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Taking an interest in other fish is part of every angler's DNA. Delving into other species and other techniques inevitably helps us progress in our preferred fishing and provides us with incomparable sensations.
Spot their presence
As with carp fishing, observation is essential. It will allow you to detect the presence of love birds, which do not hesitate to show the tip of their fins or simply jump (especially in the early morning and late evening).
At times, it's a veritable aquatic ballet, which greatly facilitates our "work" as fishermen. Vegetation plucked out of a patch or a rush stalk swept away by a lovebird... are all signs to be taken into account when locating them. If you're discreet, you can observe schooling lovebirds, especially when the weather is sunny, hot or stormy. There's nothing more impressive than coming across a squadron of white loves, most of them metered.
Heat as an ally
Water temperature and wind direction are also very important factors to consider. Warm westerly or southerly winds are obviously more favorable than colder winds, which will often lead to a metabolic slowdown in mating. From 3 to 6°C, feed intake is irregular, with breaks of around a week. Regular feeding begins at 10°C, but the optimum feeding rate is between 21 and 26°C. Feeding rates also vary with age and weight.
Food preferences
Find plants in abundance and you should be able to spot some massive shadows not far away. Beware, the grass carp doesn't attack all plant species. It has certain preferences. What's more, its tastes vary with age. Often, the grass carp is only interested in certain parts of its favorite plants, such as ceratophylls, elodeas, milfoils, naiads and certain pondweeds. Although grass carp prefer plant food and ingest a certain quantity of cellulolytic bacteria (cellulose allowing partial assimilation) with it, they are quite capable of benefiting from an omnivorous diet, especially if grass is in short supply. It is not uncommon for some to be tempted by meat boilies or other foodstuffs intended more for carp. It's particularly in this configuration (where carp pounce on anything that moves) that piscicultural imbalance is reached. And then, indeed, this freshwater jewel can become a plague (but easy to regulate if need be).
Copious priming
Once you've found the location, it's important to choose the right approach. Grasshoppers are difficult to distract from their natural food, especially when it's plentiful. In fine weather, when the water is warm and their feeding activity is at its peak, don't hesitate to give them plenty to eat. Of course, this will depend on the size of the herd. Recall is often essential to maintain the feeding activity of the fish present on the spot, but getting used to it beforehand seems essential to achieve interesting fishing.
Choice of bait
Any type of seed, such as tiger, corn, lupin or other mixtures of all kinds, are ideal for lovebirds. Boilies are also excellent baits, provided you adapt them to their diet (think dried herbs from the fishing grounds). Large-diameter pellets will help combat potential whitefish, but above all will facilitate the seizure. Green is the color that has brought me the most results.
After many tests, the conclusion is clear. I've also noticed that baits containing additives that penetrate all water layers are more effective. When you consider the time spent by lovebirds on the surface or between two waters, it's easy to see why such additives are so useful: to increase the vertical olfactory message to encourage them to descend to feed. Essential oils and ethyl-based blends have always given me good results. Surface fishing or zig rig are also strategies to use when the loves don't want to feed on the bottom and you've got them right in front of you or almost in front of you. For those who want to be original and stand out from other anglers, all the fruit and vegetables we eat are treats perfectly suited to grass carp (melons, zucchinis, lettuce cores, apples, blackberries...).
The choice is immense... With the right fishing strategy and baits adapted to the behaviour and diet described above, it's possible to make white suckers bulimic. In this case, the sequence of bites can be impressive. You've been warned: plan ahead!
In any case, whatever your approach, remember that grass carp condition themselves to our various stratagems over time. As a result, their behaviour will change and you'll need to adapt your baiting strategies, baits and rigs. We'll be talking about the latter in an article about a special whitebait session.
