A Guide To Feature Finding - Weed, Clay, Gravel, Silt and The Rigs To Use For Each Situation

When carp fishing, it's important to find what lakebed you are fishing over. Using a marker float and lead helps you isolate areas of the lake to fish or avoid. This video will help find the depth, substrate and choose a rig to use over it.
00:00 An introduction to feature finding
01:51 Find the lake bed substrate
07:23 Cast to the same spot using distance sticks
09:45 Find the depth with a marker float
14:26 Rig choice
I created Fishing Tutorials to help people learn about fishing and catch more fish!
Watch big films on my main channel: ‪@fishwithcarl‬
Level up your angling with my Fishing Guidebook: www.fishwithcarl.co.uk
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[@fishingtutorials]

Hi! To improve your carp fishing and catch more fish, check out my Simple Fishing Guidebook! With 100 pages of tips, rigs, knots, bait advice and 21 in-depth species guides, you’ll definitely improve your knowledge and skills. Get yours here: fishwithcarl.co.uk/products/the-simple-fishing-guidebook

[@DomFishingUK]

looks a bit more complicated to my cast in and hope its in a good spot approach lol

[@mufc20timesbitches36]

Pub chuck. Always catches the biggest fish.

[@armed_but_blind2768]

I like this method, until I blank 😅

[@jackince1656]

Have been needing a video like this at the moment.

[@Zombie-fb5zf]

Literally the best marker/spod tutorial on KZbin really really helps a beginner like me thank you

[@fishingtutorials]

You're welcome mate :) So glad you found it helpful!

[@Dredlands69]

I'd love to see you guys take the two most important people fishing with you :) the two who funded you both and helped you endlessly on your endeavours to become the great people's you are today... Brilliant video as always.. Fantastic teacher's in the art of fishing :)

[@nobbs67]

Best explanation video on this I’ve seen, and great production again!

[@billym4097]

Great tutorial mate thanks. The view right down the rod when pulling the lead back is really informative.

[@fishingtutorials]

You're welcome! Glad you found it helpful :) 👍

[@liamburnes845]

Had the pleasure of meeting alex on the bank today had come to take some pictures of a fish a young angler had caught which took me by surprise but goes to show how good these guys are...and even had time for a selfie...keep up the good work and hopefully many more videos to come..💪💪💪

[@shanewallace1378]

This really helps in south africa. Thx guys

[@crvnmrhd]

Fantastic video and tutorial! Nothing but the bottom line and clearly explained. Brilliant!

[@jwjw9259]

At last someone who explains this so clearly nice job lads

[@xlandyzz9386]

one again guys smashing video so helpful and you must be mind readers as so many people needed this video at this current moment keep up the hard work :)

[@andywhalley3669]

Very helpful, I've recently been fishing on the bottom and not had much luck, now I understand that I may be using the wrong bait or the wrong rig. Thank you for your great video 👌🏻

[@_kierkier37]

I’ve waited too long for you to upload this video !! Great as always 🎣🎣

[@danielchrist4560]

Great job guys, best channel in this genre

[@tsimmo-be6ms]

Great video guys, have learnt so much from your channel. Keep up the good work

[@tomlynch6131]

This is why the people next to me hook fish more often that I do at places like linear or Newlands angling club, big waters lots of big fish but finding the gravel bars etc I have found tricky. I will use these tips next weekend. Cheers

[@MrTTibbs]

Yes Carl, yes Alex the one I’ve been waiting for 👊🏼

[@lhaynes1970]

Consistently great videos, really well presented

[@tamassimon759]

Lovely video boys. Very helpful, thank you!

[@RalfyCustoms]

Thank you guys, very timely indeed

[@matthewjsr3880]

Best chanel for tips and tricks, nothing else like it.

[@BEARLAUBSCHER]

great tips for depth finding thanks this will help a lot going forward

[@paulricketts5537]

Well put young man, simple and easy for people to follow and understand

[@fishingtutorials]

Glad to hear Paul :) Cheers

[@martincoleman3008]

Great information as usual lads, cheers 👍👍🎣🎣

[@DunkinBiscuits]

Carl vs alex idea.... each of you choose the others tackle approach and bait to use? Also have to say this was an excellent tutorial guys im always impressed by the quality and depth of your videos, keep up the great work

[@daveshaw5293]

Very clear and simple advice good stuff or if someone tells you say 19 wraps to that tree just simply put your rig/bait on wrap up and chuck it to the said spot even simpler 👌

[@joshcarr8200]

Another good video. Two of the most humble guys in fishing 👍

[@shanebenefer6983]

Fantastic tutorial, really explained in more depth thanks

[@SPS_survivor]

No pun intended right? 😉

[@CarpFrenzyy]

This help me a lot ! Great thanks and regards from Bulgaria mate ! Very useful and informative videos you made there !

[@fishingtutorials]

Glad to hear that!

[@darrengarner3400]

Great insightfull video, cheers lads

[@davidsutherland6542]

Lots of information really well explained/ demonstrated. Hopefully I can use this on next session.

[@KELLYANNEPLAZ]

Great work guys

[@cjshake]

Brilliant again thanks for the info! Legends

[@JamesG2758]

Excellent video,well done.

[@chriseegee-man6918]

Well explained and good quality video

[@kal1454]

thats brilliante thanks dude aways looking on ways to improve my angling and way you show us all really helps alot massive thank you again :) love you channel

[@fishingtutorials]

Glad to hear that! Thank you mate, all the best! 👍

[@roberthopkins8089]

How much information did you get in this video Alex.. Great pace, concise info backed up with sound reasoning.. Seriously one of the best instructional videos ive ever watched.. Keep up the great work its very enjoyable and encouraging..

[@fishingtutorials]

Glad you enjoyed it! Cheers Robert!

[@chrishart4438]

Brilliant, full of info & Well presented

[@fishingtutorials]

Thanks Chris, appreciate the feedback. Glad you found it helpful! :)

[@MartynsAnglingAdventures]

Great tips guys!

[@ryanjarvis7778]

This helps with my fishing so much now it so much easier finding spots we're fish feed and it increased. My knowledge of the diffrent surfaces on the lake 😃😃😃😃😃

[@fishingtutorials]

Glad it helped! :)

[@baldvale5418]

Brilliant advice now all i need is the luck of Alex ; )

[@jgerdes03]

This is very helpful!😊

[@damonlappin8793]

Great vid 😁

[@bobsanderson8792]

Thanks for the video. Had a basic idea of what to do with marker floats,now I fully understand the use of them.

[@olivermcqueen5654]

Exactly

[@bobsanderson8792]

Trouble is new rod and reel needed. Going for the Sonik Extractor 😂😂

[@olivermcqueen5654]

@@bobsanderson8792 I know right 😅 I'm still trying to get my first carp rod I've had to make do with a float rod for 2 years 😂forget a marker rod lol Think I'm getting my first carp rod this weekend though

[@bobsanderson8792]

@@olivermcqueen5654 whereabouts are you in the UK? Sure I have a spare carp rod for you.

[@olivermcqueen5654]

@@bobsanderson8792 thanks but I wouldn't need it as I'm getting a carp rod today

[@markmitchell7981]

Been fishing for years and always had the " that looks like a good spot I'll cast there" approach. I do ok but I feel I just wanna take it up a notch so thought I'd try feature finding etc. It always looked to much hassle until I saw this video. 15/08/2023. I'm off for a 3 dayer on the 29th so I shall put all this into practice.

[@fishingtutorials]

Ahh good to hear :) All the best with the session Mark!

[@gazplayz]

How it go then Mark?

[@azaz...]

I needed this video

[@pavelgeorgiev918]

Very informative

[@fishing-with-7z767]

Hi Makedonac😁😂

[@samhirst7331]

Great informative video. I cant afford to buy a rod and reel just to do this i do it with me standard rod and reel and mono 🙈 Im doing my first proper night sesh next week. Getting everything sorted has been a nightmare. Constantly feel like im forgetting something. Made me think might be a good video idea for ya. Night fishing essentials.....we all need an alex to cook us carbonara 😉 Ive also just bought my first pole for me and my son to share. Made me think, rarely see you using whips and poles these days. Then last weeks vid carl used a bloody whip..... So my idea is.... A carl vs alex episode... Maybe on the canal.......whip only challenge 😁

[@carpman4767]

Excellent vidio and explained superb..thx

[@fishingtutorials]

Glad it was helpful! Cheers Maz

[@JoePalethorpe]

Great tutorial, really helpful! Just missed you guys at Norton last week, would have been awesome to meet you!

[@dannyholler7225]

Well explained👍👍👍👍

[@fishingtutorials]

Glad to hear :) cheers Danny

[@trevorsteelmon5262]

great video man!! you are going to help me catch the biggest carp in colorado

[@fishingtutorials]

Cheers Trevor! Glad to hear it :) All the best with it!

[@quabarb4547]

Brilliant video

[@frankieyates7527]

Respect for that

[@liontibbs5441]

Good video boys

[@martinberry9616]

This is a great video, very informative and love how you explain things so people can understand! Great stuff guys yet again 👍🏻👏🏻👏🏻🙌🏻

[@olivermcqueen5654]

Been looking forward to this all week great vid again guys

[@ZoltanHercules]

It seems that I’m always fishing silty lakes, never feel that donk. Some silt firmer than others though. Great vid guys.

[@brandoncopping4870]

Once again giving great advice to beginners Love it ❤️

[@Enpassantful]

I don’t know if you’ve noticed but a lot of anglers smoke the weed so there shouldn’t be much left in the lake.

[@urbanfriebe8417]

Brilliant video, will come in handy 😀 Will we see any more aquascaping videos soon? 😁

[@hefty_highy9274]

Great work lads always happy to see your new videos since watching your content I have managed to use your tips and create better situations in my fishing

[@hangtrinh7486]

best vid ever

[@jordantomlin7613]

Carp fishing rn. Wish me luck. USA misses you guys

[@frankieyates7527]

They be giving all the secrets

[@tristanschubert174]

Great video guys also earlyyy

[@mikelancaster2919]

Hi lads . Cud you tell me the best way to work out what size brade to use and the best way to put it on a reel 👍

[@pathayworth6738]

I use 40lb braid straight through for my marker/spod set up. Get a dedicated spod braid which will float. Chuck the spool into a bucket of warm water leave it for half hour and then reel it on at a medium speed under tension until you are right up to the lip of the spool.

[@mufc20timesbitches36]

Use a finger stall to protect your finger when casting braid

[@ollyr5196]

Good vid

[@leonallen5834]

Great video Alex. If I turn up to a lake and see fish, then check for the donk and then spod to the spot where the fish were, do I just scare the fish off for the rest of the session?

[@neilquerns7403]

Great vid. 1 bit of safety advice if I may. Use a finger stall when casting with braid. Save nasty deep gashes.

[@raisali7590]

Good....

[@normannorris3642]

When I served in the Royal Navy, I was taught to test the depth of the sea from the deck of a warship, we used to put soft plasticine on the bottom of the weight and as well as the markers on the line which told you how deep the sea bottom was. the plasticine picked up what was on the sea floor, I wonder if using a ledger with a cork on the bottom is covered in plasticine, would it do the same and tell me what is on the bottom of a lake.

[@brianmercer2805]

Hi Alex This is a very informative vid. However, I understand this is for carp fishing? What about targeting roach or perch at distance. Does the same situation stand? I target perch and roach. Would I be looking for the same type of thing, as in the gravel spots? Everything seems to be around carp fishing when feature finding and spodding etc. Either that or I haven't found any vids with the same tactics but for perch and roach. What's your thoughts? Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you

[@benandjerrys338]

Yeah I sometimes get mine stuck when I pull it out 😎

[@CRAIGSCHULER]

I don’t understand the use of the distance sticks. How can you use the rod lengths to judge how much line when casting?

[@mufc20timesbitches36]

12’ = 4 yards in English old money. We call it one WRAP. 25 wraps = 100 yards. One rod length = 12 foot ( best way to confuse people is to fish with 13 footers! ) so they’ll never find the exact spot. Then you have the depth to think about, on top of that. If you’re still struggling, put everything in an PVA bag, and launch it the SPOD/ SPOMB the granny outta it. Tight lines mucker. Merry Christmas and have a good EASTER, if we’re allowed on. Lolololololol. 😂😂😂😂😂😂😎😎

[@AnubhavAnkitGeorge]

Wounderful tips of measuring depth of lake. Its really helful to me. Is there any other alternate option to tht marker float we can use to measure depth of lake. Where i go here in India its in the midest of Jungle and its very deep, once i tried with my casting reel at shore of that lake it was 25 feet deep but i would cast 25 to 35 meter far from shore in that distance how i can measure the depth of that lake sir. Here we don't have marker float sir. So i m searching alternat option of marker float. This lake has big size of Katal and Rohu (Libio Rohuta)carp and very deep and weedy areas in some part of it. Sir

[@Sam-ut6tg]

Love your vids do a colab with catfish and carp

[@williamgriffiths7154]

Hey everyone new angler here. When it comes to trapping the line when feeling the lead down, what is the best way to do it? I’ve read some things saying to put on your finger on the spool, and others mentions engaging the bale. Just need a clear explanation is all.

[@cime983]

i love carp fishing..you never know where the bait lays down....inyoj carpers

[@MinecraftModsblogsHJGGaming]

Well done on this video guys, it’s amazing how you teach so many people!❤️

[@ChloeSxW]

literally couldn't have answered the questions in my head any better well done lads!

[@keanodilksy]

What about the size of the float so will be nearly another foot deep so if you were to use a zig you’d need to count it?

[@FinFab2008]

love vids, so much good help ty

[@thomasquant6518]

Can i use distance lead for marking?

[@davidlovesgolf]

Love your videos. I'm getting a good number of bites using pop-ups on a hair but my hookup ratio is VERY low. I'm still using a traditional US style med heavy 7 ft spinning rod with a quality diawa reel, but don't get the hook-ups that I see in your videos. I'm also using 1 oz weights. Do I need to: 1) use a longer rod designed for carp, 2) use a much heavier weight, and 3) buy an alarm system?

[@benwoods4990]

@@daleHarrison93 there aren’t bream in the US

[@daleHarrison93]

@@benwoods4990 i wasnt sure maybe other nuisance species idk what they have

[@Eightball69]

Prefer a stiff boom of 12" and a bead before the ring and the float

[@thecarphunters2049]

How would I find a bar using these methods a local lake of mine has a raised bar ?

[@glparkins]

Nice video. What make is that catapult? Cheers

[@fishingtutorials]

Cheers! It's from Korda :)

[@x_daddybaldy_x1183]

Hi Carl and Alex. I’ve been carp fishing quite a lot the last couple months. I feel like I would enjoy learning a different type of fishing for a predatory species like pike, perch or catfish. Do u think that is a good idea, or should I stick to a more beginner fishing style and type. Any help from viewers would be appreciated also. Great vid guys

[@michaelharnett9000]

Depends if you fancy a different kind of fishing mate such as going along a river or if you want to try something different that'll be similar tackle maybe try a lake that is stocked with catfish as well as carp and see how you find it!

[@sbrads8065]

Definitely give it a go just make sure you watch enough videos before hand because Pike can be a bit tough to unhook and need a fair bit more care than a Carp as they aren’t as strong. Just do your research but definitely give it a go

[@philwalsh8144]

I seem to spend the 1st hour on the bank watching these videos so I know I'm set up right 😂

[@ocshaman7323]

What strength braid are you using?

[@oscar_is_carping4506]

What rod would you use for feature finding?

[@cime983]

he has i point for engler in 10y plus...he has a poin....otherwise you can wait 2h till you re trow the line...good info

[@Otius]

Hey! Do you have any tips how to use distance sticks when you have 12ft marker/spod rod and your are fishing on 10ft. How to be accure?

[@coreydalton-thorp1656]

Put your distance sticks 12ft apart and it makes no difference what size rods you use it will always be the same distance if you do the same amount of raps

[@Onpointcarp]

This is one of the things I have proper trouble with, I never feel anything at all on the drop, I've trapped the line between my fingers and keep the tip high, but nothing, however when I drag it I can feel whether it's gravel (or what I think is gravel) or silt. But in the drop nothing.... what am I doing wrong?.

[@AndrewLomax80]

your using mono? no good for the job mate

[@themightybubbles2217]

Depends on the dept i fish really shallow waters and never feel anything

[@fishingtutorials]

It could be too shallow to feel the drop! Under 3ft it can be tricky to feel anything!

[@themightybubbles2217]

@@fishingtutorials i feel smart now 🤣

[@loopedron3173]

MEGA

[@Swumhole]

Great video, very informative. I love your presentation style. One thing though, there's no bead on that chod rig at 17:30 #runsandhides! Seriously though, you have taught me tons and I've been fishing longer than you've been alive!!

[@paulwilliams7288]

Smell your leads - different bottoms have different smells 😇😇😇

[@tomguest1148]

Can you help my cach a carp I have not cort a fish for 3 mounts