Finally managed to get out for a few hours this afternoon. I’ve been getting a little stir crazy not being able to wet a line but with the week-end totally put aside for the Brentwood Carp Show which was cancelled I found myself with some spare time to get out.
With snow falling from the sky my neighbours must have thought I was a little silly loading my gear up in the Land Rover but you know what it’s like a man has to do what a man has to do….
Well France like the UK has been in the grips of a cold and icy Winter since virtually the turn of the year. Many stillwaters have been frozen on and off and even on the occasions when they are clear the air temperatures and general precipitation, added to the liberal sprinkling of snow over northern Europe, have meant that all but the very brave have stayed at home.
We received an e-mail from French field tester Bruno Medou, who has turned his attentions to the rivers.
This is in fact a great way to bag the odd bonus winter fish. The river carp unlike their lake bound brethren have little choice but to remain active and thus feed during the colder months.
By selecting backwaters, slacker stretches and perhaps even flooded zones you can often find feeding carp. If the fish are feeding they are catchable.
Most of his sessions have been simple over nighters, but the fish have been cooperative in conditions where you wouldn’t even be able to cast a line in a lake.
The advantage also of the colder dryer weather is that so far few of the northern French rivers have seen any significant flood water. Levels have risen and fallen fairly quickly.
So if your local lake is frozen over, don’t give up – try the river instead!
By Jamie Simpson;
Friday 12th December and another quick overnighter on the Trent was on the cards.
Having had to abort the session the previous Friday after just half an hour due to high water levels and a large amount of debris being carried through, I was more than keen to get back down for another session. All seemed right, the level was only about a foot up on summer levels and the water clarity was reasonable.
I was cast out within minutes and was more than happy with the spots as I have had a few fish from them this season.
I feel that knowing the area you are fishing is vital if you are only there for a limited period and it is almost dark when you arrive. Due to this I always have my rods ready with hookbaits on when I arrive and leave my leads in a side pocket of my rucksack along with my buzzer bars.
One problem you get with the river is that the topography changes over the years and snags can get moved every time the high levels and floods come. Even existing snags change and get more branches etc attached to them, so feeling the lead down is vital even if you think the spots are clear. continue reading…
Martin Vaughan wrote:
I’m off to Spain next week to fish the river guadiana (the orellano). Being a bit of a novice I’m after any advice you can offer on rigs. What coated braid would u recommend, length of leadcore & hooklink ? Its a guided trip with Extrema Fishing and all i have to supply is end tackle so any tips or advice
would be gratefully appreciated.
Hi Martin,
I assume you will be targeting Carp rather than Catfish. Not knowing the river in question makes answering a bit vague but here goes.
I would certainly recommend a strong braided hooklink such as 25lb Silkworm or similar, if you prefer coated braid then you won’t go far wrong with Korda Hybrid. In my experience river carp certainly aren’t rig shy and basic heavy gauge set ups will suffice.
I would use hooklinks of at least 18″ and about 4ft leadcore leaders. Assuming the reels are supplied then I would imagine they will be spooled up with line around 18lb.
Hookwise I would suggest size4 minimum and would recommend either Korda LongshankX (tough as old boots) or Rigsbiz R2 hooks.
There is no need for clever blowback rigs or even shrink tubing as a basic no knot knot will be fine.
