Carp Catchers Blog

During the colder months of the year many anglers tend to use different baits to their preferred summer baits. At this time of year a lot of anglers move over from their summer fishmeal based baits and start using fruity baits such as Mainline Hi Visual Pop Ups or Richworth Pineapple Hawaiian Freezer Boilies  . These baits which are brightly coloured and have highly attractive fruity smells are more likely to grab the attention and interest of the carp even if they are not particularly interested in feeding. That isn’t to say that carp don’t get their heads down and feed during the colder periods, it is just that the feeding periods tend to be shorter. High food value fishmeal baits such as Dynamite Baits Source Boilies still work well during winter too, with its highly attractive smell and high nutritional value being prized by the carp during the winter months.

It is also a good idea to change your pellet choice if you’re intending on using them in a larger quantity than just for attraction in pva bags as the high oil pellets which the majority of anglers use during the warmer months are less digestible during the colder months. Although you can still use high oil pellets if you’re only planning on using them in small amounts as pva bag fillers for high attraction.

Groundbait mixes in Dynamite sticks are also a valued bait in the carp anglers armoury with the use of fish oils for added attraction but its a good idea to change from the oils you would use during the summer to a winterized fish oil as the colder water temperatures will cause some fish oils to congeal and your Dynamite sticks won’t breakdown very quickly, it could also hinder the melting time of your pva mesh. You could also try Hemp oil as this is naturally “winterised” so doesn’t congeal in colder temperatures. 

Particles and maggots are another big favourite of many anglers during the winter months and carp seem to love them no matter what time of year it is.

Tight Lines

Dave

How’s this for hardcore. Customer Ian went around town on Christmas eve to celebrate the yuletide festivities, when he got home he loaded his van and went fishing. He was rewarded on Boxing day with this nice 20lb 8oz common carp. Ian was again fishing over a fairly big bed of bait for the winter, getting through 5 kilo’s of  Fresh Prawn Spicy Shellfish  Boilies . His rig consisted of 10″ of  ESP Striptease  tied to a Korda Longshank X Hook  with a snowman hookbait. Nice one Ian!

Best fishes,

John

Here’s a couple of nice December mirror carp caught by customer Ian Smith. They weighed 18lb 8oz and 17lb 6oz respectively. Ians’ fish were caught from a silty spot over 5 kilos of  Nash Scopex Squid Plus Freezer Boilies  which just shows that carp will still feed heavily even in the coldest of weather. The rig Ian used was tied with a size 10  Korda Longshank X Hook  and ESP Striptease Hooklink snowman style.

Nice winter catch Ian well done.

Best fishes,

John

If ever there was a winter flavour, Chocolate Malt must be high on anyones list. Well for the winter anglers among you the new Dynamite Baits Chocolate Malt & Tiger Nut  Boilies are now in. The Chocolate Malt was developed by Terry Hearn for Dynamite Baits and is based on a birdfood recipe with added tiger nut and liver powders. Terry has been using The Chocolate Malt flavouring for his winter fishing for many years now so to see a bait that he has developed incorporating it, is very exciting. Because The Chocolate Malt is based on a birdfood it should be much more easily digested by the carp, keeping them coming back for more, time and time again. We have the Chocolate Malt & Tiger Nut Boilies in both shelf life and freezer bait, as well as pop ups and to really give your baits a boost we also have the Dynamite Baits Chocolate Malt Liquid Attractant . For more information or to purchase please visit the main site through the above links.

Best fishes,

John

Customer Gary Smith braved the elements over the Christmas holidays to bag this immaculate 20lb common carp. Gary used a kilo of  Nash Scopex Squid Plus  Boilies as free bait to tempt his common. His rig was tied with 25lb Sufix Camfusion  hooklink to a snowman hookbait. Garys’ catch shows that the carp will still feed on a bit of bait even in the coldest of weather.

Well done Gary.

Best fishes,

John

Just a quick word of warning to those of you who plan to get out over the colder months for a couple of nights fishing, we all know how tempting it is to close the bivvy door right down and stick the kettle on, cook some food or fire the lantern up for a bit of extra warmth but please try to avoid doing so without adequate ventilation as the gases given off by these bits of equipment are actually very harmful. The gases given off, especially Carbon Monoxide, are colourless and odourless so you wont even notice them building up in your bivvy during the periods your door is closed but there are some serious health risks involved, it can also prove fatal if prolonged exposure to such gases occurs. So please be careful when using your cooker or lantern in your bivvy and make sure there is adequate ventilation to let any noxious gases escape.

Follow the link below to read more about Carbon Monoxide poisoning and its symptoms.

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Information

We are finally well into the colder months of the year now and we have already recieved a few cold snaps of weather over the previous two months with many lakes around the country freezing over for a short period. Only the most hardy of anglers will have dared grace the banks during these colder spells of weather but some of them may well have been rewarded for their efforts.

Winter carp fishing is never going to be and never has been easy by a long stretch but the captures made at this time of year can be far more rewarding. If your going to attempt a winter session then make sure your prepared for the coldest of winter weather. By now the water temperatures will have dropped considerably compared to the summer months therefore slowing down the carps metabolism to a creeping pace decreasing their need for food. The carp will not be that active this time of year with them generally hanging around in their favourite winter haunts, these are normally the deeper more sheltered areas of the lake but every lakes different so use the knowledge you know about your water to help you locate those fish. Dont rule out the shallower areas either, if the weather warms up a bit and the sun makes an appearance the shallower areas will warm up first and the fish know this. Try single hookbaits to begin with and move your rods around your swim to try and help you to locate where the fish maybe holding up, generally if you can catch one fish there is a good possibility of another if they’re interested in your bait. Bait application during the winter months can either make or break a session so don’t over do it unless your sure the fish want some bait, generally start of light with single hookbaits or pva bags and apply a little more if things begin to progress and fish start to show an interest, you dont need large amounts of bait this time of year. Ive had some of my best winter sessions with a tub of pop ups and a bag of stick mix.

If your planning a session this winter don’t be disheartened if you don’t catch as there will be many other anglers in the same boat, just get out there and apply a bit of thought into your angling.

Tight lines

Dave

Many of those of you new to carp fishing and many of you that are not, will think looking at the carp fishing mags that every one is catching but you. This is not the case, if you look at how many catches appear in the magazines and add them all together the number is miniscule in comparison to how many people actually carp fish. Not catching or in carp speak, blanking, is part of carp fishing and should fire you up to succeed in your next session. I pride myself in being quite consistent when it comes to catching carp, but at the moment I’m blanking like a good un’ and it’s really got my brains going into overdrive. Forget Dr. Wii’s brain training go carp fishing. Seriously though, I’m not the only one blanking, the syndicate as a whole is struggling. There has only been one fish out in 18 days and there’s been a heck of a lot of rods hours fished for that one fish. I’m really enjoying it though, but as my girlfriend Angela said, I’d be enjoying it more if I’d caught one. So if you are blanking too, don’t despair you are in good company. The carp are in their autumn/winter transitional period, which puts them out of sorts and off the feed. This transitional period, which happens every year, seems to have started a lot earlier this year and many lakes across the country are fishing poorly. So as I said previously don’t despair, keep on keeping on and the rewards when they come will be well worth it.

Best fishes,

John