All About LOCATION and Carp that Want to Hit at This Time of Year

Success of winter carp fishing depends on two main things....LOCATION and finding fish that want to feed.  Unlike other times of the year when you might find fish all over the place, winter is different. Carp tend to bunch up in certain places in the wintertime.  These might be deep spots on an ice covered pond or deep spots in a slow moving river. If you catch fish, you can bet there are many more with it.  Finding those winter spots can be a challenge, and it often takes a lot of time and effort.  Most experienced carp fishermen who know these spots are tight lipped.

I landed this good size common this morning
in one of my "winter spots." Carp will bunch
up in certain locations in the wintertime.

Sometimes knowing a good winter spot doesn't translate into catching fish either.  A carp's metabolism can be quite sluggish in the winter, and some will just not feed.  A couple of years back I found a bunch of them in a small river.  The water was so clear I could see a pack of about 12 fish hovering over my chum and hookbait.  Not one fish would take; they even passed on the free bees.  In yet another instance I hit one of my winter open water spots after a cold night.  To my surprise, the place was frozen with a thin coating of clear ice about half an inch thick.  I could see dozens of carp under the clear ice just sitting there like statues.  Of course this was unfishable due to the icing.

So, location is one key to catching carp in the dead of winter. Most likely that will happen in moving, ice free water. But, finding those spots where carp bucnh up is only half the equation. Finding fish that want to hit is the other half of the story. You need both to make winter fishing work.