Feeding big carp

[davel]

Over the last few weeks I have been trying to tempt fish to feed on bread on the surface, with little success. I came to the conclusion that because when we hired in the past it has been nearer to the summer and the fishes were more active or there were a lot of fry and so competition for grub was fiercer or ---- Ok I didn't have a scooby why they weren't feeding.

 

So Saturday night, only two crusts in the bread bag, beer in hand, calm sunny evening, sounds like fishfeeding 'o' clock top me.

 

To be honest I didn't hold out much hope as on the offside a chap had been fishing for most of the evening and had only caught a couple of tiddlers.

 

I start throwing small bits in to the water and for a while nothing , then a swirl in the middle so I chuck a bit more nearby, another swirl, then a big mouth comes to the surface and grabs a piece and eventually there are a dozen or so carp, the biggest approaching 2' long fighting and slapping the side of the boat for the bread I'm throwing in. I called Ange out and we watched them feeding for twenty minutes or so until I ran out of bread. Twas a lovely end to a good day.

[jami dodgers]

Sounds marvellous! Whereabouts on the system was this? It's OK, they're safe from me....no boat yet :-(

[Greybeard]

A few snaps taken a couple of weeks ago next to some boats.

 

They're everywhere - sunny evenings are best.

 

This isn't a wind up but try dog biscuits - chum or tescos mixers. They just go mad for them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

GB

[alan_fincher]

This isn't a wind up but try dog biscuits - chum or tescos mixers. They just go mad for them.

Absolutely.....

 

The lady on the boat next to us feeds Carp in the marina with expensive fish food at (IIRC) something like £50 for a large sack.

 

We use greyhound feed from the local farm shop, at about £8 per sack, (25 kilos, I think ?).

 

We attract just as many carp as our neighbours, at a fraction of the cost!

[Catrin]

We've always found it easier to feed the fish at this time of year. The fish are very sluggish when the water is cold, and it is now starting to warm up, but also, it's spring!!! They are breeding, and therefore hungry.

 

Many of the carp in our marina change shape - from fairly sleek much more brick shaped - you can see some evidence of this in the photos Greybeard has posted. At times we've had upwards of 50 large carp fighting over the food that we are throwing in.

Cheers

Cath

[Guest]

Yep my carp used to eat ground up dog biscuits, uncooked peas, lettuce, sweetcorn and of course koi pellets (cheap at Asda). I love to see large fish in the wild, and agree it is great feeding them. Geat photos BTW.

Edited May 18, 2009 by Guest

[Nightwatch]

In a previous life I used to work at the Air Traffic Control centre near Southampton. There they have a pond, nice. However over the twelve years or so since the pond was created there are about three hundred very big carp living there, (can't get out to move somewhere else I expect).

 

Every morning one of my staff used to get all the old bread from the caterers and feed it to the fish. After a couple of knocks on the metal guardrail with his badge holder all the fish would come from far afield for grub up. You could see then like sharks making a sizable wake. Nearly all of them were about two foot in lenght I kid you not. There was a no fishing rule on site.

 

It was fun watching the ducks getting nibbled by the fish as they too wanted some bread. Occassionally you would see a duck with one leg keeping a fish at bay whilst swimming in circles eating as much as possible before it's oppos came to the rescue.

 

I also did some work.

 

Edidted for correction of smelling mistooks

 

 

Martyn

Edited May 18, 2009 by Nightwatch1

[davel]

Sounds marvellous! Whereabouts on the system was this? It's OK, they're safe from me....no boat yet :-(

 

Horton Wharf on the GU, about four miles south of Leighton Buzzard immediately south of lock 31.

 

There was a guy with his kids fishing almost opposite us earlier in the afternoon but all they were catching was the occasional tiddler.

 

Nice photos GB, the water there is a lot clearer than where we were.

[Rogerh]

In a previous life I used to work at the Air Traffic Control centre near Southampton. There they have a pond, nice. However over the twelve years or so since the pond was created there are about three hundred very big carp living there, (can't get out to move somewhere else I expect).

 

Every morning one of my staff used to get all the old bread from the caterers and feed it to the fish. After a couple of knocks on the metal guardrail with his badge holder all the fish would come from far afield for grub up. You could see then like sharks making a sizable wake. Nearly all of them were about two foot in lenght I kid you not. There was a no fishing rule on site.

 

It was fun watching the ducks getting nibbled by the fish as they too wanted some bread. Occassionally you would see a duck with one leg keeping a fish at bay whilst swimming in circles eating as much as possible before it's oppos came to the rescue.

 

I also did some work.

 

Edidted for correction of smelling mistooks

 

 

Martyn

 

Me too!! Was there from opening until Jul 04 when I went to Akrotiri. There were some huge Carp in that lake, would have been too easy to catch though.

[tillergirl]

We have a pond with koi carp - chuck a slice of wholemeal just thrown in whole and watch them come an dsuck it to death

[howardang]

I was at Lapworth a few days ago and there were some really big ones in the Basin there near the pump out station.

 

Howard

[Tiny]

We feed the carp all over the canal system. They tend to stay near the edges or under moored boats when there are boats using the canal but at the quiet times they do come out. The largest we know rubs itself up our boat pole if we stick it in to move bread. By using the pole as a lever he can keep the bread in one place to slurp it down. The size of bread slurped depends on the carp - a big one can down a slice in 4 slurps. The only downside to feeding these big fish is that they get up early and can wake you by nutting the boat before staring up at your window as dawn breaks.

[PhilR]

We have some really big ghost carp in the canal (20 lbs +). Many years ago a local canalside millers accidently released a load of molasses into the canal which killed off loads of fish. They paid for restocking, but rather than re-stocking with roach, perch etc they restocked with ghost carp. IME, the carp only come to the surface to feed on sunny days in the summer. We throw bread down and a single slice can be consumed in less than 10 seconds.

 

I must admit, I do get fed up of anglers fishing directly opposite my boat and all their ground bait and maggots that stick to the hull, decks etc. But usually, the match anglers are only fishing for tiddlers with their long poles.

[steelaway]

Sounds marvellous! Whereabouts on the system was this? It's OK, they're safe from me....no boat yet :-(

 

 

Try the moorings at Bulbourne opposite the old works, you cannot fail to catch some BIG carp.

I had to spend the day there as it was such good fishing

I can guarrantee a few other places but I like to keep them secret (if you PM me I might tell you)

 

Alex

[O'Mali]

Try the moorings at Bulbourne opposite the old works

 

Alex

I'm sure there are 57 thousand million volt cables above there that Ban "fishing" there tho?

 

ETA... rod fishing that is. Did you tickle them?

Edited July 27, 2009 by O'Mali