Essential fishing skills you need to know before you buy bait, according to expert

Fishing is a fun for the whole family, but if you're taking it up without knowing much then it can be tough to know where to .

That's why professional carp angler James Armstrong posted a video on explaining the things you should do and avoid when you're first starting out.

First, James warned people not to "set your sights too high" and to "choose highly stocked water" where "you can get a bend in the rod and get yourself confident in carp fishing". His next tip was to "use your eyes" as they're "the most important tool in carp ".

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He said: "That is watercraft - you need to learn the water, you need to watch the water, you need to find the carp, and then you are one step ahead of the rest."

James then advised people not to "get baffled with rigs" as he continued: "If you have to, buy some ready rigs - you can get ready tide leaders, ready tide lead systems, ready tide hook links.

"Start with those, get confident on highly stocked waters, catch a load of carp on them, then start to learn how to tile them yourself. If you do wanna tie your own rigs, just stick to a couple to begin with.

"Choose yourself a nice easy bottom bait rig, a nice easy pop up rig, and get it in front of carp."

He shared people should "learn to cast and feel the lead down", explaining: "Because there's loads of bait boats out there, and yes, I do like them, learn to cast first. Don't just go and grab a bait boat, drive it out there, it's very easy to do that, but you won't learn a thing."

The angling expert emphasised the importance of honing your skills, urging enthusiasts to "learn to cast", "feel the lead down", "clip up" and "pinpoint areas". His advice included: "Do it all manually to begin with" so you're equipped with lifelong fishing prowess.

In the reactions, one person agreed: "100 percent agree. My whole family are big for carp fishing but they fish low stocked large lakes and it made it difficult for me to get into it."

Meanwhile, someone else pointed out the essentials: "Basics, too many people buying full set-ups and thinking they are carp anglers... speakers to veterans sit watch and listen."

A TikTok user bragged about their quick success: "I went fishing my first catch was 20 pound carp I only had to wait 10 mins." Another was thankful, saying: "Thanks for the great fishing tips."

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