Most fishermen don’t know that big carp are feeding heavily in late-winter.
If you are looking for a big fish that can pull drag and put a serious bend in the rod, the options in late-winter are limited. However, I know of a gamefish that fits the bill that few fishermen target. Look to freshwater for an underutilized species that is willing to hit in the ice free waters of late-February and March. I’m talking carp, a fish that many nickname freshwater tuna because of its size, strength and fighting ability. Even in cold water, these fish can be active and feeding and can put on a show when hooked.
There are lots of misconceptions surrounding this fish. One of them is that many fishermen think carp are strictly warm water feeders. The truth is that these fish are highly adaptable, and they will feed on the warmest of summer days and also in the cold of winter provided there is no ice. I’ve seen little or no fishing pressure on these fish in late winter. I just think most fishermen are not aware of the winter fishing possibilities associated with these fish.
Think Small To Go Large
A finesse approach works best when targeting carp in the late winter months. Think small; small baits, small hooks, small sinkers and lighter gear. “Small” also applies to the best locations to fish which include small shallow ponds, small rivers and small canals.
The sun of late-winter has a surprisingly strong warming effect on small places with shallow water. In these locations, the water often warms on a sunny day, even when air temperatures are in the 40s. Pull up a lawn chair on the shore of a small pond on a sunny day with light winds, and you’ll feel the sun’s rays as if you’re sitting at the beach in July. It is that warming effect that generally gets the carp moving around and feeding. That is more likely to happen in smaller and shallower bodies of water than in larger rivers and lakes which will produce later in spring.
This is also a time when smaller gear can be more productive. I tend to go lighter on my outfits as I use 9-foot, light, Euro “stalker” rods that look like fly rods on steroids. My reels are Shimano Baitrunners spooled with 15-pound test mono. You could drop that down to 10- or 12-pound test but I fish areas with lots of snags and feel more secure with the 15-pound test line. Carp are bottom feeders so a supply of small egg or no roll sinkers of an ounce or less will do the trick.
The terminal end of the line should be set up with some kind of leader or “hooklink” as the carping sharpies call it. I tend to use braid since I am using a hair rig most of the time. Others might opt for a monofilament leader if you plan to place the bait onto the hook. A carp’s mouth is small so your hooks need to be small with a short shank, size #8 is ideal. I buy most of my hooks at online carp stores such as Big Carp Tackle.
Supermarket Baits
In short, supermarket baits work very well in the early going, because warm water pests and bait stealers like turtles, hornpout and bluegills are not active in the cold. Probably the best early season bait is sweet corn from a can. Thread about two or three kernels onto a small hook and that’s it. Other fishermen like to use a doughball. This is a pinch of the white part of a slice of bread which is rolled into a small ball and placed around the hook. For anyone opting for a hair rig, corn and dough baits work well as do harder baits like small boilies and plastic, artificial corn.
Prior to fishing, I will always try to toss some bait into the water as chum that might bring the carp around as well as get them used to feeding on the bait I am using. I have what they call a throwing spoon (big scoop with a long handle) that I use to toss out chum. Online carp stores also sell a baiting sling shot that works well. I try to toss my hooked offering right where the chum is located.
| RIGGING DEBATE |
| Any carp article you read will get into the hair rig vs. plain hook debate. The Euro hair rig is a set up in which a string comes off the end of the hook and the bait is threaded onto the string with a baiting needle and held in place with a plastic hair stop. There are lots of examples of how to tie these on the Internet and this set up is advantageous in warmer water when a variety of baits might be used. But, in colder water a simple hook tied at the end of your leader will do the trick because the choice of baits here will be simple. |
Here is one more, neat baiting trick that I often use when winter carp fishing. I will make a “packbait” that I pack around my sinker. To do this mix half old fashioned oatmeal and half crushed up bread in a container. Toss in a handful of corn. Then add water slowly and knead. You want this mix to be the consistency of a sticky snowball. Be careful not to add too much water as more water can always be added later. If you have done this correctly, your mix can be packed around your sinker, pressed into place and casted. Once this mix hits the bottom, it will slowly fall apart, leaving a round pile of bait on the bottom that carp usually find. Your hooked bait should be nearby waiting to be hit. Sharpies use this method all the time, and it makes a big difference whether you catch or not.
One more important note here. Some fishermen will use non baitrunner spinning reels. Do not fish a tight drag on standard spinning reel if you value your outfit. Carp will bolt once hooked and the line will shoot out of the reel as if it’s tied to a runaway train. A 10-pound carp can easily pull an outfit into the water in the blink of an eye. Loosen the drag to a very low setting after casting. When you get a hit or hook a fish, gradually tighten the drag while fighting the fish. Baitrunner reels have a lever in the back of the reel that puts the reel in free spool. When you turn the handle when hooking a carp, the regular drag takes over. Many serious carp fishermen prefer baitrunner reels.
Timing The Bite
Last year I began my late-winter carping in late-February, after the ice departed from many of the waters in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. I had quite a few warm days from that time until late March in which I was catching good numbers of carp between 5 and 20 pounds.
Note that Rhode Island bodies of water that are stocked with trout are off limits to all types of fishing, even for carp. Those places are closed from March 1 to the second Saturday in April. Fishing in any Ocean State bodies of water that are not stocked with trout is still legal, but you will need the current year’s fishing license in both Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
Carp fishing is a big fish game at a time of the year when the options for big fish are so limited. Surprisingly, pressure is light since few know this fishery even exists in southern New England in late winter, and even fewer know how to consistently catch these amazing giants of freshwater.
