Luke Stevenson - Late Summer, The Best Time of Year.

For me, late summer is one of my favourite times of the year to be out on the bank, with August being right up there as my preferred month. You’ll often get a slight drop in nighttime temperatures at the end of August as those first early signs of autumn creep in.

It’s a period I’ve always enjoyed, particularly when targeting big carp. The fish are generally in good condition following the rigours of spawning, there’s still plenty of natural food available and, with the water temperatures beginning to drop, you can often see a real change in their behaviour as they get on the feed.

Venue dependant, this is a time of year I’ll often be fairly aggressive with my bait, not shying away from bigger hits if the situation suits. Boilies being my stapple as per, but tiger nuts and seed can be really effective, as can natural baits on certain waters. As always however, I’ll only apply the bait when I know it’s right and will only apply once I’m sure I’m in the right area – That’s when location and finding them is paramount.

Location

It’s become a bit of a cliché but location is so important. You have to find them and crucially, find the areas they are willing to feed in. Where they are in the middle of the day, may not be the areas they are feeding. Getting up for first light and looking for those big sheet ups and subtle rolls and head pokes, those are the zones I’ll be looking to apply my bait. The lakes will now be full of naturals, and you’ll often find in late August, they’ll be ripping the lakebed up as they harvest on the natural food.

I’m never in a rush to get set up, not until I know I am on them. Lapping the lake, taking time to observe, think and plan is an essential part of my approach. Once I’m on them and getting bites, I can relax, but until then, it’s a constant game, a hunt to be on them.

Late summer mornings can be particularly revealing. The carp might give themselves away with a single roll, a fizzing area or the slightest movement in the weed. You need to be looking for those little signs and, if possible, build up a picture of where the fish are spending their time. Forcing yourself out of bed, getting some coffee down you and just watching is no doubt going to give you opportunities and clues. Try to stay off your phone, put the radio on or a podcast, just keep focussed on that water for as long as you can.

I’ll often stay up late listening for shows, particularly if I’m fishing a venue where the carp are notoriously difficult to locate. If I hear fish showing during the night, I’ll make a mental note of the area and then investigate it properly in daylight.

One good show can be worth more than hours of plumbing around looking for a spot.

Baiting

Late summer is when I really start to enjoy fishing over boilies. I tend to keep things simple. I’ll use a good-quality boilie, generally in a couple of different sizes, and once I’m confident the carp are feeding in an area, I’m not afraid to give them some bait.

The general tactic would be once I’ve located feeding activity, let’s say big sheet ups and shows, I’ll pinpoint the area and line it up from various angles of the lake, noting down the exact mark. Then, once the feeding has slowed, I’ll lead the area, eventually popping a marker float up and again, check the float’s position from various angles ensuring the float marries up to where I’d seen the activity. By looking from various angles, you can ensure to be super accurate.

A float is a great way to remain accurate with your location and baiting. If I can, I prefer to bait around the float using the catapult, this may involve walking down the bank to get closer to the float, but there’s no greater confidence than watching a kilo or so of boilie, trickle down around the float, followed by a nice old pop-up rig right over the top to an area you’ve seen them feeding on.

This tactic has led to some really fruitful spells of angling, all year round, but particularly in the late summer and into autumn.

You do, however, need to be cautious when it comes to baiting and the quantity you use. You need to judge each situation differently, based on stock, size of water and of course, fishery rules. Go with what the carp are telling you. Fish where they are and bait based on how they are feeding.

If they are being super cautious, or sheeting up and you can’t buy a bite, I may look to scale down my baiting or switch to something more natural, such as casters with a bottom bait over the top. You have to be able to adapt.

Rigs

I never worry or over think my tactical approach. Personally, I like to be thinking about location and being on them, rather than worrying about rigs. Generally, I like to fish a pop-up presentation, just so I know I am always presented.

My usual go-to is either a Hinge Rig or Chod Rig over boilies. These are presentations I’ve used for years and I know they work. I’ll tend to fish a hinge if it’s a slightly firmer bottom and I’m getting a clean, silty pull back, and will use a chod if it’s particularly dirty or weedy.

Component wise, I’ve recently been using Kamakura Wide Gape X as my hooks, tied to MouthTrap sections, with an albright knot to an N Trap Boom section, with a small section of coating stripped back before the albright knot, just to give the hook section additional movement.

I’ll generally favour a match-the-hatch pop-up, particularly when I’m fishing for old, wary carp. I don't want the hookbait to stand out unnecessarily, especially when the fish are feeding confidently over a bed of boilies.

Areas

As we move towards September, I’ll often start paying more attention to the deeper areas of the lake, or zones that may have been left alone through the summer – These could be corners of the lake, bays, or really weedy areas that have until now, been unfishable.

The fish can still spend plenty of time in the shallows, particularly when conditions are right, but I’ve found that deeper, silty areas can become increasingly productive as autumn nears.

Most lakes will now contain huge quantities of natural food, and when the carp start feeding hard on what’s living in the silt and weed, the signs can be incredible.

Fizzing is obviously the giveaway, but don't just look for huge sheets of bubbles. Sometimes it’s a few tiny patches of fizz that tell you far more than a massive disturbance caused by a group of fish moving through an area.

Just let your eyes do the work, fish to what you seen, be prepared and importantly, don’t be afraid to think outside the box.

Discretion

When I’ve found the fish and am fishing the area, I want my presentation to be as unobtrusive as possible.

When it comes to getting the rods out, I’ll do them all together. I’d rather disturbance for a small 10-minute window, the on and off for an hour or more.

I try to use fairly light leads, often a 2.5oz and where I can, will always use a Kontour Flurocarbon mainline. Not only does this sink extremely well, but it’s almost invisible underwater. I’ll often fish this straight through to my lead set up, just to give the fish as little as possible to see.

I’ll always fish the slackest line I can get away with, often with bobbins on the floor and the line going straight down from the tips. I don't want tight lines cutting across the lake and potentially putting fish off an area they’re feeding in.

Effort

As with anything, the more effort you are required to put in, the greater the rewards.

It can be tempting to get your head down and have a proper night's sleep, but if you're serious about finding them, I think it pays to stay alert. Walk. Listen. Watch.

Get up at first light, lap the lake as much as you can, look for signs and be prepared to move. I've lost count of the number of times one small sign has completely changed the course of a session or a season for me.

That’s what makes this time of year so exciting. The fish are there, they're feeding, and if you can put the pieces of the puzzle together, the results are there to be had.

For me, late summer is when the anticipation really starts to build. The nights get a little cooler, the first signs of autumn start appearing and the carp seem to know exactly what’s coming. They need to feed.