In my opinion, the best places are where there is fine mud and the fish can eat here even through the winter. Therefore, my favorite places of work tend to be in the vicinity above dams and places with mud and with a depth of 3-3.5 meters. This is where I look for fish during these cold months as I have often landed a nice piece from there and as they say, carp are like pigs.
How many times have I pulled out a carp and it had pieces of mud on it. But be careful, the fact that these stains work for you during the winter does not mean that they will be equally active during the spring, remember that. From March to April the weather is often ridiculous and lives up to its name - April weather. In this period, places like the bends where it breaks sharply into the riverbed have proven themselves to me. What most people do is cast across the river to the other side, but they don't realize that the fish are running right under their feet. Catching in these places always has its pluses for me.
You don't have to drag the fish several tens of meters towards you, and thus you minimize the possibility of cutting the line, or that the fish cuts out somewhere halfway to you. It is also much more convenient for feeding. You don't need any equipment like a shovel, cobra or slingshot. All you need is a hand, which you can feed perfectly to the assembly or to the given place. I don't skimp on feeding in the spring. When I know the fish is there, I'm not afraid of anything and I'm able to put several kg of boilie on one rod. I generally arrange the rods so that they do not compete with each other, but I often fail.
I think it doesn't matter how many magic balls you have or what essence you mix it with, for me it's important to just choose the right place where the fish are at this time. As I mentioned before, if I know the fish are in a given spot, I have no problem casting it big. I use Monster Crab or Carp Goulash all year round, these are top picks for me. Mainly in the spring months, when the water is colder, Carp Goulash has proved to be very useful for me. Its composition is more spicy and works better in winter/spring. I start using the Monster Crab at the end of April when I know the water temperature is more promising and also after finding that it works perfectly before the fish spawn. To the middle boilie row, I add the top row of Sea boilie in a ratio of 1:3, both with Crab and Goulash.
I usually use the same lures all year round. Our Sea boilie works best for me on the river and I'm not afraid to use it even in winter. The only modification I make during the winter is that I use baits soaked in Aminoliquid, in which I add a drop of Asafoetida essence. I do not change the size of the balls during the year, I remain faithful to the diameter of 24 mm. If it works for me and I see results, why change it? This year I went in the rut, I just changed the classic boilies for the ProActiv line, which is suitable for fast fishing and mainly for winter. The boilie starts to work relatively quickly after being thrown into the water and it twirls nicely. In May, I try to look for shallower places where the fish go to bask. The most suitable areas are stilt fields, either directly in them or right behind them. I'm not going to lie to you, this method tends to lose money, because a lot of people don't know how to get the fish out of the bed and they rip it as hard as they can.
On the other hand, thanks to the mullet fields, you can see exactly where the shallows are and they are also suitable places where the fish go before spawning. These are just my insights that I have found on my expeditions and the tips and tricks that have worked for me. Some may call it useless or stupid, some may find this information helpful. How you deal with them is entirely up to you. Please note that this is how it works for me and I do not guarantee that it will work 100% for you as well. In this field, it is important to find the right thing, to find out what suits me best, to try and to be patient. Good luck.
For the Mivardi team Ondřej Pokorný