How would you fish a very deep reservoir?

[creaking cane]

hi im just started fishing a very hard resevoir with a fairly low stock of carp but big ones theres no night fishing so its early mornings what rig would u use for fishing the deep areas as ive never fished 20 foot dephs before so its a challenge. and i want ideas on a good long term boilie. it would be interesting to hearon other fellow anglers ideas thanks

 

[Bryan Baron 2]

I fish a 20foot lake also i tendto aim for the evenings on floaters or fish the bottom of the slope from the bank.

With regards to bollies any good quality one will work. But remember some waters do have prefrences and its always best to see what the other anglers are fishing.

 

[Paul (Brummie) Williams]

I have been watch a few carp in just such a place for a few years now.

I would suggest watching the water on still hot days....the carp may (as mine Do) have a favourite part and with the heat on their backs they will be easier to spot.

Mine also have a definate patrol route....a high bank colapsed and fell into the res many years ago creating a long "bar" about 15yds out....they follow this and actually turn at the end and head back upto their fav corner.

Look for anything different and watch for fish.....then decide how to fish it, it's only hard because noone has thought about it to much......find the fish and they will be very catchable.

 

[Gav Barbus]

Personally I would target the margins early mornings and evenings,is there any marginal cover for you to get behind for a spot of float fishing,no point complicating things if you can catch them on the float,what I would tend to do is bait a few spots close in near any cover ,or if you see or disturb any carp under foot as you are walking round these are the places to fish,just keep low and quiet and don't have a tight line to the float.Or if you want to use a bolt rig make sure everything is slack NO TIGHT LINES to the lead.

 

[The Monk]

many years ago we fished a very deep quarry in llandod, I expect Paul will know it, most of the fish appeared to be caught either popped up or on the surface, having said that we didnt fish particulaly deep, when fishing deep waters you have to consider certain factors and of coure the key aspect of fishing for anything "FIRST FIND YOUR FISH" I know when we`ve gone over some of the big lanashire reserviours with fish finders we have found a lot of the fish tender to be around the margin areas or at midwater level, especially in conditions of thermocline of course, on very deep waters like the Scottish lochs light penetration is limited in the deeper areas, light generally creates grwoth and food sources and fish feed in areas where food is of course, fish will og course feed deep, hence deep rigging, but yiou really need to learn how these waters tick, each one is a different ball game and it is very difficult to generalise, but always remember "FIRST FIND YOR FISH"

 

[creaking cane]

thanks for the info some very intereresting points theres a massive weed bed one end so thats obvious where i will target as well the fish seem to patrol the margins which is where i will prebait ive witnessed some mass patches of bubbles in the deepest areas of the resevoir.

 

[creaking cane]

some of these old carp are real leney carp so hopefully i willhave some great picsthat i will put up on the site

 

[Ric Elwin]

I fished a similar water a few years ago. It was around 15 acres, very clear, and 20ft. + deep 2 rod lengths out, all around. Only 50 or 60 Carp in there, of which 30 were small stockies, leaving just 20-30 worthwhile fish. A daunting prospect perhaps?

Not a bit of it! You could rule out fishing the 20ft deep water completely, other than with floaters.

So that leaves you with a small strip of water. Maybe half an acre of water in total, a completely different proposition.

I found that the Carp patrolled the margins all around the water, no spot was any better than an other. The trick was to bait very heavily with particles and wait till they arrive. and arrive they did, I very rarely blanked.

This water was interesting, as the Carp were as likely to feed at noon on a scorching day as in the morning or evening. Plenty of bait- the key.

 

[Spoddy Dave dst]

Another way to try is the zig rig as as Monk said the fishcould be in the the midwater levels or around there.

One local lake i visit often is an old trout lake 32ft deep converted into a carp cat lake, and the zig works well all times of the year.

Cast out a zigged popup to the deepest place then drag in a couple of feet every half hour or so.

 

[Adam Roberts]

bottom baits in twenty or even forty foot all day, when was the last meal you had susspended ten foot above the table....

 

[The Monk]

Never, but I only eat on dry land though, fish however regularly eat supended food sources in deeper waters the bottom is barren often because of a lack of light penetration.

 

[Adam Roberts]

the bottom is barren beg to differ on that one,i no of a lake were the avarge deepthe is 34 foot and the deepest is 52 foot and weed grows in 40foot plus it has proberly one of the riches natural food larders around as well all of wich starts life on the bottom and the light does get down that far that is how the weed start growing weed need a good light source to grow

i am not saying fish dont eat susspended food item but it is more out of cureosty that they do, after all they have no hand to feel what is susspended there in front of them they have to use there mouth by which time if your rig is any good it is to late.if they want a proper meal the go to the bottom were all the anglers bait is and the natural snap

 

[The Monk]

the waters I`ve been fishing for the last 50 years then must contain some very curious fish Adam/forum/smilies/smile_smiley.gif, although let me draw your attention to my earlier post, "FIRST FIND YOUR FISH," if you have found fish feeding on the bottom of a water 20,000 feet deep, then that is where you would fish for them,angling is not an exact science (unfortunately) and we can all onlysuggest thingsbased on our own knowledge, understandingand experiences, there are no experts, except maybe the fish themselves. now science suggests that most freshwater plants require light and oxygen to grow, anything other than that is beyond my understanding and apparently also that of modern science, its is of course very probable that fish do feed on the bottom of deeper waters, although most of the none light penetrating zones are usually the domain of the detrivore and scavengery species, plant will grow in low light consditions of course and their growth is accelerated as they move through the upper layers.

 

[Cakey]

I would learn about my epilimnion ,thermocline and hypolimnion layers before I fished it

 

[Cakey]

in the hypolimnion layer the water can be to cold and poorly oxygenateddue to rotting vegetation etc..........would you eat dinner down there ?

 

[Mr Cholmondeley-Corker (PaSC)]

What about Tench Cakey?

 

[The Monk]

tench are essentially bottom feeding fish, but they will only feed if food is available, of interest I can remeber an old mine shaft from my youth, these things dont exist now because of the dangers they caused, but one of the things had a few tench, which i presume someone had put in there, on just about any visit you could nearly always find the tench suck against the shaft wall as if feeding in the algae which had forms

 

[ED (The ORIGINAL and REAL one)]

I agree Cakey

In deep lakes sunlight does not reach the bottom of the lake so photosynthesis cannot take place. In the lower level of the lake oxygen is used up by bacteria, bottom dwelling animals and during decay of organic material.Therefore fish will NOT feed in that bottom layer

How far the light travelsthrough the water varies daily and seasonally with the strength of the sunshine. Algae and suspended solids reduce the transparency of the water.

 

[Spoddy Dave dst]

i would imagine catfish love that hypolimnion layer don't think they are too fussy what and where they eat as long as its big and stinky.

 

[The Monk]

my mate Elvis pete use to be like that/forum/smilies/smile_smiley.gif