Carp Fishing - Winter Carping Pt7

After opening my 2009 carp account with a 14lb 6oz common last week I was back at the lake the following Saturday which was the 24th January. On my way to the lake is was getting increasingly agitated as the fields either side of the road were white with frost. The closer I got to the lake the worse the frost seemed to be and I had a nagging feeling that I might be driving towards a frozen lake!. I was already most of the way there so I didn’t bother turning the car round and going home. When I arrived I found the lake half frozen but fishable although I needed to do a bit of work to reach the area I wanted to fish.

The angler who was on last week was on again, he was in the bay but he didn’t have a lot of water in front of him and I scratched my head wondering why he hadn’t dropped into my open water swim instead?. The answer to that question came soon enough as a carp rolled against the ice in the bay, I looked at the rolling fish and sure enough another 3 shows followed in quick succession. He’d beaten me to the fish again. I’m not one for getting up early to go fishing, I usually arrive at the lake sometime between 10 and 11am and this early bird was beating me to the fish!.

As well as no carp, my swim also had other problems namely a lot of ice that needed shifting, between me and my usual winter hotspot was a strip of ice that was roughly 20 yards long and about 10 yards wide, this sheet of ice was blocking me from casting so I needed to move it. I cast over the ice and slowly retrieved my rig until it got caught up in the ice. At this point I dropped the rod tip to water level and slowly applied pressure to the rod. At first nothing happened but after a few seconds the rod tip began to spring back so I applied some more pressure and again slowly the rod tip began to spring back. I literally pumped that big sheet of ice into the margins were I could break it up. It took me 15 minutes to move the ice from 40 yards out into the margins. It was 15 minutes well spent as I could now cast my rig onto my favourite spot which I duly did.

The second rod went out to the left as close to the edge of the ice as I could cast, as the ice melted I would recast this rod as far over to my left and as far towards the bay as I could possibly get as this was the area the fish were occupying and I had to get as close to them as possible to give myself a chance of catching.

The angler in the bay was having a good day, I saw him land at least 4 carp and I suspect he may have had a few more besides the ones I saw him land. This would be the kind of result I’d expect to have if I was on my own but my late arrivals meant a second best swim for me. I badly needed rid of the ice as it was preventing me from getting a bait into the area the carp were holding up. Just after midday I had the good fortune to feel a breeze on my face, over the next half an hour the breeze got stronger and slowly but surely a massive raft of floating ice slowly moved away from the bay and started to break up. By 1pm the lake was completely ice free!.

I wasted no time, as soon as I had a clear path to my left I wound in the roving rod and whacked a rig and mesh bag as hard as I could towards the entrance to the bay. The rig landed perfectly so I made a decision to leave it there for the rest of the session, I was still slightly off the fish but with an angler in the bay and no ice to hide under I was convinced the carp would push out to were my left hand bait was, with the hotspot already covered this was to be my last roll of the dice for the day and it was time to sit it out for that all important run.

By 3.30pm I was looking at my watch and thinking I’d blown it, there were carp in the area I’d cast the roving rod but nothing had happened, the hotspot rod had also remained spookily quiet and with less than an hour of my session left I was beginning to resign myself to a blank. Its funny how fishing goes sometimes, you expect a run and it doesn’t come, you don’t expect one and all of a sudden your bite alarm springs into life!. That’s pretty much how it was on this occasion, it was 15.50pm when the left hand rod tip suddenly pulled round and the alarm sounded. All I could think about was how much of a relief it was to finally get a run!.

The carp swam towards me very quickly, from roughly 100 yards range it was under my feet in less than a minute, I knew what was coming so I loosened off the clutch on my reel and sure enough, as I gained contact with the fish close in it ran hard and I had to give line quickly. The carp wasn’t a particularly big fish so I had it under control quite quickly, experience has taught me to loosen the clutch when a fish swims towards me because they invariably run when they’ve put up so little fight. With the carp in the margins I just kept a steady pressure on and wore the fish down until it popped up on top and went into the waiting landing net.

I was relieved to say the least, I really thought I was going to blank and I really didn’t deserve that!. I secured the net and got on with setting up the scales and camera. The carp weighed in at 13lb 6oz, another average size fish for the water. I have to say I made a complete mess of the pictures, for once I wasn’t paying attention and in my haste to get the fish back to the water I didn’t take the angle of the sun and the position of the tripod into consideration. The result being a shadow across the carps tail that is in the shape of the tripod. I realised I’d done this but I wasn’t going to subject my carp to any more time out of the water than necessary so I made do with the pictures I had and released the fish back to the water.

This 13lb 6oz January winter carp saved a blank!


With one carp caught I suddenly felt another fish might be on the cards, my hook bait was still on so with time running out I quickly attached another pva mesh mesh bag and whacked the bait back out to the same distant spot. Again the cast was good and I sat down to see if my last half an hour would produce a bonus fish. Instead of packing up at 16.30pm I made do with putting my gear away and sitting it out a bit longer, I was convinced another run was just minutes away and I ended up staying until 17.00pm in the hope of another bite. Despite half an hours overtime the run never came and I finally conceded defeat and packed up.

I did my usual stint with the spod before leaving for home and it was completely dark by time I left. On the way home I thought long and hard about fishing this water for the rest of the winter. With another angler consistently being there earlier than me I was going to struggle and that’s something I’m not used to on this water having had it to myself for so long. I already have my fishing plans in place for 2009 and I’ve started to consider a change of venue for the rest of the winter. I’ve got a week or so to sit and reflect on the change of scenery I’m thinking about, it will certainly mean less runs but at the same time, bigger fish than low twenties would be a very real possibility and right now the thought of somewhere new to tackle is very appealing.

Tight Lines
Mark

Carp Fishing - Winter Carping Pt6

I can’t believe just how cold its been over Christmas and new year!. Prior to this fishing session I’m writing about now, which took place on Saturday 17th January, my last winter carp session was on boxing day!. With the lakes iced over for a few weeks I eventually decided to make a start on reviewing some of the fishing gear I use and my first review was on kryston silkworm braid, a hooklength material I've been using for over 15 years now. As I've used this material for so long it seemed logical to review one of my favourites first. I’ve also added a few new links to this blog, notably Mo's Co Pva, mo has been supplying carp anglers with pva for years and I use his gear myself, you’ll find a link to mo’s ebay shop in the right hand navigation under ‘recommended sites’. Also added to this section are a few north west based ebay shops, northern monkeys owner Julian Grattidge has a new ebay shop called ‘Darkside Tackle’, Trafford Angling Supplies and the Cheshire based Koala Products. Ebay is a great source of cheap fishing tackle and these guys are local to the north west area so give them your support!.

Saturday 17th January was a cold day, if it wasn’t for the fact that we’d had wind and rain prior to the weekend I wouldn’t have bothered going but I suspected the lakes would be ice free and as I pulled into the car park my thoughts were proved right, the water was bendy and that was enough for me.
I wasn’t alone on this session, there was another carp angler on the water and he had beaten me to the fish. The carp were stacked up at the entrance to the bay and he was just about on them, I couldn’t really drop in on his left hand side as my own angling etiquette wouldn’t allow it, I wouldn’t have been happy if it was done to me so I wasn’t going to do it to someone else!.

I had very little choice but to set up in the main area of the lake, this at least gave me access to my faithful hotspot so I covered this area with one rig and I put the other just off to one side, both rods were just fished with pellet hookbaits and a small pva mesh bag. I was in for a struggle today, the other guy had the fish covered and he was first into a carp, he was also second and third into the carp as well as he picked them off from the bay entrance. My swim remained quiet, nothing showed in front or on my right but I had the hotspot covered and this spot has very rarely failed to produce at least one carp on each winter session!.

The first few hours of my 6th winter session had been quiet, I was sitting watching the water when I had a single bleep came from the delkim. I sat and watched but nothing happened for a few seconds, I wasn’t sure if it was a carp or not as it was quite windy by this time, I glanced at my watch and it was 1.30pm, as I looked back up at the water my delkim started a very slow run and as I went to grab the rod I watched my monkey climber slowly pull up. I hit it and sure enough I found myself attached to my first carp of 2009. I was pleased to be into a fish, I’d have hated to start the new year with a blank!.

The fish didn’t do much, it just kited from side to side all the way in and after a few minutes in the margins I eventually slipped the net under an ‘average for the water’ common carp. That’ll do me I thought, I gathered my unhooking mat and scales, set up the camera and got on with weighing and photographing the fish. The common turned the scales to 14lb 6oz, not a small fish and not a big one either but it was my first fish of 2009 so I was happy to at least get myself ‘off the mark’ so to speak.

First winter carp of 2009, a common of 14lb 6oz


I covered the hotspot again, 1.30pm was an hour earlier than my boxing day capture from the same spot so I had a bit longer left this time and I was hopeful of another fish. Once I was settled down it was back to the waiting, I was slowly getting more and more restless as time ticked by. My reason for this was that evening time is usually regarded as the best time on my winter carp water and I was convinced a second run would come. I held on and held on in the hope that the hotspot would give up a second fish but it never did. I even stayed an extra 15 minutes until 16.45pm but it was all in vain and I couldn’t add another carp to my now running 2009 tally.

I even left the rods as late as possible before spodding in some pellets ready for next week, doing this put me at risk of getting wet as the rainy clouds where looming in the distance. I managed to get my gear in the car just in time and as I pulled out of the car park the heavens opened and it lashed down!. Despite only catching one fish I left feeling lucky I was still dry!

Carp Fishing - Winter Carping Pt5

After 4 nice doubles on the 22nd December I was keen to get back to the lake on Christmas eve, I set the alarm for 8am and when it went off I woke up with a splitting headache and I felt sick. There wasn’t going to be any Christmas eve fishing session for me this year so I rolled over and went back to sleep in the hope that a few more hours might see me right.

The next chance to get out fishing again was 2 days later, I was fully recovered by then but unfortunately the weather had taken another turn for the worse, gone was the mild weather and lovely westerly wind that had brought me 7 carp in the last 2 trips. Instead, bright sunny conditions and a bitingly cold easterly wind were the conditions that greeted me when I rolled into the car park on boxing day morning.

The conditions may have been poor for catching carp but they were very good for spotting them and I found the fish within minutes of getting out of the car, they were occupying the centre of the lake just off the back of the cold easterly wind. Occasionally a carp would poke its head out of the water and I even saw the odd back breaking surface as the fish tried to take advantage of any warmth the sun had to offer. The carp were well within casting range of my open water swim so I set up there and slowly put my rods together.

I put my first rig on my prebaited hotspot at 40 yards along with a few freebies, this spot was proving to be very consistent as usual and my intention was to keep a rod here whilst I would drop the other rig in areas I could see the fish in order to pick them off. With conditions being so bad I wasn’t very confident in the roving approach, it always seems to work best when there is a big wind on the water to disguise any lead splash.

On my last session I had set up on a huge shoal of carp that had eventually vacated the area I was fishing, I had caught two of them before they left but leave they did. These carp were not liking lead weights on their heads at the moment and sure enough, just 10 minutes after casting a 2oz lead in amongst the showing carp, they had disappeared. It was an hour later when I spotted the carp again, they had moved off towards the out of bounds area and they seemed to be holding in an area that was around 90-100 yards out and slightly to the left of where my first cast went. I decided to try again so I wound the rig in, clipped on another small pva mesh bag and cast out again. I planted my feet when casting and stepped into the cast to generate the extra power I needed to reach the fish as they were right on the edge of my casting range. My 2oz lead weight landed around 90 yards out and this was the near side of where the carp could be seen.

With my cast made I sat down to see if the fish would move again. I was disappointed when they did, the next time I spotted a carp they had moved out of range and I was left scratching my head wondering how to get a bait anywhere near them. Today, they just didn’t seem to want to know. A change of tactics was called for so I simply left each rod where it had been cast. It was going to be a waiting game today and I simply had to keep quiet and wait it out.

Having abandoned the roving style I just sat and watched the water, I had a bite to eat and a drink from my flask and around 1pm I fell asleep!. I slept for around an hour and when I woke up and had another look for the fish I found nothing had changed. I was sitting and thinking about blanking when at 2.30pm the hotspot rod suddenly let out a single bleep, before I had chance to focus on the rod my monkey climber pulled up to the top of the needle as a full blooded run developed.

That good old hotspot, its such a consistent area, it had saved me from blanking on numerous occasions over the last few winters and the area had come up trumps again!. I hit the rod and sure enough it arched over and took on its battle curve. The fish took very little in the way of line, just the occasional shake of the head before it began kiting to the right. Steady side strain kept things on track and in the margins I had a great fight with a common that just didn’t want to give up. Eventually the carp had no choice and as the fish tired, I slipped the landing net under a nice mid double that at least meant I hadn’t blanked.

I secured the net and got the camera and weighing gear ready, once set up I lifted the fish out onto the unhooking mat for a closer look, the carp was nailed in the bottom lip as usual, a clear example of just how effective my basic carp rig actually is. With the carp unhooked I weighed it in at 16lb 2oz, a nice common that was slightly bigger than average for the water and a nice result on what was a very very poor day for carp fishing!.

16lb 2oz Boxing day common that saved a blank!


After a few quick pictures in the sunshine I returned the carp to the lake and got on with trying to catch another one. I still had a few hours left so it was well worth trying the hotspot again. I recast my rod and again topped up the swim with a small handful of pellets that I just scattered around the area to try and pull in any passing fish.

Unfortunately nothing else occurred, the carp that had moved out of range of my roving rod decided to stay there and as they didn’t drift back over as the day went on it became obvious that I wasn’t going to have any luck on that rod. The hotspot also stayed quiet and I had no more action from that area either. At 4.30pm I got the spod rod out and deposited another kilo of bait onto the hotspot. By now the temperatures where already below zero and I reckoned my kilo of feed would probably be the last food these carp would see for a while as a frozen lake would be the most likely outcome of the heavy frost that was now falling around me. I packed up and headed for home not knowing how long it would be before I returned again, this cold weather front looks to be in for a few days so this boxing day session may well turn out to be my last carp session of 2008.
Tight Lines.

Carp Fishing - Winter Carping Pt4

I had a few days annual leave booked over Christmas and with Saturdays 22lb common fresh in my mind I decided a return trip to the lake was in order so I packed my gear early on Monday morning and headed back across Cheshire to my winter runs water.

Things had certainly changed since Saturday, the wind had eased right off and the carp had decided to show themselves. As soon as I pulled into the car park I was greeted by a carp crashing about 50 yards out and right in the entrance to the small bay off the main lake. I got out of the car and looked over at the area and inside 60 seconds and 5 more carp broke surface, in fact the more I looked the more I saw and the area was absolutely crawling with carp, it was an awesome sight with fish topping all over the area.

There was no time to waste, I had to get to work so I unloaded the car and headed for the bay swim that had been the scene of my boxing day and new years day twenties over last Christmas. I couldn’t get myself set up quickly enough, I had the rod pod down first and my two rods were put together in no time. My rods still had the pellets on from Saturday so I didn’t bother putting fresh baits on, I had to get the rods in amongst those carp as soon as possible so I just attached a pva mesh bag to each rod and cast them out. The first rig went off to right where a lot of carp seemed to be gathered and the second rig went straight out in front just on the edge of where another group of fish were showing.

I was settled in very quickly and I was expecting action straight away. Winter carp fishing can be a bit unpredictable, I thought I’d got my baits in quietly and that the carp hadn’t spooked but half an hour later I was having serious doubts about my swim, the fish had just stopped showing completely!. I made a decision to move the close in rod a bit further out into the middle of where the carp had showed instead of on the edge of the area, I had hoped to pick fish off without disturbing them and I’d obviously failed at that so I just went for the jugular so to speak.

I was actually contemplating a move to the centre of the lake when at midday all hell broke loose, the right hand delkim melted as a carp picked up my pellet and bolted for the horizon. I was on the rod quickly and after just a few seconds of playing the fish the left hand rod did the same!. With 2 fish on at the same time I was in trouble, I had to end the fight with the first carp as quickly as possible so I applied more pressure to try and bring the fish to the net. The carp actually felt quite decent, not as heavy as a 20 but certainly better than average for the water, this prolonged the fight and all the time I had the fish circling the other rod was running!. Eventually I netted a nice mirror, I secured the net and grabbed the second rod, by now this fish was quite a way out but it was still on. I had a job to cut down the distance between me and the fish in case it kited either side as I had bushes trailing in the water that might cause problems. Luckily the fish came straight into the net with very little fight and 5 minutes later I was stood there looking down at two carp in my landing net!.

I had a feeling of déjà vu, I’d caught a common and mirror brace from this swim on the 29th December 2007, just a week short of one year ago. Here I was again in the same situation, as I did then, I got my sling sack out and retained one of the fish whilst I weighed and potographed the first fish, the mirror weighed in at 16lb 12oz and after a few pictures I released this fish and brought the common to the unhooking mat, the common proved to be slightly smaller at 14lb 4oz but together they made up a nice brace of winter carp. Luckily everything had gone smoothly and I was happy to have both fish returned to the water safely.

First of my winter carp brace, a 16lb 12oz winter mirror


Second of my winter carp brace, a 14lb 4oz winter common



I rebaited my rods after my two fish and covered the same areas of the lake again. I sat back expecting some more action but after an hour nothing had showed and the area that looked like a carp stock pond two hours earlier was now empty of fish. I had a bite to eat and a drink from my flask and contemplated a move to the centre of the lake. After giving it until 2pm I finally made that move to the middle of the lake and to my prebaited hotspot. With the carp moving into the main area of the lake, this area would surely give me another chance before I went home at 4.30pm.

I put a pva mesh bag onto my hotspot at around 40 yards, the second rig went slightly off to the left about 50 yards out, this was an area I figured the carp may pass through on their way to the main area of the lake and the out of bounds area. Over the next hour I saw quite a few carp crash and they had moved out of range and into the out of bounds area. The fish obviously knew where to go to get away from angling pressure!. There was an odd fish showing closer in so I was hopeful of another carp before I went home.

I had to wait until 15.40pm before the run came, out of the blue the hotspot rod took off and my right hand delkim burst into life. This fish kited to my right and gave me a bit of a scare as it came close to an over hanging tree but some steady side strain had the fish close in and after a short fight in the margins I netted my third carp of the day. On the mat I carefully unhooked the fish and started my weighing process, on the scales I had 15lb 4oz, a few pictures followed and I returned my carp to the water, a nice mid double winter common to go with my brace of carp from earlier on.

Third winter carp of the day, a 15lb 4oz common


I had my rig back on the hotspot again for the last half hour of my session, by now a few carp had rolled in the area and I was convinced the hotspot rod was going to produce another fish. By 16.25 I had all my gear packed away with just the rods and the net to go. I looked at my watch waiting for 16.30 exactly before I wound in and started baiting up again. I was going to leave the hotspot rod till last as I was sure something was going to happen. When 16.30 arrived I walked over to the rods and just before I picked up the left hand rod it bleeped once, I paused for a second and sure enough the left hand rod in open water suddenly pulled round as a run developed!. I wasn’t expecting that, I was convinced it would be the hotspot rod but I wasn’t complaining, I hit the rod and began bringing my fourth carp of the day to the net. Everything went well and eventually I netted another nice common. I had to go digging in my rucksack for my scales and camera but eventually I got everything set up and my last carp of the day turned the scales to 16lb 8oz, another better than average fish for the water.

Last minute 16lb 8oz carp made it a good winter session.


The light was fading fast and I still had work to do before I went home, I packed the rods away and thankfully the hotspot rod didn’t go before I wound it in although I was still half expecting it too!. Once my gear was packed away I got on with spodding in some more bait as I was planning a return two days later on Christmas Eve. It took me a while and not for the first time I ended up spodding in the dark. With this task duly completed I headed for home more than happy with my four late December carp.

Tight Lines
Mark.

Carp Fishing - Winter Carping Pt3

Last week I got out of bed on Saturday morning, looked out of the window and promptly went back to bed!. The weather had been so cold I didn’t think it was worth going fishing. It was milder last Saturday but the rise in temperatures was too late to thaw the ice in time so I went Christmas shopping instead.
The following week was Saturday 20th December 2008, the weather had stayed mild all week with quite a few days topping 10 degrees, on top of this there was quite a big wind blowing and I really fancied my chances of putting a couple of winter carp on the bank this weekend.

After an uneventful journey across Cheshire I pulled into the car park for my first look at the lake. No fish were showing but they didn’t have to today, I went and stood in my usual peg and surveyed the middle area of the lake, there was a straight westerly wind piling straight into my swim with white capped waves crashing over my bank, it was perfect conditions for fishing the area I’ve been spodding bait onto every week before I go home.

I didn’t waste any time getting the rods out, I had them assembled and baited with a pellet each in no time, both rigs were accompanied by the usual pva mesh bag of freebies and I cast one rod straight onto my baited area and the other rod slightly off to the right and slightly behind my first bait. The baits were being fished at around 40 yards range but I still needed to put a bit of effort into the casts as the wind was quite strong.

I back leaded both rods and turned round to go and get my sounder box out of my bag, I got half way to my rucksack when one of the spools on my infinity reels started hissing away!. I turned back and grabbed the rod and sure enough, a quick strike saw the rod go over and I was into my first winter carp of the day. The fish kited to my right and I must admit it caught me by surprise, by time I realised what was going on the carp had taken out my other rod and left me with a bit of a tangle. It didn’t stop me landing the fish and after a 5 minute fight under the rod tip I netted my first fish of the day.
Untangling the mess wasn’t too bad once the carp was on the mat and with both rods out of the way I secured the fish in the water whilst I readied the camera for a few photo’s. I weighed the fish first and the scales gave me 15lb 2oz, a nice old common and a good start to the day!.

15lb 2oz winter carp made it a quick start to the day


An early carp like this generally meant a good day was on the cards, my fish had come at roughly 11.15am and I was confident it wasn’t going to be my last fish of the day, it was just a case of how long I’d wait for the next fish and how many I’d end up with!. Nothing much happened after my first fish, I watched the water but nothing showed which was unusual on this lake. The mild weather was giving me confidence but I couldn’t understand why things were so quiet?.

It was 2.30pm before the same rod on the baited spot was away again, I had no trouble avoiding my other rod this time and after a spirited fight I slipped the net under a small common that had a bit of a gammy mouth. I went through the usual unhooking and weighing and despite its small size I took a picture, more for the blog than anything else as it wasn’t a particularly big fish at 10lb 8oz although all carp are welcome on a short winters day.

10lb 8oz, not massive but all carp are welcome in December!


I had just under two hours of my session left so I quickly sorted out my rig with a fresh pellet and attached a new pva mesh bag to the hook before dropping it back on my baited spot at about 40 yards range. I watched the water closely for the last few hours, I saw one fish crash out in the out of bounds area of the lake about 180 yards out, this fish was off the back of the wind which seemed a bit strange as it was so mild and my two fish had come literally in the teeth of it. Another fish rolled off to my left at about 60 yards range and I thought about covering that fish with a bait but with less than an hour to go and two fish already coming to my net I decided to sit tight and see what developed.

I’d had my stealth brolly up during the day and with an hour left I decided to put it away, this meant I could sit and watch the water sitting down instead of standing as I had done for the last few hours, I poured myself a coffee from my flask too and just sat in the wind watching the lake for more rolling carp. I was busy looking at the bay behind me when a single bleep from the left hand delkim focused my attention on the rods. There was a big pause before a second bleep occurred. I had a feeling something was going on so I got up and walked over to the rods and as I did so my monkey climber suddenly shot up to the top of the needle as a full blooded run developed.

I was on the rod quickly and my light strike was met with a solid resistance. It took me a while to get the fish moving towards my bank, playing the fish in was a slow affair and I must admit, at the time it didn’t really register that I might be attached to a decent fish. As with most big carp, this one was like a dead weight compared to low doubles that are usually quite lively but the penny still didn’t drop for me?. I’d like to say I had a dogged fight under the rod tip but this particular carp just came straight up on top and waddled straight into my waiting net. It was only then that I caught a glimpse of the fish itself, it was another common and the gut on this carp and the shear width across its back meant I was looking down at a December twenty and a nice early Christmas present!.

My unhooking mat was hanging in a tree drying so I got it down and set up everything to weigh and photograph the fish, I’d actually began putting everything away in readiness to bait up so this carp caught me on the hop a bit. On the mat I zeroed the scales and hoisted the fish up, it was well over the 20lb mark and the needle settled on 22lb 10oz. Well I was delighted, I’ve had a few twenties from this Cheshire carp lake over the years but I didn’t recognise this one which made it all the more sweeter!.

22lb 10oz, a big winter carp from the North West


I put the rod back out again but there were no more pickups this time. I got the spod out not long afterwards and deposited a kilo of pellets and maize onto the spot I’d just taken my three fish from. It took a while to get the bait in and it was just about dark when I’d finished so I headed off home happy that I’d taken a December 20 after all that cold weather a few weeks earlier!.

Carp Fishing - Winter Carping Pt2

I was listening to the radio earlier today when the announcer reading the weather stated that we’d had the coldest start to a winter in 30 years!. I didn’t doubt this for one minute, when I banked my first and only double figure carp of the winter so far I actually felt like I’d got out of jail on that trip because the temperatures were so low.

I kept an eye on the temperatures prior to my second fishing trip of the winter and again they were low all through the week. When Saturday came around I very nearly didn’t go because I thought the lake would be frozen over. I always have a back up plan when it comes to my winter fishing so I packed my rover lure bag so I could visit the river dee if the lake did happen to be iced up.

Luckily for me I didn’t need the lures so the pike were safe for another week. When I arrived at the lake it was clear of ice and thankfully there was no fog this time either so I had a good view of the lake. I made my way to my usual swim that covers a large amount of water, the odds were that the carp would be somewhere within casting range so I got myself setup up and cast both of my rigs to what I call my ‘starting spots’, the areas I’ve caught regularly from in past winters. One of these hot spots had done me a carp the previous week so there was always a chance. Whilst I waited for a bite I kept scanning the water for signs of fish moving.

It wasn’t long before my best mate the local robin was being a nuisance again begging for food, I didn’t mind feeding him but he didn’t seem to understand that he wasn’t supposed to crap on every item of fishing tackle I had with me!. I continued scanning the water for most of the day but no carp showed. That might not be much of a big deal on most carp waters but the lake I’m fishing is exceptional and it’s very rare not to see at least a couple of carp roll during the daytime. These carp are so prolific in winter that I’ve even witnessed upwards of 50 shows when the lake has been half iced over!. Today however, I wasn’t seeing anything and it wasn’t until I listened to that radio announcer that I realised just how bad the weather conditions have been this winter.

Cheeky little robin perched on my rucksack!


I continued watching the water for signs of carp right up until 4.30pm when it was time to go home, it had been the quietest winters day I’d ever known on the lake, the temperature barely made 4 degrees all day and with the light fading it was getting very cold very fast. I made haste when it came to spodding bait in my swim and I was finished and on my way home in record time!.

When I got home I could feel my throat tightening and the next morning I succumbed to a cold which stayed with me for most of this last week. I’d recovered enough to go fishing this weekend but the temperatures hadn’t. The lakes had been iced up all week but on Thursday night into Friday morning the temperature rose a little and it began raining. Rain is good news when the lakes are frozen up and I hoped a bit of the wet stuff would get me fishing. I delayed any decision on going until I got up the next morning and checked the weather websites and had a look out of the window.

When I got up I logged onto the internet and had a look at the bbc weather, the temperatures hadn’t come up very much and looking out of the window there didn’t seem to have been much rain during the night. I doubted there was enough of a thaw to have made the trip worth while, there was always the pike fishing on the river but that was going to be my only option and as I’m mainly a winter carp angler I based my decision to not go fishing on the fact the lake would definitely be frozen over.

This brings my winter carp fishing up to date, one freezing cold blank with no carp showing and one abandoned trip due to the lake being frozen over. I hope that announcer on the radio has some better news about the temperatures for next weekend!.

Tight Lines
Mark.

Carp Fishing - Winter Carping Pt1

After a long break from carp fishing I finally felt like I needed to be on the bank again so on Saturday 29th November 2008 I paid a visit to the old winter carp water I’d done so well on in the past. This Cheshire carp water is well stocked so there’s always a chance of some action but I hadn’t reckoned on the weather!.

I woke up early on Saturday morning as I wanted to be at the lake in plenty of time to have a good look around. Unfortunately I found myself packing the car in freezing fog. I actually contemplated not going at one point, not only was the fog hazardous to drive in, it’s probably the poorest conditions of all for catching carp, specially in winter!.

I wasn’t going to be deterred, it had been nearly 11 months since I’d banked a New Years Day twenty from the lake and I was ready to renew my chess match with these lovely commons. I drove a bit slower on the way to the lake due to the fog but eventually I pulled into the car park to get my first view of the water. It was certainly foggy, the first thing I looked at was the margins, sure enough they were ice free despite it being freezing cold so at least I could actually get the rods out.

Due to the fog I couldn’t see very much so I unloaded my fishing gear and made my way along the bank to my usual winter carp swim. I’ve fished the lake for many years so I knew the swim well, my new plan was to get the rods into areas I know have produced for me in the past then sit and wait for the fog to lift so I could watch the water and hopefully work out the carps location. The out of bounds bank was about 200 yards straight out in front of me and I could barely see it, I could just about make out the tree line through the fog and that was enough to give me the line I needed to cast on. I quickly put the rods together, tied a couple of new rigs on and dispatched two peparami hook baits along with a small pva mesh bag with a couple of freebies in. I could only guess at the range my baits were cast but I did step into the casts and I gave each rod a good overhead thump, I’m guessing they landed somewhere around 80-90 yards out as I didn’t see either rig hit the water due to the fog!.

Once the delkims were set I settled down quite quickly, I didn’t realise it was so cold, there was ice forming on my monkey climbers and at one stage my main line was actually frozen to the tip rings until i freed it!. The resident robin was on the scene as soon as I arrived so once I’d got everything sorted out I gave him some food. That was a mistake, he turned out to be a real pest and after crapping on my rucksack, chair, flask, mat and bait box I’d just about had enough of my feathered friend!. I stopped feeding him and decided to try and watch the lake, the fog had lifted a little although I still couldn’t make out the colour of the leaves on the trees opposite.

Winter Robin, I made a mistake feeding this little fella!


I was scanning the water for signs of fish when at 11.45am the left hand rod suddenly burst into life without warning, I was quite stunned, these were possibly the worst conditions for catching carp yet the spool on one of my infinity reels was going into meltdown!. I jumped up and hit the rod and it arched over nicely as I felt that characteristic thump of a carp on the other end. I kept the pressure steady and the fish came slowly towards my bank, there was a few bushes in the water down to my right and I did think these might be a problem at one stage as the fish kited over to my right but some consistent side strain kept things on track and after a short fight in the margins I slipped the landing net under my first carp of the new winter season.

Well that was a good start, nothing had showed so I must have pretty much landed in the right area as the bait had only been out for just over an hour. I quickly set up the tripod and camera and got the unhooking mat and scales ready before lifting the fish out of the water. It was a nice common, not a massive fish by any means but most welcome on such a cold day. I weighed the fish at 12lb 2oz which is probably an average sized fish for the water. I rattled off a couple of pictures and released the fish quickly so I could re-bait my rod and get another hook bait back out to the same area.

12lb 2oz winter carp caught in icy and foggy conditions


My re-cast was good and the fog had lifted enough for me to see my rig land this time. The next hour passed uneventfully and I had a brew from my flask and some ham sandwiches I’d brought with me. Around 1pm I caught sight of a fish, it rolled in the area I’d picked my carp up from and I already had a bait there so my hopes of catching another fish rose considerably. Another hour passed when a slow run developed on the same rod, I was on it quickly and as I wound down and struck I expected the rod tip to pull over but it didn’t, I just hit fresh air instead. I checked the rig over and everything seemed in order, I paid particular attention to the hook point and this was ok too so I put another pva mesh bag on and recast my peparami hook bait back to the same area.

As the afternoon wore on the fog lifted enough for me to see the golden colour of the remaining leaves on the trees in the out of bounds and late afternoon the clearer conditions allowed me to spot a couple of carp that rolled in different areas. As it was getting late I just made mental notes of where I’d seen the fish and then got on with putting a little bit of bait in to give them a little taster and hopefully encourage them to hang around my swim.

It was so icy my landing net froze solid!


With my baiting up done I headed for home around 4.30pm I had a hard time packing up as my landing net had frozen solid after the morning fish I’d caught. I’d been trying to get my net dry by shaking it but every time I propped it back up against a tree it would be as solid as a board 15 minutes later. I did manage to get the net back in it’s bag after wrestling with it for a while. The frozen net was an indicator of just how cold it was and I left for home happy that I’d opened my winter carp account and happy that I’d caught a carp with the odds stacked against me.

Tight Lines
Mark.

Carp Fishing - Red Letter Days Pt5

I’ve had a week or two away from carp fishing recently, not because of any particular reason, I just haven’t felt like getting out recently so I’ve simply taken a break. As I like to add at least one entry to my carp blog every week I’ve decided to continue my ‘red letter days’ series and look back at another of those special days in carp fishing when things fall right.

This particular ‘red letter day’ goes back to the mid 1990’s, Saturday 4th March 1995 to be exact!. At this time I was fishing a little known carp water in North Wales. I’d done the winter on this under fished welsh carp water and I’d been catching steadily through the colder months. I’d got my winter winter carp location spot on, the carp had been stacked up in and around a weedbed and I’d done well fishing in and around the dead weed.

Urban carping in North Wales during the mid 1990's


After a long winter, runs from the weedbed I was fishing had dried up a little and the previous week I’d caught a carp in the teeth of a big south westerly wind. This time the wind was gale force north westerly so again I opted to fish in the teeth of it rather than go back to the weedbed, I figured the fish had woken up a bit and although they weren’t rolling I had a hunch they’d be on the wind.
I got myself set up as comfortably as I could with a gale force wind blowing in my face, my mate barney thought I was mad and he couldn’t believe I wasn’t going to fish to the weed but I had a feeling the carp would move with such a big wind blowing. He’d opted to fish off the back of the wind so he could watch the water comfortably. I was fishing in a corner of the lake and I placed my hookbaits at the bottom of the marginal shelf just along each bank with the third in open water, the water at the bottom of the shelf was about 8ft deep so it was a fair depth and I hoped a patrolling carp would pick up one of my margin baits sometime during the hours of darkness.

I didn’t sleep much during the night, I’d like to say my location was spot on and the carp kept me up all night but it was the wind continually hammering my old fox supabivvy that kept me awake. I had a quiet night and by early morning I was still runless. I wound the rods in and went to have a chat with barney, he’d blanked too but during the night he’d heard carp crashing out somewhere along the bank to his left. I was on his right and the position he was hinting at put the carp on the back of the wind. I asked barney if he was going to move swims and he said no, he was comfortable where he was so having offered him the choice I told him I would pack my gear and move along the bank to his left to see if I could locate the fish and maybe get a chance before we went home later that day.

I knew the new area I was moving into, it was the weedbed area I’d done well from all winter so I opted for one bait in the middle of the dead weedbed with the other two rods just off the right and left hand edge of it. I didn’t bother setting up a shelter, I just hid behind the bedchair to avoid the biting wind that was now going straight over my head. I figured if the carp had been crashing in this area then they should be around the weedbed again. By 12.30pm I was starting to doubt if the move would pay off, I’d caught literally every session throughout the winter but I felt I was staring a blank in the face this time.

I wasn’t feeling confident at all when out of the blue at 1.05pm the right hand rod on the edge of the weed suddenly burst into life!. After the initial shock of my old super compact bite alarm sounding I ran to the rod and hit it. Sure enough the rod slammed over and I found myself doing battle with another hard fighting winter carp. This fish was a bit strange, after running 30 yards against the clutch it suddenly turned upwards and almost tail walked like a pike. I could clearly see it was a big fish with a very dark coloured black back. I had a feeling it was the lake biggie, he was known to tail walk on the first run and I’d never had any of my other welsh carp behave like this. After breaking surface in spectacular fashion the carp kept deep in the water for the rest of the fight. The fish fought particularly well in the margins and it took me quite a while to wear him down and get him ready for the net. Amazingly, as the fight was coming to an end I saw a second fish swimming with the big one, I even recognised the fish as a twenty I’d caught back in November 1994, the other fish continually flanked the biggun as it ploughed up and down the margins and it was only when he rolled into the landing net that the smaller 20 actually pulled away and disappeared out of sight!.

I had a lump of a carp in the landing net, the fish was known to be 25lb+ which meant a new personal best for me. I called barney and he came to help with the weighing and photographing of my new PB. The scales gave me 25lb 6oz, it was a magic moment holding up the biggest fish in the lake for pictures and I’ll never forget that fish!. Barney did a great job with the pictures and I returned the biggie to the water. We still had a few hours left so I put a fresh ultraspice popup on and recast to the edge of the weedbed.

25lb 6oz Winter mirror from a little fished North Wales carp lake


The recast ultraspice boilie had only been out for 5 minutes when it was away again!. This carp also gave a good account of itself and after a spirited fight I landed a lovely looking 12lb 12oz mirror. The day had turned out to be a good one and I was glad barney had told me about hearing the carp crashing out in the night. With a new PB and a nice double already under my belt I thought I’d cast the rod out again.

12lb 12oz Welsh carp came 5 minutes later


I wasn’t expecting anything else to happen after picking up 2 fish but amazingly the rod in the middle of the weedbed was away just 20 minutes later. This carp kept deep the whole fight and it was just as difficult to bring to the surface as the big one had been. I caught sight of the fish in the deep water and amazingly I found myself staring down at the low twenty that had been flanking the big mirror towards the end of the fight just half an hour earlier!.
I kept the pressure steady as I watched the fish twist and turn in the clear water, eventually this carp came closer and closer to the surface and once the fish had a gulp of air it soon gave up and went into the net. I was bouncing, even though it was a repeat capture I’d just caught my first ever brace of twenties and from a water that only had 2 twenty pound fish in it!. First time round in November this fish went 21lb 2oz, at the end of the winter he’d lost a little and I weighed the fish in at 20lb 4oz. I called barney again to do the pictures and he did the honours with the camera as usual. He congratulated me on my first ever brace of twenties too, it was a massive result catching the two biggest fish in the lake half an hour apart and the session became the highlight of a very successful winter carp campaign.

20lb 4oz Mirror that had been flanking the biggun just half an hour earlier!


I did put the middle rod back out again but I didn’t receive any further action. I couldn’t complain, the quick move for just a few hours turned out to be brilliant decision and things went better than I could ever have dreamed. I’ve had many red letter days since March 1995, my PB is much bigger these days and I’ve had a few sessions equally as good as this one but that first ever twenties brace still ranks as one of my most special angling moments.

Tight Lines
Mark.

Carp Fishing - Winter Carp Location

Locating Winter Carp

I’ve fished for carp in winter for the last 17 years or so now. Depending on the water I fish, I can sometimes catch more carp in winter than I do in summer. Obviously having access to a well stocked carp lake helps but even on a productive winter carp water, locating the carp is still everything when it comes to catching a fish at this time of year.
Looking back at the time I’ve spent carp fishing in winter, I’d have to say the best advice I can give is to throw away the rule book. Yes it’s true the fishing is harder, the carps metabolism does slow down and generally they become less active but when it comes to the most important part, actually finding them, the bottom line is they will be where they will be. I’ve found carp in so many different places in winter, shallow water, deep water, off the bottom, on the back of the wind, in the teeth of an icy wind, they can be just about anywhere but they absolutley have to be found in order to catch consistently when its cold.
The only way to find the carp is to get out there and get fishing. By far the best pointer to getting a bait on the fish is actually spotting them moving. If you see a fish roll or jump during the winter months then get on it straight away. If you just sit there and do nothing when a carp shows then you deserve to blank. Personally, I’m usually already getting my gear together ready for a move before the ripple of a crashing fish has disappeared. That one fish showing can sometimes be the key to finding an area the carp hold up in so ignore it at your peril!.

The result of observation and casting at a showing carp in winter, 25lb 2oz common from boxing day 2007


With no carp sighted things get a lot harder. This is where water craft and previous experience comes in. Myself, I’ve found that carp will nearly always hold up in an area they feel safe and in most cases that will be around some kind of feature. That’s not really rocket science is it? Any feature is a potential carp holding area in winter and as such should be fished a few times before being discounted. In my own fishing, I tend to arrange features into a certain order in my head then fish them in turn, the order in which I fish any features is purely down to experience, the features I’ve found carp around the most in winter are the ones I fish first.

Snags
If the lake I’m fishing has any kind of snags at all, these will be the first areas I’ll look at and fish. Carp love snaggy areas and it’s not uncommon to find the fish stacked up against and round say, a fallen tree for example. One of the best examples of carp stacked up around snags is Cheshire carp water bolesworth castle on the stoke on trent card. During the winter months the carp hold up against the willow tree snags that are opposite the first swim in the field at the end of the woods. The first time I found the carp there I had 4 double takes (both rods off at the same time) in the first hour landing all 8 fish. Finding the carp and being first to cash in on fishing their holding area, the action I had in that swim was frantic to say the least. I fished short day sessions from midday until 4pm in that swim and during the winter I averaged 5 fish per session until I was caught playing a fish by a fellow member, once word got out the swim was never the same although you’ll still catch from it today.

Winter mirror from the willow tree snags on bolesworth


Dead Lily Pads
After snags, dead lily pads would be my next choice for finding winter carp. I’ve seen it written that dead lily beds offer the carp a bit more warmth, a sort of insulation if you like. I’m not entirely sure that’s true, having never taken the water temperature in such areas I wouldn’t like to say if the ‘more warmth’ theory is right or wrong, either way, dead lily pads can be exceptionally good holding areas and are well worth checking out during the winter months. One lake where dead lily pads used to produce carp in winter is former day ticket carp water burton mere. The extensive lily pads at the house end of the mere often held carp during the colder months and it was here that I caught my first ‘winter 20' on the 3rd January 1994, just an hour after the lake had thawed out.

First ever winter 20 at 22lb 4oz, caught from a dead set of lily pads


Burton Mere circa 1994, this whole area is dead lily pads right out as far the the island on the right, a top carp holding area!


Dead Weedbeds
Similar to and of equal importance as dead lily pads, if there are dead weedbeds on your lake these areas are well worth investigating and sooner rather than later when you’re looking at locating winter carp. On one little known north west carp water I used to fish, there was a small weedbed in one area of the lake and it was here I quickly located what turned out to be just about every carp in the lake. This particular dead weedbed never failed to produce and I banked the lakes largest inhabitant along with all his mates, all between late November and early march one winter. The weedbed was like a magnate for the fish and no matter what the conditions the carp where always in or around it.

Big winter mirror of 25lb 6oz caught from a dead weedbed


Dead Reed Beds
Again similar to lily pads and weedbeds, areas of dead reeds can quite often hold carp and if they are present on your lake they should be investigated. There was a small bed of reeds on burton mere water woodland pool, the carp hung around the reeds during the winter and runs would come from reedbed like clockwork, I remember it was a standing joke between me and my mate, whoever had a rod on the reedbed would catch a fish at exactly 13.05pm!. Run time was so predictable I once stopped an angler in mid conversation, tapped my watch and said 'sorry mate, its run time and the left hand rod is about to go!'. With that, the left hand rod duly rattled off and the look on the poor guys face was a picture!. It was just one of those funny moments in fishing and it proved that carp can sometimes be very easy to catch in winter, once you know where to put your baits.

Early 90's winter carp from the reedbed behind me, we always caught at 13.05pm!


Overhanging Trees
You usually associate overhanging trees with margin swims and it applies to both lake and island margins. Trees overhanging the water can provide cover and shelter for carp and after snags, lily pads, weedbeds and reed beds, overhanging trees would be the next feature I’d investigate. One such water where overhanging trees can produce carp is famous north west carp water capesthorne hall. Capesthorne hall main lake might be a very well known carp water but what isn’t so well known are the areas that can produce carp in winter. One of the very best areas for catching a winter carp on capesthorne main lake is a swim known as the plug hole. There are trees overhanging the water opposite the plug hole and baits positioned under these trees can produce carp during the winter months. Runs don’t come along every session as it’s not the easiest of waters. However, if you can get some time in the plughole swim you have a great chance of bagging yourself a real winter whacker.

Capesthorne winter mirror, the water behind me is frozen and this fish came from a 20yd strip of ice free water that stretched under the trees in the plughole


In the absence of any of the above features to investigate I usually start fishing on the back of the wind, not only is it more comfortable during the winter months, it enables you to set up in such a way as to be able to see most of the lake. With none of the above features to go on I’ll get myself comfortable and watch the water for signs of carp. In the winter months this requires a lot of concentration which is why I prefer short intense fishing sessions during the colder months. I don’t enjoy being bivvy bound at this time of year and I think you work harder when you’re on limited time.

There is always the marker rod if you’re prepared to sacrifice a session or two, unseen underwater features are just as likely to be winter carp holding areas as the features I’ve outlined above. Remember, the carp will be where they feel safe and only the carp themselves can decide where that is. Personally, I think a marker rod is vastly over rated. I’ve been in the fortunate position of seeing a couple of north west carp lakes emptied of water and the bottom was nothing like the impression I had from the marker. With this in mind, I no longer bother feature finding with a marker rod, I do have one but I only use it for baiting up open water swims accurately. As a feature finding tool I think marker rods are rubbish and I much prefer to let the carp show me where they are prepared to feed, even in winter.

In order to catch carp in winter you really just have to get out there and do it, on one particular 16 acre sand pit I eventually pinned the carp down to a shallow area barely 2 feet deep. The pit had been a working sand pit and when it was flooded things were left behind. In the area I found the carp I would occasionally get my hook caught on some rotting wood. Bits of this wood came in on the hook now and again and it was the only feature in the area. Despite the water being shallow, there would be carp round this feature constantly and I only found it by being there and watching the water constantly over a few short sessions.

On my current winter water, the margins and shallows are superb in summer but during the winter, the carp prefer deeper water. Although the lake is pretty featureless, all the areas I’ve caught consistently from in winter do have one thing in common. I regularly retrieve bloodworm on the hook. I’m constantly making mental notes of the areas I’m picking up fresh bloodworm from and in the absence of carp sightings I try these areas whilst I’m waiting and watching for a carp to show itself.

Top left corner for a winter carp holding area on Capesthorne Hall


Sometimes locating winter carp can be a long and painful process, particularly if your chosen water has a low stock of fish. You won’t catch anything sat at home though. Keep watching the water and move on a showing fish straight away. If you can’t find them then start investigating the features in the lake one by one whilst keeping your eyes peeled for showing fish, not just rolling and crashing fish but bubblers too, if you see signs of bubbling then keep an eye on the area, if its gas, the bubbles won’t move but if its fish you can expect to see maybe a small amount of movement as the carp grub about on the bottom. If you’re not sure then investigate it with a rod anyway, sometimes you can just stumble across a productive winter hotspot by accident, if you don’t try the area or go with your hunch you’ll never know.

To give a rough idea about my own mindset when it comes to winter carp location, I'm quite happy to accept that when I fish a new water in winter, it might be the winter after before I manage to pin down a holding area and start getting my rewards, sometimes you can get lucky and find carp easily but I always expect it to be a long and drawn out process of elimination as I search different areas and continually look for the fish.

Finally, and for the lazy tossers out there, other anglers can be a help in winter, if you’ve no idea where the carp are and you see someone else catch then it can pay to keep an eye on the area they are fishing and what they are doing. I’m not very comfortable about using this method to get on the carp in winter but the way the north west carp scene is, most anglers would jump in your grave for the chance of catching a fish. I've been stung a few times in the past when other anglers have stumbled accross me playing a fish then jumped on my hard work so I now operate on the ‘do unto others as they do to you’ principle, not very nice I know but all’s fair when it comes down to locating winter carp!.

Tight Lines.
Mark.

Carp Fishing - Winter Carp Diary Pt11

Winter Carp Diary Pt11

Since starting my winter carp diary back in late Novemeber 2007 I’ve always known that the end of the Christmas holidays would also effectively see the end of my winter carp fishing for this particular fishing season. For the last few months my work colleagues have been working late and putting in the hours to get ready for the arrival of a new computer system at work. I study at college in the evenings so the only time I have to help out at work is my weekends and my fishing time.

With work and time pressures piling up it was time to hang up the rods and give the winter carping a miss for a few months. Hanging up the rods is hard at any time but when your on top of things and catching some good fish its even harder!. The festive period had been very good to me, a 25lb+ winter common on boxing day, 5 carp to 18lb on new years eve and a new years day 20 were the highlights. I wish I could have carried on fishing through January and February but there was no competition when it came down to it, I had to put the hours in at work.

My new years day result was published last week and its now early February as I write this short piece, I haven’t been carp fishing since new years day and it’s unlikely I’ll see the bank again before the spring as my weekends are now work only until we get on top of things.

A Few Loose Ends
When you register a blog on blogger.com you also get several other accounts and through these accounts I can monitor traffic through my site and through the rss feed that it delivers. I can also see what pages are being returned in google searches and one that comes up with monotonous regularity is Capesthorne uncovered pt2. Part two hasn’t actually been written yet. I’m extremely busy trying to balance work and college study so I’ve no time to go fishing at the moment let alone complete the capesthorne piece. If I do find myself with a few spare hours I’ll be out with the lure bag enjoying a short pike fishing session rather than sat in front of a word processor!. I will finish part 2 when my workload eases off a little bit so in the meantime those of you interested in it will just have to be patient, I’m sorry lads but it’s not a high priority at the moment, in fact it’s not a priority at all.

I do have a few other bits and pieces that have been written to ‘fill in’ between blanks when the carp fishing is slow and I’ll try and get the odd offering published now and again but for now, there won’t be any more updates to this blog until the end of march at the earliest.

I wish you all well with your winter carp fishing and I hope you all bag a whacker soon.

Tight Lines.
Mark.

Carp Fishing - Winter Carp Diary Pt10

Winter Carp Diary Pt10

After ending 2007 on a high with 5 carp to 18lb on new years eve I was keen to get back to the lake to try and open my account for 2008. The journey to the lake was a bit shorter than usual due to the lack of traffic on the roads, new years day morning was the quietest I've ever known and at one stage I felt I could well have been the only person on the motorway.
I arrived at the lake around 10.30am, I was immediately scanning the water for signs of carp as soon as the lake came into view. I spent a few minutes sat in the car park just watching the water before I got out of the car and went for a walk around. On new years eve the carp had done a disappearing act on me during the afternoon so I figured they wouldn't be on my baited area. I looked there first anyway but my gut feeling about them not being there was right. I found them in the bay round to the left. The fish were stacked up in the same area I'd caught from on boxing day and on the saturday between christmas and new year. There seemed to be quite a few carp stacked up in the bay and as I dropped my gear in the bay swim I was confident of catching my first north west winter carp of 2008.
I started off with one rod on a spot I'd seen several fish rolling over the christmas period, I'd picked up a low double mirror from the area last saturday but I'd seen several other fish roll in the area and it was close to the bank and an easy cast. A single piece of peparami on the hair rig and a two bait pva mesh bag completed the setup, my rig was the usual 8 inches of kryston silkworm with a kamasan b175 hook in size 6 that was tied knotless knot style. I made a short 25 yard cast and trapped the line as the lead hit the water, I let the lead sink on a tight line and it landed on the bottom with a nice thud. Once the first rod was set I cast the other rod to a mark about 70 yards out, there were fish actively moving in this area and I was confident the second rod in particular would produce something during the five hours I had ahead of me. The baits were out by 11.10am and I sat back to concentrate on watching the water for signs of fish.
It really pays to watch the water when you're looking at locating winter carp. The time I'd spent looking for carp over the last few weeks had really paid dividends and I was on them again today. I'd have preferred a little wind to be blowing today but it stayed flat calm. It made locating carp easier but at the same time, a lead landing on the fish was harder to get away with and there was always a chance they would vacate the area as they had done on new years eve.
After casting out both rods things seemed to go quiet for a while, the carp certainly stopped showing in the area I'd put my second rod. Nothing showed for over half an hour after my leads had hit the water. When a carp did give itself away it was to the right of my second rod and it looked like the fish had drifted off a little after me casting out. I was so busy looking for fish on my right that it came as a bit of a surprise when the left hand delkim bleeped twice, this was the rod that was positioned close to my bank. I focused on the left hand rod and a few seconds later the tip pulled down and the delkim sounder box signalled a slow run. I was on it quickly and after a quick strike the fish was on. After only a few seconds of playing this fish I had just one thought in my mind, it was heavy. No charging round, it just plodded round in semi circles on an ever shortening line just as my boxing day biggie had done. By the time the carp was in the margins I was convinced my first fish of 2008 was a 20+. I caught a glimpse of the fish in the water, it was a common, a long fish that did indeed look like a twenty. After a short scare close in with the other rod I slipped the landing net under the fish. It certainly looked to be over the magic twenty mark and my initial guess was somewhere around 21lb-ish. I secured the net and got everything ready for the weighing and pictures. As I lifted the fish from the water I knew it was a new years day twenty and the scales gave me a reading of 20lb 6oz. Well that was it for me, I didn't care what happened for the rest of the day, I'd kicked off 2008 with a cracking twenty pound winter common.

First carp of 2008, new years day twenty at 20lb 6oz


Once the photographic duties were completed I returned my prize to the water. I watched the fish disappear out of sight then turned my attention back to the rod. The peparami was still on so I simply tied a fresh pva mesh bag and dropped the rod back on the same spot. Nothing else happened during the afternoon, it took a few more hours of observation to work out that the carp had indeed moved to the entrance to the bay. It was just before 3pm when I worked this out and I wound in the right hand rod and repositioned it to the area I'd seen the odd fish. I planned to fish until 4.30pm so I had an hour and a half with a bait in the last area I'd seen a carp. With time running out I packed my gear away, by 4.15pm my tackle box, camera gear and unhooking mat were all neatly away and my rucksack was ready to go, only the landing net, pod and rods remained out. I'd already decided to pull the left hand rod in first, I'd caught a twenty on this rod but no fish had showed in or near the area for hours so I bent down to wind it in and as I did the right hand rod ripped off. I was quite surprised, I'd already accepted I was only going to get one fish so this one was a real 'last knockings' bonus fish. A few minutes later and I'd have been on my way home!. I hit the rod and began battle with my second new years day winter carp. Funnily enough, I had a feeling of deja vu as the fight off this second carp played out just like the first and when the fish went over the net I looked down at what could well be my second new years day twenty. I emptied the rucksack and got myself ready for the weighing and photographing, it was a 50/50 fish and as I lifted it from the water and transferred it to the unhooking mat I wondered if it was going to make it over twenty. It fell short by quite a way in the end but at 19lbs even, it made up half of a cracking new years day brace of commons to start 2008 with.

A few minutes longer I'd have been on my way home, 19lb common at the death


Once documented, I slipped the fish back none the worse for its trip to the bank. I packed the rods and the rest of my fishing gear away quickly and cleared off home with mixed feelings. Catching my first twenty of 2008 made it a very special New Years Day session, getting a ‘last knockings’ 19lber made it even better but as I drove away from the lake I couldn’t help feeling a little bit sad. I’d had a great couple of weeks off over Christmas and I’d caught some lovely winter carp but I knew the time had come to hang up the rods for a while but more about that next week.

Tight Lines
Mark.