GET READY FOR WINTER AND PUT THOSE CARP ON THE BANK
As autumn is now coming to an end and the nights are now getting longer many anglers will be putting their rods up for the winter. But if so you could be missing out as this is the time when carp are getting their best colours and you will probably have the free choice of swims as the banks are empty. Where Baitboats are allowed you can really take lakes apart.
The lake I choose for winter is normally one that has a good stocking of carp and has a depth of around 6ft average. With a marker float I like to find a place that will be suitable but also where other Anglers might neglect. Over the last two years I have been fishing a good area on one particular lake. It has several spots suitable for prebaiting but others avoid my favourite because the swim I take is not the most well established or comfortable. Over a period of time others have gradually realised what I have been doing and the lake owners have now decided to make a proper swim. For me this is very inconvenient but this has just spurred me on to find a new area. Hopefully others will not feel comfortable here.
I will often prebait areas throughout the winter using the Angling Technics GPS system. This simply involves turning up at the lake in question with the GPS set to the area that I am prebaiting. I will go to my lake after work and select any appropriate place on the lake to bait. I stress that I only do this when no one is around. The lights are kept off the boat and I totally rely on the GPS system to accurately deliver my bait. Taking the time to do this will allow the carp to become confident in feeding in that area. It is best not to fish your spot for 48 hours after the baiting, this way the fish are hopefully tucking in. I tend to do this once a week in very cold weather and twice a week if mild weather is predicted.
The spots for baiting are found using the gps on the Angling Technics Baitboat. Once I am happy I go over the spots with the echo sounder to make my own judgement and to make sure I am really confident that I have got it completely right.
When prebaiting I use about boilies, hemp and corn but never use pellet as the lake I prefer has a large stock of Bream. Pellet is likely to encourage a massive bream shoal. Once these fish have moved in you will be plagued with them and they may not move off for a lengthy time.
Keeps a regular supply of boilies going in and the carp will keep feeding throughout the winter and the corn will help them locate the boilies as well. What you will also find is that your areas will become really clean so you will have perfect spots for your rig. I chose an area once just under a snag with a very silty bottom, the place was also full of leaves but after only a month of prebaiting this area become clear and the bottom became hard.
With winter fishing have a plan and keep catching
Keith Williams
