Carp in cold water, can't be done!

I hear this a lot. While the premise is sound, it isn't true. Yes Carp are warm water fish and they slow down heavily in the winter. They do not cruise and they eat much, much less. What they do eat changes as they want more easily digestible foods. Finding them can be downright tough, getting them to eat even tougher and managing to bank one can be almost impossible. However, preparation, time and effort can pay off huge dividends, which is my point. I think that we American carp anglers have become lazy and spoiled and our patience has been depleted to a point where we simply can't be bothered to winter carp.

That is not a bad thing, mind you. We have great carp waters, ample chances to fish for and land very impressive fish day in and day out. Most normal sessions for a dedicated carp angler can end with over a dozen fish to banks, many times with multiple 20's and up. This leads many carp anglers to get frustrated at slow sessions and even worse to be defeated with a blank. I know that blanking can be tough. The thing is to take away lessons from them, to learn from our slow sessions and build upon our defeats. Many European anglers would love to have the type of sessions we enjoy. These statements are of course very broad generalizations and meant only as such.

This winter I was very determined to change my luck and build on my skills through the winter months. I have gotten some fish in the past but I wanted to make my winter as good an experience as my summers. I knew the going would be rough but with the right approach I was confident I could catch them.

Late fall

Simon and I had some great sessions right into and through November.

We fished a bunch along the Merrimack specifically in Haverhill and managed quite a few high teens and some high 20's carp.

About the end of November our weekly trips started to drift apart. The weather was getting colder, the holidays were at hand and it was hard to be motivated to get out on the banks. It wasn't until late December that I really started getting out and hitting the waters again. I am lucky to have some great sections of the Blackstone river that remain unfrozen and fishable most of the year.

The air temperature was somewhere around cold and getting colder...the water was even colder, or at least it felt it.. There was a bit of snow on the ground and the sun only peaked through some clouds from time to time. We had more snow coming and my fingers felt like they would fall off as I started setting everything up. I promised myself that I would stay positive and give this session a proper go, though i will admit it was tough. That changed after about 5 minutes of being in the water. I had a small tug, which caused all my line to go limp. A fish, really, this fast? I brought the pole up and slowly reeled in the slack, brought the tip up and put pressure on the fish that did not even know it was hooked. It started to dart off and I fought it for about 5 minutes. Then my line went slack, no movement..it had spit the hook.

This would have been a frustrating moment if not for the fact that it was a fish. The water temp could not have been any higher then the low 30's and I had a run within 5 minutes of setting up! Instead of frustration I felt excitement. I wanted to get re-baited and get my rod back in the water.

The next few hours were slow going. I kept one rod where I had the first fish, changing baits every 20 minutes or so. The second rod I fanned about the area looking for holding fish. Round 3 in the afternoon, I noticed a small movement on my rods. A tug tug drop. I walked over and knelt down by the pod and waited a moment, as I watched the line get gently tugged out again I picked up the rod and started putting pressure on the line.

the line went screaming off as the carp on the other end suddenly realized it was in trouble. After a short fight I was able to bring it over the net and a great feeling washed over me. It was only about 10 pounds but, it was 10 pounds in the end of December. This was what I was after and any carp in this weather was going to bring a smile to my face. A beautiful mirror with a fat winter gut!

More Winter Sessions Please!

Now I was in full swing of winter fishing. I wanted to be out there as much as I did in the warmer months. There was a special kind of excitement in knowing that what carp I would manage to get into would be fatter then all their summer counterparts. Over the next month or so I would be out on the banks quite a bit. All through January and in to February. I tried and tested various baits and rigs to see what gave me the best results. I stayed consistent in my feeding of the area, using little and often even if I was not fishing. I noticed that over time the carp in this area were starting to become more active, despite the cold water temps. The food was present and much easier to digest now that I was using milk protein instead of fish meals. This gave the carp a little extra energy and by February Frank and I were getting into some amazing sessions, some with over 10 fish to banks with an average of 8-12 pounds!

A goal set...a goal met.

As the winter progressed so did our catches. As spring approaches we have been lucky to have brought over 40 carp to the banks this winter. This is really more then I could have asked for when I set out to have a non-stop fishing season. The Blackstone had one last surprise in store for me.

It was a Saturday session, February 20th. We have had some mild weather with temperatures into the high 30's and low 40's for a few days. This is a good time to try fishing because fish are far more active when things are constant as opposed to suddenly changing. If you have some really cold days then one really warm day it does not mean you will automatically catch fish, however if you have 4 days of around the same weather even if it is cold you have a good chance of enticing fish to feed.

I hit the banks around 7 am. got everything set and Frank showed up round 730.  By 8 we had all 4 rods in the water and were talking bout this and that. by 830, I had the first fish to the banks! Much like the others it was a beautiful fish, sitting in the 6 pound range. Time rolled on and we started getting into em. Feeding this area all winter has really payed off. By noon or so I had about 4 to the banks, Frank had 1..the average going up to about 8-9 pounds.

We hit a slow next few hours with no sign of carp.

Round 330 Frank got a big run, surprising for the time of year and exciting! This signaled a renew and by 5pm we had a total of 11 fish to banks! We have had an amazing winter, and I really didn't think things could get any better. We've been getting some really great fish, all in the 8-12 pound range, consistently and regularly.

We started packing everything up. Frank got a rod put away, I got a rod put away, Frank got a rod put away..I picked up my last rod and was just about to reel when line started darting off. Apparently I was in for one more fish.

It ran hard to the left toward an underwater tree and I thought, "Gawd no..I don't wanna end on a lost fish..." I worked the rod a bit and turned it's head just enough to swing it back toward the current. As it ran down river a bit I tried to get a feel of the fish...it felt nice, a bit heftier then the fish we had all day. It slowly turned back and started swimming up river again. It stayed low and headed from one point of cover to another over the next 15 minutes. It has been a long time since i had a fish this determined not to be caught. Around this time it started slowing, and I could feel the weight start to rise.

Slowly a small gold form appeared, then it grew..and grew...and grew till it was a big gold carp breaking the surface. A big smile crossed my face. Then I realized I could see my hook...and it was just inside the corner of the mouth, looking as though it would drop at any moment or wrong turn. Now my heart started skipping just a bit, I closed my eyes and asked any carp gods listening to take mercy and let the hook hold just a bit longer.

I tried to bring it in, ever so softly. It was tired yes, but it was also watching, waiting for the next chance. 1 minute passed and I couldn't gain much, 2 minutes...the tension built, round the third minute my friend Frank said screw it, stepped in about a foot of freezing water to bring the the net under the fish.

"Not letting that one get away" He said with wet feet and a smile.

Thanks Frank, I owe you one!

We got it out of the water and to the mat, at this point just excited and tired and over joyed at this great fish before us. After a quick unhook and a transferred to the weigh bag it was time for the moment of truth. The scale flickered and the numbers shifted about and finally settled on twenty pounds, even.

It was a great feeling, that moment, the culmination of all our hard work through the winter, all our hours on the snow covered and ice covered banks. This fish represented everything we were working toward and I cannot fully express just how happy we were. In honor of Frank's help and his son Christopher's good luck I have decided to name him Carpy, and I hope he has a long and healthy life ahead..one in which we meet again and again and again!