Nothing fancy is required. All you need is a delivery system that works for you. If you are sight fishing, then in most cases the water will not be very deep, so gear up accordingly. To demonstrate how unsophisticated this can be, as a kid I wanted to learn or practice how to handle big fish. I had a 5.5 ft light action spinning rod with a Mitchell 300 reel and 4 lb teat mono. I would sit on a dock on the Delaware River in Monroe County, lob out a handful of corn into the current and then peel off the mono by hand allowing a BB split spotted hook or weight-free hook with a single kernel of corn to follow the chum slick. It would not be long before I would have an 18-26 inch carp on the other end and the drag would be singing. It is a good way to learn how to fight big fish on any gear. I am not saying you should try corn, but I am saying that simplistic techniques will work. No need to be fancy about it and if you have the itch now, in a week or three try the back end of a muddy cove on a lake. The carp will be moving into those areas to get any little warmth advantage that they can. Even better if the prevailing breeze tends to blow into that cove from the main lake, as it will push what little warm surface water exists at that time into the cove. Also a good pattern for striped bass hybrid fishing.
