The Challenge and Trophies of Farm Dams

Any angler that ever fished a small pond or farm dam will know that the inhabitant carp can be meticulously difficult to catch. in this venue-piece the writer shares some valuable steps to be successful in these little hidden gems carp anglers often overlook. The comments of some anglers that a farm dam is easier to target as you can easily cover the majority of the water with far less effort may be true in certain scenarios, but more often than not this is certainly not the case. These are great areas to look for natural food sources. Patience and persistance is key when targeting these dams, sooner or later your efforts wil get rewarded. There are numerous factors that will work against you on a farm dam, especially when it is underfished while having an abundance of naturals for fish to feed on. The topics covered in this article will hopefully provide you with the necessary steps to increasing your chance to land those fish that seem to forever evade being caught. The author Dylan Richter with a beautiful 12kg common from a small farm dam. Our local South African farm dams can very often hold gems as a result of those fish washing down from a larger body of water, but in order for them to survive there are certain aspects these carp usually have to overcome. They have to out think or out swim every possible predator be it otters, birds, bass or they could just be one of the very few extremely lucky fish. No Carp ever got to a substantial size without learning what is dangerous and what is not. Alex Willers holding a spawn-ready 14kg common. While carp are growing they do tend to learn, and eventually whatever it is they learn becomes their instinct. When fishing a farm dam that is rarely fished it is important to keep the above in mind. A carp of good age will not necessarily feed on something that it has not encountered before, so for that reason you need to put your thinking cap on and outsmart the carp.There are numerous options. Step 1 - For me the first step would be finding their swimming routes and feeding areas. Look for reeds that have been broken low down that form a path in and out of what would obviously be their safe zone. Keenan Bezuidenhout with a huge 17,6kg common from a farm dam. Look for feeding bubbles and as to why you think there would be feeding bubbles on that specific spot. Look for gravel patches as it will almost certainly be a good spot. Dylan with a beautiful ghostie common of 13kg. Look for overhanging trees that hold birds and their nests, or trees that could be dropping seeds as well as fruits that would attract the fish. Look for any structure that could possibly hold food for a carp. Once you have located such spots you can move onto step 2. Eugene Kruger with a stunning farm dam mirror. Step 2 - Look at your surrounding vegetations. If the farm you are fishing on happens to produce vegetables, fruits, peanuts or maize, then start by using one of these as a hookbait or at least the main ingredient of your feed. If the farm you fishing on does not farm anything of a food source to the carp then try to find out if the neighbours who are upstream farm any such food sources. If you find that any of these food particles may possibly be flowing into the water you are fishing then you are off to a head start. Make sure the ingredients are incorporated into your feed and presentations. Dylan RIchter with a surprize 14kg albino grass carp! Step 3 - If none of the above apply to your farm dam then it could start to get tricky. The carp are most probably then feeding off the crustaceans as well as the bug life surrounding the water and in the underwater plant life. Assuming there are overhanging trees a good step would be to find some bird droppings or something that imitates it at least to mix into your feed as carp often hang out under the trees waiting for those droppings. Believe it or not, they do serve as a form of nutrition. Then for your hookbaits you could either try and build a rig that interprets a crustacean/bug be it with tiger nuts, jugos or maize A fat female of 13,5kg called “Double Bubble” caught by Eugene Kruger MBG. Another option would be to make use of one of my favourites, the 'scorpion rig'. This rig has proven to work on many occasions when the fishing got tough, probably because it looks like a bug in the water. When targeting a rarely fished farm dam remember that all carp are catchable and in due time sooner or later one of the local residents will fall to your trap. Who knows what beautiful carp can still be discovered in our country’s vast numbers of farm reservoirs. The reward could be greater than you imagine!