‘This Baiting Tactic Caught Me Two Huge Carp In The Cold' | Ian Russell
Two forties, three thirties and a load of twenties is more than enough carp to make most anglers’ seasons, so how about catching that in just two trips at one of the most pressured and busy day-ticket venues in the country? That’s exactly what Ian Russell did (in November/December too!) and below he dives a little deeper into how he did it.
"46lb of Manor Farm's finest - in November!"
To say the last two trips to Linear Fisheries have been productive would be an understatement. My recent run of sessions at one of my favourite day-ticket venues started on Manor, and in 48 hours I managed five bites, two of which were real bigguns.
We’ll go a bit further into the winter bait mix and why I use it, particularly at this time of year, in the paragraphs below, but for this trip I used 5kg of bait, which might seem a lot to some. I crumbed 3kg of iScream 10mm boilies, added five tins of Dynamite Baits Sweetcorn and over the top fished little Ronnies with yellow 14mm iScream Hookbaits and around eight maggots on top. This was all Spombed to a spot behind a bumpy area at 27 wraps, with the rods as close as they can be (more on that later).
"iScream is a winter winner"
Both the 40lbers arrived at first light and across my trips I did notice a pattern in bite times (more below). The first forty, at 42lb, was a bit of a milestone for me, being my 50th UK 40lber – happy days. The second was a touch too, a really stunning carp and a right old lump at 46lb – a fish now known as ‘Russell's Linear’. Let me know when you get that one! As well as those monsters, I managed a 25lb mirror and two low-twenty commons – a really good trip at any time of year but especially in November.
"My 50th UK 40lb-plus carp"
"The 46lb linear was a bit of a stunner!"
"A frosty morning Manor twenty"
The next session was only a week or so later and was part of a tuition with a client on the slightly more prolific but much deeper Tar Farm Lakes. Tactics were pretty much identical (don’t fix what ain’t broke!). This time the result was 10 fish, including three thirties and a load of twenties – we aren’t saying no to trips like that!
"A Tar Farm 34lb chunky mirror"
WINTER CARP FISHING LOCATION
It sounds silly and obvious, but in the winter I’m looking to drop my rigs wherever the carp actually are. This is where a bit of venue experience pays off. I’m lucky to know Linear quite well and on most lakes can have an educated guess at where the fish are grouped up when the temperatures drop. I’m not really looking for any particular type of lakebed; I’ll fish on anything presentable as long as it’s in the carp’s area.
WINTER CARP BAIT MIX
So, the bait mix and why I use what I use. You can’t actually Spomb maggots at Linear, so there are no maggots in the mix – otherwise they’d be in there too – and for a similar reason as the other items: they’re small! Boilie crumb, corn and 10mm boilies have brought me action in the winter for many years. A mix like this really keeps the fish grubbing around and if they do get on you at this time of year, they can be in quite big groups, so I want them all heads down feeding for as long as possible.
"Crumb and corn are phenomenal in the winter"
"You'll knock up some crumb in no time with the B8M8"
The maggots flossed on top of the hookbait are fantastic visually, and this is enhanced further with a small mesh bag of maggots, giving the fish something to really pick out – like me walking past Greggs! This has worked for me for years so there’s no point changing it.
"Not the same rig components, but a good example of what the carp sees"
When it comes to applying the bait, I like to go in with 30–40 Spombs at the start of the session, of the crumb and corn mix, then top up with 10 more an hour before dark. I don’t want to be applying bait once the fish are there feeding. At Linear I've always got all rods on the same spot, especially at this time of year, going back to the pack mentality we mentioned earlier.
TOP WINTER TIP – BAILEYS AND SAUCE SOAKS
This is something I’ve always done to enhance my winter carp bait mixes: the addition of sweet liquids and, interestingly to some, Baileys. Since joining OMC I’ve started blending the iScream Nutty Sauce and Baileys together and they go really well as you can see. It’s a bit of an old-school edge, but again it works so well for me, why change it?
WINTER BITE TIMES
As I mentioned earlier, there was a trend these past two trips and it’s something I’ve noticed a lot in the colder months over the years – night-time activity. On Manor it was between midnight and around 8:30am. On Tar it was more like late evening, all through the night sporadically to first light. But to be honest, late autumn and early winter, no matter where I go, I’m already planning for night-time bites. Which can be a bit more agg, as it can be very cold! But every carp is worth it. This is also why I introduce the 10 Spombs before dark, so the area is primed for bite time, regardless of any bird or fish activity.
"When the sky turns black, it's the Pearls time to shine!"
"A Manor common in the middle of the night"
THE RONNIE RIG – IT JUST WORKS
Anyone who follows me will know I’ve been using the Ronnie now for a very long time, in and out of Solid PVA bags. We won’t go over it too much, as there are plenty of useful rig articles on this site already. It’s a rig that’s produced for me time and time again and I know it won’t let me down. Cast it over almost anything out there and I can be happy it’s fishing no matter what – and they do struggle to deal with it. For these trips I tied my Ronnies with 25lb Blend Coated Hooklinks and my favourite size 4 Lock Hooks. Simple but effective.
"The Ronnie with a Lock Hook - my favourite rig!"
GET OUT THERE AND DO IT
Hopefully that’s a bit of inspiration and helpful insight to encourage you to get the rods out. It’s cold, but there’s plenty of quality clothing on the market these days to help you stay warm (check out the NEW OMC stuff). Bring plenty of food and hot drink and you’ll be fine. The carp haven’t shut up shop – find ’em, give ’em some small bits and pieces to feed on and in the dead of night get ready for those rods to rip off, no matter how chilly it gets!
"Wet PB Slings = a happy Ian!"
Article author Ian Russell, or as we like to call him “The Carp Catching Machine”, is the latest addition to the OMC family. An experienced angler, Ian has done it all in the sport. Offering tutorials and specialising in bait making, Ian is just as at home fishing tricky syndicate venues as he is on the country’s best day-ticket waters.
