Twelve months of carp fishing: The big feast starts in August

The title of this column has to be swallowed - especially if you are currently experiencing the summer heat. It's also a pretty tight number, with the start of the big feed in August. But in most years, the last week of August delivers exactly that: the first dip in the previously fairly consistently high temperatures. Wind, cooler nights and/or rain: this is what the ideal last week in August looks like. And then the big feast begins!

The still very warm water then cools slightly and finally gets a good dose of oxygen again. Due to the high water temperatures, the carp's metabolism is now at its seasonal peak and, given the right weather conditions, this can only mean one thing: Feeding frenzies! 

Eddy Sterckx described this blatantly in his book "It's my life": If you feed in spring, you won't have enough food for autumn. His autumn campaigns - for which he usually reckoned with a tonne of boilies (!) - started exactly in mid-August and just in time to be able to use the largest quantities of food at the end of August. The good man calculated a few hundred kilos of boilies for the end of August and the beginning of September. Let me briefly explain his approach: He only fished from October/November onwards, when he had already drastically reduced the quantities of food and the really fat ones in the water were "standing" on his long-term feeding spot and he caught them selectively. 

 

Admittedly, these quantities of boilies are already pathological and have the potential to cause lasting damage to a body of water. However, the example of Eddy Sterckx illustrates exactly when he used most of his food. And very few people do it that way! Many carp anglers really start dumping in October/November, when the carp's metabolism is already significantly reduced again. This is often counterproductive. And not only in Germany! At the end of August, the wind also starts to blow again in northern France and the shallow lakes are finally mixed again. Often enough, the beginning of September was the absolute prime time of the year there. In the south of France, the mistral also wakes up from its summer break at the end of August and supplies the still very warm water with a good dose of oxygen. And so September is also the month in the south of France when the carp feed like there's no tomorrow.

But before I start dreaming about September, we still have just under four weeks until the end of August and the start of the big feed - hopefully. There's one thing you shouldn't forget: The carp don't just switch back to feeding at the end of August, it often starts a week or two before that. So until then, it's better to save your food and make plans for the autumn campaign à la Eddy Sterckx (possibly during your summer holiday)? Either way, it's better to keep your legs still now and stock up on motivation, because the time is coming soon! I'm already looking forward to the weather as I write the next column at the end of August, hopefully by the water and with a bite while I type.

Have a great summer!
See you then, hasta luego,
Your Alex

 

PS: The photos are from a Cassien trip in August 2004. In that year, when fishing was only permitted during the day, Bastian Reetz, Markus Lamprecht and I had well over 200 bites in three weeks. We fished separately, always fed in the evening and caught our fingers sore, especially early in the morning. But when the wind was blowing properly, we were able to catch fish even in the middle of the day. The mistral, which started as early as mid-August this year, made the carp incredibly active.