CARP fishing can by tricky in the winter but there’s still plenty of action to had, especially on well stocked water.
But “runs waters” can still be brilliant for catching carp in the colder months and you can still get good hits of double-figure fish… and bigger.
Here’s 10 top tips for catching carp on well stocked waters this winter:
- Boilies, especially well dipped or proven winter catchers like frozen Richworth Tutti Frutti boilies, can be deadly.
- Both fishmeals and fruity boilies can work – experiment to see what they’re on at your water.
- Single hookbaits are deadly, anmd yes some angler go down in bait size (like the Tutti minis below)… but don’t be afraid to feed the odd bait or two, especially when packing up so the fish are feeding on them when you’re not there.
- Carp will still go into shallower swims when mild and in strong sunshine, but deeper swims are normally the best bet.
- Carp have been caught all year so do try a different hookbait to what they have been offered all season. I’ve often had good winter success offering two 15 mm boilies baits on the hook, as standard or as a snowmen with one bottom bait and one pop-up.
- If you are NOT fishing snaggy swims, refine your terminal tackle and go for 8-10 lb long nylon traces, and match your bait to the hook size, always keeping it as fine as practical. A size 8 wide gape hook is normally fine for double 15 mm hookbaits, but go down to size 10 and 12s for smaller offerings.
- Discard big heavy semi-fixed bolt rigs and try 1-2 oz running leads depending on your distance fished.
- Give your hookbait a boost by adding PVA bags of boilies and break them up. Don’t add pellets as you don’t want the carp starting to favour those.
- Bottom debris can start to be a pain with dead weed and washed in leaves so pop-up boilies can start coming into their own too.
- I’ve found carp on well stocked waters often leave the margins as it gets colder unless they are deep, but you can find the odd bigger fish later on in the day or at night close in.
CAUGHT A BIG FISH? Email pictures and details to: [email protected] – you could appear in the weekly magazine. Also be sure to read the magazine for top tips, including a new Carp Crew section.
