Follow Stu Conroy’s advice and target the biggest carp in the margins of your local commercial fishery.

As the roach and bream typically begin to spawn down the edges of a lot of commercial fisheries, those greedy carp will not be far behind them, tucking into a high-protein feast at their expense!

At this time of year ‘meaty’ offerings such as worms, maggots, casters and luncheon meat really come into their own. The fish need plenty of protein and energy and will really home in on the richest food sources. This is when fishing down the edge in anything from 12 inches to 2ft of water can really work well, particularly later on in the day.

There is no place for finesse when fishing down the edge at this time of year – especially with fish of 10lb or more being so common these days. Two worms, a bunch of maggots or a large cube of meat on a size 14 or 12 Margin Carp hook to a sturdy 0.18mm or 0.20mm hooklength is ideal. Fish this over a modest bed of particles or groundbait and you have the perfect target hook bait.

The margins are where the biggest fish always seem to show up and it’s really exciting stuff when you start seeing those telltale signs as tails and swirls signal their arrival!