Essential Observation
By Carl Bullock
After reading Roy’s recent article on the fishingmagic site, (and a very good read it was too) my mind starting ticking over about observation. So I thought I would share my own views on the subject.
It goes without saying that if you spent ten minutes in a tree watching an area you might not see any signs at all. But if you were to stay in the same tree for two hours you would most likely see a lot more. It’s all fine and well finding a group of fish in one part of the lake but is there any point in fishing that area if they are not feeding there? If you spend more time watching them you may see them disappear of to a certain spot to have a little grub around. They may even move out of sight, if so where do they go? Why do they go there? In this case I often follow them in the direction they disappeared and observe that area for signs of what they are up to. I also find it a good idea to observe groups of other species. I have often witnessed groups of tench and bream feeding fairly heavily on some spots and after some time witnessed groups of carp bully them out of the area.
This was exactly the case when I caught my first carp
from the North Lake several years ago. From the dizzy heights of the freezing swim tree, I could see several tench and bream feeding quite heavily on a gravel hump in front of the Leroy’s swim, twisting and turning and seemingly bouncing their flanks of the bottom. Then after about half an hour of watching them I saw two carp appear from the weed in the corner (where I was certain that no carp were present after observing for nearly an hour) and quite boldly start feeding. There was no surprise to see all but one of the tench and bream move over (it was a big bream). The carp had their feast and left the others to carry on. Then the whole thing was repeated within half an hour. It seemed that the carp were only feeding to spite the others. The next morning it was obvious that I was going to catch the odd bream or tench, of which I had both. As long as I didn’t cause too much commotion with the re-casts I was confident of a carp, and I got one. So lesson one learnt, have a little patience when observing, you just never know.
I’ve always been of the belief that the more time you spend observing the more you will learn about your venue and its inhabitants. This belief has now been set in stone for me after my first season of mostly overnighters. I’ve been finding it hard to tune in due to arriving at the lake only a handful of hours before dark and disappearing again in the early morning. I believe becoming in tune with a water is something which comes naturally to some people. It does seem easier to get in tune with an easier water, this might be down to the fact that there are generally more fish to observe, therefore more activity and more patterns emerge. As for harder waters, this is where I believe it takes more time and effort to observe, I personally get impatient (and stressed) if I can’t find any fish. Again the North Lake was a perfect example of this. My last season on there the weed was horrendous and I couldn’t find anything for nearly three days.
One effective approach to harder lakes is eliminating certain areas of the lake. If you can cancel out a lot of the lake as having no fish or very few, then you can make a pretty accurate guess as to where they may be. You may have to narrow it down to two or three areas, but at least that’s a start. If you narrow it down enough it’s almost as if you are fishing smaller lake again.
When observing any lake for a period of time it pays off to take mental notes of things such as where clear patches are appearing, where weed has been ripped up or just simply what type of weed the carp in that lake like to feed in. You may well come across a situation where the wind has just changed and if you know where that type of weed is on the end of a new wind then it’s a pretty good guess that’s where they will be.
There are many ways to skin a cat as they say and if the 
obvious tree climbing isn’t aloud on your venue, perhaps you can use a boat. I have been known to stack a few buckets and climb onto these (if you have enough you can make a set of steps) it doesn’t give you a massive advantage but it does help particularly in shallower water, or looking over reed beds. At one of the club waters I fish I’ve seen guys using step ladders, either on there own or propped against otherwise un-climbable trees.
As for winter observation this doesn’t differ much from the summer months, but, on sunny days start in the shallower parts of the lake particularly if these areas are sun traps, the fish will often move into these areas to gain advantage of the short lived warmth.
If you are going to climb on anything at all i.e. buckets, ladders or fence posts etc. then make sure they are sturdy before doing so and make sure your footwear is up to the job i.e. they have good tread on them as well as ankle support. This is even more important if the weather is inclement. If there is a ground frost then it is probably best to keep your feet on the ground.
So there you have it a quick insight into observation, I hope it helps you bank a few more fish or at least find them.
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Tags: advantage, angling, Article, bait, bottom, carp, direction, feeding, fish, fishing, freezing, Gravel, lake, morning, observation, sight, tackle, techniques, tips, tree, venue, water, weed
Hi Carl
A cracking piece of advice and one that far too many carpers seem to ignore. The amount of times I have witnessed anglers walking straight past an area full of carp to head for the so called best swims totally unaware of where the fish are. This seems to be so common when someone has had a result from a peg the previous week and for some strange reason people seem to think they will do the same by fishing that swim.
Obviously some areas will always contain carp such as out of bounds areas and snags but these are not always preferred feeding areas like you said. I think that you hit the nail firmly on the head by following their movements and not just seeing them and immediately reaching for a rod.
Cheers
Jamie
As Jamie put it ‘a cracking bit of advice’. Any raised vantage point you can get is a massive bonus in carp observation. I often used to get up on my Land Rover roof when fishing Murphy’s as the car was as close as you wanted it to be. Spent many a happy afternoon on the roof carp spotting.
Can’t agree more, the more you watch the fish the more you learn. However, I wouldn’t recommend continuously walking round a small water. Choose a spot where you can see most of the lake and just watch. Flat spots on windy days can be a very good indication of carp. The more you watch the more you become tuned to small indications that you would miss with a quick glance.
I have lost count of the waters that I have fished where the carp spend the day in one area (their playgounds?), but move to a totally different area at night to feed. Listening for rolling fish at night can give a good indication of where the fish go. Moving to this area next day can pay dividends as the carp will probably move back to their playground during the day and you can set your traps for the next night without disturbing them.