Angling Lines Blog

43.01 – who says carp don’t feed in the winter!

We arrived at the lake at 7.30am just before it got light. There were three of us fishing, Myself (Mark Lambert) the owner (John Lambert) and our friend Gavin Rose. Just as it became light enough to boat the rods out I put my three rods on my spots. John also got his two rods out and I moved to his swim to talk. Just then we heard a very pleased yell from Gavin he had only got two rods in the water and he was already into a carp.

As I moved round to help with the fish he yelled again as his second rod took off. He landed both fish the first a lovely 44.10 mirror the other smaller at 30.8. What a start we thought and I hurried back to my rods in anticipation. It was not one hour before Johns rods screamed off and after a fight all in at the margins we slipped the net under a 43.10 mirror.

The mirror later identified on Villefond fish gallery where we keep track of all the fish photo’s we get had shown a 10lb growth in under a year! The rest of the day was quiet until in the evening Johns rods went off again and we slipped the net under a small but really fat 23lb common, a stocky from the beginning of the year.

The day was uneventful for me but we went home with impressed again with how the bait is pulling the fish out even though the temperature didn’t rise above 2 degrees at its hottest.

Mark, Villefond

A winter caught 40 from Villefond

January 11th saw myself (Mark Lambert Villefond fishery manager) and a friend get a chance to fish on Villefond for a quick 24hr session. I had been feeding the fish on our brilliant new range of boillies all winter and knew from previous catch reports the fish loved it and with it being really good for them I knew they would continue to put on really healthy weights feeding on it.

As I arrived I choose to use the tiger nut type boillie and dipped it with a PVA bag in our glug and fired it out to my chosen spot with a few scattered freebies. Within the hour I had my first run after a hard fight I slid my net under an immaculate 41lb mirror. As soon as I got the fish back I put my rod back on the same spot. I didn’t have to wait long and under two hours later I had my second stunning looking carp, a 34lb short chunky mirror on the bank.

41.04

Being January the nights got dark really early and by half six it was pitch black and without a cloud in the sky the temperature dropped fast. My friend had now got his rods out and had gone for the coconut type boillie and it wasn’t long before he got his first run, again a big healthy 41.4lb mirror. He continued catching right through the night despite the frost and temperature well below freezing.

By morning my friend went home and after a busy night photographing his fish and not so much as a beep on my rods I decided to stay just a couple more hours. It turned out to be a good choice and I quickly banked two more immaculate fish in quick succession.

30.04

Our expectations for the 24hrs were one fish each with it being so cold and in January but the bait really excelled itself. In that short pace of time I finished up with 4 fish;

*  41 mirror

*  39.4 mirror

*  34 mirror

*  36.12 mirror

My friend had managed 5 fish in one night;

*  41 mirror

*  40 mirror

*  40 mirror

*  30 common

*  28 mirror

What the fish fell to

I think your agree not a bad result. With luck I hope to try at least one more 24hr session before our bookings for the year start and I have to watch people hauling monsters, while I am waiting for next winter before I get a chance to try my luck again.

Mark
Villefond

Carp don’t feed in the Winter – do they? Paul Cooper shares some winter carp fishing tips to help you catch a few more Winter carp;

Winter carping at Vaux by Chas Cook

Catching carp in winter has a reputation for being difficult but I believe I’ve developed methods at Vaux which turn the odds in my favour.  Let me give you an example;

On Thursday, 24th November a good helping of mixed giant maize and wheat, cooked and prepared in bulk, were fed to the carp at Vaux over a deep spot in the middle of the lake where they are always fed in winter.

Prior to this and up to 2nd December, this carp feeding spot could not be seen as it is in deep water and there had only been a small amount of carp faeces showing in the lake.  Carp faeces indicate what they have been feeding on;  these sausage shapes, bound by a glutinous substance so that they float, are easily recognisable.

Heavy rain overnight on 1st/2nd December brought a good change of water into the lake from the river, which always stimulates the carp to feed whatever the time of the year it happens.  On 2nd December I could see an excessive amount of carp faeces in the lake and at about 11.30am carp started showing over the previous week’s baiting, rolling and jumping out of the water.

At about midday the air temperature was 15° and the water temperature 9°, so having seen this carp activity, I immediately had three rods out on the deep spot. continue reading…

Caught this weekend at Lac du Val in the shape of these two beautiful mirrors of 51lb 2oz and 53lb 4oz.

Remember to look out for our new stocking video which will be on-line soon. Shows 30 more lovely big mirrors being stocked.