When the cold weather settles in, many carp anglers either turn their attentions to other species or hang up the rods and wait for sunnier times.
However, it’s still possible to keep catching throughout the winter months provided you get two things right – your choice of venue, and the tactics you employ there.
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For example, the big-carp sport at A12 Lakes near Chelmsford in Essex hasn’t slowed down at all over the past few months. If anything it has become more prolific, and the place must now arguably be one of the best day-ticket fisheries in the UK for winter action.
There are a number of lakes on the complex, but we favour Lake One as the stock is incredible, with over 500 carp in eight acres, with five known ‘forties’, 60 fish over 30lb, and almost all the others being over 20lb.
These fish like to move in large shoals and when they arrive the action can be frantic, with double and even triple takes common, regardless of how cold it is.
THE BEST CARP FISHING RODS WILL HELP YOU BANK THE BIGGEST SPECIMENS.
Get on the naturals
Lillian and I have had a superb winter so far at A12 Lakes, and without doubt, our use of natural baits has been instrumental in our success. A combination of maggots and worms has kept the bites coming regularly. The carp will still feed on other baits like hemp, corn and boilie crumb, and they have been passing it on the mat when landed, but the addition of naturals, especially to hookbaits, has sped up the amount of bites.
Feeding little and often and topping up after every fish has been essential in keeping the action coming, and has been far more effective than putting out a large hit of bait to start with.
IN THIS EXPERT ARTICLE GET THE BEST OUT OF NATURAL BAITS WHEN CARP FISHING.
Prep pays off
As I’ve said, the carp are mega-mobile, even in winter. They can turn up at any time, clear you out of bait and move on. So, you have to be ready with plenty of pre-tied rigs and PVA bags to make the most of the action.
We have gone from catching nothing, to having six or more fish on the bank less than an hour later, before it then all goes quiet again! All of our carp have come in short feeding spells, so staying motivated and being ready for when they turn up is key.
CHECK OUT THESE TOP 10 TIPS TO IMPROVE YOUR CARP RIGS.
Keep your eyes peeled
Despite there being a very healthy stock to go at, core carp angling principles still apply and fishing where the carp are feeding is crucial.
The noise from the nearby A12 road makes it difficult to hear the carp, so you have to keep your eyes on the water at all times. Showing fish will help pinpoint where the carp are on any particular day, but as it has got colder, they have started to show more at night So, wrapping up warm and watching during the hours of darkness has led to quite a few bonus fish.
Patches of fizzing first thing in the morning have also given away where they are feeding and led to some fantastic catches, including a 37lb common for Lil!
CHECK OUT THESE 5 TIPS TO CATCH MORE CARP IN THE WINTER.
Reliable rigs
Most tactics will work and pick up the odd fish but there have been a couple that stand out and seem to have been the most productive.
Firstly, solid PVA bags fished on their own and cast at individual fish has led to some quick bites. Sometimes they are loners and the sport dries up after one or two, but the bags also work well when fished to large groups of carp.
Secondly, wafter bottom baits with maggot toppers have worked well. We use eight-inch blowback rigs with trimmed wafter hookbaits and maggots flossed on top, fished over spodded worms and maggots.
Finally, on high pressure, bright, sunny days where there are carp showing but no bites have been forthcoming, switching to zigs fished up in the water has suddenly led to a flurry of bites. They won’t always be feeding on the bottom so moving to where they are will avoid a blank.
We’ve had a fantastic winter’s fishing so far, catching large hits of carp on each visit. Every fish has been over 20lb with a lot of upper twenties and thirties thrown in. It’s been one of the best winter’s carp fishing either of us has ever had!
GET THOSE RIGS ON THE SPOT WITH THE BEST CARP REELS.
