HOW TO CATCH CARP IN WINTER!

During the winter months, carp become a lot harder to catch. This is due to their metabolism grinding to a halt so they don't have to feed as often and almost enter a semi-dormant state.

In turn, this makes outsmarting one and actually catching a carp very difficult. After the big Autumn feed up you really have to think outside of the box to catch a carp.

Tips to keep the fish coming:

Be prepared to move

The difference between going home with a carp or two under your belt and sitting getting cold and fed up is often just being prepared to move swims. It’s one of those winter carp tips that some anglers simply will not heed!

On fisheries containing a lot of carp, if your indicators have shown no signs of life and you have seen no signs of carp, there’s a good chance you’re not in a swim containing any fish.

Always be prepared to move swims, especially if active carp can be seen elsewhere.

This is one my my key winter carp tips. You can catch a carp in minutes in the right spot, but waste days and days in the wrong swim.

Location

Location is a major factor in winter carp fishing. More often than not in the summer you can get away with bad watercraft because the fish travel around more so they are more likely to come across the hook bait, whereas in winter carp are more likely to be shoaled up in the slightly deeper areas of the lake, although this can vary from lake to lake this is a general rule.

The best ways to find what location will be the best is to take a pair of poloroid glasses which cut through the glare of the surface to potentially identify any fish. Failing that features such as overhanging bushes, reeds, islands all attract carp due to the cover they offer.

Winter carp baits

Bait is very much down to personal confidence but a good starting point would be to experiment with different baits on different rods give you more of a chance of finding what is working any particular day. A Good starting point would be:

Maggots
Hemp
Sweetcorn
boilies
Hi viz pop ups
worms
bread

The carp seem to be drawn to high visual baits more during the winter months due to their eyesight not been as good so it's always a good idea to incorporate some element of colour into the mix.

The final point I'd make is to simply put the effort in and get out there on the bank, you won't catch them in front of the fire.
Be lucky.