Where do carp go in the winter?

[SkinnyLynnie]

Yesterday, the temperatures were 10 degrees above normal for November, so I decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and go find some carp to shoot with my bow.  (By the way, carp carcasses make excellent fertilizer for your tomato garden.) Anyway, I went to the Provo Boat Harbor at Utah Lake, motored out to a nearby bay where there are usually lots of carp in the summer.  The water, terrain, and vegetation looked perfect for carp, but after nearly an hour of wading around in cold water I hadn't seen a single fish.  The fish finder didn't see any either. So I concluded that the carp must abandon the warmer, shallower water near the shoreline and go somewhere else during the winter.  Either that or the carp-eradication crews have done a super job.  So I'm asking the experts, where do carp go when the weather turns cold. Do they hibernate in deeper water?  Is it possible to find them somewhere, or should I just wait until spring and they return to the shallow water to spawn? I guess I could ask the same question about catfish. Guys fishing for catfish in the same area reported no success. I will appreciate any knowledge you are willing to share.

[wiperhunter2]

In the places I fish in the Fall, before ice up, I see them out away from shore in areas that are deeper. TubeDude will have a better idea what they are doing there but they seem to be slurping up bugs or something right on the surface.

[SkunkedAgain]

Last fall i was using my side finder in a deep area of Cutler and it was banked up solid with fish everywhere. It looked like a coral reef teeming with fish... I tried to make perch or crappie of them, but the local guru's told me they were all carp. Also winter before last I had safe ice on the Bear River, so I set up to fish it and had tons of fish show up on the finder and after nothing would bite, I put my camera down and they were all carp hanging in the current under the ice in the deeper pools... So I think this time of year the shallows that warm quicker in spring also chill quicker in fall, so I think the carp all move to deeper water... Not much surface action this time of year that I've ever seen... Good luck, but I think you might have to try targets for a couple months... Later Jeff

[TubeDude]

Obviously, carp behave differently in different waters.  In flowing streams they will seek out the deepest and slowest holes to reduce their need to swim a lot when the water gets colder.  Ditto for lakes to some extent.  Utah Lake is fairly shallow compared to Willard Bay, Deer Creek, Starvation, Echo and other carp infested ponds.  So on calm warmer days it is not unusual to see them basking on the surface to soak up whatever warmth they can get.

In some lakes, like Deer Creek, falling temperatures late in the year leads to an accumulation of green algae on the surface...sometimes forming "algae peas".  And you can see carp slurping these up while the water is calm...before the power squadron makes "pea soup".


As most carp shooters know, carp spawn in the spring...usually starting sometime in April or May...when water temps get above about 60 degrees...and often extending into early summer.  But before they crash the shallows they can often be seen gathering in "carp clumps" near shore.  I call these carp "dating sites".  You can sometimes see them all with their puckery lips smacking just above the surface...seemingly saying "check these luscious lips, baby,"


Then, once the water temps get warmer, they all "hit the beach"...thrashing and splashing while doing their "random spawn" thing.  They don't build nests.  The males just crowd around an egg-spewing female and they simultaneously release their male contributions.  In some lakes they look for shoreline vegetation.  In other areas they spawn right up into or onto the rocks.


This is the time when crazed carp killers live life to the fullest.  Lust-filled carpkind are oblivious to everything else as they "dump their buckets".  That makes them easy targets for even the most amateur archers.


During the summer you won't see as many carp in the shallows.  Although some do cruise close to shore looking for bugs that have died and dropped to the water surface during the night.  And sometimes you will find them moving along a winddrift line slurping up bugs or algae pushed together by a morning breeze.  And if you are in a boat you will see lots of carp cruising just below the surface...always looking for something edible.   And the law says it is okay to "force feed" them with an arrow.  However, this easy pickin's usually occurs only during a short time in the mornings...when the water is calm and the power squadron has not yet begun churning up the water.

Hope this helps.

[Bduck]

In May 2017 I was fishing with a buddy at Bear Lake. The carp were concentrated around the jetty at the state park.


    

[SkinnyLynnie]

Thanks for all the helpful information. I guess if I want to get carp in the winter I'll have to go underwater and try spearfishing. More likely, I'll wait until spring.

[Therapist]

Just look for the Loy's netting carp at Utah Lake. They are out all year. Not sure if they are going out of Lindon or Provo boat harbor right now, but I am sure they would be happy to "loan" you one or two fish. Nice bunch of guys !! I believe they are going out of Lindon lately because I haven't seen their boats at the state park. You could try calling DWR in Springville, they might know where they are working out of !!!