make landing the fish nearly impossible. Wrestling the carp out from the deep weeds is going to be a challenge so don’t even let this occur.

Obviously, if it does, this is not the desired outcome after all that hard work, so you must be sure to be on your toes and ready to strike when the opportunity presents itself.

When the carp makes its run or goes for the take, make sure not to allow it much wiggle room or much of an escape path. You need to be ready to set the hook and get him out of the weeds as quickly as possible.

This is basically your last challenge through the entire process so now is not the time to get lazy or make a mistake.

Be Prepared.

Carp Rigs For Weedy Bottoms

Rig choice is going to be another key component in determining how successful you will ultimately be fishing the weed for carp.

Most of the time you will be fishing in tight areas so nothing more than a short hook link will be needed. 3-4 inches will get the job done.

Pop-Ups can be another strong choice for fishing the weed depending on the exact scenario you have taking place beneath the water. The ability to have the bait presented a bit elevated from the weed bed can play heavily into your favor.

You don’t necessarily have to float fish the weed if you have a clear runway where you place your bait on the bottom effectively.

Fishing Shallow Weedy Bottoms and Lakes

If your shallow fishing bottoms that have weed present, you should have the opportunity to effectively scout and stalk the carp with a bit more ease before formulating a game plan. This will give you a chance to plan at what rig, and hook bait you ultimately want to go with.

Even if you are fishing lake shallows or another body of water shallows, you can still use the pre-baiting techniques to further your ability to get the fish ready to strike when it comes to game time.

Do we feel we know the fundamentals to effectively fishing for carp in the weed?

Fishing the weed for carp can be one of the best tactics and techniques you can use to increase your overall catch rates year-round. Sure, it takes a little additional preparation and planning, but the rewards can be well worth the work that goes into it.

Use prebaiting and chumming techniques to clear a nice path, choose to weed that’s fresh and not wilting beneath the water surface and be ready to battle before the carp pulls you into a mess and you will see success with this method.

Do you have any better methods for carp fishing the weed or any additional tips you think need to be mentioned? Make sure to leave a comment below.

As always, thanks for reading. I appreciate you.