| Locating Tips, Part 5 |
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The Nature of the Lake Bed Carp will soon become masters of their own environment once they have been in a particular water for a number of weeks. It is our belief that features are what carp really love the most. Visible features on a lake are always a good starting point. These may come in the form of islands, reedbeds, snags, weed beds, lily beds, sunken cars or similar obstructions, a fall pipe that creates a disturbance on the surface of the water, thus giving the carp some cover, an overhanging bush - the list is endless. What we can see from the surface, however, isn't always a true indication of what lies below. This is why plumbing and feature-finding are a must for the long-stay carp angler. Below the surface you may discover small weed beds, shelves or drop-offs, plateaux, craters, gravel or sand bars, sunken snags or fallen trees. Carp use features not only as safety, but also as roadways around a water, much as motorists use road signs. Sometimes features may be very small, such as a tiny gravel patch in a very silty lake, or a tiny silt area in a gravel lake. Some are likely to offer food supplies as well. If a lake is silty all over apart from the odd sandy/gravel area, then try a bait on the sand/gravel. These bars are likely to hold a different type of food supply to the silt. The same can be applied to gravel pits that have the odd area of silt. Another thing to watch out for is variations in depth. If a lake is fairly flat all over apart from the odd deeper area then try a rod on the latter. A small drop-off may be just what is required to give a carp some security. A small indentation in the silt will also be an obvious area where a carp has been uprooting. Carp are fairly powerful fish and they will know exactly where the food supplies are around a particular water. A crater in the silt or gravel may have been caused through excessive foraging by the carp. It may be a bloodworm larder, so don't overlook it. If you wanted to get technical you could apply the same sort of thinking to your fishing at an annual level. If you are aware of what items the carp are feeding on at certain times of the year, you could apply some strategic thinking. Craters in the silt are likely to be areas full of bloodworm, so why not try these in the spring when bloodworm levels are at their highest, and then change to the pads where crustaceans are likely to be in large supply in the summer, and so on. This sort of approach needs a lot of research, but the signs are there if you care to look for yourself. A fish on the bank may helpfully be excreting a particular food source, making it obvious in which parts or depths of the lake it has been feeding recently. |
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