One of the most talked about aspects of fishing is Winter fishing tactics and methods. So many people have their own ideas on how to catch those monster fish during the colder months its very easy to get confused with all the different advice and ,methods, One thing that we can all agree on is that you have to approach winter fishing with a bit of patience and knowledge. It is no good going along to a venue you have never fished before thinking you will catch non stop during the winter months if you don't follow a few basic rules.
Location
This is probably the most important part of fishing let alone winter fishing. If you don't have an idea of where the fish are located in a venue and have never fished it before its going to be a hard battle. Setting up somewhere where there are no fish and trying to attract them into your swim is going to be a battle on its own let alone trying to catch them. Take the time to walk around a venue and take a look at possible holding areas. Talk to locals already fishing around the lake to find the best areas to target the fish. If you have never fished the venue then take the time with a marker float and map out the areas you wish to fish so you know what is happening on the bottom of the lake/river/pond.
Feeding
There seem to be a lot of arguments when it comes to winter feeding and what amount of bait you should put into your swim to attract the fish. Some say bait up at the start of the session and introduce little and often to keep the fish feeding and in your swim, others say don't feed at all and use small bait packages just to entice the fish to feed. The truth behind feeding in winter is that fish tend to store up food during the warmer months and tend to feed less during the winter so it will take a good quality bait and lots of attractant in order to get them to feed. Most of the time the fish will even ignore these food sources as they don't want to waste energy seeking out food, but if you put a good smelly bait in the right place you can entice the fish into feeding as its natural instinct will kick in when it comes across the bait as long as the fish find the bait outweighs the effort. So always make sure you are using a good quality bait during the colder months. Use Bright hook baits to get them noticed.
winter fishing tips.......
Winter Fishing
Winter fishing can be a testing time especial for carp and specimen fishing as the water is at its clearest and the fish do less feeding during the winter as they store up the fat during the summer months. By using bright baits and natural baits you are in with a good chance of catching one if you are in the right place. Finding the fish is the hardest part of winter fishing as the tend to stay closer to the bottom in deeper areas of water or tucked away inside reed beds trying to stay out of the wind. Using good glugs and pellets you should be able to attract your target fish but you must remember not to over feed during theses colder months as it will put them off and they wont feed as regular as you may think. Carp associate certain images and shapes as danger and a rig that isn't properly pinned down and sticking up off the lakebed will put wary carp off from your bait.......
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