In Search of Sno-carp

Here's a good size sno-carp landed just a few days ago. Carp
can be caught in the dead of winter using winter tactics and
fishing the right locations.

I've written quite a bit about winter tactics. If you are fishing in the winter or looking to fish, tactics make up only half the puzzle of winter carping.  The other half is location. And, when you are dealing with southern New England winters, location can be tough to deal with since you are dealing with cold, ice and snow for the most part.
I try to read a lot about carp fishing, and I've read many times that carp tend to "bunch up" in certain places in the wintertime.  These are often spots in deep water, whether it is in a river or in a lake. Oftentimes, it's hard to find these spots due to icing.  And, many times when you do find these locations, the fish are not hitting.  Once water temperatures get really low, the carp tend to stop feeding.
Many years back when I started carp fishing, I went out one day in search of open water winter carp. To my surprise, the place I wanted to fish was completely iced over with a thin sheet of clear ice, windowpane ice I call it. It was a bright sunny day, and as I looked through the ice, I saw outlines of carp, lots of carp, milling around just under the half inch windowpane ice. There were 50, maybe 60 fish, just doing nothing, and occasionally slowly moving about in a circular motion.  Of course I couldn't fish because of the ice.  But, what I found that day was a wintering over carp spot that has produced from me winter after winter when the spot is ice free.
If you are looking for these types of places, look for deeper water.  Even in small, shallow ponds, the deepest spots should have the winter populations of carp. Deeper spots in moving water might have them, but not all deep spots have them so it is a matter of looking and trying.
To be successful at winter carp fishing takes a lot of experimenting and exploring.  Find those productive winter spots, use the tactics described in a couple of posts back and you have the whole puzzle solved when it comes to winter carp fishing here in southern New England. Sounds easy but I can tell you it is not!