Bruno Garcia from the Charente-Maritime fishing federation is France Bleu la Rochelle’s fishing expert. Our specialist offers, this week, a close-up on spring carp.
Bruno Garcia : the topics covered are very often inspired by what I experienced the previous week or weeks during my surveillance rounds. Today it is still the case and I absolutely wanted to convey what it awakened for me. In particular the desire triggered by the capture of this beautiful and big fish that is the carp.
Is it time to look for this carp?
Yes because it is in a period of interesting food activity for fishing, yes because there are carp in all streams, all rivers and all bodies of water.
How to explain a current strong food activity?
Breeding is imminent at this season and before this mating period she fills up on calories. You should know that during this spawning period it will remain several days without feeding. She therefore anticipates and stuffs herself before fasting. She was about to start this reproduction before the nights were so cold but the drop in temperatures completely interrupted her. And for the small precision on its biology it is a fish which spawns in water between 16 and 18 degrees. We are currently on temperatures between 10 and 13 degrees depending on the sites.
This theory of a strong food activity currently is verified on the ground?
Yes I would not have allowed myself to advance it without having checked. I had the opportunity to work everywhere this week, on the Charente river, on certain canals, on a few bodies of water and I was able to take advantage of some beautiful photos that the fishermen were proud to show me. Pretty carp but above all a lot of bites and in the middle of the day. This is all the more interesting as night carp fishing is not allowed everywhere. It’s also an opportunity to remember it because it’s not very clear in everyone’s mind.
What do you put on the hook to seduce this carp?
The most commonly used bait is the boilie. It’s not fragile, small fish only very rarely attack it and they can be found ready-made on the market. In summary, it is very comfortable to use. As far as I am concerned, at the risk of being called a retrograde fisherman, I remain very attached to the old techniques: vegetable baits such as potatoes, chickpeas, beans, corn and it will surprise more a pea or even a carrot. The carrot is sweet and the carp is fond of it. The advantage of these baits which, we can say, have nevertheless been forgotten, is quite simply that the carp are no longer used to them. In 99% of cases the carp stung with the boilie are released. When you present her with a boilie again that she immediately associates with the bite of the hook, it is easy to understand that she can be suspicious.