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I know from being involved as a writer on carp.com, that the website is visited from fisherman all over the world. But whether you are from America or England, Holland or Italy we all have one thing in common… the weather! Sun, rain, snow, wind, fog, falling temperatures, rising temperatures… wow! Just like weather conditions affect how we live it certainly affects how carp feed; indeed the water they swim in could well be said to be affected more than the air we walk in. Remember we protect ourselves from the weather by way of houses, cars, shelters, air conditioning, heating and suchlike. Carp have to endure how the conditions reflect on the water they swim in. The weather has a huge influence on carp fishing and you should never be underestimated. It encourages weed (natural food) to thrive or die, it will raise carp up to the surface or down to the lake bed. The weather can make certain swims magnets for carp and other swims are devoid of fish. The conditions can give you the night of nights or it can kill the chances of catching carp stone dead. This can make the difference between piling the bait and catching loads of carp, or using just a single hook baits and sneaking out a carp or two. If you ignore the weather it could be at your peril! Beware all waters are different and all carp are different, so the ideas and tips I'm about to give you are guidelines not definitive answers. Learn from your experiences and do not forget it friends. Conditions can change but use the internet, local television, radio and newspapers to predict what will happen. If you know what's coming you can stay one step ahead of the other anglers and the carp – that's the way to stay successful. Wind – it all depends which way it is blowing from. A warm wind blowing from the South or West can be brilliant, whilst a cold one from the North or East can be a disaster. The wind oxygenates the water which can move the carp round the lake and so encourage them to feed. Carp are also more likely to move with the changing wind, though when it's been blowing in one direction from some time the carp are more likely to disperse. A cold wind is likely to find carp backing away from it to find sheltered areas. Wind can encourage carp to leap out of the water so look hard to see, where and how the carp are moving to and from. With a Good wind the stronger the better, with cold wind the lighter the better.  | Rain – can be great when it interrupts a period of prolonged warmth, though heavily rain over a long time can cool the water too much and put carp off feeding. Rain in summer tends to be warm so it can encourage feeding whilst rain in winter tends to be cold so discouraging feeding. Some waters will fish well in the rain whilst others fish poorly in it. In all honesty rain puts anglers off more than it does the carp. |
Sun – a good sun will warm the shallow areas up and encourage carp into the warmer areas to feed. It will encourage carp into the surface layers so you can catch them on floaters. Long periods of sun can also deoxygenate the water; make carp somewhat lethargic and difficult to catch. In winter look for areas which receive the most of the warm winter sun as carp hold up in these spots. Strong sun can make the water appear clearer and it's easier to spot carp when you are up trees with your polarised sunglasses.  | Ice – not good especially when you can't get your lead thought it. Ping, Ping, ping… However, just before the water starts to ice up you can have a bonanza time as carp have a good old feed in preparation for the freeze up. However, once it starts to thaw fishing can be poor as the additional cold water can cool the water too much for carp fishing. |
Snow - Lovely for pictures, but in large amounts it will cool the water too much so decreasing the chances of catching. Light flurries are no problem and indicate the temperature is not too cold.  | Fog – rubbish! You can't see where you are casting and it seems to kill the sport stone dead. However, don't confuse it with morning mist which is quite different. A mist at dawn can indicate a warm day to come and potentially some fine fishing in the morning. Low pressure – usually means warm wet winds are on the way which is great fishing weather (see earlier). High pressure – poor in the summer months as it usually brings flat calm conditions but in winter it can encourage some good spells. |
So these are the guidelines; get out there and make me right … or wrong. Julian Cundiff
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