Winter Carp Fishing

[Graham Marsden]

This is a dedicated thread for discussing article: Winter Carp Fishing

---------- Post added at 09:14 ---------- Previous post was at 09:05 ----------

Some great advice from Ian, and I would add that perhaps the first thing to get right, before even location, is your mind. You've got to believe.

Many carp anglers don't fish in winter because they can't get their heads round to believing it's worthwhile. They usually make the mistake of continuing their summer fishing into winter and once they've had a run of blanks, give up.

What they don't realise is that the transitional period between autumn and true winter (when the frosts are kicking in with a vengeance and the temperature is plummeting) is usually the worst time of the lot. The fish need time to adjust to feeding in the lower temperatures, but once they have they usually settle down to some kind of feeding pattern, obviously not as eagerly as they do in the warmer months, but a pattern nevertheless.

I know quite a few dedicated carp anglers who much prefer to fish in winter than in summer, and they have truly consistent success in all kinds of foul weather.

 

[Stealph Viper]

Thank you ian,

That was a good quality, and, informative write up which included some very helpful tips.

I would like to highlight one or two other things to consider with winter fishing, especially the long stay Anglers.

Don't forget that in winter the nights are longer, so a good quality Head Torch is a must so you are not stumbling around in the dark, if you get a take or just want to go to the toilet.

Also, when the winter is particularly fierce, do not risk your life just for the sake of catching the odd fish, stay safe.

Lastly, make sure that your mobile phone is fully charged, i say this because in winter sometimes you will find yourself on a lake all on your own, and if you do get injured or do find yourself in trouble, this will be invaluable to you, it may not be yourself, it may be another Angler that needs your assistance.

Great write up Ian, well done.

 

[Peter Jacobs]

Nice one Ian, informative and easily readable.

One thing I would add, as a must:

Make sure that you have an I.C.E. number in your mobile cellular phone!

The emergency services are trained to look for that immediately upon arrival at an incident.

(see: In case of emergency - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

 

[Frothey]

just being controversial, I'd say to take less gear - just better quality stuff.

If I'm doing an overnighter, I don't take the bivvy because it's something else you think that is a pain to carry, put up, and take down when wet. The brolly with a decent sleeping bag, cover and clothing is all you need and you are less likely to try and find excuses not to go - which is half of the battle, keeping motivated. I don't bother with cooking gear, a flask of soup and some sandwiches and chocolate is fine.

obviously longer sessions you'll take more kit, but I reckon the majority don't do more than a night a week - there's always the takeaway if you do lol!

 

[Graham Whatmore]

I am not a carp angler nor do I profess to know much about modern carp fishing methods other than what comes natural to any seasoned angler but if carp lakes are in any way similar to match carp lakes then location is 98% of the battle in winter.

Match lake carp in winter shoal up incredibly tight, for instance, the angler on say peg 17 will catch carp regularly but the two anglers on pegs 16 and 18 (sometimes the rest of the anglers) won't have a bite, a scenario that is very common in winter match fishing. Whether this scenario is repeated on dedicated carp fisheries I wouldn't know but instinct tells me it might well be.

Overnighters in the dead of winter? Brrrrr! Even watching Tele isn't as much punishment as that. Tell me something Dave, do most bites in winter come during the day or during the night? I would have thought the water temperature was at its highest during the early afternoon and consequently kickstart a feeding pattern!

 

[Frothey]

I have no idea Graham, as I rarely get to fish in the day! It's a 6pm to 5.45am trip to fit around work for me.....

I've found looking back at when I've had takes on the lakes I fish, there seems to be the odd fish around 9pm then a more defined spell around midnight till about 1.30am. One pre-requisite to doing a winter overnighter campaign is making sure there are potential feeding spells when you are there - no point doing one on "day" lakes.

 

[Shine]

Thank you Ian for the article. Some sound advice. I always make sure my phone is charged (buy a car charger to be extra safe) and my phone includes an ICE number.



In the warmer months the carp are easier to spot. This time of year when the wind is blowing, there's a chop on the water, what kind of things should I be looking for as to where the carp might be?

 

[Stealph Viper]

One more thing about going fishing in the winter months, more so if you are planing on making a couple of days of it.

Seeing as it is winter, and the weather is probably already quite bad, check the long range weather forecasts just incase they have giving it out to get worse.

In the warmer months the carp are easier to spot. This time of year when the wind is blowing, there's a chop on the water, what kind of things should I be looking for as to where the carp might be?

That is a bloody good question, Shine.

 

[Frothey]

fish usually still show in the same ways as in the summer, just less often and in the dark. spotting decent sized fish in "chop" is quite easy as you normally get a decent flat spot.

 

[Shine]

Will they still show around the margins in this wind?(couple of feet of water). I tried looking in the weathered reeds but it was so windy I couldn't tell if anything was in there moving about.

 

[Frothey]

without sounding unhelpfull, fish will go where they feel comfortable - that might be in 2ft of water on the end of a gale one day, the next midwater in the middle of the lake. I would say at the moment though that the fish aren't going to be in full "winter" mode as it's hardly cold at the moment, and we haven't had much of a frost yet this year.

you can only really go on what feels right at the time. If you haven't had a bite, try somewhere else....

 

[Shine]

It's not unhelpful, it's very helpful. Any creative advice is appreciated. Thank you.
Seems they are slowing down though. Like you say it's hardly cold. I know when it's cold because that's when the Sunridge suit comes out.