Winter Carp Fishing.
Winter carp fishing is a bit severe compared with summer carping but can be made just as enjoyable only if you prepare your fishing session night clothing.
The main thing is to wear plenty of clothing but in layers so you can take these layers of and put them back on.
When you arrive at the fishing in the winter when it is very cold don’t put on all your clothing even down to think socks put the warm clothing on your barrow with the rest of your gear and from when you hump your barrow to your swim set up all your gear you won’t sweat if you don’t do this you will have damp under garments for a good pant of your stay and this is no good for your body i.e. arthritis which in severe cases can stop you from fishing and you don’t want that.
The first piece of clothing would be thermal under garments by highland these are used by mainly walkers as they are very warm but breathable and then goes on the light weight summer ware tribal X t T-shirt and combat bottoms and a loose fitting tribal xt hoody this is what I wear from car to swim to setting up.
When you are all set up get in the bivvy with the door down and get in your bag and warm up for a good half hour have a hot drink when you decide to go outside you can put all your gear on, especially if you like to sit outside scanning the water for activity well in the door way of my bivvy out of the wind.
When you decide to go to sleep take off your heavy jacket and trousers and put on some light breathable water proofs. I use tribal xt carp jacket and trousers. My outer clothing is a pair of ski trousers toped with TF gear sharkskin trousers which are padded on the knees as the knees can be affected by the cold causing arthritis.
The upper body is coated with a reat tree white waters jacket with detachable fleece topped with a TF gear sharkskin jacket which is made from goretex which breaths and keeps the water out and stops you sweating.
Footwear:
I always have at least three types of footwear in my bivvy starting with ski socks as these have to be very breathable for skiers these can be 20 pounds per pair but I go to T.K max for these as I do for the ski trousers and they have 2 thirds off the price off some of the goods. I always keep a good few pairs of socks with me as the feet can sweat alert once you feel your feet sweat you should dry them out and put on fresh socks if you don’t the sweat will come through the socks and wet your footwear which can be very hard to dry in the winter and wet socks. And boots when you are sitting around will turn your feet into ice blocks and make sure your boots are a size to big as you don’t want to cut off blood circulation and are big enough to take on extra layers of socks if needed.
Boots for winter:
I have a variety of winter boots starting with my karrimor walking boots as these breath more easily than most boots as they are aimed at walkers and mountain hill walkers and are made of goretex.
The skeetex field boot has served me well for the past 8 years that’s one pair in 8 years I bought these in a size 10 so I could wear extra thick ski socks and let my feet move about cos it is the air gaps left in your boot warm up and keeps your feet warm and dry.
When I got the inners damp I would wear my sundridge hot foot boots while the other inners dried.
I also use the hot foots without the inners when netting fish on any nights fishing summer and winter as they are easy to put on when you get out of your sleeping bag.
I have also purchased a pair of prologic polar zone boots which are insulated with thinsulate materials making them warm on the coldest of days.
The main part to keep warm is your head as you can lose most of your heat through your head. So I take at least 3 different types of has form heavy thick fleece to a thinner timberland variety.
I will always have a stock of backup clothing food gas and bait back at the car for emergencies as you can’t take everything as you can’t take everything with you.
Bivvy:
The bivvy I use is the trakker armo 2 with winter skin you need to have a bivvy with a winter skin else the condensation on the single skin will drip all over you and in worst cases it could freeze the inside of your bivvy, if you want a good cheaper version of the armo2 the JCR STI was the bivvy I used for 3 seasons and served me well especially in the winter months as the armo with winter skin cost around £500 to £600 and you can pick up the JRC model for around £150 and it does do the job.
These bivies come with very sturdy thick supple ground sheets but if you need to stop the cold more you can buy 3 camping mats lay them down on your ground sheet and lay a thick old blanket on the floor this will save the damp rising under your bed chair as high as possible in winter as any heat you make in the bivvy is near the top so this is the warmest part believe a few degrees makes a big difference when its minus 5oC outside.
Sleeping bags:
Never skimp on sleeping bags because when you sleep your body drops temperature and you will wake-up freezing believe it’s not nice it happened to me when I was younger I could take it then but I don’t think I could now old B……! the bag I’ve used for 4 winters is the trakker real tree peach skin with water proof thermal outer sheet expensive but worth every penny and under neath on the bed chair is a camping mat for extra insulation any thing to keep out the cold is good I’ve got and electric 12v fan heater that throws out a bit of warmth I plug this into a power pack which will mention later.
But if you want extra warmth a hot water bottle is bang on if you’re a wus like me.
Gas:
All gas bottles and canisters freeze up if you run all of your gas off one bottle when the bottle freezes up the gas inside will be starved from your stove until the bottle is warmed up and how do you do that? Put it in your sleeping bag with you nice eh!
The stove I use uses small canisters these are easily put in your sleeping bag to warm back up especially if you have a hot water bottle. I like to carry at least 4 canisters with me in the winter when one freezes just get another but keep your bottles wrapped up warm and you wont have to cuddle up to a gas bottle or canister.
So always use canisters try and have a bit of ventilation when you put your cooker on as the gases from your stove can be dangerous if in haled for a good amount of time so don’t go to sleep with the cooker on or you might not wake up.
The way I generate a bit of heat is with my kettle. I fill my kettle right up to near the top and boil it when boiled the kettle acts like a small radiator this can warm the bivvy a few degrees more. When the kettle cools just warm it back up.
I do use my cooker in my bivvy but I am not advising you to do it in your bivvy I am not gonna be responsible if you do.
Sometimes your cooker can flare up especially if it’s very cold. the way I avoid flames liking up the wall of my bivvy is to have a kettle or frying pan over the stove this spreads the flames out making it much safer to put your stove on.
The stove I use cost me £20 from Argos and I place it on my fox bivvy table next to my bed chair as you can end up spending most of your fishing time in your sleeping bag that’s if your lazy git like me HAHA!
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Food & drink:
try to take plenty of dehydrated for you can hydrate this food with hot water e.g. smash dehydrated potato pot noodle if you mix these together you end-up with a hot meal its not every ones cup of tea but I don’t mind it when in freezing my knackers of
you will also need back up supplies like mars bars and biscuits etc, so if your stove breaks for any reason you will also have simple carbohydrates for instant energy and crisps are good for your complex carbohydrates for slow release energy or if you fancy a bit of a health kick try a can of nutriment which is full of vitamins minerals carbohydrates fats and protein who are we feeding us or the fish and if you want a bit more dried fruit and nuts is a good backup to the nutriment drink and drink plenty of water if you can.
Now forget the broken stove it works now, when you feel have a good hot cup of tea, coffee Bovril etc what ever is your poison as long as its not whisky brandy etc these make you feel good at the time I should know I have done this before when it bloody freezing and woke up 4 in the morning freezing with a hangover I can do that at home and wake up warm with a headache plus you shouldn’t land a carp or any fish when you are intoxicated this will put the fish at risk anyway just advising not to drink too much when fishing I don’t rule it out total especially in the summer months and you should all know your limits its carp fishing not a fin beer festival ok!
Communication:
Mobile phones is the obvious but batteries can run out even faster in the cold this is why I take a power pack with me its good for a emergency power but will run out if abused.
I combat this by using a solar panel from my bait boat I put it out for the day and there is enough power to keep your phone charged or even charge an DVD player to take your mine of those hard winter nights.
Remember use your phone for emergencies and not for boredom chatter as those winter nights can have up to 17hours of darkness so if you want to send a message about a catch text is the best as you use less power you can purchase a good power pack from most camping shops.
So if you starve and freeze to death don’t blame me Ha-Ha!!