How to master Distance Sticks for carp fishing

·      Why accuracy is so important for carp fishing.

·      How to consistently achieve accuracy.

·      How to ensure your hookbait is in amongst your loosefeed.

·      How to use Distance Sticks properly.

·      Tips and tricks from experts.

·      A quick step by step guide to using distance sticks

Consistently casting to the same spot every time and being able to bait on top of your rig will catch you more carp, and the easiest way to do that is by using Distance Sticks. Find out here exactly how to get the best from them.

Why is accuracy so important for carp fishing?

The use of Distance Sticks is one of those ‘inventions’ that seems so obvious once you see and understand them, that it is amazing that nobody ever came up with the idea beforehand!

For years carp anglers were striving to accurately recast to the same spot every time, and had tended to rely on the use of a stop knot and the line clip on their spool. This was inefficient, as stop knots could move up and down the line during the fight, and if you lost any line due to a breakage or cut off, you had no way to clip up accurately again – short of getting the marker rod out and finding the spot again.

It also meant that there was no way of accurately recording data for the spots that you were fishing, meaning that if you went back into that swim weeks or months later, you had to find the spot again manually and only had a rough idea of the distance – unless you still had the old stop knot on your line.

Baiting with a spod was less accurate, as you were relying on how close it looked like it landed to your marker float, and at longer distance that could be quite deceptive and there was no guarantee that your loose feed was actually landing on top of your rig.

What are distances sticks and how did they completely change carp fishing?

The whole idea behind distance sticks is that they are a way of easily measuring the exact distance of your line, which can then my placed into the line clip on the spool on your reel, so that when you cast, only that amount of line can be released before you hit the clip, and thus ensuring accuracy (in terms of distance – you still need to get the direction right) every time.

Prior to distance sticks being something that most anglers use, some people were walking their lines out along the bank and using some sort of markers, such as trees, but that wasn’t an easy way to do it, especially when fishing at longer range, and where there was undergrowth for your line to get caught in, or very limited open space. Distance sticks are literally just two distance sticks that your fishing line is wrapped round and round between, in order to measure out your line for much improved casting accuracy.

Distance sticks allow you to place them at a set - and very manageable, even in tight swims - distance apart, and that is usually 12ft, or four yards, and was chosen as it is the length of the rod that most people use – simply lay the rod on the ground and push in a stick at each end of it (or these days they often come with a special cord that is a set length – four yards - and which makes it even easier).

Because these sticks are always four yards apart it allows you to easily measure exactly how far it is to wherever you have clipped your line up. This means that if you return to that swim, even a year or two later, then you can quickly clip back up to the spot (useful when casting to islands for instance), although you should of course check the spot with a plumbing rod as well, as things such as weed can change dramatically between sessions.

Prior to commercially available distance sticks, such as the ones from Korda, anglers who were early adopters of this approach used to use things such as a pair of banksticks, bivvy pegs sticking up out of the ground, or made their own sticks from pieces of dowel rod. Whilst these did work and were better than what anglers had used prior to that to maintain accuracy, they weren’t very user friendly and you could quickly get in a real mess and end up with a big birds nest to deal with.

The release of the Korda Distance Sticks changed all of that, and made the whole process very easy, even when using lines such as fluorocarbon which can be harder to deal with when not under tension.

The use of distance sticks provides unparalleled precision and consistency in measuring distances.

How to use a set of distance sticks for carp fishing

Initially, you still need to find your spot as usual using a marker rod, and then once you are happy and have popped the float up to it, you need to cast a bare lead next to it, or ideally just behind it and feel the bottom – a Probe Lead is great for this – and then feel to check you are on the type of spot that you think you are. Make sure you do this with the same type of line that you will actually be fishing with, as mono has more stretch than braid when you hit the clip.

Once you think you are on the right spot, clip up on your reel, wind in, and have another cast to check that the clip is positioned exactly in the right place to land on the specific part of the spot you want to be on – such as where silt meets gravel. This may take a few casts and adjusting the clip slightly each time to get it perfect. Then simply wind in with the line still in the clip.

Push or screw your Korda Distance Sticks into the ground, ensuring that they are vertical, and a specific distance apart – most people use 12ft or 4 yards.

Then place your lead around one of the sticks so it can’t move, before opening your bail arm and going round and round, back and forth between the sticks – or some people use a figure of eight pattern, whichever is easiest for you – trying to ensure that all of your ‘wraps’ are around the same part of the sticks, so that your line is parallel to the ground. This is important as doing it at an angle from the bottom of one stick to the top of the other actually means that is more than 12ft of line. That may seem pedantic and irrelevant, but over a longer distance that becomes significant – for instance even a different of 4 inches on each wrap, over 20 wraps (80 yards), would mean an error of over 6ft, and clipping up more than 6ft further could mean you aren’t even fishing properly, such as where there is weed behind a clear area.

As you are wrapping the line make sure you keep a count, and keep on going until you hit the clip – you can check that count by doing it again as you wind the line back onto your reel. It is highly likely that your final ‘wrap’ won’t coincide exactly with where the sticks are, so make a mental note e.g. 16-and-a-half, and you can also push something into the ground at that point, such as a bivvy peg to be really precise. Making a note on your phone of the exact distance means you won’t forget it – and is also useful in the future if you fish the same swim again, e.g. the Point, 16.5 wraps.

Plus, of course make a note of the direction you are casting in as well, as there is no point knowing the precise distance if you have no idea of where to aim! This can be some sort of far bank sky line marker such as a tree, the silhouette of which will be visible even at night, or even just a compass reading using your phone – some anglers such as Danny Fairbrass even take a photo of their swim and mark exactly where to aim, keeping a copy of that on their phone alongside the precise distance, and if fishing multiple spots within the swim, you can do this for each one.

Using distance sticks for accurate casting and baiting up to hit the same spot repeatedly

Once you have measured out the distance to your spot, whenever you want to recast, you simply wrap the line up again to that exact number of wraps, clip it up, wind the line back onto your reel – ensuring you do so under tension – and then cast out, hit the clip, and feel the rig down to the bottom. This can be done with multiple rods if you are fishing more than one on a spot.

This means that these days anglers can fish three rods on a very tight area relatively easily, and there is much less guesswork involved than in the past – especially when it comes to being able to recast at night.

The other big advantage of using distance sticks is that it also means that you can bait up incredibly accurately with a spod or spomb, and know that your rigs are definitely in amongst that bait.

All you need to do is wrap your spod rod up and you are ready to start putting bait out, although there are some factors that you need to consider.

How does swing back make a difference when baiting up with a spod?

One difference between your spod rod set up and your fishing rods is that in a lot of cases you will be using monofilament line (other than when fishing with fluorocarbon or braided main line) and this stretches when you hit the clip. But in reality that will make very little difference by the time your rig hits the lake bed, versus the braided line used on your spod rod.

A bigger consideration is the fact that your spod or spomb is landing on the surface and emptying there, whilst your rig is sinking down to the bottom on a tight line once you hit the clip – important if you want to feel for a drop.

The fact that your rig is sinking on a tight line cause some degree of pendulum effect, with your lead swinging back towards you, and will land slightly closer to you than where it actually hit the water.

The degree to which this will make a difference depends on the distance you are fishing at, and the depth of water. In very deep water at close range, this can have a significant impact; whilst in shallower water at long range, the swing back will be negligible.

Theoretically it should be possible to work this out simply by treating it as a Pythagorean triangle, with the distance and depth making up the two sides adjacent to the right angle. But in reality the hypotenuse isn’t straight in a fishing situation due to the way your line sinks through the water and will be curved, so there is no way of calculating this accurately – and even more so once you start introducing factors such as wind which cause more of a bow in your line during the cast, and the fact that different lines behave in different ways.

Rather than worrying about this too much, the best thing to do is to allow a few feet extra when fishing in deeper water, and also to move your feet back and forth a bit from the edge of your swim inbetween casts, as this will still give you a tight spread, but one where all of your bait isn’t landing in a line at exactly the same distance, and will ensure that your rigs are in amongst it.

How to use your Korda Distance Sticks properly

Using your set of Korda Distance Sticks properly will ensure maximum accuracy, and especially so inbetween sessions if you are returning to fish the same spots again.

Positioning them exactly a rod length or 12ft apart is easy to do via the special cord that comes with them and means that you don't have to lay your rod on the ground to get an exact measurement – simply attach the cord measuring tape to each stick, and make sure it is fully extended and tight.  

The Korda sticks come with a built in spirit level bubble in the top, which might seem like a gimmick, but having your distance sticks exactly straight can make a big difference to accuracy, as when they are leaning over they aren’t exactly 12ft apart, and when you multiply that error of even a few inches over the number of wraps you are making, you could easily end up being 6ft or more out in your measurement when you clip up.

For that reason it is important that they are firmly in the ground as well, because if they start to lean over throughout the session, you will encounter the same problems with accuracy.

That is the reason why the Korda Distance Sticks come with a hard augur point – these sticks are manufactured for us in the UK by JAG using high quality materials, such as high grade aluminium and stainless steel – and a T-bar, which allows them to be screwed easily into any type of bank even very hard ground, far enough that they won't move, and so they are dead straight upright.

Grooves are machined around the sticks along their length, and these are intended to ensure that loops of line can’t slip off of the sticks. Quality distance sticks often include features such as grooved surfaces to prevent line sliding and allow controlled single-coil release, which helps avoid tangles during the wrapping process. This will help prevent you getting into a real mess, as happens if more than one coil at a time comes off.

This is especially important when you are winding your line back onto the reel under tension, as several ‘wraps’ coming off at the same time will create a big tangle. When wrapping up your line, try and go around the sticks at the same height consistently, so it is as parallel to the ground as possible, as again this will help increase accurate, as opposed to the line being at a steep angle from top to bottom, or randomly around the sticks in all different places.

Just make sure that you position your sticks where you actually have enough space to wrap your rods up easily and without hitting overhead trees or undergrowth, and if there are any smaller pieces of vegetation inbetween the two sticks, it is worth trimming them to prevent the line getting caught on them. Many distance sticks feature visibility aids like high visibility tips or glow-in-the-dark markings which are particularly useful for night fishing or low light conditions, and the Korda ones are no exception, with hi-viz green caps into which an isotope can be fitted.

Best distance sticks fishing tips from the experts

·      Make sure you correctly position your Distance Sticks at the start of the session, as this effects accuracy and also how quick and easy it is to wrap your line around them.

·      Count the number of wraps as you go around the sticks, and also as you wind the line back onto the spool – this minimises the chances of mis-counting.

·       Make sure you wind your line back onto the spool tightly or you can end up with tangles, especially with lines such as fluorocarbons. The Korda Finger Stall Strap is ideal for this.

·      Anglers such as Danny Fairbrass wind their line back onto the spool through damp sponge, which also cleans sediment from the line as well as ensuring it goes onto the spool properly.

·      Make sure you hit the clip properly when you cast, ideally you want the lead to be fairly close to the water when this happens and not hit too hard, otherwise your lead will spring back towards you. If you don’t hit it properly though you will also land short as there will still be a bow in your line.

·      When you hit the clip, make sure you are always holding the rod at the same angle, otherwise your distance will vary – some anglers like to have the tip high, others like to have it pushed forwards at an angle.

·      When spodding in deep water at shorter range, make sure you take account of the swing back you are getting as your rigs sink to the bottom on a tight line, and adjust for that (clip your spod up slightly shorter).

A quick step-by-step guide to using distance sticks

·      Find your spot, either with a marker float or bare lead, then clip up once you are happy. Have a couple of casts to check the clip is at exactly the right distance. Make a note of what you are aiming at on the horizon, such as a tall tree.

·      Set up your distance sticks, screwing them securely into the ground so they can’t move and ensuring they are straight upright. Make sure you have enough space around them to wrap up your line.

·      Lay your lead against one of the sticks so that it can’t move, open your bail arm, and start wrapping your line back and forth around the sticks, trying to do so on the same part of the stick every time. Keep a count of each wrap you make.

·      Once you reach the clip, stop and make a note of exactly how many wraps it was, plus any extra bits such as ’16 and a third’. Leave the line in the clip. Make a note on your phone – useful if you fish the swim again in future.

·      Carefully wind your line back onto the spool under tension, moving the rod tip back and forth so it easily comes off of the sticks. Count as you go to double check you didn’t miscount the first time.

·      That rod is now ready to cast out, and if fishing several rods on the same spot, the other ones can be wrapped up the same way, as can your spod rod as well. Once you cast out, remove the line from the clip.

·      Whenever you need to recast, simply wrap up the rod to the correct distance, aim at your far bank marker, and cast. As long as you hit the clip properly and your rig lands in the right direction, you will be on your spot – you can even do this in the dark (once you’ve cast and tightened the line, check the direction with a headtorch, and recast if it isn’t correct).