Many anglers, once we head into winter, pack their carp rods away, and instead concentrate on other species or take a break until spring arrives.
I, on the other hand, tend to take full advantage of the many empty swims throughout the winter in my quest to catch those winter carp that still feed, and offer the hardy angler opportunities to catch them on pretty much deserted venues.
But to fish through the winter requires dedication and a little planning to maximise your chances of bites; and most importantly, remain comfortable while you are on the bank. It is obvious that good warm footwear and clothing are a must and number one on the list if you are to venture out during the winter. A good warm hat - or beanie - is another must. Especially as most of our heat is lost through our heads in cold weather.
Personally, I will tend to do overnight sessions throughout the winter, so a good bivvy with a “winter wrap” will be required, the wrap is necessary to save condensation forming on the inside of the bivvy. I avoid using any type of bivvy heater: many anglers have lost their lives due to carbon monoxide poisoning over the years; it’s just not worth the risk. I still do, however, have central heating in my sleeping bag in the form of two hot water bottles. The good old Boots rubber water bottles dropped into the sleeping bag for half an hour before you get in, one at the upper part of the bag and one in the toe box area, really do make a huge difference on the cold winter nights. You are toasty in no time. Another tip for the hot water bottles is to use lake water to boil, rather than fresh water, which could deplete your (essential) tea supplies! If you do get chilly in the night; say, after you have caught a fish, I re-boil the water from one bottle and you soon warm up again.
I also use a bed chair cover once the temperatures are in low single figures. Plenty of hot drinks and warm food will help keep spirits and morale up during the winter sessions. I tend to take something like a good sirloin or rump steak as a treat for my main meal - served with rice and vegetables and soon have a tasty meal prepared in short order. (Can we all come round for supper, Daffers? Ed)
I must not forget to mention you will need a couple of good quality head torches. One to use and another as a spare. I favour Petzl rechargeable headtorches and always have a spare battery fully charged. A headtorch in the winter does take some hammering. This brand is not cheap, but well worth the investment. Believe me, there is nothing worse than a headtorch packing up on you - it can ruin a session.
I guess I had better move on to tactics.
I don’t tend to scale down my approach, as some anglers tend to advocate for winter fishing. I favour the set up and rigs the same as I would use in spring and summer.
But, where I will alter my tactics, is around bait strategy. I will continue to use my baits of choice – boilies - just less of them. The carp’s metabolism will slow as the water temperature cools, so it makes sense that they will eat less as they become less active and more lethargic. Carp will however, feed at some point in any 48-hour period so, baiting lightly, frequently, will increase your chances. PVA bags are also good tactic in winter, to generate, what might be, that one, all important bite over a weekend - or few days fishing.
That leads nicely into how I readjust my targets in the winter: I will be looking for maybe one or two bites over a couple of days. I have had multiple hits in very cold conditions, but they are the exception, certainly not the rule in winter. So, adjusting and lowering expectations is another consideration to factor into your winter plans. I will have a couple of plan B back-up baiting tactics when things get hard, and that will be the use of either maggots or the humble worm. They can dig you out of a hole in the winter when you are convinced that nothing is feeding so well worth having with you as a back-up plan.
I have a few others that I will leave until next time …
Oh! For the record… Gear-up.
Mark uses:
…to be continued!