In today’s Q&A video I provide you with my top 5 spring carp fishing tips. One of our Facebook and YouTube community sent in a question asking for my thoughts on this subject. Given I get so many questions like this, I thought I’d start making weekly Q&A style videos to help you guys out. It’s quicker than typing anyway!

So I hope my Spring carp fishing tips help you this season and be sure to send in any questions you have. I won’t be able to answer everything but I’ll keep a to do list especially on topics that I see many people asking about. That way, one by one, I can try to address all your carp questions as often as possible.

Over the last few years I’ve really enjoyed my Spring carp fishing. It’s funny really because I grew up carp fishing in an era when you weren’t allowed to fish for carp in Spring.

Spring for me was always a time when we’d walk around the lakes, bait up and get them going off the top. We’d find the areas they’d like. It was a brilliant time of the year to really get to know the carp lake that you were going to fish.

That’s how we spent our close seasons in those days. You were learning about the fish. Learning where they were going to go. What they liked to do.

Nowadays we all fish in the Spring. I don’t fish in the Winters like I did in the past. In fact I suppose you could say the Winters a bit like my close season now. I like to spend more time with my family and so on. As the Spring comes around, I like to start fishing again.

What I do find in the Spring is, as it starts to warm up, the fish will get into the shallower water.

Spring Carp Fishing – Tip 1:

So one of the biggest edges that I’ve had over the last few years with my Spring carp fishing is fishing in really, really shallow water. The carp love to go there because it’s going to warm up first. The deep water is going to take a lot longer to warm up.

So if you can find any little shallow corners where the Sun is beating in, you can guarantee the carp will be going into these sort of areas.

Spring Carp Fishing – Tip 2:

With regards to bait, I do still put quite a lot of it out in the Spring. I won’t put as much in as I would do in the Summer. In the Summer I’m not scared to use 5 or 10Kg. Whereas in the Winter, only hookbaits and light baiting.

In the spring I’ll up it a bit. I’ll maybe use a kilo, a kilo and a half.

Spring Carp Fishing – Tip 3:

One of the biggest things that I do find in the Spring is the time of the day when the bites come. Spring bites tend to come any time during the day, even at night.

In the Summer months I’d say mornings are best. Whereas in the Spring I’ve found you can get pretty much a bite at anytime. Late morning’s are good and even afternoons. Whereas the rest of the time of the year, is pretty grim around that time.

But afternoons can be really good and evenings in the Spring. In fact any time of the day, any time in the night, you can get bites in the Spring. Which makes it really exciting fishing.

Spring Carp Fishing – Tip 4:

Another good part of fishing in the Spring which makes it really easy is the weed growth on lakes. Lots of the lakes that I fish are very, very, very heavily weedy. Really weedy lakes. So you get there in the Spring and you’re fishing the bottoms of bars, in gullies and so on. And on tops of bars and shallow plateaus that all year are covered in weed. You can actually fish them in the Spring.

So it’s a massive advantage. Also you’ll find in the Spring, the fish are really big weight-wise. So a lot of these big fish that are getting caught nowadays are getting caught in the Spring when they’re really big. They’re still holding their Winter weight. They’re preparing for spawn and this can be a great time if you want to catch a personal best.

Spring Carp Fishing – Tip 5:

What I do find though in the Spring is that it can be very patchy. The natural food can really flourish one day and the next day it’s not as bad. This I find a lot. So they can just turn on and you get a load of bites and it fishes really well. And then it can just shut off again. I think a lot of this is to do with the hatches.

A lot of guys out there are using Zig Rigs as well in the Spring. I know people out there who really, really, they just swear by using Zig Rigs in the Spring. Me myself, the lakes that I fish for big fish, there are lots of gravel bars. So on a lot of the gravel pits I fish it’d be impossible to use a Zig. You just wouldn’t get down to using light line. You really do need heavy line.

So for me I’ll carry on fishing on the bottom. I do use a lot of popups in the Spring and I feel as if bright baits are good as well.

I think one of the best baits that I’ve used in the Spring over the years has been the Nutcracker, a brilliant Spring bait. Absolutely caught so many fish, so bright, it’s vibrant, you know the fish, the fish find it. Again put plenty in, you know, a kilo, 2 kilos. Get the fish looking for it and this is what I like to do in the Spring.

 

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