Winter Temperatures

[Guest peter mccue]

I was reading the thread on whether or not the overuse of fishmeals can ruin the fishing for everybody on a lake during winter.

 

Do you think the main reason behind increasingly difficult winter fishing could be increased pressure & temperature fluctuations?

 

The other week we had 2 days of 1-3degs with sharp overnight frosts followed by a few days of 11-13degs with night temperatures that belonged in August! after that they plummetted again, now I can cope I'm warm blooded but how does a cold blooded animal deal with fluctuations like that.

 

what do you think?

[Guest carpheaded]

Hi Peter,

 

Me being a yank and all I obviously don't know much about your situation over there but I did read Kevin ________'s book entitled "Carp Fever" and he maintains that the only situation in which he would consistently blank in winter was when there was a big fluctuation in temperature in either direction.

 

I hope this helps.

 

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Ed

Carp fishing at Clear Lake in Northern California http://www.catfished.com/carpheaded.html

[Guest Newt]

I wonder what difference it would make if you were fishing deep.

 

How available are deep water carp lakes in the UK? I sorta gather from the bbs that most are shallow as in 10-15 ft or something and some less than that.

[Guest Steve Burke]

I agree that a sudden rise in temperature in the winter can put the fish off. This happens with many species and I suspect they need time to adjust.

 

However, a more gradual rise usually seems to turn the fish on. I find the overnight temperature to be more important than daytime ones in winter. Presumably this is because nights are longer than days in winter.

 

In waters like reservoirs the fish seem to spend a lot of time in deep water. Water is at its heaviest at 4C (39F). Thus in really cold weather the deep water is warmer. However, I've written before that I don't believe the fish necessarily go deeper because the temperature is warmer but because it's more stable - especially after a long cold winter night.

 

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Wingham Fisheries

http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/fisheries/wingham.htm

[Guest RobStubbs]

Newt,

There appears to be no pattern as to whether deeper waters are better than shallow, it depends on the specific water. You are right in that generally waters tend to be less than 15ft although I fish one that goes to about 23ft or so. Unfortunately it doesn't fish well in winter and has very fish in it. Might still fish it though sometime.

 

Rob.

[Guest Newt]

Rob - I guess I sorta cheat but there is an area near where I put my boat in. 4 lane highway bridge over a spot that goes to around 75 ft. I've cruised it slowly with the fish finder on and have noticed that there will be a moving concentration of large fish cruising by at a certain depth most days. May be 20 ft, may be 40, 60 whatever.

 

I suspect these are carp and I intend to fish it when other places and types of fishing slow down with the cold weather.

 

Been going crazy trying to figure out how to best pre-bait it though. How deep? My plan right now is to bait up with salt blocks impregnated with molasses and bits of corn and acorn (made for deer hunters but I just won't say why I want em ).

 

It would seem to me that a fish at 40 or 60 feet would tend to pay less attention to changes in the surface weather.

 

Anyway - I expect to be doing a number of sessions this winter while anchored at the depth that looks good right then. That way the fact that I can't cast too accurately with a long rod and all the clap-trap you need when rigged for carp. I can just give a gentle toss and let the line free-spool until it gets down to the bottom.

 

Any of you old-time carp guys with ideas, I'd love em. Targeting carp is brand new to me - only within the last year or so.

[Guest peter mccue]

Newt, if U.S Carp behave in a similar fashion to U.K fish in winter, I think I would tread very carefully on the pre-baiting front.

 

Carp in my area of the country move very little once the temperatures reach their winter levels & their intake of food drops dramatically, consequently I've enjoyed the most consistent levels of sport with the simple but well proven tactic of stringers, double baits & no other freebies other than the stringer, nothing spectacular I know but it works.

 

Seen as how you've located the fish, 95% of the work is done & I would be seriously tempted to see just how much these fish are moving about first before I decided to do anything radical about baiting up.

 

Just how comatose Carp can get has been shown to me many times in my garden pond. During a cold snap I've seen the Carp stay in one spot for days on end with food nearby completely ignored.

 

Obviously if your fish are moving around a fair amount they may well stand more food than typical winter Carp in the U.K.

 

So maybe it would be wise to start with very low bait levels & work up-over, as the old saying goes if you put too much bait in, you can't take it back out!

[Guest Newt]

Thanks Peter.

 

As of yet, the water is still fairly warm. Surface temps in the 55-60ºF range (12-15ºC).

 

The carp where I am are almost 100% commons in appearence and we have had numerous discussions of "are they commons or are they wildies". Not much - if any - gut on them. Living and breeding in a "lake" that is around 8 miles long and was originally a river but has had dams for hydroelectric power for over 40 years.

 

One reason I like to use the salt blocks for pre-baiting is they are mostly smell and very little food. Some bits of corn and acorn do fall out as a block disolves over a few days but not much.

[Guest peter mccue]

Newt, you're still in summer as far as I can see with those temps. When those temps do drop though, what about trying the method feeder? you could lace the groundbait with flavourings & attractants but regulate the food items to suit how the fishings going.

 

Incidentally Newt, how low will your water temps go in winter?

[Guest Newt]

Peter - method feeder sounds like a good idea. I'll probably opt for a US variation though - pack bait where you fix up your rig, hook bait and such, then "pack" a wad of ground bait around it. Designed to cast and not to disolve off for 2-3 minutes.

 

As to the water temp - we occasionally get thin ice in the margins where I live but normally see surface temps stay in the low 40s high 30s (that would be in the 3-5ºC range). In my usual lake, it really depends quite a bit on the amount of rainfall too. The lake is #2 in a series of 4 lakes created by hydroelectric dams at both ends. Water comes into Tuckertown (mine) from the bottom of the High Rock dam which is at around 100ft so will never be colder than 3.8ºC. If there is a steady flow, it won't have gotten much colder by the time it exits. Often have current of 1 mile per hour or so if there has been a good deal of rain. Dry though for the last 4 years so we haven't seen that sort of condition for a while.