Mega keen Carpers -

'It's much quieter on the banks'
'It's so peaceful'
'It's a great time of year - I love the frost on the ground'
'I don't feel the cold in my Nash Arctic system'
'Crushed boilies and maggot - killer method'
'Who uses a twin skin? 50" oval is all I use'
'The Fish are at their peak condition - my catch rate is better than in the spring'
etc

Experienced Carpers -

'It's f*ckin freezing'
'It's f*ckin muddy'
'It's f*ckin raining and muddy'
'It's f*ckin snowing and the lakes frozen'
'Was that a bleep or did I imagine it?'
'I don't think I'll hit that'
'Was that a fish showing or another coot?'
'What time is it?'
'I've drunk so much tea but I cannot be arsed to get out of my bag to urinate - maybe I'll wet myself to get warm'
'I've eaten all my food so may as well pack up'
'I wonder what he/she/it is up to at the moment?'
etc

In reply to Post #1
Bit of mega and bit of experienced,mainly ,'what's for tea tonight'

In reply to Post #1
Mostly experienced for me 😂😂😂😂

In reply to Post #1

In reply to Post #1
Lol

In reply to Post #1
Rmfho thats the one... horrendous at times but love it none the less.

In reply to Post #1
'I've drunk so much tea but I cannot be arsed to get out of my bag to urinate

This..... -4 outside @ 2am and dying for a p*ss. A very familiar feeling lol.

Can't remember which one of Maylins books where they had lengths of drainpipe so they didn't have to get out of their bags for a wee.? Bloody good idea though .

All this bullocks about wearing thin clothing in your sleeping bag because it works better

Then you need to get up four times for a piss...

Worst thing when you're starting to get on in years just as you get nice and snug in your bag you've then got to get up through the night half a dozen times to drain the lizard, all this advice about plenty of hot drinks to keep warm is bad advice when the old bladder starts to get weaker.

In reply to Post #10
Post #8. Not a pipe but rather than get out of a nice warm sleeping bag I've learned the art of pissing into a screw top bottle while still in the bag.

Anyone like me that once you've warm and got comfy think to yourself the last thing I want now is a run.
I know you are there to catch fish and you shouldn't think that way but that's what happens

Makes you think if it was the actual challenge of trying to catch a Carp in near impossible conditions, or the Camping side of it that used to be so appealing.

From my own observations quick day sessions do seem to be much more productive in winter, in the right weather conditions

In reply to Post #10
I am on the wrong side of 65 with an enlarged prostate so I understand getting up multiple times fully but it's far worse if you need to do your business in a bucket as you have to drop your kaks for that.

Chilly.

Anyone who can crap whilst in a doss bag successfully then please get in touch.

In reply to Post #1
Before I go it's "mega keen". When I get there it's "experienced" (except for the last line)
I am going soft though. If it is absolutely pissing down at 11 at night in wintet I reel in the rods and get some sleep. Old and pathetic or is that experienced.

In reply to Post #1
Great post.

So much bull about winter, I love the winter and all that.

I personally hate the winter, I can't wait for Spring. The rods can stay in the garage and wait there until the Spring. I'd rather earn browney points with the wife.

In reply to Post #1


I always say Winter carping is great in theory, I keep going because of the first list (apart from the 50" bit ) but then the 2nd list usually comes into play when I'm there

In reply to Post #1
Definetly the experienced for me . Is it me or is winter carping much harder than it used to be ? Every year seems to be harder to find the fish - perhaps it's an age thing .
Every year I say must river fish this winter - not happened yet lol

In reply to Post #1


You could add 'the geordie carper'

'Howay. Looks snowy out. Might be time to put my t shirt on'

In reply to Post #1
This idiot has a 5 night session on Redmire next week 😂

Honestly buzzing about fishing the place but 5 nights in December? We must be mad! I usually fish through the winter but only overnighters

Hoping for some favourable conditions but we will see. Forecast is currently showing 5 degrees in the day and I imagine frosts overnight.

In reply to Post #19
I've done a winter and summer 5 nighter, the place has it's own little micro climate the weather there can be quite different than the forecast for the area, you'll love it.

In reply to Post #11
The large Lenor bottles are best, bigger bottle neck, great capacity and the smell of spring flowers every time you whip the lid off

In reply to Post #12
I wish!
My largest fish came in the middle of the night in December, and my one time largest common around 1am in February.

A couple of lakes I fished I only ever got takes at night, summer and winter.

I do agree on most lakes being more productive during the day though

In reply to Post #21
Thats a great idea. Love it.

In reply to Post #23
By far the best time for angling 😂🥶

In reply to Post #19
Honestly buzzing about fishing the place but 5 nights in December? We must be mad!

Could be worse, 5 nights at work

That sounds like its worth getting the rods out

In reply to Post #15
100% my sentiment . . .

Why do most look for 'optimum' conditions throughout the year but then fish winter anyway when pretty much everything's stacked against you? The only edge is lack of lines in the pond and maybe getting on a shoaled up pack of dormant fish that may take a zig. . .and not a lot else.

Will do the odd day if a warm window arrives but generally cant be arsed with the faff and much prefer days on the river fishing for anything but carp until spring arrives. . .

PS> Did have a camo taped 'p*ss' bottle back in the day when I was also mega keen - no need to get out of the bag with the turn, flop and fill method . . .

HERE YA GO
LINKY POO

My favourite time of the year. Fish days , 10am to 4pm , light pre bait on a regular basis in very predictable areas of the lake . Pick somewhere local and go when you feel like it , or stay at home when you don't.

In reply to Post #27
I've got a tent stove for my titan. It keeps you busy and warm and adds cheer to your evenings. We all like to stare at a fire and it's great to be warm & dry. I can park at the back of my swim now though so I've installed a Chinese desiel heater in my Caddy. Far better.

I only get out roughly every other week, so I will go right through the winter. Not because I'm carpy, but because I love going.

In reply to Post #1
seems alot more hit and miss than it used to be.
fished a pretty well stocked venue (bright and sunny all day)
didnt have a twitch dispite moving around
other people around me still piling the bait in........
what happened to fishing for a bite at a time filling the fish up and then the action disappears

In reply to Post #31
If people are bunging large amounts of bait in during winter, I don't think it will fill them up, it will just be ignored. I doubt in very cold weather it even puts the fish on guard, they probably just ignore it entirely and stay in a huddle.

In reply to Post #32
A good deal of truth said here. It was only ever a small handful of home rolled banana HiNuVal around each hookbait. We would never dream of using the bait the lads do now. I once fed a small pond with cereal and some boilies during a mild winter. Drained down end of Feb and it was all.still there! They hadn't even touched it.

In reply to Post #33
The theory's behind winter baiting levels were forged many moons ago when we had winters, and there were very few if any Noddy ponds back then either (shallow dug day tickets) based on angler turnover baiting levels will be massive on those waters.

Different waters respond to different things, lad on my water put 40kg of mixed bait in over 5 days one February, had 3 40's and 10 30's. I believe Jim Shelly keeps heaving it in and catches even when there's snow on the ground.

First frost everyone stops sticking the bait in then they see the catch rates drop, keep the bait going in if you want winter action.

In reply to Post #34
Bit of both for me

I still get out through winter and did a 48 last weekend

Tend to go with someone in winter as the long hours of darkness bother me way more than the cold ans I also take a robens timber mesh grill fire pit that packs down to nothing and a few self lighting g fire logs that usually last around 45 minutes and sit in awe nice and cozy watching the fire until bed time

Tend to find otherwise your in the bag by 7 and confined to hours of solitary

In reply to Post #35
I hate the long winter dark nights, I listen for the fish like a top carp angler but fall asleep

In reply to Post #1
My younger years were spent on the mega list, now I just write the winter off, its just a rubbish time of year to be sat around a cold desolate lake, get stuff done around the house, and be ready for spring. You cant get old if you dont get wise

In reply to Post #33
From my own Garden Pond experiments that I keep repeating (Have had a Garden pond for over 30 years) I've found the same, the new Filtration system has a thermometer built in so I've been doing tests between 6 & 8 c


What I've done the past few weeks thou is to scrounge a few different Boilies off syndicate members, in order to try a few broken up, in a easily observable corner of the pond. Rare to see any reaction if any at all, were as a home rolled Boilie using JB additives/flavours - instant reaction!

I've gone back to home Rolling

I haven't caught a carp since August and so far my winter 'campaign' isn't going much better than my autumn one 😕

Do love day fishing in the winter though, at the lake before dawn just in case they show where they are.

Much quieter than the summer months already which is ace 👍👍