Extreme Carp Fishing

I know that this website receives a lot of ‘hits' from not only UK web searchers, but also across Europe and worldwide – therefore the following GLOBETROTTER articles will be applicable to every type of water and carp angler – whether you are bivvied -up on an English gravel pit, casting mealie -bombs in a hippo-infested South African reservoir, bolt-rigging in a turbulent USA river, stalking in crystal waters of the Canadian wilderness, or simply about to try uncharted waters…

Carp are now one of the most widespread freshwater species on this planet. It has been introduced to at least 80-different countries, and is now established in more than 120 countries worldwide. Although man has been the main influence in transporting and introducing this species on a global scale, it is the carp's incredible adaptability to varying climates and aquatic environments that have helped it colonise so many new waters.

It is the carp's amazing adaptation to varying extremes of water acreage, depths, flow, salinity and temperatures that makes it such a fascinating species to pursue.

Before I go into detail in later articles on how I adapt my own searching and fishing techniques to capture carp in ALL types of waters, I will list some of the main, yet varied types of waters and conditions you are likely to encounter.

How deep can a carp descend to? Some saltwater fish live at more than 5-miles beneath the surface at an incredible 8,000 meters - Deepest Recorded Fish 27,460 ft (8370 m)! Sunlight can penetrate to 100ft, or in extreme cases of gin clear water, occasionally to 200ft. In the clearest water at midday, sunlight dims by one-tenth about every 250 feet (75 m). Humans can just barely see light below 1600 feet (500 m), at about one-millionth of the intensity at the surface. Sometimes the conditions, due to particles held in suspension, prevent light from penetrating much more than 5-meters, and causes almost complete darkness at lower depths. Most freshwater species tend to live in the areas where most natural sunlight can penetrate, and the majority of carp caught tend to be in this 0.5-10-metre depth zone.

Not surprisingly then, that most carp anglers during the past five decades have almost exclusively fished in quite shallow water, and rarely in depths exceeding 10 meters or around 30ft.

However, lately more and more carp anglers have - mainly by accident (cast ‘out there somewhere' in deep water when action is slow) or occasionally by design – caught carp from extremely deep water. How deep? I believe that in some lakes or reservoirs, carp often descend to 100ft deep, and occasionally even deeper.

I have caught many carp in water deeper than 30ft, and will sometimes fish in depths exceeding 100ft during prolonged summer heat waves or cold winter temperatures.

Water flow

The overall percentage of carp anglers that seriously fish for carp in rivers is small compared to those that fish in lakes. Even the majority that do fish in rivers tend to concentrate on fairly still backwaters, large eddies or slow flowing stretches.

Successful carp anglers who spend a great deal of time on canals will already know that often the best times to fish are when boat traffic is at its most frequent. Heavy boat traffic produces not only constant flow in an otherwise ‘slack-water' environment, but it also increases oxygen levels. Water that has high levels of dissolved oxygen is a very big attraction to carp, especially during prolonged hot weather, and also sometimes during freezing temperatures.

Where on a river will you find the highest oxygen levels? The main places that spring to mind are: directly beneath dam overflows, weir pools, and beneath waterfalls, or to a lesser extent, inlet streams or overflows pipes. What most carp anglers don't realise is that the ULTRA-fast sections on major rivers are a BIG draw for most carp. I'm not just talking about fast-flowing water, but actual white water rapids. I've caught hundreds of big carp in sections of river where you would only consider fishing for salmon, and where even an experienced kayaker would have difficulty paddling! During the spring migration to spawning grounds, many carp will even leap like salmon up waterfalls!

How hot or cold does the water temperatures need to be to stop a carp feeding?

Air temperatures are not always the best criterion for working out water temperatures, because the water in the deep sections of a large reservoir during a mid-summer heat wave can be far cooler than the marginal or upper layers of water. Past studies in fish tanks and small stock ponds have produced theories that carp will only feed in certain temperatures. I think that work carried out under laboratory conditions rarely relates directly to carp in a wild environment.

During periods of intense heat, carp will at first be found basking on the surface, but if the hot weather extends into several days or weeks, the carp will soon move to the deeper water. How deep? This all depends on how deep the lake is that you are fishing, but I have found in large reservoirs groups of carp will rest in the fairly comfortable cool zones of 30ft-60ft, but may descend even deeper during extreme temperatures.

When ice forms on the surface, water temperatures beneath the ice remain quite stable, so carp will often be found feeding in these conditions. I have caught carp just beneath the surface, or sometimes on the surface through holes in the ice, or in partial melted sections of an ice-bound lake.

If a wind is preventing ice from forming during freezing temperatures it will mix ice-cold layers of water at different depths, and this is probably the most unlikely period when a carp will feed. However, carp are cold-blooded creatures, so as soon as they become accustomed to these conditions they will begin to feed again.

Air pressure is probably one of the most important factors that effects the eating habits of carp. Clear, still hot summer days, or still freezing winter nights are indicators of ‘high pressure zones' – often a period of low appetites and difficult fishing conditions – although this period can be good surface fishing - If high pressure persists, then nighttimes is almost always the best period to fish. Blustery days with heavy low cloud, both winter and summer, are indicators of a ‘low pressure front' moving in. The carp's appetite is heightened and it's time to pack your gear and head for the nearest river or lake!

Tony Davies-patrick