Weather the seasons

The exact dictionary definition of cold-blooded is ''animals whose body temperature varies with that of the environment''.

Fish, in our case carp, are the perfect example of a cold-blooded animal. When a carp eats, where it hangs out, what decisions it takes from day to day, it is all affected by temperature. Too cold and its metabolism slows down, too warm and the water can't absorb enough oxygen for the fish to properly digest food. Both will affect how ''hard'' a carp will feed that day. 

Is temperature the only parameter though that affects feeding activity?

No, broadly speaking it is the total sum of weather conditions that influence the behaviour of a carp.

See it as the spark that motivates them to move from ‘a’ to ‘b’, or even for them to drop down on your bait and start feeding. Without that trigger it is almost impossible to catch them. A carp on the move is a carp that can be caught!

What constitutes great fishing conditions then? When should I go out, what should I look out for? In this article I'll try and tackle all these questions and share some practical things you can do to use the weather to your advantage.

Perfect weather conditions

If you ask ten different carp anglers what good weather conditions are, you'll probably get ten different answers.

If there's such a thing as perfect conditions, does that not make most of them incorrect then? No, not at all! How weather parameters affect behaviour totally depends on what the starting points were.

In other words, more practically, what time of year was it? Important parameters like air pressure, temperature, wind, sun intensity, all have different effects depending on when they occur. Generally, you can divide the periods up into early spring, summer, late autumn, and winter.

Early spring - mid-February to mid-May.

Look for sunny conditions and days that have a warming effect on the water. You can find the fish at the back of the wind in mid-water most of the time.

The two most important parameters in this period are temperature and sun intensity. They even influence how other parameters are perceived by the cold-blooded carp. Technically you could say they both have the same effect but because the sun has such a profound and immediate response, I want to make sure the distinction is clear.

During early spring the surface water temperature starts to climb steadily and with that the carp metabolism kicks in. This process takes some time though so it's wise to take this into account when baiting up.

Large beds of bait are for the most part better to be avoided. The old saying ''you can always add more bait, but you can't take it out'' is very true here. Single hook-baits, zigs or fishing very small, baited spots are the way to go!

Water doesn't warm up as quickly as the air temperature does, so carp tend to jump at the chance to bask in the sun as that warms them up more rapidly. The difference in absorbed warmth and water temperature even in shallow water is huge during sunny conditions.

You can feel the strength of the sun underwater yourself if you've ever done any shallow water diving in the spring. You would think the water would conduct away any of its effect but specifically with a calm and flat surface those rays really warm you up. Carp love these conditions! They will favour any areas that get the most sun hours and will generally stay at the back of the wind when the sun is out, spending most of their time in shallow or mid-water.

Fishing on the end of the wind can work but usually only after a period of warm weather that has raised the surface water temperature enough and is now being pushed to one side of the lake. A big southerly storm with low air-pressures, end of April, that pushes in warm winds is a guarantee for success. This is the exception to the rule though, and in general they will hang around at the back of the wind in mid-water or near snags if present. Follow the sun in spring and the fish won't be too far.

Summer - mid-May to mid-October.

Once the water has warmed up and is close to 25 degrees Celsius, weather that properly oxygenates the water is going to have the biggest effect on fish.

Wind and rain are what you want! The direction is not relevant if it comes with enough cloud cover and stirs up the water. When sudden big winds end a period of flat, sunny, warm conditions is when it will have its biggest effect.

The fish get a jolt of oxygen, and when combined with the warm water they become hyper-active.  This hyper-active state only lasts a few hours before settling in for more sustainable activity, making it important to keep a close eye to the forecasts. Those few hours are the best time though to trip up a normally difficult to catch carp. They tend to follow the wind in that state but depending on whether they like hanging around in that area or not they won't stay there once the first jolt has worn off.

Next to the physiological effect of big winds in summer, there's a psychological effect on carp. You could break it up in two parts, one is the colouring up of the water and the second is the actual noise waves make once they disturb the surface.

I'll focus on murking up the water for now as the noise aspect is more important in winter but does have somewhat of the same effect in summer. Particularly in summer when natural food supplies are high, this stirring up the bottom by big waves crashing into the margins has a strong effect on carp. They will come and investigate and often feed aggressively during a short period.

It's not clear what the exact cause of this is, either food gets uncovered, and they get easy access to some lovely naturals or maybe it is simply something they associate with feeding as they often murk up the water like proper mud-pigs themselves. It is clear though they love murky water.

A product that takes full advantage of this phenomenon is Mainline Smart Liquid. This dense liquid, next to smell and taste, introduces a big cloud underwater mimicking windy circumstance.

During our underwater filming sessions, I've seen it too many times now to ignore how strong and immediate the Smart Liquid clouding effect is on carp in clear water. They will often inspect the area and have a little feeding spell within 10 minutes of introducing the liquid, even when before the spot was devoid of any activity for hours. The effect does not last very long though so spodding some of the substance little and often is your best course of action.

Combining the liquid with proper timing, getting yourself down the wind during sudden windy conditions, while being subtle with free offerings can be a devastatingly strong tactic in summer.  

Autumn - mid-October and November.

In general, fish will show a relatively constant level of activity in this period. It is not really a matter of weather conditions that you need to look out for, but more conditions you must avoid.

This time of year, with the natural food supply going down, can be quite prolific. The only thing that can really switch them off are sudden drops in water temperatures.

Don't confuse this though with gradual drops in air temperature as deeper venues can be ok for a long time as water will cool off much slower than air. Like in early spring, water temperature is a critical parameter that will have a direct effect on carp activity. Circumstances to avoid are cold clear nights that come with periods of high air pressure, or precipitation events that bring lots of cold rain with them with sudden drops in water temperature as an effect. Both are often the result of cold northerly winds.

If you can, try to avoid these conditions as carp detest fast water temperature drops in autumn.

One important thing to remember for the autumn is to be mindful of bait quantities. More and more it has become clear that the autumn feed-up in preparation of the winter is a myth.

Carp, in warm and oxygenated conditions can process a lot more food than in colder autumnal conditions. They can seem to be feeding harder though sometimes in autumn because of one critical factor, angling pressure!

With natural food supply going down it becomes harder for carp to avoid anglers' bait. In summer, if angling pressure is high, they can simply switch off bait altogether, making it seem as if they are feeding less intense. No, they are still eating every day, just not your bait.

In autumn this gets switched around as their metabolism is still up, but their food options dwindle down quickly. That does not mean though you can't put any bait in. Just be aware of this paradox. Little and often is in general a much better tactic in this period as it considers the gradual metabolic decline in carp over several weeks.

Winter - December to mid-February.

If there's one season where the weather has a massive influence on feeding activity, it is in winter.

The conditions you're looking for are a sudden drop in air pressure that come with warm southerly winds. The effect is so strong that I personally will avoid any other conditions in winter until I see a period of calm, cold weather that is followed up by a sudden drop in air pressure.

More concrete ,a drop from around 1025-1040 hectopascal to anything below 1015 hectopascal. The effect is immediate, like turning on a switch. You can tell by the many shows you see in a short time span.

The air pressure drop occurs when the border between two air pressure areas moves over your location. The result is wind, lots of sudden wind. When you fish a new venue or simply don't know where the winter holding areas are, this is the moment to be on the bank looking out over the lake.

It is unlikely that the air pressure itself causes a strong physiological effect on fish as a difference of 30 hectopascal can be compensated by only moving a foot up or down through the water column. But somehow it often causes a short spell in activity.

It's not likely that it is temperature related as it takes a few days for the water to start warming up even a few degrees.

It is more likely caused by sound. Imagine being a carp resting in your winter holding area, the environment is dark, cold and quiet and your metabolism is way down to preserve energy. Suddenly the wind picks up, you feel a small pressure change and a wall of noise comes charging your way. Waves crashing over your head! Something so abrupt, obviously will wake you up.

During winter they won't follow the wind as much but will start exploring their immediate surroundings. A single chod rig with a bright pop-up will do wonders once you know where to place it.

One caveat, the venue can't be too deep. On deep lakes the fish will wake up and show but often over very deep water. Zigs could generate a bite or two, but best results are to be had on venues 20-ish feet or shallower with a good head of carp. Get a single hook-bait, solid bag or tiny scattering of free offerings out there and a winter lump could very well be in your immediate future.

Daniel Jawadnya – creator of the UniFish weather app

The UniFish Weather app was made from a desire to combine the best forecasting models and tools in one easy to read application.

As a traveling angler that was using a multitude of weather apps, all with their own strengths and weaknesses the idea was born to combine the very best of what was out there internationally and pour it into one solution that could serve you seamlessly in the UK or abroad.

Realising how big a factor weather is in carp angling, it is an essential tool to have with you on your next trip in search of those giant carp.

Get yourself a copy here: https://linktr.ee/unifish_weather_app