What features and depths should you look for in autumn?

Rob Hughes

What I look for: Depths between 6 and 8ft
“As we enter autumn, it is easy to think that the carp will be moving to deeper water but it’s important to remember that water cools down a lot slower than air so even though it may feel chilly, the carp may still be in the shallows or the upper layers, especially if the sun is out. In the open water I always like fishing at depths between 6 and 8ft whatever the season, as it is a depth they will always be comfortable feeding in. And the water doesn’t really cool down all the way through the water column until December time despite it feeling colder out of the water. The margins will remain productive until the end of the autumn so the long and short of it is to look for the fish and they will tell you where they are comfortable. The more I study Zigs, the more I think they are an all year method, so basically they could still be anywhere for the next month or two, but don’t discount the upper layers.”

Iain Macmillan

What I look for: 6ft silty areas
“It’s more about location on a couple of the lakes I’ll be targeting for the autumn/winter, not so much the features. There are however ‘areas’ where the carp do seem to prefer to be at certain times of the year, but weed, angling pressure and bait will normally push the carp into a few holding areas. It’s strange that both lakes are very similar in make-up, i.e. they are both relatively shallow for gravel pits, they are very weedy in parts, but more importantly I do feel that in the autumn you’d stand a decent chance of catching a few from most swims on both lakes.

“I’ll just go back and touch on the depth. I suppose the average depth for both pits is about 6ft, see I told you they were shallow! This is perfect in my opinion and providing the weather doesn’t turn too savage too quickly and providing a decent supply of bait continues to be introduced, they do fish well into the colder months. In terms of features, I’d be looking for some lovely smooth silty areas to hopefully ambush them on as they are moving between the decaying weedbeds.”

Jerry Hammond

What I look for: Silty gullies in any depth
“I will be trying to find the carp. They will have areas where, at this time of year, they will be harvesting all the natural foods that they can to get them through the winter months.

“Carp will have favourable parts of the lake that each year they spend this time in. So I will be looking for signs of the carp feeding on the bloodworm and this can be seen by bubbles created by feeding fish or by the fish showing when cleaning their gills out. Sometimes the fish are very hard to catch when they are engrossed in this food source, but I have caught them by fishing in these areas with single bottom baits and I’m sure they are actually picking them up by mistake. 

“In reply to the question, I’m not really looking for certain depths or features, I want the carp to tell me where they are. But if I’m unable to find them, I would maybe go on past autumn hot spots, and if I were looking for features then I would try fishing in the gullies behind bars at whatever depth they may be.”

Ian Russell

What I look for: I stick to the summer areas
“As autumn/winter arrives I tend to not change the areas I target initially but keep plugging away at the same areas that produce for me all spring and summer. What I will change though is my angling approach.

“Firstly, I pay more attention to hiding the last six foot of my end tackle. You see, as winter approaches, our lakes tend to become clearer and less weedy so most end gear will stand-out like a sore thumb. Now add a six-foot fluorocarbon leader and a light braided hooklink balanced with a size ten hook and we are back in business.

“Bait: I do tend to cut down on the amount, not because I feel they won’t eat it but because I only get short sessions so I don’t want to feed them but catch them. What I will do though, is use stringers a lot and make sure my hookbait has been soaking in a food dip for several months. However, as winter proper arrives, the carp on most of the lakes I fish tend to either sink into snaggy areas or all group up in the most central part of the lake.

“The snags are easy to target as the areas become very obvious, but the groups of fish in the main lake become harder to tempt but patience with fanning the rods around different areas and Zigs at different levels will eventually pay dividends and usually when you have started to get results plenty more will follow.”

Rich Wilby

What I look for: I'm not overly concerned
“To be completely honest I’m not mega concerned about features or depths as we head into the cooler months. I still spend all my time on the bank looking for fish and fishing for where they’re showing.

“I’ve caught carp in freezing conditions in shallow water and in deep water, so I know they do not really have a preference and every lake is different. One thing I have noticed in the autumn months is that weed usually starts to die off and I don’t like to fish near dead weed. I’m sure it is devoid of natural food and as it rots down, it gives off gases like ammonia which I know carp will stay clear from. So finding the remaining fresh weed, if there is some can be a good area.

“Silt areas are also great in autumn because the carp will be making the most of the bloodworm beds as they feed up for the winter months. I have caught many carp quickly in October and November, simply by casting to bubbling fish.

“The last thing I would recommend is to look on your venue which bank gets the most sun. The fish will often like that side of the lake in the colder months, especially if it has some holding areas like snags and is on the back of a cold wind.”

Jed Kent

What I look for: The deeper, siltier areas
“We are now in a great time to catch carp as autumn is here. Once the slightly cooler temperatures arrive, coupled with rain and strong southwesterly winds, I mostly let the carp show me where to fish. I am not worried about what depth I find them in as I have had carp at this time of year down to depths of 27ft in the daytime. If you can’t find any carp showing, I then use these rough guidelines to try to catch a few.

“If it’s a warm sunny day, try to find water that offers weed or shallows, but at night I would then move to deeper water to try and find a nice area of silt. This is because in autumn we normally get warm days and cooler nights. If the weather is wet and windy, I find they don’t follow the wind as much in autumn as they do in the summer so I would start by fishing out in the middle with a good depth of water and a silty bottom.”