Keeping one step ahead.

Even though January is placed squarely in the middle of winter it seems to be the time for me when I’m at my keenest and do my most planning and theory work for the year ahead. Lots of thoughts about fish location and baiting strategies are at the forefront of my mind.

There has been no end written in the carp press over the years on fishes’ feeding habits during the colder months and to be honest I’ve read so many conflicting arguments that I’ve give up on trying draw a conclusion from other peoples writings and ended up with ideas which probably end up somewhere in between, consisting of my own variable thoughts based on experience drawn from basic trial and error.

I’ve compiled some points and ideas below you may hear a lot regarding carp feeding in the winter, also being reasons for poor results:

• ·         They’re not feeding on here this winter because people have been using a lot of high oil pellets throughout the summer.
• ·         The fish are reluctant to feed because of the amount of rotting bait and decomposing weed about on the lake bed.
• ·         The reason the fish don’t appear to be feeding is purely down to location and you’re nowhere near them.
• ·         There is far too much bait going in for the amount the carp are eating.
• ·         All the carp are sat up in the water (mid water) therefore not visiting the bottom to pick up your hookbait  (unless you adopt the zig approach)
• ·         The lake clarity has gone gin clear and has put the fish on edge therefore avoiding your rig like the plague.
• ·         Carp are cold blooded animals (fish) and their digestive system is regulated by their body temperature, so simply the colder the water temperature the slower they digest what they have already eaten. This results in them not actively seeking out food on a daily basis or just feeding in a very small window of time in a 24hrs period.

Some of the above statements may ring true to you or you just think it’s a load of rubbish, but the last statement is based on fact and without doubt to me is the primary reason from mid November carp bites become less frequent and results tail off as the water temp drops.

So based on the agreement that carp slow down there food intake in tandem with drop in water temperature how do we maximise the chance of a bite during this period?

Hypothetically, if we knew the exact fish size and numbers that were in your  swim, water volume in front of you and water temperature, a mathematical scientist might be able formulate an equation and calculate to tell you exactly the amount of bait to feed for the time you are fishing  to get the best chance of a bite on that day, but as we don’t have the luxury of this knowledge we have lean on experience and trial and error to dictate our results.

For  me, mid to late January is the time to start introducing a small amount of bait regardless of weather and water temps. I lean towards thinking that the carp will feed most days during the colder weather but only for very short periods (e.g. maybe two 30mins periods)  in a 24hr period, but the same time every day, hence I found the bite times to very localised (you can set your watch by them on some pits). Normally this being in the first 30mins of light and the last 30mins light of the day which are very traditional bite times throughout the year on the whole. By introducing a small amount of bait on a regular basis to your likely bite areas, this helps you get your bait established early on and puts you good stead for the spring when they will increase their food intake. Baiting when you’re not fishing (if possible) is for me very important and is 2^nd only to fishing its self for catching carp. This instils the carp with confidence and the fish can feed with no lines in the swim, no bank vibration from the angler or the swim being spooked by hooked fish. This is very important to me, this sort of approach is also a great way to maximise your bait’s potential  sometimes turning a very good bait into an exceptional one.

Just a few of my personal thoughts on carping during the colder month, hope it gets you thinking about your plans for the rest of the winter and on into the spring.

Regards

Chris ‘Apples’ Appleby