Partir de zéro sur un nouveau plan d’eau Ce qui est excitant dans une nouvelle eau, c’est que l’on a aucun repère, aucune certitude. Tout est à faire pour engendrer sa propre expérience. Fin janvier, je me rends sur la gravière pour une session de 48h. Le temps est dantesque avec des rafales à plus de 90km/h et une pluie battante continue. C’est clairement un temps propice à la pêche de la carpe mais forcément moins adéquat pour la découverte du plan d’eau. Le vent m’empêche de construire précisément la pêche, le sondage du bord est hasardeux et le placement des cannes délicat. J’enregistre malgré tout 8 runs pour 6 poissons. Surpris et content, je ne m’attendais pas à une telle réussite pour une première venue en hiver. Je reste en revanche frustré par la perte d’un gros poisson non loin de l’épuisette. Engendrer les connaissances pour une meilleur session de pêche 2 semaines plus tard, je reviens le couteau entre les dents pour tenter de réitérer la même pêche. 48h plus tard, le bilan est plus contrasté avec la prise d’un seul poisson dans les arrêts de jeu. Je capture tout de même une superbe miroir d’un gabarit plus qu’intéressant. Les fortes gelées ont vraisemblablement plombé l’appétit des poissons sur cette session. Cela m’aura permis, en plus de la prise de ce beau poisson, d’engendrer quelques connaissances supplémentaires sur la typologie des fonds, des spots à pêcher et de l’approche à avoir. Je réussis début avril à me dégager 4 nuits de libre. Après une préparation millimétrée, je prends la route enthousiaste et confiant à l’idée de bénéficier d’un peu de temps pour construire la pêche. A mon arrivée sur la gravière, je déchante un peu. 3 gars sont déjà en place, la pression de pêche semble assez installée et je constate peu d’activité sur le plan d’eau. Je prends le contrepied et décide de m’installer à l’écart de la pression de pêche. Les herbiers ont déjà bien colonisé la gravière pour un début de printemps tardif. Je trouve malgré tout quelques taches de cailloux propres entre les herbiers et j’observe un peu d’activité sur zone. Confiant, je décide de spoder généreusement afin d’établir une zone d’alimentation pour les 96h à venir. Je comprendrais quelques heures plus tard que je venais tout simplement de faire fuir les poissons de la zone en spodant. La pression de pêche influe beaucoup sur les déplacements des poissons ici, je ne le savais pas encore, je viens de l’apprendre à mes dépends. S'ensuit 48h stérile. Je sauve tout de même la session en adoptant une stratégie mobile et discrète sur les deux derniers jours en capturant 3 poissons.
And if the names of carp fishing legends are associated with the use of pop-ups, it is not by chance. In many situations the floating boilies are formidable weapons, to carry out a presentation just above a carpet of weeds, on very muddy funds, or simply to position an isolated boilie in the zone of evolution of the carps, which let us recall it are extremely curious and opportunistic fish. Current use Specific to the use of pop-ups, many rigs have been developed (Blowback rid, D-rig, Spinner rig, Chod rig...). They are used most of the time when fishing is complicated, for example in early spring with single hook baits, or in the middle of summer when the water is very hot and carp are not feeding much. A single pop-up presented at the height of the fish passage can then bring a large number of starts, when all other technical approaches fail. But it is also possible to associate them with other baits on the same rig to balance a presentation. In this case, the aim is to obtain a density of the "hook + bait" set close to that of the water. When sucked in by the carp, this lighter rig will naturally go faster and further into the carp's mouth, ensuring a better anchorage of the hook and reducing the number of dropouts. To achieve this, pop-ups can be combined with seeds (cheat rig) or boilies (snowman rig).
Tracking and tracing, the starting point It has to be said that the canals all look a bit the same from the outside. Very often, they are formed of huge monotonous straight lines with an occasional bend or widening. In detail, many parameters vary from one canal to another and often even from one reach to another. As for the canal closest to my home, and to set the scene, it is not very welcoming and very regular. The river traffic on this reach is important, making the water very turbid. This has a major impact on the location of fish. I spent a lot of time trying to observe the carp without ever seeing a scale. Worse still, after more than 6 years of recurrent fishing on this reach, I was lucky enough to observe one and only one carp jump. The fishes of this canal are clearly not used to appear and I could confirm this information with several other fishermen of the reach who also observed that the fishes and in particular the carps appeared very little, and that, that it is in summer, in spring/autumn or in winter. With this very welcoming setting in place, I will explain my thinking and the strategy I have put in place. Over the years and the sectors I have fished, I have retained 4 prolific zones on the same reach that I now fish exclusively. These hot spots are obvious and break the monotony of the canal. Not being able to locate the fish easily, for the reasons mentioned earlier, I alternate between these 4 posts to analyse the circuit and the frequency of fish passage. When luck is with me, I manage to trap one or two fish on a zone, move for the next session, on the next station distant of 1 or 2 kilometres and find the fish. When luck is with me .... Over the years and the sectors I have fished, I have retained 4 prolific zones on the same reach that I now fish exclusively. These hot spots are obvious and break the monotony of the canal.
Gregarious behaviour and congregation on holding areas. First of all, they don't move around much. Very often we see groupings (which can be very large) around what are called holding areas. In dams this corresponds to rocky screes, fields of submerged stumps, or deep, congested edges. They descend into the water layer to find a temperature less cold than at the surface, the thermal boundary between the very cold surface water layer and the warmer deep zone. This limit is called thermocline, and to reach it the carps do not hesitate to gather at a depth of 10 or 15 meters in a reservoir. In rivers they will occupy places sheltered from strong currents, protected by tree trunks or any other natural or artificial structure breaking the main current. This provides them with security and limits their energy expenditure, so precious in this season.
Carp feeding activity and oxygen levels in summer From a metabolic point of view, carp have an essential need for oxygen. If the water is too warm this dissolved oxygen level becomes very low, too low, it then virtually stops feeding. During the hottest hours of the day, schools of carp form around holding areas (shallows, patches of water lilies or pondweeds), or "in between waters" at the thermocline It is noted at this time that carp tend to become active at night, they particularly appreciate the proximity of living aquatic grass beds that release oxygen from their photosynthesis. It should be noted that in general carp are guided by three major tropisms, thermotropism by which they seek temperate waters, branchiotropism by which they seek well oxygenated waters, and finally trophotropism by which they seek areas rich in food. In the midst of a heat wave when oxygen is scarce, this combination is mainly found in well-vegetated, moderately deep areas with higher oxygen levels. In rivers in these hot conditions, fish will sometimes feed near pavements and other waterfalls, which will provide some oxygen. Summer showers and thunderstorms also get them active and if the low pressure lasts for several days, it will be all the better, no matter where you fish! So, surface manifestations (porpoises, jumps) are often observed or heard at night. But if the waters are too rough, they can be very active. But if the waters are properly oxygenated, carp fishing can be done in a fairly conventional way directly on the usual feeding areas, for example: in dammed lakes: stump fields, marked breaks, old river beds or submerged hedges, stone screes... in gravel pits and ponds: clogged areas, fallen trees, reed bed edges, gravel trays, silt pockets...
The behaviour of carp in spring In spring the fish emerge from their lethargy. They urgently need to replenish the energy reserves lost during the cold season but also to make the eggs they will lay before summer. This requires considerable energy, as does their intense activity during the spawning period. As with all the other species of fish in the world, the spawning season is a time of great need. As with all cold-blooded animals, carp are extremely sensitive to the warming of the water in spring: the tilt of the earth changes and the path of the sun is drawn a little higher in the sky day by day, the angle of penetration increases and the days get longer. In these shallow depths, the water will be warmed by the wind. In these shallow depths, the grass and reed beds become carp magnets, as it is warmer and food grows there in the first place. The aquatic plants (benthic flora) then provide the life support for the microfauna, which is the almost exclusive food source of the carp, which is mainly protein. The behaviour of carp in autumn In autumn, the behaviour of carp is significantly different. This is the season when large gatherings of carp are most common, often in intermediate water layers. There is also regular and sustained feeding activity, particularly favourable for prolonged baiting. . To cover all their needs, it is essential for them to find sufficient and varied food, whether it is of natural origin or supplemented by the boilies intended for carp fishing. The quality of the baits used is then of considerable importance, and their effectiveness depends very much on the right composition of the mix from which the boilies are made: fresh and attractive ingredients with a composition modelled on the needs of the fish will be the best assets for fishing carp in the autumn.
Boosters, Dips, Soaks, Sprays... Behind these terms is actually exactly the same principle, that of applying a liquid on a solid bait to improve its attractiveness to carp, and trigger more bites. But the possibilities of mixtures are infinite, some combinations work well and others not. An excellent additive can become a real repellent if the dosage is too strong. It is not simple to compose a good boilie, as it is not simple to compose a good booster: only the experience acquired during a long time at the water's edge makes it possible to confront the theory with the practice, quite simply because we are not carps. SEEZONE® has put this experience in the development of boosters into bottles!
