The feeding behaviour of carp in summer

The feeding behaviour of carp in summer

In summer the feeding behaviour of carp is very variable. It can oscillate very quickly between frenzy and fasting. The weather is THE primordial factor, and it is established that the very hot periods accompanied by high pressures extinguish almost completely the appetite of the carps, on the contrary a depression accompanied by strong winds can put them at once and massively at table. Although this period is sometimes complicated for fishing, it is on the other hand relatively easy to interpret because the activity of the carps follows closely the weather conditions.

16/12/2020

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...

What do carp eat in summer?

During the summer, the water temperature quite often allows stable feeding activity in carp.

Many organic sources make up its diet, including aquatic gastropods (snails, physa...), copepods and daphnia (large zoolpankton) and oligochaetes (worms). Gammarids (small freshwater shrimps) are widely consumed where they are represented. Crayfish are also widely consumed in summer, particularly during the moulting period, making them an easy and sometimes abundant prey. Dresseines, and all small bivalves in general, are also on the menu. Plant elements also appear in its natural diet anecdotally, and fruit that has fallen from trees (acorns, faines...) may occasionally be eaten.

The carp is an opportunistic feeder, with a high proportion of its food being consumed by the fish.

The carp is opportunistic. Depending on the lakes or rivers where it lives, it will adapt and find the food that suits it best.

It searches the substrate with its so-called protractile mouth, turning over stones in search of numerous varieties of benthic animals, often very small, which according to most studies make up the bulk of its menu.

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This highly sensitive mouth is extensively equipped with tactile and gustatory sensors. When digging into pockets of mud, it buries its head completely in the mud and uses its gill blocks as a sieve.

This highly sensitive mouth has extensive tactile and taste sensors.

Storms and lows: impacts on your summer fishing

Unstable weather patterns are absolutely excellent in summer for carp fishing, and probably one of the best times of the year to put lines in the water. The effect of the wind and the stirring of the water layers brings oxygen, especially as the water temperature can sometimes drop significantly, again allowing for more oxygenation of the water.

This is also seen in the summer.

This can also be seen in large lakes, these periods encourage fish to gather and feed. But only quality baits can sustainably compete with the natural food that is often ubiquitous.

Tailored boilies for the summer period

The SEEZONE® boilies have been developed to optimise the spreading power in warm waters, and this is a signature innovation of SEEZONE®. Their composition has been formulated not to force-feed carp at this time of year, promoting instant acceptance and rapid transit.

Summer is a time of great change for carp.

Summer is the season when undesirables are most active. It is therefore essential that baits remain fishable for a long time without being destroyed, so the texture of the boilie is paramount. Whatever your preference (meaty, spicy, fruity or creamy) the structure is reinforced to better resist breams, cats and other clawed creatures... It would have been easy to add casein or other functional ingredients from the food industry, but this seals the structure and limits diffusion. So, using only the noble flours, we gradually determined the ideal composition by working, for example, on a finer granulometry and on a mix composition that naturally reinforces their resistance to undesirables.

All existing tests show that the diffusion of a boilie is better and faster in warm water than in cold water. The challenge was therefore to control this diffusion over time, to avoid the surface washout effect symptomatic of boilies immersed in warm water. Let's take a random example: Scopex "SUMMER" SEEZONE® boilies are formulated for gradual, progressive diffusion

  • Some ingredients are very slow, essentially flours such as toasted fatty soya (whose enzymes have been destroyed by thermal flash: Nurupan is characteristic with its pronounced nutty taste). In the same vein, a large dose of tiger nut flour accelerates transit and contributes to the roundness of this mix. The white fish meal and yeast extracts balance the recipe in terms of nutritional needs.
  • Others are in between, such as fermented corn liquor, vanilla biscuit powder and Low Temperature milk powder. Also in this category will be Scopex flavouring which is fixed on a specific hot water base, and will migrate into the medium in a controlled and sustainable way over time. Roasted hemp seed (again, well dosed!) is rich in attractive oil and easily diffuses its micro-droplets into the water column in summer.
  • Finally, fast-release ingredients bring immediacy to our summer boilies, especially N-butyric acid and intense sweetener.
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Free delivery in France from 79€.