While Carp fishing does have its followers in the US, it is still very much in its infancy. This statement is not meant to belittle the anglers who are fishing, it is a fact that on the vast majority of lakes, ponds and rivers you will more than likely not run into more than one or two fellow carpers over a year of fishing. While this is great news to those of us who like the solitude, it also results in little angling pressure and thus no real need to innovate and develop new tactics. Pair this against most European waters and the complexities of carp fishing in the US are very different.
Having lived in the country for over 12 years it is only recently that I discovered an abundance of local waterways and lakes that held good numbers of carp. I am very much still in the discovery phase in my local states and the real challenge is finding carp. A kayak or canoe is a real necessity and you do really need a pioneering sense of discovery to reap the rewards. Over the past several months I have been slowly getting back into the swing of carp fishing and have concentrated on two or three areas of the Blackstone River in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
The Blackstone River runs from Worcester (MA) all the way to Providence (RI) and the tidal stretches in Pawtucket. It is a river with a vast history and was home to the US Industrial revolution. Thus it also has many stretches of canal that run next to the river that also offer excellent fishing. While there are many stretches of the river that are only accessable by canoe, there are also many areas where you can park and walk 50 yards to the bank. I tended to fish known fish holding areas, but also walked a little further and fished from different areas than most of the recreational anglers did. This required waders and also the need to travel light, but also allowed me to change swims with ease if I thought I needed to.
Over the course of the summer and Fall I managed to get to the banks on average of once per week and had over 150 fish. While most of the fish were on the small side (6-12lbs) I did manage to get into some nice mid-doubles. I have found the bigger fish elusive, but have no complaints as long as I am catching fish.
I do regard myself as a specimen angler, but the fact remains that catching large numbers of fish gives me great confidence in my fish location, baiting methods and rigs. Knowing that your set-up works consistently is especially important when you do hook that big fish.
As the winter started to approach this year I knew that I wanted to achieve a couple of goals. Firstly, to get onto the bank at least once per week, so I could keep bait going into the water and more importantly keep up to date with the river conditions and the movement of the fish from fall areas to winter areas. Secondly, my goal was to reach 100 fish before the official start of the spring (March 21st). Finally, I wanted to catch at least one 20lb fish.
Having fished on a variety of methods during the fall, I knew that I wanted to keep my approach very simple in the winter. Rigs would consist of 1-2 ounce leads, just enough to hold bottom, short hook links (5 to 8 inches) and very visible hook baits.
I assumed that most of the fish had not seen pop-up baits or neutral baits in any quantity and I thought that as I would be casting around to find fish this would offer the best chance of fish seeing and then inspecting my baits. Baiting would vary dependent on the water and air temperature, but a constant would be the introduction of at least ½ pound of bait at the end of each session. I would spread this out over a fairly large are in the hope that the carp would remain active and have to move about to get a meal.
In regards to tactics, I used fairly light leads and I was fishing just of the main flow of the river and as such did not need anything heavier to hold bottom. On the few occasions I did use heavier leads (4oz) I found that pick-ups were abrupt. I am sure going down to an ultra short hooklink would have worked, but as the lighter leads were working very effectively, with fairly slack lines and light bobbins, I did not feel the need to change tactics. I also varied the length of the pop-ups, but found about 1 to 2 inches ideal.
My basic set up consisted of:
Owner Carp hooks – size 8 and 6, dependent on bait size
10Lb P-Line Fluro-carbon hooklink
15lb main-line
I tend to use either a D Rig or Blowback Rig for my pop-up fishing and when hooking fish on these methods the holds are usually very good with most being inside the bottom lip.
As flowing bodies of water, rivers are ideal for winter fishing. Ice-outs are rare and there is usually somewhere you can cast a line if you are happy to change your tactics. The Blackstone had a few freezes this year and a lot of snow, but even in these conditions I still caught fish. As long as you dress appropriately and are willing to move around to find the best spots you can catch consistently throughout the coldest months of the year. Usually, my favorite time to fish is the fall, but winter fishing also offers a great chance of catching multiple fish if you locate them and use the correct techniques.
I managed around ten to fifteen sessions this winter and ended with over 100 fish, with around 25 of these breaking double figures. While I did not catch a 20lber I did catch some great looking fish in wonderful condition. I also had numerous occasions where I had two fish on the bank at the same time.
My best session produced over 20 fish, and while this seems easy fishing it culminated in several sessions prior, where I fed separate areas and changed tactics. One method that was particularly effective was to recast eveyr 30 minutes or so, if no action was occurring. This will seem strange to many European anglers as I myself have fishied with baits in the water for over 24 hours, but in rivers the carp are accustomed to objects hitting the surface and unless you cast over cruising fish, many times you will get a pick-up with-in seconds or minutes of recasting. More importantly, in the winter the fish are more tightly located and even moving your bait a couple of feet often means the difference between several fish and no fish.
I am sure many of you reading this will be in no doubt as to how rewarding winter fishing can be, but the fact is that most anglers do not realize that they can still catch regularly throughout the colder months. My advice is to find a water with a good head of fish, one that you have fished before and know the features. Start introducing bait (boilies, particles etc) toward the end of fall and stay in touch with where the fish are. They tend to favor deeper areas in the winter, but given the right conditions you can catch them in as shallow as 2 feet of water. Make sure you use methods and rigs you are confident in. Feed sparingly at the start of your session, my own approach is little and often, unless I feel the fish are really having it. Single hook-baits will also work if you locate the fish. Finally, if you are blanking regularly I would suggest you concentrate more on location rather than changing tactics. The familiar saying “better to fish 5 minutes in the right area than 5 hours in the wrong area”, really applies tenfold in the winter. You may not see many signs of fish, but by casting around with visual baits you will more than likely locate fish you would not have found by sitting motionless behind your rods.
As the spring and summer now gets underway many of you will be starting to get out again. By fishing all through the winter I feel I have a renewed sense of belief in my tactics and methods and cannot wait to put them into action on new venues. Carp fishing really can be a year round activity and I would recommend you try to venture out next winter and reap the rewards that are out there.
