NOW’S THE TIME TO BREAK YOUR PB!
Rob Hughes explains why you need to be ahead of the rest this year to catch a winter whacker
WHILE it may not feel like it at the moment, we’re coming into big-fish time. February, and especially early March, have a fantastic track record for whackers, and there are lots of advantages in getting out on the bank now, rather than waiting until spring fully arrives.
I’ve been hardcore winter fishing for a long time and I love it for a number of reasons. One of the key ones is that the biggest fish are definitely catchable.
When the water’s warm, everything with fins is swimming around looking for food. Plus, there are loads more anglers too, all competing for the same prizes. At this time of year, the armchair and telly win out, so bank traffic is vastly reduced. More importantly, on the right venue, the smaller fish are off the feed, giving the bigger ones more of a chance to pick up your hookbait. This means there’s more chance of putting your bait in front of them. Yes, there are plenty of reasons why February offers a great chance of catching a monster.
WHICH VENUE?
It’s screamingly obvious that if you want to catch a lump you need to fish a venue with one in. Ideally, more than one. If you’re targeting a 20lb-plus fish, go to a venue that holds a good head of twenties. The same goes for your first 30-pounder. Sitting on a pond with just one target fish makes it so much harder to catch it, but if that’s your only choice if you’re after a real biggie, then now is the time to do it.
If I’m after a really big fish I’ll avoid the usual advice of going to prolific winter waters and places where the fish are active, and everyone is getting bites. I’m after a big one, and I want to catch just that! I’m not after anything that swims, so my water choice is vital.
If I’m fishing at night, I want to know that if I have to get up, it’s worth getting up for. Runs waters are for day sessions.
I’m also prepping now for next winter, watching and recording which big fish are coming out and, wherever possible, finding out in which bit of the lake they tripped up.
READING THE WEATHER
If the weather follows its normal pattern there’ll be some very big fish out over the next few weeks.
Rather than reading about other people’s captures, now’s the time to position yourself in the game to be one of the successful anglers that other people are looking at, wishing they’d done what you’ve done. The mild weather we had until just after Christmas meant that the carp were still pretty active until early January, but the cold snap and high pressure fronts we had in early/mid-January switched a lot of the country’s lakes off. This is ideal for big-fish hunting, as there are weather windows coming when the temperatures will rise, and a low pressure blows through. They just scream big carp, and when they happen, it’s time to be out there, not time to be thinking of going.
Your kit needs to be ready and your head in the right place to act quickly. The weather apps are your friend when it comes to planning.
WHAT TO OFFER THEM?
Every writer could jot down lots on this subject, and there are plenty of opinions out there, all different. Loads of bait or no bait? Solid bags or zigs? And we haven’t even mentioned maggots or corn! Everyone has their own favourite but they’re all site-specific, so it’s up to you to work that bit out for your own particular challenge.
The only thing I would say is, think about what you are targeting. It’s a biggish fish that is just waking up while many of the others are still laid up. It’s starting to move, and will pick at things rather than pig out.
Remember, we’re not fishing for bites and hits of fish here, we’re looking for a lump. Small clumps of bait, chopped boilies, single pop-ups, or maybe a stick or bag have all proved very successful over the years. The other is zigs. Some people think they’re not big fish catchers. They are – ignore the doubters!
FINDING THEM STARTS AT HOME
Ultimately there’s no substitute for watercraft and, in particular, location.
Watching the water and acting on the subtlest of signs is a must. It’s a laborious process but they will tell you where they are – eventually. In the absence of ‘shows’, winter location can be more a process of elimination. Work from both ends. ‘Where are they and where aren’t they’ saves a lot of wasted time and effort. A huge edge is the knowledge of where the bigger fish wintered out last year, which is why I reinforce how it’s important to be tuned in this year thinking about next year.
Carp really are creatures of habit, and there’s a good chance that they will be in similar places this winter to last and also next. A lot of the high-profile captures that you see come as a result of building up a picture of what’s going on before even getting to the lake, and then applying a good angling approach to it once there.
JUST DO IT!
The final element to catching your winter trophy is the most important one of all. It’s not a secret, it’s not expensive, it’s something that everyone has, and anyone can use. It’s called effort.
It’s not always easy to keep motivated or even get motivated. It’s very often challenging, but we all have it and can do with it what we want. Make it or let it slip by… it’s all our own choice.
Lucky captures are just that, but the glow that I get from holding a ‘winter minter’, having made the effort, is something that definitely puts a smile on the old boat race and warms up the winter very nicely.