Can anyone help

[RobStubbs]

In addition to suggestions already made;

 

If you have actually watched them swimming over your baits and ignoring them, then there is obviously a problem with the bait or presentation, in the first instance, it could also be that they are ultra shy carp.

 

In addition to the above, carp can easily be cruising and not feeding. I've lost count of the fish I've seen cruising merrily over my baits. But when their feeding time comes they get their heads down. Now it could be the cruising spots and feeding spots are different, that's more than likely. If you can find spots where they are actually lumping out or fizzing then that's a good place to present a bait. You may even have to sit up overnight if they tend to be caught at night and look and listen for where they are showing.

 

I tend to opt for keeping things simple wherever possible. Try something like hemp and fish a few quality boilies over it. You can even prebait like that in the margins and then come back the next day to see if the fish have eaten it (or if you're unlucky the birdlife).

 

Rob.

Edited November 16, 2006 by RobStubbs

[poledark]

Carperpops, are you sure that carp like cloves? Why did/do you put them in your bait?

 

I am not being sarcastic mate, just that it may actually be putting the fish off.

 

All the advice (good though it is) counts for nothing if the b#####s are not feeding my lakes have switched off bigtime, most have given up for the winter. Me, I am waiting for the temps to stabilise and maybe the fish will settle into a pattern of short feeding spells during the day time.

 

Water temps in my area plummetted from 57F down to 48F in a matter of days, but the fish had already got the sulks and stopped eating our baits

 

As Rob says, fish ignoring our baits is normal behaviour, they don't need to feed all the time, and go for weeks without feeding in cold weather.

 

One practical illustration of this was last winter my lake froze, thawed out, froze again and the water temp was down to the low 30's F.

 

Purely by chance I spotted a large group of carp in a large bay simply drifting about at varying depths from within a few inches of the surface down to the bottm about 6 feet deep.

 

These fish stayed in that bay for several weeks and were subjected to constant angling pressure by every method/bait known to mankind (may have missed out one or two )

 

Nothing, not a sniff, night and day there were bottom baits/surface baits, Zig rigs at all sorts of depths and still they ignored us.

 

They were not dormant, they moved about quite a bit, even when the lake froze again they still stayed there...but they did not want any food.

 

But that is the fascination of winter carping,

 

Den

Edited November 16, 2006 by poledark