Conditional Carp

Catching any carp at this time of year can be a very hit and miss affair as the temperatures reach their winter lows. Are you still out there regularly every week?
Most carp lakes become deserted at this time of year, especially as Christmas looms. Very few anglers suffer cold winds and low temperatures for long with no action to spur them on.
It can be easy to look in the magazines and see pictures of big carp and wonder why you’re not catching any, but by this time of year there are very few anglers regularly catching carp compared with six or eight weeks ago.
Back in my Mail newsdesk days it was like flicking a switch getting to December with catch reports and pictures drying up. Often those that did arrive were of carp caught back when leaves were still on the trees.
Winter carping is very imprecise science, and its easy to get the wrong impression and feel you’re a failure if you aren’t racking up big fish. Carp can be caught from many waters with some regularity through the colder months but there are also many venues that are a dead loss.
Every year many carpers find out to their disappointment that no matter how hard they try it is a tough job catching anything other than the odd carp from December through to March.
With enough effort it’s possible almost have carp jumping through hoops at any time of the year, but the colder it is the more work it requires. Often when you see or read reports of guys who are emptying venues at this time of year, they are notching up serious amounts of time behind the rods and/or keeping bait going in every day or two to encourage carp to feed.
Few people have the time or resources to be able to fish with this enthusiasm or commitment.
For the majority the best advice for successful winter carping is to be realistic about what you expect from carp angling at this time of year. The best winter carp venues are those that contain lots and lots of carp, the more fish the better. As a rule of thumb pick a venue where you expect action in the warmer months – these reflect high stock levels that improve chances in the winter.
If only a small percentage of carp are prepared to feed on any given day because of the conditions, the bigger the total number of carp in a lake, the bigger the number of catchable carp will be and that improves the likelihood of a bite.
Conditions are absolutely critical through the colder months. Even with unfavourable winds and pressure systems, water temperatures are sufficiently high from April to October that carp are always quite active and there’s a strong possibility of persuading carp to feed.
Through the winter, conditions make the difference between carp sitting almost dormant and doing nothing for long periods, or being active and moving about, half interested in opening their mouth.
Watch carp in a domestic pond and you get a clear picture of how the weather at this time of year makes or breaks your chances. A couple of days of sharp frosts and temperature drops and carp will be sat on the bottom of a pond looking pretty miserable.
A couple of days of rising temperatures and big warm winds with overnight temperatures into double-figures and they are active and smooching around, even in the shallower water.
I’ve seen and heard many examples over the years where committed carp anglers bemoan catching nothing for long periods through the winter then having their noses rubbed in it of guys who turn up for the odd day and catch a few when conditions improve. I admire anyone who sticks out a winter with dedication but there is a strong argument that its clever angling recognising when your best chances are and only fishing at those times, rather than routinely even when conditions are poor.
Carp are wild creatures and no matter how much we’d like them to be, they won’t be prepared to feed every day all winter just because you’re sitting behind rods in all weathers.
Picking a venue with good numbers of carp and fishing when conditions are favourable will be the two biggest helpers to getting your string pulled between now and March.

Colin Davidson: Anglers Mail-12th December 2006