High quality, suitable tackle is available for hire on site to save you carrying loads of excess baggage, and the onsite tackle shop will have everything you need should you forget anything. But then again if you have any old favourite tackle items secret rigs or baits why not bring them with you?
Rods
For carp fishing on the St. Lawrence you will need a 2¼ to 3lb test curve good quality rod. Remember your rod will most likely get more use in a week in Canada than in a season in the UK. The method works well, so your rod ,may need to be able to cast 4oz.
Reels
Good quality reels are essential the major brands Fox , Shimano, Daiwa are all fine. On the cheaper reels we find only the Okumas will last well. The constant action and pressure tends to strip the gears on the cheaper reels pretty fast. Big pit reels are a slight advantage but not essential. Baitrunners are essential, unless you are experienced with “fishing off the spool”
Line
Our fish are not line shy, they fight incredibly hard and there are many rocky swims and areas of Zebra Mussels, so do not go light or cheap on your line.
I personally use 80lb braid and 50lb braid hook lengths. I do not like nylon out here as the constant heavy pressure rapidly takes out the stretch and the fish running against the clutch causes a lot of line twist. If you prefer Nylon I would recommend 15 to 17 lb BS but you must use a long leader (at least 20 metres) of at least 50 lb braid or an abrasive resistant leader like Ton Up, or 30lb nylon (if not sure on leader material I will show you when you arrive) If you use nylon all through you WILL get cut off.
Hooks
The thing about carp fishing in Canada is that the fish are not shy, so big hooks are the order of the day. I would normally use a size 2 and never less than a 4. I personally like the Drennan Boilie hook, but any good brand will suffice. Check your hook point each time you reel in as the bottom is hard and the point soon becomes dull or damaged. Also please crush down your barbs, almost every fish you catch will be unmarked, and of course we want to keep them that way.
Leads
You are going to loose a lot of leads. You will need 3 to 4.5 oz leads or big method feeders.
Extreme distance is rarely needed so personally I see no need in fancy high cost leads. We have a large selection of leads in the shop Due to airlines getting strict on baggage weights I would recommend you buy your leads here.
Hook lengths
I used to use 25 lb Snake Bite or Quicksilver but lost too many fish. I now use 50 lb Fire line and find it perfect. We sell short hook length spools of this in the shop
Bait
Most fish are caught on boilies or maize, with plastic maize working well. It is impossible to stock every different bait brand in our store but we will offer a very wide selection including our own brand of boilies that we can sell for £5.00 per kilo. This is of course the bait we are feeding so works better than most. If you want to maximise your catch you must feed heavily. We will give you free of charge one bucket of Maize per day and if you need more it is not expensive. We also have our own Method mix which works well.
By all means bring your favourite bait as hookers or change bait, I may not have it in the shop, but frankly as long as you feed well the fish will come.
Pre-baiting
This is a must. You are fishing a large system with huge shoals of big carp. These fish are very nomadic so you need to put a large amount of bait in for the fish to visit your swim and stay there. I normally pre bait my "morning" swim the night before and before fishing in the morning I bait my "afternoon" swim. Around lunch time I will again put more bait into my afternoon swim, after a nice lunch at the marina normally the fish are queuing up again.
We also will be pre-baiting every day and will show you where.
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