Warm January=Hot Fishing

This common was landed today along with
a few others.  This January's  fishing has far
exceeded expectations.

I'm off to a hot start as this January has been  the best in terms of numbers of carp that I have ever had. It's been mild, maybe the warmest January we've ever had. Most of the month has seen little ice, and many places have been open for a good part of January.  That favors carp fishing. The warm weather has also allowed me to get out on a lot of days, double what I normally fish in January.
I've landed over 80 carp this month, by far better than any previous January. Here are my January numbers for recent years: 2017-17 fish, 2018- 4 fish, 2019-23 fish. I've also gotten out 11 days this January.  In the previous three years, the most days I have been able to fish has been a mere 5 days.
What's interesting about this January is that I have been able to catch these fish in a number of locations in both MA and RI because open water has been all over. My hottest bait has been a combo bait of one piece of artificial, white corn along with a kernel of sweet corn with a method ball packed around my sinker.  A few times, the cage feeder along with just sweet corn has worked better, but it has not been as effective as in past years.
So, it's onto February, another difficult month in year's past, but looking good for this year.  For the next two weeks, the temperatures are supposed to be way above average.  That means more water opening up and more active carp.  Looks like another good month for carp fishing is on the way!