Best Thing That Helped Me Catch Carp

I started fishing for carp last year and employed the Nike method - "just do it" (tm). I picked up a few tips here and there on the internet and started using braided line, learned to tie a hair rig, learned about inline leads, etc. After a few months of carp fishing and catching 9 or 10 carp in spite of my lack of knowledge, I stumbled across the single best tip to date - using smaller swivels.

Ashima swivels (Photo courtesy AshimaUK.com)

I was using size 2 swivel that I purchased at Cabela's. It was too big in relation to the inline leads I use and was basically letting the carp pull the hook bait free without any resistance. Using the smaller size 8 swivels create a bolt effect causing the carp to feel resistance and then run away and thereby hooking itself.

I'll post about the 2nd best thing that ever happened to my carp fishing soon.