For you well versed carp anglers.

Carp in shallow water in the winter.

I was out at a local pond,Greenbriar, just a bit ago, fishing for trout and I could see some shimmering by the edge of the water a few yards away. I went over and two juvenile (2-3 pound) but handsome common carp were feasting on some corn someone threw in the water.

I remember a debate about carp not biting well in the cold months.

I am all ears

Yeah, I think Mark playfully started that debate, after a string of bad luck.

I playfully replied with a string of photos of big fish Bret and I had caught throughout the coldest months of the year lol.

Bottom line, in Texas, carp bite all year round.

When it's cold, you want smaller baits and less chumming.

They will often feed heavily on warmer or sunny days, but don't discount those coldest, cloudy days, either.

My first trip to Ghostie when we banked over a dozen fish and something crazy like 4 20's in two hours...it was FREEZING and VERY windy.

And of course, shallow water warms faster in the sun, so the fish may be up there more often this time of year.

I remember that day last year it was really cold... That little girl caught that big carp.

There have been a lot of carp and buffs caught this last week.

my last 3 fish which were all over 10 pounds where caught in december on days in the 30's temp wise

Basically carp are cold blooded so if energy spent is greater than energy consumed the carp won't bother moving to it no matter how good it smells/tastes/looks and because of their lower metabolism they have a far lower calorific intake requirement in the winter hence the shorter feeding spells. Because carp need less food in colder months it stands to reason you should be chumming less, smaller PVA bags and stringers etc ...... one method that works well on Euro waters is a very high flavoured bait fished all by itself.

Having said all that locating the fish in cold water can be very productive as carp tend to shoal more in winter. Find one feeding carp and there is a good chance you'll find more and entice them to all feed a little at some point.

look at any post here or on the CAG forum about the FFF (First Fishing Folly). It is more or less a social competition held on Jan 1st each year. Folks are catching them through the ice up north and in blizzard conditions in much of the country. They feed less, but they do feed.

i've seen several this week at night skimming the top..4-5' off the bank in about 4-5' of water....two different ones i saw were 20 lbs+

Yes, she did!

The air temp was about 50 deg. with the wind blowing at 20 mph. The water was fairly warm, though at about 58 degrees. I remember that the fish felt warm.

Theoretically carp feed down to at least 39 degrees. We don't get that cold.

Good and thank God we do not get that cold...

I know, right? I got enough money tied up in fishing without having to resort to 24" rods and an ice shanty!