BIG CARP APRIL 2026 RICHARD - Flipbook - Page 55
EXCLUSIVE
o p portunity and challen g e ,
s o you just run with it . E x tra
l ayers, decent waders a n d
waterproofs, and go for it .
My first winter was g o o d
c o nsidering I was finding my
fe et , and mapping out mo st
o f the lake from scratch. A
n u mber of well earned bi te s,
a n d carp to over 40 pou n d .
c ray f i sh p re s e n t , I d i d n’ t fe e l
a ny l i mi t a ti o n to wh a t my b a i t
c ho i c e wa s g o i n g to b e . W h e n I
u s e a ny b a i t , I n e ed to fe e l l i ke
I h ave s o m et h i n g t h e c a rp w i l l
c rave . A lm o s t i m p o s s i b l e fo r
t he m to i g n o re . I d e c i d e d to
p u t my fa i th i n Ha n d c ra f t B a i ts
‘ He rb’. Ca rp d o n’ t e a t f i s h m ea l
i n th e wi n te r, a p p a re n t ly. I
N ot easy as I expected an d I
was out trying in some bru ta l
c o nditions. The carp only g ive
t h emselves away on th o s e
t y pically good weather fro n t s .
D uring the bleak an d freezi n g
c o ld conditions, they wo u ld
l i terally disappear into th e
a byss. Wit h depths f rom 6 - 1 4
fe et , it was far from unifo r m
a n d there was plenty o f no o ks
a n d crannies for them to hi de
away. The lake is also ve r y
weedy in the warmer mo nt h s ,
s o you can encounter lot s o f
dy ing weed in the winter. T he n
o bviously all the additio n a l
water capacity also add i n g
a n other dimension.
With no nuisance fish a n d
we n t o n to fi n d o u t t h ey l i ke
t he h e rb , t ha t ’ s fo r s u re .
M y mi x h a s b ee n ro u gh ly
80%
f re sh
h e rb
boilies
t hro u gh move d t h ro u gh a
r i d g em o n key cr u s h e r, s o i t’ s
ve ry sm a ll c h o p s / s h av i n g s
a n d cr u m b . T h e n 2 0 % a m i x
o f h e mp , swe e tc o rn a n d 4 m m
c ar p p el le t s . A l l hyd ra te d w i t h
a d ec e n t d o l lo p o f h e rb p ri m e r.
I t s m el ls a n d l o o ks , a m a z i n g .
A l s o ve ry v i s u a l , b e i n g a d a rk
re d ra sp b err y c o l o u r a n d
f l ec ks o f ye llow c o rn . To m a ke
l i fe e as i e r, a n d to m ake ba i t
u p s ea s i e r. T h i s ye a r I d i d
m ake u p b a tc h e s o f t h e m i x i n
5 L b uc ke ts an d d ro p p e d t h e m
i n to f re ez e r. I t wa s t h en a
BigCarp 53
