Somewhat off the point guys
Fishing in summer hot spots...you dont wanna be doing that, you wanna be looking for the thermocline, thats what you wanna be doing!
It works like this....In winter, cold water, being denser that warm water, sinks to the bottom (wind has an effect..i'll come onto that in a moment) What this effectively does is force the thermocline towards the surface of the water. So, when confronted by a gravel pit that has varying depths, it is worth working out where the thermocline is in the water and finding areas that co-inside with that depth.
What this means is that if the thermocline is say 7 feet down, it is worth fishing in 7 feet of water, wether that is the margins, the top of a bar surrounded by deeper water, a plateau etc etc. The Carp will cruise around at a depth of roughly 7 feet..stopping to feed in "the comfort zone" if the oppertunity is there.
Exceptions to this are in windy conditions when the thermocline is not so well defined due to the warm/cool waters mixing due to underwater currents created by the wind.
How many have seen carp cruising under ice? I have for certain, and have caught them too. You get a lot of that ice stuff up here