I'm perplexed, and I'd love to hear your experiences/opinions as I spend a huge ammount of my non fishing time formulating my plans/ ruminating over previous sessions/seasons
I fish 2 lakes.
1 gravel pit, very weedy in the summer, only now in late February that the weed has died down and/or been cropped by the bird life
1 reservior, 200 years old, no weed of apart from some large areas of bistort prominent in the shallows in the warmer months.
The gravel pit which I'm now getting to the end of my 4th winter on (seen/heard approx 6-8 fish), and by winter I mean mid November to mid March. I've managed one carp in 58 nights. No complaints as it was a p.b. but I dont want the lake to take pity on me occasionally
, I'd sooner earn it rather than chance it.
I can even use 4 rods through the winter which could, I agree could also be considered a curse, but does allow for experimentation. This winter I've nearly (unless its low pressure, heavy cloud) always had 2 zig rods out day and night.
I feel I've been close twice this winter (carp jumping close to my lightly baited spots) but alas no cigar.
Anyone have any anecdotal evidence of carp making home in reed beds in winter? similar to starling flocks (i Know they are warm blooded but their reed beds are 5 degrees warmer overnight where they roost together)
The reservoir
Still rich in naturals but not weed rich, caught 5 carp since the 30th December (2 months compared to 4 years) just fishing midweek overnighters, baiting a couple of swims 4-5 days beforehand.
Have you had similar experiences that you'd care to share? I love puttng the jigsaw pieces together but with the winter gravel pit, I just dont know how many pieces there are
Edit,
I should have quantified that both lakes have similar heads of carp per acre albeit the gravel pit carp are significantly larger. The reservoir is twice the size and somewhat harder to locate the carp should they be hanging out together
Look forward to your thoughts
cheers
Neil.
I fish 2 lakes.
1 gravel pit, very weedy in the summer, only now in late February that the weed has died down and/or been cropped by the bird life
1 reservior, 200 years old, no weed of apart from some large areas of bistort prominent in the shallows in the warmer months.
The gravel pit which I'm now getting to the end of my 4th winter on (seen/heard approx 6-8 fish), and by winter I mean mid November to mid March. I've managed one carp in 58 nights. No complaints as it was a p.b. but I dont want the lake to take pity on me occasionally
, I'd sooner earn it rather than chance it.I can even use 4 rods through the winter which could, I agree could also be considered a curse, but does allow for experimentation. This winter I've nearly (unless its low pressure, heavy cloud) always had 2 zig rods out day and night.
I feel I've been close twice this winter (carp jumping close to my lightly baited spots) but alas no cigar.
Anyone have any anecdotal evidence of carp making home in reed beds in winter? similar to starling flocks (i Know they are warm blooded but their reed beds are 5 degrees warmer overnight where they roost together)
The reservoir
Still rich in naturals but not weed rich, caught 5 carp since the 30th December (2 months compared to 4 years) just fishing midweek overnighters, baiting a couple of swims 4-5 days beforehand.
Have you had similar experiences that you'd care to share? I love puttng the jigsaw pieces together but with the winter gravel pit, I just dont know how many pieces there are
Edit,
I should have quantified that both lakes have similar heads of carp per acre albeit the gravel pit carp are significantly larger. The reservoir is twice the size and somewhat harder to locate the carp should they be hanging out together
Look forward to your thoughts
cheers
Neil.
In reply to Post #1
Seen carp stacked up in Reeds mid winter on multiple lakes before mate yes
Seen carp stacked up in Reeds mid winter on multiple lakes before mate yes
In reply to Post #1
I've seen fish in the middle of reed beds but it's hard to present a bait in them even when fishing very close to them the fish are reluctant to come out could be natural foods and warmer in the reeds just keep plugin away and hopefully get one 🤞🤞🤞
I've seen fish in the middle of reed beds but it's hard to present a bait in them even when fishing very close to them the fish are reluctant to come out could be natural foods and warmer in the reeds just keep plugin away and hopefully get one 🤞🤞🤞
In reply to Post #1
If fish need to move, they expend energy and therefore need to feed.
During winter if they have a sheltered area with a food source they're unlikely to be moving about - this may be the case on the gravel pit you speak of.
On the res you mention - perhaps it is the opposite - food may not be so readily available so they need to move around to find it, therefore need to eat more to compensate and are easier to catch.
There could be other factors too - water temps and dissolved oxygen levels also affect a cap's willingness to feed.
If fish need to move, they expend energy and therefore need to feed.
During winter if they have a sheltered area with a food source they're unlikely to be moving about - this may be the case on the gravel pit you speak of.
On the res you mention - perhaps it is the opposite - food may not be so readily available so they need to move around to find it, therefore need to eat more to compensate and are easier to catch.
There could be other factors too - water temps and dissolved oxygen levels also affect a cap's willingness to feed.
In reply to Post #4
Thanks all, very interesting.
I will be having a closer look at the reed beds on my next trip, its been a growing suspicion
Definately agree regarding the reservoir and the fish moving around more. They cant just park in a decaying weedbed and wait out the winter which seems to be the case on a lot of weedy gravel pits these days.
On other gravel pits its been noticeable in the past when fishing chods into deyaing weed beds that the leads feel relatively warm compared to the marginal lake water when winding in.
cheers
Neil.
Thanks all, very interesting.
I will be having a closer look at the reed beds on my next trip, its been a growing suspicion
Definately agree regarding the reservoir and the fish moving around more. They cant just park in a decaying weedbed and wait out the winter which seems to be the case on a lot of weedy gravel pits these days.
On other gravel pits its been noticeable in the past when fishing chods into deyaing weed beds that the leads feel relatively warm compared to the marginal lake water when winding in.
cheers
Neil.
In reply to Post #1
I've fished a few local pits in the winter.
One was a big, low stock water and once I worked it out was very predictable. I did 2 winters with very few sessions and consistently had fish to 40 +. All day fishing; no nights.
Last winter I fished ano local pit (lockdown) it's much smaller (20+ acres) and quite well stocked. Because of the lockdown rules it was lightly fished. I fished it hard from Jan - March (days) and really struggled as did the handful of others fishing. I had 2 takes !
Interesting how 2 waters within 2 or 3 miles of each other fished so differently. On the big, low stock one the fish did what you expected and became predictable. On the other water despite the heavier stocking the fish were virtually impossible !
I've fished a few local pits in the winter.
One was a big, low stock water and once I worked it out was very predictable. I did 2 winters with very few sessions and consistently had fish to 40 +. All day fishing; no nights.
Last winter I fished ano local pit (lockdown) it's much smaller (20+ acres) and quite well stocked. Because of the lockdown rules it was lightly fished. I fished it hard from Jan - March (days) and really struggled as did the handful of others fishing. I had 2 takes !
Interesting how 2 waters within 2 or 3 miles of each other fished so differently. On the big, low stock one the fish did what you expected and became predictable. On the other water despite the heavier stocking the fish were virtually impossible !