Eastleigh & District Angling Club

Winter at Winnal by M Duckett

Hello to everyone and welcome to the new, improved EDAC carp page. It is my aim to really get this page up and running, so it is much more interactive, educational and entertaining for us Carpers. I really want to make a go of this page, so I will be writing articles that will act as a stimulus to raise issues and generally get us talking. If you want to submit anything yourself that is useful in any way, shape or form please send it to me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .



So a little bit about myself. I have a huge passion for carp fishing that has been with me since a very young age. I remember fishing for small carp at a local camp site when I was probably only six and latching into a real monster - a 6lb wildie! At the time it was the venue record and this really ignited the flame for me. Since then I have fished a number of venues around the South-West of London with my personal best being a mirror known as Big Mic, which pulled the needle round to 34lb 8oz. Last summer I managed over the course of 7 separate 24 hour nights a tally of two thirties, seven twenties and ten or so upper doubles all of which from quite a hard venue (Colnbrook West Lake on the Boyer syndicate, check it out it you live that way). Along with my passion for fishing I share a huge passion for writing and as I am a third year English student at the University of Winchester I really have a mass of material to get on with writing! All this will hopefully transpire into a job in carp journalism, but until then I want to concentrate on our web page. So without further a due I give you the first installment titled ‘Winter at Winall’ from the very new series. Feel free to give any sort of feed back, good or bad to me or post it up on the forum. Enjoy.



Winter at Winall



Turning up to a completely new lake, reading the water blind and attempting not to blank is one of the hardest challenges most carp anglers come up against. Harder still is doing all of this in the heart of winter; a time of year when the cold has well and truly set in and the sofa looks far more inviting than the frostbitten bank. I find that the chill of winter affects both the carp and angler in similar ways…basically lethargy! The former are more of a challenge to locate (which I will go into later) but the latter are much more predictable as they are usually sat by their computer, sipping a cup of tea whilst counting down the days to spring - yes I see you! So to start off first tip is to take that back side of yours off that comfy seat and put in the time, effort and graft during the next couple of bitter weeks because what awaits you is some exciting and rewarding angling. It is my objective here to offer you a guide to improve your water craft and general fishing whilst battling a new lake during the winter. This will be completed through the following article written by myself from the banks of our very own Peewits Lake.



As the clock ticked down to 14.00 I found myself on the starting blocking ready for a quick escape. Not due to the torment of a lecture on the micropolitics of the English Renaissance, nor the thought of a couple of pints down the pub, but instead the challenge to bag up within twenty-four hours during the depths of winter on a new club water. T-minus five, four, three, two…and I’m off, away to a false start but who cares! The elevator’s too slow so I hurtle down the stairs (whilst trying to maintain the little slither of professionalism I have left!) and out into the clapped out Corsa. She starts up (in the cold eventually!) and I’m heading towards the lake as fast as the banger can handle. The lake in question is Peewits on the Winnal Moors complex, which appeared a good choice of winter water as it is relatively small, contains a good head of carp and is littered with an abundance of carpy features including islands, marginal snags, gravel bars, reed beds and a smaller bay or basin connected via a six foot wide channel. As well as all this the lake also has an inlet, presumably fed by the river which is a great advantage in the winter as it keeps oxygen levels up, aerates the water and holds off ice from certain areas of the lake.



On arriving at Winnal Moors I was pleasantly surprised to find only one car in the (newly refurbished!) car park…Result! This is just one of the many advantages the winter angler has when braving the cold, as more often than not the lakes will be pretty much deserted as many give up during the harder months. I decided to fish Monday night as I firmly believe the earlier half of the mid-week can prove a good time for carp activity. It is in my opinion that the carp often go on a munch after the pressure of the weekend has been lifted. My theory is that whilst bank side activity is at its height via many lines in the water, beds of bait and general noise disturbance the carp will shy away and go off the feed until the pressure (and obviously the angler!) has gone. However, after this period when the carp are feeling more secure they will clear up the remains of bait put out by the weekend angler and have a good laugh at our expense! Therefore, it is a good idea to be out when this might happen as it could result in a couple of bonus fish. Although I know that not everyone can fish during these times, it may still be worth considering working an extra shift or do whatever it takes to get out on the banks during this productive period especially if the weather looks right. However, the predicted forecast for my stay didn’t look right to say the least, as it was supposedly going to dip down to minus three during the night. Although this sounds extreme it’s bearable with a few creature comforts, such as a descent bed chair and sleeping bag (maybe even a hot water bottle), a gas stove (for the endless supplies of tea and curry) and extra supply of clothing.



The first thing I always do when visiting a new lake is dump my gear and go for a circuit of the lake to hopefully locate where the carp are or failing this potential spots that may hold them. Swim location at this time of year is paramount as the carp can shoal together and remain in certain areas for most of the winter. It was presented by Korda’s Underwater Carping DVD that during the summer carp are territorial creatures and stay in specific areas, which I also believe as I experienced a repeat capture of a 31lb leather from exactly the same spot between a two week gap last year. As this is evident during the warmer months when carp are much more active, it is arguable that during the winter they are just as territorial but much more inactive. Therefore, location, location, location is the key because if you aren’t on the carp or even in their vicinity during winter it is quite unlikely that they will come and hunt out your bait. The circuit proved fruitless as nothing was spotted whatsoever (is this the norm at Peewits? Please let me know) and as I‘m not an angler who likes to sit and wait for the carp to show themselves as I know many do I instead changed to plan B. It’s not just water activity that interests me whilst setting up, as the bank side can also be a wealth of knowledge. Looking for well trodden swims and evidence of human activity (old bait, footprints, pieces of litter) indicates positions that have been fished regularly and most probably recently. As before bait would have been introduced with some if not all being left by Mr Carp until the pressure is lifted. With this in mind I noticed a swim fulfilling my criteria and decided it would be the perfect base. The swim in question was on the riverside bank, opposite the split between the islands. It offered numerous advantages as it overlooked most of the main lake to keep an eye on fish activity and had a couple of hook bait position opportunities, such as the islands, the flow of the inlet and marginal snags to search out the carp. A quick tip here, as soon as you get to a lake forget about setting up your bivvy or getting a brew on and instead get out the rods asap. Don’t rush things and make your rod position choice wisely, but as feeding spells are very short during the winter it is wise to get the rods in the water first so you won’t miss the only feeding frenzy during your stay.



I am not a big fan of marker floats, as I believe it can ruin a chance of a quick bite so I instead use my normal 3lb Harrison fishing rods as a feature finder. All I do is take off my hooklink from the Korda rig clip system via a quick release ring clip and attach a 3oz gripper lead as it gives a better feel of the lake bed. This is cast out and dragged back to search for possible underwater features with the reassurance that my end tackle will not be damaged. After ever cast check the lead for signs of silt, or marks that may have been caused by gravel to again help to map the bottom. When a possible location is indicated clip the line up on the spool, elevate your rod tip to indicate the direction of the line and mark it with a far bank visual feature. On the recast align and aim for the far bank visual feature and feather the line until the end tackle is stopped by the clip. Hey presto you are going to be bang on every time. On doing all of this in my chosen swim I noticed that there is a small gravel bar or patch protruding from a small snag on the left hand corner of the left hand island. One last cast had the rig dragged over the gravel bar, clipped up on the spool and retrieved. The hooklink was reattached to the end tackle via the quick clip and a very small PVA stick was hooked on. The stick was filled with the Frank Warwick tinned meaty-marine pellet stick mix and the hook bait was a concurring pop-up to finish off the presentation. The other rod was cast tight to a marginal snag and instead baited with small PVA bag of crushed high viz yellow boilies, with a grain each of high viz corn and maize as the hook bait. This mostly was to gauge whether the carp were attracted to high viz baits or duller counterparts as offered on the other rig. As I was happy with my bait locations and with darkness approaching I decided to set up camp and get things sorted in my swim.



Although too good to be true, after an hour whilst I was putting up my bivvy a couple of beeps had me on top of the island rod. A jittery take followed with the Fox Mark II swinger rising and falling to the floor. With this I picked up the rod and struck, meeting with a nice arch and hectic sprint as the fish made an attempted dash around the back of the island, trying to peel off as much line from the baitrunner as it could. I applied as much pressure as I dared and held on tight to direct the fish away from the snags of the island and out into the open water. From there it was pretty much a one way battle as I directed the fish towards me with ease. As its nose rose from the clear margins, followed by its long flank and big tail, she broke the waters surface and glided into the net with her deep golden scales reflecting the rays of the dusks orange sun. A new water, a first carp and a moment never forgotten. Onto the mat and into the sling the common pulled the scales round to 12lb 06oz and although not massive, welcome and stunning all the same. After some quick photos I released her back into the depths knowing full well that one day she will be a perfect thirty.



At this point (roughly 5pm, make a note of the time to indicate feeding patterns) the light had started to fade and repositioning the rod was going to be a challenge. However, I have a quick tip here for you. Basically, for my nights I get the rods out into position when it is light and tippex the line next to the line clip as a marker. The next step is to make a mental note to align yourself with the far bank visual marker such as tree, building etc that you can cast towards during the night. Then when I have to recast in the dark I would firstly cast out into open water and clip up at the tippex marker. Next I would locate the distant visual marker and cast towards it, feathering the line so that the entrance into the lake is gentle. Simple as that and with any luck you will have it spot on every time as it’s pretty much a full proof tactic. With the recast completed I got ready for a cold night ahead, as it was predicted to dip down to minus three and I began to question myself as to whether I was brave or just mad. But with the success of the first capture I got into bed and I must add with two sleeping bags (I really have to buy a descent one!) already feeling confident and happy with the session.



I can’t remember what time I feel asleep, but I was awoken during the night to a couple of bleeps coming from the marginal rod that have me falling out of the bed chair and onto the frozen earth, cutting and mudding my hands and face in the process…professional!. However, nothing came of it as it was dropped. Oh well it was time to reposition the rod using the method given before and retreat back into the warmth of the bivvy. On recasting the rod I replaced the rig as the hook was blunt (always check it!). Now lets get down to rigs and end tackle. I have just made a change to my set-up that has produced some interesting results. Before I was using a simple knotless knot rig made out of eight inches of snakebite with two inches of it stripped back from the size 8 Korda Wide Gap hook. The opposite end was tied to a size 8 swivel with a grinner knot and this was attached to a Korda safety clip with 2ox pear lead and twelve inches of anchor tubing. Now I’m not saying that this isn’t an effective set up, but I was encountering a number of dropped takes that could have been the difference between a blank and a result. I predict this was due to the action of the rig, as the carp were ejecting it too easily. In response I made a couple of minor changes to resolve this problem the first being the hook type. I am now using a size 8 Korda long Shank X hook with a small hoop attached to the hair that slides up and down the shank. This would act so that once the carp had inhaled the rig and felt the hook, on exhaling the bait would exit the mouth (as it would slide down the shank) but the hook would stay in for that bit longer, which would hopefully find a better hold. I also decreased the hook length by a couple of inches as I believed Mr Carp was able to shake the hook free before. Finishing off the set up is a gardener flying back lead that on the cast flies up the line a couple of yards and pins all of the end tackle to the deck. This really helps with wary carp, as they can easily be spooked if any of the line is elevated from the bottom. Hope you follow, but if you haven’t don’t worry as I’ll be doing an article a la “how to” style, explaining how it works and how to tie it correctly.



Beep, beep, beeeeeeeeeeeeeep. A typical carp run interrupted my dreams and had me on top of the rods in an instance. This time the marginal rod was off and again hooped over in a descent curve, connecting with what seemed a better fish. It darted along the margins, keeping low and doing everything possible in the carp manual to snag me. I eventually managed to steer her into the safety of the open water where we began to play out a frantic battle of tough of war. I had it where I wanted, on the surface within touching reach of the net so with just one last effort…suddenly the water erupted as it turned, bolts and with a last surge of power makes a last bid for freedom, only being stopped shortly after and finally netted. As I peered into the net a mirror stared back at me. I lifted her from the lake, which had partially frozen and gently rested her on the awaiting thawed mat. It was not until this moment that I really noticed the bright colouration of her body, which flicked between brown, orange and gold. The scenery was also beautiful, as the earth was covered in glistering white frost, with a small robin perched on my other rod watching my every move. I knew she was slightly bigger than the last and this was confirmed as up on the scales she went 14lb exactly and to say I was chuffed was an understatement. It was 8.30 in the morning, I was freezing cold and slimy but I wouldn’t have swapped it for Angelina Jolie; I was one happy chap!



The rest of the morning passed with only a few other liners and knocks here and there, with one only being the possible chance of a take. As I pack up and review the session, I believe it to be very worth while and a great learning experience. Peewits is indeed an excellent venue and one I’ll be going back to. As I walk back to the car park, along the banks of Kinghams I notice in the shallow margins a swirl made by a dark mirror, probably about 20lb that I’ll be back for. But until then I’ll bid him and you a farewell, tight lines and wet nets.