GET YOUR TIMING RIGHT
Knowing what to do, and when to do it, can be the difference between catching and blanking. Finley Todhunter reveals all…
TIMING is often something we overlook, and yet it can strongly impact on the success or otherwise of a session.
It’s been said many times before that location, bait and rigs are the three key components of carp angling.
However, without good timing and decision-making, these three ‘key elements’ become nigh-on worthless.
BAITING UP
When you’re fishing, at some point you’ll want to introduce a little loosefeed to attract the carp into the area. This requires perfect timing to get the best results. The first thing you want to consider is, ‘are there any specific feeding times on the lake?’ You may find that the carp prefer to feed in the morning rather than the evening, or maybe all the bites come at night. Whatever the ‘bite time’ is, you want to make sure that you have fresh bait in the area ready for the carp to feed on without spooking them by introducing bait over their heads.
That said, if you’re fishing a venue with a greater stock of carp, you may be forced to introduce bait while the fish are already there. If this is the case, I wouldn’t be too concerned, as it’s likely that the carp will be attracted by the sound of bait due to the heightened competition for food.
MOVING SWIMS
When you should move swims is another example of how timing can affect your catches. Location will be the biggest influence on the success of your trip – if you’re not on the carp, you won’t catch them!
But if you’re fishing and it’s clear there are no fish in the area, it will be very tempting to move straight away. However, if
you’re not set up on the fish, it doesn’t mean you’ve got to move immediately. You could be fishing in an area where no carp are present, but where they will turn up in a few hours’ time. This might be because you are fishing a shallow area and you need to wait for temperatures to rise for the carp to move in. So always check the weather, and consider the conditions and how they might change before you decide if a move is going to be beneficial or not.
Angling often revolves around patience, and this is a prime example of where it can pay to sit on your hands. But, if a promising opportunity presents itself elsewhere, pack up and move! If it doesn’t work out, you can always move back again.
VENUE CHOICE
Choosing the correct venue to visit also requires good timing. There’s no shortage of waters in the UK and abroad which fish better at different times of the year. Normally, if I’m planning a session, I’ll have a look at catch reports and see which venues are fishing well.
If you get your timing wrong and arrive at a lake which isn’t fishing well, you’re already putting yourself in a difficult position. However, you may also find a pattern in previous catch reports indicating that a specific month each year repeatedly produces fish.
Normally I find that shallower venues fish better during the cooler months, when an upturn in the weather causes the water to warm up much quicker than in a deep lake. I won’t fish a shallow venue in winter if the temperatures are going to be persistently low, but if they are forecast to be warmer than they have been over the previous few days, then I’d certainly be looking to plan a session.
TARGET FISH
There’s a multitude of anglers who choose to target one or two special carp from a venue, and nine times out of 10, when these anglers catch the carp that they’re after, it all comes down to timing.
If you look back at some of the greatest carp that have graced the bank on more than one occasion, it’s possible to find a pattern to the catches. If you find that the carp you are targeting often gets caught during the month of May, for example, try to concentrate your sessions (and days off!) around this time. I’m not saying that you won’t catch the carp you’re after if you fish at other times, but you’ll certainly be improving your chances if you have lines in the water during that proven ‘prime’ spell.
So, I hope you can see how big an influence timing can have on carp fishing. Hone your skills in this department, and ultimately you’ll catch more fish!
“Location will be the biggest influence on the success of your trip”