Fishing, Hunting and Camping
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How the weather affects carp fishing
There are many factors that can greatly affect your chances of having a successful carp fishing session such as location, rigs, bait and fishing depths. However one of the most important overlooked, is the fishing weather which goes hand in hand with the carps feeding pattern.
Air pressure
Typically carp like to feed during low pressure conditions, if the pressure is low the standard way to fish for them is at the lower depths with either a float or a rig on a ledger.
If the pressure is high the carp are most like to be feeding in the middle to higher depths of the water, in this case it makes sense to float on top with dog biscuits or bread. Another upcoming tactic fisherman use during high pressure days is zig fishing. Zig fishing is great because you can modify your rig to different depths at any time. It can take some trial and error to find the current depths that the carp are currently located, however once this is done the tactic can produce some incredible results.
Most good fishing weather reports should provide you with a pressure reading for the day or over an hourly breakdown. Learning to read these pressure readings is essential.
Temperature
When fishing in the colder conditions carp are less likely to feed, if they do feed they tend to only feed small amounts at a time, so its best to adjust your fishing approach. Using a small hook and baits such as maggots and sweetcorn and keeping pre-baiting to the minimal amount can really pay dividends. During the summer months Carp tend to pack on the lb’s and often clear the baits in swims in minutes. A great tactic to use in the warmer months is either to use Spombs or bait boats to pre-bait a spots in the lake with lots of bait to attract the carp. Another thing noting is that carp tend to spawn when the water is warm, if you fish during spawning you are unlikely to receive any bites. So it’s best to maybe ask the fishery owner before you turn up to see if the fish have already spawned or not.
Rain
Rainy days can really contribute to a great days fishing, when it rains is oxygenates the water which really gets the carp going. This is why people often target water infills and waterfalls because they also oxygenate the water.
Wind
If the wind is blowing down to one bay of the lake it makes a lot of sense to fish there, one of the main reasons fish tend to follow the wind is because the food in the lake will be concentrated in that area. If its a very windy day it can become a real nuisance for fisherman who are ledgering with bite alarms because the wind can keep setting of the bite alarms and give false indications. If this happens to you it makes sense to turn down the sensitivity on your bite alarm or use heavier bobbins.
A great website to check the fishing weather local to you is FishAdviser. The fishing weather reports include a bite rating guide to help you get the most out of your sessions.
Fishing Weekend Using the Single Hookbait Approach
With the weekend starting to close in, it was time to put my work boots away. It was time to think about heading out to the local lake for a round of fishing. While I was deciding whether or not to do it, I received a call from my buddy across the pond, in France. He mentioned the beautiful fish that were caught over the past week and how it was time to join in on the fun. Without hesitation, I was ready to go and knew it was best to head out as soon as possible.
My Mini Getaway
I rushed home after a gruelling Friday at work and made sure to prep as best as I could. This meant taking out my wonderful Nash Dwarf kit while also making sure the equipment was ready to go (i.e. my Nash Scope Bivvy). The planning stage went by without worry and quite quickly, I was ready to head out on a 2-hour trip on the Eurostar for a mini carp fishing holiday in France with accommodation, which had me all giddy inside!
Setting Up
As soon as I arrived there, I knew it was a great decision as I spoke to the local anglers and their opinions on the fish. They were making the same claims as my friend stating there were plenty of fish. However, I noticed not a lot of them were heading to the bottom of the lake and only seemed to be focussed on the top end. This is when I started moving around as other anglers set up their overnight positions. I wanted to make sure my point of view was unobstructed and I was able to prepare for a good round of fishing. This is when I positioned myself closer to the centre of the lake as it provided a great view. I learned a lot from the local anglers. While talking to them, I also made sure to focus on what was in front of me even though the lake was quiet. I knew it was a risk to set up where I did but it also came with a big reward if it paid off. It was sometime around this point in the day when I noticed a fish jump out. It was closer to the other end of the lake. This is when I made sure to prep because it was time to dig in.
The Wait
As soon as I got to the place where I had seen the fish jump out, there was a massive amount of water in the area. I knew this was all mine because no one was anywhere near me. They were all focussed on other areas. I was trying to stay as calm as possible while making sure my approach was a success. This is when I knew it was time to use bait as a way to draw the fish in. I ended up using the Nash Ctiruz pop-up because it was going to work better than the other options. I also went with the Cray pop-up at the same time for my right-hand rod. As I set these up, I was ready to settle in and wait until something locked in. It wasn’t smooth sailing as most of the night went without action. The few bites that were made didn’t work out at all and petered out quickly. I still felt confident about what was happening and felt it was only a matter of time. This is when I put up the new bivvy and sat back.
The Result!
It wasn’t until the next morning when I started to see a change in how things were going. There were a few questions about whether or not the fish were there but I had to keep going. I didn’t have to think long because the left-hand rod locked in. It was time to take action because there was a considerable amount of pressure on the other end. I had to negotiate through the weed beds while making sure there was enough pressure to keep the fish in place. While it wasn’t the biggest fish in the world, it was still a great catch because I was looking at a zip linear. It was one of those situations where the weekend trip did end up working out as intended. I had a lot of fun and the catch was good!