Improve Your Coarse Fishing (UK)
HOWMUCH DO FISH EAT?
It’s probably less than you think, but more than enough for us to catch
BEING cold blooded, the amount of food fish need to eat varies considerably throughout the year, with more energy required when the water is warm than when it is cold. On a typical summer’s day a carp will need to eat 0.1 percent of its body weight. This means that a 10lb carp will need two ounces of food each day. That’s 50 boilies, 200 pellets, or a tenth of a tin of sweetcorn. In the winter months the amount the same carp needs to eat is massively reduced. Now the same fish only needs 0.01 percent of its weight each day. That’s five boilies, 20 pellets, or a pinch of corn. From these amounts you can see why you generally need much less bait in the winter. These figures are only a rough estimate and do not take into account any natural food that the fish will eat, or that other factors such as dissolved oxygen can also have a big effect on how much fish will eat.
What is the food used for?
During the summer months, any energy that a fish gains from digested food is split three-ways. A big chunk is spent on just staying alive. Breathing, swimming around and feeding take up a big chunk of this energy. Secondly, the fish will be growing in length, which not only means that the skeleton and organs need to grow, but the scales that cover the body also need to increase in size. It was once thought that fish grew right through their lives, but we now know, mostly from repeated captures of known fish over many years, that eventually fish will reach a peak size and stay around this length for many years. This is very obvious in carp, but has also been noted in chub, barbel, bream and pike, so is probably seen to some degree in most coarse fish. Once the fish reach maturity, some of any energy left over will be used to produce eggs. The rest will become body fat. This final part is important because during the winter months it is common among some species to not be able to consume enough energy to meet their daily demands, so they have to rely on their stored body fat reserves. For larger fish this isn’t normally a problem, because they have plenty of reserves, but especially in young fish of less than a year old the amount of body fat can be very low in the smallest, and they can run out of their energy reserves and literally starve to depth. As the fat reserves are used up they are replaced by an increase in the amount of water stored in the body tissues, which explains why fish are often at their heaviest in the spring, even though they have been using up their reserves.
Which foods are best for fish?
Just as in humans, there are good and bad foods for fish, although this differs quite significantly from what is good for us. Fats, which we often think are unhealthy in our diet, are much more important to fish. While humans and all mammals produce energy from carbohydrates (complex sugars), fish derive their energy directly from fat. Fish then do not suffer from obesity in the same way as we do, but must have a relatively high level of body fat. The right level of fat in the diet also means that fish will use more of the protein they eat into building body tissue, so they grow faster. A good diet for carp contains around 33% protein, 6% fat and 3% fibre. Not surprisingly, this is what you will find in carp pellets that many fisheries supply, and also is the basis for many boilies. Pellets with more protein or fat, such as halibut pellets, are simply more wasteful, as much of the excess goodness will pass straight through the fish and be excreted. Bait such as sweetcorn contain much lower
“Fish do not suffer from obesity in the same way we do”
fat and protein levels than the optimal, but are useful in a mixed or balanced diet, because they will counteract the impact of other baits that have higher levels of these nutrients. Baits such as luncheon meat tend to have much higher fat and protein levels, and so create more waste. Of course, even when fish are fed a perfectly balanced diet the vast majority of the food will be wasted. Either it will not be eaten and break down on the lakebed, or it will pass straight through the gut of the fish and be excreted as waste. In heavily-stocked fisheries trying to maintain a healthy balance of different foods (much of it bait) is important, but in this situation controlling the total amount of bait going into the water is more important to prevent it becoming polluting. Some species of fish may make a great living out of waste carp bait. Anecdotal evidence points to roach, in particular, doing very well in wellstocked carp fisheries, and it may be that the more omnivorous roach are able to make a good living from feeding on the scraps left over by the messy carp.
USA carp adventure
Carl – Three years ago, Alex and I took our first trip to the United States of America. We had been speaking with friends Brendan and Austin Pass via social media, having been impressed by the carp they were catching from the huge wild lakes near their home in Detroit, Michigan. That original visit to the USA blew our minds. Not only were there seemingly endless bodies of water to explore, but those lakes and rivers were absolutely full of fish. Not just the expected species such as bluegill and smallmouth bass but impressively large common and mirror carp too. We spent two weeks with our newfound angling buddies, visiting waters such as the 14 million-acre Lake Michigan, right down to small creeks stalking low doubles in clear water. That trip opened our eyes to the potential America has for carp fishing, although we definitely returned home feeling like the job was half done. Finding ourselves at Detroit airport three years later, once again shaking hands with Brendan and Austin, was exciting to say the least. Their friend Brian was also joining us for the two-week period. Brian and his dad along with Brendan and Austin have very much pioneered the Michigan carp scene in recent times, and despite Brian’s father sadly passing away last year, their combined knowledge would no doubt be pivotal to our success on this American carp adventure. A short drive to our friends’ house to pick up some supplies gave us just enough time to set a game plan. The conclusion was to head straight to a large lake in a forest, a shallow venue but one which gave us the best chance of a large carp on an overnighter. In the past we would have needed a relaxed afternoon to sort out our camera and fishing gear, before catching up on missed sleep and then an effective start the next morning. These days though, since being inspired by the likes of Alan Blair and Jon B, we don’t mind going with the flow and just getting to it! Tired or not, we were going to give it our best shot to try and get off the mark.
Brothers Carl & Alex, two of the biggest angling stars on YouTube, are back the USA again, this time targeting some of the largely neglected carp in a wide variety of venues
Forest lake bounty
The forest lake was beautiful. Clear shallow water broken up by large weedbeds gave us promising clear areas to present our baits. The boys showed us the log cabin they had booked for us, then proceeded to check out the margin spots they had prebaited. The actual bait which had been introduced was on a budget, maize and instantaction boilies from Nash, but the time investment was large. The guys had been sharing the baiting, taking it in turns to drive to the lake to increase fish confidence and put the odds in our favour. Like before, tactics for the trip would be based around packbait or Method fishing. It’s quick, easy and removes the need for PVA or even loosefeeding in many cases. The breadcrumb and cream corn mix packs firmly around the lead, but dissolves quickly into a neat pile of food around the hookbait. We are normally the sort to bring our own methods wherever we go, but in the case of the States, where bream and tench are not a consideration, adopting the packbait approach makes total sense. Rods were cast out to gaps in the weed, the fire was lit, good BBQ food was consumed and before laying down to sleep a bite alarm was already away. Starting the trip on a low 20lb common came as no surprise but when another rod began screaming off while the first fish was on the mat, things were about to get crazy. Brendan was transferring the first fish into a sack as Alex’s hooked carp bow-waved across the shallow bay, leaving a substantial wake. The light of the stars was enough to illuminate a huge carp doing its best to reach the safety of the weeds. Once in the net we all were going a bit mental, looking down at the biggest carp we had seen for ages. An American 40 and Alex’s first bite of the trip. In the morning we photographed not only the huge common, but a few other fish up to low 30s. It had been a productive night, proving that the team’s prebaiting had been well worth it. We stayed at the forest lake for two more nights, cooking bluegill on the fire and relaxing. Work and social life back home in England felt so distant; this was a true escape, not even the horrendous mosquito bites could dampen my mood. On the last night at the lake we caught six different 30lb carp, an incredible result never experienced in the past. It was sad to leave the first venue, but our supplies were dwindling and I needed a night in a proper bed.
“On the last night at the lake we caught six different 30lb carp, an incredible result”
Bow-fishing brutality
We called in at Brendan and Austin’s house and stayed for a night, driving to a new venue the following morning. This new location has been heavily bow-fished, the guys showing us photos of large dead carp which had been speared. In one way this showed us what the lake was capable of producing, but was also quite off-putting knowing that there were people actively killing the largest carp they can. On the topic of bow fishing, it was totally surreal for a Brit to experience someone shooting a carp while it fed on a baited area, but that’s what I had to deal with when a passerby stopped his truck and saw a shoal of carp nearing the margins. We might have otter predation and pollution incidents on a regular basis in the UK, but at least the carp are put back when we catch them on rod and line. This new lake was a real struggle. Very few bites were had, despite fish cruising past us most of the day. I spent a night sleeping right by a road, rods positioned at either end of a culvert joining two bodies of water. Multiple huge carp drifted through the pipe that evening and night, but the first one to actually feed properly was after dawn, my rod on the other side of the road absolutely screaming off. Dodging the morning traffic, carrying camera, tripod and net under my arms, I rushed to reach the rod. The fish charged into some thick weeds, quickly becoming snagged. However, with patience and trust in my knot tying, the carp finally came free. It was another quality fish at well over 30lb and I could not have been happier with the outcome. We fished a range of smaller waters over the following days, taking the opportunity to sample the delights of stalking and surface fishing for carp which had never seen bait before, let alone an angler’s hook. At times it was almost too easy, the number of fish making location so easy. But it was time for change. Not only was the weather about to alter considerably, but we were going to fish some much larger bodies of water.
Marvellous Macatawa
Our last location was another State Park, this time with access to Lake Macatawa. Austin’s largest ever Michigan common was caught from this spot many years ago, but these days the area is better known for its quantity of fish rather than their size. We were looking forward to some hectic action, especially as there had been a competition the previous day so we knew lots of bait had gone. The storms were really rolling in, rain smashing down and wind getting up. Comfort went out the window, our shoes were drenched, coats were dripping wet and even the camera gear didn’t look too dry. To our surprise, the action at this spot far surpassed even the expectations of locals. We would bait our rigs with maize, sharpen our
“It was another quality fish at well over 30lb”
hooks and cast out with a ball of packbait, only for the rods to rip of one after another. In most cases we would clip up our lines to ensure we hit the same area with our casts each time. Here though, it mattered little where we cast, the whole bay was loaded with carp! We ended up barefoot, running around in the puddles, cold and tired but immensely satisfied with how the trip had come to a close. This last location had given us the full USA experience – insane, non-stop action topped off right at the end with a 30lb common carp for Austin, and a rare mid-20lb mirror for myself. The only thing left to do was get home and start editing the film, which we are still working on now! It’s set to be our biggest carp film yet and we can’t wait to share it on our YouTube channel.
Channel crossing
The cold front brought with it rain and thick cloud, a stark contrast to the start of our stay. Back home at Brendan and Austin’s house we tied rigs, boiled up more maize and discussed plans for the rest of the trip. We planned to drive three hours north to fish a channel between Lake Michigan and a smaller 1000-acre lake. If hit at the right time, this location had incredible potential. After all, being connected to Lake Michigan means 14 million acres of habitat practically untouched by carp anglers. Our chosen location in the channel placed us right next to a submarine, the same one you may or may not remember from our ‘Carp Fishing Across The Pond’ production in 2015. We heavily baited with 15mm boilies, which Big Carp Tackle (the USA’s biggest carp retailer) had kindly shipped to us. This was in the hope of stopping passing fish in their tracks as they moved from the Great Lake into the smaller one. Leaving the bait to settle for a night, we drove a short way round to a public park where we could fish from the trucks. It was a comfortable spot with a short cast required to hit a plateau at 40 yards. This spot was quite the anticlimax, no bites were forthcoming and to make things worse our pack-up in the morning was ruined by heavy rain. Back at the channel, we did eventually have some success, but far from the hectic sport we experienced three years earlier. The most exciting part of this session was hopping aboard the submarine for a catch photo with a 20lb common, just for novelty’s sake! Nights at this location are super atmospheric and I really struggled to sleep. The area was spooky, but pleasantly photogenic at the same time.