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.......... Winter Carping - By Philip Smith (Bof) .......... |
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For those of you used to the warm weather Winter
Carping can come as a real shock to the system, now is bad enough but the
really cold stuff late December on ,can really choke the pig.
Tackled correctly though you can enjoy
yourselves in relative comfort, with a much wider swim choice than hitherto, even
on busy fisheries.Mainly because the competition chooses to go to fishing only
during the day. Arrive at your lake and look round towards 3 pm and see people
drift away faster than the crowd at a dull football match.
Before you think about swim choice lets do the gear thing. Bivvying out in cold conditions needs care and attention as well as different gear to summer. Skimping on the winter stuff can be everything from mildly inconvenient to potentially lethal! So here are a few basic suggestions:-
1) Don't skimp on the bivvy bit.
Site it if possible with the back into the wind,
not the door, or shelter it by positioning it with shelter from trees and
bushes. If this gives you a view of the lake from inside your bivvy well and
good, but if not you can always use the body of the tent to keep the wind off
you when you are sat outside.
2) Bedchair comfort.
Winter nights are long so don't skimp on this
either. Take a piece of foam rubber to put on even the best padded bedchair,
this can add 10 degrees to the temperature in your sleeping bag, as well
as some important comfort.Carry it folded up inside the bedchair.
3) Always try to put a groundsheet down
It can get very cold and damp without in
summer. In winter life can be miserable in a cold wet muddy bivvy. I have
a sewn in groundsheet, but put an extra one down anyway on top, as, in
time, all groundsheets perforate and let in the wet.
Some folk even go to the extent of putting down a
square of carpet sample in front of their bedchair to provide that little
extra comfort and insulation.
4) Gas
Remember gas does not vaporize as freely in cold weather, just when you need a warming brew or a hot meal the most. So try to find a stove that does work in low temperatures. Petrol, Coleman Fuel, or Meths stoves such as the Trangia type, seem to be the most recommended. I know of one bloke who even takes a small solid fuel "emergency" stove as a back up. But don't use stoves inside your bivvy, and not just because they throw out volumes of deadly fumes. You can end up with no floor, when they get going! Or if you are as clumsy as me, no bivvy, no eyebrows, and no drink as well!
5) Sleeping bags.
You don't always need a super 5 Season bag, but
you WILL need at least two thinner ones, one inside the other. You can always
leave one unzipped, but if you aint got it, even fully dressed inside, you
will regret it. Don't get too tight a bag either, its the trapping of air
around you that keeps you warm. So make sure you have some moving about
room inside both bags.
6)
Clothing
Wear loose fitting gear,( not jeans as cotton is
very cold in winter). Start with thermal underwear, a good dry warm layer next
to the skin is a real winner. Then wear several layers of clothing, shirts
thinner pullovers and then fleeces. Many layers are preferred to one thick
one, as you can mix and match to keep comfortable. With one thick layer you
are at your ideal comfort level just once, the rest of the time you are
tolerating conditions. Keep spare clothing in a plastic bag or bin liner in
your rucksack, not on the bivvy floor. There's not a lot worse than
putting on cold wet clothing after you have gone out in the middle of a cold
wet night to reel in a Bream, tripped and fallen in.
7) Boots
I should perhaps have included this under clothing
but socks play a vital role in keeping you warm and comfortable. Do not put
too many pairs on in the belief that you will be warmer. They cramp your toes
and cut off blood circulation, unless your boots are big enough to allow for
the extra layers and the air circulation as well.
If you can afford it get some of the insulated
boots, with a built in thermal insole, and fleecy inner "sock". Mine
are "Mukluks" over 10 years old now and still going strong. Ok I've
had to replace the inner sock layer quite a few times but they are still warm
and comfortable. Skeetex and Boom boots are also ok.
8) Food
Take plenty and make it easy to cook stuff. Plenty
of carbohydrates, a winter night outdoors is not the place for a low
calorie diet.
Get used to drinking lots of tea or coffee or
drinking chocolate, or Horliks, whatever's your own thing,but keep the alcohol
to a minimum. It gives a false sense of warmth and in the wrong time and place
this can kill.
9) Information and communication
Sounds odd, but make sure you tell someone
responsible, where you are going, what lake, and when you are due back.
In winter this can mean the difference between getting home ok and spending
the night on a frozen bankside with a broken ankle from a slip.
If you have one take a FULLY CHARGED mobile
with you, and not for nonsense calls to while away the time. Take a book for
that, leave the phone for real emergencies.
Take care with your gear and your gear should take care of you!
BOF.
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