With the pressures of work and other commitments, finding time to go fishing regularly is tough for a lot of anglers. But OMC's Samie 'Bam Bam' Duran won't let anything get between him and getting the Rods out. In this short article, he explains how he maximises his time on the bank to boost his chance of a capture...
For me, carp fishing is something I do whenever I get a chance. It could be any night of the week, as soon as I get an opportunity, I crave that carp fix real bad. For this reason, I like to stay prepped and ready to go at all times, as often it's a spontaneous decision deciding to go out for the night.
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BEING PREPARED FOR CARP FISHING
I have issues, honestly, I'm a big time over-thinker, so having my
Rigs,
Terminal Tackle,
Luggage, Rods and Gas for a brew ready is vital. I have Rigs pre-tied for every situation I might encounter, usually Pop-up presentations like the
Multi,
Ronnie and
Stiff Hinge. All this leaves is getting bait out the freezer the night before, ready for the session after work. If this wasn't all prepared, I simply wouldn't be ready to go at short notice and would likely choose not to. It is a small thing that makes a huge difference and you can sort a lot of this out on the bank at the end of your last session, its about getting in a groove.
On this same subject, make sure you have got spare warm clothes in your car/van, so even if it is wet, you can still get out. You might really need them if you manage to catch a few fish! Nothing lowers your motivation like being wet and cold. Have everything you need to stay comfortable.
HAVE CONFIDENCE IN YOUR SPOT
Turning up to the lake on a work overnighter for me is normally between 3:45 and 4:45pm. I always have full intentions of getting to the lake whilst it is still light but it never works out that way,
especially this time of year. So, finding somewhere decent to fish is a must. On arrival, I will lap the lake a few times trying to
find signs of fish. Worst case scenario, if I cant find anything to go off, I will try and use my own watercraft. I always tell myself, if I ain't making 100% effort, I would rather be indoors in the warm having a nice dinner with family. So, effort really is everything. What's the point of being there if you aren't going to try your hardest!?
KNOW YOU ARE FISHING 100%
Being able to sit on your hands and know you're fishing is very important on short sessions. You have to trust that your initial actions were correct and then just wait it out. You don't have long, so can't afford to
make a mistake by chopping and changing making disturbance regularly. I get all the commotion out the way early,
once I find that spot, I will make the effort to get that Rig bang on it. I'm not one of them people that can just sit there and go "that will do", if I ain't confident in that cast, I will go again. That way I know, I can leave it out all night.
DON'T OVER BAIT
If you're short on time like me, my best advice is to fish for a bite at a time. Doing a night in a swim,
over-baiting and then blanking, before going to work and another angler turning up seeing the fish showing on your bait and having it off, ain't the one. Obviously, this doesn't mean the fish won't get on lots of bait, but having too much there may extend the time it takes for you to get a bite, and it isn't worth risking it.
Most of my fishing involves
small Mesh PVA Bags, I love them. My bags consist of Boilies mixed with a bit of Pellet. That small mouthful of bait covering the Hook along side your Hookbait is more than enough to get a bite. At most, I will then fire a few pouches of bait, around 15-25 Boilies, around the spot to
get the fish confidently feeding.

KEEP EVERYTHING LIGHT
These are my carp fishing essentials, and are all I take with me on a session...
I'm lucky enough to fish syndicates where they provide Nets and Cradles/Mats, which saves space in my vehicle and prevents contamination to the lakes too.
Before I go to bed, I get most of the gear packed down ready for the 4:30am alarm for work. Doing this makes it easy, so I can just roll out of bed and crack on. If I had to put all that other stuff away at that time in the morning in the cold, I could tell you my morale would be down and that would probably put me off going at all. Organisation and prep are the key elements to consistent short session fishing.
DRY IT OUT
When it comes to packing down at that time of the morning, there is aways a lot of condensation on the Bivvy and other items. So it is worth not forgetting about it and drying them off at the earliest opportunity, so they are fresh for the next session. There's nothing worse than damp, mouldy and smelly kit. Again, this will put you off going entirely. I take any chance I get to get the kit well aired. Hopefully, it smells of all the fish I caught the night before from the advice given above!

And that's my short session carp fishing. Initially it sounds like, and can be , hard work, but it really doesn't have to be. If you love you're fishing as much as I do, you want to do it as much as possible, and this is realistically the only way I can get the required bank time in to catch my fair share. Remember, if you keep putting yourself in front of them regularly, it is only a matter of time until you catch one. Hopefully, this short article has given you the motivation to get out there and do it. See you on the bank soon!
A Scaffolder by trade, article author Samie 'Bam Bam' Duran is one of the younger and vibrant characters of the OMC Sponsored Angler Team. He takes any opportunity to get out carp fishing and shares his adventures regularly with his TikTok following.