larry
New Member
Posts: 12
|
Post by larry on Oct 14, 2009 16:20:35 GMT -5
This northern Illinois cold weather has become a pain! The temps are dropping like crazy on all my good lakes & rivers and the carp seem to have lockjaw. So...time to read the instructions that came with B. I made up the winter solution and opted for a 30' deep gravel pit this afternoon. It was tough keeping two rods baited and in the water. Not one carp....but 9 channel cats (2 to 4#) and a 14" bass. All were taken on the method and flavored maize. Wanted to try some boilies but found I'd left them home. Now I've got catfish "stink" all over my net!! LOL I don't think the poor carp had a chance at the bait with all those cats in the water. Any ideas for catching the carp? There are some 30's in this pit.
|
|
|
|
Post by Patrick Mills on Oct 14, 2009 19:53:32 GMT -5
Hi Larry
Cats on maize in the cold - that's pretty good going!
Regarding carp, we've noticed they do go off the feed after a cold snap and can (typically) only be caught on bunches of maggots during this time. Having said that, B treated 'fishy' flavored pellets have done well for us, with squid/octopus doing the business around this time last year.
Pat
|
|
|
|
Post by trevor on Oct 20, 2009 12:31:34 GMT -5
Hello Larry.
The other thing I have found, even fishing back home in southern England, the larger fish seen to react to cold snaps more than smaller fish. If this pit has only a few very large carp in it, it would come to no surprise to myself that they have become very hard to catch, or even induce to feed at the moment. This cold weather slows them down so much, that they stop roaming around, and move very shot distances to conserve energy. Hence if you were not sitting on top of them from the start, trying to pull them into your swim, is almost a no go.
hope this helps to shed some light onto your situation.
Trev.
|
|
larry
New Member
Posts: 12
|
Post by larry on Oct 23, 2009 9:21:24 GMT -5
I think I'm about to hang up the gear until spring. I made a trip to Lake Storey and fished with some of the top guys on the MCAA board, fished the site for Liley Cache Challenge match, and a new borrow pit for zero fish. I've got one more trip to watch the Nov. 1st match at Liley Cache. I just want to observe and learn about how to catch these things when it gets cold!!!....me and the fish!! LOL I just might have to bear the wrath of the better half and chop up some night-crawlers in my bait.
|
|
|
|
Post by Patrick Mills on Oct 23, 2009 19:09:47 GMT -5
Hi Larry
It might not be the bait, but more how the bait is fished... Recently, during a recent trip to Briadwood Lake during a cold snap (with the underwater camera in tow), we noticed that big baits and/or a method feeder was not good. The best approach was small particles / baits loose fed into the swim. This mirrors Jamie and others observations and experiences too. Anyway, if you have a small cage feeder, you might want to try casting it around the swim every 20 mins or so to temp a bite. Worth a try if its hard!
Pat
|
|
