After fishing some 35 winters, I have come to the conclusion (or realisation), that you are really only fishing 30 nights max over this period. This is based on two nights a week. In general (unless you are really unlucky), a good percentage of this nights will be not that extreme. And with modern-day carp fishing equipment, it can be very pleasant if you get your mindset right. You are still fishing the same amount of time as before, its just dark (obviously) and that’s the hard part. Setting up and packing up in the dark, you just need a routine, a very good knowledge of the swims and the lake. This comes with time. As carp on most waters, like feeding at night, you should stand more chance of a take. Admittedly it can be cold but with these mild winter’s, but you also have the prospects of catching carp at their biggest weights.
With modern bivvys, sleeping bags, bivvy lights and armed with a mobile phone or tablet, you can sit in the bivvy watching plenty of stuff when you want to hibernate! Some anglers find the thought of watch tv a big no-no. If I had not been doing this, I would have been asleep most of the night (which I did do when the children were younger) and not heard a thing, I would have moved my baits onto topping fish. I tend to use headphones with only one ear peace in, as it helps to listen out for the carp topping. With the long moon lit nights, this can be in fact the best period of the year to understand where the carp are. Even a walk around the lake at night with your ears wide open will give you more knowledge than you can dream of.
Hope this helps
Richard
Please subscribe to my Video Diary
UK Carp & Coarse Fishing 