Fall & Early Winter Carp Habits

[BillsTheBassMan]

Hello Again Carpers!

 

As most of you Carp addicts know, I've recently started dabbling with Carping! I've done some reading on the subject, but I have yet to find a whole lot on their seasonal tendencies.

 

Here is why I want to know:

 

I've started feeling the crunch of another fishing season nearing its end! My next month will be Bass, September will see a mix of Bass and Trout, early October will be Bass until the bite dies. When the bite dies (which could be early this season) I'll focus the rest of the decent weather on Carp.

 

I will do random carping in the interim period, learning the ropes a little more, working with new baits, and landing a few more lunkers - but to be honest, most of my time on water will go to Bass and Trout.

 

The Question:

 

What are the seasonal habits of Carp in the post-September period. Do they continue to actively feed until ice-over, or does the bite die at the end of the summer? Do tactics need to change for September - December carping?

 

It is a big draw that Carp do not have a season and that I can fish for them deeper into the year than I normally would! I'm hoping the bite can still be hot in the fall and early autumn.

 

Ryan

[MJL]

Here is an excerpt from an article I wrote about carp fishing. TJ may (or may not) decide to publish it online in the future.

 

Summer

 

Once the spawn is done in the shallow bays or canals, carp typically vacate the area in search of deeper water. In rivers, they usually can be found cruising deeper boating channels or below dams in whitewater. There they find greater amounts of oxygen and larger quantities (as well as variety) of food items.

 

With regards to fishing in and around the great lakes (almost everywhere in Ontario I’ve fished), the larger carp (25-40+lbs) often disappear with smaller fish in the 8-17lb range being most common. I’ve talked to a number of other carp anglers and they also report similar findings. Nobody knows where these larger fish go during summer. With that said, I find carp in the 15-17lb range (especially river carp) fight the greatest and have no problems peeling line off the spool in a hurry.

 

Fall

 

Carp can be found sticking to deep water areas during the fall season. Large trophy fish also seem to make a return and carp of all sizes seem to put the feedbag on knowing that winter is just around the corner. Many places that anglers target carp late in the season are as deep as 45ft. The carp in Hamilton harbour are notorious for this where anglers may fish in 25-40ft depths near close-to-shore drop offs and off piers. As in summer, carp relate to steep drop-offs where food of all types can be found.

 

Weather conditions can fluctuate greatly in fall and water temperatures can plummet or rise from day to day. Stable periods of weather and temperatures can boost carp activity. Sudden drops in temperatures can make even the hungriest carp, tight-lipped and inactive. Just like in early spring, sometimes fishing later on in the morning or afternoon/evening can be better than fishing before sun-up.

 

Winter

 

Carp are caught accidentally by ice fishermen targeting perch, crappies, walleye and other species. The most consistent way to catch carp in winter is to target areas that discharge warm water. Power stations and industrial manufacturing outflows and any other areas that don’t freeze over in winter are prime spots to try. Aside from the warm water coming out of power stations, carp are also treated to food like baitfish which get sucked into the turbines, chopped up, and spewed out from the outflow tubes. Some of the largest carp I’ve ever seen caught have been from these areas and it makes sense. Their growing season is year round as opposed to just being from spring through to late fall. Huge numbers of fish often congregate year round near these outflows.

 

Finding access to these warm water discharges can be challenging. After the 9/11 attacks, many power stations have limited or completely closed off areas for anglers to access. Garbage like empty coffee cups, used fishing line, fishing tackle packaging and beer bottles left behind on bank didn’t help either.

 

It must also be noted that fishing in or around these warm water discharges can be dangerous no matter the time of the year. Ice can form along the shoreline in winter and falling in is a possibility. Beyond hypothermia (if you do manage to get out of the water), the currents flowing out of these power plants are often strong enough to make swimming impossible and undertows are very much a guarantee in many spots. Take extra caution when fishing around warm water discharges.

**********************************

 

In a nutshell carp can be caught 365 days of the year in places around Ontario. When in doubt, try it out

[BillsTheBassMan]

In a nutshell carp can be caught 365 days of the year in places around Ontario. When in doubt, try it out

 

I was hoping you'd sniff out this thread Mike

 

Thanks for the food for thought and good info.

 

I'm not sure if I have any deep water carp spots, but I can go to my general carp areas and they'll still be there, just in the deepest water. I don't think I'll be developing too many new carp spots this season and I'll focus on my knowledge, bait, abilities etc.

 

@ TJ

 

Publish this man's article please!

[MJL]

Publish this man's article please!

 

At 28 pages long without pics and 37-42 pages with pics (depending on formatting), it’s more like a book