Wild ish Carp?

Bit of long one..........

There is a dissused quarry close to my mothers house where as a young lad i used to bag up on carp, anything from 1/2lb to 8lbs. Main baits that i used were luncheon meat and sweet corn. 15 years on and I've returned to the water, only to find that the water levels are right down leaving most of the water really shallow. Also there is a lot of litter on the bank side left from irresponsible scallies so i presume that they have not looked after the fish that/if they have caught either.

Yesterday was my second session on the water resulting in another blank. The fish are there, i can see them but they just aren't touching my baits. They looked to be feeding on the bottom too.
I've tried Halibut pellets and worms over hemp thinking that they may have wised up to the old methods that i used. Then also resorted back to Luncheon meat just incase they hadn't. Still nothing.

Could it be that the oxygen levels are low in the water and that is stopping the fish from feeding. Or could it be that i'm doing something wrong?

The water is hardly ever fished from what I can make out, could these fish have turned 'more' wild as they are used to the natural food that is in the water?

Any advice on baits and tactics please... there's some whoppers in there

David,

I would love to find a water like this one with the possiblity of doing some classic carp fishing.

Might I suggest you try baiting with sweetcorn. On every visit, chuck a least a can into the water. Carp love sweetcorn and in my experience it is one of the most instant baits of the lot.

Also try breadcrust. Fish at the downstream end of the water and hide behind a bush or some other cover you can find. Margin fishing is extremely deadly. I've caught carp to over 30 lbs within inches of the bank.

Thanks for your advice Ron. I tried sweetcorn aswell yesterday, maybe it was just a bad day?

It's a real shame, the water is really neglected. The banks are strewn with litter from pillocks that have rarely fished there.

The fishing is free - in as much nobody patrols it and no clubs own the fishing rights.

I would like to do some kind of clean up on the water but not sure who to speak to.

I`m really surprised worms over hemp dont work or anything over hemp for that matter?

Ron, Monk,

Is it possible these fish are finely tuned in to only natural food items....or heaven forbid the water is dying?.....i once watched a pool in Hampshire as it dried out in a heatwave (coupled with a falling water table)......the only thing the carp seemed to want to do was bury themselves in the deep mud as the water receded.

Bloody sad sight, but to the best of my knowledge the fish were "only" wildies and noone was over interested in the pool at that time.....i was on holiday for 2 weeks.

cheese could be worth ago?
i had a few carp on crackabarrel recently!

Regarding a clean up, perhaps you could contact local cub scouts etc. They are keen to help in my area in such matters, or contact the EA as a last resort!