Do you rely upon feature finding or take hints from nature?
The biggest names in carp fishing pick Terry Hearn's brain - this time, Shaun Harrison asks the questions...
Shaun Harrison asks...
“Apart from actual carp sightings, what are the other main aids you use? Do you rely upon feature finding or take hints from nature?”
“The obvious things like wind direction, features and all the rest have got a lot to do with it. I do take hints from nature, that’s what watercraft is all about. For example, if the bream have been spawning then I know that the carp are very likely to get in that area pretty quick, during and/or after. Coloured water too, but it varies so much from lake-to-lake. ?Birdlife is a good one – a flock of geese flying low over the lake might spook carp near the surface for example.
“Grebes are another interesting one. I always take notice of the grebes, especially on a weedy lake. They seem to work the areas that are clear of weed. Maybe a channel through the weed or a hole in the weed, as often the fry will hold up or congregate in these gaps.
“I remember on the Big S one year, I turned up with a view to baiting up a long bank called the ‘Bank of Death’. Normally this area was quite barren but this year there was quite a lot of thick, fluffy silkweed covering the bottom. I remember having a cast or two with the marker and got a reasonable drop, but still quite silkweedy and choddy. Then, as I reeled in I noticed a grebe working an area just to one side. A cast to where it had surfaced revealed a much cleaner area with a firmer drop. Once I started baiting the spot it was soon cleaned up even more, and I went on to have a good hit from there.
“More often than not, the grebes dive in the clearer areas, I have seen this a lot on many places, especially when the fish are feeding and the water is colouring up or whenever there is a display happening at dawn, grebes will be working that same area. Maybe the small fish are attracted the area when the water colours up.
“Other than that, I think a lot of watercraft is based around reading nature, whether it’s the wind direction, moon phases, reading the weather etc, it’s all to do with nature.”