The warm weather came in the early March in this year. A lot of anglers was went to the lakes, when the ice was gone. All of us were excited by the warm winds. Nature just awake from the long sleep of winter. I started to think about the voice of the waves, the platter of the jumping fishes and the smell of the bank. I felt clearly that Nature calling me, it was a feeling which can’t be compared to anything. This is the dawn of the seasons.

The bank is bare at this moment, but the ice was gone. The spring slowly makes the land green.

It needs more efforts, to be successful within such conditions. Our knowledge about the water is particularly important. The fishes - against the winter time - in these days usually can’t be found in the deep water, but in the shallow areas, where they can feel the Sun’s rays on their scales. In the early weeks of spring, this is the area, where they can find something to eat. Therefore we can catch them here with light tackle.

I make a simple method feeder rig

The Sun shines but the winds are still cold, the wind resistant dress is really useful.

The main principle is always the simplicity! The importance of this is increased within these conditions. Fishes moves slowly due to the cold water, they ran out from the saves during the winter. They focuses to get the most of the food using the less movements, to get stronger and stronger after the long starvation. Some type of pellets can get great result, mainly the fruit/sweet ones, but the best baits are the living ones.

I used a groundbait specially developed for cold water. The corn is still needed in these times.

So let’s use protein rich living bait! Worms, maggots (even casters) pinki and mosquito grub are the bests. Their movement is still slow in the cold water, but our fishes accept them. Anyhow it is useful to replace them frequently on the hook. We can see the result in the number of the takes.

This is the first fight of this fishing season. After the quick flight through the air, I get him.

The caught was perfect. The hook size and the hookline’s length is important as well not just in carpfishing.

As I told before, using the lightest possible rig is the only option for us in these conditions. We need to use extreme light hooklenghts, for example in 0.08 or 0.10 mm diameter and hooks in size 14-16 and smaller. To be effective with them, insert a powergum in the rig would be very useful, to save the rig when we strike. Personally, I prefer the 0.12 hooklenght made by using ET Competition Leader without any powergum. Five -six pound carp can be caught with this tackle without any problem.

A real armada of crucian carp just arrived to my initial bailing in.

I caught this beautiful common carp with such a light tackle as well.

I tried corn on the hair-rig, but it wasn’t successful.

Instead of it, the three piece maggot bait on the hook was really great!

We really need to focus on the tackle, to keep the harmony between it and the rig. A simple light or medium feeder would be the best choice for fishing within these conditions. The sensitivity of the tip is not the only important thing! The rod’s action is notable as well. The rod works, makes the fish tired, absorbs the quick rushes. Even the Competition Feeder and the Extreme Match-feeder is excellent for this. While the first one is a light rod with great spine, than the second is a classic medium action line (it has a fourth tip dedicated for float fishing). I really like these rods. The blanks are really high quality and good looking pieces. And the cost is quite limited compared to others in the same functionality.

The Extreme Match-Feeder is really extremely sensitive. It’s easy to catch even a small fish from the cold water, when the takes are cautious.

Technical details of the rod and my favorite Banax Iris reel in size 40.

The first warm wind of March inveigled me on a long weekend to the lake Hajnal, near Székesfehérvár. I hesitated a lot, which would be the best start for the season? Fishing the float, or use a feeder rod? At last, I decided based on the weather forecast, which I saw in the TV the evening before the session. Wind, they told. I was not surprised, we have a really windy weather here. But if the forecast says “You need to prepare for windy weather!” This means stormy winds for us. So I chose the feeder. I don’t like float fishing in strong wind, because I am not enough experienced to survive a day without a tangle in calm weather. So the wind makes those situations even worse.

I used the Competition Feeder frequently.

There is a strong ring on the first piece of the Extreme Match-Feeder, while the rest of them are light ones.

After I prepared the groundbait and did the initial bailing in, crucian carps were the first guests on my hook. I caught them one by one for a rhythm until I got the first take of a carp. When I strike, I felt that there is a mass weight at the end of the line. I believed that is caught a tree or something similar, but the weight kicked twice and start to rush. He brought 15 meter line from the spool. Fortunately the light hooklenght was strong enough, to keep the fish. After the carp, I started to caught crucian carps again.

I caught several fishes in the same small size.

The only I can tell that it was a great fun to catch these small guys even I didn’t caught any bigger fish. But I don’t want to be insatiable or thankless for the water. It was a really perfect day for me, great experience. Tho be honest, the first session of the season at Spring is always exciting for me. If my whole year will reflect to this day, I will be satisfied. The wind made me tired for the afternoon, so I started to pack up my rods. After I shot a picture about my fishes, I noticed that I left the second half of my caught in my net. The Spring really made me numb.

Friendly half of my daily caught