xxxxxxxcarping

Winter

Keep On Moving For A Great Day

Walk this way for

Winter
Action
One of the countrys most prolific fish catchers PAUL GARNER (The
Doc) reveals just what you need to do if you want to keep a bend in
your rods this winter. Its got nothing to do with advanced bait, rigs
or tackle, its all about fishing the right venues and keeping mobile.

What about
visiting your local
commercial fishery?
Yeah, you know the
one I mean, that
little day ticket pond
just up the road that
seemed to be busy
all summer long.
Not really your cup
of tea? Well, think
again.
6|COARSE Fisherman |JANUARY 2010

icture the scene: the rivers

are well-coloured, but the
temperature has been steadily
falling for the last couple of
days. The weekend is fast approaching
and the chances of catching anything
noteworthy are pretty slim. Barbel?
Nope, too cold. Chub? No, too
coloured. Perhaps a big roach? Yeah,
if only I knew where there were some!
So what to do? Stay in and paint the
spare bedroom?
Well, how about having a bit of fun
fishing close to home? No early start
required, and back home in time for tea.
Want to know more?
What about visiting your local
commercial fishery? Yeah, you know the
one I mean, that little day ticket pond
just up the road that seemed to be busy
all summer long. Not really your cup of
tea? Well, think again, this isnt about big
fish on the most magnificent of venues.
No, it is about getting out there when
normally you wouldnt and, hopefully
getting a few bites along the way.

More Fish Per Acre

a few hours light relief. With so many

fish per acre there are always going to
be some fish that are willing to have
a go and I find that putting together a
respectable net of fish on a really grim
day can be a whole lot of fun.
Whilst commercial fisheries might
conjure up a picture of small fish in bleak
surroundings, in my part of the West
Midlands there is really no such thing
as your average commercial. Whilst
some are very actively managed for the
match angler, with larger fish cropped
out periodically, many more are left to
their own devices, which can mean the
carp come in a real mixture of different
shapes and sizes. Many of these
ponds now contain a really large
head of doubles, with even the
occasional twenty there to be
had if you are lucky. Good fun
on the right gear.
If you do your homework, then you might
find that you
have other
serious

Commercial fisheries might not be your

cup of tea during the summer months,
when they can get extremely busy and
the fishing stupidly easy, but come the
quieter winter months they can provide
Right: Commercial fisheries arent all about small fish. There
are some great fish to be had if you make the effort.

fishing right under your nose as well. As

other anglers, such as Alan Stagg and
Duncan Charman have written about
previously, there is always the chance of
latching into other species. From roach
and perch to silver bream and crucians,
all to specimen proportions, so it would
be a foolish angler who would write
them off without a proper investigation.

Winter carping

I make up small
PVA sticks using
the fast dissolving
winter mesh. I
prefer the narrower
version, and aim
to make my sticks
almost round in
shape.
With most waters Scale Down Your Gear For Winter Scale Down Your Gear For Winter
getting clearer in
winter you will
get more bites if
you scale down
your gear. Try
fluorocarbon
hook-links and
smaller leads
and keep things
simple. You dont need a lot of gear for winter
Try low visibility fluorocarbon line
1.5oz leads are usually big enough
8|COARSE Fisherman |JANUARY 2010

Keep On Moving For A Great Day

Scaled Down Approach

Just Like Winter Chubbing

I will leave talking about other species

for another time, lets get back to carp.
Okay, so we are not fishing for monster
carp in some inland ocean, so there
is absolutely no need for heavy gear,
particularly as snags are likely to be few
and far between. Sticking with the fun
theme I simply use my barbel gear for
tackling winter commercials. Twelve foot
2lb test rods, and 50 size free spool reels
loaded with 10lb line are plenty up to the
job and will ensure that even small carp
give you a really good scrap, but mean
that you will land any bigger fish.
Rigs and end tackle can be whatever
you are happiest with. Being inherently
lazy, this normally means about eight
inches of 11lb Kryston Incognito
Fluorocarbon to a size 10 hook and
semi-fixed 1 ounce lead on a lead clip.
I can tie one of these in about a minute
flat, which on a cold day is good enough
for me! I purposefully dont use any
form of back lead or leader, for reasons
that will become clear.
At home I make up a bait tub full
of small PVA sticks using the fast
dissolving winter mesh that most
companies now sell. I prefer the
narrower version, something like 20mm
in diameter, and aim to make my sticks
almost round in shape, aping the match
anglers tea bag approach. Feed is
normally a mixture of low oil 4mm and
6mm pellets or one of the stick mixes
that are available. I prefer a low oil
feed, not because I think this is more
attractive to the fish (because it isnt),
but because I dont want the oil soaking
into the PVA and slowing the melt
time. An interesting alternative to using
pellets is to use very lightly damped
white punch crumb in the stick to create
a very visible and quite smelly patch of
bait next to the hook.

If the venue is relatively quiet then the

first job on arrival is to prime a few
swims that I will fish in turn later in the
day, just as if I were winter chub fishing.
I normally pick anything up to ten spots
and give each a handful of small pellet
mixture and hemp spread out quite
widely. The aim is to introduce enough
feed to get the fish looking for food,
but not too much to fill them up. By
spreading the feed out it will also take
them longer to find it all, keeping them
busy for an hour or so.
I normally look for feature pegs to
begin with. Features really can come
in all shapes and sizes on commercial
venues. Anything from an overhanging
bush, an inlet pipe, a tethered aerator
out in the lake, to an island. On some
venues the features can be very subtle,
a submerged stick, even a brick on
the lake bed that the fish use as a
scratching post. Obviously, you wont
see these features from the bank, but
keep your eyes peeled for signs of
fish, particularly coloured water, the
odd fine bubble, or flat spot. On sunny
high pressure days the sunniest spot,
particularly if it is shallow, will also pull
in fish and is well worth a look.
Once you have baited up a few likely
looking spots, and probably had a lap
of the lake, then get the gear out of the
car and get cracking. Normally, I will
have spotted signs of a few fish whilst
baiting up and I use this information to
guide my first choice of swim. Two rods
are normally used, PVA bags hooked
on and lowered into position, lines are
fished fairly slack, bobbins clipped on
and alarms switched on low, just in
case I nod off.
If after fifteen minutes I havent had
a bite then the first rod is recast to
a different spot. The rods are then

Right: A small
pellet mixture
and hemp (with
added corn if
you want) make a
good initial feed
to introduce
into likely looking
swims.

recast in rotation every fifteen minutes.

Normally you are expecting a pretty fast
response, the PVA will break down in a
couple of minutes and this is prime bite
time. After fifteen minutes I reckon that
either there are no fish present or the
concentration of bait produced by the
bag has been spread out and chances
of a bite have diminished.

Below: Two
rods are used
and set on single
banksticks
for a mobile
approach.

If the venue is relatively quiet

then the first job on arrival is
to prime a few swims that I will
fish in turn later in the day, just
as if I were winter chub fishing. I
normally pick anything up to ten
spots and give each a handful of
small pellet mixture and hemp
spread out quite widely.
JANUARY 2010 |COARSE Fisherman |9

Winter carping

If its safe to leave

your gear, try taking
a walk around the
water every so often
to introduce more feed
into swims. This keeps
them topped up and
gets you warm at the
same time!

Keep On Moving For A Great Day

area on to the next. If no indications are
forthcoming then either the fish have
stayed put or have gone in the other
direction, giving you an idea of your
next move. This tactic works well for me
on one long narrow pool where the fish
move as soon as one is caught. Once I
know which way they are travelling it is
simple to leapfrog in front of them and
keep one step ahead.

Baits That Stand Out

Above: If you arrive at a margin swim that you have already fed, try gently lowering
your bait onto the loose feed area first before you set up any gear. If there is a
feeding fish in the swim the chances are youll have it straightaway.

Moving On
After an hour it is time to up sticks and
try another area. Often I will do this
even if I am catching from my current
swim, just for a bit of activity and to
try and winkle out a bigger fish. It is
interesting how many times you will
find that the swim that produces just
the one bite will also turn out to be
the best fish of the day. Each hour the
whole thing is repeated. I find that the
constant recasting, baiting up, looking
at spots, and moving swims keeps me
warm even on the bleakest of days;
along with the constantly boiling kettle.
Every so often, I will wind the rods
in and have a stroll round the lake
introducing another handful of bait to
my spots. Keep your eyes peeled, often
you will see signs of fish on the bait
now (particularly coloured water and
bubbling), dont put more bait on top of
these fish, but ear-mark these spots for
the next move. If the swim is a margin
swim it really does pay to approach it
carefully and just lower your bait on top
of the feeding fish. More often than not
you will get a bite straightaway.

Fishing For Liners

Even on a venue that contains literally
thousands of fish they can shoal up to
an amazing degree in winter leaving
much of the pond devoid of fish.
Combine this with few signs of fish
and watercraft may need to come
into play. Any form of cover is worth
fishing, aerators, overhangs, corners,
pipes, literally anything out of the
ordinary. Islands are always a good bet,
especially if they are protecting the
water from a cold wind.
One tactic that I use a lot, and the
reason that I do not use leaders or
back leads, is to fish for liners. When
10|COARSE Fisherman |JANUARY 2010

conditions are really grim the fish will

often give themselves away by bumping
into the line. The colder the water the
less likely it would appear that this will
spook them, so I actively go out using
light bobbins and fairly slack lines to
try and give the most chance of a fish
touching the line.
When using two rods fishing for liners
can work really well, as often when
you hook a fish any of its shoal mates
will vacate the area pretty sharpish.
If the two rods are fished in a similar
vicinity often the second rod will start
indicating fish as they move from one

Although the PVA bag that you use

will draw fish towards the rig, I like to
make sure that the hook-bait is nice
and bright so that there is the best
chance of the bait being picked up
quickly. I reckon that the colder the
water gets the more dozy fish become,
their reactions and senses seem to get
a little bit slower, so there is nothing
wrong with using hook-baits that are
really blatant.
Small 10mm bright yellow and red
boilies are a good choice on venues
where they are allowed. You can
mould paste or dip them in flavour to
increase the attraction further. I tend
to go for flavours such as Strawberry,
Tigernut and Scopex during the winter
months. I do not tend to use pop-ups
in conjunction with a bag of pellets,
instead I just use standard bottom
baits, because the chances of foulhooking small carp seem to be higher
when using pop-ups.

An excellent alternative to boilies

that I have found just as effective on
many venues is two or three grains of
sweetcorn on the hair. Although corn
is normally considered a summer bait,
I find it works just as effectively in the
winter months, when the bright colour
and salty taste stand out. As many
commercials often have quite complex
and limiting bait bans, a tin of corn is
a good general stand-by. Other baits
worth considering are lobworm, prawn
and breadflake. The former two also
giving the advantage that they give you a
chance of a big perch if any are present.
Also in the bait bag will be a few
floaters, as you will be surprised how
often you can find a few carp tucked
away sunning themselves even in winter
when the pressure is high. Catching a
fish, however small, off the top at this
time of year is a rare treat indeed.
Whilst I absolutely love fishing tough
venues for big fish in winter this isnt
something that is always practical,
or even good for the soul, so a bit of
light relief often comes in useful. On a
cold, wet and windy winters day I will
probably last no more than three or four
hours on the bank, but so what? If I have
managed a few bites and put a couple
of fish on the bank then I can go home a
happy man. After all, fishing doesnt have
to be some kind of endurance test. Just
get out, enjoy yourself, and have some
fun! CF

Top 5 Tips. . .

Here are 5 tips that will

improve your chances of
catching on a winter session
at your local commercial
water.

Below: Watching
the water for fish
activity and paying
attention to bleeps
on the alarm that
indicate liners is
a good method to
tracking down fish
in winter.

One tactic that I use a lot is to fish for

liners. When conditions are really grim
the fish will often give themselves away
by bumping into the line. I actively go
out using light bobbins and fairly slack
lines to try and give the most chance of
a fish touching the line.

Give each spot you intend to fish

a handful of bait at the start of
the session.

Keep your eyes peeled for signs

of feeding fish. This may be a
swirl or a small disturbance.

Use small PVA bags to draw

attention to the hook-bait and
recast frequently.

Keep moving, you should get a

bite in pretty short order if there
are any fish present.

Use bright coloured baits to give

the fish something to homein on. Dont forget sweetcorn.

JANUARY 2010 |COARSE Fisherman |11