How does the moon, wind and atmospheric pressure affect carp?

Wind direction and air pressure both have an impact on how keen fish are to feed or if they’re willing to feed at all. For example, the old wives’ tale of, “when the winds from the east, the fish bite least” couldn’t be truer from my experience.

Mid-thirty

I always like to have an idea of the previous couple of day’s weather patterns when I arrive for a session; I like to know the wind direction and how long the wind has been blowing that way. If it’s a new, and most importantly warm wind, on most lakes you will find fish on the end of it looking for food that has blown in on the new wind, and on the new winds I will look to get right on the end of it. If it’s a stale wind, and by that I mean a wind that’s been blowing in that direction for a good few days then I will look at the back of the wind line, not necessarily right at the back of it, but not on the end of it at all.

With regard to air pressure, if it’s during the warmer parts of the year and you’ve got a bright clear sky without a cloud then the chances are you’re into high pressure and as such I would expect the fish to be sat higher up in the water column so would be looking at using floaters or Zig Rigs depending on what the fish were showing/telling me to do. The same goes for winter or colder months: bright clear skies tend to mean high-pressure and carp higher up in the water, however, during the colder months I wouldn’t expect them to be in the upper layers of the water, more mid-depth.

Always watch the water

Low-pressure generally arrives on new winds, often bringing slight temperature drops and often precipitation (rain) and these pressure drops are often the best conditions to be out in at any time of the year. The new winds generally stir the fish up making them more interested in feeding and temperature drop and or rain fall increases oxygen content in the water making the fish more comfortable to feed and ultimately more catchable. So with a low-pressure front, I would be looking to fish on the end of a new wind and over a bed of bait if I could get into position before the fish arrived.

Jim with a brute

With regard to the moon, in my opinion it does have a big bearing on the way fish behave, and if you look back at past captures of certain fish, there will often be a favourite moon phase for captures, the most noticeable being a New Moon and a Full Moon. But having said all that, if you wait for the ideal weather conditions and the right moon phase to come before going fishing you would never go, so get out when you can and make the most of it.