Carp Fishing in Winter

I used to go Carp fishing right through the year and in all weathers, raid, shine or snow !!

Do you have to be relatively young for this or has the equipment become so good you can now fish right through the worst of the weather for long periods of time ?

Bob

You still have to do some serious planning when fishing through the harsher winter weathers. Have you got enough food and Hot drinks, wrap up extra warm but not so you sweat. If the weather looks like it's becoming extremely severe, pack up and go home. Take a fuly charged Mobile with you just incase and generally just stay safe warm and use your common sense. No fish is worth your life.

How many of the Carp Anglers on this site, fish through the winter ?

I use too, but I don't think I'm up for it now as I really feel the cold since my Heart operation ?

Bob

I've winter fished a couple of winters, I've even had a brolly bust with the weight of snow on it. Providing you have the correct stuff and a couple of changes of clothes to keep dry, staying warm isn't a problem. The mountaineering stuff is alot better than carp clothing by the way. The problem I have is getting bored, 16 hours of darkness in a bivvy isn't exciting

come october 1st the carp rods are hung up and the pike rods come out to play, i still enjoy the odd 48/72hr session for pike even in the depths of winter many a time i have woken to a snow covered bank and a few times ive needed a brick to break the ice to allow me to get my end tackle back.
for me winter fishing can be better than a sweltering summer session. dress in layers rather than in big chunky clothes, and remove layers when you are moving around and baiting up the swim then add layers to sit back and relax.
my favourite top is a norwegian army shirt (its like a thin tight weave fleece) very light weight but really warm then a good jumper and fleece jacket. i have a good thick water proof coat for the times when its raining or snowing and i need to play a fish. for trousers i use thick army surplus combat trousers, lght weight and quick to dry.
i dont bother with fleece thermal one piece suits as i sweat to much moving around and then the sweat can start to freeze when you sit down.
the most important items though are gloves, hat and boots.
i have found mountainering gloves are great as they are not as thick padded as ski gloves and so allow you to play a fish without problems. the hat is a nice simple thinsulate from a garage for £1.99
for boots ive not bothered with the fishing wonder boots all my mates keep buying every few seasons. the british army now issue a really good gortex/thinsulate leather high leg boot and these can be picked up on ebay for around £50-60.
the only real issue ive come across in winter fishing is cheap bite alarms. a couple of friends have had their alarms pack up after a severe storm or a good solid freeze. i still use optonics from the 80's and these have never let me down where as some friends even with fox alarms have problems due to a deep freeze.
also make sure gas bottle on stove is full and you take plenty of water for hot brews and good solid hot food.
follow some simple steps and make sure you plan your trip with care and check your car before leaving home, missing a sleeping bag or hat isnt an issue in summer but in winter will ruin your trip in no time at all

I've pike fished for a day in winter but never gone carp fishing

I have done but mostly in the past, although I still do try for a weekend trip or two these days.

I wouldn't dream of it unless fully prepared and outfitted, my bivvy is a twin skin Trakker Mk2, with a 5 Seasons sleeping bag together with everything I need to be certain that I am; warm, dry, comfortable, well fed and 'watered'

Even so, fully kitted-out is no excuse for being out in ridiculous temperatures; better to pack up and go home than risk hypothermia.

Being perfectly honest though, I have never really had great catches in the Winter, but rarley encounter a blank either, just steady fishing really.

I find that short sessions are just as rewarding during the winter months, find the fish and then fish to them rather than sitting it out for days hoping.

Still fish for carp in winter but, like others on here, I prefer short sessions. I do some overnighters when I think the conditions are likely to be favourable - though my experience of favourable is at odds with accepted wisdom! I prefer the still frosty nights and often choose a pitch near shallow water, as these areas have been productive in winter for me. Snow can be good too. Wind and rain doesn't produce anything like as reliably as you'd think from all the advice thrown about.

I don't go overboard on equipment either, as I like to be able to move about as easily as I would in summer. I don't own a super-duper twin-skin bivvy anyway, but find my old 45-inch brolly and a waterproof bedchair cover quite adequate unless lots of rain is forecast, in which case I resort protestingly to a Trakker A-Lite. I like to be close to the rods, hence the preference for a conventional brolly which allows me to strike a run from the bedchair.

I have a feather-filled army sleeping bag which, with a breathable fleece cover and (if necessary) a waterproof cover or groundsheet over that, keeps me plenty warm enough. Quite often I've had thick frost on the fleece cover by morning.

To be honest however, these days I don't find carp fishing in winter as appealing as summer; for me it is still a fish of lily-clad lakes, sweeping willows and warm summer nights. I won't deny a big winter carp is a fabulous thing and I expect I'll carry on trying to get one, but then a big September carp is just as special.

Like others have said, i now prefer to fish for more "seasonal" species during the winter months, to me that means pike, chub, grayling, roach and perch. Thats enough to keep anyone busy If the winters are going to continue like the last couple then winter carping is going to be a hard slog and there are better fishy distractions.

A few years ago however when i was doing a lot of carping i would often fish through the winter months and found that the fishing could still be quite productive. I would never fish through the night for them (far to boring and cold, being at home or in the pub is better, LOL) What i found is that carp have a couple of key feeding times and will feed for short burst, this varys from water to water, but if you can work it out then you only need to fish for very short periods. On some waters the carp will spend a lot of time off the bottom cruising in mid-water this is especially the case in periods of high pressure, due to this zigs and bright high attract pop-ups fished as a single bait can be devastating. Caught my biggest english common on a cold december day on a single hi-viz pop-up no free offerings and i only fished for 3 hours after i had worked out a pattern for the water.

Another good trick is to keep trickling the bait in if you intend to fish through the winter months, again work out where the fish want to be and a handfull of small 10mm boilies and a dash of hemp every other day can keep them on the prod, this has worked well for me on my local canal in the past. Keep away from very oily/fishmeal baits as the carps motabilism slows right down and this bait can work against you filling the carp up quicker.

Fishing in winter is like adventure. I did fishing in Dubai in winter but unfortunately not found single fish.I had wait for almost 4 hours but not caught single one.But I must say Dubai fishing was an adventure for me.you are really a lucky person that you find the big one.

Congratulations for the big fish!! Enjoy fishing.

I tend to fish for short spells and this only when the water temperature stays above 45 degrees.
Last year I had fish on the 12th November following a mild spell with water temp at 50 degrees after which it turned very cold (too damn cold for me!) and I didn't go again until 14th Jan. and caught small carp with water at 48 degrees.
The next time I was able to fish was 4th Feb when I took fish to 17,5lbs with water temp at 45 degrees. For the record all fish were taken on meat during this period-they didn't want to know about any other bait I offered! I use hemp and chopped meat as groundbait and tend to fish the same swim(s) and keep them going with small quants of those mentioned as I (think) regular baiting helps..

Obviously it depends on the water with some more productive than others but on my water it (seems) that temperature is as good a guide as any.................but then I've always taken water temperature as a matter of course.

I am one of the mad ones that puts in 48 hours in a blizzard. Since giving up sea fishing in the winter sometimes a 48hr escape from the cabin fever of housebound fisherman is just what I need. I use a JRC quad continental. take a small petrol genny. Electric kettle and electric heater and often a laptop with lots of films on it. Heater is the kind with the halogen lamps in. Since I have an Opera house for a bivvy theres usually plenty of space for company bankside. I tend to dress down in the bivvy and jacket up whenever I go outside. During the daytime I stay as active as possible and take time looking for the fish. Usually at this time of year most anglers dont bother so I often find a whole lake is for me and one of my friends meaning we get to cast to spots that during summer months would only be accessible if fishing that peg. Thats not the case in winter you can pretty much cast wherever you want which is why I bother. I often find I can locate fish during the day and bait areas during daylight that I will be able to cast to as the light is failing.

I personally find fishing in winter a much more relaxing experience and less pressured waters seems to suit me. Staying warm during the night is usually down to a decent bedchair and bag. I have a theseus carp wideboy copy which has been outstanding. Nice thick Padding which helps with insulation. i do however also have a moutain climbing roll up inflatable memory foam matress which I use in cold weather. A lot of heat is often lost through the bottom of the bedchair so I find this insulation layer means less clothing and less sweating. A good bag with breathable outer skin is essential. Also make sure you make a flask of hot tea made up before bed. If you do find yourself cold have a cuppa and light the heater until your core temp is up again and you can usually make it through the last 3 hours of blistering cold. The worst of the cold in winter seems to be from 2am until 6. I often find its worth having a nap around 6pm and gettin up around 1am to check rods, rebait and have some reccy time and food etc. Have a couple of hours and settle down again until dawn. Yes it plays havoc with the body clock but you get to be active when you need to and cope with the elements as well as the fishing.

Well thats how I get by in winter and if you put plenty of thought into what the weather, time and fishing conditions are like for your planned fishing time you can usually make your fishing experience very comfortable even in -5 conditions. providing theres enough wind to keep the lake unfrozen

G.

I really liked Winter Carping and had some of my Biggest fish on very cold nights in the depth of winter.

When a hard wind is blowing into your face on a large exposed gravel pit of some 120 acres, in December/January

You certainly don't get anyone bothering you with inane comments in the middle of winter and you don't Hay Fever either ?

So I will invest in decent -5 season sleeping bag and look forward to the winter !!

Bob

Gentle: I have to admire you dedication-you almost deserve to catch decent fish!! (48 hours in a blizzard-no, definitely not for me but I can understand how rewarding a fish would be in such conditions!)

I see you fish with a friend-always a good move-but I note that others fish alone(??)

I have to agree that winter fishing is very enjoyable and probably because one is invariably alone (short sessions only) it does seem to be more relaxed way of spending a day on the bank.
I see Fred Blake fishes under a brolly which takes me back to the 60's when a brolly was about it in terms of comfort and transportability. I did try a deckchair for a while (Fred Taylor spoke of them) which gave a decent few hours of relative comfort and a decent sleep in the unproductive hours after midnight (for me anyway!) but they were a pain to carry!

Warm summer nights-don't seem to have too many of those this year or is it just me?

One thing i like about winter carp is the colour of them. The fish darken off to lovely dark shades, chestnuts, bronzes, yellows, commons that are almost black. Makes all the hardships worthwhile. Dug this pic out of a canal carp caught on a bitterley cold january day (you can see the frost on the ground) The canal was partly frozen, but a small section remained ice free. The carp seemed to shoal up here and i kept them feeding by baiting with small ammounts of bait. That day i went down and fished a single bottom bait with just the dust from two crumbled boilies as free offerings. Half an hour later this lovely common was on the bank, had to play him under the ice at one point.

(sorry about the hat, look a right turnip )