Winter is not the best time for consistent Carp action but it is however a very rewarding time of year if you can motivate yourself to go out fishing for them. Carp often look more stunning at this time of year as they take on their "winter colours", they also are often at a very good weight. Most Carp at this time of year however will not be feeding heavily. They will instead be seeking shelter in snags, looking for areas of warmth and picking up odd items of food. With the Carp being more lethargic and not moving around the lake so much it is important to locate areas they may be holding.
The choice of venue is therefore also very important if you are to have any success when fishing for Carp during the winter months.
Our choice of venue for our first session this winter was known to have winter form and had done several fish in the weeks prior to our visit. This is just the kind of water that would offer the best chance for a winter bite. The venue was Beatties lake on the Stafford moor fishery complex. The lake itself is decent size at 8 acres but is well stocked with 400 carp to 35 pounds. Having never fished the lake before we didn't really know what areas were going to be the best so a bit of hard observation and help from the owners would be needed to hopefully put us on fish from the start.
On arrival we headed straight into the shop to get the tickets and hopefully that much needed tip off on what the best areas were. After a long chat with the new owners of the complex they kindly advised us of what the best spots in the lake were. We then had a couple laps round the lake to see if the fish would give anything away to suggest anything different. They didn't.
So with the advice of the owners are only real thing to go off we set up in two comfy swims known as the summerhouse pegs in front of the luxury Stafford moor lodges. I would be fishing with Kev on this session with the pair of us just hopeful of getting some winter action. Kev's swim was the first swim which looked a lovely intimate area full of features. The swim had two islands, a small snaggy bay and deep open water to fish to. This would give Kev a number of options and areas to present a bait which was vital seeing as we had no previous lake knowledge to go off.
The swim I was in was to the right of Kev and looked more out onto the middle of the lake. The area had a large island to the right and a no fishing bank going to a point up the left hand margin. The swim allowed a good view of the lake which is important in winter as you can often spot tell tale signs of Carp if you keep your eyes peeled.
Happy with our swims we set up and started fishing with a cautious and varied approach. On any new water I have found it's important to not put all your eggs in one basket but also to stick to what you know works elsewhere. With this in mind I set up one rod on my ever faithful chod rig and the other on a small pva bag presentation. The chod rig would be cast out on the left hand side of my swim to the point of the no fishing bank. This was a noted area according to the fishery owner as just off the point was a depression that the Carp often hold up in. The rig was then followed by approximately 20 free offerings and the trap was set. The right hand rod was to be a searching rod with limited loose feed around it. I would be moving this rod consistently around the swim to try and locate the Carp. Often in winter bites can come quickly from fish that may be laying dormant when your bait just appears in front of them.
After we had got everything sorted it wasn't too long before the night had arrived. Long winter nights on the bank can sometimes become a bit boring and therefore I probably would advise taking something to keep yourself occupied while you wait for those alarms to start screaming. Me and Kev however had not done this and as we waited we began to get more frustrated by our lack of success even though it was winter and are rods hadn't been out that long!!
This restlessness was about to be numbed however when at about 9pm my left had rod shot off with an absolute screamer. The chod had done it again it seemed. The fish didn't really fight as it came in towards me very quickly. A short sharp battle of 5 minutes or so then saw the first winter Carp of the year in the back of the landing net. As I gazed over into the net I gave a bit of a girly "ooooooohh" as I looked down onto a very chunky mirror Carp.
Before taking the fish out of the water Kev quickly zeroed the scales and got everything ready as we knew we would want to weigh this one. We quickly put her on the mat and removed the hook which was nailed in the bottom lip. Kev lifted the sling and the dial shot round to a couple ounces over twenty pounds. Happy days!!!! What a great way to start the Carp fishing year.
We slipped the fish back into the lake and were now full of excitement and anticipation for the remainder of the night. This anticipation was soon heightened as Kev's rods began giving signs of fish. He began to get bleeps on both rods indicating fish were in the area and hitting his semi-slack lines. Kev was now on tender hooks and sat almost hovering over his rods awaiting a take.My rods however were motionless and it seemed as if I had just caught one fish out of the blue.
The night grew darker and colder so we settled down to try and get some kip. This didn't last long as my left hand rod again let rip another screaming run. Being awoken in the cold is not the easiest and I think my reactions were slow to say the least. By the time I had got to the rod the alarm had stopped. Not happy with what had happened I reeled in to find a decent size branch attached to my size 6 choddy hook. I had been well and truly done!!! How do they do it?
Kev had a very similar occurrence an hour later as his island rod let rip resulting in a fish crashing on the surface as it shot free of the area. Unfortunately ditching Kev's rig in the process. There were definitely fish about but this would turn out to be the last bit of action for the night as a hard frost soon set in.
With such a cold night I have to say I wasn't the quickest to get up in the morning. This is always a mistake however as first light can often be the best time to spot Carp. The night that had started so well had resulted in only the one Carp and although we had other chances we couldn't help but feel the chance of another fish had gone. With little movement on Beatties lake we set about a plan to fish one of the other lakes on the complex.
We reeled in our rods on Beatties grabbed some bait and headed up the hill to a lake neither of us had seen before. The lake was "Jospeh's" and is the second specimen Carp water on the Stafford moor complex. As we arrived on the lake we could see that there were already a significant number of anglers set up and fishing for the larger number of Carp that were present in this lake. Not letting this deter us we set off on a walk round the lake. The lake was beautiful in its own right and full of character. Plenty of islands leading to sheltered bays with snaggy margins. It looked the perfect place to hold big Carp.
After seeing the beauty of Joseph's lake and some tell tale signs of feeding fish in the snags we headed back to Beatties to collect our gear. As there wasn't long left in the session we headed up to Joseph's with the minimum amount of gear possible. The tactics would be similar to those used on Beatties a light scattering of boillies accompanied by a handful of corn. The rigs had to be changed slightly however as the Chod rig which is usually fished on a slack line would not be suitable for such snaggy conditions. It is important to fish locked up when fishing against snags as any give in your set up could be the difference between landing and loosing a fish.
With the spot and tactics all sorted we were full of confidence. Our confidence was soon justified as literally minutes after setting up Kev landed his first fish of the session. It wasn't the largest of Carp but was a proper little stunner and certainly made Kev smile.
Kev returned his fish and we were both happy that we had made the correct choice in moving onto Joseph's as the lake just looked a lot more alive. I had not even cast a rig into the swim yet but when I did I didn't have to wait long!! As I was adjusting the bobbin on the rod after casting out the line literally shot out my hand. I was into my first Joseph's Carp about 20 seconds after making my first cast into the lake!! The fish dogged it out in the middle before trying to ditch the hook in the snaggy margins. The fish was soon in the net and I had caught a nice little 12lb mirror.
On arrival we headed straight into the shop to get the tickets and hopefully that much needed tip off on what the best areas were. After a long chat with the new owners of the complex they kindly advised us of what the best spots in the lake were. We then had a couple laps round the lake to see if the fish would give anything away to suggest anything different. They didn't.
So with the advice of the owners are only real thing to go off we set up in two comfy swims known as the summerhouse pegs in front of the luxury Stafford moor lodges. I would be fishing with Kev on this session with the pair of us just hopeful of getting some winter action. Kev's swim was the first swim which looked a lovely intimate area full of features. The swim had two islands, a small snaggy bay and deep open water to fish to. This would give Kev a number of options and areas to present a bait which was vital seeing as we had no previous lake knowledge to go off.
The swim I was in was to the right of Kev and looked more out onto the middle of the lake. The area had a large island to the right and a no fishing bank going to a point up the left hand margin. The swim allowed a good view of the lake which is important in winter as you can often spot tell tale signs of Carp if you keep your eyes peeled.
Happy with our swims we set up and started fishing with a cautious and varied approach. On any new water I have found it's important to not put all your eggs in one basket but also to stick to what you know works elsewhere. With this in mind I set up one rod on my ever faithful chod rig and the other on a small pva bag presentation. The chod rig would be cast out on the left hand side of my swim to the point of the no fishing bank. This was a noted area according to the fishery owner as just off the point was a depression that the Carp often hold up in. The rig was then followed by approximately 20 free offerings and the trap was set. The right hand rod was to be a searching rod with limited loose feed around it. I would be moving this rod consistently around the swim to try and locate the Carp. Often in winter bites can come quickly from fish that may be laying dormant when your bait just appears in front of them.
After we had got everything sorted it wasn't too long before the night had arrived. Long winter nights on the bank can sometimes become a bit boring and therefore I probably would advise taking something to keep yourself occupied while you wait for those alarms to start screaming. Me and Kev however had not done this and as we waited we began to get more frustrated by our lack of success even though it was winter and are rods hadn't been out that long!!
This restlessness was about to be numbed however when at about 9pm my left had rod shot off with an absolute screamer. The chod had done it again it seemed. The fish didn't really fight as it came in towards me very quickly. A short sharp battle of 5 minutes or so then saw the first winter Carp of the year in the back of the landing net. As I gazed over into the net I gave a bit of a girly "ooooooohh" as I looked down onto a very chunky mirror Carp.
Before taking the fish out of the water Kev quickly zeroed the scales and got everything ready as we knew we would want to weigh this one. We quickly put her on the mat and removed the hook which was nailed in the bottom lip. Kev lifted the sling and the dial shot round to a couple ounces over twenty pounds. Happy days!!!! What a great way to start the Carp fishing year.
 |
| 20 pounder!! Stafford Moor |
 |
| 20 lb 2oz |
We slipped the fish back into the lake and were now full of excitement and anticipation for the remainder of the night. This anticipation was soon heightened as Kev's rods began giving signs of fish. He began to get bleeps on both rods indicating fish were in the area and hitting his semi-slack lines. Kev was now on tender hooks and sat almost hovering over his rods awaiting a take.My rods however were motionless and it seemed as if I had just caught one fish out of the blue.
The night grew darker and colder so we settled down to try and get some kip. This didn't last long as my left hand rod again let rip another screaming run. Being awoken in the cold is not the easiest and I think my reactions were slow to say the least. By the time I had got to the rod the alarm had stopped. Not happy with what had happened I reeled in to find a decent size branch attached to my size 6 choddy hook. I had been well and truly done!!! How do they do it?
Kev had a very similar occurrence an hour later as his island rod let rip resulting in a fish crashing on the surface as it shot free of the area. Unfortunately ditching Kev's rig in the process. There were definitely fish about but this would turn out to be the last bit of action for the night as a hard frost soon set in.
With such a cold night I have to say I wasn't the quickest to get up in the morning. This is always a mistake however as first light can often be the best time to spot Carp. The night that had started so well had resulted in only the one Carp and although we had other chances we couldn't help but feel the chance of another fish had gone. With little movement on Beatties lake we set about a plan to fish one of the other lakes on the complex.
We reeled in our rods on Beatties grabbed some bait and headed up the hill to a lake neither of us had seen before. The lake was "Jospeh's" and is the second specimen Carp water on the Stafford moor complex. As we arrived on the lake we could see that there were already a significant number of anglers set up and fishing for the larger number of Carp that were present in this lake. Not letting this deter us we set off on a walk round the lake. The lake was beautiful in its own right and full of character. Plenty of islands leading to sheltered bays with snaggy margins. It looked the perfect place to hold big Carp.
After seeing the beauty of Joseph's lake and some tell tale signs of feeding fish in the snags we headed back to Beatties to collect our gear. As there wasn't long left in the session we headed up to Joseph's with the minimum amount of gear possible. The tactics would be similar to those used on Beatties a light scattering of boillies accompanied by a handful of corn. The rigs had to be changed slightly however as the Chod rig which is usually fished on a slack line would not be suitable for such snaggy conditions. It is important to fish locked up when fishing against snags as any give in your set up could be the difference between landing and loosing a fish.
With the spot and tactics all sorted we were full of confidence. Our confidence was soon justified as literally minutes after setting up Kev landed his first fish of the session. It wasn't the largest of Carp but was a proper little stunner and certainly made Kev smile.
 |
| Joseph's Lake Mirror |
Kev returned his fish and we were both happy that we had made the correct choice in moving onto Joseph's as the lake just looked a lot more alive. I had not even cast a rig into the swim yet but when I did I didn't have to wait long!! As I was adjusting the bobbin on the rod after casting out the line literally shot out my hand. I was into my first Joseph's Carp about 20 seconds after making my first cast into the lake!! The fish dogged it out in the middle before trying to ditch the hook in the snaggy margins. The fish was soon in the net and I had caught a nice little 12lb mirror.
 |
| 12lb Joseph's Mirror |
What a buzz to hook a fish so quickly after casting out. The surge of quick action did have a knock on affect though as we struggled to get a bite from the snaggy area for another couple of hours. With the sport slowing down I decided to try a rod out into the main area of the lake. This change in area rewarded me with a nice little mirror within about 10 minutes of casting out.
 |
| Stafford Moor Stunner |
I slipped the fish back and decided to pack that rod down as the light was now fading. Just as I put the fish back my other rod that was still fishing to the snags screamed off!!! Get in!!! The culprit was another Mirror of the mark simmons strain. The fish weighed in at 11 pounds and was a nice way to finish the day.
 |
| Stafford Moor Double |
It had been a very enjoyable 24 hours at Stafford moor and we were rewarded in total with 5 Carp between us. Not bad going for February!! The complex certainly does offer a lot of variety in terms of species to fish for and lakes to fish. We may have only managed to tempt one of the Beatties beasts on the session but the Joseph's stock were more than happy to show them selves. It just goes to show in the winter Carp can be caught, you have just got to choose your venue and find them fish!!!
Tight lines!!!
