How carp react to weather

One of the most major influences which can affect where, when and what a carp is doing. Carp react to different states of the UK weather depending on the temperature, wind direction, pressure and time of year. Hot, still weather in the summer will have them heading for their favourite sunbathing spot where as a comparative warm front in the depths of winter will have them getting their heads down for a feed. The warmer the water, the less oxygen it can hold so the harder a fish has to work and the less inclined it will be to feed, whereas a big warm southerly on a cool autumn day will have the water body brimming with oxygen and any fish in its right mind will be on the feed.

In autumn/winter, a nice settled temperature for a while will enable the odd feeding spell as the fish are in a stable environment. Skip forward into early spring when the weather is a bit hit or miss and this can leave a fish confused with temperatures up and down and no regularity.

Either a long settled period in the winter or a change for the warmer can be good with a sudden change in the height of summer also signifying a possible feeding spell. Watching the weather is of utmost importance and with all the current smartphone technology and internet access, life has never been so easy for tracking the weather.

We chipped a carp!

CARPology, along with Ben Gratwicke (the author of this article) and Mr. William (Bill) Beaumont who works for Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust, chipped a carp (we named him Billy) at Diggerlakes so we could study its movements and understand what affects its behaviour. Here’s the result…

How our chipped carp reacted to a change in weather

Weather condition
Pressure: 1018
Temperature: 14 degrees
Wind direction and strength: Southwesterly winds, gusty at times
General: Cloudy with very heavy rain

Angling pressure
Swims occupied: No anglers

8am: Billie was milling around in front of Swims 3 and 4 (Movement 1). He seemed to be happier in this deeper water and it hammered down with rain.

12pm to 8pm: Due to the weather, no time could be spent getting accurate readings with rain so heavy at times it was a job to see. We managed to track Billie in the general area of Swims 20 (Movement 2), along to Swim 4 (Movement 3), but to be accurate was very difficult. There were other fish present as they could be seen occasionally topping in the incredibly heavy rain.

Comments
The weather was awful and it was evident a lot of fish have vacated the shallower bays. Due to the rain there was a huge amount of run-off from the western bank and this had clouded the water along that side. This influx of cold water had definitely moved the fish into the deeper areas or out of the narrow channels at least. If I was turning up to fish I would be picking a swim with plenty of water in front of it, as they were more up for the bigger swims.