Never fear, it's that time of year.

A golden carping session.

Winter, a time where many carp anglers move onto different species. Whether it’s due to the season opening for that particular species or that winter carping is, quite frankly, not as comfortable to fish in to say the least. One particular recent session certainly proved that point. It was 19th of December and it forecast light rain showers. However, it was quite mild and a gentle breeze was entering our chosen swim from the west. Following such winds really was one of our trump cards as many fish will follow this. Such winds bring an undertow in the water which suspends food particles. Even in winter, where the fish are reluctant to bother with many traditional baiting methods, carp can simply not resist the ‘scent trail’ of a free dinner waiting for them. If correctly baiting with this in mind, carp can be as easy to catch as in any season. You see, if you are fortunate enough for this wind to blow for at least – I believe – 24 hours in the same direction, the carp have already congregated into wherever this wind has lead them. All you have to do then is give them what they think they want, bait.

Now after the first 200 hundred words or so, I don’t blame you for still wondering what the title of this article is about! And to be honest, you’re going to have to wait to find out. As I mentioned, we, yes we – Edwin and I – were fishing this very carpy looking swim. The wind was blowing in our favour, it was pleasantly mild for December and we had the whole lake to ourselves. Our tactics were either to go with really ‘foody’ baits – to try and get them feeding instead of just mooching. Or, really high attract baits like 2 pence size PVA bags packed with attractants and small, bright pop-ups. Edwin chose to go with gooey, sticky, boozy tiger nuts with a cloudy mix and me, knowing this lake the way I do, going with a Black Ice flavoured yellow hookbait an inch popped up. This was because I wanted to fish over some chod where the last remaining natural food would be and a slow sinking pop-up rig with a coated braid hooklink would allow the rig to flutter down on top of it all.

What we all want, just that
bobbin jumping into life!

It certainly worked fast! Casting out and feeling the lead down at least 9 foot onto a very hard patch of silt the bite came about 20 minutes later. If you have read ‘Well....what can I say?!’ then you may recognise this fish! That’s right, it was Goldilocks. What a pleasure it was to see it again. It still fought as hard this time and it certainly knew its home. It made a dash for the same snags which were well over twice as far from where it was hooked! However, this time I had more powerful rods and the fish was turned a lot easier this time. Though this only made it try harder. In the clear water the golden flanks and bright white belly shone straight through the water as it writhed beneath our feet, still 4 feet down and you could still make out it the beautiful scales and big shoulders. As it came up for one last breath the hook and bait was clearly visible in the side of its pristine bottom lip. A gulp and a gentle knock it’s the head gave the all clear for Edwin to slip the net under it. Taking into consideration the fact that a fish like this cost considerably more than a standard mirror carp, we carefully lifted it out of the water in the collapsed net, removed the hook and weighed it immediately. We then put in the sling and let it have a rest in the margins.

2nd time and still impresses me. 

Like many fish, you don’t want it swimming away and then seeing it floating upside down in the middle of the lake! But this fish was even more precious and we are very privileged to fish this water – carp care was not just a necessity, it was a top priority. After the fish had recuperated, we then took it back to the unhooking mat and quickly took some stills. Thankfully, it swam away strongly like nothing happened and at 13Lb 4Oz, it was almost at an identical weight as last time!

All the time this was happening, however, Edwin kept on receiving countless line bites. Unfortunately, he could do nothing about it as he had to have tight lines as he was fishing very tight to heavy snags. All he could do was wait and hope the fish could find his hookbaits. However, after noticing my fish had been caught on a blatant pop-up, he quickly tied up a hinged stiff rig. Though his hands were so cold, I had to tie on his pop-up! We were both now receiving an unusual amount of liners of which one was so powerful I struck at it, only to find nothing attached!

Oxygen rich and slightly warmer,
fish love inlets.

This was getting irritating but there was nothing we could do, we had to have tight lines. Recasting my rig with a fresh bag, a new glugged hookbait and onto new spot, it was out in seconds. Though, this spot was a little softer on the drop. This might have had something to do with the fact that it was near an inlet and after some heavy rain, much of the leaf litter must have washed in from here. Though, I had nothing to worry about as this brought oxygen rich water and a trickle of warmth to the surrounding water. If the fish weren't here then they must not be in there! Soon enough, another funny bite was received from this spot and after cautiously picking up the rod a small little common was plodding away under the rod tip.

Weighing only about 9lb, it was not going to be much to shout about but it was another untouched gem of the lake. The size of these fish really doesn't matter when you have fish of this quality very local.





‘Till next time, stay lucky...and warm,
Adam, Edwin and Simon.