Fishing for carp on top rightfully refers to a non-standard fishing method that differs significantly in the principle of supplying bait to the fish. The sports fishing community does not consider this method to be a legitimate method of hunting and this trend has become widespread purely in amateur fishing. Sports fishermen consider it inhumane to catch carp on top, since the numerous hooks sucked in by the fish can cause serious damage to the gills, or even lead to the death of the caught fish.
Among amateur fishermen there are a lot of avid carp fishermen who, having honed the skill of catching a trophy, successfully cultivate the method without particularly injuring the fish. In addition, there is no official ban on fishing with this method, and bait can be purchased without any problems in many fishing stores in certain manufacturing parameters, and if desired, you can make a makushatnik for catching carp with your own hands. The equipment itself and the rods are assembled from standard carp fishing elements. To prepare for a fishing session using this method, the angler will not need to spend a lot of money; he just needs to familiarize himself with the essence of the process, modify the equipment and enjoy the anticipation of the bites of a catch that is significant in size.
What is makukha
This kind of bait successfully combines two main components for productive fishing, being both bait and groundbait for carp. Makukha bait is a tightly compressed briquette consisting of cake formed during the production of sunflower oil. The basis of the briquette is pressed crushed husk and sunflower seed kernel. In retail chains, the product is sold in sheets of various thicknesses and mostly by weight. From the layers of ready-made bait, the fisherman independently cuts the pieces of cake required for bait.
Important! The attractiveness of cake bait for carp lies in its strong smell and the release of dusty microparticles of the product from dissolution in water with a small content of vegetable oil.
How to cook makukha yourself
For do-it-yourself fishing, you will need to purchase sunflower seeds.
Important! The best option would be to purchase not fried, but raw, naturally dried material.
We begin the process of preparing flour by crushing the seeds in a crushing machine or in a regular mixer, bringing the composition to a moist and loose mass that exudes the smell of sunflower oil. The crushed product is dried at room temperature for several hours, then wrapped in a piece of gauze. To form a briquette, you will need a press, which can be made from two metal plates held together by a bolted connection. We press the workpiece from the crushed product with a press, leaving it in this state for two or three hours, after which we remove it and dry it at room temperature to the required conditions.
Making makukha with your own hands allows you to take a more subtle approach to the final result of the product, making it in different density options, the parameters of which are important for different fishing conditions. It is best to store finished compressed briquettes entirely in thick plastic bags in the refrigerator on the lower shelves. Such conditions make it possible to avoid drying out of the cake and loss of taste due to weathering of aromatic properties.
Important! You need to directly prepare the required size of the bait right on the pond, using a sharp knife for cutting.
How to choose
Fishing for carp on top is carried out only with high-quality and unspoiled product. These properties are determined by external inspection of the briquettes and by smell, focusing on the smell of the product. In appearance, the briquettes should look like a yellowish-black dense mass without signs of mold or delamination. Friability indicates overdried material, which will not adhere tightly to the equipment and will quickly dissolve in water. When pressing on the briquette, there should not be a deep mark left in it, and the angler should feel a slight springing of the fingers from the composition. The decisive factor for the success of using the nozzle is its smell. The smell of a promising briquette is felt like a pleasant aroma of halva, with a sweet aftertaste and a slight hint of sunflower oil.
Important! A small piece of bait, lowered into the water, after five to seven minutes should highlight a clearly visible fat spot on the water together with small inclusions of particles of cake. It is this product that will create a trail of dust and spread the aroma of the bait over a wide area of the reservoir, attracting carp to the fishing point.
Tackle and equipment
You won’t be able to purchase ready-made gear for catching large carp at a retail outlet, so you need to be creative and make it yourself.
Today there are several basic designs in modern design, including:
- maize plant using corn flour;
- makushatnik in the form of complementary foods;
- granules as dust;
- tackle intended for fishing on lakes;
To install the above options, it is necessary to combine components in accordance with their technical requirements to obtain the optimal device.
The rod should be as rigid as possible and of high quality if fishing is intended for carp weighing more than 10 kg. Feeder rods with a length of 3 m 90 cm and an acceptable test weight of 90 g are ideal for such purposes.
An inertia-free carp reel, equipped with a rear clutch and brake, with a spool capacity of 3000 - 4000, is perfect for a spinner.
The diameter of the fishing line depends on the size of the prey in a particular water, 0.25 - 0.45 mm. The optimal length of monofilament thread is more than 150 m.
The recommended size of hooks No. 8 is 6.
The choice of sinker also depends on the fishing conditions, so “dovetail” and “horseshoe” can be used in reservoirs with a current. For fishing in calm water, a flat lead sinker is suitable.
Plug, match and fly fishing rods are used for catching carp weighing up to 2 kg. Here it is important to use tensile monofilament fishing line for rigging. The length of the fishing rod is from 4 to 6 m, the reel is from a series of inertia-free reels that work well on lakes and ponds with the presence of silt.
Types of makushatniks
Equipment for catching carp on the top implies the use of two main directions of installation - the blind and sliding method. The simplest design method, considered the classical method, is the blind installation of the nozzle. The sliding method has a number of subtypes when knitting, differs in some nuances during assembly, but at the same time is considered a more sensitive and delicate installation compared to the blind version of the equipment. Next, we will consider these two areas in more detail, revealing the features in the manufacture of rigs and dwelling on the main stages of preparing fishing equipment.
Solid installation
Initially, a lead sinker is prepared for the design, which looks like a flat rectangular plate with the possibility of mounting a winding ring in one of its parts to connect the accessory to the main cord of the tackle and install leashes with hooks. They prepare makukha for fishing by cutting off a piece of bait to fit the size of the plate. For installation, leashes are prepared from thin braided fishing line 0.1 mm, 7 to 12 centimeters long, which are knitted to the winding ring on a sinker. The number of leashes can vary from one to seven depending on the fishing strategy and the activity of the trophy. Hooks are used in a carp direction, numbers 6–8, in the color of the bait used. A briquette cut to size is attached to the plate using two rubber bands, placing them 7–10 mm from the edge of the bait.
Important! The mounted bait briquette must be pressed tightly against the lead plate, without the possibility of slipping out from under the fastening as a result of casting.
The last installation operation is the placement of hooks on the bait, which is achieved by piercing holes in the briquette with a needle or drilling them with a drill and inserting the tips of the hooks into the prepared punctures.
Important! It is mandatory to stick hooks into the corners of the bait. It is from the corners that the carp begins to suck on the tasty morsel of bait.
Having carried out the manipulation algorithm described above, the bait is delivered to the fishing point by casting using a rod.
Sliding installation
You can catch carp using a bait bait by equipping the tackle with a sliding sinker. This method allows you to catch cautious and less active fish . This installation will require a sliding flat lead weight, preferably in the shape of a horseshoe. The sinker is placed on the main cord, limiting its stroke to 30–50 cm with a stopper. A briquette of bait is mounted behind the sinker limiter, also threading it into a hole drilled through on a cord. The cord ends with a loop into which pre-prepared leashes with hooks are knitted, prepared according to the scheme of the blind version of the equipment. The hook tip is inserted into the cake used as bait and bait according to the pattern required for fishing conditions. The result is a sliding rig ready for full fishing.
How to make a makushatnik for carp with your own hands: instructions
For catching carp on the top, tackle is considered ideal if it consists of:
- Feeder type rods from three to five meters long;
- A reel for carp fishing is usually a spinning reel 3500-4000, which is equipped with a brake and a baitrunner.
- Fishing line , the thickness of which is 0.35-0.45 mm, length - from 150 m. The thickness of the monofilament is selected based on the severity of the catch. For carp weighing up to five kilograms, a fishing line with a thickness of 0.35 mm is suitable.
The design of the gear is quite simple and you do not need to have any specific knowledge or skills to make it. To create the most common gear you will need:
- Fishing line.
- Cargo.
- Nylon thread.
Manufacturing procedure:
- First you need to insert the fishing line into the sinker and tie a loop with a diameter of 0.4 mm. Next you will need to tie the main line to it.
- The hooks are attached to the fishing line , or more precisely, to its end, and the knot is hidden under the heat-shrinkable tube.
- The stopper is installed on the leash on the other side of the sinker.
- is placed in the empty space between the sinker and the leash . You need to make sure that it holds firmly and does not fall out.
- The hooks are hidden in the cake, the fishing line with leashes is fixed with beads . It should be taut.
Tackle for the crown
Tackle for fly fishing is assembled on the basis of a carp feeder rod with powerful winding rings and high casting, allowing you to cast weights of at least one hundred grams. The medium and close to slow action of the fishing rod will allow you to fish for large fish more confidently and reliably. The length of the rod is within 3.5-4 meters. An inertia-free reel is used with a high traction force and with the presence of a baitrunner function. Braided fishing lines with diameters of 0.2 mm and above are chosen as the main cord. The fishing rod is installed on a stand and equipped with a sound and light signaling device.
Fishing with a fly rod is often carried out at dusk and in the dark, and the light design of the alarm will allow you to quickly navigate when biting if the angler is fishing with several rods at the same time.
Choosing gear for catching carp on top
On the shelves of fishing stores it is very difficult to find already made gear for fishing with the top of the head. This forces anglers to make them themselves.
Fishermen differ in their opinions when it comes to the design of fishing tackle. Experienced carp anglers distinguish several main types of such gear. Different elements and devices are selected for gear, combining their properties and characteristics to obtain optimal characteristics.
- It is necessary to place the main emphasis on rigid rods; they must withstand the load when playing fish weighing more than ten kilograms. It is worth paying attention to rods for feeder fishing. It is worth choosing rods less than four meters in length, and with a test weight of up to 90 grams.
- When choosing a reel, you should give preference to spinning reels designed specifically for carp fishing. Must have a rear brake. We recommend choosing 3000 coils.
- The thickness of the fishing line is selected based on the size of the fish in the intended fishing location. Typically it can range from 0.25 to 0.5 mm. You need to reel in more than 160 meters of fishing line.
- You need to choose carp hooks, the size is chosen similar to the thickness of the fishing line.
- The weight of the sinker also depends on the current in the reservoir. If there is a current, it is recommended to use a horseshoe-shaped sinker. If there is no current, then there are no requirements for the shape of the sinker and a regular flat sinker can be successfully used.
Time and place of fishing
You can catch carp with cake only in the summer months, when the fish becomes sedentary, occupying certain areas of the reservoir, fattening up for the winter. July and August are the most promising fishing season.
Important! Carp anglers have noticed that the best results are obtained by organizing fishing in the dark during abnormally hot weather during the daytime. During this period, the carp switches to night feeding, starting to actively collect food with the onset of the first twilight, coming quite close to the coastline.
To install the installations, select clean and flat bottom foundations from hard soils, without vegetation and snags. Optimal hunting depths are from one and a half to three meters. On the currents, they look for quiet backwaters and fish within the boundaries of mixing streams. In such places, odors spread faster from the bait, and the fish finds the setting in a shorter period of time.
Varieties of rigs for carp for catching with cake
Carp has a special love for sunflowers. Fishermen have long noticed that compressed seeds are especially attractive to wild carp, and have successfully used them as bait.
Did you know? The carp does not have a stomach, but it has sharp, strong three-row teeth, with which it can easily crush even mollusk shells and literally grind plant food.
Over the years, various tackles have been invented for fishing with makukha (pressed cake), namely:
- Makushatnik with a stationary load. This design assumes that the tackle has a weight plate fixed at the end of the main line, to which the cake is attached. Leashes with hooks are tied along the edges of the load, the points of which are hidden in the bait. When a fish feasts on the top, it grabs the hooks, believing that it is bottom debris that carp pass through their gills. The fisherman can only hook and catch the fish.
- Sliding weight equipment. In this option, it is assumed that the load will move on a fishing line, so you need to choose a model that has a longitudinal hole. The load is placed on a fishing line and secured on both sides with stoppers. The distance between them should be 15–20 cm. A through hole is made in the center of the top of the head, through which the bait is attached to the fishing line. The free end must be shaped into a loop, into which a ring with leashes and hooks is then attached.
Read How to properly tie a leash to the main line
How to catch carp using a fishing rod
The choice of cake when purchasing is made based on the fishing conditions in the reservoir. For currents, the hardest baits are selected. In stagnant reservoirs, looser material is successfully used. Having decided on the fishing point, they feed by sending pellets and dense balls of bait to the installation area, which should lie on the bottom. After feeding, they throw out the equipment with cake bait and put the line on the signal, with the baitrunner turned on. If there are no bites for two hours, the bait is completely changed to a new piece of cake.
The carp, tasting and sucking the briquette, pulls the hooks installed into the finished crown into its fleshy mouth, which leads to the trophy self-cutting when moving away from the point where the bait was installed. At this moment, the alarm begins to sound intensively, without stopping, which indicates a successful result of the bite. The fisherman must immediately pull the rod in the opposite direction to the movement of the line, thereby driving the hooks more tightly into the mouth of the fish. Once you feel resistance, you can begin to slowly fish, pumping out the giant with a rod and reeling in the free line using a reel.
The carp is taken to the shallows to the shore and removed from the water using a landing net. The hooks are removed from the mouth using an elongated surgical clamp, trying to harm the caught trophy as little as possible. The catch-and-release principle implies preserving fish stocks and providing as many fishermen as possible with the opportunity to fight the trophy.
What does the equipment consist of?
It must be said right away that factory makushatniks never existed. You can buy ready-made equipment at the fishing market, but it is better to make a carp fishing rod with your own hands. The fact is that the homemade products sold are usually rough and massive, most of them turn out to be “too heavy” for the existing gear.
So, what does the simplest, classic makushatnik consist of? The undergrowth is attached to the main line using an American (a carabiner with a swivel). Its second end passes through the sinker and ends with a special loop that tightens the crown.
Makushatnik
Many fishermen come up with alternative ways to attach the cake. For example, under an elastic band on a lead plate that acts as a weight. One or more leashes with hooks are installed on a loop or on a flat sinker. Ideally, there should be four of them, one for each corner of the crown cube. That's basically the whole device. Simple and at the same time reliable and convenient.
It is advisable to use dark American fish and place carp hooks - large ones with a sting slightly bent inward.
In order to make a makushatnik with your own hands, you should prepare the following elements:
There are the following types of equipment for makushats:
- With sliding weight.
- With fixed load.
With sliding weight
To install this equipment you should prepare:
- A flat-shaped weight made from a through opening. Its weight must be at least fifty grams.
- Wire clasp.
- Hooks No. 8.
- A braided leash with a diameter of 0.22 mm and a length of seven centimeters.
- A cube of topcoat measuring five centimeters.
- Swivel with a latch and a permissible load of at least ten kilograms.
Installation of equipment with a sliding load is carried out as follows:
- Pull a piece of fishing line twenty centimeters long through the load.
- At the tip of the fishing line, make a loop to which the clasp and hooks will be attached.
- At the other end of the fishing line, attach a swivel along with another fastener (to secure it to the main fishing line).
- Attach the fastener along with the hooks and the equipment is ready.
With fixed load
Equipment that has a fixed load requires the preparation of the following materials:
- A weight with a flat triangular or oval shape.
- Monoline with a diameter of 0.19 mm.
- Nylon cord.
- Swivel.
- Hooks.
Installation of such equipment is carried out as follows:
- Pull the fishing line through the crown cube.
- Attach a swivel to the end of the fishing line.
- Attach leashes with hooks to the swivel.
- To secure the bait to the weight, it is advisable to use a nylon cord.
You should also not choose areas with silt, as the bait can get into the silt and the carp will not notice it.
