Where do carp go in the winter?

[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.