Free Line 109 — October 2026 - Flipbook - Page 153
ALEX
PAUL HANSON
STEVE
BENNETT
BRIGGS
m uch water as possible at s u n ny t i me s o f ye a r c a n be a g o o d
s t arter in finding your firs t c ar p f i s hi n g s p o t s . Do n o t b e fo o l e d
by believing that if you se e a c a r p i n t he d ay t h a t t h ey w i l l b e
t h ere in the night , as they c o u ld we ll b e a ro u n d t he n ex t b e n d
o f the river where they may move to fo r o t h e r fo o d s o u rc e s .
Once you’ve found the f i s h, p re b ai t i n g c a n h e l p h o ld t h e m .
I f you find the fish, try to ke ep t ra ck o f t he m over th e we e ks
i n case they move up or dow n st re am . S o me t i m es I p reb a i t 3 00
ya rds up and downstream o f my s p o t s th a t a re p ro d u c i n g to
c reate new areas to trap t h e c a r p a s t h ey move . T h i s p ays o f f
well if you have the time, e n e rg y a n d b a i t to d o s o. S o m e o f my
b e st years have come from t hi s t a c ti c .
How to locate the carp o n a r ive r :
Carp are extremely nom ad i c . D u r i n g t he s u m m e r, t h e c a rp
a re pretty spread out over th e s e c ti o ns o f t h e rive r; yo u c an’ t
g u arantee that you’ll catc h a la rg e am o u n t o f f i s h f ro m th e
s a me area. In my experien ce , to g et m o re b i te s , yo u a re be t te r
o f f spreading your time o u t ove r d i f fe re n t t i m e s o f t h e ye a r
to gauge how the fish re sp o n d to a n gl i n g p re s s u re , wo rk
o n the loc ks, floods and l ow wa te r c o n d i ti o n s . I n l ow wa te r
c o nditions, fish seem to wo rk t h ei r way u p t h e s e c t i o n s to
m ore oxygenated water by we i rs , o r f re shwa te r s p r i n g s .
How the weather aff ect s t h e c a r p o n t h e r ive r
Heavy rain seems to ma ke t he c a rp g ro u p u p i n l a rg er
n u mbers. After a few weeks o f fe ed i n g a f te r s u m m er f l o o d s ,
t h e fish will seem to move b ac k to t h e m i d -s t re tc h es a ga i n a n d
g e t back to feeding o n na tu ra l fo o d s . T he M edway c a r p h ave
b e en witnessed holding up i n t he we edy a re a s by my b o a t fo r
a number of reasons such a s va st n u mb e rs o f s n a i l s cove ri n g
everything (snails all the way u p my a n c ho r ro p e fo r exa m p l e ) .
FR E ELINE 39
