Terry with a stunning early February mirror
I love carp fishing whatever season we’re in, but Spring and Autumn are without doubt my favourite times. The Autumn just gone was particularly mild with regular wet and windy fronts sweeping across the country, in fact we were lucky enough to keep those conditions for much of the winter, and as a result the fishing has stayed fairly consistent throughout.
Certainly in my neck of the woods we’ve barely had a winter, and I can count on one hand the amount of hard frosts that we’ve had.
The last time I remember winters so consistently mild was when we had two good ones on the trot, 06/07 and 07/08, and both years I recall spring kicking into gear much earlier than normal. As I write this in the middle of February, the daffodils have already flowered and withered and I’ve even got crocuses in flower on my front lawn. The signs for an early spring are all there, and so my tip for this month is to make doubly sure that your ready for it.
On most waters the spring is when the carp are at their most catchable, but that golden period doesn’t last very long and before we know it we’l be complaining that it’s too hot. Don’t miss it, and try not to be put off by any short colder spells in the weather either, not at this time in the year.
A bright frosty morning – yet the carp were active!
Whereas through the first and middle parts of winter I always try to avoid frosty conditions, from mid February onwards things are a bit different. Frosty mornings also tend to mean clear sky’s and bright sunny days, and it’s those lengthening days and elevated light levels which help to get the carp on the feed, even if the water temperature is a bit low.
Only last week I must have seen a dozen or more carp show at first light, in very chilly conditions with a crisp frost all around me. When it’s a bit nippy out it’s easy to lose confidence and think that the chances of a take are slim, and in mid winter they might be, but when Spring is just around the corner those same frosty mornings can be surprisingly productive.
Be lucky,
Tel