by Pat Gillett;

30-03Over the last few weeks I have been doing a few short afternoon / day sessions, with the longest one being no more than 10 hours. This really is my favourite type of carp fishing.

I have kept the tackle to a minimum and been very mobile in my fishing. By moving around a lot (sometimes up to four or five times) and closely watching the behaviour of the carp I have been able to catch one or two fish when the going has really been pretty slow.

The Midlands Estate Lake I have been fishing is about 4 acres, crystal clear and very shallow (no more than 3 ½ feet deep). It also has an increasing amount of weed as the weather warms up. 

Stocking levels are not particularly high with approximately 35 fish. Because of the water conditions it really is a better ‘night water’ with most angler’s catching very little in the day. But I have always believed in the old adage of ‘catching on my own terms’ and as such I have still not fished a night on this water. (I get more enjoyment catching in the daytime).


As with a lot of shallow lakes the position of the sun plays a key part to where the fish will be at any given time during the day and by taking this into consideration you can usually work out where a few fish will be. It has also been very noticeable since the increase in the weed growth that the fish have been far more prone to following the wind. This I believe is due to the increase in natural life that has developed due to the extra weed growth. This natural life is washed up on the windward bank providing a rich food larder for the carp.

Most often a take comes within 60 minutes of casting in on any new spot. Any longer than this and nothing seems to happen. Despite making every effort to conceal myself and fishing slack lines etc. I still think that the carp can sense that you are fishing for them. I have always believed that carp on shallow clear waters are very highly in tune with their environment, which can make them difficult to catch at times. You only have to see their reaction when a plane flies across or a noisy vehicle drives down the road to see how aware these fish can be.

One of the noticeable things about this mobile type of fishing is that you can very often build up a ‘picture’ in your own mind of the feeding spots that the fish have. On this particular lake there are no more 6 spots where I am confident of getting a ‘pick up’ in the daytime, whereas I know the guys that night fish the water get takes from virtually anywhere. There are also a couple of spots where the carp show regularly but you never get a ‘pick-up’ from. I have tried all manner of different baits and line angles etc but to no avail on these spots. I have come to accept that for some reason the fish just don’t feed on these areas.

Due to the mobile nature of the fishing I generally use nothing more than stringers around each hookbait. I have been using a mixture of 10, 15 and 20mm shelf life Rahja Spice and Liver B8 boilies to keep the fish guessing. I have tried fishing static over large beds of bait, but have had no success whatsoever, only succeeding in feeding the numerous coots, tufties and swans.

Up to now 6 short sessions have produced 4 fish. These were 3 upper doubles and a cracking common of 30lb 3oz (possibly the lakes largest resident). I have caught on 4 of the trips and on the 2 blanks I made the wrong choice of venue, with a cold north or easterly wind very much limiting any chance of sport on such a shallow water.

With the changeable weather the carp have been spawning ‘one minute’ and then not knowing what to do the next, has it suddenly grows cold. This has lead to fishing that has been both fascinating and frustrating at times but nearly always enjoyable (apart from when the birdlife has driven me to distraction, picking up even single baits.)

Cheers, Pat

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