Snow Carpin'

By BigDog

 

It is real tuff carpin' this time of year. Snow is falling and the wind chill is not to believed. Your hands go numb when you are removing the hook and returning the snow carp back into the cold water. Eyes are frozen. Your beard his filled with snow. Ah, the joys of fishing for carp in the winter!

I'm blessed, that were I go carpin' is a warm water discharge from a coal fired power station and the carp are very happy with their surroundings. They jump and splash around like it's spring. It might be snowing with a wind chill of -15 degrees, but Mr. Carp is content and hasn't a care in the world.

There are a number of things you must remember when carpin' in the winter though. I'll try to cover them here in. This only pertains to water that is not frozen over. I know nothing about ice fishing for carp.

First off, it's winter, so it's too cold for the carp, in most places, to come out of the water safely. The thermal shock he can receive may kill him when you put him back in the water after unhooking him. So IMHO, unhook him in the water so the weather will have a minimal effect on him.

Second. Bait selection can be very difficult. If you have fished this spot when it's warm, you probably have a good idea what they will chow down on. Try this bait first, then go on to other baits. I have found that canned corn will work most places. It's instant bait almost any time of the year. Where I fish, canned corn or Pescaviva corn works 90% of the time. I've tried fishy or meat type baits but they don't seem to work for me here. Now I'll tell something that just might. Sweet or fruity type baits seem to be the ticket for me. Dough baits or pastes made sweet/fruity have caught me many carp this winter.

Another thing you might try is to dip your bait. There are several ready-made dips, you can purchase, that are excellent for attracting the snow carp. These dips really put out a signal to carp that good stuff is over this way. You can try the following flavors, they have worked for me: anise oil, strawberry, cherry flavors, artificial vanilla extract, and my all time favorite…almond!

When dipping your bait, start with just a little dab of flavor and see what happens. If you need more, fine soak away. Where I fish, the carp seem to like me soaking my doughbait or corn for up to a minute before casting out.

Just one more thing… Stay warm. If you get real cold you will make mistakes and it just might cost you a snow carp that you worked so hard to catch in the first place! Now go carpin' !!