Turning to Winter Tactics, Winter Locations

This is one of four mirrors that I landed today
in cool, forty degree weather.  They are still
hitting.

I'm still catching good numbers of carp, but I've changed many of my tactics in the last week to ten days.  I've also moved from big waters to smaller locations. I'm in a winter fishing mode right now.

Winter Tactics: Less is more.  I have just about abandoned the method ball and am now fishing a kernel of maize and one artificial pop-up on a hair rig.  Soon, I will replace that maize with sweet corn.  I am also using smaller hooks, generally a size #8. The fish I am catching these days are also smaller, generally running 5 to 10 lbs.  As far as prebaiting, I am using less bait.  Winter carp just don't feed as voraciously as summer carp. I am also targeting the warmest part of the day from mid to late afternoon.

Winter Locations: With this colder weather, I am guessing that many of the bigger fish have moved off into deeper water in big lakes to winter over. The fish are generally not in shallow water anymore. So, I've abandoned the bigger waters and bigger fish and have concentrated on small shallow ponds and "small" river locations.  In these small spots, the fish have nowhere to go in the winter.  Besides, these smaller bodies of water warm up quickly on warm days, and the fish quickly will turn to feeding.  I am seeing a lot less activity these days....no fish jumping, no bubble trails and no carp visible, but they are still around. Today I landed 4 mirrors in cool 40 degree weather.