# Winter Carp Fishing???



## BuckeyeFishinNut

So who is going to brave the wind, snow, and cold this winter to find those fat wintering carp?

The OCC has scouted a few good spots the last couple winters. We plan on hitting a few in central ohio. There is a nice, deep, slack, hole we found on the Ohio River that has produced very well for cats in the dead of winter. We think that instead of using shad, some corn might turn on some nice carp action. There is also a WWD we plan on hitting this winter for some winter time carp action. I know alot of people put there gear away for the season once Oct. is over. Some of the best fishing we do, as far as size, is in the months from Nov-March.

Jake


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## crappielooker

my stuff never gets put away maan.. if you guys are going to fish somewhere, let me know.. and i'll show up.. but i know you guys will never gimme a shout anyways.. lol


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## BuckeyeFishinNut

Hey man, I invited you a few times this year to meet up with us on the Ohio River. You always had something else to do or something. Hopefully we have a decent winter so the fishing will be good.

Jake


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## crappielooker

i hope its a milder winter.. i don't mind temps in the 40s all winter long.. 
and i'll definitely be out this year..


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## BottomBouncer

I'll probably hit a few areas.


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## RiverRat

I'll be out for sure...got a very nice 20'+ deep wintering hole on the Scioto r. waiting for me. Its not a bad spot either..30 lber in March....34 lber during the summer out of that spot, so it holds a few nice ones for sure.

Only ways i wont be fishing during the winter is if the dang duck hunters waste all of Jan. for me..or it gets bitterly cold and the river freezes over...or we get a flood during winter because of some freak storm.

Jake, The wwd will hopefully be the shiznit for us, wil only be a pain too and from..the Ohio river spot i know will produce some nice ones for us. If all else fails we can always head down south the that WWD..or grab AK and head to Lockport.

Scott


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## BottomBouncer

LOL....I see you checked that sig thing   

How hard do you think it would be to hike up that one creek and head north to the WWD? shouldn't be that far of a hike. Couple banks sticks, tackle bag, couple rods and bucket of bait......whadya think? Yeah yeah...canoe would be easier....


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## RiverRat

Well, i know when we walked up north and came to the mouth of the creek...the other bank was covered with NO TRESSPASSING signs...so i would guess you would get in trouble fast if you was to make it to the WWD outlet on thier land.

Yea, boat, canoe, ect. is the ONLY way to reach it.
I will get with a buddy of mine that fishes that area and see if next trip in he could take a few pictures of that whole area...where the discharge is, the island to get a good grasp of the layout and distances.

Scott


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## H2O Mellon

I may join you guys for a winter time dya of carping. My wife has started a new shift, so the timing be hard to figure out, butI'd like to give it a shot w/ ya.


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## RiverRat

ANYTIME Mellon.....even a nice channel cat/carp combo trip would be great(shhh..dont tell the other carpers i said the word CATS..lol).

I know we've talked about winter carpin before, but what are everyones tactics for cold water carping...ie what locations in lakes/rivers do you look for, what baits do youn plan to use, rigs...all that stuff?

Well ive found out over the last few winters, like other species i fish for in the winter, the HEAT of the day always provides the best bite. I try to fish 11:00a-dark specially on sunny days, but i dont mind the over-cast ones either.
Also like other species, consistant temps. is a must for the best action.....i dont care if the daytime highs are in the mid 30's and night time in the mid 20's as long as it stays consistant for atleast 3-5 days...i'll be fishing on the 5th day if so.
Ive found when the temps. are up and down a lot, the fish cant get adjusted and start to feed. Ive proved this time and time again to myself on smaller species in winter(wink).
Also, do not count out weather fronts..either cold or warm fronts, hit the day before/day of/ and day after for best results....if the day/night temps have been consistant, fish will feed very well during the front...they know if that front is bring colder weather, they might not beable to feed til they can adjust again to it...or if the front is bringing rain that will bring the RIVER up, they know it will keep them away from thier normal winter feeding grounds.

Location: Well we all know find deeper water, specially if its real cold...also it might be hard for lake anglers to find open water at this time too. You should also look for a flat or shelf thats not far fromthat deep water, on clear days they will move onto shallow flats to warm up, this warms thier core temps. and they will feed. Ive also found that alot of fish will suspend because the bottom is very cold and laying on that bottom only makes them colder....only time ive found fish to lay on bottom is during the peak of the winter(Jan.) when they are at thier slowest..you have to move your baits around a lot til you find fish...they most likely will not move to find you.
Also ROCKS, CONCRETE & Wood hold in heat and also warm up during sunny days...transfering the heat to the water around them.


Baits: Ya all know i love flavors, ive got a lot of confidence in winter with my choices....good ones are high leak off flavors(ie Alcohol based), flavored glugs or dips are VERY good to use with plain maise and sweetcorn. Just take a plastic jar, add about 4 oz. of clear Karo syrup and add your flavor to it(how much is up to you)...stir the contents and your read..just dip your hookbait into the sticky glug and cast out(repeat regularly)...oh and for the newbies, dip your hookbait into the glug AFTER you've put it on the hook or hair-rig...just use a stick or bait needle to push it down into the glug..lol.

Well, more talk of this later..got some work to do..geez!


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## PAYARA

I have found that once the water gets around high 40's,
that the fishing is much better at night in terms of numbers.
I get fish in the day but only a handful.i have had 9 fish nights 
in mid Dec with waters in low 40's to high 30's,in still,glass like water.although i find the fishing much better with a strong wind 
this time of year.some of the biggest carp i know to have been
caught in my area,have come in the month of Dec.In some cases
with a bit of ice on the water.


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## RiverRat

Ive heard a lot about night winter fishing....ive just never been brave enough to fight the sub temps. at night....sure cools down quick once that sun goes away..geez.

Thanks for that info. Greg, might have to try it this coming week.

Scott


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## RiverRat

OK, where was i....

More on location, i try to find the depth im after in SLACK water for carp...or fish right on the edge of the current line for Buffs. Deeper back waters off the main system like coves, ect.
The picture in one of my last posts is such an area. The main current comes around a massive island creating a big back channel and a lot of slack water...most fish are takin at the mouth of the back channel and out on the current line.

Another spot i have is my #1 wintering hole, its got a depth in the main channel of 20'+..with shelfs on both sides of that channel being 8-10' deep. The Shelf is what im chumming and fishing on. Carp will come out of the main channel and patrol the shelfs in search for food. If a front comes through they can always move right back to the deep if it gets too cold. Also i fish it a lot during high water conditions. The fast flow pushes them onto the shelfs into slack water...luckly the side i fish has a very large slack pocket protected from the current.


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## PAYARA

Now,is that the Scioto,Scott?


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## RiverRat

YEPPERS.....and a few more pics. The deep winter hole & the duck blind spot are only about 150-200 yrds apart. The deep hole is towards the end of a long island..the duck blind is on the very end.

Deep hole summer time:


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## RiverRat

The duck blind, if you look at the other shot of it in winter can be fished from 2 sides..when the waters low i tend to fish it right in front of the blind..when its high i fish it from the back channel side.
Heres the duck blind in early spring...you can plainly see the main river current on the right, slack water to the left, which is the mouth of the back channel.


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## RiverRat

This is my best from the duck blind, 28.2 lbs.(2005)
My biggest from the deep hole are 30.9 and a 34.?(cant remember the ozs.)


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## PAYARA

I have a few questions regaurding this river fishing?????

1--How much weight dose it take to hold bottom in high and low
water?Ussually?

2--How do you Bait up in the swift waters?To be sure you bait is
where you want it?

3--how do you find the exact depth of a river?I mean can you
use a float in swift water and be sure that what your reading
is accual depth and not mis-judged imformation due to water 
pushing the float down stream,farther and farther as you let line 
out to raise the float?

Just a few questions,i have never seriously fished a larger river.
And all my river fishing has been done half-A$$ed!Or in areas
with little current!


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## RiverRat

OK, lets see if i can explain these to ya:

#1- I normally do not fish with anything over 2 oz. Mostly 1/2 for spring and winter and up to 2oz. in summer when fish are really active.
I try not to fish the heavy current areas, i stick to the current edges and slower water areas.

#2- Again, i try not to fish the fastest flows, if the waters too high and the waters too fast...i have a select few slack water spots, but even they get blow out at times. For chumming, no issue in the slower pools, even if im fishing tight to the current lines..the current will wash my chum down the current along the edge creating a nice path for them to follow. Again im not going to waste my time and chum in fast flows that will wash my hard work on down the river...washing some scent and flavor down stream is GOOD to pull carp from down stream..but i want there to be some free food for them to feed on so they'll stay long enough for me to catch them. A little tip when fishing rivers and using methiod mixes....add sand , gravel and/or mudd to your mix to give it weigh..that way it will get on the bottom quicker...also make your mixes so they take longer to "break" .

#3- You can use a few techniques, in the slack pools, YES a marker float works great...i tend to not use my nice store bought floats just incase you run into a nasty snag...nice in-line live bait THILL brand floats work great. Also...SMARTCAST is your bank fishermans friend...use it well. At the very least, fan cast with a 1 oz. sinker and count it down til it "thumps" on bottom...as we know 1ft. = 1 sec.
The best way is to use a small boat or canoe with a real fish/depth finder..then go back through with the above ways to find what your looking for.

Come on down anytime man, i'll show ya some river fish.

Scott


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## PAYARA

Thanks Scott.Iam going to have to sharpen my river skills
for next spring.I just remmebred that theres a ''long lost
river'' about 30 miles to the east of me.I know for a fact 
there are at least 20's in the lower stretches.Also iam 
going to try to get on some lower stretches of the Tusc
next year.I know of some good 'looking' areas down a bit
south of New Philly/Dover.And i won't for get the other
river we discussed down past the Tusc.

Now,what about fishing in the current?I thought carp 
liked the fast currents,at least in summer?What if you
can not find slack water?

Only 2oz weights in the rivers?I figured you used 3oz
ussually?What kind of range do you ussually fish at?

I also so hear you on the gravel,sand,dirt,ect in the 
ground bait.i use it from time to time on the big lakes.
Puts some mussel shells in as well!

Oh,and one more thing,...what about float fishing in
rivers???


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## The Kernel

Greg

What river are you talking about out east? Sounds interesting...maybe we can give it a go next year??


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## PAYARA

Mark,iam talking about the Mahoning.Its not a huge river
but gets pretty wide in some areas.I have to ask around
a bit as to where the best areas are,and potential for a
fish of size.Harry was fishing it quite abit last year when
he was messing around in the Lake Milton area.

He had some respectable fish,but he says there is alot of fish 
going 12-15lbs,with some larger,some smaller,ect.He had 25 fish 
up there in one night fishing below a dam!I have been told by a
reliable sorce that there are 20's in the stretchs closer to and in
Youngstown.Iam going to ask Harry this week where the best
areas are?


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## RiverRat

Yes the "other" river......ah, such a great untapped carp paradise!!!

I will be there a lot next year to give it a good hard look.

Yes, carp DO like fast water and ive sen them on many trips to the Ohio river when the gates were wide open both carp & Buffs jumping far out in the white water.
You can fish the fast current, but you have to step up the weight size and keep your rigs as simple as possible. A short stiff mono hooklink would be best for that kind of conditions..in heavy current the worst thing is to have your baits tangle and the fast flow will try to twist up your hooklink as it dangles in the current.
Chumming would also change as you would have to use heavy particles like maise. In this case you would catapult or spod a good bit above your fishing spot, hopeing to create a long line of chum with your hookbait laying along that line.

We fish one fast water spot below a dam..right in the fast flow. We use 2-3 oz. no-roll sinkers and simple baits. We will chum this spot shooting method balls at the roll over dam, they hit about half way up and drizzle the particles into the spot were fishing. We do the same with spods(i use my home-mades) and bounce them off the wall....works very well.

Nope most of the time im using 1 oz. weights in summer..only 2 oz. when i use my big feeders or the currents pushing a bit more. 
As far as range, most casts are around 40 yrs or less, but i have a few favorite spots on the local river where you cant really cast to the other side...so a range of 20-100 yrds is open..depends on the current flow and where we see fish showing themselfs. For the long range i will step up to 2+ oz.

Float fishing, im not very educated in that style(wish i was) but i know it can certainly be done....in some spots i have surface fishing could be the best ticket to catching loads of fish. I do know however that STALKING along the river is great as there are fish everywhere along the banks and during the summer when the rivers low you can see the carp very well.

Scott


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## PAYARA

thanks again Scott


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## RiverRat

Anytime buddy.....if ya dont want to ask out in the open...PM or e-mail me. I'll help ya out anyway i can.


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