In this video I run through my whole approach to catching wild river carp.

I absolutely love my river carping and in this video, I want to share some very special moments that I’ve had over the last few years. There’s lots to enjoy and lots of tips that have been very hard won. One of the highlights is a 20kg beast of a carp that I caught in 2018.

⏰ *In this video:*
00:00 On my way
01:40 Make the carp come to you
07:30 What’s special about river carping
12:44 My river rigs
13:34 My river carping setup
14:08 My rods
14:53 Backleading on the river
15:29 How to find the carp
16:51 My river carping over the years

*Also from CARP FISHING EXPLAINED:*
1️⃣ New twist on the classic hair rig: https://youtu.be/LzFina92brM
2️⃣ The Shock & Run rig: https://youtu.be/aBvZyHBCyAE
3️⃣ 5 rig mistakes that will cost you a carp: https://youtu.be/eAsQ3BPn6Jo

🎣 *My current river setup:*
Heavy duty mono snag leader: https://amzn.to/3wwPuq4
Dwarf 9ft 3.25lb rods: https://amzn.to/3Ri3uw1
Shimano Ultegra CI4+ 14,000 XTC: https://amzn.to/3AQF1bK
R3 alarms: https://amzn.to/3KlXu30
Dwarf landing net: https://amzn.to/3RhoeUm
Scope Ops Ruckall: https://amzn.to/3AU45i4

☎️ *Connect with me:*
Filmed at my lake, Beausoleil Carp and Cats: https://www.frenchcarpandcats.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/matt.collins.148116/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BeausoleilCarp
IG: https://www.instagram.com/matt_collins_carper/
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@matt_collins_carper

🙌 *Support the channel:*
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As an Amazon associate, purchasing through these links gives me a small commission to support videos on this channel – the price to you is the same.

🔔 *Subscribe to the channel:*
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This channel is supported by Nash but I am totally in charge of the content and focus of each video which is all about helping anglers. I only use and recommend products that I personally use in my fishing and that I am completely confident in.

#matthewcollins #carpfishingexplained

30 Comments

  1. I’ve been hunting river carp for over 10 years and during that time I’ve learned quite a lot about these incredible creatures. Pound for pound, river carp fight much harder than lake carp and for me it’s the absolute pinnacle of the sport. River carping is not easy. It doesn’t always go to plan and I can go for weeks at a time without catching one. Every capture is special and every carp is different. You simply never know what you are going to hook next and the buzz is off the scale! I hope that you enjoy the video and that it inspires you to get out and have your own adventure.

  2. Great stuff..would like to see some more river fishing,i love the river…
    We do kayaking weekends in the summer just fishing all weekend long,its indescribeable fun!!!!😋😋😋😋😋

  3. Hello Matthew
    I'm from South of Brazil
    I fish only river carp. So i learned that persistence is a better chance of getting a big wild carp
    River carp have routes for searching food, we have baiting a few days, weeks, moths in same spot to add of the "food routes"
    Thanks for yours videos, I learned a lot from you!

  4. This was wonderful!! Just listening while at work.
    Question for my fellow anglers.
    Has anyone ever tried running a Helicopter method feeder? Where I live in the US it's illegal to do any form of chumming. To get around this we use pack bait and obviously stuff the hook. My question is would this work mechanically? In my mind the feeder would break up slightly on contact with the water and obviously the choddy setup would help me over some of the weeds. My point of interest is figuring out a good feeder style for safe ejections on this unconventional setup-Yea I know I'll be dumping 5$feeders haha

  5. Where I live all carp are wild the were planted in the 1880s. The usually mainly stay in the lake which is 95000 acres, 25×16 miles. In the past only a few would swim up the tributaries but this year hundreds migrated upstream. I sight fished for them using a quarter ounce lead jid with a plastic tube jig. They were strong enough in the current they would straighten a size 1 stout hook on jig. Otherwise it is just paclbait fishing. No chumming.

  6. WOW mat this is so mouth watering how dare you tease us with such content😂 Love all your videos but this one really appeals mate👊 are u allowed to disclose the name of this river?? Thank you Dan

  7. Great Motivation for myself. Haf 110m to the River Mosel in Germany. unfortunately hard to get some Fish on the Mat. Nest week trying again with my Son. Fingers crossed

    Greetz from Germany

  8. Been river carping the last 7 years solid . Cut my teeth on the river when I was 14 years old when I first started carp fishing 30 years I'll never go back to fishing a lake now in the uk because of how busy they are . What ounce lead are you using to gauge the depth because obviously a heavier lead will fall through the water quicker and vice versa with a lighter lead ?

  9. I've been fishing the same lake for 5 season's now,winter is good the bigger fish do show.but summer is Very hit and miss, even after spawning.the fish are there it just goes dead sometimes for weeks . wouldn't say it gets to heavily fished any suggestions thanks

  10. Hi Matt, your river sessions are just wonderful to watch. They remind me of a time, when I was fishing in a syndicate lake in my hometown. (Yes, I know, this video is about rivers) Cyclists, dogs, joggers etc. just everywhere. On the other hand it was (and still it is) a wonderful lake with almost unexplored big carp.

    Unfortunately I had to quit the syndicate, since I just couldn’t stand all the noise and pollution caused by the “young people” who had regular barbecues and were heavily drinking at the bank. I feel still kind of sorry that I had to quit but I just couldn’t bear it anymore. What a pity!

    Being well organized is a must in such areas, as you correctly underline. You have a quite limited space for your gear and you need to use it wisely.

    River carp are told to be fighting much harder, compared to carps of similar size from lakes, or is it just a myth? I’m afraid, it will be difficult for me to prove it. I live in a crowded area with hundreds of quarry lakes (a lot of gravel is explored here, since I am located near the river Rhine) and slow rivers are just the ones which are crowded the most. Fishing for carp in Rhine, will be surely possible but I believe that I simply do not even have the time to find the right swims in this extra-large industrial river. It is really good to see that there are areas in France (I think we have similar things in Germany but I would have to drive hundreds of kilometres…) where you would face certain difficulties but on the other hand side you are still catching nice fish. (Let’s forget all the usual blanking that is not shown in all the fishing videos 😉)

    Some years ago, I have been in close contact with some people, who use vintage split cane rods (restored by British specialists) and pin reels for river carp fishing. This is something that seemed to be lot of fun, denying the “tackle madness” and just fishing using this minimal gear. Of course this is a totally different kind of carp fishing but it was interesting to see that they succeeded even regularly. I know that this does not necessarily belong here, since I has almost nothing to do with the contents of the video but it just came to my mind. Sorry.

    Cheers, Alex

  11. River fishing, 4.5kgs of pre baiting beforehand then boilies on top,thats 70=80 quid mate,i dont think so,wow your charging your customers over the odds at your fishery to be able to afford those kind of prices,for a bite when its and n miss on a river,as much as i like your vlogs,i find your self to be so condradictory,you have lost me,now your long gone

  12. Is that the Mayenne river Matt? If so I've fished it myself a few times just downstream of the town of Mayenne. Snaggy, but hard fighting fish indeed. Nice video.

  13. Informative and inspiring video thanks Matt. IMO rivers and canals are now the only places in the U.K. you can experience that pioneering feeling with most stillwaters now either overpressured or expensively syndicated with waiting lists longer than my life expectancy! So thanks I’ll be applying your tips to my local waters and hopefully across the channel sometime. One question, do you think the 1oz plus back leads could move the fishing lead when sliding on? Experiments I have conducted in the garden suggest they can, but water is of course a different medium, and would say a 4oz gripper stay well put in a slow flow?

  14. I fish a small river now and then

    Only 8 meters wide..the strenth the carp have on such a small stretch amazing..

    And whats weird is that once hooked ALL the carp swim in one direction,down stream to the left…

    Another river n fish ALL the hooked carp run upstream to the left…it boggles me..
    Cheers 😊😊

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