For the past four weeks the lakes have remained totally frozen and have been unfishable. Add to this the run up for Christmas and the family commitments total time lost about five weeks. Now this may not seem very long but in terms of bank time this equates to nearly 15 nights as I normally fish three nights a week,which is actually over 200 plus lost hours.

With the long range weather forecast showing a steady rise in the temperatures for the period between Christmas and the New Year a plan was hatched to sneak a night in here and there when I wasn’t needed for the usual family visits and gatherings. This time of year is very hectic as I have a three year old and the grandparents, Uncles and Aunties all have to be visited so that none are left out. I am sure there are many carp anglers out there who know what I mean!

I identified two possible windows of opportunity aimed for Thursday 30th December and January 2nd. These dates provided me two early starts which after so long away from the bankside would be important as more day light time would give me the chance to fish to showing fish during the day before casting my rigs into the deeper areas for the hours of darkness.

My main approach for winter fishing has always been single hook baits in the form of attractor packed pop ups. However upto the start of the big freeze I had been fishing one rod on a bed of old bait, which I will explain.

My normal working week fishing nights are Tuesday and Thursday and as I arrive in the dark means that I quickly cast my snowman rig to my pre baited area of old bait.

My old bait consists of

1 pint of Hemp and Hali crush
1 tin of Hemp ‘N’ Crushed Tigers
1 tin of Hemp ‘N’ Mini Maize
1 pint of Carp Bolie Crush Method Mix
2 pints of dead mixed maggots
A big handful of broken boilies of your choice

All the above are mixed together in a bucket

The above mix is introduced into the lake in my chosen area after I have packed up in the morning just before I leave the lake for work. The quantity of bait is spread over a large area of the lake that sees very little angling pressure due to being the furthest swim from the car park!

And at this time of year is often waterlogged! However I had managed to find a bit of dry ground big enough to fit a bedchair and brolly on.
My snowman rig comprises of a PB anti eject hook and Hydrolink hooklength. A 14mm boilie,which is then topped with a combination of the new Avid Carp Carp High Lite and an Avid Sight Stop.

My other rod is equipped with a standard chod rig and this is either cast to showing fish or to the edge of the baited area depending on the situation.

In part two I will tell you how the sessions went!