Winter Carping essentials

Hello and welcome to the second blog in what I hope is a series of many. this time I will be explaining some of my essential pieces of kit that I take on any winter trip. From Tackle to clothing I will list and explain my top 5 as well as having a look at my favourite go anywhere winter rig.

So my top 5 pieces of kit for winter, well now the days are getting shorter and darker by the minute i tend to find my self doing short day sessions and this means that moving around is the biggest part of the day and this means that during some sessions I will be walking for up to 2-3 hours just trying to give my self the best chance of hooking a fish. So with this in mind here is my top 5 items for winter that are in my tackle bag 100 % of the time.

1. Waterproof clothing and footwear - As I said I spend alot of time moving around the lake or river that I am fishing and this means that I will need to keep dry and warm on them days where the rain will just not stop and this is where this piece of kit becomes vital. My favourite footwear at the moment are the TF Gear Thermo-Tex boots, they are warm and extremely waterproof and great value for money. 

2. Bright Pop-ups - These are the main item of tackle and bait that I don't go anywhere without, they allow me to present a bait over any silt or dead leaves on the bottom and they also provide me with a target hook bait if I choose to fish over a spread of boilies. My favourites for winter are the Northern specials from CC more as they are proven fish catchers and have long lasting buoyancy.

3. Stove - This item is one of the most important items in peoples bag and although I don't drink tea or coffee I am still able to get something warm to eat which helps to keep your body temperature up and allows you to focus on your fishing, it also means that you can shrink the shrink tube down on a new rig should you need to do so. 

4. Solid bags - This is my number one method for winter, as the water temp drops the fish start to feed less and less and this means that a small parcel of bait is the best option. I like to fish it with a
small inline lead, short hooklink and a 12mm or 15mm pop-up and my favourite bait to fill the bag with is Little Gems from Hinders. They offer great attraction to get them fish homing in on the area. 

5. Zig making kit - Yes you read that right, and most of you are probably thinking, have you gone mad, but actually in the winter carp will spend most of their time around 2-3 feet of the lake bed and if you can place a bait in this layer then you are likely to get that alarm sounding again. So next time you are out on the bank try the zigs.

Anyway thats it for now, I will share a picture of the most recent winter zig caught carp, and i think you will agree its a stunner but for now tight lines and keep fishing.

The Eastern Carper