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- Jul 4, 2019
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So it's coming to winter now, am starting to feel cold at time and it won't be long until the first frosts. I have a way of fishing in winter which I'll run through below just with the intent of sharing what I do, not a totally pointless thread but with the intent of getting some feedback and seeing what people have to say. I've said before it's how I enjoy fishing but would not fish like this in a match if the intention was to catch the biggest weight of fish, but after all, when pleasure fishing enjoyment of the day comes foremost.
1) Venue Selection.
I like to fish places with a decent head of fish in winter to keep bites coming when I might get less on natural venues. For me, this means Bells Mill Fishery and Furnace Mill Fishery.
At Bells Mill I can expect small Carp averaging 1-2lb with the very occasional bonus 5lb+ fish, infact those bonus fish are very rare during winter, but there's also the odd Skimmer and Roach to be caught. I expect around 30 fish for around 40lb.
At Furnace Mill I can expect slightly bigger Carp averaging 3lb with a few bonus fish going over 10lb. There's also Bream, Small Tench which still show in winter, and big Perch going 2lb+. I expect around 30 fish for around 80lb.
2) Peg Selection.
I'm often told fish will be in shallower water in winter as this will be the warmest. Contrary I pick the deepest pegs on the two venues. Only around 7 foot deep but deeper than an average of 4-5' deep. I also cast into open water with the theory that fish back off from the margins a bit with the clearer water in winter, even though I'm often told at Bells Mill I will catch more casting tight to the island.
3) Cage Feeder.
I use medium or large sized 20g cage feeders. I like fishing the tip in winter as it means I can sit on my hands as well as just enjoying feeder fishing. I use larger sized feeder quite often as I think with a fine groundbait mix and bait as discussed below, you can still throw a fair bit of bait at these waters when it's cold and still catch. At Bells Mill I have a cast of maybe 25m and at Furnace Mill I underarm cast to around 13m, they are not typical feeder lakes I think using this method on a place it's not usually fished results in extra bites. I use a simple running feeder rig with a twizzled boom.
4) Bait
Using a cage feeder I like to have quite a dark mix of groundbait. For me this has been Sonubaits F1 Green mixed 50/50 with Black Lake. I then mix fishery Micro Pellets and around half a pint of Flouro Pinkies into this. I usually only need a pint of maggots, usually reds, and use those on the hook with a pinch put in the feeder each cast.
5) Tackle
I will be using a 10ft Guru Feeder Rod this year with 4lb Maxima on the reel and 0.12 hooklengths to a size 16 Drennan Wide Gape Carp Hook.
Summary
So that's what I'll be doing over the coming months. I would not recommend fishing like this on all venues or even on the venues I mention, it's just the way I've came to do it and hopefully it is not too bad of a read.
Over to you...
Feel free to critique what I do and remember I only fish for fun, or to share your Winter Approach...
1) Venue Selection.
I like to fish places with a decent head of fish in winter to keep bites coming when I might get less on natural venues. For me, this means Bells Mill Fishery and Furnace Mill Fishery.
At Bells Mill I can expect small Carp averaging 1-2lb with the very occasional bonus 5lb+ fish, infact those bonus fish are very rare during winter, but there's also the odd Skimmer and Roach to be caught. I expect around 30 fish for around 40lb.
At Furnace Mill I can expect slightly bigger Carp averaging 3lb with a few bonus fish going over 10lb. There's also Bream, Small Tench which still show in winter, and big Perch going 2lb+. I expect around 30 fish for around 80lb.
2) Peg Selection.
I'm often told fish will be in shallower water in winter as this will be the warmest. Contrary I pick the deepest pegs on the two venues. Only around 7 foot deep but deeper than an average of 4-5' deep. I also cast into open water with the theory that fish back off from the margins a bit with the clearer water in winter, even though I'm often told at Bells Mill I will catch more casting tight to the island.
3) Cage Feeder.
I use medium or large sized 20g cage feeders. I like fishing the tip in winter as it means I can sit on my hands as well as just enjoying feeder fishing. I use larger sized feeder quite often as I think with a fine groundbait mix and bait as discussed below, you can still throw a fair bit of bait at these waters when it's cold and still catch. At Bells Mill I have a cast of maybe 25m and at Furnace Mill I underarm cast to around 13m, they are not typical feeder lakes I think using this method on a place it's not usually fished results in extra bites. I use a simple running feeder rig with a twizzled boom.
4) Bait
Using a cage feeder I like to have quite a dark mix of groundbait. For me this has been Sonubaits F1 Green mixed 50/50 with Black Lake. I then mix fishery Micro Pellets and around half a pint of Flouro Pinkies into this. I usually only need a pint of maggots, usually reds, and use those on the hook with a pinch put in the feeder each cast.
5) Tackle
I will be using a 10ft Guru Feeder Rod this year with 4lb Maxima on the reel and 0.12 hooklengths to a size 16 Drennan Wide Gape Carp Hook.
Summary
So that's what I'll be doing over the coming months. I would not recommend fishing like this on all venues or even on the venues I mention, it's just the way I've came to do it and hopefully it is not too bad of a read.
Over to you...
Feel free to critique what I do and remember I only fish for fun, or to share your Winter Approach...